A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! Kudos go to bellatrixvssirius, who I'm not sure how, but reviewed chapter 13 less than 2 minutes after I published it. So I really thank you for your enthusiasm!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor the worst casting decision ever for Cho Chang judging by the new GoF trailer, which I do not own either. I certainly also do not own the sorry excuse for a movie that was PoA, but would have liked to own the first two movies, which I don't. I only own the plot to this fic, and any original characters within. Finally, I do not make any profit out of this, though I wish I did, cuz then I can go buy some alcohol to help me get through the after-effects from when I watched PoA.

Chapter 14

Celeste's Tale

Harry's gaze slowly traveled up the murderous hand, and then the arm to which it was attached, to eventually look into the cerulean eyes of his would-be killer.

'Why?' Harry asked in a deeply hurt voice, feeling betrayed in the worst way possible.

'I… have to.' Celeste replied, sounding truly sorry.

Does this mean… Harry thought foggily through the pain in his chest. She must have concluded that she can't love me no matter what, and that eventually she and I would both go insane and suicidal from our life-force link… So that's why she wants to kill me now… To save herself! Harry concluded, feeling truly betrayed. He had, after all, just realized that he loved her. And to have the one you love wishing you dead…

'Do it then…' Harry said dejectedly, not wanting to live in such a cruel world anymore. If even someone like Celeste could be so selfish and heartless… He decided to close his eyes for the event, as he felt disgusted at the entire world at that instant, and couldn't bare the sight of anything part of it any longer. Especially not HER.

After a while of eerie silence and no action on Celeste's part, Harry slowly opened his eyes again. Celeste was looking at him with the saddest and most loving gaze he had ever seen, teardrops silently streaking down her porcelain cheeks in a steady stream.

It was only then that Harry realized the dagger was buried no more than skin deep into his chest, and that the only reason why it was still lodged there at all was because Celeste was still holding on to it.

'Celeste what is…' Harry tried to ask, now more confused than angry.

'Shut up!' Celeste yelled with desperation, shocking Harry into silence. He had never seen her say such a thing, much less saying it in such an outburst. Then again, he had never seen her so distraught either. 'I have to do it, Harry. It is against the law of my people to let any who had seen my true form live. I… I'm really sorry…'

In a way, Harry felt very relieved at hearing that she wants to kill him not because she didn't love him, but because she seemed to be forced to by some strange laws. For that would mean that she was not doing this out of a selfish need of self-preservation. Harry found this fact comforting to know, and his respect and love for Celeste was somewhat restored.

However, his happiness was very short-lived, as Harry could feel renewed pressure from the dagger lodged in his chest, though the pressure was minimal at best. He was still trying to formulate a plan out of this situation when Celeste suddenly cried out in anguish.

'Argh! I can't do this!' Celeste shouted between sobs. Then, abruptly looking up, as if talking to the stars, Celeste said in an almost pleading tone: 'I can't! I'm sorry, father, mother. I can't do it. I've failed you. I've failed our people! I cannot bring myself to obey one of our most sacred laws… I can't kill him. He's been so kind to me, and even saved my life. And I… I think I…'

But what Celeste thought, Harry wasn't able to hear, for she had collapsed into a fit of silent sobs, her head hung low in shame. Eventually, Celeste looked up again, though not a Harry, who was, by this point, far more concerned for Celeste than for his own safety. For it seemed as if she was not going to kill him after all.

'I'm so weak, father, mother. I know I must be such a disappointment to you…' Celeste mumbled, certainly not to Harry. 'I failed you. I failed our laws. I… I don't deserve to live anymore!'

And with a fluid and unexpected gesture, Celeste swiftly pulled the dagger out of Harry's chest (causing Harry to momentarily black out from the pain) and promptly brought the blade to her own throat.

'Farewell, world.' Celeste said dispassionately, and made to slice the dagger across her delicate neck.

Harry knew he'd never be able to get a hold of her dagger wielding arm in time, but desperately dove for it anyway, clenching his teeth at the pain from his chest, all thoughts of the still bleeding wound Celeste had inflicted upon him discarded without a grudge at the prospect of forever losing the companion he had come to cherish in the past three weeks.

Time seemed to pass very slowly for Harry, as if the whole world had slowed down for this momentous event. His mind was working in overdrive, the sight of Celeste about to take her own life fueling overwhelming waves of panic and despair into his senses.

Celeste… Will I never see you smile again? Harry thought erratically as his body plunged toward said girl, his mind flashing through the brief period he had known her. Will I be forever denied the joy of holding your hand once more as you explore the world with your innocent enthusiasm?

As Harry remembered all the wonderful experiences he had had with her whilst they explored London, small, endearing details about Celeste that he had taken for granted now came unbidden to the forefront of his mind, showing him a side of her he had never paid much attention to, but now realized that he couldn't afford to live without: To never again witness her eyes lit up at the taste of ice cream, or have her hit me on the head and tell me off for being so moody about my fate…Harry thought grimly. To never see her pout in mock anger when I make fun of her clumsiness, or having to drag her away from staring at the simplest things in the world…To never hear her laugh again, or enjoy the sweet melody of her voice… To never again have the chance to get lost in those mesmerizing sapphire eyes…Is this the life that awaits me?

Harry could now see a thin, faint line of liquid red on Celeste's otherwise swan-white neck, the dagger having already cut through her skin.

Merlin! Do not let it end this way! Harry prayed with all his will. There's still so many things I want to tell her, so much of the world I still want to experience with her…I can't lose her now… And in quieter mental voice: Not when I finally realized that I love her…

'Halt!' Cried out portrait-Merlin, appearing into a small painting of a pig farm hung within the room, a commanding magic in his voice. Harry felt his whole body go stiff, and became suspended in mid-air, halfway through his great dive toward Celeste, who still had the knife against her throat. Slowly, as if against her will, the dagger was forced away from her.

'I believe you called me?' portrait-Merlin said conversationally to Harry.

And then, the whole scene unfroze.

Harry promptly fell onto Celeste, forcing them both onto the ground, and easily pinning her dagger holding hand away from them both.

'Listen to me, young lady.' Merlin's voice urged as Harry struggled against Celeste, who was trying to push him off of her so that she may at least kill herself.

'Listen!' Merlin commanded again, this time using magic to back his words. Celeste and Harry immediately stopped struggling and gave the portrait of Merlin their undivided attention. 'Young lady, I'm well aware of your people and their laws. And that is why you should believe me when I tell you that you have not broken any of your laws by letting young Mr. Potter here live, despite him knowing about your true form.'

'Really?' Celeste asked hopefully from underneath Harry (who was still lying on top of her). 'But how is that possible? There is but one law more sacred to us than our law of secrecy.'

'Yes, I know', Merlin said with the usual know-it-all-old-man tone. 'And that is the law which you would have disobeyed, had you killed Mr. Potter. In other words, by letting Mr. Potter live, you are merely respecting the most sacred law of your people, which, if memory serves, overrules all other laws that your people might have, no?'

Harry was now getting extremely confused with all this talk about sacred laws and mysterious people. 'What are you guys talking about? What are these laws?' He asked, looking back and forth between Merlin's portrait and the girl pinned under him for an answer.

When it became obvious that Celeste would not speak up, Merlin decided to end Harry's ignorance: 'Harry. Celeste, as you may have guessed by now, is not from this world. Her people, due to their history, have a very sacred law that they value above all else. The law dictates that never, will any member of her people ever interfere in the natural progression of our world's affairs. Of course, this law was meant for the grander scheme of things, and thus whenever a member of her race walked this Earth, they were permitted to eliminate any witness to their true forms, for tales about giant dragons was deemed more disruptive to our world's affairs than the death of a few faceless wizards or muggles.'

Harry looked at Celeste for confirmation about these seemingly cruel and unjust judgments of a person's worth. She nodded ever so slightly.

'But you Harry', Merlin continued. 'You are one of the pinnacles of good in the magical world. Your words and actions can sway hundreds of thousands of people. And you are part of a prophecy that would shape the very future of our race. Your death would no doubt have a huge impact on the affairs of this world, especially those of the wizarding world. Thus, to kill you would definitely be considered interference in our world's natural progression, and thus be against their most sacred law.'

Beneath him, Harry heard Celeste let out a deep sigh of relief. Harry could almost tell that she had been dying to find any sort of excuse to not kill him.

'Our young lady here', Merlin gestured toward Celeste as best as he could from his two dimensional vantage point. 'Did not know about your life story, and was greatly torn between thanking you properly for the kindness you've shown her, or following her people's second most important decree, which demands that she terminates all witnesses to her true form. I believe she eventually decided to go against the commandments of her people and spare your life, as she does care for you a great deal. But as you just saw, she also couldn't bare the thought of disobeying the laws of her community, and wanted to kill herself instead as punishment.'

'Ah…' Harry exclaimed, touched by Celeste's self-sacrificing intentions. He could only stare down in wonder at the dragon/girl, who would defy the will of her own people to spare him, someone she had only known for three weeks. Combined with Merlin's explanations about why she tried to kill him in the first place, all lingering resentment Harry had about her stabbing him was instantly swept away from his mind, replaced by what Harry deemed to be a far more important issue: Does that mean Celeste had feelings for him too? Celeste, though, was determinedly avoiding his questioning gaze, ashamed by what she almost did.

Too late did Harry realize that not only was he in a very compromising position (he was, after all, lying entirely on top of her), but that Celeste was still only clad in the grey cloak he had given her earlier.

And of course, that was when Ron and Hermione decided to burst into the room, wands drawn, apparently alerted by all the raucous coming from his room.

'Harry…' Ron was the first to recover from the sight, and gave his friend an incredulous but approving look.

Hermione was far less understanding: 'Harry! What in Merlin's name are you doing to her?'

'Hermione. Listen to me. This isn't what it looks like!' Harry tried desperately to explain. Of course, his credibility at denying Hermione's tacit accusations seemed somewhat non-existent with his present body position.

Realizing this, Harry quickly got up, turning a deep shade of red as he did so.

'What happened to you, mate?' Ron asked, noticing Harry's chest wound. Hermione also gasped in horror.

'Err…' Harry hesitated, not sure if he should tell his friends the truth.

'It was me…' Celeste admitted, walking over to examine Harry's wound, a mix of concern and regret etched across her face. She still didn't dare to look at Harry in the eye. 'I did this… I tried to stab him through the heart.'

'You did what?' Hermione shouted, alarmed. Pointing her wand at Celeste, she added: 'Get away from him!'

'It's ok Hermione. Celeste is not…' Harry tried to explain. A flash of blue light arcing out from Celeste's twirling fingers onto his still bleeding wound cut him off.

'Stupefy!' Hermione shouted reflexively, spooked by Celeste's action on Harry. Celeste promptly collapsed against the Boy-Who-Lived.

Harry clenched his teeth to brace for the wave of pain that Celeste's impact against his wound would cause. But after his new found love was securely resting in his arms and still no pain what so ever came from the knife wound, Harry tentatively examined his chest, only to find that his wound had been healed, without leaving even the trace of a scar behind.

'Wow! She actually healed you with wandless magic', Ron observed.

'Actually… I saw her fingers moving in a strange pattern just before she cast her spell', Hermione corrected, now calmer and able to think more logically. 'But why would she want to heal you though? She did say she was the one who stabbed you in the first place, right?'

'Just a second, Hermione' Harry parried, examining Celeste's neck with delicate care. Retrieving his wand, Harry muttered a quick healing charm against the thin cut near her throat.

'Who did that to her?' Ron asked.

'She did', Harry answered. Seeing that his healing charm did its job, he nodded in satisfaction and turned his gaze toward his questioning friends. 'She couldn't go through with killing me, felt too guilty and all. So she tried to kill herself instead.'

'Err… I'm getting really confused now…' Ron stated, scratching his head. Hermione simply cocked an eyebrow, as if to say: maybe you should start from the beginning.

'Yeah, I guess I better start from the beginning…' Harry agreed. 'Let me sit down though, Celeste's not as light as she look.'

'Here, let me revive her', Hermione offered.

'No. Let her rest for a while', Harry argued, seeing the peaceful expression that Celeste now wore. 'She just barely recovered from her injuries today.'

'You've got it bad, Harry', Ron remarked as the trio sat down on the stone floor, Celeste cradled in Harry's arms.

And so, Harry explained to his two best friends everything that happened during the night, including Merlin's intervention and the strange rules of Celeste's people.

'This is such a strange story, mate!' Ron exclaimed after Harry finished with the explanations. 'First, the girl turns out to be a giant dragon, then she stabs you in your sleep, intent on killing you, and then she can't go through with it, so decides to kill herself instead, and now it all turned out to be a big misunderstanding?'

'Well, I wouldn't call it a misunderstanding', Harry replied, a slight grin forming on his face at his best friend's antics. 'More like a huge incident for nothing.'

'But what about us? Me and Ron, that is?' Hermione asked suddenly, as Harry and Ron weren't known for their perspicacity. 'We've seen her true form, and we are not nearly as important as you, Harry. Does that mean she will kill us?'

'Good question', Harry admitted, tensing up at this. For what Hermione asked was, indeed, of great concern. 'Let's ask her.'

'I thought you wanted to let her rest…' Hermione trailed off as Harry cast the 'Ennervate' spell on Celeste.

'Yeah, but I'm not about to turn a blind eye toward anyone who might want to hurt my best friends', Harry responded firmly.

When Celeste had come to enough to make sense of the world again, the first thing she did was to examine Harry's chest wound, and let out a sigh of relief at finding her spell had worked properly. The second thing she did was to get as far away from the trio as physically possible in the small side room, feeling too ashamed by what she almost did to stand with the three generous teen.

'I'm sorry, Harry. I'm sorry to all of you.' Celeste mumbled tearfully, head hung low. 'You risked your lives to save me, and I repay you by trying to kill you. I don't deserve to be in your presence.'

Harry, knowing all too well how guilty emotions can make a person sink into lengthy depressions, quickly went over to her. Holding Celeste by her shoulders, Harry assured her that he understood her situation completely, and that he held no resentment toward her for it whatsoever. Seeing the still uncertain look in her eyes, Harry decided to give her a very meaningful look, hoping that his true emotions shined through enough to convince her that his forgiveness was genuinely sincere.

Celeste appeared to be mollified by Harry's last gesture, but still didn't dare to look at Hermione or Ron, as she wasn't sure how they felt about her now. Harry, a bit oblivious, proceeded to update her on what she missed out, and finally made Hermione's (and his and Ron's) latest concern known to her.

'No. I will not', Celeste replied with conviction, at last daring to look directly at Hermione and Ron. 'You are both important to Harry, and that, in my opinion, makes you're important enough to the progression of your world.'

'Isn't this a horrible standard though?' Hermione asked. 'I mean, if we are not important, you'd simply kill us, and only the famous people would be spared. Isn't that kind of elitist?'

Celeste sighed. 'Yes... It probably is. But the law is the law. It has spared your world from the knowledge of our existence so far, no?'

'But why? Why so much secrecy? Just what exactly are your people trying to hide?' Hermione insisted. 'Are you going to invade our world? Is that why?'

Harry and Ron, who were doing quite a lot of 'man-talk' on the side, perked up at this, for this seemed like a distinct possibility. Seeing the distrustful gaze that Harry now sported, Celeste felt a cold gust of panic suddenly seizing her body. The looks he had furtively cast at her up to now gave her hope that he might still care for her in the way she thought she heard him say right before she stabbed him. And she certainly didn't feel like losing his trust now, when she can interact with him without feeling any kind of guilt or dilemma over some ancient laws.

'No, no. Hermione. You misunderstand.' Celeste began. Then, turning to address Harry more than anyone else, Celeste said: 'If you wish, I will explain everything to you. But you'll have to swear upon all that you hold dear in this world to never reveal what I'm about to say to anyone else.'

'But what if you tell us something that might help out against Voldemort? Or that might endanger people we know?' Hermione insisted. 'We can't stand by and do nothing in that case.'

'I promise you that my story will contain nothing of that sort' Celeste replied firmly. Harry could tell that Hermione was starting to test Celeste's generous patience, but since he himself had the same concerns, he decided to stay silent.

'Would a Wizard Oath do then?' Hermione asked. 'We can put all these conditions and promises into it.'

Seeing the blank look on Celeste, and also Harry and Ron's faces, she added: 'A Wizard Oath uses magic to punish those who dare to break the oath, usually resulting in the death of the breaker. It is not something to get into lightly. But we can put all sorts of conditions on the Oath, like making it only valid if what Celeste promised are true, and that sort of stuff.'

'That would be sufficient.' Celeste consented.

After Harry and friends all swore to keep her story a secret under the ritual of a Wizard Oath (supervised by Merlin's portrait, no less), Celeste began solemnly:

'What I'm about to tell you is a tale of great nobility, and of grave sadness. It is a story of dignified loyalty, and of horrendous betrayal. It started right here, on this world, but has passed far beyond the memories of your people. Yet, we remember it as if it was yesterday, and many of us still grieve in shame over what happened.'

I hope she gets to the point soon, thought Ron, stifling a yawn. These ominous introductions get kind of boring after a while…

'As you may have come to guess, many worlds exist outside your own. And…'

'Wait, you mean the planets? Like how there are other inhabited worlds in the Universe?' Hermione cut Celeste off.

'No', Celeste replied. 'When I say your world, I actually meant your entire Universe. It is hard to explain… Imagine, for a moment, that there are many Universes, each governed by its own laws and principles, and that this Universe is but one of them.'

Hermione eagerly nodded. A few science-fiction stories flashing past her mind.

'So, many worlds exist outside of this one. But this one is special. The Makers of the worlds gave this land the freedom of choice that all the other realms did not have.'

'What do you mean by freedom of choice?' Harry decided to speak up. 'Choice of what?'

'That choice', Celeste said soberly, 'is the choice between good and evil. In all the other worlds, beings born to them are inherently good or inherently evil, and would not switch allegiance in this matter throughout their entire life. Thus, many worlds are of pure evil, and others of absolute good. The Makers foresaw…'

'Who are these makers you keep mentioning?' Hermione asked, ever inquisitive. 'And what does all this have to do with your people?'

'Patience, Hermione.' Merlin admonished from the pig farm portrait, surprising everyone. They had forgotten that he was still there. 'This story stretches across many ages, and to truly understand the plight of Celeste's people, you will have to listen to it from the beginning.'

'How do you know so much of our story, master Merlin?' Celeste half-asked, as she half-knew the answer already.

'Can't you guess, young lady? I learned it from another of your kind, who walked this earth long before you. In fact, I think he is your own father, if I'm not mistaken in your heritage.' Merlin replied with a kind smile. 'But it is perhaps best if you continue with your story for now.'

'Yes, of course.' Celeste said, seeing the impatient look on Hermione's face. 'The Makers are… what you would call gods. They created all of the worlds we are aware of, thus we call them the Makers. Beyond that, we do not know anything for certain.

'As I was saying, the Makers foresaw that great conflicts will one day arise between the worlds of evil and those of the good. So when they sowed the seeds of good and evil upon the worlds they built, they took great care in fostering a balance of sorts between the two conflicting ideologies.

'This equilibrium is not one of idleness, but rather one of chaos. Wars are waged between good and evil across countless realms, some conflicts having lasted far beyond the oldest memories of even our people. Many worlds on both sides are conquered and lost each day. But in the grand scheme of things, the two sides will forever fight to a stand still, one never gaining a decisive advantage over the other.

'Really?' Ron perked up. 'I find that hard to understand… If the good guys conquer a world, let's say, won't they have more resources and stuff, and thus will be even stronger?'

'That is partially true, Ron. But you're forgetting that all of the worlds, with the notable exception of this one, have a predetermined stance between good and evil. In your example, even though the light side conquered a world of evil, they cannot use it to strengthen their numbers, for only being of evil can be born there, and it is, in fact, a drain on the light side's resources to hold onto such a land.'

'Ah… I see.' Ron said happily, thinking that he finally understood something.

'But as I have already mentioned, this world is different.' Celeste continued. 'The Makers, perhaps on a whim of curiosity, or perhaps torn by their own diverging ideologies, decided to build a world devoid of their influence, free to choose its own destiny. They wanted to see which, between good and evil, would eventually triumph when untainted beings are left to evolve on their own.

'So, any being born on this world has the freedom to choose its own destiny. And because of that, this world is a prized target for both sides of the eternal conflict. For it would be easy to tip the chaotically swinging scale of power in favor of whomever can get a hold of this world, as the beings born to it can be swayed to fight for either good or evil.'

'But if that was true, how come we never hear of any invasions by those from these other worlds that you spoke of?' Hermione asked. 'Surely, our history would have recorded of such things?'

'Very true.' Celeste admitted. 'And that is where my people, the Great Dragons of the Grey Realm, come in. We were created by the Makers to protect this world from any and all who would dare to cease it to further their own ends. For eons, we roamed this land, defending it against the other realms, fighting off demons and divine beings alike who dared to trespass into this domain. And we prided ourselves of never failing in our task.

'Wow… so you can fight off the combined powers of good and evil?' Ron asked, incredulous.

'Not exactly. The light side generally let us be, and only the most fanatic of their leaders would ever think of forcing their will upon us for the greater good of things. We've been challenged far more times by the forces of evil, and even then, they usually could not muster a sizeable force against us without the light side getting wind of it, and countering it for balance's sake, before it had the chance to strike at us.

'Time went by, and for an age, all was well with this world. And soon, my people came upon the first of the sentient beings destined to master this land. We became curious of them, for their language and customs were very different from our own, and yet, they were almost as intelligent as us. Eventually, their nobility and fair principles grew on us, and a great alliance was forged. Some of our number even took up residence amongst them, fascinated by their unmatched talents in all arts and crafts of the world.

'Who, exactly, are these people you're talking about?' Ron asked a bit impatiently, which earned him a glare from Hermione.

'Sorry, Ron. Those people were long gone before your race was born.' Celeste apologized. 'I'm not sure your language even has a name for them.'

'Elves', Merlin suddenly said from his position on the wall. 'It was the elves. Not the house elves that you and I know, but true elves, fair and tall, that many legends spoke of… I've concluded that much from what Celeste's father told me.'

'Those elves? They are for real?' Harry asked Celeste, a bit unbelieving.

'Apparently so.' Celeste answered him, an innocent smile in her eyes at his wide-eyed expression. 'But they have long vanished from this world, and their extinction was partially our fault.

'Though the alliance between our two people had great benefits, it also created something terrible. When the Makers got wind of it, they were furious. For what was created was most certainly not part of their design for this world. In their anger and sadness, the Makers cursed the elves, twisting them into hideous and pride-less creatures designed to compensate for the abnormality that our creation had introduced into the world.

'Those creatures, the opposite pinnacle of what the elves held dearest to their hearts, were damned to eons of humiliating suffering and savage rampage… Not a day goes by where the elders of our people didn't lament about the elves' horrendous fate… A fate in which we were equally to blame (or so I was told).

'But to us, the Makers did nothing. They merely stated to us that they were disappointed in us, and left.'

'What? You got off so easily? And what was this creation you guys made? And what are these creatures that the elves became? Are they still around?' Hermione was now firing on all cylinders, apparently suffering from information overload.

'Even I do not know about this crime, Hermione, for the elders of our people are too ashamed of it to even speak of the crime amongst themselves.' Celeste answered, incidentally ignoring all her other questions. 'After the Makers left, our leaders decided that we should still punish ourselves for the fate we brought upon the elves, and also to take drastic measures to avoid a repeat of the tragedy. Thus, we went into self-exile, swearing to never again interfere in the affairs of the world that we were charged to protect.'

'Ah. So that's where your most sacred law came from.' Ron stated unnecessarily.

'Yes. And as the ages flew by, we found that we cannot be in total exile from this world if we hope to protect it fully against the other realms. Thus, from time to time, when the need was dire, some of my people temporarily returned to this land, only to leave again once the threat was dealt with. Eventually, it was decided that we would walk on this earth in disguise, and carry out our tasks in as much secrecy as we can manage.

'And so we did for countless generations, and eventually, the inhabitants of this world had all but forgotten us. Our leaders decided that this ignorance was for the best, and thus created another of our most sacred laws, which stems directly from the first: leave no witnesses to our existence so as to not affect the affairs of this world.'

'Hmm… I think I understand now.' Hermione murmured softly. 'So you're saying that your people's task is to protect, even isolate, this world from all outside influence, but you don't really care what happens within this world, so long as there are no outside people trying to invade it or influence it?'

'That is correct.' Celeste admitted calmly. 'We were, after all, created for that very purpose.'

'I see…' Hermione trailed off, but immediately came up with another question: 'So, I guess you are here to do something related to our protection from an outside influence?'

'Yes', Celeste replied. And then, deciding that it would do little harm to tell them about her task, she added: 'Ten years ago, there was a great battle between my people and a sizeable force commanded by one of the most powerful demon princes. When the demon prince was finally defeated, we could not find its spiritual essence anywhere on the battlefield. That fact in itself was already very troublesome, for with its essence intact, the demon prince can take on a new body and rise again to challenge us. So we tried to chase it down, traveling across the foulest worlds of evil, in hope of stopping the essence before it could take on a new body.'

'However, many years passed, with no news of the demon prince, spirit or otherwise. Too late did we discover that the essence of the demon prince had been, in fact, absorbed by another essence… one that came from, and went back to, the world we were born to protect.'

'Voldemort!' Harry hissed the name, conviction in his voice.

Celeste nodded. 'We suspect as well. If that is the case, then we, the great dragons, shall take care of him. For if Voldemort does indeed possess the near-bottomless well of knowledge of a demon prince, then he would be capable of summoning and fashioning horrendous, otherworldly beasts to aid his cause, at the very least. And that, already, is outside interference at its worst.'

'Then we must stop him before he can do so!' Harry said determinedly, balling up his fists in emphasis. Ron and Hermione both nodded in ascent, an equally determined look on their faces. 'Wait, what am I saying? I have to take him out no matter what he does!'

'Hahahaha! Please! You little twerps stand zero chance against a dark lord of Voldemort's power!' The genie mocked, having suddenly popped in through the wall. 'I heard everything, and let me tell you right now that you're way in over your head on this.'

'Why you!' Ron raged, but not really sure how to lash out against a misty creature who can pass through solid walls. Ron was still fuming when the genie suddenly started to act as if he was being choked, with his misty body eventually fading into thin air.

'Ha! I knew he was hiding his bottle behind the wall.' Hermione said triumphantly, coming back into Harry's room, a capped beer bottle in hand. 'Now he's stuck in there until we release him again.'

'Hmm… He does have a point though', Harry admitted. 'We are no match against Voldemort, should we truly go on a toe-to-toe fight against him. And no amount of training on our part would help us…'

'Why not?' Ron asked stubbornly. 'We can hide here, and train for as long as it takes! Hell, we've even got a portrait of Merlin to help us out!'

'True, we could definitely gain a lot of power by training here.' Harry said. 'And I think I will indeed stay here and train for a while. But Ron, you're forgetting that when we train, Voldemort is training too. He's not the kind of evil wizard that'd sit idle and wait until someone catches up to him in magical prowess. He'd be training himself hard as well, so that he's always far ahead of any potential threat he might face.'

At these sobering words, the trio sank into silence, each contemplating about their future and the inevitable confrontation that they'd have to face. Celeste approached Harry without a word, and laid a hand on his shoulder in tacit support.

'Might I suggest that you all go back to rest for now', portrait-Merlin offered after a while. 'We can discuss all of this in far greater detail tomorrow, when your heads had the time to process all that was said today.'

'But master Merlin…' Hermione began, unwilling to leave this important issue unsettled.

'Rest, child', Merlin cut her off, a hand up as if to ward off any further tirades. 'I have many suggestions to make myself concerning your situation, for I am well aware of your plight. But it would do you little good if you're not awake enough to understand them.'

Harry shot quick glances at Hermione and Ron, and with a nod, decided to heed Merlin's advice. Ron and Hermione silently exited his room, mumbling weak 'good night's as they did so, their minds obviously still occupied by thoughts of the conflict to come.

Celeste hung back. She wanted to speak to Harry alone.

'Yes, I kind of wanted to talk to you too.' Harry agreed verbally, gathering all the courage he could muster about him. After seeing Celeste nearly die in front of his eyes tonight, Harry decided to confess his feelings for her as soon as he could, for he did not want to leave things unsaid between them. His own life expectancy was getting too short for that.

He hesitantly smiled at Celeste, who was simply giving him a 'how did you know what I was thinking?' look.

'I think our link is getting stronger', Harry replied, tapping his head for emphasis. 'You've heard some of my thoughts earlier too, did you not?'

Celeste could only nod, for the thought she had heard from him earlier was his mental admission of love for her; an admission that was glimpsed by her just in time to stay her murderous hand from fully burying that dagger through Harry's heart.

'Yeah, that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about.' Harry admitted, once again picking up on Celeste's thinking. He then turned to Merlin, giving the portrait a half-pleading, half-demanding look.

'Alright, alright. I will leave. Just don't sleep too late.' Merlin advised as the portrait left the two teen alone, unsupervised, in a small, unlit room.

………………

'Do you still feel that way?' Was the first question that Celeste asked after the two stood in awkward silence for what seemed like hours. She had, after all, tried to kill him earlier.

'Yeah. Even more so now. The prospect of losing you made me realize many things…' Harry replied earnestly. He was still a bit unsure about how he felt toward Celeste-the-dragon, her true form, but he knew without doubt that he loved Celeste-the-girl.

'I see. I guess I'd be confused if I were you as well.' Celeste said, having caught the gist of Harry's mental dilemma.

'Celeste… I do love you. It's just that… your dragon form… It might take me a while to get use to it… that is all.' Taking a deep breath, Harry decided to come clean on that subject: 'I guess what I'm trying to say is that I might not be as physically attracted to you in your dragon form compared to the physical attraction I feel for you right now. But besides that, all other aspects of my love for you, which is the greater part of it, would remain the same no matter what form or shape you take.'

'That is very reasonable', Celeste said neutrally, not sure how to take Harry's confession. 'I'm glad you are being so honest with me.'

'So… Err… How do you feel about that? Do you…' Harry trailed off, not daring to ask if Celeste loved him back or not. He had, after all, just pretty much told her that he didn't find her true form all that attractive.

'It's ok Harry, don't worry about it.' Celeste assured him, reading his mind. She had finally come to a stance on Harry's admission from earlier. 'I would be worried about your sexual stability had you felt otherwise about my dragon form.'

Harry let out a sigh of relief, for he could tell that Celeste was being sincere about it.

'And I don't know if I love you or not', Celeste added truthfully. 'Because I'm not even sure what love is… The concept is foreign to me.'

Well, at least she's being totally honest with me, Harry thought, a bit disappointed.

'Though I do know that, I find a lot of things about you to be most endearing to me', Celeste continued, a far away look in her eyes, as if contemplating her own thoughts and actions in regard to Harry. 'When I'm around you, I feel happier, and I feel sadder when you're not around. Back when we were in London, I'd look forward to the time we meet up, and feel lonely every time you left me on my doorstep.

'I care about you, and want to do my best to see you smile and laugh. And each time you seemed sad or down, I'd feel miserable too. I'd want to cheer you up, or at least, to share your pain, so that I can lessen it for you.

'When we went through the traps to get here, my heart always felt as if it stopped beating whenever you tried to brave your way through danger. I sometimes wished that I had died, so that you won't put yourself in danger anymore… Yes… I think that, I'd gladly die, if it means that you'd be safe.'

And you almost did… Harry thought, recalling how Celeste wanted to take her own life rather than obeying her people's laws and kill him.

'Anyway, that's how I feel about you. Is that love?' Celeste finished by asking, staring questioningly at Harry with her wide, innocent blue eyes.

'Yes, it is.' Harry said, staring back at Celeste and leaning closer.

'How can you be so sure?' Celeste replied, still confused about what was going on between herself and Harry, her feelings toward him being entirely foreign, though strangely pleasant, to her mind.

'Because that's exactly how I feel about you.' Harry breathed, closing the final distance, encouraged that Celeste hadn't leaned away.

'Harry, what are you…' doing? Celeste couldn't get the last word out, as her lips were now covered by Harry's. But Harry did hear her thoughts, and was about to pull back when Celeste finally understood what he was doing, and reciprocated the kiss, pulling him even closer.

They stood like that for a long while, merely holding each other in their arms, neither daring to move, lest they break the magic of the moment. Their kiss was of the simplest kind there was, chaste but passionate; and somehow, that made the moment even more special. Unbeknownst to the kissing couple, a shimmering aura briefly surrounded them both, sealing their link through the life-force forever.

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! Please keep them coming, and any kind of criticism are most welcome. If you feel that there are too many grammar errors in this story, feel free to volunteer as my beta… god knows I need one.

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I'd especially like to know your opinions on how the romance between Harry and Celeste are going so far? Does it seem too forced? Unnatural? Almost implausible? Or too little, and not passionate enough? Or just right and you can totally see how it could happen?Also, what did you guys think of Celeste's story? Did you see that coming? Did you find it interesting? Or kinda same old same old? Please let me know!