A/N:
Quite a few of you have mentioned in the reviews that Celeste should tell either Hermione, Ron, or Draco about her abilities. I was sort of against having Celeste tell Harry for now anyway, since he already has the whole 'boy-who-lived' shtick under his belt, it would be nice for one of the other characters to find out first.
Also 'Z.L.C Genesmith' brought up a pretty interesting point about whether or not Celeste would start up Fairy Tail again in the wizarding world.
Well, to answer this, I was thinking that once things got a little more dangerous in the Wizarding World, Celeste would want to offer her friends a way to be protected as well as to protect themselves. Perhaps this idea would tie into the Dumbledore's Army in OOTP, but for now, the details are a little foggy since that part of the story is some ways away.
Any way, onto the disclaimer!
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Into the Abyss
Chapter Twenty-three
The Alchemist
...
The month of November brought about a few changes for Celeste. Firstly, Mavis doubled down on her training which in turn allowed the blonde to summon all her silver keyed spirits for they required less magical power to summon. She had yet to summon any more golden key spirits.
The month also had the friendship between Mavis, Fred, and George blossoming. The boys had purchased a notebook from Scrivenschafts during their Hogsmeade visits so now the ghost could communicate somewhat freely. Celeste could hardly say she was surprised when the news that the entirety of the Slytherins remained 'trapped' in their common room one Thursday morning. Adrian Pucey had run into Transfiguration twenty minutes late and blamed his tardiness on the serpentine décor coming to life and attacking the unsuspecting students. The rumour soon spread around the school that anything remotely snake themed was cursed and thus many students began purging their serpentine trinkets from their dormitories and covering the snake portraits in the common room.
Few students even owned snake themed items, so it was the Slytherins who spent their days cowering from their own house mascot. Even her own brother no longer boasted his house robes with pride.
When Celeste asked Mavis and the boys about this later, they all wore the same sheepish smiles.
Eventually, it took a special announcement from Headmaster Dumbledore with a sour faced Professor Snape standing beside him, to quell the rumours. Albeit, Professor Snape threatened to deduct fifty house points from anyone who even whispered about the new 'Serpent's Curse'.
It was the morning of the most anticipated quidditch game ever; the match had been enough to distract the students from the curse. Though this was more because, the Harry Potter had made the team. Celeste felt bad for the boy, he was only eleven and if the rumours were true, he was muggle raised. He had no previous exposure to the magical world and yet was a renowned celebrity. Even on what was already a nerve-wracking event (his first quidditch match) the other students were still gossiping about him.
…
Sitting across the table was his youngest brother, Ron and his two closest friends. The first was the youngest team member himself, their friendship did not exactly surprise Fred, for the two boys were practically joined at the hip. George had joked they probably gossiped all night too.
The second, was a bushy haired girl Fred had often seen lecturing the two boys. She kind of reminded Fred of a more intense Celeste – the girl was practically obsessed with her studies.
"How are you feeling, mate?" Ron asked. Fred noted how the boy looked rather pale and was pushing his eggs around his plate with a crestfallen looking face.
"A little nervous," He answered. Beside the first year, Hermione, a bushy haired girl spoke up.
"You should eat something, it won't do you any good to go play on an empty stomach" The girl pointed out.
"Don't sweat it, Harry" Fred told him with a grin, he remembered his first match on the team, and he had been so nervous he swore the entire pitch could hear his knees knocking together. "Those snakes are all talk"
George nodded in agreement, "Can't show 'em any weakness- the slimy gits will probably smell it"
This brought a smile out of the younger boy, though it quickly diminished once Oliver Wood jogged over to the table and promptly informed all the team members currently sat at the table that they had only thirty minutes before the match was about to start. With no time left for socialising, Fred, George, Harry, and the rest of the team excused themselves from the tables and headed towards the changing rooms.
To distract Harry from his own nerves, the older team members began recounting their own embarrassing tales from quidditch. Alicia admitted that she scored a goal in the wrong hoop, Thomas revealed that he was so nervous his broom began to fly backwards, and Angelina sheepishly admitted that she wore her quidditch gear inside out. Eventually, the younger boy no longer looked green in the gills and was now even sporting a smile.
As they exited the Great Hall, Fred spotted Celeste donned in a bright red sweater along with a dark blue skirt that fell past her knees. The redhead felt a sense of pride wash over him at the sight of his friend so openly supporting his house and judging by the sneers from the lingering members of the Slytherin team, it was causing a bit of a stir.
Upon catching sight of the Gryffindor team, the blonde waved at them before quickly walking over towards them with a bright smile.
"All set for the game?" Her gaze was focused on Harry before she quickly turned her attention to the other members.
"Of course, we've been waiting for ages to shut those Slytherins up" Angelina said as she punched her right fist into her open left hand with an eager grin.
"And we've finally got our new seeker to show off" George added before promptly clapping Harry on the back. The significantly smaller boy jerked forward at the move before releasing a wry chuckle.
"You will all do fine" Celeste said with a smile, "And, we will all be cheering for you, of course" she added whilst gesturing to her bright red sweater. Fred smiled, she did look good in that sweater and he had a passing thought that she looked good in red in general.
"We better get going. I think that's Wood over there scowling" Katy said with a grimace. Indeed, the quidditch captain who was at times a little intense was sporting an expression which looked the least bit pleasant.
….
The inter house quidditch matches were something of fancy for most students, they were a chance for each of the respective houses to showcase their talent, teamwork and of course, it was a chance to compete for the quidditch cup. Even those who cared very little for sports managed to fill the stands for the Gryffindor-Slytherin match, since those two houses held the strongest rivalries.
Celeste hurried towards the bleachers with Mavis in tow, the ghost was curious about the sport and thus opted to watch alongside Celeste. With her ability to stay hidden to everyone around the school, this did not pose as a problem. The first weaved between the groups of students milling about the bleachers, every so often her ageless eyes would peer with curiosity at whatever they were doing.
"Where are we going to sit?" Mavis asked eagerly. Her eyes darted to the bleachers decked in blue and bronze, and she recognised them as Celeste's own house colours.
"Well, Cho is watching the game with Isiah James and some of his friends and Marietta is going to sit with Martin Fletcher…I don't really want to third wheel either of them" Celeste told the ghost.
Mavis smirked, "So, no date for you then?" Mavis asked, "Surely someone like you can snatch a boy up- ooh what about that nice boy…Cedric- or one of those twins…you like them, don't you"?
Celeste reddened profusely as she frantically shook her head "It's nothing like that" Celeste stressed out "They are all my friends…besides, I am older than all of them"
Mavis sighed "This is a new life, Celeste" She said as she glided along the ground. She wiggled her toes against the grass with a wistful smile before tilting her head towards the sky. It was not exactly beautiful, the weather in Scotland was always cold and grey, but Celeste found that Mavis somehow enjoyed it. "We should enjoy it and all it offers"
Celeste smiled softly. Perhaps Mavis was right…but that certainly did not mean that she was ready for that. Relationships never were her strong suit after all.
"Celeste!" A familiar voice shouted out. The blonde turned, arrant strands of pale blonde billowing in the wind as she spotted the familiar faces of the first years, Hermione, and Ron. She had spoken to Ron only a handful of times during her visits to the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, but Hermione she was more familiar with thanks to their study sessions.
Both first years were wearing their school robes as required during inter house events for second years and below. Upon seeing them, Mavis hid behind Celeste, though the young witch mused that this was probably out of habit rather than trying to avoid being seen.
"Hello, Ron. Hermione. Are you excited for the match?" Celeste asked with a smile.
Ron beamed whilst Hermione nodded politely, "Harry's gonna be amazing!" Ron gushed. Celeste smiled, she supposed that Ron and Harry were close, and it was nice that Ron was so supportive of his friend.
"He is very lucky to have you cheering his corner" Celeste told the younger boy and as a result caused him to blush.
"Are you going to watch the game with your housemates?" Hermione asked, her brown eyes taking in the sight of Celeste's bright red sweater.
Celeste frowned somewhat, "I'm not too sure…they can be so reserved at times and quite a lot of my housemates refused to show up. They find the Slytherin-Gryffindor matches a little barbaric"
"But that's the best part!" Ron stressed with disbelief clear on his face. Hermione however, looked like she disagreed but the girl chose not to say anything.
"If you like, you can watch with us?" Hermione offered "It would be nice to have the company of someone from a different team and who can offer an unbiased opinion"
"I would love to," Celeste said.
Celeste (and Mavis) allowed Hermione and Ron to lead the way towards the Gryffindor bleachers, Celeste had never watched the game from other houses' stands so she couldn't help but feel a little out of place sitting in the lion's den. Ron as it were, was an avid quidditch fan and spent the first ten minutes of the game eagerly relaying to Hermione which position was what, along with the general rules of the game. The bushy haired girl was fast to soak up information and by the time the game had hit the half hour mark, she was already in the spirit of things.
"-AND THERE'S CHASER JOHNSON- THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND TALENTED PLAYER- AND SHE JUST CAUGHT THE QUAFFLE…SAY, WHAT ARE MY CHANCES WITH JOHNSON AFTER THE MATCH IS OVER?"
"Is he allowed to do that?" Hermione asked with a wrinkle of her nose "Only, it does not seem as if all of the commentary is relevant to the game"
Celeste chuckled, "Mostly Lee does it for laughs…but Professor McGonagall has been trying to get him to be more serious for ages now…doesn't seem to work"
"MR JORDAN, PLEASE KEEP YOUR COMMENTS ON THE MATCH!"
"Told you" Celeste whispered to the younger girl.
"Hey, Celeste, is that normal?" Ron asked with a frown. Celeste turned to where Ron was pointing. Harry was sitting on his broom and he appeared normal, only until he started whizzing left to right. Celeste gasped as the boy's broom gave a rapid jerk, almost knocking him off of it. Which would have been quite the nasty fall.
"His broom looks faulty" Celeste gasped out in shock. Hermione glanced through her binoculars before she too let out a gasp.
"Someone's hexing his broom"
"I bet a sickle on Snape" Ron grumbled.
"A professor would never harm a student, Ron" Celeste told the boy sternly. The boy frowned.
"But he has it in for Harry- tell her, Mione!"
The girl worried her bottom lip glancing between her two friends "I have to agree with Ron, Celeste. Whereas Professor Snape treats all his students with disdain, he is particularly unfair towards Harry"
Celeste sighed. Snape was her uncle; he would never truly harm a student now would he. But as Celeste glanced over towards the Slytherin stands she noticed the potions professor's lips were moving. He was casting a non-verbal spell.
"Do you think that they're right?" Mavis whispered.
"Who's to say" Celeste whispered back. "Professor Snape is hardly the most open- Hermione, where are you going?"
The younger girl was scurrying off, wand in hand and Celeste feared that she was going to do something foolish. After sternly telling Ron to stay where he was, Celeste quickly followed Hermione.
"She went this way!" Mavis cried out. Celeste ran over towards the bottom of the bleachers, there Hermione was weaving her way towards where the Slytherin stands were located. Just what was she planning? Celeste had little time to figure it out, she dashed after the younger girl and easily caught up with her just as Hermione had her wand raised.
"What do you think you're doing, Hermione?" Celeste asked sternly.
Hermione jumped, though the girl did not falter, "Saving Harry" Hermione said before whispering "Incendo" A beam of red light shot out of the wand and hit straight into the trouser leg of whomever was sitting directly about them. Celeste grasped a hold of Hermione's arm and quickly tugged the girl out from beneath the bleachers. The younger witch was quiet and did not protest.
"Gryffindors…" Celeste muttered to herself "Always so brash.
"I had to do something" Hermione stressed, "Harry could have gotten hurt"
Celeste sighed before she smiled softly. She knew that if the positions were reversed, she would have done the same. Merlin, she would do anything to protect her friends, that was what Fairy Tail was all about. Hermione was just trying to look out for Harry.
"I know. But next time, promise me you will think things through?"
Hermione paused, she was silent for a moment before she eventually nodded "I will" she said quietly "And um…thank you for not getting too cross…and for understanding"
Celeste smiled fondly at the younger girl. "That's quite alright" Celeste said, "Now let's get back, we have about another twenty minutes to the end of the game"
….
Whether it was to Hermione's efforts or by some unforeseen deity, Harry managed to obtain the snitch for Gryffindor, resulting in their victory. The excitement for the match had yet to die down, the next match which took place on the second weekend of December was between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, this much only lasted five minutes, though none of the Hufflepuff team members seemed to mind much.
The last Hogsmeade visit before the Yuletide holidays was here and Celeste was eager to get her shopping done. Glancing around the courtyard, she spotted her brother with his usual friends, Blaise Zabini, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle and alongside them was Daphne Greengrass, Pansy Parkinson and a girl with dirty blonde hair Celeste did not recognise.
Celeste waved at the younger students, instantly grabbing all their attention. Pansy waved back eagerly, whilst Daphne gave a shy wiggle of her fingers. The boys gave Celeste nods of recognition whilst Draco reddened in embarrassment at something Zabini whispered to him.
Eventually, Celeste found Cedric at their meeting spot by the castle entrance, the boy was wearing a thick brown coat with his yellow and black striped Hufflepuff scarf wrapped neatly around her neck. His skin was tinged pink from the cold and his bronze hair littered with speckles of white snow.
"Morning, Cedric. I hope you haven't been waiting long"
The boy shook his head with a smile, "Not at all. Shall we?" He offered Celeste the crook of her elbow and she looped her arm around his own. This was something the two had done many times before, so no awkwardness was shared between them. Besides, whatever Mavis said, she and Cedric were friends.
"Where should we head to first?" Celeste asked, "I need to visit Honeydukes to get a few things for my brother, and maybe Gladrags too if they still have that scarf"
"I'm surprised you didn't mention Scrivenshachfts" Cedric said with a teasing lilt to his voice. Celeste smiled at the mention of the stationary shop. Their quills were just to die for!
"You and me both" Celeste said with a shake of her head, "But I am trying to save off buying any more supplies until the new year"
"That smart" Cedric murmured before his eyes narrowed a little, "Say, is that…that's Nymphadora"
Celeste followed Cedric line of vision where she spotted the older witch walking out of the Hogshead with a girl Celeste vaguely recognised as a year mate of the elder witch. The two parted ways before both Celeste and Cedric scurried over to meet the older witch.
"Nymph-" Celeste cried out before quickly clamping her hands over her mouth. The older witch hated being called by her first name. Tonks turned around with a deadly expression before she noticed the two teenagers standing before her. Immediately a wide smile appeared on her face.
"Wotcher kids!"
Celeste playfully rolled her eyes, "You know, we are actually third years now, Tonks"
The older witch snorted, "so what's this then, a date?" Tonks asked with a smirk. She inwardly took pleasure in the awkward looks that both teenagers sent each other.
Both Cedric and Celeste were silent as they blushed. "We were just…you know…shopping" Cedric offered weakly.
"You know I'm just teasing," Tonks said as she ruffled Cedric's hair. The boy chuckled nervously "Besides, if you were on a date, this one here would take you somewhere nice"
Cedric chuckled, "I'm glad you have faith in me," Cedric said.
"Hey, I've got a bit of extra time before I have to head to the office, what say you two to a quick pint in the Three Broomsticks?" Tonks suggested.
Celeste nodded eagerly. It had been a while since she had seen the older witch and she was rather curious to know how her Auror profession was treating her.
….
Once Tonks begrudgingly left to head back to work, Celeste and Cedric decided to head back towards the castle. Cedric had been rather quiet when the three of them in the pub and Celeste wondered if perhaps her friend was still feeling a little awkward at what Tonks had said. Celeste herself was not exactly fond of people insinuating things about her romantic life, but Cedric's unease had her rather unsettled.
'Why do I even care anyway. It is not as if I like him in that way or anything' Celeste thought with a frown. She glanced over beside her friend, his brows were furrowed and it looked as if he was mulling something over.
"Listen, Celeste, what Tonks said…" Cedric started. Celeste paused in her musings as she nodded, indicting for Cedric to continue. "I um...We are friends, right?"
"Of course we are," Celeste responded sincerely. She was expecting Cedric to sport a relieved expression however, Celeste was surprised when Cedric released a forlorn sigh before quickly smiling once more. They were silent for a moment before Celeste spoke once more.
"I am glad to have a friend like you, Celeste," They had just arrived back at the castle; a few older students were milling about the entrance.
"Me too," Celeste said in response. The two parted ways as Cedric spotted a few of his friends from Hufflepuff, Celeste started to make her back to the tower when she was halted in her tracks by three students. Harry, Ron and Hermione.
"You ought to slow down, one of the prefects might dock points for running in the hallways" Celeste said with a chuckle.
"You're a third year, Celeste" Harry said with furrowed brows. Celeste nodded, a silent request for the raven-haired boy to continue, "Do you know who Nicholas Flamel is"?
Celeste hummed, "Not much, I'm afraid. I know that he is an alchemist- and I think he made some sort of stone that could turn any metal into gold" Celeste eyes narrowed as she eyed each of the children in turn. Hermione's gaze sharply turned away, whilst both boys stood firm. "Why are you curious"
"It's for extra credit for our History of Magic assignment" Hermione blurted out "Most of the books about Alchemy aren't available to us, so we thought it would be a good idea to ask you"
"Well yes, Alchemy is an elective class so most of the books will be part of the restricted section" Celeste murmured
"Restricted section? You mean there are secret books in the library?" Ron asked with a frown.
Celeste nodded "The restricted section is only accessible to those third year and above, even then they still have to get a note from a professor. I read about it in Hogwarts: A history" Hermione pointed out proudly.
"I doubt even I will be able to get into the restricted section, not with it being so close to the holidays" Celeste said with a sigh. Though the blonde did not mention to the students that she had sneaked into said section of the library during her second year. She had an example to set after all.
"We should get going…and er start on our assignment" Harry blurted out quickly.
"Alright then…" Celeste murmured as she watched as the three scurried away.
Merlin, just what are they up to?
A/N:
Did I just make Mavis a fangirl? I mean, our favourite Fairy Tactician needs to get her entertainment somewhere and I guess meddling with Celeste's love life is the way forward!
Also, I posted an outline of what I was planning on writing for the original version of this story. If you want to check it out, it's the last chapter of 'Abyss' that I have posted. I thought it would be cute to show any ideas so I could potentially get some critique on them before I published them here. Of course, since the the re-write is different to the original, concepts will be changed before the full chapters are written.
Now onto the QUESTION TIME!
Will Celeste find out about the philosophers stone? Or will she give the three the benefit of the doubt?