Disclaimer: I own nothing

Into the Abyss

Chapter Twenty-four

The Three Fathers

...

Celeste was pleasantly surprised to find the manor already decorated for the Yuletide, her mother had always taken pride in appearances and one of her many passions was ensuring that their manor home always looked pristine for the holidays. No one could stop Narcissa Malfoy once her mind was dedicated to something and the proud matriarch took pride in knowing that she alone had made her already impressive home into something of envy. It was probably why, Narcissa never entrusted Dobby with decorating, such a task was personal to her and thus the witch liked a personal touch to ensuring her home obtained a festive touch.

Celeste greeted her mother with open arms upon seeing her waiting for them in the foyer, and the older witch gladly embraced both of her children.

"Come, Draco, tell me all about your first term," Mrs Malfoy said with a warm smile. Celeste knew that their mother had been writing to Draco once a week, but nothing could stop their mother from spending time with her children. She followed her mother and brother whist her father excused himself to the manor's drawing room.

Her mother sat herself down on the large armchair, her legs crossed at the ankles, whilst Draco sat in the armchair directly opposite and Celeste on the couch. Small fairies flittered around the room, they were a nice touch to the dark decorum which was permanently her home and Celeste wondered if perhaps the fairies would be willing to stay a little longer.

She had a passing thought that Mavis would have loved to see them but unfortunately, the ghost decided to stay at Hogwarts to keep the boys' company and give Celeste some privacy with her family.

"Your uncle Severus has been telling me that you are doing exceptionally well in all your classes," Her mother beamed. Draco smirked at the praise.

"Well, it is expected," Draco said with a smile. Celeste playfully rolled her eyes but said nothing.

"It appears that you are just as intelligent as your sister" Her mother added.

"And what of that boy in your year, Mr Potter, I believe" Her father drawled as he walked into the drawing room with a copy of the 'Daily Prophet' in his hands and his reading spectacles perched on the bridge of his nose.

"How is your relationship with your school's newest celebrity?"

Draco's expression turned sour, "That saint potter, I'm pretty sure he's everybody's favourite" Draco scowled "He thinks that he's so much better because he traipses around with those embarrassments, he calls his friends"

Now her father looked mildly interested, "And what friends would they be?"

Draco shrugged; his expression now rather sheepish as he slouched in his chair.

"No one important father, just Weasley and that know-it-all, Granger,"

"Ah, a Weasley, who would have thought" A thoughtful expression crossed her father's face as he sat upon the far end on the couch and placed his newspaper on the coffee table. "And, Granger, that does not sound like a wizarding name, does it, Narcissa?"

"No, it doesn't" Her mother added with a slight frown. Celeste winced at her mother's tone; it was cold, icy, and at that moment she was not the woman Celeste knew. Celeste was not naïve to think that her parents' views on muggles and muggle-born's would simply change, but it irked her knowing just how prejudiced they were. If this world were anything like Earthland, would people like You-Know-Who even exist?

"Hmm" Her father said, "Pity we did not send the children to Durmstrang like I suggested, those sorts would never be able to set foot near our children"

Celeste sighed, her eyes gloomy as she turned away from her parents and towards the wide-open window looking out the manor's courtyard. Even though the sky was grey, it still looked miles better out there than trapped inside the dark walls.

"I do prefer being able to have you near, and it gives me piece of mind knowing that my letters will reach you in suitable time" Her mother said thoughtfully.

"I suppose" Her father drawled as he turned back to his newspaper, their earlier conversation had ended but remained in Celeste's mind. She did not feel so festive now.

ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʙʏss….ssʏʙᴀ ᴇʜᴛ ᴏᴛɴɪ

Meanwhile in Hogwarts, Fred was feeling rather festive. The few students who remained over the holidays eagerly finished decorating the Yule tree with a bright star right on top. Among the students staying at Hogwarts, were his own siblings, Harry, Katy, and Lee. A whisper of his name had Fred pausing in placing a fairy upon the tree and the redhead whirled round. Shock formed on his face as he spotted a petite blonde with pale green eyes stood at the fireplace with a serene smile. The gale gingerly waved her fingers and glancing around, Fred was thoroughly confused to find that no one else had noticed her.

"-red, Fred!"

The redhead jumped as Lee slapped him on the back, his dark brows were furrowed as he stared at his friend.

"Pass us the tinsel, will you?" Lee asked as he gestured to the crimson and gold striped tinsel placed on the floor.

"Sure" Fred muttered. He passed the tinsel to Lee but as he glanced back at the fireplace, the girl was no longer there.

"Watcha think, mate?" His brother Ron asked Harry. The dark-haired boy craned his neck up at the mismatch mess of a tree before a bright smile lit up his face.

"I think it's brilliant"

Ron said something to Harry, most likely something about wizard chess- his brother was obsessed with the game and instantly, the youngest of the Weasley boys fished out the board kept in the common room. His youngest brother was coming out of himself a lot more and it was quite surprising how protective he was of his newest friend, Harry.

"I've always been rather fond of Christmas" A soft voice said from beside him. Fred turned to find the same blonde from before stood next to him. She swayed slightly as if she was a tree in the breeze before turning her green eyes upwards. She was a rather short thing; she barely reached his shoulders and she could easily be mistaken for a first year.

Only, Fred certainly did not recognise her.

"Don't talk, just listen. The others will think you're mad" The girl whispered.

She placed a finger to her lips and gestured to Katy, the girl was holding a bundled-up parcel wrapped in bright purple paper and she was walking straight towards them! Fred opened his mouth to warn Katy before she could bump into the smaller girl however, right before his eyes, Katy walked straight through her as if she were never there to begin with.

"Merlin's hairy balls…" Fred muttered.

He was momentarily broken from his stupor as George appeared, his twin quirked a brow in confusion as he stared at the space beside Fred. His twin was silent for a few moments as he stared between Fred and whomever was next to him in bewilderment.

"Er Have we met?" George asked the girl. She giggled before reaching into the deep pocket of her flowing pink dress and fished out a light blue notebook. It was easily recognisable; Celeste had been so proud when she had procured it for her invisible ghost friend-

"Mavis" Both boys said in unison.

The ghost girl nodded with a wide grin, "Hello boys"

George glanced around briefly, they were alone in the common room other than Ron and Harry who were busy with their game of wizard chess. But the twins surmised that since they were both so engrossed in their game, they would not be so easily distracted.

"We can see you" George muttered in disbelief "We can really see you"

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Georgie" Fred commented dryly. Mavis giggled; the ghost clasped her hands together as she took in the sight of the common room with a bright smile. Her first Christmas on Earth with friends.

ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʙʏss….ssʏʙᴀ ᴇʜᴛ ᴏᴛɴɪ

"I just cannot believe they are so closed minded" Celeste murmured. She was alone with her cat, Loke in her bedroom and the teenager sat on her four-poster bed. Her cat purred softly in his sleep and Celeste fondly stroked him behind his collar.

Her celestial keys hung loosely in her left hand, she was not allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts since she was still underaged and the blonde was desperate to talk to her spirits. She could feel sympathy from her keys radiating from the metal and her frown faded to a small smile.

"Thanks guys" Celeste sighed, 'I always know I can count on you'.

Suddenly, the keys began to heat up, Celeste yelped in surprise as the heat threatened to sear of her flesh and not wanting to get burnt a second time, Celeste dropped the keys upon her bed. A white light burst out from the keys and Celeste watched in shock as a gold magic circle appeared. A gasp left her lips as once the light cleared; a beautiful blue haired spirit was sat impatiently tapping her fingers on her bed. Her features contorted to a scowl as Celeste's jaw slackened face stayed that way for a few moments before tears filled her eyes.

"Aquarius!" Celeste cried out. The standoffish spirit huffed before folding her arms over her chest, but she did not protest when Celeste flung her arms around her shoulders.

"You could have just summoned me yourself, foolish girl," Aquarius snapped. Celeste sniffed as her arms tightened around the spirit, she slowly withdrew from the spirit and wiped at her eyes with her goofy smile still evident.

"I know…I just didn't want to bother you or anything" Celeste murmured. Aquarius scoffed.

"You bother me enough as is" The spirit quipped, "Tch, I can't believe you made me open my own gate, talk about a lazy master"

"Loke opens his own gate all the time-"

"Do I look like that pervert lion?" Aquarius hissed, she turned away from Celeste, her tail curling around her and the sudden action caused Loke to jump up from his space on the bed and over towards the newcomer with curiosity. To Celeste's surprise, Aquarius did not push the cat away and instead place a hand behind his ears just as he liked and proceeded to stroke him.

They both were silent for a few moments and Celeste found herself just entranced by the fact that the spirit who was her last connection to her mother, Layla, was here.

"Well, it means a lot that you actually came," Celeste said with a bright smile, "But what made you come?"

Aquarius paused in stroking Loke causing the cat to meow in protest, he always was a needy thing when it came to attention, much like his namesake.

"I don't need a reason" Aquarius said with a huff. Her tone held no malice and Celeste noticed the small smile gracing her lips, though from the corner of her eye she could see Aquarius twitching as if trying her best to hold back an insult.

"Alright" Celeste said with a nod.

"Those parents of yours…" Aquarius started, "I'm glad you're not like them"

Celeste smiled gratefully. Aquarius always had a tough time sharing her true feelings, so to have her here meant a lot to the blonde. That still did not mean she was not going to waste the opportunity to tease her…

"Were you spying on me?" She asked with a teasing lilt.

Aquarius scowled, blue eyes darkening and quickly causing Celeste to cower behind her stash of pillows as she profusely apologised.

"All of us just want to make sure you don't do anything stupid" Aquarius told her sincerely.

'Wow she's being really sweet. Could this be the new Aquarius?' Celeste thought with a smile.

"You have a track record, you know" Aquarius added with a smirk.

'Never mind' Celeste thought with a sigh. 'I guess some things are bound to stay the same throughout lifetimes'

"Just…I- we wouldn't mind if you summoned us more" Aquarius said quietly. "Not all of us are as strong as Leo"

"Aquarius" Celeste whispered. The spirit smiled warmly, but it quickly disappeared and was replaced with a scowl.

"But not on Wednesdays!" She hissed before she abruptly disappeared in a flash of white light.

ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʙʏss….ssʏʙᴀ ᴇʜᴛ ᴏᴛɴɪ

The next day, Celeste was able to visit Cedric's parents in Devon. The Diggory's lived on the North in a small village named Croyde and Celeste had only visited once throughout the entire time they had been friends.

"Now, Celeste, your father will arrive at the Diggory's by five O'clock by floo, so be ready, you know how he likes to be prompt about things" Her mother reminded her. Celeste nodded, a smile forming as her mother flicked her wand to wordlessly retrieve the stray bits of lint from her robes. Today, Celeste had opted for a plain white blouse, paired with a royal blue skirt which fell just past her knees. She had wanted to wear something a little shorter, but her mother had put up the fuss the last time she had worn a skirt that fell to her thigh.

That was one thing Celeste hated about the wizarding world. The fashion was so boring.

"Yes, mother" Celeste said for the umpteenth time.

"And don't roll your eyes"

"I wasn't-"

"And please refrain from participating in any unsavoury activities…I know how boys can be, I was a teenage girl myself after all"

"Mother!" Celeste yelped as her face flushed a deep red, "Draco! Mother's going barmy again!"

A loud chuckle could be heard from the hallway before Draco called out, "Mother stop going barmy, that wet blanket is not going to do anything to my sister"

"Draco!" Celeste shrieked, "Mother stop laughing!"

ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʙʏss….ssʏʙᴀ ᴇʜᴛ ᴏᴛɴɪ

Celeste had arrived at Cedric's home just after noon, the Diggory's were a rather inviting bunch and were very keen to show her around their home, it was nowhere near as extravagant as Malfoy Manor but it was beautiful all the same. A large family portrait taken from their trip to Spain was hung over the fireplace, in it all the Diggory's were smiling at the camera as they stood on the beach. They did look happy. Celeste wondered why her own family did not have any photographs like that.

Eventually Cedric suggested showing Celeste round the village and Amos Diggory happily ushered the pair outside into the cold winter air. Croyde was a rather peaceful town and much quitter than what Celeste was used to in Wiltshire. Covered in a thick layer of snow, the village looked as if it came straight from a postcard.

A portly man dressed in a bright orange sweater bounded out of his house, and upon spotting Cedric he waved a large meaty hand.

"Happy Yuletide, Cedric!" The man called.

"Happy Yuletide to you too, Mr Tame" Cedric called back with a polite wave. Celeste smiled at the action and waved politely at Cedric's neighbour, and as they walked through the village, Celeste found herself greeting almost all the locals that Cedric himself knew.

The pair came to a stop at the edge of the coastline, despite it being a rather grey and muggy day, it was nice to look out on the beach.

"Sorry about that. Everyone knows everyone round here" Cedric muttered sheepishly.

Celeste smiled, "It's quite alright. In fact, I think it's rather pleasant"

"People aren't as close in Wiltshire are, they?" Cedric surmised sadly. Celeste nodded.

"We don't leave the manor much and father prefers it if we don't mix with the muggles too much" Celeste added.

She wished she could just walk about the village like she had down with Cedric. Never had she even met her neighbours- if she could call them that. Her family lived rather isolated and the closest neighbours to them were a forty-minute walk away and were an elderly witch and wizard who like the Malfoys, preferred to keep themselves to themselves.

"Well, you're always welcome here. My parents are rather fond of you" Cedric said with a smile.

"That's very nice of you" Celeste said. Cedric took a seat on the ground; his knees drew up to his chest as he stared out on the horizon. Celeste paused wondering if it was such a good idea to sit on the snowy ground before quickly following suit. The ground as expected was chilly and she found herself hugging her legs for warmth.

"This place is called Baggy Point, its where I like to come to just stare at the sea"

"Baggy Point?" Celeste repeated incredulously. Cedric shrugged before releasing a light chuckle.

"Well, I didn't name it" Cedric told her between chuckles.

"I should hope not. It's hardly inspired" Celeste said as she released a giggle of her own.

A moment later, a frosty breeze blew past and it sent an icy chill straight through her bones. Noticing her shiver, Cedric unravelled his scarf from around his neck and proceeded to drape it over Celeste's shoulders.

"Cedric, you don't have to…" Celeste started.

Cedric shook his head with a grin, "I want to. Call it a Yule gift" Cedric told her

"But I haven't got you anything" Celeste muttered as she wrapped her fingers in Cedric's warm Hufflepuff scarf.

"And you don't have to. You're my friend" Cedric stressed.

A few moments passed before light footsteps could be heard, Celeste quirked a brow in curiosity as she spotted to figures, both sporting dirty blonde hair walking towards them. The two were clearly related, one a father and one his daughter and both were wearing long, thick sky-blue coats.

"Ah, hello, Cedric" The man said, he had a warm smile and beside him his daughter smiled serenely. She reminded Celeste of the nymphs she had read about in Levy's stories.

"Hello, Mr Lovegood. Luna," Cedric said politely before gesturing to Celeste, "This is my friend, Celeste Malfoy. We are in the same year at Hogwarts"

"It's nice to meet you both," Celeste added with a polite smile. Both newcomers smiled in return, but Celeste noticed how Luna's pale blue eyes seemed to look right through her instead of at her.

"I like your scarf, Celeste" Luna said with a dreamy smile. Celeste blushed as her fingers absently traced the thick fabric.

"It's actually Cedric's"

"Oh. I thought that much, you do look rather good in yellow, but I think that red is more your colour" Luna added thoughtfully.

"When are you going to Hogwarts, Luna?" Celeste asked. She wanted to change the topic of conversation and the girl- Luna looked as if she could see things which were not quite there. Celeste had been around enough magic sensors in Earthland to recognise them, and it was clear that Luna was a very gifted one.

"Next year, in September. Daddy wanted to have me home-schooled, but I think he's worried that the wrackspurts might infect me there, we heard the castle's infested with them"

"Nasty things too," Mr Lovegood added with a shudder, "You two need to keep your wits about you, it would be shame for a nice couple such as yourselves to fall victim"

Both teenagers blushed while Luna released a melodic giggle as she tapped her father's arm.

"Daddy, they're not a couple," Luna chastised with a tranquil smile, "I don't think Cedric and Celeste want to talk to us right now, they want to enjoy Baggy Point"

"Alright, moonbeam," Mr Lovegood said before patting Luna on the head with a smile filled with so much love it hurt. Her father never looked at her like that. "Goodbye, Cedric. Goodbye Celeste!"

"It was very nice to meet you, Celeste Malfoy, I look forward to meeting you again!" Luna called out as both herself and her father glided away.

Celeste stayed still for a few moments; the blonde replayed the previous interaction with the Lovegood's in her mind. They were a rather peculiar bunch and Celeste mused that they would have fit perfectly well in Earthland, perhaps they were like herself. Old souls from another world.

She had a passing thought of how pleasant it must be to have a doting father like Mr Lovegood. It was depressing that the blonde heiress seemed to have terrible luck when it came to father's, both in this life and the last.

"They're a nice family, the Lovegood's," Cedric said as he stood up. Celeste surmised that perhaps it was time for the two of them to leave Baggy Point, they had been strolling through the village for a while and with it being Winter it was already starting to get dark out.

"Do you see much of them?" Celeste asked.

Cedric shook his head, "Not really, my mum used to be close with Luna's mother, Pandora before she passed away. We all used to play together." Cedric said before he hummed in thought, "They don't live too far from us. We used to meet up a lot, the Weasleys too"

'That probably explained Mr Lovegood's closeness to his daughter', Celeste thought depressingly. Though it seemed that rather than Luna relying on her father, her father relied on her after his wife's passing.

"Really?" Celeste said in interest. Neither Fred nor George mentioned being friends with the Diggory's prior to Hogwarts. To think the world was so small.

"Yeah. Our dads see each other a lot at work" Cedric said. He fell into a light step, only slowing for Celeste to catch up with him. As usual, he offered the crook of his elbow to Celeste and she looped her arm around his own. They were walking closely beside each other now and she was grateful for the heat his body radiated.

ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʙʏss….ssʏʙᴀ ᴇʜᴛ ᴏᴛɴɪ

They arrived back at Cedric's family home just before four o'clock and Mrs. Diggory was waiting for them by the door. The woman was quite different to Celeste's own mother; where her mother was poised to perfection Mrs. Diggory was bubbly. Whereas both women had been in the same year at Hogwarts, Mrs. Diggory tended to dress like someone older than her years.

"The washrooms just through the hall, darling" Mrs. Diggory told Celeste with a warm smile.

After washing her hands, Celeste found herself in the kitchen, a fond smile blossomed on her face as she watched Mr Diggory tease his wife about the shepherd's pie she had just made. Mrs. Diggory blushed a deep red before whacking her husband over the head with a tea towel whilst Cedric watched with a grimace.

"They're a bit much, aren't they?" Cedric chuckled as he passed Celeste with a tray of vegetables in his hands. Celeste picked up the plates placed on the side before following Cedric out of the kitchen.

"They're sweet" Celeste told him with a smile. She glanced back towards the kitchen and caught the married couple smiling sweetly at each other.

Mrs Diggory came bustling into the room, she instantly spotted Celeste helping to set the table and shook her head softly.

"Celeste, darling sit down and let the boys do the work"

"Honestly, I don't mind Mrs Diggory" Celeste told the older witch but despite her protests, Mrs Diggory ushered Celeste into her seat.

"Better do as she says, Celeste. The missus always gets her way, right Cedric" Mr Diggory said with a chuckle, his smile quickly subsided at the glare his wife sent him.

Dinner was a nice affair, the Diggory's were a welcoming bunch and were keen to include Celeste into polite conversation. Their family dynamic was something Celeste herself was not used to; it was clear that both adults adored their son, but unlike the lavish gifts her parents often bestowed upon herself and Draco, the Diggory's showed their love for their son by taking interest in him. They were always keen to sing his praises whenever given the opportunity and the way both adults smiled at their son gave the impression that he was the very light of their life.

Celeste knew that her parents loved her, but it saddened her to no end at how distant they could be. The manor which had been her home for thirteen years was nothing like the Diggory's cottage and Celeste found herself wondering what her life would have been like if she had been reborn to a family like Cedric's.

"It's been very lovely to have you in our home, Celeste," Mrs. Diggory told her with a smile. Beside her, Mr. Diggory nodded with a grin of his own.

"And it's nice that you and Cedric are still close" Mr. Diggory added as he flashed her a grin, "My boy has always been rather fond of you"

"Dad" Cedric groaned, his face now a deep red. Celeste smiled at her friend, only this seemed to distress him further.

"So, Celeste, what electives have you chose for this year?" Mrs. Diggory asked to save Cedric from any further embarrassment…for now.

"Just Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Divination…" Celeste told her. Mrs. Diggory nodded.

"How interesting," Mrs. Diggory said with a thoughtful hum, "Though I am rather surprised that you did not take Muggle studies along with Cedric. He has said that you were rather curious about the muggle way of life"

Celeste blushed as she nodded, "I was…am…but um my parents thought it would be better for me to study something else that I could use outside of Hogwarts"

"Well, that is a shame," Mr. Diggory interjected with a glum tone, "Someone as intelligent as yourself could benefit from learning a new world view" Celeste found herself blushing further at the statement, she released a polite cough as she started absently fiddling with her shepherd's pie as Mr. Diggory added,

"Only last week, Cedric was writing home about rubber ducks," Mr. Diggory seemed rather chuffed at this and his wife chuckled in amusement. Uncertain of what was so peculiar about a rubber duck, Celeste chuckled awkwardly.

Of course she was not going to tell Mr. Diggory that she already was experiences a new world view at just being alive but it certainly would not have hurt to have taken Muggle Studies as an elective but her parents would never have allowed it. Cho had once suggested for her to switch electives in secret, Celeste was contemplating such an idea, however, her father's involvement in Hogwarts as one of the school's governors meant that he was incredibly involved in her schooling. Such an act would never go unnoticed.

Suddenly a loud knock came from the front door and Mr. Diggory excused himself to answer it.

"Ah, Lucius, and Draco. Come in, we've just finished dinner"

Celeste giggled softly as her father politely declined and made that excuse that, "My wife would certainly never let me hear the end of it if I were to eat another woman's cooking"

This caused Mr. Diggory to release a hearty laugh. Her father was many things, but one thing Celeste applauded him for was ability to converse with others so easily. Such a trait had helped seclude their family's reputation in higher society and was one of the reasons why her father was so involved in affairs at Hogwarts (much to Celeste's chagrin).

"There's always another time" Mr. Diggory said with a grin. "Oh, before you leave, my wife's put together a little something for the children- a Yule gift"

"It seems are wives hold the same ideals" Her father drawled as he nudged Draco forward to hand the neatly wrapped parcel over to Mr. Diggory. Celeste was unsure as to what was inside, but if it was picked out by her mother, she was certain that it was impressive.

ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʙʏss….ssʏʙᴀ ᴇʜᴛ ᴏᴛɴɪ

The three Malfoys arrived back at the manor shortly after, Draco was keen to open his gift from the Diggory's now, but her father sternly reminded him that he had to wait another three days before the actual Yule celebration day. Celeste excused herself to the manor library, she often found solace here and she was keen to learn more about other villages like Croyde, a perfect blend of both muggles and magical folk.

Scanning through the various tomes, Celeste paused as she found a book on Alchemy and a fond smile formed on her lips. Her old friend, Marcus Flint was rather skilled on the subject despite it being an elective for only sixth and seventh years. Her curiosity now getting the better of her, Celeste plucked the book 'Advanced Alchemy' from the shelves and randomly selected a page- something Marietta had suggested in order to make reading more exciting (as if it needed more excitement added to it!)

There on the page written in bold was the page header 'Nicolas Flamel and the Elixir of Life' and beneath it the image of an elderly, yet regal looking man who looked as if he had stepped straight out of a renaissance painting.

'What do you know about Nicolas Flamel?'

Celeste paused as the sudden memory flashed into her mind and now perplexed, she scanned the page as she wondered just why the three first years were so curious about the Alchemist. Celeste knew for a fact that Alchemy was only studied by sixth and seventh years and Professor Binns, as passionate as he was about the History of Magic, tended to repeat his lessons. Never once had he taught the subject of Alchemy for it was too advanced for third years- even Hogwarts rarely taught it since the subject was not exactly sought after.

'But if they were not doing homework, then what were they after?' Celeste murmured. She scanned the page looking for clues, but all she could find was Nicolas Flamel's feats on his most famous creation, the Philosopher's Stone. But why would three first years be interested in that? Hermione, maybe, but Harry and Ron- they were hardly the studios type.

"There has to be something else, something that I am missing," Celeste murmured out loudly with furrowed brows. It annoyed her to no end that sitting right in front of her was a puzzle just waiting to be cracked, and like her three-hundred-and-thirty-three piece jigsaw, which had one piece missing (she was certain that Draco had something to do with it) it was taking Celeste much longer than she anticipated to find just how all the pieces fit together.

"Nicolas Flamel...the Philospher's Stone...could it be-?"

CRACK!

Celeste jumped as she whirled round, her book fell to the ground in the process as she found Dobby staring sheepishly at her and Draco stood beside the house elf.

"See, Dobby," Draco said as he gestured towards Celeste with a smug expression, "I told you she was down here" The house elf frantically nodded in agreement before hastily muttering out a string of praises which only resulted in boosting her brother's ego.

"Hullo, Dobby, you gave me a bit of a fright" Celeste said. The house elf twitched slightly and instantly Celeste noticed the fresh bandages around his wrists and fingers. Inwardly she sighed.

"You can go now, Dobby. I think father needs your help in his study," Draco told the house-elf. Instantly, Dobby apparated with a crack.

"Help me with my history of magic assignment" Draco demanded. Celeste quirked a brow.

"Would it kill you to ask nicely?" Celeste asked. Her brother scoffed, but at Celeste's stern expression, he quickly caved.

"Can you help me with my history of magic assignment"? Draco asked with a huff. Celeste smiled in response; her previous studying now forgotten as she pulled out one of the chairs for Draco to sit on whilst she sat beside him.

Glancing down at his parchment, Celeste noticed it displayed what looked to be a family tree. Both their parents as well as both sets of grandparents were written in Draco's neat scrawl, but to Celeste's confusion the family tree appeared complete.

"Draco, you have already finished it," Celeste pointed out. Her brother scowled.

"No, I haven't, something is missing! Look!" Draco stressed as he pointed to the name reading Cygnus Black III, the man who was her late maternal Grandfather.

"It's fine Draco. There's mother and Aunt Bellatrix. I don't see what's wrong," Celeste huffed.

Draco's annoyance only increased as he slammed a thick, heavy book with the words 'Toujours Pur' – a rather pretentious motto in Celeste's opinion - inscribed in gold on the front upon the table. Celeste had seen this book before; it was the House of Black family archive. Each branch family of the Black's possessed one and her mother's was kept within the manor. Her brother opened up on of the pages and jabbed his index finger angrily at the name Cygnus Black III once more, confused, Celeste's eyes widened as she spotted a large smudge directly between where her mother's and her aunt Bellatrix's names.

"See," Draco stressed as he gestured to page, he turned a few pages back and pointed to a similar smudge.

"It looks like someone's name was blocked out…" Celeste murmured. Her fingers traced gently over the smudge as if half expecting it to disappear beneath her touch, but still it remained. Dark and ugly, a cruel reminder to how easily one could be erased from her family line.

Disownment in this world was much more severe than back on Earthland. When she had run away from her father, Jude, she had simply been written off as a disappointment. Here, disownment meant getting erased from every public record. It was as if the person never even existed in the first place. Celeste had heard stories of her great aunt, Lola Black, who had been disowned after marrying a muggle with the name 'Hitchens'. Celeste wondered if perhaps her mother's sibling had been the same.

Was there an aunt or uncle out there she had never met? How about cousins? Did they live in England or somewhere else in mainland Europe?

It baffled Celeste to no end, wondering how or why her own mother so readily wrote her own sibling off. She could and would never do the same to Draco.

"I tried asking mother about it," Draco said, his voice breaking Celeste away from her internal musings. "But she just brushed me off. I think…I think that one of our aunt's was disowned, Celeste"

"Merlin, Draco, that's horrible," Celeste breathed out sadly. Draco nodded; his face impassive as he stared at the black smudge as if it had done something horrible to him.

"Guess I'm not finishing that family tree, huh" Draco commented wryly.

Celeste nodded gloomily, "I guess not"

A/N:

A cheeky 6k length chapter to introduce two of my favourite characters into this story as well as more Cedric. My brother and me got into a lengthy conversation about how awesome Cedric is- well more so me than him (the Hufflepuff in me is very protective). Like how many characters can you name in the potterverse who were well liked among every house?

A few terms and facts used in this chapter:

Yule/Yuletide is an archaic term for Christmas. Since the wizarding world is rather behind the muggle one in terms of technology, I assumed that the more traditional wizarding families would still use this term to describe 'Christmas'

I am fairly sure that the village of Ottery St Catchpole where the Burrow is located is based on Ottery St Mary, an actual village in Devon.

Ottery St Mary is about an hour away from Croyde, but for the sake of this story, its within walking distance because a) I'm not as creative as Rowling when naming things, and b) I wanted to mention Baggy Point, it's such a neat name!

Now, let us get onto Question Time!

Will Celeste find out