Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Harry and Celeste left the orphanage that warm August afternoon and took the tube to the place in London Dumbledore had told them to go to buy school supplies. They found themselves standing outside a shabby looking pub called the Leaky Cauldron. The people around them seemed to miss it, there eyes sliding from the shop on the right to the store on the left.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Celeste asked raising one eyebrow. "He said it was an Ally. This is a pub"

"This is the place. It says to go in and ask the bar tender to let us into the Ally" Harry shrugged looking at the sheet of parchment the Professor had given him.

They went inside to find it very full of odd people. Lots of them wore cloaks and pointed hats; several had odd skin complexions and hair in odd places. The two children gripped each-others hands in fright, shifting closer together as the door swung shut behind them and the place became quite dark.

"Why do they all look so weird?" Celeste whispered

"I don't know. You wait here, I'll go ask the bar guy how we get to the ally" Harry said before letting go of Celeste's hand and making his way through the crowds of people towards the bar.

Celeste balled up her fists by her sides. She was Celeste LeStrange and she wasn't scared of anything. Not even some creepy lot of magic people.

It took Harry a while for someone to notice him because there were so many people up by the bar. Finally there was a gap and Harry reached over and tugged on the bar tenders sleeve.

"Excuse me, but could you tell me how-" Harry began but he was cut off by the bar tender staring and pointing at the lightning bolt scar in the middle of Harry's forehead. He'd had for as long as he could remember.

"Bless my soul!" he whispered "Its Harry Potter" he shouted and the entire bar went silent. Harry back up in alarm as two seconds later he was surrounded by people wanting to shake his hand.

"Welcome back Mr Potter!"

"It's such an honour to meet you!"

They all said things like this as they attacked him with pats on the back and shook his arm off. It was getting rather out of hand after about five minutes, and Harry looked like he was going to faint so Celeste tried to help.

"Excuse me!" she called. No one even looked her way.

"Hello!" she tried again a little louder. Again it did not have the desired effect.

"Stop it!" she screamed and no one batted an eyelid. By this point she'd really had enough and got up on the nearest table, took a deep breath and screamed at the top of her lungs

"LISTEN TO ME!"

It came out about ten times louder than it should have and the entire bar turned to look at her in shock. Harry grinned from behind the person trying to shake his hand.

"Thank you!" Celeste said he you voice back to normal "Now I dunno why you lot are so obsessed with him, he's just a kid! We really need to by our school supplies, so could one of you please show us how to get into Diagon Ally!"

Everyone just stared at her. Then a few people began to mutter to each other. Celeste and Harry caught the words 'LeStrange',' Evil' and 'You Know Who' before the whole room was an uproar again. Celeste was about to give up when someone in a long black cloak and hood approached her and growled "Follow me!"

Celeste followed him out to the back, Harry a few steps behind. He pulled out his wand and tapped a few bricks on the wall. In a few moments they had moved to create an archway that revealed a long cobbled street full of people and shops.

"Thank you, sir!" Celeste said politely but the stranger simply disappeared into the pub without another word. The two kids looked at each other and shrugged.

"Where do we start?" Harry asked, looking around in wonder.

"The bank" Celeste pointed to the tall white marble building at the end of the street "Then I suggest we go down the list"

Narcissa Malfoy wondered around Florish Blotts looking at the shelves randomly while her husband and son searched for school books. She moved down each aisle, looking at the other costumers, until her eyes fell on two children in the standard book of spells aisle. They were about Draco's age, clearly only just starting Hogwarts, a boy and a girl. The girl had here back to her, so Narcissa got a good look at his face. After a few minutes of studying his face, her sharp eyes fell on the scar hidden behind his untidy fringe and she realised this must be the famous Harry Potter. Narcissa took in his second hand clothes and how skinny he was and realised there wasn't much special about him.

Then the Potter boy moved away to another aisle and the girl turned towards the shelf so Narcissa still couldn't see her face. She was about to lose interest and turn away when she realised the girl was trying to reach a book just out of her reach. Her fingers would brush the shelf it sat on when she stretched on her tiptoes before she lost her balance.

As Narcissa felt she ought to help the girl and hoped she could find out how she knew Harry Potter by talking to her, she went over and retrieved the book for her.

"Oh thank you!" the girl said taking it from her hand and turning around completely. That was when Narcissa recognised her. Because not only was it plainly obvious, but it was like a knife through her chest.

This girl was Bellatrix LeStrange.

Of course, this girl was obviously not Bellatrix, because Bellatrix was a grown woman, not eleven and she was in prison. Still she looked exactly her. Well, not exactly like her, Bella had violet eyes and this girl had amber eyes, like Rodolphus. Also, this girl was far scruffier then Bellatrix LeStrange would ever have been seen (and this was including Bella's eccentric hairstyles), and she wore Muggle clothes. As Narcissa looked closer she noticed something about her eyes. The same craziness that she had seen so often in her sister was in there, which was clear although it was not nearly as strong. There was more innocence and warmth in her eyes as well as something terrible she couldn't quite place. Loneliness and suspicion that Bellatrix had never had in her childhood. Of course there was only one way to check, and she had to be subtle.

"First year at Hogwarts?" she asked with a rare smile.

"Yes," the girl said shortly.

"Are you excited? I'm sure your parents have told you lots about it. Or do you come from a Muggle family?" she asked.

"Neither, I really should be going, my friend is waiting" Narcissa stopped her as she attempted and the girl gave her a very fierce glare. Oh yes, she was definatly Bellatrix's daughter.

"I only wondered. You look like someone I knew very well. Perhaps I know your parents? What's your name?" she asked gently.

The girl stared at her for a few moments. "I doubt you know my parents, I mean I don't. Still, I wasn't aware I was a witch until yesterday morning so maybe you do know them, but I'm not about to give a random stranger my name. My last name is LeStrange though, if you do know them. Now if you'll excuse me" She pushed past her and went off to find Harry.

Narcissa headed back to where Lucius and Draco were waiting for her.

"What is it my dear?" Lucius asked his wife when she noticed the strange glassy look in her eye. She seemingly snapped out her trance, gripped her husband's arm and whispered hoarsely "I found her Lucius, I found Celeste!"

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