Author's Note: I am so very sorry that this took me so long. Numerous things took the place of the story for a while. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's shorter than the others I think, but this is the way I want to break them here. The next chapter should actually be up in a matter of hours, I just have to edit it. I hope you like this chapter! Please review!
Chapter 13: Classes as Scheduled
The next few weeks flew by. Ron, Ginny and a few other Gryffindors had tried out for the House team. It was a close call between a few of them, but many, like Ginny, had wanted a chaser position, and since neither Angelina, Katie, nor Alicia were willing to move to keeper, and no one was good enough as chaser to justify moving them, in the end, the final position on the team was filled by Ron as keeper. That weekend, the group of them had celebrated in the common room with some food from the kitchens and butterbeer from the twins.
Lessons went by smoothly, and they were beginning to learn proper wording for their spells in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Before they knew it, it was time for the first Hogsmeade weekend.
"I'm so excited!" Celia exclaimed that morning at breakfast. "A whole town of witches and wizards! Just, all right there!"
"Yup, great place Hogsmeade -- some of the best shops that a young wizard can find." Fred announced.
"What kind of shops do they have?" Celia asked.
"Any kind you can think of, you've got The Three Broomsticks for food and drink, the Quidditch Supply Shop, pet stores, Honeydukes, and of course there's Zonko's." Fred said the name as though it was the greatest thing in the world. Looking at him suspiciously she asked,
"And Zonko's is…?"
"A wonderful supply shop for all young mischief makers." George explained. "No trip to Hogsmeade is complete without it."
The group finished up their meals and soon they got into the carriages to go to Hogsmeade. The air outside was clean and crisp and by this time, it had started to snow. Celia laughed as the snow gathered on her cloak and in her hair. There was something about snow that stopped you from feeling the cold. The group began their shopping and showed Celia all the places there were to see in Hogsmeade. She spent most of her money buying candy and a bit on some practical joke items at Zonko's that she just couldn't pass up. She also saw some treats in a store window that she was sure Pegasus would like. She was having a blast. For a while, Fred and George disappeared somewhere, and Harry and Ron had gone into the Quidditch Supply Shop, so Ginny, Hermione and Celia were left to wander the streets alone.
"So, are you having a good time?" Hermione asked Celia, who had been trying to catch snow in her mouth.
"This place is amazing!" Celia answered, still watching the sky with her arms spread. "I don't think I have ever seen so many new things in one day!" Hermione and Ginny smiled.
"That was my first reaction to it as well." Hermione said. Talking as they walked, the three came across a small bookstore. Many of the books inside looked worn, as though written long ago. Celia came to a stop as did the other two girls once they say what had caught her attention.
"Lets go check it out," Celia suggested. "we might find something about the legend." Nodding in agreement, Ginny and Hermione followed Celia into the store.
Inside, there were three rows with bookcases on either side. Each picking one, the three girls began looking for books that might have any information about the Legend of Alana.
'Lets see,' Hermione thought, scanning through titles. 'Fantastic beasts of the past Century, 371 Ways to Breed A Newt? Why would anyone need 371 ways to breed a newt? The Origin of Owl Post, oh, it looks like all these have to do with animals' Hermione finished looking at one side and moved to the other. 'Animal transformations, Animagus, The Connections of Animals to Humans, oh drat, it's all the same.' Hermione continued looking at the shelf until she heard Ginny cry out.
Celia gazed at the shelves before her. 'Okay, lets see, muggles, muggles, How Muggles do it; A Guide to Living Without Magic,' Celia let out a snort, 'They act like it's so hard! Okay, lets see, muggle sports, muggle jobs, Man! It's all muggles! What about this side?' Celia turned to take a look at the bookcase opposite the one she had been scanning, 'Okay, lets see, muggles, oy not more muggles, oh here's one on wizards, wizards, magic, more muggles, oh this sounds interesting, A Would Divided; The Split of Muggles and Wizards.' Celia picked this up and started reading when she heard Ginny's cry.
'Okay' Ginny thought. 'What am I looking for? The Legend of Alana, so something about legends or myths right? So lets see…Magic Spells and there Origin, Professor Alastriona mentioned that I think, magic, magic, magic, oh here we are, history, timeline, Ancient Magical Myths and Legendary Legends, oh that might be good.' Ginny opened the book and scanned through. 'Oh this is crap, Lockharts' junk was more factual than this rubbish.' she thought as she closed the book and made room for it on the shelf. As she was doing so, another book caught her eye. Prophecies of the Past. 'I hope this isn't as lame as the other one.' She thought. Flipping through the pages, she opened up to a page in the middle of the book and froze.
"Celia! Hermione! Come quick!" The three girls stared down at the page before them. There it was, in all it's glory. 'The Legend of Alana.'
"There it is," Hermione voiced.
"It's just like you said." Ginny said to Celia.
"The Legend of Alana," Celia read the title. "The legend of Alana dates back to the time when Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders of Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was alive. It was first heard of back in a time when the wizarding world was still known of by some muggles.
During this time, there was a dark wizard known as Adelard. This wizard was the main cause of the muggle-wizard split. He gained power by driving fear into the people and separating the gaps already between them. He caused mistrust between wizards and muggles and eventually the muggles decided to separate entirely from the wizarding world. In an effort to close those gaps, some witches and wizards took muggle husbands and wives, however, this did nothing but to separate those wizarding families with fully magical ancestry from those with muggle and magic unions."
"Wow," Hermione commented. "From that long ago…" Celia paused to spare a look at her friend, and when she saw that she was ok, she continued reading.
"The Legend of Alana tells of a 'savior' who is supposed to arrive to battle the dark wizard Adelard"
"But he must be dead by now right?" Ginny wondered aloud. Celia kept reading.
"When it had seemed as though things would never get any better, murmurs of an old prophecy began to circulate. The prophecy had been made long before then and had said that went the savior finally did arrive, a group of her peers would gather and would help her defeat the darkness. A group of witches and wizards in that time, who had been determined to defeat Adelard set out to find the 'savior' that was to come. Though they never found her, the group of them made a pact that whenever the 'savior' did appear, they would somehow be there to aid her in any way they could."
"So the 'savior' is female?" Celia thought aloud. "They called themselves 'The Aude Arlene' which means 'The Blessed Promise,' and they were some of the most zealous soldiers in the fight against Adelard.
The Aude Arlene was made up of four wizards and two witches. The most well-known of the group was Godric's son Garret Gryffindor."
Celia finally stopped reading, and the three girls, now sitting on the floor, sat looking at each other. Finally, it seemed that they all decided it was a good time to speak up.
"Well…" Hermione began
"Wow." Ginny declared.
"Good find Gin…" Celia said.
"Yeah," Ginny agreed.
The three girls smiled at themselves and got up from where they were sitting.
"How much is it? We should but it." Ginny said. Celia checked and her eyes bulged. She shook her head.
"It's about 50 galleons." Ginny and Hermione frowned. Neither had that much money.
"If we split it, it will only be about 16 each," Ginny mentioned. "I have enough for that."
"So do I." Hermione said happily.
"I do too," Celia said "But are you guys sure it's worth it to buy? I mean we already read it, we can just come back again next time."
The girls hesitantly decided that leaving it would be the best idea.
Celia, Ginny, and Hermione met Ron and Harry in front of the Quidditch Supply Shop and the 5 of them headed over to Honeydukes. While they were waiting for the twins, the girls told Harry and Ron about what they had read in the book.
"So apparently," Celia was saying "this 'savior' is a girl. Not only that, she still hasn't arrived, and that the dark wizard who started all this was called Adelard."
"So then, that was who the 'savior' was supposed to help fight?" Harry asked.
"So then, maybe the prophecy was a fluke?" Ron started. "Since Adelard must be dead right?"
"Wait a minute…" Celia said, looking in a corner and sipping a butterbeer. "Draco said something in class, you guys remember? I asked how the Aude Arlene would be there and he said descendants… so maybe Voldemort is a descendant of Adelard?" Celia suggested. The group allowed this to sink in.
Classes for the next few weeks went fairly normally. Soon the quidditch season began and everyone was settling into their routines. Finally, one day in Defense Against the Dark Arts, professor Alastriona announced that they were ready to start trying out the spells that they had been creating.
"The most important part of any spell is the feeling you put into it." Alas was saying. "Some of you will excel at creating offensive spells, some of you defensive. Some will thrive at healing, and some at clever spells that don't really harm or heal, but can prove quite useful in a time of need. The key is finding which spells are the best for you and putting your feelings into them. The stronger the feeling, the stronger the spell." She paused and the class took this in. "But beware, if you try to use a spell that you heart isn't in, it could cause a great deal of unbalance." She added in somewhat of a mystical voice. "Or it just won't work and nothing will happen," She went on cheerily. "This being said, it's time to start." Alas finally announced, clasping her hands together.
"Now, I want you all to get in pairs and try out the spells you've made. Find out which ones feel the most natural to you. Have fun with it, I only ask that you don't hurt each other. Let me know if you need help."
Ron and Harry paired up, and next to them Hermione and Celia. As they started, Ron was practicing defensive spells, and Harry offensive. Celia looked over hers, trying to decide which to use first. She was having a particularly difficult time figuring out her feeling at the moment. Hermione tried a spell she had come up with.
"Cumulus homerus!" She said, pointing her wand at Celia. A group of clouds formed around her head and blocked her sight. Celia turned her head around trying to get away from the cloud-cover but it surrounded her. She ducked, hoping to get under it, but it followed her.
"A little help here?" Celia asked, a laugh in her voice.
"Arresto incantatem!" Celia heard, and the clouds dissipated. Hermione was beaming.
"Worked like a charm Hermy." Celia told her, also smiling. "That was a good one, I couldn't see for my life." Hermione laughed and went to look for another spell to try. Celia still couldn't decide. She was worried that none of her spells would work. Her heart just wasn't in any of them. Next to them, Ron and Harry were trying out their spells simultaneously in a sort of mini- duel. It almost looked choreographed. Harry attacked, Ron blocked, different spell now, new defense. The longer they went the more complex their spells got.
"They must have really been practicing." Hermione commented. "They've really gotten good." she said
"Electricute!" Harry said, it was a simple enough spell, but it looked powerful.
"Votum Speculum!" Ron yelled. Suddenly it seemed as though he was surrounded by mirrors. It did the trick; the bolt of lightning from Harry's wand bounced off the mirror and had been reflected. "Bugger!" Ron yelled as though not really meaning to use that particular barrier. Celia now saw why. "Harry look out!" Ron called. Harry dodged, but his spell was quick and it was too late. His body shook and he fell to the ground.
"Harry!" The three voices yelled, running to him. Harry seemed charred, and very much unconscious. Ron reached out to him.
"Wait!" Hermione yelled, though she had meant to simply say it, as she grabbed Ron's hand away, "The lightning needs to be grounded." She said an incantation and what looked like the kind of rubber used for tires appeared around him. The three heard a spark and Hermione removed the rubber.
"Harry! Harry wake up!" Ron yelled, Hermione felt for a pulse.
"Geeze, Harry how much strength was in that spell?" she asked quietly.
"What do you mean by that?" Celia asked, not liking the tone in her voice. Hermione looked up at her and Celia felt something rise inside her as though it were sleeping her whole life and had just woken up. It was a kind of warm feeling, it made her feel stronger than she usually was. Celia stood up and allowed the feeling to fill her whole body. Taking out her wand, she aimed it at Harry and spoke an incantation from her insides out,
"Revitalus!" A jet of golden light shot from her wand. It looked like a sun beam. She felt her heart telling Harry that he would wake up. In a minute, the spell was finished. Celia remained standing, her wand still pointed at Harry, finally his eyes slowly opened and he was awake. Celia breathed a sigh of relief and fell to the floor, feeling exhausted.
"Harry!" Ron and Hermione both exclaimed happily. They both had tears in their eyes. As Harry sat up, Hermione hugged him.
"I'm so sorry Harry! I didn't think before I used it! I didn't mean to use that block on you." Harry hugged Hermione back and turned to Ron.
"That, was the best defense I have ever seen in my life." He said smiling at him. Ron laughed.
"That was a really powerful spell Harry," Celia said a little weakly. "It nearly killed you."
"Speaking of which," Ron began. "That was the best healing charm ever! How did you do it?" He asked Celia.
"I-I don't really know. I felt this power rise up in me, and I felt my heart telling Harry to wake up, and then he did." Celia answered, as honestly as she could.
"That was magnificent!" Professor Alastriona said. "What a show! Harry, that's 10 points for that spell, Ron 10 for the block, and 30 points for Celia, that was an excellent healing charm! Not many can make a healing of that magnitude! You must be very good friends to care for him that much." The four of them nodded, all a bit red in the face, but beaming none the less. "Well done indeed!" The professor went on "Well, Celia, you'll have to rest up a bit, I imagine that took quite a bit out of you. Come over here and I'll fix you up with a pass, oh dear, Mr. Malfoy, you'll want to get to the hospital wing as well, come here, you can accompany Miss Alanus." Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at Celia, all three of them looking unhappy about the situation. Celia looked back and smiled, waving her hand in a 'don't worry about it.' fashion. As soon as Alas had made out the pass, Draco and Celia were on there way.
They were both a bit quiet at first, just walking slowly towards the Hospital wing, then Celia broke the silence.
"So, what happened to you?" She asked quietly. Draco's shoulder was bleeding. He stayed quiet for a minute. Celia figured he wouldn't answer and looked at the paintings.
"Crabbe and Goyle," he said. Celia thought perhaps this should have sufficed as an answer, but Draco continued. "The three of us were working together and they both attacked at the same time." Celia nodded. Draco added defensively, "Well, it's not as thought their spells worked anyway, I was about to block the second one when Potter went and shocked himself. If Weasley and the mudblood hadn't yelled -" It seemed as though the sound echoed all across the hall. Celia had turned and slapped him across the face. It couldn't have hurt that much, but Draco looked a cross between shocked and angry. He was about to say something but Celia beat him to it.
"Just because you couldn't block 2 spells at once is no reason to go insulting people! What does It matter if one got passed you? Wizards 100 times more skilled than you have had spells get through their defenses! You're not perfect Draco! No one ever said you had to be! And I will not stand here and listen to you insult my friends!" She yelled at him. It appeared that her sudden outburst had shocked him even further and had surprised him enough for his anger to dissolve. Celia tuned on her heal and headed in the direction of the hospital wing alone, leaving Draco to follow in her wake.
A/N: Well I hope you like it. Things really start to move again in the next chapter. Thank you to everyone that still reads and please review! Look forward to Chapter 14: Dreams. See you there!