Into the Abyss
Chapter Forty-One
Kiss Your Family Goodbye
Celeste's entire body ached when she woke up. Her eyes sluggishly opened and were assaulted by the bright morning sun. With a groan, Celeste threw the covers over her head, just a few more minutes of sleep would not hurt. A deep chuckle caused her to freeze - that certainly sounded like a boy and boys were not allowed in the girl's dorms. It took Celeste a few moments to realise that she was not indeed in her dorms. These sheets were a boring ivory, and not the royal blue that belonged to her. Slowly, Celeste lifted the covers and blinked in surprise upon realising that she was in the Hospital Wing.
The memories of the previous night came flooding back. The dementors, the unison raid...everything. A sudden feeling of warmth washed over her however Celeste quickly brushed it aside as she turned mercury eyes towards Fred. The dementors had been out for a reason last night and she was certain that it was to do with Sirius Black. Had he been arrested once more? Did the dementors give him the kiss?
"What did I miss?" Celeste asked as she turned to face him. He shrugged before a yawn fell past his lips. Celeste found it oddly endearing and found herself smiling at the action.
"Nothing much, Lupin's a werewolf, Ron's rat, Scabbers was a bloody Animagus and er...your cousin Black was innocent".
Celeste gaped. This was far from what she had expected, and confusion coloured her face.
"What?"
"Yep. Lupin's gone and resigned too. his old schoolmate, Pettigrew was Scabbers. Had been all these years" Fred muttered sadly.
"That's a shame. I'm going to miss him- I mean everyone is going to miss him" Celeste said with a blush.
"Who would've thought that you would have a thing for a professor," Fred said with a chuckle. with a grimace. He looked pale, grim, and disgusted at the action. Celeste did not blame him. She knew that Scabbers had been part of Fred's family for a long time and the thought that he had disguised himself as Ron's familiar, stayed under their roof and all the while to escape the punishment of his crimes against Harry's parents.
"What happened to Pettigrew now," Celeste asked tentatively. Fred shook his head sadly.
"Got away," Fred told her glumly. What little hope Celeste had for her cousin diminished, how could Sirius be free now that the real culprit had once again escaped? There had to be something she could do. Some avenues that she had not yet discovered. Celeste wracked her brain searching for a way to help Sirius, she remembered her previous conversation with Dumbledore, and something clicked.
Sirius had never been given a fair trial in the first place.
That was a crime and could potentially cause his case to be reopened.
"What are you thinking?" Fred asked carefully. He could see the way Celeste's brows were pinched and he had come to know that this expression meant that she was deep in thought.
"That I may know a way to help Sirius Black," Celeste whispered, her voice low to avoid anyone else overhearing her. Fred's eyes widened as he leant in a tad closer.
"How so?" Fred asked, interest clear in his voice.
"Well, Dumbledore said that he never had a trial in the first place-"
"Which is very illegal," Fred interjected. Celeste nodded.
"Exactly. I think we could use this to prove his innocence" Celeste said "If Harry, Hermione and Professor Lupin saw Pettigrew confess, then their memories would be more than enough to prove Sirius' innoncence,"
"That's brilliant, Cell!" Fred beamed "
Celeste blushed "Well, er, I got the idea from Dumbledore you see...so it wasn't all me"
Fred grinned as he wrapped his arms around her, Celeste was surprised at the embrace but said nothing. Fred's was rather warm and she actually found herself enjoying it and smiled softly.
"You are brilliant,"
INTO THE ABYSS
Amelia Bones released a long, dreary sigh as she scanned over the latest auror reports given to her by the head auror. The whole 'Sirius Black' mess had created a ton of paperwork which Amelia was far from pleased with completing. The moment she got her hands on him she was going to -
Knock knock knock.
The buxom woman's thoughts paused in their tirade as loud, rampant knocking sounded on her office door. Thinking it was head auror Rufus Scrimgeour coming to give her yet another workload, Amelia called out,
"It's open Rufus!"
There was a moments silence before the maple door slowly opened and revealed the slight, feminine figure of a teenage girl no older than sixteen. The girl was dressed in rather expensive looking royal blue robes and her pale hair was tied back with a blue ribbon to match. Recognition filled Amelia's eyes and she pieced together the girl's delicate brows, mercury eyes and pale hair. This was Malfoy's eldest child.
Annoyance filled Amelia at having been saddled with the blonde heiress. Her father, Lucius was a slippery snake who had the minister eating out of his hand and Amelia certainly did not want to get on the wrong side of him nor his children.
Her niece, Susan was in the same year as the younger of the Malfoy's children and often shared stories of how pretentious and callous the boy could be. She never uttered a word about the elder sibling whom Amelia had unfortunately paid no mind to. Now Amelia was by no means close with the Malfoy's however, she had very few encounters with Lucius to decipher that he was a rather slippery man who had many Ministry officials - including the Minister - eating out the palm of his hand.
His daughter's resemblance to him was extraordinarily little, her aristocratic features screamed ancestry from the House of Black rather than the Malfoy's. But her smile was warm, pleasant, and radiated such kindness, that Amelia found herself second guessing if this girl truly was a Malfoy at all.
"And how can I help you dear?" Amelia asked. The girl politely cleared her throat, slender fingers smoothed out her dress robes before she spoke.
"My name is Celeste Malfoy and I'm sure too already know that Miss Bones. I'm here to talk about the escaped Azkaban convict - my cousin once removed, Sirius Black" Celeste said, her voice light and melodic.
Amelia's brows rose into her hairline, now this was not what she was expecting the girl to speak of.
"I see...well I am very busy at the moment but if you speak with my assistant then I would be happy to-"
"It cannot wait I'm afraid" The girl interjected with an apologetic smile, "You see every moment wasted here, the real culprit runs at large"
"Real culprit?" Amelia repeated incredulously. "Celeste are you implying that Sirius Black is not responsible for his crimes?"
"You see, Miss Bones, my cousin was convicted of the murder of twelve muggles as well as the murder of James and Lily Potter... yet where was his trial" the girl paused, her breaths shaky as she spoke once more "I have reason to believe that the real culprit, Peter Pettigrew, whom I believe is an illegal Animagus was the real culprit, fakes his own death and then spent the last twelve years in the form of a rat"
"If what you say is true then this is a perversion of justice! A man was wrongly imprisoned without a trial" Amelia said in shock. Celeste nodded in agreement, her mercury eyes ablaze with determination.
"In that case, Miss Bones, then I strongly suggest that you call upon Harry Potter and Hermione Granger as witnesses. Their memories could prove vital to proving that justice is served".
"I will see to it," Amelia said "But I must say that you are truly an intelligent girl."
"Thank you, Miss Bones," The blonde said with a smile. "Enjoy the rest of your day".
"And you…" Celeste said before she existed through the door.
Once the door softly shut, Amelia sighed once more. She had a lot of work to do.
As Celeste left Amelia Bones' office she raced back to the reception where she had left her Mother and Draco. Her brother looked rather annoyed as Mother continued to talk with a woman with curly brown hair and dressed head to toe in pink. Mavis, who had remained by her side during her conversation with Amelia Bones, sent Celeste a quizzical expression.
"I am sensing some unpleasant magic from that woman Celeste," Mavis said darkly.
Celeste's eyes darkened; she closed her eyes allowing her own magic to seep out from within her core. A sickly feeling filled the pit of her stomach as she was met with a horrid assault of putrid feeling magic, just being near the woman made her skin crawl.
I do not want her anywhere near Mother.
As the pair walked closer to Mother and Draco, the horrid feeling only grew. The pink dressed woman was the first to spot Celeste and a wide smile split her face. It did not meet her eyes.
"Ah there's my daughter, Delores," Mother said with a smile "Come along now, you know how your father hates to be kept waiting".
Delores...so that is her name. Hopefully, I will not be seeing her again.
Draco slowed his steps so that he was side by side with his sister. Mavis, who had previously been standing there, huffed as Draco walked straight through her.
"Where did you run off to?" Draco asked with a sharp glare.
"Just looking around, bumped into Amelia Bones," Celeste responded. Draco frowned.
"And what were you doing talking to Bones? Not meddling again, I hope, you know how much Father hates when you do that,"
"Father hates when I do anything," Celeste shot back "Besides, I will be of age soon, so Father can pretty much stuff whatever he thinks about me".
Draco's eyes rolled skywards "Would it kill you to not behave so much like a blood traitor?" Draco hissed.
Celeste stiffened "Would it kill you to not behave so much like a pretentious arse?"
Draco's eyes narrowed "You-"
"Children," Mother spoke, voice low as she spoke "Enough,"
Both teenagers silently nodded.
INTO THE ABYSS
Number 12 Grimmauld Place was brimming with more life than ever. With the dark, dreary decor of the London townhouse, its only human inhabitant, the recently escaped Sirius Black was on edge. Despite his home being awarded with enough security charms to keep even the most powerful wizards from discovering its location, Sirius kept a watchful eye on the windows, skulked within the shadows and kept his activity low.
His only company on the large house were a house elf who detested his very existence and a Hippogriff. The latter Sirius preferred much more despite lacking the ability to speak.
Sirius had always fancied himself as a good-looking sod, with his pale skin and dark, wild hair he was a looker. Such looks not even Azkaban could destroy, after giving himself a shave and a nice bath, he looked less like a madman and more like himself. Not having seen his reflection in twelve years, the thirty-three-year-old man was met with a sight of a man he hardly knew.
He had cursed Peter more times than he could count, cursed himself too.
But none of that is going to bring back James and Lily.
Willing away his dark thoughts, the wizard muttered out a simple fire charm to light the cigarette sitting rather invitingly on his mantelpiece. He had no idea how long it had been there, or if it were safe to use, but Sirius reckoned that if anything were to kill him then it would not be a twelve-year-old cigarette.
As the plumes of smoke filled the air, a loud crack broke through the silence.
"Kreacher has a letter for his blood traitor master," Kreacher appeared before him, head bowed as if unable to bear the sight of Sirius. The wizard paid the elf no mind and snatched the offered letter from the house elf's leathery fingers. Kreacher snarled and hastily disappeared.
"I wonder who sent this?" Sirius muttered. He snubbed out his cigarette and turned the letter over in his hands. Surprise coloured his features at the waxed seal of a serpent coiled around the letter 'M'.
He knew of one family with such an insignia, but Sirius wondered just what his cousin and her death eater husband would want with him. He had half a mind to throw the letter in the fire however, his own curiosity got the better of him.
Dear Sirius,
I hope this letter reaches you, for I have no idea where in Britain you are. I had to ask Mother to get in touch with your family's house elf - he really is something else, isn't he?
Anyway, I digress.
You see since we are related, I thought it would be best to find a way to help you and your predicament and after speaking with Amelia Bones, who so graciously investigated your case, and Sirius, you are free!
I hope that the two of us would be able to meet you in the future, but until then, take care.
Yours,
Celeste Malfoy.
Sirius had to re-read the letter to ensure that what he had read was true, he could hardly believe it. He was free. His eyes blurred and the man quickly realised that they had been filled with tears, they ran down his face until they blotted the letter and caused the cursive script to blot upon the parchment. For the first time in years, Sirius was happy. He finally could get his life back.
INTO THE ABYSS
Weeks later, in a terribly, boring normal part of England lay the county of Surrey. Located in Surrey was the even more, marginally boring neighbourhood, Privet Drive, home to a family who considered themselves normal. Vernon Dursley was enormously proud of his normal desk job, it was one that many of his peers envied, for it allowed him to live a lifestyle of moderate luxury.
His wife, Petunia was a beautifully thin woman, who in her heyday was the most beautiful flower in the garden. His son, Dudley, was the apple of his eye, a boy who was popular, intelligent and was well liked by all his teachers.
In short, the Dursleys were a normal family. Well apart from their nephew that is. He was what Vernon Dursley described as a 'wand waving freak' and the man was certain that the boy's sole purpose in life was to make his life miserable. His freakish ways threatened to bring shame into his house and Vernon was oh-so-grateful that he was only related to the vermin by marriage.
Now it was summer, both his own son and the freakish boy were home for the holidays. The Dursley's gathered round their new television as the latest broadcast of the mass murderer Sirius Black played.
"Innocent - ha, the bloody police these days have no idea what they are doing. Goodness knows where my hard-earned money is going!" Vernon bellowed out with a scoff. Beside him, his wife nodded in agreement.
"It's a wonder this country is still running, dear" Petunia said with a sniff "Politicians these days have absolutely no idea -"
Petunia paused in her tirade as the melodic ring of their doorbell sounded out. Now the Dursley's rarely had visitors these days in fear of a repeat of the Aunt Marge fiasco, so all three Muggles were incredibly surprised to have a visitor at this hour.
"It better not be those Jehova's again," Vernon grumbled "There's only so much 'good news' I can take".
Petunia clutched her Pearl's fearing that one of those awful wizards were at the door...what if they dropped another baby on her doorstep!
"Dudders would you be a dear and answer the door?" Petunia asked.
The lump of a boy huffed as he stood. As he opened a door, he was surprised to see a woman with deep, brown skin and dark chocolate eyes staring back. She was dressed in a tailor's dress suit which fitted her figure nicely and the boy was rather shameless as he stared openly at the young woman who loudly cleared her throat to gather the boy's attention.
"Hullo, are your parents' home?" The woman asked politely.
Dudley, who had yet to close his mouth, nodded.
"Would you get them for me, I have to speak with them, my name is Miss Kamala Chandra, and I am Harry's new social worker?"
Dudley nodded. He barrelled inside and back into the living room where both his parents sat staring at the television.
"It's some woman, dad, she says she's from the social and wants to speak with you" Dudley said hurriedly.
This seemed to be the wrong thing to say as Petunia promptly turned purple. She shot up from the sofa and raced to the door, where indeed a very smartly dressed, beautiful woman was standing.
"Just who are you?" Petunia asked icily. The brat had never had a social worker visit since he had been a toddler, just what had he been saying to those magical freaks at that wretched school of his?
The social worker smiled back at Petunia, ignoring the dark look the thin blonde sent her way and stuck her hand out, Petunia stared as if the woman grew an extra head.
"Miss Kamala Chandra. Social Services." Miss Chandra repeated, her smile unwavering even as Petunia's eyes scrutinized her appearance.
"The boy does not need a social worker, especially the likes of you" Petunia shot back. Miss Chandra was taken aback by the woman's tone; however, she remained her composure as she spoke once more, her voice even and devoid of any malice.
"I understand that you have a Mr. Potter who lives you and I have come to speak about his guardianship".
Petunia instantly brightened, "Guardianship? You mean someone wants to take him away?"
"Harry Potter's Godfather has requested sole guardianship of the boy, as his blood relatives you have the right to fight for custody for him-"
"Never mind that!" Petunia interrupted, she stuck her head inside the house and bellowed.
"Darling come quick! Someone wants to take the boy!"
This caused the woman's eyes to widen, surely the child's own Aunt and Uncle could not treat him so poorly? The reports were much worse than she had initially thought, and Kamala was suddenly happy that a new candidate wanted to be the boy's guardian. These had to be the most horrid people she had met.
Loud thundering steps were heard as a walrus of man appeared in the doorway. His size caused his wife to become pressed against the doorframe however, she seemed not to mind. Kamala Chandra suddenly found herself feeling very disgusted by the way Vernon Dursley's eyes raked appreciatively over her body. She could see now where his son got his behaviour.
"Kamala Chandra-" She spoke as she once again offered her hand. The plump man batted her hand away which caused his wife to smirk.
"I don't care about that" Vernon snapped rudely with a wave of his meaty hand "Now are you here to take the boy or what?"
Kamala was once again stupefied as she gaped in shock. She politely cleared her throat as she dusted the back of her palms against her skirt in a bid to retain her composure.
"Mr Dursley, a new candidate had expressed their request to be named sole guardian of Mr. Potter. As his blood relatives, Social Services will allow you to remain-"
Miss Chandra was once again interrupted as Vernon's neck snapped back towards the house as he bellowed out,
"BOY! GET DOWN HERE!"
Miss Chandra sighed as Petunia Dursley grinned at her, light footsteps echoed before a small boy poked his head beneath Vernon's arm. The boy squeezed his way past his relatives and Miss Chandra was honestly appalled at his appearance. She had thought that Harry Potter was a thirteen-year-old boy, but the child before her was frightfully small. His clothes looked far too big, and his glasses had a rather large crack which hinted that they had not been replaced for a long time. The boy smiled politely at her before offering her his hand.
At least someone here has some manners…
"Boy, this woman here says that someone wants to become your new guardian," Vernon said smugly.
"What? You're joking!" Harry gasped. Vernon and Petunia smiled smugly, the two thinking that the boy was sad at leaving. Unbeknown to them it was quite the opposite. This was one of the best days of his life. He could finally leave the Dursley's! But who wanted to be his guardian? They could not be worse than his Aunt and Uncle, could they? Suddenly, Harry started to feel nervous.
"Just who wants to become my guardian?" Harry asked tentatively. Kamala opened her mouth to speak however Vernon rudely interrupted.
"Who cares! Someone wants to take you" He huffed; disbelief clear in his voice. Beside him his wife nodded with a sour looking expression on her face.
"Might as well pack your things right now. In fact, I'll help!" Petunia laughed as she raced back inside. Vernon quickly followed behind her and the two adults trudged upstairs and into Harry's room. This left Harry alone with the social worker.
"Well, you see, Harry, the person who would like to become your guardian is your Godfather, Sirius Black" Miss Chandra explained. Harry's eyes widened as a smile split his face. He could finally be free from the Dursley's!
"That's brilliant!" Harry gushed.
"Mr. Black is currently getting his home ready, however social services sent me over to propose the idea to your Aunt and Uncle. However, it seems that we would need to get you set up sooner than planned".
Harry hastily nodded "How soon? I mean it's not as if the Dursley's will mind if I leave".
Miss Chandra felt her heart shatter at the statement, then suddenly, the Dursley's came back. Petunia tossed a black bin bag stocked full of clothes onto the ground at the social worker's feet whilst Vernon lugged a rather heavy looking wooden trunk behind her.
"There's a few more bits upstairs" Vernon huffed "Just that dreadful owl of his and a few of those nonsense books, but he's all yours Miss Chopra".
"Chandra," Miss Chandra corrected pointedly. Vernon rolled his eyes before turning to Harry.
"Well, get the rest of your things, then!" Venom yelled.
It did not take Harry long to gather his Hogwarts books, in the end, Miss Chandra had offered to carry Hedwig's cage whilst Harry tugged a large duffle bag of his books and parchment. Dudley waited eagerly outside, he was rather excited to have his playroom back and wasted no time in boasting about how he would set up his new PlayStation in the room.
Harry paid no mind, he said nothing as the Dursley's shoved him out the door, he was glad to see the back of them. As both Harry and Miss Chandra left, he was rather shocked when the woman pulled a long, thin stick from her blazer sleeve. Harry's eyes widened; his social worker was a witch! Kamala then pointed his wand straight at Vernon's retreating form and a thin stream of purple light shot out.
"I think you'll like this," She whispered. The spell hit Vernon straight at the back of his head, and suddenly Harry's Aunt released a loud scream. Vernon's thick meaty paws grabbed at his face, and he promptly released a yell as he felt the long thick tusks now protruding from his face. He looked hideous, but Harry thought that making him resemble a walrus was rather fitting.
"Suits him," Harry chuckled, he watched as Vernon screamed as he caught the sight of his own reflection in the nearby window. Petunia screaming behind him. Dudley, who had been busy in Harry's old room, toddled downstairs to see what was amiss, upon seeing his father's disfigured face he screamed before he passed out.
"Dudders!" Petunia screamed. She turned to Harry, eyes narrowed and her face a bright red as she stormed towards the pair "What have you done to my husband!" Miss Chandra stepped in front of Harry with a sweet smile on her face.
"I for one think it's an improvement," Harry said with a chuckle "Besides, it wasn't me. Looks like I am not the only freak around here, Aunt Petunia" His Aunt's eyes bulged as she gasped at the social worker and Petunia took a shaky step away from the pair.
"It will wear off in three hours...probably" Miss Chandra said with a smirk, "Have a nice day, Mrs. Dursley. Come on Harry, we should be off now".
"B-but, you can't!" Petunia wailed "You bloody freaks, the lot of you!"
Harry's smile widened as he and the social worker left Privet Drive and did not look back.
INTO THE ABYSS
Celeste huffed in annoyance as her new dress refused to fit her, after tugging at the zipper one more time, the blonde released a loud hiss of frustration as she threw the sleek black dress to her bed. She could not understand just why Mother was so insistent on Celeste attending the luncheon anyway, after her actions at the Ministry, Father was incredibly angry. Celeste had never seen him so irate and had been forbidden to leave the manor without parental supervision. Celeste did not care anyway; she had done the right thing by speaking with Amelia Bones and now an innocent man was free.
"Is it punishment time, Princess?" Virgo appeared in a shimmer of light and bowed deeply as she stood in front of Celeste. A light pink he coloured the celestial spirits cheeks at catching her master in an undressed state. The pink haired spirit then willed a beautiful white halter dress, decorated with crimson flowers to appear in her hands and offered it to her master.
Celeste smiled gratefully as she took the dress from Virgo.
"Thank you, it looks beautiful,"
"Beautiful enough for me to be punished?" Virgo asked, her blue eyes alight with excitement. Celeste giggled.
"Not a chance,"
"It was worth a shot," Virgo muttered "Will that be all?"
Celeste nodded "For now, yes".
Virgo disappeared with a flash of light and Celeste placed on her dress. It fit her like a glove and the blonde was pleasantly surprised to see that the girl staring back at her made her feel a lot more like Lucy. The blonde twisted her long hair up into a chignon, allowing her fringe to frame her heart shaped face. She headed downstairs to join the rest of her family and their guests in the manor's drawing room and all eyes stared at her as she entered. Among her father's friends were the Nott's, the Crabbe's, Goyle's and lastly the Flint's. Each of the couples had brought their sons and the boys looked much like mini replicas of their father's. The youngest of them being Marcus Flint, who had just graduated from Hogwarts.
Her Mother's eyes darted to the vacant chair sat next to her and Celeste, taking the hint seated herself on her Mother's left, which left her seated between both her parents. Mother had prepared excellent food which remained untouched, and Celeste's stomach growled as she fought the urge to snag a scone...perhaps no one would notice if she swiped one? Celeste placed her hands delicately on the table, the scones were placed inviting in front of her, if she were sneaky, she could take one and remain undetected. The older wizards were engrossed in their own conversation and did not seem to pay her much mind.
"I must say, Lucius, it is wonderful to have your daughter join us," Mr. Flint said with a chuckle. He stared down the length of the table to peer at Celeste - the blonde paused, her fingertips a breadth away from the plate of scones and she inwardly scowled.
"Tell, me, Celeste are you enjoying your schooling?" Mr. Flint asked.
Celeste nodded "Very much sir," Celeste responded, Mr. Flint seemed pleased with this answer and exchanged a look with his wife who was sitting beside him.
"Marcus tells me that you were made perfect this year...among other things" Mr. Flint said. The last part he muttered out, but Celeste and unfortunately both her parents heard this. Father tensed whilst Mother's grip on her goblet tightened.
This time it was her father who spoke "My daughter is rather headstrong; I believe it comes from her Mother's side of the family. I, however, am hoping that once she turns of age, she will get some perspective of the real world".
"Ah speaking of Narcissa's family, you must have both heard about the news of Sirius Black?" Mr. Flint asked "Surely, Lucius you would have seen this coming with your talks with the Minister".
"Unfortunately, not, Marius," Father answered, though his voice was even, Celeste knew that he was growing increasingly annoyed at where this conversation was heading. "Some...unforeseen circumstances took place which were out of my control. Hopefully, no future meddling will take place," Father's eyes drifted towards Celeste, they narrowed slightly, and the young witch suddenly felt a wave of malicious intent wash off her father.
"But we cannot control everything can we?" Mother asked with a forced melodic tone "Much like we cannot control our children".
All the adults chuckled "Here, here," Mr. Nott said. Beside him, Mr. Goyle and Mr. Crabbe snorted with laughter.
"Lucius, I fear our talks will bore our children's ears, perhaps it would be wise to allow them to entertain themselves?" Mr. Flint suggested.
Father nodded; his eyes alight with a knowing glint before he turned to Celeste.
"I believe Draco is out in the gardens, ensure that he is not up to anything unsavoury."
Celeste nodded, glad to be excused from the boring conversations of old men. She stood, carefully swiping a scone from the plate, and hiding it within her clenched fists. She motioned to move and was mildly annoyed when she realised that she would have to take the other boys with her...which included Marcus.
"Mr. Malfoy, if I may be so bold to ask if I may join your daughter on a stroll through the gardens?"
Celeste felt her tongue thicken in her throat. Her father did not seem to notice her unease and smirked, gesturing with the light movement of his hand. Marcus gestured for her to walk ahead and Celeste took delight in storming past him.
"I must say, Flint, your son is rather infatuated with Malfoy's daughter," Mr. Nott chuckled out.
Lucius quirked a pale brow as he turned to the other man.
"I assure you, Lucius that my son means no harm. He would not act improperly towards her before the arrangement comes into effect," Mr. Flint said quickly.
"There are more important matters to attend to" Mr. Malfoy said quickly "The quidditch world cup is soon approaching and we have much to plan."
All the men smiled, however, Narcissa was filled with dread.
INTO THE ABYSS
Draco - the traitor - had instantly left her with Crabbe, Goyle and Nott following him. Celeste, who was trying her best to ignore the older boy beside her, stormed ahead whilst taking large, angry bites from her scone.
"How long are you going to ignore me?" Marcus asked. Celeste swallowed the last bite of her scone with an irritated gulp before whirling round to scowl at her current companion with her arms folded over her chest.
"How long are you going to be an inconsiderate arse hole?" Celeste snapped. Marcus chuckled; amusement clear in his eyes as he sauntered past her.
"Come on, Malfoy, stop being so coy and talk to me. It would make things a lot easier".
Celeste scoffed as she halted her steps. She stared up at the older teenager and was very much unnerved at the sight of the smug smirk on his face.
"What are you so smug about, Flint?" To her annoyance, Marcus laughed, the sound was far from pleasant and he took another step towards her. On instinct, Celeste took a hasty step backwards however, she was now trapped between Marcus and the garden's large water fountain.
"You can hate me all you want, Malfoy, but one day you will he mine."
Celeste froze, and Marcus took delight in the shock filling her mercury eyes.
"Oh...so, your father did not tell you?" Marcus began with a smirk "The two of us have a betrothal contract, going back since before you were even born" Marcus took another step forward and grasped a hold of her wrist "Once you turn eighteen, you're all mine".
Tears pricked at her eyes of the thought of being forced to marry someone like Marcus. Anger welled inside her and before Celeste even knew what she was doing, she had wrenched her hand from Marcus' grip, whirled round so that he now had his back to the fountain, and shoved him.
The older teenager yelped in surprise as he staggered backwards and straight into the water fountain behind him. Hearing the commotion, Draco ran over, his friends, Crabbe, Goyle and Nott trailing behind. The latter spotted Marcus in the fountain and a seething Celeste and burst out in laughter.
Draco took hold of Celeste's upper arms and steered her away from Marcus' view.
"Celeste, what have you done?" Draco hissed.
"Your father will hear about this!" Flint shouted.
"Is that so?" Draco asked, "Then I suppose he would also love to hear about whatever you did to royally piss off my sister" Draco responded "I am certain that your father would not like that."
Marcus reddened and sheepishly turned away from the younger boy.
"Thank you" Celeste whispered. Draco huffed.
"What did he do anyway?" He asked quietly.
"Apparently we are betrothed…" Celeste said with a grimace. Draco's eyes widened.
"You...and Flint?" Draco repeated slowly. He turned back to a soaking wet Marcus as he staggered out of the fountain, the older boy resembling a drowned cat.
"Ugh, don't remind me!" Celeste cried out. She ran an irritated hand through her hair, pulling it out of her updo and allowing the pale tressed to fall past her shoulders.
"Alright, well you won't have to do anything for now...you won't turn of age for another year anyway and I doubt Mother will even want to pull you out of Hogwarts to get married".
"I should hope so," Celeste sighed "Who knows, maybe by then Father will disown me" She said with a dry chuckle.
"Don't say things like that," Draco hissed. He grabbed at her wrist and pulled her back towards the manor, he paused to shoot a dark look back over to where Marcus was now staggering up and out of the fountain "And don't you dare try to pull anything with my sister, Flint!"
Celeste smiled.
Hours later the teenagers returned into the manor. At the sight of his son, Mr. Flint's eyes widened.
"What in Salazar's name happened to you?" Mr. Flint asked.
Marcus reddened as he brushed his wet fringe out of his eyes.
"I... fell".
Celeste and Draco shared a smirk.
INTO THE ABYSS
Omake:
Harry Potter and Grim Old Place
Harry's first few days with Sirius had been the best days of his life. He finally felt as if he had a family, someone who knew and loved his parents and loved him. Once his social worker had dropped him off at a strangely named Grimmauld Place, Sirius had eagerly embraced Harry and welcomed him to his new home.
The place had been a bit strange at first and the house elf - who was nothing like Dobby - needed getting used to.
It did not take long to take both Sirius and Harry to decorate the new room. Harry was glad to have a bedroom which was his own. Even Hedwig seemed much happier and chirped in happiness as she was along to let her wings lose.
"Dinner will be ready soon!" Sirius bellowed.
"Alright!" Harry called back. This was the first time someone was making dinner especially for him. The young wizard eagerly bound down the stairs. The portrait of Walburga Black wailed as he passed.
"DIRTY HALF-BLOOD! HOW DARE YOU BESMIRCH THE ANCIENT AND NOBLE HOUSE BLACK - "
Harry paid her no mind and simply placed the hessian cloth back over Walburga's portrait. The old witch screamed in protest, but her shouts were soon drowned out. Sirius had charmed the covering to silence her cries.
The smell of burnt meat filled his nose and Harry chuckled as he spotted Sirius pulling a smoking pile of…. something out of the oven. Sirius inhaled deeply before a pout formed on his lips. He looked much better now that he was in better robes and had put some weight on.
"Smells…. interesting," Harry commented as he tried to fight the smile threatening to form. Her certainly did not want his Godfather to think that he was laughing at him. Sirius was trying to take care of him, and Harry was certain that he could count the number of adults on one hand who cared for his wellbeing.
Sirius whined "Admit it, prongslet, it looks like shit".
Harry grinned at the nickname, when Sirius had explained that it was to pay homage to his father he was overcome with emotion. There were not many people in his life who knew his parents like Sirius. Living with him was like piecing together the people that his parents were.
"It's not bad...I could make us something?" Harry suggested.
"Absolutely not, Prongslet. I told you that you were not to lift a finger and I stick to it!" Sirius said quickly. "Now get your coat, we're going out to eat."
A sudden rapping on the front door caused both wizards to freeze.
"Stay there," Sirius said quietly. The older wizard pulled his wand from his pocket and slowly advanced towards the house front door with careful and calculated movements. Harry waited a few moments before following behind.
The knocking got louder, and Harry watched with bated breath as Sirius wrenched the door open and pointed his wand straight at the intruder.
"It's just me, Mr. Black!" Miss Chandra cried out in shock.
Sirius breathed a sigh of relief as he lowered his wand. Miss Chandra was still a bit wary as she waved at both wizards.
"How did you find this place?" Sirius snapped. Miss Chandra looked taken aback at this question.
"Well, I had to do a lot of digging you see, Mr. Black after all, this house is very hard to find".
"Come inside and explain, I don't need any of the neighbours seeing you" Sirius said as he stepped aside to allow the social worker room to step through into the house. The woman instantly stepped out of her heeled shoes, and now without the extra height, she was a head shorter than Sirius.
"Oh, hello, Harry, how are things?"
"Good, good," Harry responded with a grin "Thanks for turning my Uncle into a Walrus".
Miss Chandra smiled warmly "Apparently, they had to pay a lot of money to have his face cosmetically ordered back to normal, they refused to have him looked at by a healer at St. Mungo's".
"How did you find us?" Sirius interjected. Miss Chandra reddened profusely.
"Oh….well you see, Mr. Black I got in touch with your cousin Andromeda and she informed me that your family used to live in London but for some reason she was unable to recall the exact address...I spent all of this morning asking about but no one seemed to know and then I happened across Grimmauld place and noticed that number 12 seemed to be missing and after a few revealing charms I managed to find a door"
"I see…" Sirius said slowly.
"I do apologise Mr. Black for intruding, you have my word that I will not inform anyone about you and Harry's location for as his social worker, I have his interest as my priority".
"Thank you, Miss Chandra," Sirius said with a breath of relief "But why did you come here?"
"I...er…. the Ministry wanted me to give you these," Miss Chandra told them. She placed a bundle of small papers into Sirius' hands. Harry peered over his Godfather's shoulders, as his eyes widened.
"Tickets for the Quidditch World Cup?!" Harry gasped.
Miss Chandra smiled "Minister Fudge hopes that you will accept his offer as an apology. He would also like me to inform you that a rather handsome amount of gold has been placed into your Gringotts account, Mr. Black and you finally have your titles reinstated as a Lord of House Black" Miss Chandra added.
"If Fudge thinks he can buy me off, then he has another thing coming" Sirius growled "and what does he want me to do with all these tickets?"
"For any friends, Mr. Black," Miss Chandra smiled "Now, I must be going now, I only came to give you the news, but I will be back during the Yule holidays to check up on you.""
"We're both heading out, too" Sirius said "Might as well head off together…"
"Oh no... Mr. Black I could not impose" Miss Chandra said. Sirius looked crestfallen "Perhaps next time when I am not working?" She asked with a hopeful smile. Sirius grinned and Harry who was watching the two adults in amusement smiled.
"Well, goodbye Harry. Mr. Black," Miss Chandra spoke softly. She disappeared from the doorstep with a loud crack.
"You can close your mouth now, Sirius," Harry commented wryly.
His godfather blushed "Oh shut it, prongslet".
A/N:
So this marks the last chapter of POA, bring on GoF!
Who will Sirius and Harry invite to the world cup? What will Celeste change in the next book? And will Fred find out about her engagment with Marcus Flint?
R & R!