Into the Abyss
Chapter Nineteen
Ageless Eyes
The first Hogsmeade visit came around rather quickly and marked the first weekend of the Autumn term. Celeste was extremely excited. The buzz of her episode had died down and the students had something else to focus on. Celeste had eagerly handed her Hogsmeade permission slip to her head of house Professor Flitwick, along with Cho, Marietta, Nina, and Michelle. Though the blonde would certainly never admit she had been to the small village with her Gryffindor friends during her previous year, she was glad to share the experience with her best friends from Ravenclaw. It felt strange not using the secret tunnels to exit the castle, but Celeste had promised not to breathe a word of them to anyone else and if she was anything, she was true to her word.
The boys had asked her to come with them for old times sake, but Celeste had politely declined and insisted she had done enough rule-breaking to last her a lifetime. Of course, Fred disagreed. Celeste certainly did not want to bring more trouble home for parents, they were already frantic about her still being part of the Quidditch team in her 'delicate state' (her mother's words), keeping her head down and out of the trouble was the only way to appease them.
Speaking of trouble, Draco was beginning to earn himself a reputation in his year as a bit of a bully. The moment Celeste had found out after hearing idle gossip from a pair of first year Gryffindor's, she was furious. Her brother had denied the allegations and merely stated that any wizard too pitiful to deflect a 'leg locker' hex was barely worth his salt. Celeste had seen the poor boy- Long-something-or-other- hopping about the Great Hall with his legs stuck together. It was only until an older Gryffindor took pity on him, that he was able to walk normally again.
Celeste certainly did not want 'bully' to be associated with the Malfoy name, but the witch feared that it was a lost cause. Such a name had been associated with them long before she was born.
The morning of the visit, Celeste refused to meet Draco's requests of trinkets and sweets from Hogsmeade, if her parents were not going to call out his behaviour, then she would. As expected, her younger brother was livid, and the boy stormed off with his usual lackeys, leaving Celeste doubting her actions for the rest of the day.
"I think you did the right thing" Cho told her as they leisurely traipsed out of Scrivenshaft's.
Celeste silently nodded, it hurt her more than it did Draco to punish him. He most likely did not understand.
"Try not to feel too bad, Cee" Marietta added "You did what you did because you love him- not to hurt him"
"I know…it's just, ever since he started Hogwarts, I feel as if we are drifting apart" Celeste said sadly.
"It probably doesn't help that he's hanging around Flint either" Cho added with a sneer. It was no secret how Cho felt about the Slytherin Chaser. The dark-haired girl had a grudge against the older teenager ever since his and Celeste's initial falling out a year ago.
"Marcus's family and my own are quite close" Celeste murmured, "His father probably told him to befriend Draco"
"Ah, don't we just love wizarding politics" Marietta said wryly, "You know I'm surprised your parents didn't try to set the two of you up"
At Celeste's silence all the girls gaped. Marietta gasped- ever the lover of gossip and grasped a hold of Celeste's arm with wide eyes.
"Sweet Circe!" Marietta screeched before she started shaking Celeste's arms "Why did you not tell me?!"
Celeste grimaced at the volume before peeling Marietta's hands off her "It never came up" she offered lamely.
"When did this happen?" Cho asked with a quirked brow.
"It was not an official betrothal contract" Celeste said with a dismissive wave "The Flints had voiced their um…opinions of having Marcus and I together" At Marietta's look of shock she added "But so have the Nott's- as well as the Pucey's"
"Merlin Cee, I didn't know that you were so sought after" Marietta said, her eyes twinkled as if thinking of what would happen if it had been herself in Celeste's position.
Celeste shook her head "None of the suitors actually have an interest in me per say…its more of their parents trying to improve their standing within the pureblood society"
"But sti;l" Marietta said eagerly, brows waggling as she stepped a little too close towards Celeste "If you could choose…" She started with a teasing lilt.
"I don't think Cee would choose any of them" Cho interjected after quickly sensing Celeste's unease "I mean Flint is a prat, Pucey is a downright freak and Nott- well that's just robbing the cradle, the boy is a first year"
Marietta looked as if she wanted to say more, however after a sharp glare from Cho, the brunette was instantly silenced.
….
Once the girls had arrived back at the castle, Celeste excused herself for a trip to the library alone. She wanted to distract herself from silly pureblood politics and betrothal contracts. Focusing on her studies was essentially an escape for the blonde witch and the tranquil atmosphere of the library was rather soothing. It reminded her of simpler times, of when she and Levy would scour the endless tomes of the guild library and seemingly get lost in the books. More than ever, Celeste was missing her friend.
She was not aware of how sullen she looked until a small, shy voice called out and asked her if she was alright.
Celeste whirled round in surprise to meet a smaller student with big curls of bushy chestnut brown hair reminiscent of a lion's mane. It was rather fitting seeming as the girl was donning the red and gold of a Gryffindor student and judging from her size, she was a first year.
"I'm quite fine, thank you" Celeste quickly responded whilst forcing on a smile, "I was just worrying about my assignments, third year does that to you" She said flippantly.
At the mention, the younger girl's eyes lit up "You're a third year, could you tell me what your course load's like?"
Celeste giggled at the girl's enthusiasm and gave a small nod "Well, depending on what electives you choose, your workload can be a little intense…uh…"
"Hermione- Hermione Granger" The offered quickly, she offered her hand out and Celeste promptly shook it. She started to walk to the counter and handed her books to Madam Pince to be checked out. Once the stern librarian handed Celeste her books back, Celeste walked off with Hermione quickly scurrying behind her.
"Celeste Malfoy… and it is a pleasure to meet someone so enthusiastic about their studies" She told Hermione earnestly. The younger girl reddened; her head ducked as she clutched her books closer towards her chest. Celeste's expression softened at the sight, she herself had been rather reclusive during her first year and it had taken the joint efforts of her friends to draw her out from her shell and socialize more.
Perhaps that was what this younger girl needed, she seemed nice enough.
"Not many people share the same sentiment" Hermione murmured dejectedly though she quickly disguised it with a smile. She could see the sadness in the younger girl's eyes, and it reminded Celeste so much of one of her closest friends...
….
Magnolia, Fiore, Earthland. August X784...
It was easy to find the blue haired bookworm in the noisy guild, she was the only person currently not participating in the guild brawl but instead perched at her usual desk with neither of her teammates in sight. Lucy weaved between her brawling guildmates- narrowly missing a stool to the head and quickly, slumped on the bench opposite Levy.
Upon her arrival, the bluenette placed her book down much like one would treat a delicate new-born and removed her gale force reading glasses to fix Lucy with a pleasant smile that lit up her large hazel eyes.
"How can you focus in this?" Lucy asked with a pout "It's a little…"
Levy giggled knowingly "It's wild isn't it" A wide smile was on her face as she tucked errant strands of her wild blue hair behind her ears. "To be honest, I've always just had to adapt…. apart from Freed, I'm the only mage round here who uses literature as a focus for my magic"
"I noticed" Lucy murmured, her thoughts drifting to the mysterious green haired mage. It had only been a month since she joined the guild, but she still had not spoken a word to the rune mage. "Must be tough"
"A little" Levy muttered sadly "Not a lot of people share the same sentiment" A small smile blossomed on her face "But that's changed now"
"How?" Lucy asked "Most of the people here…their magic is so powerful" Lucy paused, realising what she just said "Not that your magic is not powerful- it's just I've seen Natsu level a building with nothing but his hands and-"
"It alright, Lu" Levy giggled "A lot of the members here are heavy hitters and I'm not naïve to think that my magic is on the same level, but that doesn't deter me" Levy said with determination "I just have to practice reading"
"So, the more words you consume, the stronger you can make your attacks?" Lucy summarised.
Levy nodded eagerly "Yes, that's it!" Levy exclaimed "speaking of reading…I just got this from Erza…" Levy pulled a bright orange book out of her bag and from the cursive font on the book's spine, Lucy had an inkling of what it was about "It's a little raunchy~"
"Levy!" Lucy shrieked.
(End of flashback)
….
"That will change soon enough, they're probably caught up in the magic of Hogwarts- it is a wonderful place, after all" Celeste said in effort to cheer the younger girl up.
Hermione nodded gratefully "It really is, I read Hogwarts a History at least seven times before the start of term and there still so many mysteries left uncovered"
Celeste smiled in agreement "Well, there are a few books in the Arithmancy section which discuss the magical properties of the castles architecture, if you're interested I would happily-"
"Yes, that would be wonderful!" Hermione eagerly interjected. Celeste giggled at the younger girl's enthusiasm, which caused the bushy haired preteen to redden profusely. Taking pity on the younger girl who reminded Celeste so much of her old book-loving best friend, Levy, Celeste placed a hand on her shoulder and fixed her with a small smile.
"Come on, I'll show you"
….
Celeste ended up meeting up with Hermione on a weekly basis, the blonde heiress found herself looking forward to her Wednesday evening library sessions with the first year who was exceptionally bright for her age. Celeste had surmised that the girl merely needed someone to talk to and it seemed that many of year mates had sadly given her the brush off – kids could really be cruel.
Armed with an extra pair of rabbit ears, Celeste bounded towards the library intent on giving them to the younger girl. From their conversations, Hermione had admitted that she was a muggle-born and that her family tradition on Halloween was for them all to don costumes and to join the neighbourhood children for an activity called 'trick or treating' Celeste, having never heard of such an activity was very keen to learn more and thus, the girls had agreed to meet in the library before the Halloween feast to discuss the differences between the holiday in the wizarding and muggle worlds.
With everyone already heading to the Great Hall, Madam Pince looked visibly relaxed at the library being so quiet. Though she did not outwardly smile at the blonde as she walked into the library, she did give a once over to the twitching rabbit eared headband placed upon her head. Celeste headed towards the usual table, Hermione and herself often frequented in the secluded section of the library and was surprised to find the younger girl – who was always at least ten minutes early- was nowhere in sight.
'Strange' Celeste thought with a frown 'Perhaps she's coming out late from class'
With a sigh, Celeste took a seat on a vacant chair and decided to wait for the younger girl. The minutes soon dwindled by and still, no sight of the bush haired first year. Pulling out her wand, Celeste murmured out a 'Tempus' charm and was surprised to find that it had already gone past six o'clock.
"Maybe she's already at the feast" Celeste muttered as she proceeded to pack up her books into her bag and left the library.
…..
"Nice ears, Malfoy"
Celeste smiled bashfully in response, before politely thanking the fifth year Hufflepuff who snickered in response. Wearing costumes was not a popular custom in the wizarding world, for magical folk, Halloween was just another day.
Suddenly, Celeste felt hands poking and prodding at the top of her head where her new ears were resting. Turning around she smiled at the sight of Fred grinning down at her. Surprisingly enough, the boy was on his own and Celeste wondered where his usual partners in crime- George and Lee were.
"Where's your costume?" Celeste asked.
"Got a bit side-tracked" Fred admitted sheepishly.
"With what?" Celeste asked as she fell into step beside him and the two leisurely strolled towards the Great Hall. A few students gasped at the image the two of them made- one heiress dresser with overly large rabbit ears and the other a renowned prankster.
Glancing back towards Fred, Celeste noted the light tinge of pink dusting the bridge of his nose.
"Urgh just some stuff for the shop - nothing big"
Celeste's eyes widened before a smile formed on her face. She had heard mutterings and whispered plans in passing of Fred and George's plans to create a joke shop of their own big enough to rival Zonko's but neither had either of the boys outright told her of their plans.
"Oh really?" Celeste asked with a teasing lilt, "Anything worth sharing?"
Fred smiled back at her before poking at her rabbit ears once more. They wriggled under the ministrations and Celeste half-heartedly swatted at his hands.
"Nope...its secret Weasley business" Fred grinned "Though I could let you in for a small fee…"
Celeste scoffed in response "I'll just have the find out from George then" she responded with a teasing grin.
They arrived in the Great Hall moments after and after saying polite goodbyes both teenagers went off to join their respective house tables. After sparing a quick glance over towards the Gryffindor table, Celeste was surprised to see that there was no head of bush hair in sight. Cho and Marietta were already deep in conversation by the time Celeste slipped in beside the curly haired brunette.
"And then she said to him- oh hey Celeste" Marietta chipped, before releasing a wave of giggles. "When you said you wanted to borrow my headband, this wasn't what I had in mind"
Celeste smiled in response "Well you know me...just trying to get into the spirit of things" She murmured lamely. Call her childish but Halloween and the holidays in general were one of the few things that connected Celeste back to Earthland. Dressing up in silly costumes, holding rambunctious parties and having a laugh were just a few of the fond memories Celeste had of the holidays. Whereas the holidays here were not as celebrated among magical folk, Celeste took it upon herself to make the tradition come alive however, it seemed that her friends being raised in wizarding households did not hold the same sentiment.
As if sensing Celeste's sombre thoughts, Cho placed a reassuring hand on her friends' shoulder and offered a small smile. "Maybe next year we can all wear costumes" Cho suggested. Celeste smiled gratefully, out of the two of her closest friends, Cho was more open to Celeste's less conventional ideas.
"Don't you think it's a bit silly?" Marietta said sceptically, "I mean it's just all Hallows…there's nothing special about-"
"TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!" Professor Quirrell screeched as he raced into the Great Hall like a maniac. The students started in shock, the professors horrified before the scrawny, bald-faced professor collapsed to the ground, face first. The students immediately plunged into hushed murmurers as headmaster Dumbledore quickly began handing out instructions for the prefects to lead the younger students to the safety of their common rooms. Worried for her younger brothers' safety, Celeste cast a worried look over to where a sixth-year prefect was leading the Slytherin students – surely, they were not going to the dungeons?
"He's going to be fine" Cho whispered lowly. Celeste wanted to believe her friend she really did, but she could not keep away her troublesome thoughts convincing her otherwise.
"I just hate being so useless" Celeste muttered; her eyes widened as she realised something very important, "Hermione…"
"What?" Cho asked with furrowed brows. Frantically, Celeste paused and pulled Cho aside and away from their housemates, the dark-haired girl looked as if she wanted to argue but noticing the urgency in Celeste's eyes she closed her mouth so fast it made a light 'pop'
"Hermione- t-the first year with the bushy hair, she wasn't at the feast, what if she gets hurt?" Celeste rushed out.
"Look, Celeste it will be fine" Cho said in reassurance, she turned momentarily to the third year Ravenclaw who fixed her with an inquisitive stare before turning back to Celeste "The professors will find the troll before the girl or anyone else gets hurt"
Celeste nodded, though the blonde was not thoroughly convinced before her eyes darted back towards the direction of the Great Hall.
"Maybe we should warn them"
Cho reluctantly nodded "Fine. I think I saw Professor McGonagall go that way"
The two girls slipped away from the Ravenclaws and headed back towards the Great Hall, it was easy to find the deputy head mistress and upon noticing the two girls, the Transfiguration Professor fixed them both with a quirked brow.
"I believe you were told to return your dormitories Miss Chang and Miss Malfoy" Professor McGonagall said sternly.
"Professor, a first year- Hermione Granger was missing from the feast, we think that she is somewhere in the castle and doesn't know about the troll"
At this, Professor McGonagall's previous ire faded and quickly the older witch nodded "Where did you last see Miss Granger?"
"Neither of us have seen her, Professor" Celeste said.
"That is quite alright" Professor McGonagall said, "Now the two of you, back to your dormitories at once before I remove house points from Ravenclaw" The head of Gryffindor left no room for any further arguments
"Yes professor" Both girls chorused.
….
The excitement of troll making its way into the castle ground had yet to ware off, some time after eleven the rest of Celeste's dorm-mates had fallen asleep however the blonde stayed up and unable to sleep. Her mercury eyes stared into the room's darkness as if silently willing herself to succumb to the exhaustion her body felt but her thoughts were running haywire. What had happened to Hermione, was her brother frightened and how did the troll even get into the castle in the first place?
With a heavy sigh, the blonde scrambled out of bed. She tucked her wand into the pocket of her pyjama trousers and padded down the stairs and into the tower's common room. Celeste liked the Ravenclaw common room, it was just as relaxing as the library and even had an array of reading material to choose from. Since she was unable to sleep, Celeste thought that she might as well occupy her time doing something constructive.
As she sifted through the tomes along the shelf, Celeste felt a cold shudder down her spine. She was not alarmed since such a feeling was normal when the school you attended was occupied by several ghosts, some who had a habit of walking straight through the living. Turning around to greet her current companion, Celeste was pleasantly surprised to see it was the ghost known by all the students as the Grey Lady, the ghost of her own house. Celeste had placed her as one of the prettiest ghosts wandering the castle, with curly waist length hair and a long cloak giving her an air of mystery, but many students found it rather difficult to break through her haughty exterior. The ghost who kept mostly to herself and was often spotted gliding through the libraries or taking notes at the back of her classes. No one seemed to mind, she was rather solitary after all.
The ghost fixed Celeste with a light nod, and the blonde surmised that this was as close as a greeting she would get from the timid ghost. Not wanting to bother her, Celeste picked up the tome directly in front of her.
"Trouble sleeping?" The Grey Lady asked politely.
Surprised at the ghost speaking to her, Celeste turned to ghost and gave a nod of affirmation.
"I was worried about my brother and a friend"
The Grey Lady nodded in understanding, "I am meeting with the Baron, perhaps I can inquire on your brother's current state…as for your friend, a young girl was saved from a troll this evening"
"You will?" Celeste asked with uncertainty, at the Grey Lady's small smile, Celeste beamed, "Thank you so much, Lady Helena, this means a lot"
"I am happy to help a member of my house" The Grey Lady said "Especially one so puzzling"
"How so?" Celeste asked slowly. She had known that the Grey Lady- or Lady Helena as she preferred to be called, was an extremely intelligent individual…surely, she could not have surmised Celeste being from another world.
Smiling, Lady Helena took a step towards Celeste. Her dark hair billowed softly around her as she began circling the blonde much like a predator would their prey.
"You and I are rather similar, Celeste Malfoy" Lady Helena spoke, "I have been watching you- your activities, your research…even your last episode" Celeste gasped and Lady Helena shook her head softly "I mean you no harm, I simply wish to learn from you, there must be so many things you have seen…so much magic"
Lost for words, Celeste opened her mouth, but no sound escaped her. She felt rather scrutinized beneath Lady Helena's dark gaze, she knew that the ghost would never harm her but it strange for someone to know about her previous life.
"I…you won't tell anyone, will you?" Celeste whispered. "It's just I…"
"We all have our secrets, Celeste" Lady Helena interjected softly. "You have my word that I will not speak a word of my findings to anyone else within these walls"
"Thank you" Celeste murmured. With that, the serene ghost turned, her long cloak followed the motion and whirled around her. Transfixed, Celeste watched as Lady Helena's body was bathed in a silvery light before her ghostly body disappeared altogether and left only a small ball of light in its place.
Now exhausted from her whirlwind of emotions Celeste trudged up the stairs back to her dormitory. Thanks to her multitude of debutant training instilled to her courtesy of her father Jude and her current parents, Celeste's steps were quiet and lights as she walked through the dark room. The light snores of her dorm mates filled the silence and quickly, Celeste was beneath the covers and tucked in. Already beginning to drift off, Celeste closed her eyes however, the moment she was submerged into darkness her senses were going haywire.
Call her paranoid, but Celeste felt as if she was being watched.
Mercury eyes darted open as Celeste strained her eyes to make out the blurry shapes in the darkened room. She could not explain it, but she just knew that she was not alone. Instantly, her mage training kicked in, and the blonde was quickly reaching beneath her pillow for her wand. She wasted no time in placing it directly in front of her and loudly whispered out:
"Expelliarmus"
Scarlet jets of light shot out of her wand, but in the darkness, Celeste could not tell if her spell hit anyone at all. A moment later there was a loud crash – most likely the porcelain jar Marietta liked to store her hairbands in. With a soft sigh Celeste then whispered:
"Lumos"
Instantly a small beam of light blossomed from the tip of Celeste's wand it slowly spread and illuminated the room. A gasp left Celeste's lips as her suspicions were confirmed. Someone was here and they were standing at the foot of her bed.
Ageless green eyes stared back at her.
….
A/N: So, the flashback scene is set before the Phantom Lord arc and after Galuna Island.
Question Time!
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