Disclaimer: I own nothing, Harry Potter, Fairy Tail and any other media mentioned and or referenced belongs to their respective creators and affiliated studios. The only thing I do own are any original characters and original plot. Warning: Be prepared to kiss cannon goodbye!
Into the Abyss
Chapter Eighteen
The Return of a Friend
Celeste awoke in black water.
She knew this place, had found herself plunged here many times before but the last time…the last time she found herself in the abyss had been the last time she had seen Lucy. Celeste knew that Lucy was apart of her, but she so missed seeing the face of the Heartfilia heiress staring back at her. Sometimes, if Celeste squinted, her eyes would darken to chocolate brown and the smiling face of Lucy would meet her own.
But that was just wishful thinking.
The celestial mage had long since adjusted to life as a Celeste Malfoy- heiress and magical school student. It was all too easy to fall into the mundane routines of her new life and not think about her previous one at all. But the arrival of her magic- or the attempted arrival, had thrown a key shaped spanner into the works and posed an entirely new source of questions and hopes for the blonde. The hope of seeing her old friends, her celestial spirits again was a wonderful one. It was the opportunity to gain a part of her she had thought was lost forever.
But is it a silly little pipe dream?
Never had Celeste thought that accessing magic from a previous life was possible, but magic was a strange thing after all. Perhaps she could research it once she got out of the watery abyss. Merlin, how she hated this place and Celeste had foolishly thought she had seen the back of it. Sitting up, Celeste glanced around the darkness searching for someone but as far as she could see was pitch darkness. How fun. Releasing an exasperated sigh, the blonde staggered upright and a grimace fell on her lips as her wet and cold school robes clung to her skin.
Usually when this happens, I am not alone-
"S'up, Luigi"
Celeste's breath froze within her chest, her heart lurched, and tears pricked in the corner of her eyes. Celeste staggered upright; her legs shaky as she screamed into the abyss. No one had called her that in so long. Only one person had ever called her that.
Celeste did not want to give herself false hope, she did not want to convince herself that he was here. It was not possible, was it?
Slowly, the sound of splashing water as if someone were making their way towards her filled her ears. Around her, the water began to shift, ripples forming as whoever was hear made their way towards her. A gasp left her parted lips as hair the colour of sunset filled her vision, dark eyes filled with mirth met stormy grey.
"Natsu" Her voice was breathless as she ran towards him. She leapt towards him, her arms tightening around his neck and squeezing tightly. His laughter filled her ears and it was the sweetest sound Celeste had heard in the longest time.
"Miss me?" Natsu asked. Celeste abruptly withdrew, her hand angrily wiping at the tears which had fallen as she stared at her best friend. Then she abruptly balled her hands into fists and beat at his chest. It was not strong enough to hurt, but the other teen staggered slightly as he chuckled.
"You idiot- how are you even here, this is my head!"
Natsu easily caught her fists, he was gentle, and the action caused Celeste to freeze as the glanced up at him. She could never stay angry at him for long, and Celeste found herself easing out of her previous angered state in favour for smiling back at her idiot best friend.
"How are you here?" Celeste asked once more. Natsu furrowed his brows.
"I always come here…but it's usually after a fight or when I get knocked out or something" Natsu told her. His eyes widened before whirling back at Celeste with childlike awe "Did you get into a fight too?"
Celeste shook her head "I can't say that I'm doing much fighting now" Celeste chuckled out wryly "But it's nice to know that some things never change…I mean you look the same whereas I look different"
Natsu laughed, a grin split his features "Well this place is in our heads, we can look however we want" He declared proudly
"We can?" Celeste asked before a sudden thought crossed her mind. "Can you show me what you look like now?"
Natsu nodded, he took a step back before he closed his eyes. Sunset pink faded to inky black, his new hair fell in messy waves past his chin. Upon glancing up, Celeste noticed the dusting of freckles across the bridge of Natsu's nose- no one had freckles in Fiore- well at least no one Lucy had met, so seeing them now on Natsu was rather cute. The eyes still held their slanted, almost dragon-like shape and still held the same dark colouring.
If she were to stand far away, Celeste could swear that she was looking at Gray and not Natsu- well, he was not quite Natsu anymore but a whole lot more.
"You look…different" Celeste said lamely. Truly he did, but in those dark eyes, Celeste could see slithers of her best friend.
Natsu laughed once more "So do you- I almost didn't recognise you, but you smell the same"
Celeste pouted at the comment and her arms folded over her chest as she took a step back away from Natsu. She knew his enhanced senses would still be able to pick up on her scent, but it helped ease her own worries not being so close. Only Merlin knew what she smelt like now and Celeste was certain that it was not pretty- who knew how long she had been in the watery abyss?
"You shouldn't go round smelling people, it's perverted" Celeste argued lamely. Natsu chuckled, his hand scratched through his new shaggy dark hair as his eyes closed. The expression had Celeste smiling and reminded her of all the promises Natsu had once made, the laughter they shared and the battles they had won.
"So, what made you end up here?" she could hear the blatant excitement in his voice and his dark eyes glistened as if imagining the battles the two of them had thought together.
"You see..." Celeste started "In my world, I'm a student at a magic school"
Natsu's eyes widened, his mouth dropped as he grabbed a hold of Celeste's shoulders. Celeste yelped in surprised as suddenly her best-friend was awfully close and spouting out questions like rapid fire.
"Do you have a stick thingy- what about a uniform…wait is that why you're wearing that outfit, I thought you were some kind of pervert!"
"Hey!" Celeste exclaimed. She swatted lamely at his hands as she glared up at him but unable to stay angry, she found herself giggling "You haven't changed a bit, have you?"
"Not really" Natsu said proudly "But it's good to see ya, Luce- most of the time I end up on my own here" He muttered out the last part, but Celeste heard the loneliness in his voice.
Celeste's features saddened; she had been so scared when she first appeared here in the black water. She was so alone before Lucy, the part of her she had once upon a time wanted to forget, had found her. The memories had been so painful, to be reminded of the life she had once had, of the family that loved and accepted her and never wanted to her to change. It was painful. There was no point in wishing of returning, Celeste knew that had long passed, but seeing Natsu here, it was a reminder of those happier times.
"Well, I'm here now" Celeste told him. She offered him her hand where her guild mark had once been and Natsu entwined his fingers with her own. Surprisingly, his hand felt warm, as if she were holding it but she was unsure if whatever transpired in the abyss could be classed as 'real' anyhow.
"Well, duh" Natsu sniggered but he squeezed her hand in return "So, what they calling you out there?"
"Celeste" She told him. A giggle escaped her at his confused expression "My um...my new family has a thing for stars"
Natsu's lips made an 'o' shape before he nodded frantically in understanding "They call me Ace- hey don't laugh, it's better than Celery or whatever" Natsu pouted.
Taking pity on him, Celeste covered her mouth to stifle her giggles, it certainly did not help that Natsu was glaring at her.
"I'm sorry Mr Ace of Spades" Celeste giggled out. At her laughter, Natsu's expression softened and his new appearance flickered away leaving him looking much like Natsu once more. There were so many things she wished to say to her best friend though, fate had other ideas.
A gasp escaped Celeste as the black water started to whirl around their legs and a powerful gust of wind blew through the abyss. The two recycled souls were ripped apart and scream tore through Celeste as she was tossed backwards and into the murky depths of the black water and away from Natsu.
….
Muggle studies was great. It was one of the few electives that Fred actually had an interest in. sure the theory behind muggle objects was just about as much fun as a doorknob, but Fred took a lot of interest in the objects and trinkets that Professor Burbage brought into the classroom. The fact that the class held absolutely no Slytherin's was also a bonus.
The redhead stared down in disdain at his current essay- well, he could hardly call it that as it currently was only sporting the title 'Why Muggles Need Electricity', he was not sure how he could possibly write one-thousand words on the subject when it had taken him an hour just to get the title down. There were much more important things he could be doing.
"Still writing that essay?" George chuckled. His twin was lying flat on his back on one the common room couches, and his legs dangled slightly over the arm rest. In his hands was not his Muggle Studies essay, but his Herbology one.
Fred grunted "Just got the title down" A grin slowly formed "Don't suppose we can swap- you do have a way with words"
George made a mock retching sound "No thanks, Herbology is doing my head in"
"Can't be that bad" Fred offered. Herbology was pretty much second nature to them, after spending all those years tending to the garden back at the Burrow, both he and George had somehow obtained natural 'green thumbs. It was mostly the essays they both hated, how much could you write about plants?
It was then that the common room door opened and three girls from their year traipsed in chattering. Fred paid them no mind and instead focused back on trying to conjure words onto his empty page without writing anything at all.
"-I can't believe that actually happened" The first girl- a brunette who Fred was convinced was named Emma- or was it Emily- said in a nasally voice.
"Apparently it was some sort of fit" The second, Priya, a curly haired girl said in what failed to be a hushed whisper.
"But did you see, Diggory's face…. the two of them are awfully close- I wonder if Malfoy is alright"
Fred perked up. "Malfoy?"
Emma or Emily blinked owlishly, a slight blush on her features as she whirled round to face him.
"Oh, hullo, Fred, we didn't see you there" She said with a slight giggle to her nasally tone.
"Figures" Fred muttered, which had all three girls giggling in unison.
"Just what were you talking about, then?" George inquired with a smile which had all the girls giggling once more. Why were girls so weird?
"Well you see" Priya started "Emilia has Arithmancy second period and she said that Celeste Malfoy- you know from Ravenclaw had some sort of…" she paused, brows furrowed "What was the word you used again, Emilia?"
Emilia and definitely neither Emma nor Emily nodded "Seizure- she had a seizure in the middle of class. Professor Vector even dismissed class early"
"A seizure" Fred repeated. He was not exactly familiar with them, but he had seen Penny Haywood from Hufflepuff the previous year, fall off her broom during the game against Slytherin. The fall had been so bad, she started to convulse almost like a herd of acromantulas were crawling beneath her skin. It was terrifying.
"Where is she now?" George asked tentatively before placing a hand of reassurance om Fred's upper arm.
"The hospital wing" Emilia answered "It should be quiet"
….
When Celeste woke up, she was greeted to the sight of numerous people surrounding her bed. Mercury eyes blinked in confusion as the dark eyes of Cho widened before a smile split her face. She had slightly hoped that she would be plunged back in the abyss with Natsu, but that was only wishful thinking. Circe, or whatever deity lay watching over, seemed to have their own ideas and plans- doing what Celeste wanted seemed to not be one of them.
Her vision was slightly blurred, but she could make out the faces of her brother, Draco, Cho, Cedric, and Marietta currently residing around her bedside. A stack of papers, most likely her missed assignments lay next to her bedside table and Celeste inwardly groaned at the amount of work she had missed thanks to her impromptu episode.
"How are you feeling?" Cedric asked quietly. It was rather sweet how the boy was keeping his voice low to avoid disturbing the other inhabitants of the hospital wing- Cedric was considerate like that.
"A little sore-" Celeste answered hoarsely "And my head is killing me"
At hearing her horse voice, Cedric retrieved the goblet sitting rather invitingly at the bedside table and handed it to Celeste.
"You've gone and put mother and father through needless worry" Draco drawled out. The boy had a scowl on his features, but Celeste noted how small and uncomfortable he looked when placed around so many others he was not exactly close with. He looked more like her baby brother now than he ever did and Celeste had to resist the urge to gather him up in her arms and squeeze him. Draco certainly would not like that.
"How long has it been?" Celeste asked.
"Only a day" Cedric told her, "We've brought up the work you missed too"
"Thank you for that, I'm not sure what I would've done if I was behind in classes" Celeste said thankfully.
"As if that would ever happen" Cho scoffed out causing Celeste to redden.
It was then that Madam Pomfrey- the hospital wings main healer bustled through the group of teenagers. Upon noticing her, both Cho and Marietta stepped back- the latter inching closer towards Cedric. Even Draco looked visibly worried at the sight of the healer. Madam Pomfrey was not a witch to be messed with and her demeanour reminded Celeste very much of Porlyusica. The old, hermit healer was notorious for her dislike for other humans but her talent for the healing arts was second to none considering she could not wield magic.
Celeste wondered if perhaps Madam Pomfrey was an alternate version of the pink haired healer.
"Right, Miss Malfoy, take this- quickly now we don't have all day" She handed a vial of foul-smelling liquid to Celeste that smelt like sweaty quidditch gear.
"What is it?" Celeste inquired whilst fighting the urge to retch.
"Drink up, this will help with the migraines" Madam Pomfrey encouraged. Celeste, not wanting to prolong the process quickly downed the entire vial whole and discovered that it tasted worse than it smelt.
The healer did not look amused in the slightest at Celeste's grimace, she merely rolled her eyes and handed Celeste a second vile to help with her sore throat. This one held a sweeter taste and overall, much easier to get down than the first potion.
"How soon do you reckon I will be able to leave?" Celeste asked.
Madam Pomfrey released an exasperated sigh as she turned to face Celeste.
"Believe me, Miss Malfoy" Madam Pomfrey said with a huff as she cast a diagnostic charm over Celeste, "I want to see you out of here just as much as you do, the sooner you rest up, the sooner you can leave"
"But she is fine though?" Cedric asked quietly, his eyes darted to Celeste briefly before quickly turning away.
"Yes, Mr Diggory, Miss Malfoy is quite fine" Madam Pomfrey told him, then for the benefit of Draco- who looked rather sceptical – added "Her episode was brought on about stress, nothing a little bet of rest can't fix…" She turned back to Celeste "Your parents have also been informed and they were very insistent that you cut back on your extracurricular activities"
Celeste noticed the slight look of horror on Cho's face, but her dark-haired friend did not speak her worries. The only extracurricular activity Celeste partook in was Quidditch, if the abrupt departure of Professor Reeves did not cause the disbandment of Duelling club, then Celeste would have been part of that too. Celeste would never dream of dropping Quidditch, the team was under pressure from their Captain, Marsha after losing the cup to the Gryffindor's in their previous year. Now with the addition of Harry Potter- who was rumoured to be a flying prodigy- Marsha would be putting more pressure on the already tight ship she had of the Ravenclaw team.
"But I am certain you can work something out, Celeste, you are an intelligent young witch" Madam Pomfrey added with a slight smile.
Eventually, Draco and her friends had left her alone at Madam Pomfrey's insistence and Celeste left to her own devices was starting to ponder the events which landed her in the hospital in the first place. She had seen her old magical circle in her mind, it was as bright as it had once been in Earthland and Celeste could feel the magical power running through her skin just as it would when she was preforming a celestial summon. Madam Pomfrey had insisted that she was physically fine and thus had brushed off her episode as a bout of stress; but that was only half of it.
The stress her body was under from the conflicting magics swirling within her had caused the episode and Celeste wondered if there was a way to control it. She had once been a holder mage, a mage who needed an item to direct their magic like a lightning rod and without that lightening rod, her magic was starting to go out of control.
Celeste bit her lip in worry, how many hospital visits would it take before someone started asking questions? What if someone found out about this unheard magic – there were some things that even the wizarding world feared.
"Hey, Celster" George called out loudly. His hollering caused one of the healers to shoosh him loudly before turning back to bandaging the poor first year Gryffindor who had tripped on the trick step.
Celeste's eyes widened as she caught sight of George and Fred walking into the hospital wing. At the sight of the boys, a wide smile formed on her face.
"I am so glad to see you" Celeste told the both "I've been left with homework for company"
Fred shuddered whilst George made a mock retching noise "Ah, so you've missed us?" Fred inquired. He gently shuffled Celeste's legs over before seating himself at the foot of her bed, George shook his head softly at the sight before he too joined Fred.
"Of course, I need some sort of entertainment" Celeste said cheekily.
"You hear that, Goerge?" Fred asked in mock disbelief. George nodded sadly.
"The nerve"
Celeste giggled "You boys are something else, I am glad you stopped by…"
"Anytime" George said before his eyes quickly widened "Well not anytime…there's only so many visits you can have to the hospital wing"
Fred nodded in agreement "Don't go making this regular or anything, Cel" Fred told her sternly. He was not wearing his usual grin, and celeste found herself feeling rather exposed under his gaze. His eyes had always been more expressive out of the two of them, but now, Celeste found him almost unreadable. She watched him critically; from his stiff shoulders to his forced smile- everything about him screamed unease.
Was he…worried about her and why did it make her feel so breathless?
"Alright" Celeste answered softly. She flashed him a smile of reassurance, but to her surprise, Fred merely nodded without saying anything more. It was worrying seeing him so silent, without his usual grins and quick-witted words and Celeste bit her lip in worry as she stared at her friend, wondering what she could do to get him out of his funk.
"How about we shake on it?" George suggested. Celeste quirked a brow but before either herself or Fred could interject, George had already grabbed each of their hands in his own.
"Right, if I remember, Alicia said it goes like…" George trailed off as he closed his fingers into a fist, leaving only his pinkie finger exposed. He turned expectantly to Fred and Celeste and needing no further prompting, both teenagers copied him. Staring down at her hand, Celeste felt rather ridiculous and turning to Fred for an explanation, the redhead merely shrugged.
"Now what, Georgie?" Fred asked.
"Now we just hook em altogether like this" George told him. He hooked his pinkie finger with Fred and then, gestured for Fred to hook his finger with Celeste's. The three of them sat on the bed with their little fingers entwined, the image they made was a strange one, but Celeste was unsure of the significance behind such an act.
"Um, George…" Celeste started "What is the point in all of this?"
"It's a pinkie promise, a muggle thing" George told her "Alicia said it's something muggle kids do to make promises"
"What happens if we break it?" Fred asked, "We chop our fingers off?" At his sarcastic tone, Celeste giggled.
"Yeah" George responded
"What- really?" Fred asked, eyes wide as he stared at his twin. George nodded.
"So, muggles just go around chopping each other's fingers off when they break promises…that's so…" Celeste trailed off, the blonde searching for the right words.
"Brilliant!" Fred interjected with unhidden enthusiam. His grin was back and Celeste wondered if this had been George's plan all along.
AN: A massive thank you for everyone who had favourited, followed, and reviewed this fic so far, it means a lot to me.
Also, stay tuned for the next chapter where Halloween festivities begin and Celeste questions the safety of the Slytherin's common room.