Into the Abyss
Chapter Sixty- Five
The Head and the Prefects
...
Things had been strange in Grimmauld Place to say the least and Celeste certainly felt as if she were being watched. She had a feeling that certain members - Mad Eye and Snape - were keeping a closer eye on her than usual. She had a small feeling as to why though, Snape had been rather close with her family and Celeste had a sneaking feeling that the potions master was annoyed that he had not figured out her otherworldly origins like Lupin had. She wasn't sure why exactly those two hated each other and felt a little awkward asking either of the older wizards.
Although Celeste had never wanted to inform the Order about her otherworldly origins, the outing was far out of her control and lying to everyone was out of the question. She had come to defeatedly accept that in order for the group to trust her, she needed to be vulnerable. Perhaps now, they would stop keeping her in the dark however, she knew this was wishful thinking. Still, Celeste could not help but feel anxious around the other members, wondering what they thought of her and whether or not they trusted her. Dora, Sirius and even Lupin had been rather helpful this time. Her old professor taking it upon himself to aid Celeste inn regaining control over her magic whilst Dora did her best to help improve her duelling skills with her newly acquired power. She had been very curious to see how it worked but since it was still new, Celeste could not hold this new form for too long.
"It's some kind of Star power, isn't it?" Tonks has asked after an intense duelling session. Celeste nodded, sweat dripping off her brow.
"Simply speaking yes" she rather liked this power, and the new dress made her feel closer to Loke
"Hmm a Star…outfit? No…a Star Dress" Said Tonks with a grin.
"I like the sound of that" Celeste agreed
Of course, once the twins got wind of this, they begged the metamorphmagus to train with them too and she eventually agreed…of course, they kept this a secret from their parents.
Speaking of secrets, the Order were on edge due to the arrival of Bloodman. The possibility of others like him arriving was not completely thrown out of the cauldron and the other members often disappeared on secret missions. Hermione theorised that they must have been gathering information on other arrivals, but Celeste had heard nothing from them. Alongside this, the Prophet wasted no time in covering up the attack and had labelled his attack on Muggle London as several gas explosions whilst Hermione was first to inform them that the Muggles were going on this narrative too. It was saddening that those twenty-six muggles' death was being dismissed when in fact it was something far sinister.
Celeste tried to find out more information however, Mrs Weasley had put her foot down and forbid any of the teenagers from knowing anything more. This was where Fred and George's extendable ears came in handy as they listened to the meeting downstairs. So, the others too could listen, Fred cast a sonorous charm on the other end of the extendable ear. It was Hermione's idea actually, saying something about telephones that Celeste could not quite grasp.
"Fudge is already covering any tracks of Death Eaters" said the deep voice of Kingsley.
"He sent a team of Unspeakable to clean up the mess and alter the memories of any muggles too close to the action" Mr Weasley added.
"But we still have the matter of where this Blood man came from," said a feminine voice. Celeste did not know this voice well, but knowing all the female members of The Order relatively well, she knew it must have belonged to Hestia Jones "You said he used no wand and yet could conjure reductor spells?"
"Yes," This time, it was Sirius who spoke "He seemed very interested in causing trouble…but more so in Celeste"
"He didn't get any information that could identify her, could he - a name perhaps" Bill asked
There was silence before they heard Sirius speak.
"Nothing of the sort…. She's safe for now".
Celeste could tell that in the downstairs drawing room, the members of the Order were tense. The arrival of Bloodman had them on edge, which was understandably so. was immensely powerful and it took three of their own members - with help from Celeste - to defeat him. The possibility of others arriving who could be the same power capacity as him was terrifying to say the least.
"To think that there are other worlds with magic" Remus said, voice tinged with awe.
"Aye," Said Moody "Malfoy here, is proof of that…we should be glad that her loyalty lies with us"
"For now," Mundungus added with a grunt. Celeste huffed, who was he to talk anyway. Wasn't he too busy doing dodgy dealings to watch over Harry, causing the boy to be subject to a Dementor attack. "Who's to say she may just change her mid…I know I may be swayed if I had that kind of power"
"Then we should be glad that Celeste is not you" Mrs Weasley interjected. Celeste smiled at this, glad that someone had her corner.
There was a brief silence and for a moment all the teenagers thought the meeting was over until they heard Professor McGonagall speak, it was surprising as she had been rather quiet the whole time:
"Remember what Albus said last night - We need to keep our wits about us. Perhaps keep n eye out for any new arrivals,"
"Dumbledore was here?" Harry asked, shocked. He tried to hide his annoyance at once again being ignored by the headmaster, but to Celeste, the boy was far too easy to read. Celeste felt for him, he had so many questions to ask and yet the headmaster was avoiding him. In fact, he was avoiding them both. A part of her wanted to know what Dumbledore thought about the Order knowing her secret, but the blonde knew she would never know at this rate. The headmaster was an elusive wizard after all.
"Why does he always pop up at night like some odd vampire?" Ron asked.
"Well, we haven't exactly seen him eat garlic" George added.
After that, no more sounds were heard through the extendable ear. The meeting was over. Fred and George summoned the rest of the ear back, it looked like a long piece of flesh string as it hung between their fingers. Very odd looking.
"The Order sounds suspicious don't they" Hermione said as she worried her bottom lip "Celeste, you aren't worried are you?"
"I'm trying not to think about too much really" Celeste admitted sheepishly. Truth be told, she had blocked out the entire encounter with Bloodman, she wanted to pretend that none of this was even happening but a part of her knew that it was foolish.
"We already have you-know-who after Harry and now we've got someone else after you too' Ron pointed out. Ginny elbowed him, glaring at her older brother.
"Nice one, idiot" she hissed. Ron turned to Celeste with an apologetic look.
"Alright, settle down kiddies, we're trying to listen" George said in an attempt to diffuse the tension. Harry then whirled round to face Fred, who was now standing next to Celeste trying to calm her down. She sighed, glancing towards the three small spirit balls. They had not since glowed since her fight with Bloodman and Celeste wonder if something was wrong. No one in Grimmauld Place new much about this sort of thing, and Celeste was worried that if the souls of her friends were here that their bodies were too. It had been years since they were last truly alive and by now there wouldn't be anything for the spirits to return to. She was losing them all over again.
Noticing his girlfriend's sullen mood, Fred placed a hand on her knee. She didn't blush at the touch as usual, instead, placed her hand over his own. H4e could tell that all of this was negatively affecting her, and he wanted to make it right, he wanted to see her smile once more.
"Come on, love" Fred whispered, taking her hand he led her out of the room. The others did not seem to notice, Hermione was yelling at Ron about his lack of tact whilst Ginny and Harry attempted to break the two up to diffuse the tension.
"Take care of her" George told him with a clap to the bac k. He was rather close with celeste too and saw the girl as a sister.
"Always do," Fred said before shutting the door behind him. He had not been staying in Grimmauld Place too long, but he knew there was one place he and Celeste could get some privacy. She had told him about eh old library once before - gushed about it even so the redhead decided that taking his girlfriend to place surrounded by her beloved books was a good call. They descended down the staircase in relative silence, Celeste never once letting go Fred's hand. Then once they reached the bottom set of stairs leading to the basement library, Fred was assaulted with the scent of dampness and old books. The library was just as dark as the rest of the house, even more so as it looked as if no one set foot in it. A trail of small footprints in the dust leading towards the shelves let Fred know that Celeste was the only person who came in here.
Every inch of the walls was covered in shelves, and each shelf stacked with books. Some were not covered in thick dust like others indicating that Celeste or someone else had been reading them. Then, sat rather invitingly in the middle was an old emerald, green sofa.
Taking out his wand, Fred pointed at the sofa and called out "Scourgify" He was not sure what was on the sofa after all. Celeste sat on the sofa, eyes glazed over, and hands clasped in her hands. Then she sighed.
"I'm putting everyone in danger" Celeste murmured, her voice muffled in her hands.
"What?" Fred repeated
Celeste swallowed, lip wobbling "Bloodman and whoever else is with him are here because of me- Sirius got hurt because he was protecting me…Loke died because I told him to…" she trailed off head falling into her hands "Everyone's got enough on their plates as it as and I'm just…just making things worse" she sounded so defeated as she spoke and Fred wanted nothing more than to make those feelings go away. But his girlfriend was an overthinker and was bringing back everything to herself
"You think you're making things worse? Cell if you hadn't done the things, you did a lot more people would be dead - Harry would be dead - "
"But-"
"No" Fred said, silencing her "I'm not going to sit here while you beat yourself up. You're more than this, Cell"
"I don't feel it" Celeste replied glumly.
"Well, you trust me don't you. I would never lie to you" Fred told her honestly. He wanted her to believe the words, he stared into her eyes. Her ever so expressive eyes of liquid silver. No matter what mask the witch wore, Fred just always knew what she was feeling from her eyes alone.
Celeste smiled, eyes shining as a lone tear fell down her cheek. Despite this, Fred though she was beautiful. He always had.
"A smart girl like you will be fine, Cell," Fred told her "Besides, you have us to fight by your side, if you let us that is"
Celeste smiled, eyes brightening up, "Thank you" she said earnestly, lips grazing his cheek. Fred smiled softly, though it did not meet his eyes. The memory of seeing Celeste lying on her bed, so weak and fragile filled his mind.
How many more times?
First during the basilisk attack. Then, getting attacked by dementors. Then again, after Crouch's son almost killed her-
How many times could Fred watch her? How many times before she ended up like Loke and he lost her for good?
The thought of losing Celeste was too much to bear. He did not want to think about it. Of course, he wanted to protect her, but he was nowhere near as strong as her...
It was why he begged for Tonks to train him. At least then, he could be of some use. At least then he would be able to fight by Celeste's side
"Freddie?"
Her voice broke him from his wandering thoughts. Glancing down, he realised that he had been squeezing her hand. His grip was so tight that his knuckles had turned white and no doubt, his grip had been uncomfortable for his girlfriend.
"I'm Sorry," Fred muttered, wrenching his hand away from her own. She rubbed at her hands absently, though he noticed her slightly winced. He never wanted to hurt her.
"Are you…?"
"I'm fine…I just…you're always fighting…sometimes you barely make it out and I…I just want to be…" He trailed off unable to find the words. He could think of them fine in his mind, but with her staring up at him like that, it was as if all coherent thought went out the window.
"To be what?" Asked Celeste, eyes narrowed as her annoyance grew "what do you want Fred? What do you want to form me?"
"I want you to want me by your side!" Fred blurted out.
She gasped "But I - I do?"
"Not with this, Cell…you always fight on your own. it's like you think you have to do it alone. But you don't! You need to let us in…let me in!"
"But I can't!" Celeste shouted with a wobbly lip "You know what happens when my friends fight with me- you know what happened to Natsu and the others what happened to Loke-"
"You never forced them to fight with you, did you?" Fred asked shortly, he could feel his anger rising as Celeste's grey orbs turned away, "All those people chose to fight with you and you let them. But why won't you let me?"
"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!"
Fred paused. The breath falling short of his lungs. He felt as if his world had just exploded.
She…she loves me?
He repeated it over and over, until he felt giddy. Then he heard a quiet sob. Glancing down he saw Celeste grasping her skirt in her hands as her body gently shook with each sob.
"I can't lose you too, Fred," Celeste whispered "I love you".
Fred gently took her hands in his own. She sniffled, turning her head to wipe her tears into her upper arm.
"Your silly girl…you're trying to protect me aren't you?"
Celeste nodded "I just…I don't want you to die like Loke…or to end up like Cedric…I could never forgive myself"
"What if I choose to fight?"
"But did you hear what I-" Celeste started
"I heard you, Celeste" Fred answered sternly "and quite frankly, I think your reason is rather shit"
"You…"
"No, Celeste. You think I'm just going to stand by and watch you march off into danger time and time again? Do you know what that does to me? Do you?"
"No - I - I never thought you cared about that"
"Of course, I do" Fred told her softly "I want to be by your side, Cell. I want for us to fight together…and if it's our last fight then that's what it'll be. But we'll do it together"
"Freddie…I…I really was an idiot wasn't I?
Fred chuckled as he kisses her forehead "people do idiotic things when they're in live"
"Sorry I screamed it at you" Celeste whispered quietly. She had her face buried in his chest now. He placed a hand on her head, running his fingers through the soft stresses. She wasn't wearing her hair in a ribbon today, so it hung down to the small of her back in the way he liked.
He then noticed that Celeste had gone quiet, he peered down, gently placing his index finger and thumb beneath her chin and bringing her face closer to his own. Her molten Mercury eyes were wide as she stared back at him expectantly. Then Fred realised that he told her how he felt.
"I love you, Celeste"
She gasped softly before; her lips split into a smile. Her eyes glistened like the stars enchanted on the Great Hall ceiling.
Fred and the Celeste wasted no time in closing the distance between the both of them. As she parted her lips against his own, she felt a shock of electricity pulse through her, with a content sigh, Celeste wrapped her arms around Fred's neck, her fingers raking through his hair. He groaned into her mouth, his hands drifting down to her waist wherein he lifted her up and onto his lap, effectively allowing the blonde to straddle him. Then with her eyes shining just way she loved, she smiled, lids fluttering shut as she pressed her lips to his own.
INTO THE ABYSS
Mrs Weasley flicked her wand to place the last plate on to the table. With a smile she stared at her handy work, glad that breakfast was ready. The light patter of footsteps alerted her that Ron, Ginny, Hermione George and Harry were awake. She was used to their footsteps now; it came with the badge of motherhood. She frowned expecting Celeste and Fred to follow however, the olde witch mused that perhaps after her long night, the girl wanted to sleep.
The poor girl had seen too much…had been through too much and now there was a possibility that she was a target of a dangerous wizard from another world...
She just could not wrap her head around it.
"Harry, dear, is Celeste not coming for lunch?" She asked.
Harry shook his head. His hair was a mess as usual. Stick in all directions as if it had a life of its own. Mrs. Weasley resisted the urge to run a wet comb through it however, due to her past attempts, she knew that her efforts would be fruitless.
"Not sure, she and Fred went off somewhere" Harry told her before taking a helping of green beans on his plate. He rather enjoyed having this sort of food for the Dursley's never much as once had anything green on their plates.
"I think they are in the library; they usually go there when Celeste tries to study" Hermione quickly added.
"Their food will get cold. George go and fetch your brother and I'll fetch Celeste from the library" Mrs Weasley retorted
"I'll fetch them" Sirius announced before swiping a sandwich from one of the plates "You can finish up here"
"Right. Thank you, Sirius," Mrs. Weasley replied.
INTO THE ABYSS
Celeste felt like she was in bliss. Never before had she kissed a boy like this. Fuelled by passion and animalistic desire, she found herself opening herself up more to Fred. She wanted to get closer.
The pressure of his lips against her own was just right. Soft, slightly chapped and just purely intoxicating. The blonde angler her head to the left, hands raking through Fred's hair which he had cut not too long ago. The short tresses slipping through her fingers with each grab. She could hear Fred chuckling, though the sound was muffled against her lips. She was about to voice her annoyance when
She moaned into his mouth when she felt his tongue against her lips as if asking for entrance. Celeste smiled, her own lips parting as she grasped a hold of Fred's shirt and pulled him closer.
A gasp left her lips as she felt his warm hands against the small of her back, reaching beneath her shirt and snaking higher. She pushed herself closer enjoying the feel of their bodies so close, it brought out a satisfaction in her when she heard him groan into her mouth. Her smugness all but vanished when his lips left hers and trailed open mouth kisses down her neck. She threw her head back gladly granting him more access -
"Kids lunch's-'
Both teenagers jumped at the sudden intrusion. The voice had not belonged to either of them or instantly, the previous mood vanished. Celeste who had been straddling Fred, yelped as she fell backwards off the couch. Unfortunately for her, Fred had been a bit too hands on with her earlier and the first three buttons of her blouse were open and exposed large portion of her chest and bra. Mortified, she clutched her dress tighter. She did not want to turn to see just who was there in the doorway, but the blonde already knew who it was. Slowly, fingers still grasping her dress in a vice-like grip, she turned to find Sirius, stood still and unsure of what to do. As if he regained his composure, he cleared his throat, and said.
"Lunch is ready"
….
Lunch was awkward to say the least. Fred had filled George in on the situation as soon as Sirius marched them back to the dining room and quickly directed them to sit at opposite ends of the dining table. Of course, he had allowed Celeste time to put her top on properly. It did not go unnoticed by Fred, that one of the buttons was now missing at the top, but the little bow she had tied there hid it well enough.
Unable to sit next to his girlfriend, Fred instead sat next to George - who found the situation hilarious . Celeste did not share the same mood however, her face was flushed red as she picked at her food, stabbing it multiple times and she dared not look up from her plate. No one commented on her strange behaviour yet, Fred wondered if the others had even noticed at all. Hermione looked rather curious, Ron was too engrossed in his food whilst Harry shot worried glances at Celeste now and then.
Fred did not seem to mind the situation much In fact, he found the situation rather nice - one, he got snog his girlfriend - two, he got to feel up his girlfriend - and three…well you see where he's going with this. Although Fred supposed it wasn't ideal to have Sirius walk in on them. That certainly was not nice at all. He did prefer the ex-convict cousin over Celeste's pompous dad anyway. Still Celeste had a permanent blush on her cheeks and before Fred could even wonder just how far the blush spread over his body, the blonde politely pushed her plate away and excused herself from the table.
"What did you do this time?" Ron whispered. His voice was filled with an accusatory tone and Fred was quite offended that his own brother just assumed that he was the problem
"Nothing," Fred answered. This piqued Hermione's attention, the brunette eyeing Fred with suspicion.
"Then why was Celeste acting so shifty- did something happen?" Hermione pressed.
Fred realised that Hermione was too smart for her own good, the girl was rather close with Celeste - looked up to her even- and Fred surmised that Hermione was ready to direct her righteous fury on him if he so much as breathed wrong around the blonde.
"Nope," He responded. He didn't want to get into a disagreement with Hermione as the Gryffindor was rather terrifying when angry - he had heard about the Malfoy punch incident two years ago and learned from Ron that the brunette had a mean right hook.
"Liar" Ginny chuckled; eyes gleaming as if discovering something. Ginny too "It's written all over your face - and oh - now you're blushing"
At the statement, Celeste coughed into her hand and Sirius turned red.
"Oh, give over!" Fred cried.
"I bet you two were snogging in the library" Ginny continued, eyes gleaming as she grinned at George. Her elder brother called, before the two began to snicker. Fred groaned in embarrassment; he had taught Ginny a little too well.
This time it was Sirius who started coughing as Celeste released a sound that sounded like a bird squawking as she slumped down in her chair. Fred thought she was making a rather good show of pretending that the table was swallowing her whole.
"Wait- you were?" Harry asked shocked. Ginny cackled, glad to have finally uncovered the secret.
"I'm trying to eat here…" Ron grumbled, though it was not very difficult as he stuffed another helping of potatoes into his mouth to Hermione's disgust.
"Do you ever chew with your mouth closed?" Hermione snapped, turning away from him.
"Whass foo yoo mean?" Ron asked through his mouthful of food. At this Hermione began to reprimand him as another of the two's famous bickering matches began instantly erupting the table into chaos.
"I think I'm going to excuse myself" Celeste murmured as she quickly stood and pushed her plate away. Fred quickly followed
The blonde was quick to slam the for the dining room shut, back pressed against it.
'This is much worse than snogging in front of my dad' Celeste groaned.
"I actually like Sirius…you don't think he'll tell my parents?" Fred asked worriedly. His dad he wasn't so much concerned about…it was his mum.
"I don't think that's necessary" Sirius said as he appeared in the hallway. The teenagers had not even heard the door open and both of them jumped at the sight of the elder Wizard.
"You aren't mad at us?" Celeste asked hurriedly. Sirius shook his head.
"You do know that I was young once too?" Sirius asked with a wry chuckle "look I may not be your dad, Celeste, but I only want for you to stay safe"
Celeste smiled then she threw her arms around Sirius in a hug
'Thank you, Sirius,"
"Now go along and join the others. I want to have a word with Fred"
At this, Fred felt a tad uneasy. Sure, Sirius was alright but he had not had the best of luck with Celeste's male relatives. They were a bit detached and downright crazy his opinion.
"You aren't…you aren't going to do anything to him are you?" Celeste asked carefully.
Sirius patted her on the head "Nothing of the sort. Just a little chat - man to man"
"Um alright" Celeste said softly. She squeezed Fred's hand before heading back into the dining room.
Fred never had the best luck with parent figures, he felt rather scrutinised under Sirius' gaze. The older wizard was surely great at intimidating, and if Fred was a lesser man, he would be afraid. But Fred was not scared of anything like that.
" You're a good bloke, Fred" Sirius finally said.
Fred was rather surprised. "What no 'if you hurt my cousin, I'll break your legs schtick?" Fred sked.
Sirius laughed "No. I don't need to tell you that. Besides I'm sure you already know if you hurt my little cousin, you'll have hell to pay"
"Alright" Fred answered with a nod
"You know this talk went much better than the one with her dad"
Sirius grinned "Ah When you punched him in the face" Sirius shook his head in disbelief "Merlin, I wish I could have seen that…or that I could have done it myself"
"Nothing's stopping you. Dad did it too once"
"Hold on a moment" Sirius murmured. He walked quietly towards the door, with each step he made not a sound. Then he pulled the door open. The result was Celeste and George tumbling through the open doorway with an extendable ear wrapped around their arms. Upon being caught George quickly stood up, pulling Celeste with him.
"Ah, so you're still alive" George commented with a grin
"Only just" Fred responded, before tuning to Celeste "Spying, eh? Didn't know you had it in you"
"Just making sure you weren't being hung by your thumbs" Celeste murmured
"I wouldn't do that, Celeste" Sirius responded, though the unspoken 'yet' still hung heavy in the air "Fred here is a good lad, and I wouldn't pick anyone else for you. Now. I am happy for the both of you, and I'm glad that you're happy"
Celeste smiled "thank you Sirius"
They were ushered back into the kitchen not too long after. Sirius taking in the extendable ears as George explained how they worked. Sirius was very impressed, and this was the first tie an adult actually praised their work.
"Impressive if you ask me. Prongs would have loved something like this"
Fred frowned, that name sounded familiar, but he could not quite place it.
"Prongs?" George repeated, clearly thinking the same thing as Fred "Where have we heard-"
Suddenly, Fred got it. Why the name 'Prongs' was so familiar. He had seen it before, and it had been a very important part of himself and George's wrongdoings at school…
"The map!" Fred gasped in triumph.
"You know about the marauders map?" Sirius asked, shock colouring his features, then it faded to a smile "So I'm assuming that you and your brother were the ones who gave it to Harry"
They both nodded
"They found it in third year" Celeste explained "Used to sneak around like hooligans"
"Well, I'm glad it's with him now, I know it's what Prongs would have wanted" Said Sirius
"Wait?" Fred asked "was Prongs-"
"Harry's dad?" George finished. Fred grinned, he loved it when they were on the same page.
"So, I'm guessing you're 'Padfoot' then? And Professor Lupin is Moony?" Celeste asked tentatively
Sirius nodded. "You know, kitten, I'm surprised you never figured it out sooner. Guess you've been slacking"
"I blame it on the trauma" Celeste deadpanned. Fred burst out laughing, Sirius sniggered, and George chuckled. Once they all regained their composure- which took a few moments because it was not every day the blonde decided to make a joke - Fred turned to Sirius with an expression you could only describe as we. the man before him was one of the legends, one of the immensely creative minds who created the Marauder's map! Fred could only dream of creating something so…so legendary and he felt as if he was in the presence of someone truly great. A pranking wizard
"No way" Fred breathed. He turned to George the latter spotting the same shocked expression
"We are not worthy!" George gasped before bowing dramatically low.
"The mail's here…what's going on?" Harry asked as he appeared.
"Don't ask…" Celeste giggled.
"Oh, this one's for you" Hermione declared as she handed Celeste an envelope. As Celeste turned the white envelope over in her hands, she realised that it had come from Hogwarts. Celeste suddenly wondered what she had done, neither George or Fred had any letters from Hogwarts, so she wondered if she was in some sort of trouble with Dumbledore or something.
"What's wrong with you Ron?" Fred asked, his little brother was quieter than usual. To his surprise Ron said nothing. Not one to wait around for an answer, Fred walked over to Ron, leaning over his shoulder to see what had him so stupefied. To his shock, he spotted at the header of the paper a sentence reading:
CONGRATULATIONS ON BEING CHOSEN AS A PREFECT
"I can't believe it; our little Ronnie is prefect!"
"He's a what!" George gasped. He pushed past Ginny - much to her chagrin - and stared at the letter himself. "Blimey, it's the real deal!"
"I knew it!" Hermione shouted
"Alright, show off" Fred teased.
"No- not that! Me!" Hermione gushed "I'm a prefect too!"
"No, Hermione, its Ron, not me" Harry corrected. Hermione blinked in confusion
"Oh, that was…"
"Unexpected?" George offered.
"Well congratulations to the both of you" Celeste said earnestly. Ron beamed at the praise "I'm sure you will both make amazing prefects."
"I heard the book lists have come in at last" Said Mrs Weasley as she appeared "If you give them to me, I'll take them over to Diagon Alley this afternoon whilst you're all packing. Ron, I think you'll be needing some new pyjamas, these are at least six inches too short. What colour would you like?"
Ron, who was still dumbfounded said nothing as he stared at his letter.
"Let him red and gold to match his new prefect badge" said George smirking
"His what?" Mrs Weasley asked
"His badge" Said Fred with an air of trying to get rid of the worst quickly, like one would with a plaster over an old cut "His lovely shiny new prefect badge"
"His…but…Ron… you're not-"
Ron held up his badge with triumph and let out a yell of joy much like Hermione's own. Celeste smiled at the sight; she placed her wand on the kitchen table before absently opening her own letter.
"I don't believe it! I don't believe it! That's everyone in the family!" Mrs Weasley cried with glee.
"And what are Fred and I, next door neighbours?" George asked as he pushed past his mum to give Ron a hug.
Celeste glanced down at her letter, eyes widening as she spotted the words etched across there.
"Oh my…" She gasped softly. Her first thought was that Dumbeldore had gone mad. The second, was how did he expect her to do such a role. She had been starring at the letter for a few moments in complete silence.
"What?" Ginny asked as she crept beside her to look "Merlin's balls! Fred, you're girlfriends head girl!"
"My what?" Fred asked in shock. He cleared the space between himself and Celeste and peered at her letter. There he saw with his own eyes that his girlfriend had been chosen as Head Girl.
"Blimey," Fred gasped.
"It's not that big a deal" Celeste retorted with a blush. She never did like attention much and much preferred it when the attention was on Ron and Hermione.
"Come on, Cellie, you know what this means right?" George asked with bright eyes alight with mischief. "You're head girl - the head girl! imagine all the pranks we could get away with, the things we could do"
"Being head girl is no joke," Hermione reprimanded with an heir of a disappointed parent "It's a respectable duty which only the most responsible students are tasked with. Besides, I doubt Dumbledore made Celeste Head Girl so she could let you get away with your mischief"
Ginny plucked the shiny blue and bronze badge from the letter, holding it up for them all to see "You see, now you can't go around snogging in libraries or you'll both get detention!"
"Give over" Fred said as he snatched the badge from his sister "I can snog my girlfriend whenever I like"
Celeste shook her head, face tinged red as Ginny made a mock retching sound "You're so silly"
"Ah. Only for you"
Before she could respond, Hermione piped up "Of course she is!" She turned to the blonde and started carting her out of the room" Now Celeste I was thinking that since I am a prefect now if you had any pointers for patrols and such"
Hermione continued on as she led Celeste up the stairs towards her bedroom. The blonde tried her best to answer the brunettes many questions however some were a hit much.
"And about the rule enforcing, will prefects have authority to do so without supervision or is that something only the head students can do?" Hermione continued
"Definitely something you can do, unless of course its…" Celeste trailed off as she heard a small, yet soft sound. She crept slowly, ignoring Hermione's shout of her name as she followed the noise. Someone was sobbing in the drawing room.
"Are you alright?" Celeste called out. There was no answer as the sobs only got louder. Now worried, she turned back to Hermione, the younger girl sporting the same expression. Celeste wondered just what had happened to whomever it was in the drawing room, she felt a sense of dread in her begin to bubble as she thought of all the horrible thing
"Wait here" Celeste whispered before quickly climbing the rest of the steps. She wasted no time in pushing open the drawing room door, there was someone cowering against the wall and there lying on the floor was Ron. His eyes open and unseeing. But that could not have been Ron, he's downstairs' Celeste thought to herself. The face was just right, the nose, lips and even the freckles. But there was something so unsightly about the boy. Then Celeste realised that it was not Ron at all but a boggart.
"Mrs. Weasley?!" Celeste gasped as she pushed into the room. The older witch opened her eyes as if pulled from a trance and then pointed her wand at the body of her youngest son.
"R- Riddikulus!" Mrs Weasley shouted.
CRACK!
Ron twisted in an almost gruesome way, until it was no longer Ron at all but Bill, the eldest of the Weasley siblings lying on the floor. He was eagle spread on his back, skin unnaturally pale and eyes wide as they stared back at his mother. Mrs Weasley sobbed again.
"No…" Mrs Weasley moaned, hands shaky as she held her wand "Riddikulous! Riddikulus!".
Celeste pushed the older witch behind her, she reached for her wand in her sleeve but to her horror it was empty. Then, she came to the realisation that she had left it downstairs on the kitchen table. Shakily, her fingers reached for her pouch where her celestial keys were kept, but a loud CRACK caused her movements to cease.
Mr Weasley's body turned into something else. It turned into Harry.
Celeste clenched her eyes shut, not wanting to see but she could hear the floorboards creak. She could hear the ragged breaths. Slowly, she opened her eyes seeing the milky white eyes where bright emerald orbs should have been.
"N-no this isn't real" celeste whispered.
"But it could be" The boggart harry whispered. Celeste could feel her eyes begin to water, but she pushed those thoughts aside and quickly summoned Gemini.
"Q- quick t - transform into me!" Celeste cried. Gem and Mini nodded, however before they could, a loud CRACK sounded out. Harry's body twisted, black hair fading to a vibrant orange. Celeste felt sick.
"No!" Gemini screamed, both Gem and Mini collapsed to the ground and begun to weep as Loke's body lay before them. Celeste felt horrible subjecting Gemini to such a sight.
"Gemini, go back" Celeste whispered quietly. She heard Mrs Weasley sobbing behind her.
"But master-" Gemini argued, tears streaming down their face
"I said, go back!" Celeste ordered. Gemini, still posing as Celeste, flinched. With a wobbly lip they nodded.
There was a flash of light, then Celeste stood firm She took a deep breath. By now, the boggart had already transformed back to Harry, but Celeste was prepared. She was not sure, the spell would work without a wand, but if she did not try then she would forever be subjected to her fears. She had to confront them.
She raised her hand, channelling all her thoughts into the spell, mustering the most ridiculous thought she could
"RIDDIKULUS!" Celeste shouted. The bogart twisted until Harry was wearing a bright pink rabbit onesie.
"What's going on!"
Lupin had come running into the room, closest followed with Sirius, with Moody stumping behind. Then Lastly were Harry and Hermione. The dark-haired boy stared at his in copy before turning to celeste.
Lupin seemed to understand what had happened in an instant, he said very clearly and calmly:
"Riddikulus!"
Harry's body vanished. A silvery orb hung in the air before Lupin once again flicked his wand and the orb vanished.
At the silence Mrs Weasley sobbed, head pressed into Celeste's shoulder. The blonde shook as she tried to hide her own tears, but she felt a gentle hand on her head. She jumped but turned slightly to see it was only Lupin standing before her.
"It's only a boggart" he told her gently. Celeste felt her eyes begin to water.
"I-It felt so real,"
Sirius was staring at the space on the carpet where the boggart pretending to be Harry had once stood. Moody was looking at Harry and the latter stared back at Celeste.
"D - d - don't tell Arthur," Mrs Weasley with a gulp. She pulled away from Celeste, wiping her face with her sleeves.
"What must you think of me? Not able to get rid of a boggart "
Lupin handed her a handkerchief, and she blew her nose.
"Don't be silly" It was Harry who spoke this time
"And you, dear" Mrs Weasley turned to the blonde with a shaky smile "I put you in such an awful position:
"And I would do it again," Celeste told her gently. At this the woman sobbed harder and Celeste wondered if that had been the wrong thing to say.
Then, finally Fred, George, Ron and Ginny entered the drawing room. Mrs Weasley upon noticing her children instantly wrapped her arms around them tightly.
…
Into the Abyss
Omake
Spriggan 12 go to London!
...
London, the capital city of the United Kingdom, was a peculiar place. It was a hub of the business world, where many from the small island nation and abroad would flock to trade, sign particularly important papers that the ordinary person would not understand. Alongside this, it has roots dating far back to the palaeolithic era where humans were far less civilised. Modern day London was far different, it was busy, crowded and shrouded in mystery. You see, the normal and ordinary every day person would often be in a rush, they would often overlook the out of ordinary in favour of carrying on with their mundane lives.
If they looked a little underneath the underneath, then they would have seen the slithers of the magical world right underneath their noses.
This day, the inhabitants of muggle London did not have to look far. Three women strolled down the streets of Tottenham Court Road, one with hair as red blood pumping through her veins, and dressed in a typical witches garb; the other with bright orange hair and dressed aa if she had stepped straight out of a fantasy set and the final girl, who was considerably younger than the rest, had pale green hair the colour of pistachios and was dressed as if she were ready for a day out at the beach.
The three women gained rather odd looks, but being as this was London, many of the passers-by said nothing in favour of minding their own business. This was the way of the land. Ask no questions and do nothing.
Of course, dressing in such a way was normal in their world, but these women were not in their world anymore. They were on a mission but today…their mission was to have fun.
"What is this…London?" Brandish asked as she walked through the streets. The town was busy, and cold. Irene had told her that this was summer and yet she was freezing…she really needed some new clothes.
"Come on, Brandy, lighten up!" Dimiria piped up, "This is our first night out- just us girls and we're gonna have a good time"
Irene smiled "While we're at it, we should learn some more about this place…well need all the information we can get in order to complete our mission"
…
The first shop they went into was a sleepy looking establishment. There was a neon green sign with the words Poundland written in horrid yellow writing. The women had been intrigued about the concept as soon as they saw the sign. They had been itching for a worthy fight since they arrived and had been annoyed at Bloodman for being forest to find some worthy opponents.
"Is this some sort of battle store?" Brandish murmured in confusion. Beside herself, she walked in behind her teammates.
Now inside the store, the women were underwhelmed to say the least. Not one battle item was in sight instead odd little kickbacks which looked to be rather inferior quality.
"I have half a mind to destroy this place" Brandish muttered hatefully.
"Oooh, Irene! Look at this!" Juliet cried out. She picked up a flimsy looking black sword "it looks like me!"
Brandish turned, surprised to see that Irene had once again summoned her children. She would never admit it to the elder mage, but she found the creation of Juliet and Heine rather odd. From the looks of the redhead girl in Fairy Tail, Irene already had a child, so why was she playing pretend with these creations of hers? Stoll, Brandish knew better than to voice her opinions. The last person to insult Juliet and Heine ended up turned into an ant and then Irene let Juliet and Heine play with them until the ant was nothing but a charred crisp.
Irene smiled and patted Juliet on the head "And it does, my child" she said
"Oh, and this one's me!" Heine added, this time holding a white plastic spoon.
"That's a spoon, you idiot!" Juliet snapped.
"Then can I have a sword too?" Heine asked with a wobbly lip
"Of course, you can, anything for my children" Irene answered "Dimiria how much money do we have?"
"Errrr" she shrugged, spying too civilians. Using her time magic, she froze them and snatched their bags. Snapping her fingers, she watched with glee as the women continued unbeknown to them, they had just been robbed.
"How does this money work anyway?" Dimiria asked. She had a handful of oddly coloured papers on them. There was a picture of some old lady, upon further inspection, Brandish realised that she must have been the ruler of this country.
"That should do!" Irene declared taking a bright pink paper. She then led them to the counter. A young man stood there, his eyes widening upon spotting the four women.
"HOW can I help you?"
"We wish to buy these" Irene declared, slamming the swords down none too gently.
The man nodded "T-hat would be two pounds please, miss"
"Dimiria" Irene ordered. The orange haired woman acquiesced and handed over the money. The man took it I shock as he fumbled with the paper money. It looked like a toy in Brandish's opinion in Earthland the money was represented in several types of jewels. Each jewel had its own worth and was far easier than the strange round pieces of silver and gold.
"Ma'am this is a fifty" The man sweat dropped.
"Just give us the change" Dimiria ordered. The man complied, shakily handing smaller looking coins. Now these coins ranged from gold to silver and copper and looked far more familiar than the strange paper Irene had given moments before.
"Are you ladies having some sort of party?"
"Hmm you could say that" Juliet answered brightly "We're gonna help our Lord achieve an ideal world!"
Irene smiled sweetly at the first, patted her on the head and then ushered her out the door. The others followed, not before the two youngest of the group waved brightly at him just as the door slammed shut behind them.
The man blinked, staring at the strange group until they disappeared.
"Those Churches surely are getting stranger" He muttered with a shake of his head. He was ready to get back to his normal, ordinary day.
…
A/N:
Initially, I was going to include a scene as to why Dumbledore made Celeste the head girl and not some other student however, I noticed how long the chapter was already getting and decided to include the scene in a later chapter. But why do you think Dumbledore chose Celeste? Does he have an ulterior motive as she believes, or does he think she'll do a good job as head girl?
Also, I feel bad for poor Harry, being left out whilst his two best friends and the girl who is his essentially sister gain important positions in Hogwarts and he's been left aside. But will anyone notice how he is feeling?
I was excited to get back into the Omake's and to write one about the Spriggan Twelve ladies was quiet exciting. How about a guy's day out next time? There's more of them so it is sure to be chaotic.
Now onto the reviews!
TheBlueNova: Maybe Celeste will meet Dimiria next. I love her magic because it kind of reminds me of Star Platinum's abilities from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. The Twelve are crazy strong and who knows if the Order are strong enough to beat them. They were lucky that Bloodman left them alone unscathed as according to Fairy Wiki, he is the weakest member.
oOAshookaOo: Haha yes, our heroes are really screwed over! Maybe you will see the heroes again…at the moment Celeste is unsure of what happened herself. Maybe she will get answers soon from someone with magical eyes…or should I say 'eye'
My biggest pet peev from Fairy Tail was that Mavis and Zeref didn't know who August was before they and he died. Of course, that makes for great, dramatic story telling but it makes poor August more tragic. Especially considering he has to go around listening to Larcade calling himself Zerrefs 'son' he even has his last name!
I love Brandish, but as amazing as she is I feel that her thirst for revenge against Lucy has the rest of the Twelve thinking she'll mess up the mission of getting her alive. So, they'll try to keep her away from things.
Angst surely is great. This is where the angst begins!
Lastly, I just want to thank you all for your kind words during this time. It really means a lot during the miscarriage.
But I hope you stay tuned for the next chapter where the teens return to Hogwarts, but things are…different.