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Chapter 9

Halloween brought much excitement amongst the first years. There was the feast and Professor Flitwick finally announced they would be practicing the levitation spell they'd all been dyeing to try since the teacher had made Neville's toad fly around the room.

The Gryffindors took charms with the Ravenclaws so Harry and Hermione partnered up. Harry had a few goes but the most he could get his feather to do was twitch a bit. Hermione was in no doubt capable of performing the spell but seemed more interested in Ron who was sitting next to her.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.

"You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Hermione say "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."

She said it purely to be helpful but Ron clearly didn't appreciate it. "You do it then if you're so clever," Ron snarled.

Hermione gave him a hard look before rolling up her sleeves, swishing and flicking her wand and saying "Wingardium Leviosa!" Much to Ron's horror the feather on her desk floated up towards the ceiling.

As they were leaving the classroom Ron said very loudly to Neville "Did you hear her? Levioooosa! She's a nightmare, honestly!" Hermione, who was walking along side Harry, pushed past the boys with tears running down her face. Harry turned furiously to Ron, but the ginger had enough sense to know he should leg it and was already around the corner. Harry couldn't find Hermione anywhere and eventually went to the feast, hoping to see her there.

As he entered the Great Hall someone grabbed him and pulled him into a small, hidden alcove next to the door. To his relief it was Celeste, with her Slytherin uniform on and dark hair braided over one shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked in alarm wondering what possibly could have happened since he saw her at lunch.

"It's Hermione!" she said "I found her crying in the girls bathrooms! Something about Weasley and Charms but she's refusing to come out!"

Harry nodded and then explained everything that had happened. Celeste rolled her eyes when she heard Hermione had done the spell right first time.

"Blimey, that spell took me three goes and when I did manage it my feather shot up so fast it made a hole in the ceiling! Literally!" Celeste complained while Harry laughed. Finally the two just stared at each other for a few moments. Then Celeste laughed and shook her head at him before pulling him close in hug. Harry wasn't quite sure what brought it on, but it was the warmest hug he'd ever received from her and hugged her back.

"I don't see you enough!" she said giving him a piercing look. "It's not fair! We have so little time we never have proper time to talk. Like, I dunno anything about your friends really, or what you think of mine…" she laughed when Harry pulled a face.

"C'mon, I'm starving!" Harry pulled her in the Great Hall by the wrist but she pulled back, not quite willing to have to head back to her friends. They stood in the doorway, laughing and talking as ghosts and students walked past them, completely unaware of the people watching them carefully.

Despite how it looked, in the few months that he had known her, Draco Malfoy had really come to like his cousin. He had no other cousins, (at least not any he'd met, his mothers other sister had a daughter) and he wasn't about to ruin his relationship with this one. He loved her, with her messy good looks and clever tongue. He knew she liked being in Slytherin, but no matter how many times they argued over the matter she refused to stop being friends with Harry Potter and Hermione Granger.

"Draco!" Pansy brought him back to earth as he tore his eyes away from Harry and Celeste. She quickly spotted what he was looking at.

"She'll come around you know" Blaise said, noticing as well "She's a LeStrange. She's her mother's daughter, through and through. She makes it clearer every day!"

The others agreed but Draco muttered "Yes, but I sometimes I think she's too much like her parents"

Draco didn't really remember his Aunt Bellatrix but his mother had told him stories. Bella was dangerous, reckless and without a doubt the most stubborn person to ever have walked the planet. Draco had a feeling that attempting to tear Celeste away from Harry would only make her stick by him more.

Dumbledore observed the two first years from over the rim of his glass. They fascinated him, along with many other members of staff. Every day they spent at Hogwarts, Harry became more like James and Lily, while Celeste grew darker and more like her own parents. The teachers reported that they were struggling to control Celeste's magic in classes, that when she mastered it, it was far too powerful. When Severus had explained that the girl undoubtly cast the cruciatus curse on Neville Longbottom, he had been most disturbed, even more so when he learned she'd done it unintentionally.

Still, in the two children's relationship all he saw was unwavering loyalty that no matter what poisoned it only grew stronger. There was a lot of rivalry amongst the first years. The hate Miss LeStrange and Mr Longbottom shared was expected; although Dumbledore had a feeling Celeste only hated him for assuming she was like her parents. Mr Malfoy and Mr Potter being enemies was also not surprising however Dumbledore had been most disappointed when he found out Ron Weasley and Harry Potter didn't care for one another. In fact Harry seemed to have little love for any of the Gryffindors.

Dumbledore was torn. He knew that Harry and Celeste's friendship would be dangerous if the future progressed in the way he expected it to. Still, he wanted the boy to trust him, and wouldn't get there by manipulating him. 'Besides,' the old man thought to himself as he watched them hug and head to their house tables 'They do seem to love each other'

Harry and Celeste quickly forgot about Hermione as they tucked into the delicious feast. Of course, that meant she was the first thing that popped into their minds when Professor Quirrell came running into the hall screaming at the top of his lungs.

"TROLL! TROLL IN THE DUNGEONS! Thought you ought to know" he said before sinking away in dead faint. Immediately there was panic and as the teachers tried to calm everyone Harry and Celeste's eyes locked across the room. Harry mouthed the word Hermione and Celeste jerked her head in the direction of the door. Unseen, the two children slipped out of their seats and out through the door. Harry didn't consider they could be in danger, he only wanted to save Hermione and although the thought did cross Celeste's mind, something in her was looking for danger that night.

So the two children raced off toward the girls bathroom, more like their parents then they had ever been before.

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