Into the Abyss
Chapter Forty-three
The Triwizard Tournament
Weeks later, summer had come to an end and the Weasley's found themselves once again in Kings Cross. The twins chased each other round with their trolleys, almost knocking over a muggle schoolgirl in the process, Arthur attempted to chase them down, but his efforts seemed to be in vain. Sirius smiled at the sight, the twins reminded him very much of himself and his best friend, James, during their youth.
A muggle woman in her late fifties gave Sirius an appreciative once over before a teenage boy - who Harry assumed was her son - carted her off as if she were a disobedient child.
"Oh look, there's Arthur and his lot," Sirius said as he and Harry appeared in the station. Hedwig chirped happily in her cage as the two wizards went to greet the rambunctious brood.
"Fred, George - slow down!" Arthur yelled. He managed to grab both boys by the scruff of their collars before he finally noticed Sirius and Harry standing before him "Ah Sirius, Harry, good to see you!" Said Arthur with a huff. The twins offered their own greetings causing Harry to grin, he was rather looking forward to going back to school.
"How goes it?" Fred asked as he wiggled out of his father's grip. George smiled in greeting before doing the same. The group gave a quick glance around to look for any muggles, seeing the area was clear, they ran through the wall and onto Platform 9 and ¾. Upon emerging on the other side, Harry was the first to spot the Malfoy's. He remembered the encounter with Lucius a couple of weeks back at the cup and grimaced, he kind of wished that there was a repeat of second year when Mr. Weasley completely throttled the pompous man.
"Don't worry, Harry, that old git will get what's coming to him" Sirius said with a loud bark. The sound caught the eldest Malfoy's attention and he turned to sneer at them both. Even Narcissa, Sirius' own cousin sported an expression which gave her the appearance of having smelt something terrible.
"Ah, I sincerely hope you enjoy your freedom while you can, it would be a shame to become locked up like a mutt once more" Lucius sneered. Harry's fists tightened but he felt Sirius's hand on his shoulder.
"Try not to worry about me too much Lucius, it will turn your lovely hair grey" Sirius chuckled. Lucius huffed, he turned on his heel and the rest of his family obediently followed - all except for his daughter. Sirius thought that she was the spitting image of her mother, the same pale hair, stormy grey eyes, and the graceful aristocratic features that many members of house Black possessed. But what allowed her to stand out from the rest of her family was her smile.
"Hullo, I apologise for my Father, he can be a little...insensitive," She said with a wry smile.
"That's one way to describe him," Harry commented with a grimace, "You two have not met properly, before have you?"
Sirius shook his head before offering his hand to his cousin, the girl gripped it with a bright smile as she gave a light shake.
"It's nice to finally meet you," Celeste said.
"Likewise, though it is a shame it's not on more friendly terms," Sirius said. Celeste smiled sadly.
"So, is it true that the two of you are living together?" Celeste asked.
Harry nodded "Happened the beginning of summer, I haven't seen my Aunt and Uncle since".
"From what you've told me, they don't seem like particularly nice people anyway" Celeste murmured.
"I'm sure that there are worse people than the Dursley's" Harry said. Sirius had never met Lily's family; he had heard comments from James once upon a time about the sister who had practically turned her back on Lily once she came of age. From what Harry said, she had married a horrible walrus of a man who had a hatred of all things magical. If he ever got his hands on those horrid muggles then-
His thoughts paused as when Celeste turned, the long tresses of her fringe revealed a slither of purple discolouration in the shape of Sirius just knew to be fingers. The blonde quickly brushed her hair back, obscuring what Sirius knew to be a bruise from view.
"Have a little accident, Celeste?" Sirius asked. The girl shook her head, though Sirius noted the way her shoulders stiffened and how she quickly turned her eyes away. He had been an auror, new to look for the signs of apprehensiveness and the poor girl looked as if she wanted the ground to swallow her whole.
That was all he needed to know.
"Celeste!" Lucius called. The girl winced before politely bidding them both goodbye and hurrying after her father. "It was nice to see you, Sirius! See you at school, Harry!" The girl called back. She was gone in an instant as she disappeared among the crowds, but Sirius' could not get the image of the hand-shaped bruise out of his mind.
INTO THE ABYSS
"Try to keep your head down this year,"
Celeste smiled softly at her younger brother. She reached out and gave his hand a light squeeze, he was stiff for a few moments before eventually, he squeezed her hand back. The siblings had gotten closer over the summer and Celeste found it ironic that it had been her Father who had unintentionally caused it so.
"Your hair's getting long again. You need to get it cut" She pulled at the pale strands that were touching his brow. Her brother swatted her hand away and smoothed his hair down. He had grown it out over summer, and it framed his face which was starting to lose the roundness of a boy.
He really is growing up.
"Listen, Celeste, I... just don't want anything to happen again".
"And it won't" Celeste insisted. "I can handle myself."
"Oh sure, you handled yourself very well" Draco scoffed, gesturing pointedly to the bruise on her cheek. Celeste smoothed her hair down, however her brother continued to stare at her.
"You don't need to be so worried, Draco...now go and find your friends I'm sure that they're dying to see you,"
"Fine" Draco sighed. His sister smiled in response and her eyes twinkled amusement, "See you at the feast,"
He left with a lazy wave and Celeste spotted, Vincent and Gregory, both boys nodding in greeting before following Draco off to a different compartment. Celeste sighed as she hauled her trunk down the aisles.
It did not take long for Celeste to find Cho and Marietta, being the most fashionable girls in her year, both girls had decided to take the carriages near the rear - they had the most room - and had proceeded to help Celeste with her hair and makeup.
"Did you have a fall, again?" Marietta asked as she brushed Celeste's fringe out of her eyes. A frown formed on her face as she fished a small vial of peach coloured cream and dabbed a small sponge doused with it over the purple bruise. ('Camouflaging concealer was what she called it')
"Yep. Right into the bannister too," Celeste responded quickly. Cho rolled her eyes; her best friend was hopeless.
"Typical, Cee" Cho quipped as she fiddled with the collar of the blonde's dress.
"Rowena, Cee, when did you get so…" She trailed off as she made a round gesture in front of her chest and Celeste who was rather bashful, folded her arms over her chest. This did nothing to help cover her up and only caused her friends to laugh.
She had always been confident in her own skin as Lucy, she had a body that turned quite a few heads. However, what had been the norm in Earthland certainly was not on Earth. The small waist, large hips and bust ratio was not entirely common and it seemed that her previous body as Lucy was starting to creep up to her now. Now, Celeste was not ashamed of this, but she was starting to realise just how much she stuck out like a sore thumb among her new friends.
"There's no need to be so shy, Cee," Marietta chastised "Think of all the boys that those girls can bring in".
"Speaking of boys, did you see Roger Davies?" Cho asked with a dreamy look in her eyes "He's so tall and that shirt he wore really showed off his arms".
"Oh, so you like guys with nice arms, Cho?" Marietta asked with a giggle "Then you would've died if you saw Diggory".
Cho reddened profusely.
By the time the Hogwarts Express rolled into Hogsmeade station, Celeste had a niggling sense that something was different. Cho insisted that everything was fine and chartered on about the quidditch cup final and Krum's wronski feint. As the horseless carriages came into view, Celeste gasped as she approached a terrifying sight.
A tall, skeletal beast built like a horse stood in front of each carriage. Celeste felt her face pale as the creatures stared back at her, their eyes cold and dark. The dark ominous instantly reminded her of the cold abyss and instantly, Celeste began to feel a little lightheaded.
"... leste...Cell…. Celeste!" Cho cried out. Her hands waving in front of the blonde, Celeste who had been lost in thought, walked straight into Cho causing the dark-haired girl to cry out in pain as their foreheads bumped together.
"Oh, sorry!" Celeste rushed, she winced as Cho rubbed at her head.
"'S fine. Are you alright?" Cho asked.
Celeste nodded; however, she felt a chill run down her as she spotted the creature standing just behind Cho. It is pearl-coloured eyes pierced through her as if staring into her very soul.
"Cho...turn around for a second."
Cho did as she asked and slowly followed Celeste's line of sight. The girl stared from Celeste to what appeared to be a horseless carriage before confusion coloured her face.
"Celeste...what's going on?" Asked Cho.
"Can you see it?" Celeste asked, her voice barely a whisper.
"See...what?" Cho asked. Celeste stepped next to Cho and pointed straight at the skeletal horse. Cho, who was increasingly becoming more confused, merely stared at the blank space.
"There isn't anything there," Cho said in disbelief.
"Are you sure that you're alright?" Marietta asked.
Celeste rubbed at her eyes, but as she opened them once more the creatures were still there. Were they invisible to everyone but her?
"I see them too," Loke stepped beside them.
"Are you both pulling my leg?" Cho asked with a nervous chuckle, beside her Marietta looked worried. "Because if you are…"
"They aren't," A third voice said, all three of them turned to find Luna Lovegood, a girl in her third year came to join them, dressed in a pink raincoat and matching pick wellington boots despite the sunny weather. She stepped right next to the skeletal horse and gently ran a hand over its maw. The horse leaned its head closer into her touch.
"They're Thestrals. They can be seen by those who have seen death" Luna explained. Her voice was soft almost melodic as her bright blue eyes danced with life. She smiled at the Thestral as if they were old friends and the creature gently lowered its head against Lunas own in a sort of greeting.
"That actually...makes sense" Cho muttered. Her eyes saddened and she desperately wanted to change the morbid conversation. Thankfully, Luna took the initiative to fish a pack of sugar quills from her fluorescent pink bag and offered them to the elder students.
"Did you have an accident, Celeste?" Luna asked as she nibbled on a sugar quill.
"This one here fell into a bannister" Marietta said with a chuckle. Luna nodded, though her cornflower blue eyes never left Celeste.
"You ought to be careful at home, Celeste. There are all sorts of dangers there" Luna said, her voice no longer sounded bright and cheerful, but ominous.
When the thestral drawn carriages arrived at the castle it had started to pour down with rain. Celeste shrugged off her sweater in favour of using it to shield herself from the elements, with Marietta squeezed beside her. Whilst Cho's only protection was her potions textbook. Luna, who had joined the elder girls in their carriage, skipped happily through the rain.
"Wish that I'd taken a leaf out of her book," Marietta admitted sullenly. The brunette winced as she stepped into a puddle and the cold, muddy water soaked straight through her shoes and socks.
"A bit of rain never hurt anyone!" Loke hollered, his wild hair plastered against his face as he placed his black blazer over a seventh-year girl's head. The girl blushed as she thanked him causing Loke to grin. Celeste rolled her eyes at his antics.
As the students raced into the castle's entrance, sopping wet, cold, and hungry, Celeste squeezed the extra water out of her sweater. Marietta whined as her hair started to frizz and Cho looked crestfallen as her potion's textbook was so drenched that the words were completely unrecognisable.
"Nice, Malfoy" Kenneth Towler, a Gryffindor who Celeste certainly was not on friendly terms with, snickered as he walked past her. Celeste frowned at the way his eyes stared appreciatively over her form before she quickly realised to her horror, her white dress was completely see-through. The blonde reddened as she placed her damp sweater over her chest however Towler and his friends continued to chuckle at her expense.
"Whoops, silly me!" George cried out with a grin as he swept Towler's legs from underneath him. This created a domino effect as he fell into his friends and the boys fell into a heap onto the floor. Professor McGonagall walked out of the Great Hall just in time to catch the commotion and turned round the glare at the twins.
"How clumsy of you, George!" Fred chastised, though the grin on his face looked far from disappointed.
"Hmm I should have known that the two of you had something to do with this," She gestured to the group of students who had started picking themselves up from the floor "Luckily for you, the year has just begun so I will not be docking points from you just this yet".
"We're deeply sorry, Professor," Fred said, the boy was trying to look apologetic however his voice broke off in quiet sniggers of laughter. Beside him, George was trying - and failing - to fight his own smile. Celeste wondered if the twins perhaps had a death wish.
"We won't do this again" George said with a cheeky grin. Professor McGonagall rolled her eyes, though Celeste noticed the small smile threatening to tug at her lips. The deputy headmistress's eyes suddenly widened at the state of Celeste's dress, she gracefully plucked her wand from within her sleeve and pointed it at the younger witch. The blonde felt a gust of hot wind wash over her and suddenly she was completely dry.
"Thank you, Professor" Celeste said gratefully. The deputy headmistress dipped her head before hastily turning to Peeves. The poltergeist was trying to waterbomb a group of second years.
"So, happy to be back?" She asked, she was sandwiched between the twins as they walked into the great hall. Most of the students had already started to sit at their house tables however a few of the older students were milling about in groups.
"Very. George and I have a lot planned this year. Though we have to make up for our lost inventory"
"What happened to it?" Celeste asked.
Fred sighed "Mum found out about our OWL grades and got rid of the whole lot. Should've seen her face".
"I'm sorry about that" Celeste said softly "I'm sure you and George can make up for it, you're both very talented."
"Why thank you, Miss Malfoy," Fred bowed slowly. Celeste smiled as she curtseyed. The two parted ways shortly after, Fred joining the Gryffindor's and Celeste the Ravenclaws. Celeste was extremely excited to see that large helpings of food, her stomach growled loudly, and the blonde realised just how hungry she was.
"What is your secret, Cee?" Marietta asked as she spooned a helping of mashed potatoes on her plate.
"Secret to what?" Celeste asked dumbly. She placed some sausages onto her plate as Marietta ducked her head low.
"She's talking about your boobs, Cee," Cho said pointedly. Celeste blushed.
"Can we have just one conversation that isn't centred around my breasts?" She asked with a sigh. She knew that they were a rather large handful but Merlin, it was embarrassing! Plus, she could see Roger Davis staring at her from across the table. Celeste cleared her throat loudly and Roger profusely turned red before muttering out his apologies.
Not too long later, the plates vanished, and Dumbledore promptly got to his feet with a whimsical smile.
"So!" He said, smile wide as the students turned to face him in anticipation "Now that we are all fed and watered" (Celeste still felt rather hungry and was rather disappointed that the dessert disappeared before she could get a second helping.) "I must ask for your attention whilst I give out a few notices".
Celeste rested her head on her propped-up fist, mind whirling to the new books which would most likely be put in place inside the Ravenclaw common room. Helena Ravenclaw often changed them every turn, stocking them with her own personal favourites.
"Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle this year has been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees and…."
Celeste could feel herself nodding off, beside her, Cho's eyes slowly started to close...
"... It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year".
Suddenly Cho's head snapped up as if being doused in ice, she mouthed soundlessly as if too disgusted to speak. Glancing around the hall, Celeste noticed that many of the quidditch team members stared at Dumbledore as if he had done something terrible - which in fact he did.
"This is due to an event that will be starting this October and will continue throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers time and energy - but I am to ensure you will all enjoy it immensely (Cho huffed, not looking overly impressed and Celeste patted her arm). I have the great pleasure of announcing that this year at Hogwarts-"
At that moment, there was an ear-shattering rumble of thunder and the doors of the Great hall banged open. A man stood in the doorway, leaning upon a long staff, and shrouded in a black travelling cloak. Every head swivelled towards the stranger; Mavis popped into existence next to Celeste as her green eyes widened in awe. Suddenly a fork of lightning flashed across the ceiling and illuminated the mysterious stranger, he lowered his hood, shook out a long mane of dark grey hair and then began to walk to the teacher's table.
"Who's that?" Mavis whispered, drinking in the way a dull clunk sounded out with each step the man took. He limped towards Dumbledore and the headmaster looked pleasantly delighted at the man's appearance.
"That's Alastair Moody," Celeste breathed. "He's an auror and famous for filling up almost half of Azkaban by himself".
"Stop talking to yourself" Mariette hissed.
The man reached out a scarred hand that Dumbledore instantly took, the two exchanged a few words no one else could hear before Moody eventually sat down on Dumbledore's right-hand side. His electric blue eye swivelled, it darted restlessly around the students as if ingraining them all into its memory and suddenly Celeste felt very uneasy. She had heard of this man before in books, heard the whispered stories, but seeing him in person was terrifying.
Celeste wondered why he was here, a thought flashed in her mind that perhaps Dumbledore had chosen an ex-auror and retired veteran as their teacher. But surely, he could not have?
"May I introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher" Said Dumbledore brightly "Professor Moody".
But he did.
It was usual for new teachers to be greeted with applause but none of the staff or students clapped except for Dumbledore, Hagrid, and Mavis. Unfortunately, no one save for Celeste could see the ghost, so her applause and loud cheers fell on deaf ears.
"I wonder what happened to his face," Marietta whispered. Her eyes staring at Moody with fear.
"Who knows," Cho whispered, transfixed with the teacher. Moody did not seem to mind the absence of his warm welcome but judging by his appearance he was used to this sort of treatment.
"As I was saying," Dumbledore said, smiling at the sea of students before him, all of whom were still transfixed with Mad-Eye Moody "We are to have the honour of hosting an exciting event over the coming few months, an event which has not been held for over a century. It is my pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year".
"You're JOKING!" Said Fred loudly. Celeste giggled as the tension in the hall suddenly broke and nearly everyone laughed. Dumbledore chuckled.
"I am not joking, Mr. Weasley" He said "Though now you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over summer about a troll, a hag and a leprechaun who all go into a bar-"
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly.
"Er- but perhaps this is not the time...no…" Said Dumbledore. "Where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament..."
"That's a shame...I rather like jokes" Mavis sighed sadly. Celeste thought that this whole tournament sounded eerily like the S-Class trials, the thought of so many students putting their lives at risk was worrisome and she hoped that none of her friends would dare to participate.
"I'm not going to enter," Cho said in a hushed whisper. Celeste nodded in agreement, brow arching as Dumbledore assured the students that no one would be placed in mortal danger - that was what Celeste had thought before participating in the S-Class trials and look where she was now. She did not want anyone else suffering the same fate. No prize was worth it.
Sure, the prospect of seeing her friends from Beauxbatons was appealing - she had not seen Fleur in years, and she wondered if the beautiful part vela would even remember her. Their last letter had been years ago, and they had lost touch after her family had stopped their annual visits to France.
"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts, the Heads of the participating schools along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on the contenders of this year. Only those who are of age - that is to say - seventeen years or older - will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration".
"You weren't thinking of entering, were you?" Marietta asked. Celeste shook her head.
"No. Besides even if I wanted to, I don't turn seventeen until July".
"And now it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!"
Mavis giggled, her legs dangling in the air as she hummed to herself a tune which Celeste was not familiar with. With a bright smile she bounced upright.
"Where are you off to?" Celeste asked.
"I'm going to see how long it takes for Myrtle to realise someone's in her toilet" Mavis said with a giggle.
"It's not nice to mess with her, you know how territorial she is" Celeste chastised. Mavis puffed out her cheeks.
"It's just a bit of fun, I'm sure that in no time she'll be able to see me!" With that, Mavis flew off, hair billowing behind her. Celeste sighed as she spotted the group of first years waiting by the exit to the Hall, seeing as she was among the older prefects, it was her job now to escort them to the common room.
INTO THE ABYSS
Fred rubbed at his tired eyes; beside him George released a yawn. It had been a rather long day and both boys were exhausted despite this, they needed to get a few ingredients in from Snape's stores to complete their inventions. They had lost a rather large amount of inventory to Mums Outburst.
George stuck his head into the classroom, it smelt of old feet and was completely empty. Satisfied he turned back to Fred and gave him a thumbs up.
"Alright, let's be quick" Fred whispered as he followed George into the classroom. The only light was from George's wand, a handy Lumos spell bathed the room in a silver glow. Fred was the first to reach the ingredients cupboard, a triumphant smile forming at seeing just how stocked full it was.
"Would have thought that Snape would keep his stash more secure" George commented. He was standing lookout by the door, whilst Fred busied himself with scouring through the various bottles and vials.
"Do we need any dittany?" Fred asked. He had already stuffed the vial into the bag anyway, but it would not hurt to ask.
"Sure," George responded. He turned to face Fred just as he had finished taking the vials.
"C'mon let's get moving before a prefect or worse, Filch finds us" George nodded as he followed Fred out of the classroom, they were careful to stick to the shadows as they headed back to the direction of the secret passageway.
The few portraits still awake glared at the offending light, the lions in the safari painting growled in annoyance however, the twins paid them no mind. Fred placed a hand against the wall, feeling around for the bricked door of the passageway when a frown formed on his lips. The hard wall was replaced with something soft, he turned to George to voice his confusions however the look of pure shock on his twin's face caused his frown to deepen.
"Get off…" Celeste uttered darkly.
Fred yelped in alarm, he turned sharply to face an irate looking Celeste. Face red as Fred foolishly realised that he was indeed grabbing her breast in his hand. The girl shrieked, and in his stupor, Fred had still not moved and with a strength he did not know she possessed, kicked him straight in the stomach.
Both boys were sent barrelling to the floor whilst Celeste jumped backwards arms clutching her chest as she glared daggers at the boys.
"Celeste, what's wrong?! I sensed your magic flare!" Loke appeared in a shimmer of light, dressed in crimson pyjamas with golden stitched lions stitched on the sleeves and a matching night cap. The celestial spirit stared between the three teenagers.
"Am I missing something?"
"No- nothing!" Celeste hissed, "Just- get to bed - all of you!"
Fred, who had picked himself up off the floor, rubbed at his stomach. He was certain that he would have a foot shaped bruise there later.
"Gees Cell, you really kick hard".
"What do you expect? Do you just go around groping girls in the dark?" Celeste snapped.
"Nope, just you" Fred chuckled. This seemed to be the completely wrong thing to say as the blonde stormed off. Loke quirked a brow at them. He did not look too pleased at his master's annoyance and was hoping that someone could give him an explanation.
"Nice one, mate," George said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
A/N:
So, the tournament has been announced and Moody has arrived. I am also so glad that so many of you enjoyed the last chapter ^^
Stay tuned for next chapter where the new sixth years start their NEWT classes with Moody, Draco gets transfigured into a ferret and Hermione enlists Mavis' help to make a stand.
See you next time!
R & R