Chapter One: The Transfer From Durmstrang
The night sky was perfect for flying. The skies were dark, a perfect background for the shimmering stars and magnificent full moon shining overhead, with a few clouds lingering in the air, providing perfect coverage in case one needs to disappear momentarily from watchful eyes. Celeste atop her Granian, a dark grey winged horse named Sleipnir, were running late for their first night at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Celeste's new school, due to unforeseen circumstances at her former school, Durmstrang Institute. They had flown non-stop from the middle of Norway and Sweden to Scotland, Great Britain. Celeste knew Sleipnir was growing tired from the long journey and hoped that they would arrive any minute and, by luck as they were passing over a mountain, Hogwarts Castle appeared in the horizon.
"There it is, Sleipnir!" Celeste shouted over the winds, Sleipnir letting out a joyful whinny in response.
Hogwarts was much larger in size compared to Durmstrang. Durmstrang was also an older castle, but only consisted of four floors whereas Hogwarts seemed to consist of well over six floors with many high-reaching towers. Celeste could already see lights brightening up many rooms of the castle, but one in particular seemed to be lit up the most, which Celeste assumed was the Great Hall, the room where their dining and dances took place. The grounds of Hogwarts castle were extensive to say the least. The areas surrounding the castle accommodated a loch and a vast forest as well as a Quidditch pitch from what Celeste could see. Even at a distance, Hogwarts seemed intimidating. Celeste already started imagining getting lost in such a massive building, but was still excited to see what secrets laid within the large stone walls.
When Sleipnir touched ground, he retracted his wings and whinnied in relief. Celeste, realizing that due to her tardiness there was no one around to help her, decided that it would be a good idea to ride Sleipnir into the castle since it looked big enough for him to walk around. As Sleipnir tracked up the hill and into the school, Celeste took in her surrounding. The castle definitely much larger up close and much more impressive with all the architectural details. Everything was so lavish and grand. The inside was just as such with the walls covered from ceiling to floor with enchanted portraits, all welcoming her to the school or gasping at the sight of her riding a Granian inside castle walls. The whole environment was overwhelming. Things at Durmstrang were far more subdued. It was a strictly run school of magic with Igor Karkaroff as Headmaster. It also didn't help that most of the students of Durmstrang were interested in the Dark Art part of Durmstrang.
Hearing a booming elder man's voice, Celeste exchanged looks with Sleipnir and they subconsciously agreed that they should follow said voice. Riding up a second staircase, Celeste and Sleipnir were greeted by two massive stone doors from where the voice was resounding. Sleipnir strutted up to the door to allow Celeste to examine it. It was very to large and heavy for her to open and she didn't think anyone would hear her if she knocked. Nudging Sleipnir to back up a bit, she cast a spell with her wand, a 12 ¾ inch Alder wood wand with a Dragon Heartstring, that opened the doors for her. The voice stopped in its tracks as soon as the doors started to move and Celeste could hear gasps and whispers echoing within. Clicking her tongue, Sleipnir waltzed into the room, causing everyone in the room to start talking amongst themselves. Four people from the longest table in the front, the only table different from the other four that were vertical to form four lines across the room with the long horizontal table at the front acting as the Head Table for the professors and Headmaster, stood up as soon as they saw who had entered. The one furthest to the left from Celeste's point of view was a tall man, dressed in black, with long black hair that fell to his shoulders. The next one over, going towards the right, was a man who looked to be a half-giant with tattered long black hair from the top of his head to his bushy beard wearing more of a hunters garments. Standing to the left of the center chair was a tall elderly lady draped in a dark green cloak covering her black dress, a black pointed witch's hat atop her head. However, it was the man standing in front of the most extravagant chair at that table that interested Celeste. The wizarding world knew that man's face all too well. He was a very old man with long white hair that dropped down his back and a white beard to match. He fashioned traditional wizard's robes that shined the color of a darker shade of teal and half-moon glasses masking his worn eyes, eyes that may have seen far more than she will ever see in her lifetime. He was known as the great Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts.
"Hagrid, if you will please, escort Ms. Prince's Granian to its new home and give it a few apples if you don't mind." Dumbledore calmly asked the half-giant, who happily obliged.
As Hagrid was making his way over, Celeste dismounted Sleipnir, keeping a good hold on his reigns. Turning towards Sleipnir, she started to pet the side of his face, one hand remaining on his reigns. She could tell that Sleipnir was uncomfortable being released to a complete stranger by the way he was nudging her hands and closing his eyes.
"It's going to be okay, Sleipnir." Celeste assured him, pressing their heads together. "I'll come visit you tomorrow, bright and early in the morning with a nice juicy apple."
Turning back towards Hagrid, who was only a few steps away, she inched a little closer to Sleipnir, not actually ready to willingly hand him over to a stranger, but she knew she had to. After the way the Durmstrang boys used to harass Sleipnir while she was absent, she had good reasons not to be as easy to trust another person with the closest being to her. Sleipnir whinnied once more, kicking up his front legs, just as afraid as Celeste was, but she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and gave him a few soft strokes to try and calm his nerves.
"It's nice t' meet ya, Ms. Prince." Hagrid kindly greeted her, making a small bowing movement. "Yer Granian is in good hands. Promise." He smiled, giving her a small sense of relief, but not enough for her to stop worrying.
Sleipnir meant a great deal to her, so she was ready to fight for him if the man turned to be a bad magical creature handler. However, Celeste saw no ill-will within the man, both outwardly and internally; Celeste was an accomplished Occlumens and Legilimens at such a young age due to being naturally born with the abilities which were passed down from her parents, so she frequently used her talents to scour through the minds of others, but with great caution in case she were to run into another Legilimens. Celeste handed over the reigns of Sleipnir to Hagrid, entrusting the man with her precious Granian, hesitating to let them go for a few seconds.
"His name is Sleipnir. He prefers green apples. Take good care of him."
"Nice t' meet ya, Sleipnir. I'm Hagrid." Hagrid cheerfully greeted Sleipnir, bowing the same way he did to Celeste.
Celeste could tell with that motion that he had the same respect for animals as he did for humans, which put her mind at ease. Grabbing Sleipnir's reigns, he led him out of the Great Hall, talking to him about how he was going to love his new home and going on about the school. Celeste watched them intently as they disappeared from view before making her way down the aisle towards where the Headmaster and the woman in green and black, who was now holding a raggedy old wizard's hat, were standing. Stool sat in front on the top of the steps where once a gold owl podium once stood. As soon as she reached the couple, she greeted them with kindness; for the Headmaster she hugged him as she welcomed her to the school while the lady shook her hand firmly while introducing herself as Minerva McGonagall, the Professor for Transfiguration.
"You are very late, you know." Dumbledore teased her. "Your father was very worried that something had happened to you."
"I'm very sorry for that. I got caught up at Durmstrang and left later than intended." Celeste vaguely explained her tardiness.
Dumbledore just smiled before turning Celeste towards the rest of the students. She didn't really take in just how many students were in the room until she could finally take a good look at them. Four long vertical tables, evenly spaced out, were full of students from first to seventh years. All eyes were on her and she got a little defensive. She hated attention because it followed her wherever she would go due to her bloodline; her father was a half-blood (half Muggle, which meant non-magic person) wizard while her mother was half witch and half Veela (Veelas, from the moment they are born, are graced with beauty that would stop a man in his tracks, a voice that could make a man brag of lies, and a dance that could hypnotize. They are semi-humanoids, transforming into a cruel bird ready to kill when angered.) Due to being ¼ Veela, she only inherited the humanoid charms, but not the transformation ability, which was bothersome because she tended to like solitude.
"Everyone, I would like you to meet Ms. Celeste Prince. She is transferring here as a Fourth year from Durmstrang Institute under special circumstances. I hope all of you make her feel welcome and show her around if she should find herself lost." Dumbledore announced to the students, keeping his hands on Celeste's shoulders before turning her to face him once more. "At our school, it is required for a new student to be sorted into a House before attending classes. There are four Houses: Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. Depending on your personality is what House you will be sorted into. The hat Professor McGonagall is holding is our Sorting Hat and only he can choose which House would be in your best interest. However, should you desire a certain House, he will take it into account. When you get sorted, take a seat at the table that cheers. Being in a House and doing things around school can earn your House points or lose your House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points wins. Good luck."
Dumbledore stepped back from Celeste and went back to his chair. Turning her attention to McGonagall, she noticed the Professor motioning her to sit on the stool and she took a seat, facing the students once more. Celeste started glaring at everyone in the room as her defense mechanisms ran high. She regretted not getting to the school earlier because she knew she could have avoided all the extra attention. When McGonagall placed the hat on her head, her thoughts were diverted to the voice coming for the hat and the feeling she felt that someone was going through her mind. Her first response was to block the invaders, but she assumed that it was the only way the Sorting Hat could do his job.
"How impressive. Only fourteen years of age and you're already not only a skilled Occlumens, but a skilled Legilimens as well, just like your father. Hmm... You are loyal and patient like a Hufflepuff, but you are studious like a Ravenclaw. You have the brave heart of a Gryffindor, but the cunning skills of a Slytherin. Now, where to put you? You are quite close to your father and I believe that you will accomplish great things in your life. It better be Slytherin!" The Sorting Hat announced, causing the far right table to cheer with joy.
McGonagall removed the Hat as Celeste stood up and made her way over to the table where all the students wore the colors of green and silver throughout their uniforms. As she was making her way towards an empty seat at the end of the table, she could feel someone's eyes looking at her. Following the track of the eyes, she turned her head towards the Head Table, locking eyes with a man with long black hair that fell to his shoulders, dark eyes that had been stained with all the agony he has endured, and an expression that seemed to be permanently upset and disappointed. He was draped in all black, placing an arm on the table so that he may lean his head on his fist. He stared her as she walked, examining every part of her. It's almost like he knew something that he shouldn't.
When McGonagall sat down, Dumbledore announced that the Start-of-Term feast has began and Celeste was only halfway down the table. She saw all the food appear on the table and her stomach grumbled. She had not eaten since she left Durmstrang, so she was a little dizzy from hunger. Almost to the end of the table, she felt someone grab her left wrist, making her wince in pain. She turned as nicely as she could to the student who dared to disrespect her boundaries. He was a rather attractive man: perfectly cut short black hair, brown eyes that reminded Celeste of dark chocolate, skin as pale as the moon, and a smile that could make a girl's heart melt. Celeste, slightly enraged, decided to play with the boy for a second than to start a duel on the first day.
"The name's Garret Waldgrave. Seventh Year. Why don't sit with my friends and I? Maybe I can even show you around later, gorgeous." Garret blatantly hit on Celeste with his disgusting group of male friends egging him on, all of them look at her like a piece of meat.
"Well," She began. "I guess that would be okay. I mean, I am new here and..."
And as she continued to lure him in, she took that time to go through his mind as fast as possible. He was a cruel man and not exactly the brightest. The memories she sorted through consisted of him bullying first and second years, stealing the property of others or even going as far as burning their supplies, and breaking hearts of many Slytherin girls, using them for meaningless sex. He was revolting and sinister. She knew that if the Dark Lord was still around, he would gladly join as a Death Eater, something she greatly looked down on.
Sitting on Garret's knee, readying herself to continue towards the seat she had been eyeing since she sat down for the Sorting Hat, she said in a flirty manner, "My question is why should I be so cursed to have someone as cold-hearted and vile as you show me around the school, let alone allow you be blessed by my presence? If you don't remember what the Sorting Hat said, I'm a skilled Occlumens. Maybe you should try hard to hide all those dark secrets."
With that, she stood up, leaving Garret stumped and confused while his friends made fun of the fact that he got rejected for the first time. Proud of herself, she finally sat down at the end of the table, carefully placing as much food as she could on her plate. She managed to fit roast beef, pork chops, steak, bacon, sausages, and mashed potatoes on her plate. Contrary to her small figure, she could eat more than most of the male population in the room and she enjoyed every minute of it. However, she was much more proper than men due to her etiquette training from her mother. Remembering her mother made her heart dropped and almost put her into a state of depressing memories, but she was interrupted when she heard a voice across from her bringing her back to reality. Across from her was a tall boy, but very weak-looking due to his slender frame. The structure of his face kind of reminded Celeste of a rabbit. He definitely wasn't bad looking, but leaned more on the cute side of a nerd.
"I just wanted to say that what you did to Waldgrave was absolutely fantastic. I've been waiting for a girl like you to finally shove it in his face."
Celeste giggled to herself because the boy sounded like he had become her fan and looked like it too with his ear-to-ear grin and slight jittery legs that made his body shake. Smiling and cutting off a piece of steak she said before taking a bite, "Why, thank you. I do try."
It was kind of cute when the boy laughed and she felt a sort of familiarity with him, not on an affectionate level, but more of a brotherly type of level. He seemed sweet and obviously a lot different than the other boys in the House. He wasn't fixated into all the groups that plagued the table and he was one of the few boys to approach Celeste with respect and sweetness, even if it was because she pulled a prank on a vile being.
"My name's Theodore Nott, a fourth year like you." He smiled adorably.
"Celeste Prince, but you already knew that."
They laughed and Celeste felt like she found a friend in this new school, which was all she needed to get through school. Friends weren't an easy thing for Celeste to come along, especially at Durmstrang where all the boys were meatheads and all the girls were easy. She enjoyed intellectual conversations and diversity from mainstream conversations. Celeste and Theodore talked for the rest of the feast, mainly with Theodore telling Celeste about the teachers and all the creatures that walked around the castle and the castle grounds. She felt a bit more prepared to face her teachers the next day.
When the feast ended, two students, one male and one female called Prefects, led the caravan of students to what Celeste learned was called a House common room by Theodore. The Slytherin common room was set underneath the Black Lake, the large body of water on the grounds of Hogwarts, and greatly resembled a dungeon. The Common room was much darker than the other parts of the school, the lighting dim from the ceiling candelabras and the dark lake tinging the the room with green. A small set of staircase led down into the large and ominous common room. In the center of the left wall was, surprisingly, a fireplace, decorated with skulls and the emblem of the Slytherin crest etched in its stone, with two black couches and a coffee table in front of it. On the far side of the room and near the right wall were two round tables for studying. A bit dreary, it reminded Celeste of Durmstrang, so a sense of home came easy to her. The only thing that set her off was that the fire was running; At Durmstrang, the fires were only lit for warmth and nothing more.
As the students were frolicking to their dorm rooms, jumping on the couch, or even hitting the books (which were very few), Celeste just stared in amazement. She thought the room was mystifyingly beautiful, even more ecstatic when she was some of the water-dwelling creatures swim past the large, but elegant windows. Suddenly, the portrait slammed open, catching everyone's attention. Storming in was none other than the man in black that Celeste stared down earlier. Going off of what Theodore told her at the feast, she assumed that this man was their Head of House, Professor Severus Snape. The fear he struck in the hearts of his students was not only terrifying, but impressive. For one man to have that much skill in instilling fear was something not easily accomplished. Her intrigue melted away when he locked eyes with her once more.
"Celeste Prince. Follow me." He ordered Celeste, who obeyed, before quickly looking at the rest of the students and saying, "As for the rest of you, shouldn't you all be in bed?"
The students knew not to go against Snape and made their way upstairs as Celeste followed the professor out of the common room and to his office that was down the right hallway 6outside of the common room. Snape opened the door for her, Celeste hesitant about entering, but did so anyways. Slamming and locking the door behind him caused Celeste to jump. Snape aggressively walked towards her, backing her up into his desk while saying, "What did you think you were doing earlier? Using Occlumency against another student is forbidden here, unless the Headmaster has given special permission, which I don't think you have acquired."
"I'm sorry. I just thought it would be funny to-," Celeste was cut off with Snape wrapping his arms around her, pulling her as close to him as physically possible.
Celeste, in return, wrapped her arms around him, relieved that he had finally done so.
"You have to be more careful with your talents." Snape's voice changed. He sounded more loving and concerned. "I don't want anything to happen to you and I just wish you would be more careful before using your skills everywhere. I love you and I don't want anything to happen to you." He embraced tightened slightly. Celeste could feel how scared he was for her and she felt bad for being so reckless.
"I'm sorry. I love you, too." Celeste responded, burying her head in his chest and tightening her arms around him.
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