MillieBelle: Whoops! I will get onto to correcting those – I hate finding mistakes, but thanks for pointing those out ^^
19vanelkc: Unfortunately, no reincarnated Natsu in Hogwarts. I felt that if I put him into Potterverse, then what about the other Tenrou crew and the main reason for this version of the story was to avoid too many characters that would push Celeste/Lucy to the side-lines.
mynameishelby: Yes! Mavis' appearance has been long overdue.
CelestialTitania: Yes, you were right. It is Mavis.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for any original ideas and characters. If I owned Fairy Tail or Harry Potter then a crossover episode would be cannon. Enjoy!
Into the Abyss
Chapter Twenty
The Ghost
….
Celeste blinked, and her wand clattered to her bed with a dull thud as she numbly nodded back at the figure stood before her. She was a pretty thing; with wayward ash blonde hair reaching down to her ankles and a heart shaped face boasting childlike innocence. However, it was her eyes, devoid of pupils and an aged green, which seemed to stare deep into Celeste's soul. They were filled with a strange familiarity that Celeste could not quiet place, but strangely, Celeste did not fill fear at being in the strange intruder's presence.
If anything, she felt safe.
"You are Lucy Heartfilia, aren't you?" The intruder asked. Her voice was light, airy and melodic.
"How-"
"How did I know?" The girl interjected with a light giggle. Celeste nodded and the girl slumped onto the edge of her bed with a smile whilst her bare feet which barely grazed against the floor kicked back and forth. "You don't remember me, do you?" The girl asked. A slight frown formed on her lips as she let out a sigh "Even now, I am speaking to you in the old tongue... you don't remember" She muttered dejectedly.
Celeste frowned, she slowly inched closer towards the girl. Despite the intruder's childlike appearance, there was something very un-childlike about her; behind the cute smiles and lightly giggles, she was poised, muscles coiled and tense like fighter. Even those ageless eyes looked as if they had seen far beyond the appearance of her years suggested.
Then there was the energy pouring out of her. It was unmistakably ethernano; the energy inside those native to Earthland.
"You can sense it can't you?" The girl asked, lips peeled back in a knowing smile, "Ethernano can only be sensed by ehternano users"
Celeste gasped, fingers hovering inches away from the strange girl. She could sense the ehternano, and it oozed out from the intruder as if she were made of it.
'But how?' Celeste thought with confusion, for the only beings truly made of magic were creatures like ghosts and poltergeists. But even the ghosts who roamed the castle halls were not ethernano users. This girl…or ghost if her lack of breathing was anything to go by, was oozing out bucket loads of ethernano. Celeste had never felt so much in a long time. It was like standing directly next to Natsu when he used his potential.
"How…" Celeste muttered out. At the girl's sudden giggle, the heiress realised that she had indeed declared her findings out loudly. "How is that possible?" Celeste inquired, but deep down she already knew the answer.
"Because I am a from your world"
The ghosts of this world were completely grey, as if notifying all who could see them that they were no longer part of the living. But this girl, must have been a special case…but what of her magic…why was it so volatile and potent like Celeste's own.
As if getting tired from the silence, the ghost girl sighed once more, her head upturned into the dark ceiling before turning her gaze back to Celeste. Keeping her gaze locked on the other blonde, Celeste watched as the ghost lifted her left hand and folded down her fingers so that only her pointer finger and thumb remained pointing outwardly in a backwards 'L' shape.
Celeste's eyes widened almost instantly as a gasp fell past her lips. Mentally she cursed herself for not recognising sooner and the memories of the last moments of her life on Earthland came flooding back to her.
"I'm right here"
"Shodai"
Mavis smiled.
There were so many questions Celeste wanted to ask the First, so many things she wanted to know but before she could even articulate anything, tears were running freely down her face.
"You- you're actually here!" Celeste sobbed "You're real"
"Of course, I am" Mavis whispered. She made a motion to place her hand on Celeste's shoulder but with her magic already waning, her hand merely phased straight through the blonde. Silently, Mavis tucked her hands back to her person. "Your friends missed you"
Celeste quickly wiped at her eyes with the back of her sleeve, "My friends…?" She repeated.
The First nodded and gently she placed cool metal into Celeste warm palms. Glancing down, Celeste could feel another onslaught of tears as she caught sight of her celestial keys. She hugged them to her chest, hoping that the love she felt for her summons would pour through and simultaneously, she felt a wave of warmth pour from the keys and back throughout her body.
Oh, how she missed them.
Turning back to the First, Celeste beamed at the ghost before flinging her entire body at her. Not expecting the action, the petite ghost let out a light yelp however, to Celeste's surprise she fell straight through the ghost and proceeded to tumble right off her bed with a loud crash. The commotion caused Cho to groan in her sleep however, it was Marietta who darted upright, features contorted to a scowl and curly hair a mess as she stared in disdain at the image of Celeste strewn on the floor like a pretzel.
"What in Merlin's name are you doing?" Marietta hissed.
"Um. I fell"
Marietta huffed before angrily throwing the covers over her head. After a few moments, her breathing evened out, signifying that she had went back to sleep.
Eventually, the First left after reassuring Celeste that no one other than a Fairy Tail member could actually see her. This explained why the ghost was able to slip past the castle's wards in the first place – they only protected from malicious entities and someone as kind-hearted and powerful as the First was not seen as a threat to the school's defences. With her celestial keys tucked safely beneath her pillow, Celeste fell into a peaceful slumber. The magic radiating from her summons was like a peaceful lullaby to the blonde and she allowed herself to be lulled into the land of dreams.
….
Celeste was awoken with a rough shake. The blonde darted upwards, limbs flailing as her eyes darted frantically around the room. Stood mere meters away from her was Cho, the dark-haired girl had a brush in her hair and dressed ready for the day as she brushed through her damp locks.
"Come on, up" Marietta said sternly, she turned back to the vanity placed in front of her, a nifty thing Marietta's mother had sent over for the girl's fourteenth birthday. Carved into the top was a scrunched-up face with slanted almond eyes and an upturned mouth.
The upturned mouth opened instantly as the eyes blinked "Well, don't you look beautiful today!" The mirror gushed in a thick southern drawl. Marietta beamed, and Celeste rolled her eyes as she stumbled out of her bed- a mirror charmed to give compliments was the last thing Marietta needed.
"Is she at the mirror again?" Cho asked as she bounded into the dorm room with their other roommate, Nora in tow.
Celeste nodded "It's complementing her bone structure now" Celeste murmured through a yawn.
"Late night?" Cho asked with a quirked brow. Celeste nodded in response.
"If this is about your brother, Cho and I saw him at breakfast, and he looked pretty fine" Nina told her. With a weight lifted from her shoulders, Celeste smiled gratefully. She had been worried that the whole troll fiasco would have frightened her younger brother, but with him being surrounded by so many other boys he was probably trying to put on a brave face around them.
"I'll check on him at morning break" Celeste murmured as she quickly shrugged on her school robes. Discreetly, Celeste tucked her celestial keys to the belt looped around her waist. She did not want to part from them.
"Such a doting sister" Cho said with a teasing lilt. Her lips turned to smirk at Celeste's blush. "I'm only teasing, Cee"
….
This year, Defence Against the Dark Arts was shared with the Gryffindors rather than the Hufflepuffs. It felt strange not having Cedric as her practical partner, but at least they still shared Potions together. So far, classes had been fine; the Gryffindor's held no ire towards any of the Ravenclaws unlike with the Slytherins however, a few of the students from Celeste's own house were keen to showcase the knowledge they knew and snub the Gryffindor's for house points. Now, this was where the rivalry started.
Celeste herself cared very little for house points, she knew it was a ploy used by the professors to condition the students into competitive spirits through the means of good work but some students took them a little more seriously than others. Though the system was a good one for rewarding good behaviour, taking away points brought about a 'policing' attitude from some of the students. Luckily, Professor Quirrell was more of the weak-minded professors of the school and only removed points when the situation was severe.
He was a strange man, Celeste thought. He stood tall and of an average build, but the professor had a bad habit of never looking his students in the eye and stuttered profusely.
"N-n-ow, t-take o-out y-your b-b-o-oks to p-page one-h-hundred-a-and- thirty- f-four"
As the students silently opened their DADA textbooks, Fred who was sat next to Celeste whispered to her,
"Took him long enough" Celeste giggled in response; the sound got a few strange looks from the other students. Even George who was sitting to Fred's left flashed the both with a teasing grin.
"He can't still be nervous; it's been a month since he even started" Lee whispered from Celeste's right. The blonde was sandwiched between the Gryffindor boys- not that she seemed to mind, they always made classes more enjoyable.
"Maybe he's stressed" Celeste suggested "Professor Quirrell did say that ghouls were after his turban collection"
"Sounds a bit funny to me" George muttered before quickly adding "And not in a good way"
"Would you keep your voice down?" Kenneth Towler, a Gryffindor boy with a head of curly brown hair hissed. He was sat in the row in front next to Cho and Roger, though neither the former or the latter seemed bothered by the noise and were both engrossed in their work. Taken aback by Kenneth's words, Celeste shrank back in her seat. The action, however, did not go unnoticed by Fred.
"Mind your own business, Towler" Fred snapped.
"Ooh touchy" Lee chuckled which only caused Kenneth to redden before quickly slumping back into his seat.
"You didn't have to embarrass him like that" Celeste murmured as she nearly scrawled down notes onto her parchment. Despite Quirrell's obvious apprehension on teaching them about werewolves, Celeste still found the topic rather interesting.
"Then maybe Towler shouldn't have gotten his knickers in a twist" Fred said with a wink. At this the brunet's shoulders visibly twitched, but the boy said nothing.
Realising that Fred thought his antics were rather chivalrous, Celeste sighed and offered the boy a small smile. She felt a wave of warmth wash over her, it tingled beneath her skin. The blonde clutched at the keys attached to her belt, they were burning with life. Celeste gripped the keys to quell down the celestial spirits magic, but it did nothing but send a jolt of white-hot heat through her palm. With a hiss, the blonde quickly withdrew her hand and managed to spare a glance at the hot welts starting to form on her pale skin.
"Celeste, you alright?" Lee asked with concern.
The blonde folded her arms, her hands tucked beneath her armpits before giving Lee a quick nod.
"Fine. Just a bit cold" Celeste said through grit teeth. Beside her, Fred gave her a look of concern. "I'm fine" Celeste insisted.
With the sound of the charmed bell, brought the end of the class. Professor Quirrell stuttered out his goodbyes to the class and the students speedily gathered up their belongings in a bid to reach their second class of the day. Celeste quickly swung her bag over her shoulder, her injured palm now stuffed into her robe's pockets. The blonde was halfway down the staircase when her arm was forcibly wrenched, and she was whirled round. A hiss of pain fell past her lips as her burnt palm was hit with an onslaught of cold air.
"How'd you get this?"
Celeste's mouth opened, her mind whizzing to find some sort of excuse. "I…it's from potions"
Fred scoffed, his usual kind and jovial expression gone as his gaze hardened. Instead his blue eyes narrowed as they turned from the nasty looking burn back to Celeste. It was as if he was trying to read her for some an explanation.
"You're a terrible liar" Fred told her.
"Please, Fred" Celeste whispered "I want to tell you…but I can't"
He let out a sigh as he let her wrist drop and Celeste gingerly cradled it to her chest.
"At least let me take you to the hospital wing, it looks grim"
At mention of the hospital wing, Celeste frantically shook her head. It was one thing to keep the truth from her friends, but it something else entirely keeping it from a trained healer. Madam Pomfrey was sure to ask questions and Celeste certainly did not want any more attention on her than needed.
"I can deal with it "Celeste muttered out.
Fred shook his head; he took her uninjured left hand in his own and proceeded to usher her down the staircase despite her protests.
"You, my stubborn friend, are coming with me" She stared at him in confusion, to which he just grinned.
"Wait, Fred- I" Celeste started.
"No buts!" He cried out.
….
Celeste had never been to the Gryffindor Tower. It was just as tall as the Ravenclaw tower, but instead, the winding mahogany staircase was decorated in crimson and gold. It seemed that Godric Gryffindor, the house namesake was awfully fond of the colour scheme. Celeste felt rather much like a goose among hens when walking towards the Fat Lady's portrait. The few students already milling about the landing gawked at the sight of the blonde Malfoy, but whether it was through fear of upsetting an heiress or the jovial auror Fred carried, they said nothing.
"Come on, you know the drill. Password or no entry" The Fat Lady called out with a huff.
"Alright, keep your hair on" Fred muttered, "Cakesni-"
"Sweet Circe!" The Fat Lady cried out. Her index finger was pointed out and eyes wide as she stared in horror at Celeste. Annoyed, Fred rolled his eyes.
"What now?" Fred groaned "We just want to get in"
"With an outsider?" The Fat Lady hissed, her eyes with disbelief as she pointed an accusatory finer at Celeste "You think that I'll just swing any-which-way for whoever pops by- well fat chance!"
Fred scowled as he stepped forward, ready to argue with the portrait, "Just do your bloody job for-"
"I won't cause any trouble" Celeste interjected. The Fat Lady was reminded her a lot of Carla, well the exceed's standoffish manner had diminished after time, she was cold to many whom she met for the first time. The Fat Lady huffed once more; her arms folded as she narrowed her eyes at Celeste just as one would with a naughty child before her shoulders slumped and she waved her wrist.
"Fine" The Fat Lady spate "Just give the password and get on with your day"
"Cakesniffer" Fred said before turning to Celeste and gesturing for her to walk in front. Once she had walked through the portrait hole, he tossed his head back to the Fat Lady and said "Pleasure doing business with you"
Celeste was pleasantly surprised at the sight of the Gryffindor common room, much like the winding staircase it held a strong crimson and gold colour scheme. The light from the large windows, bathed the common room in a serene natural gold light. Unlike her own common room, there was no library in sight but instead a large fireplace with several sofa's and beanbags surrounding it.
"Not what you were expecting, huh?" Fred asked with a grin.
Celeste shook her head "I'm kind of disappointed there aren't any lion themed décor around"
"There used to be in second year, but they roared too loud" Fred chuckled. "C'mon, this way" He said as he gestured with his head to the doors leading up to what Celeste surmised were the dormitories. Blushing heavily, Celeste followed suit, she had never been to the boys' dormitories of her own house and in a high school, rumours were bound to spread and quickly too.
Unsurprisingly, Fred's room was not empty. There were empty potions vials discarded on the floor, a half completed potions assignment stuck the wall and draped over one of the beds was a knitted sweater which looked to be homemade with a large capital 'F' on the front in yellow. The slight chaos in the room made was predictable seeing as who the dorm's inhabitants were, but Celeste thought it gave the dorm a homely sort of charm.
On the bed closest to the window, were George and Lee lying on their bellies playing a game of exploding snap. At the sight of them, Lee perked up momentarily allowing George to snub him of his victory.
"Come on, pay up!" George exclaimed with glee, his hand outstretched as Lee begrudgingly reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out two sickles.
"Fancy seeing you here, Malfoy" Lee said. There was no malice in his tone and Celeste found herself smiling back at the boy despite how awkward she felt intruding on their space.
"Just taking my tour of the tower. There is a lot of red" She murmured. Lee chuckled in response.
"Just mind the mess" George told her with a grin before turning back to Lee "Alright, how about three sickles a snap?"
Lee grinned and nodded. Before Celeste could see the game, Fred ushered her into the room's adjoining bathroom where he proceeded to gently place Celeste's palm beneath the faucet and running it beneath cool water. It stung somewhat over her burn which had somehow gotten worse since leaving the DADA classroom. It was now a bright pink and stood out starkly against her pale translucent skin. Even the blisters forming were rather ghastly to look at.
"Keep it running, Cel" Fred told her gently. Celeste nodded, the blonde watching as the usually jovial prankster was wearing a serious expression as he rummaged through the bathroom cabinets. He pulled out a small clear jar filled halfway with a gloopy green substance that smelt like pondwater and Celeste's nose wrinkled as the smell only increased in tenfold as Fred opened the jar.
Fred turned off the faucet and dipped his fingers into the jar, he then rubbed the paste (which was very cold) over the burns on her palm with gentle movements.
"So, you just keep burn salve in your bathroom?" Celeste asked to break the silence. Fred nodded, his face the picture of concentration as he began loosely wrapping her palm with a bandage.
"Mhmm" Fred hummed out, "George and I get into quire a bit of scrapes with our experiments. Almost lost a finger once" He added nonchalantly.
Celeste grimaced, she knew the boys had an idea to one day open a shop of their own. They were always experimenting with something and their creative ideas had caught the eye of Professor Flitwick on many the occasion. She just did not know how dangerous their endeavours were. Her thoughts were paused in their tirade as Fred began to gently lift Celeste's palm and inspect his handiwork. Satisfied he let her palm drop though his features remained pensive.
"Thank you, Fred" Celeste said softly, "I really owe you one"
His features were unreadable before he spoke again "Well, you could tell me how you got that burn and we can call it even"
"Fred, I..." Celeste began, she searched for the words, but she just did not know how to tell her friend the truth.
"Only it's strange how it wasn't there before Defence…which means that the whole potions accident was a lie and this-" He gestured to her bandaged hand "Was caused by something else"
"I want to tell you, Fred" Celeste started. She was lost, she did not know what to do. How could she open herself up to him about her magic without revealing too much? Would he still want to know her- to still be her friend after he found out the truth? It worried Celeste to even think about losing one of her closest friends, but she did not want to hide her true self from him.
"Then tell me" Fred stressed out, he placed his hands up on Celeste's shoulders and forced her to look at him and Celeste felt guilt pull at her insides at seeing the anguish written so clearly on his face. "You can trust me, Celeste"
She worried her bottom lip, his words playing over her mind "I-"
"Everything alright guys?" Lee called out.
Celeste jumped at the sound of his voice and simultaneously, the bathroom door opened revealing George and Lee stood in the open doorway each wearing looks of concern. Quickly, Fred withdrew his hands from Celeste's person and awkwardly ran his hand through his hair.
"Peachy"
"I burnt my hand and Fred was fixing me up" Celeste said whilst waving her bandaged hand for both boys to see.
"Shouldn't you have gone to the hospital wing?" Lee asked with a frown.
Fred chuckled "Doubting my skills, are we?" Fred asked with a grin.
"No I-"
"I should get going" Celeste politely interjected "Thanks again, Fred"
"Want us to walk you back?" George asked. Celeste shook her head with a small smile.
"There's no need, I know the way"
Celeste scurried out of the boy's dorms, ignoring the perplexed look Fred sent her retreating form. She really hated lying to her friends.
….
Late into the night, Celeste found herself unable to sleep once more. Tossing around in her bed, she turned her attention back to her bandaged hand remembering how gentle Fred had been in caring for her. She was grateful for having a friend like him, but that only made keeping the truth from him hurt more.
"Do you trust your friends?"
She could not help it, she jumped at the sight of Mavis perched upon the edge of her bed. She had to get used to the First's habit of sudden appearances.
"Someone could hear you!" Celeste shouted out in a hushed whisper.
Mavis giggled, the sound was soft and melodic and only added to her innocent outward appearance- but Celeste knew the First was anything but.
"No need to worry, I cast an illusion spell before I got here. No one can see or hear us talking…they'll just think you're asleep"
"That's…. impressive" Celeste murmured. As far as she knew, there were no spells in this world that do such a thing- and even in Earthland, she had not been familiar with illusion magic to explore its properties. But written in the guild's library were the many feats of Mavis Vermillion and in all of the texts, her prowess for illusion magic and the spells unique to only her were praised. It was still strange to Celeste how such a powerful mage was so…small.
"I've had a while to practice" Mavis said with a wistful smile. She clambered down from the bed frame and over towards Celeste. Her large green eyes staring into Celeste's own as she gently took the blonde hands in her own.
"Listen closely, Celeste, for you life depends on it" Celeste nodded but couldn't help the spike in fear at the First's solemn tone "You magic is growing in this new body, as a holder mage you need to direct it- release it safely to prevent hurting yourself"
"So, you're saying I need to practice and get my magic under control?" Celeste surmised. She had assumed much herself. She could feel her spirits getting angsty. The keys itself only served as a doorway between her human world and the Celestial world, and if her magic was going out of control then it was subconsciously trying to release itself like steam inside a kettle. Only in this case, the kettle was her celestial keys and her magic was trying to release her spirits into the human world.
The First nodded "I will help you how I can, but unfortunately my knowledge on celestial mages is little" She said.
"I understand" Celeste muttered quietly "But…do you think I should…." She trailed off as determination from her resolve filled her "I want to tell my friends"
The First smiled, "The bonds between our friends, they give us power. Putting your trust into your friends is whole power within itself"
Celeste smiled in response. Fred and George were her closets friends. She knew things about her that not even Cho- her best friend from her own house knew. She was going to tell the three of them eventually, for they were the people that she was closest too. It was not that Celeste was not close to Marietta, the girl was a bit of gossip and Celeste did not want a secret she kept guarded for so long in the hands of someone so loose lipped.
'I will just have to wait and see… people can change over time'
Breaking the news to her friends that she was in fact a mage born from another world was not something someone did over a cup of tea. Celeste could not even begin to imagine how they would take the news.
"We should get started now" The First announced with a clap of her hands. Celeste frowned in confusion and watched as the ghost jumped from the bed and hovered gracefully in the air. She looked like a fairy with her delicate stature and Celeste mused that if given a pair of wings, then the First could easily be mistaken for one of the beasts.
"Isn't it a little late?" Celeste asked.
The First shrugged "No time like the present" She said with a smile, "and a little night-time training is perfect for insomnia"
'Or it could contribute to sleep deprivation', Celeste thought bitterly. The First remained oblivious to Celeste's internal musings and tossed her head behind her with a wide grin.
"I know the perfect place!"
….
AN:
We have reached chapter 20 of this story! *blows party horn* Wow, it's so weird seeing how this rewrite story progressed compared to the original version.
'Shodai' – Meaning 'first' or 'founding' which is what the members of Fairy Tail addressed Mavis by in the Japanese dub. I will probably diver between using 'shodai', 'The First' and 'master'
In case anyone thinks Celeste was being a little silly for not remembering straight away who Mavis was, in terms of this story's timeline it has been almost fourteen years since Celeste has last seen Mavis and memories tend to get hazy over time. Even when Lucy died, she did not actually know who Mavis was personally when she gave Mavis her keys – she just knew she could trust her.
Question Time!
Celeste is going to start her training with Mavis so she can finally control her magic! Which spirit do you think she will summon first?