Cleo Chestra and the wizards of America: Chapter 15

Not much there

The stress over Harry and Hermione was unbearable! Cleo hardly ever got to talk to Harry these days, only when they were in Divination. Cleo sat down at their usual table and smiled at Harry.

"Haven't gotten to talk much over the past few weeks." She said, trying not to make it sound like the conflict was something as temperamental as her going some where. He frowned.

"Maybe if you and Hermione stopped being so stubborn we could get over this!" Ron said with sudden viciousness. Harry snapped his head up at Ron.

"It's not my fault!"

"Its just as much your fault if you do nothing to stop it." Cleo pointed out motherly, and then lowered her head. Harry said nothing and stayed away from the subject of Hermione.

It seemed however, that they weren't the only ones with relationship problems. Hermione and Cleo were walking down the hall to go to History at which moment they saw a crowed around two girls.

"Oh no! Not another Slytherin fight!" What Cleo didn't expect however that it was Lindsey and Pansy Parkinson!

"You just stay away from Malfoy get it?" Pansy spat wickedly.

"I can do anything I like! And obviously Malfoy has taken to me instead of," She stopped to scan Pansy over "You." Pansy growled and pulled out her wand. Maybe it was Cleo's natural instinct to help anyone in need, or she just didn't want to see Lindsey road kill but she did it all the same.

"Stop!" Before Cleo was aware of it she had stepped in front Lindsey and Pansy. It could have been her just her realizing that what she had done, but Cleo had felt a rush of cold and weight lifted from her small body. Hermione gasped. Cleo turned around to see what Hermione had gasped over and saw. Her hair brushed against her arm; at a shorter length then she ever remembered having.

Cleo shrieked after she realized what happened and swerved on Pansy. Cleo felt like blasting Pansy, exploding into tears or just stand their looking at her beautiful red, black, and gold locks laying around her feet.

She had lifted her hand to strike her but stopped. Her lip trembled and ran passed Lindsey to Hermione. Some of the more obnoxious girls laughed.

"Too afraid to fight?" One of them called. To little moral? Cleo thought as tears scanned her cheeks. Hermione stroked her back (normally she petted her hair). Collectively Hermione moved over in between Lindsey and Pansy and gathered the hair with a flick of her wand. It twisted into an enormous braid and laid softly in her outstretched arms. Hermione very slightly sneered at Pansy and walked Cleo up the stairs to Grifonder tower.

(She said that they could explain to their teacher the situation, Cleo was immensely grateful) Hermione let her cry on the bed while she comforted her, just as Cleo had done. This went on for a half an hour or so, until Ron had made his entrance.

He was very red (almost steaming) with a blood thirstily look apon his long face and a cut above his left eye. Harry came in after him. He had a bruise on his chin, still rising and a long cut on his arm.

Cleo looked up from Hermione's arm, where she had burrowed in and confronted them, motherly. Ron shook his head and growled.

"That little (RON!) Got her payment for this! She'll think twice about messing with my girlfriend!" Cleo realized he had beaten the absolute crap out Pansy and began to snicker.

"You didn't honestly get in a fight with her did you Ron?" She said threw gasping breaths.

"No," he admitted, "Harry helped me!" Harry beamed delight at his recognition while Cleo clapped her hands.

"Harry! You should have been holding Ron back!" Hermione scolded. Harry shook his head.

"No, a weeks detention isn't enough punishment to keep me and Ron from giving her what she deserved. Ron sat over next to Cleo and hugged her.

"Are you alright baby?" He said affectionately. Cleo nodded.

"Yeah, Its better knowing I have friends that care enough about me to go beet someone up." Harry sat over next to her.

"Were always going to be friends. Right Hermione?" He said slowly over to her. She was still looking disapprovingly at him but soon her eyes softened.

"Yeah, always."

He's here

At last Harry and Hermione had cast away their bitterness and were on speaking teams, about time! Cleo was about to smack them, see if it got any sense into them. Except for the fact that Harry was going out more with Ginny, it was just like it was before! One thing that was not surprise to Cleo was that Ginny was not included into their group. She was merle 'Harry's girlfriend and Ron's little sister' and even though Cleo liked Ginny she agreed that it was best.

The news about Cleo's hair spread around like a wildfire. Completely random girls were gobbling what was left of Cleo's hair (It reached her elbows now) and whining.

"It was so pretty!" They would say and go on talking about their own hair and saying how they wouldn't cut it if they were her! Like it was her fault!

Ron and Harry were in detention for a week or so, but Pansy was in for a month! Not menacing all the rood remarks from the Hufflepuff, Grifonder, and Ravenclaw houses. It took all of Slytherin to stand up to them. Cleo didn't really like the whole rivalry thing between the houses, but she did she couldn't deny that she felt special everyone cared so much.

Soon, but slowly everyone got over the commotion and classes (and O.WA.L. studies) were back to normal.

Charms seemed to be the happiest of all. Professor Flitwick was ecstatic with glee and more than happy to take time out of her day to help her with her new spell. It was a spell that could transport people to different countries! It was so neat, and Cleo got the hang of it quick!

She simply couldn't be happier herself. Not to mention Spring time was the best time to her. Every weekend Cleo badgered Hermione, Ron and Harry to go outside. (Classes were rather stuffy.)

They were outside this day. Harry and Ron were conversing about some gibberish, (nothing interesting) Hermione was reading "Magical Me" and Cleo was laying on her stomach staring at the peaceful looking forbidden forest.

How lovely it seemed, the sweet chirping of the birds, sun glistening on the shinny leaves of the trees. She just had trouble believing anything so beautiful could be so dangerous! Sure, there were all these Spiders, and senators and everything, but as long as she stayed away from the very deep part of the forest she could avoid the Spiders, Senators aren't dangerous and all that about Werewolves was just talk sense Lupin had left. (At least that's what Cleo thought.) She was just convinced nothing could go wrong, no certainly not.

"…'Yall" she said thoughtfully

"Yes?" Hermione answered for them.

"I think…I think I might go into the forest." Hermione grabbed her arms tightly like a flash of light and turned it a lovely, but violently sick purple.

"Get off!" Cleo said, wrenching her arm away. Hermione shook with her sweet caring fright.

"Cleo don't you even think about that!"

"It's so dangerous! You can't! You don't know what's in there!" Ron screamed at her. Cleo rolled her eyes.

"Oh honestly Ron, Spiders gonna scare you?" Ron shuttered.

"8 foot tall ones yes!"

"Ron, just use logic!"

"And you can talk!" Harry said scanning over her.

"Just stay away from the deep of the forest! Senators aren't dangerous, and all that about Werewolves is silly!"

"Cleo stop being Juvenile! That just all we know so far! There may be other things!" Harry told her off. Cleo did her usual smirk when she thought she knew something.

"Bring my wand then." She said, flicking it up to show them. Hermione's purple faded into a sudden, good shade of red.

"Cleo, as your friend I FORBID you EVER to go in there." Cleo was a little blown back by her contumacious.

"Alright." Beyond her words the evil, Cleo leered.

She simply longed to go in there. She missed the forest, often at home she would stay in forests for a long while and this was the only forest in all of Hogwarts.

As Cleo allowed the muted thoughts of sleep cross over her that night, the mischief idea of the forest re-awoke her the bluntness of being awake. Cleo couldn't sleep when she thought of this, even when she tried so hard to let her thoughts wander back into sleep, nothing else helped, nothing else could fill her mind, nothing at all.

Slowly she took of the covers and dressed. With a last check that Hermione wasn't awake she put on her cloak and swept out of the school.

It was completely black outside, except for the glittering stars that seemed to blink down at her with confusion, as if asking why she was awake. Quietly and quickly she moved into the Forbidden forest.

It smelled sweet and any form of something frightening was wasted on her, it was just too wonderful then!

She needed to find the perfect place to sit. At home she had a large Rock to would lay on and read a book. Many hours were spent there. She determined that it was too difficult to find anything in this light so she turned on her wand. Something stirred but Cleo choose to encore it. Finally she found a commensurate sitting spot. She pulled out a book she had brought along "The Witches" by Ronald Dole. Silently she sat, reading about the poor mouse when yet another thing moved.

Leave it alone, you mustn't disturb it. She told herself. Still the creepy feeling was ticking her back. All at once something grabbed her shoulder and pulled her into itself. She began to scream but its large hand gripped her mouth.

"Don't scream." A soothing voice whispered. "It would molest the future if I were to hurt you." Cleo nodded to signal she understood and turned to look at the creature. It was Firenze! He was standing magnificent, yet benign. Cleo breathed deeply in relief but he seemed to resent it.

"Foolish!" he scolded "Coming here when Mars is so bright! Don't they teach you warning sighs in that school!" He stopped abruptly, said too much Cleo guessed. Cleo put on a serous face out of courtesy.

"Sorry, no." Firenze frowned.

"Why are you here?" he said powerfully.

"Hogwarts is so cold sometimes, there isn't a bit of nature in it! I missed the forests, and this was the only one in the inter grounds…" he stopped her there.

"That doesn't make it any less dangerous, especially at this time and especially for you."

"Why for me?" Cleo asked, or course she knew why, but there was more she wanted to know and he may be able to tell her, she could weasel it out of him, maybe, hopefully. He starred down at her, so powerful, sweet and some what frightening. She felt the sudden shame rise from her stomach and cloud her mind until Cleo nodded obediently. Firenze gave a nod in return and looked to the edge of the forest.

"You're close enough to the brink to get out yourself. Take heed, and be observant. You're too very important to be so careless my child." Cleo felt a little weight at the bottom of her hart when she turned to go on. Quite randomly, the thought then struck her to ask what a bright Mars might mean when she found that Firenze had left.

Now the Forest seemed almost creepy after he warning, but the edge was close and she held on to her courage as long as she could. She looked up at the heavenly stairs that soothed her so, many more coming into view as she went on. She could even see some of the planets, including Mars. She stopped rigidly to stair and felt the fear grip in her thin throat.

Mars was bright, and even if it was just her imagination it seemed grim and evil. She began to fidget with her hair and seemed unable to move. A torturous scream rung in her mind. Oh gosh, this isn't good, come on move! A grate force swept over her body like ice cold water. MOVE! MOVE! Tears groped her throat as the sudden clutching nails of Charon grabbed her around the waist.

"I have you now!" He said in an exhausted, triumphant way. Of course now Cleo could move. She kicked and screamed; hitherto silently pulling out her wand. Charon seemed too worked up with her struggling to knottiest the wand creeping closer to him.

"Get off me! Get off! TransportaretoAUSTRALIA!" She said so quickly she feared it wouldn't work, But it had! She had transported him to Australia! Ha! Those Australian's will take care of him, that's for sure! She looked back up at Mars. Disappointment made the brightness dull, and Cleo smiled.

Even though Cleo was tired and sore from her expiation, she made it to the girl's dormitory quickly. The thought of bed was good right about now.

As she opened the door, she saw something that she hadn't expected. Rather then a dark room filled with sleeping girls it was a bright room full of awake girls. Hermione, Patty, and Lavender were all together whining and frantically talking to each other. At the sound of the creaking open door Hermione turned and gasped.

"Oh my gosh!" She ran over to her and flung her arms around the stiff Cleo.

"I was so worried!" She said when she released her. Patty and Lavender hugged only seconds after.

"We were too! Where were you?" Cleo felt ashamed and didn't wont to tell, but what else would she say.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Go on back to bed 'yall. Its too late to be getting so worked up." Lavender made a puppy face.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Cleo laughed.

"Yes of course!" She hugged them again. "Go on! We have to Study for O.W.A.L.S. again tomorrow." They at long last left to bed and left Hermione and Cleo to themselves in darkness. Hermione sat on her bed and examined Cleo.

"What didn't you tell them?" Worry crossed her innocent face "will you tell me, wont you tell me?" Cleo bit the inside of her lip. Yes she at last said, she would tell her as the dooming thought crossed her mind sat wearily on to her own bed.

"You went to the Forest didn't you!" Hermione yelped. "You promised! How could you go back on your word!"

"Hermione I'm sorry! But I had a Purpose there! It was fait!" Hermione snorted.

"Fait! Honestly! What sort of fait then?"

"When I went there, I saw Firenze. He told me that Mars was bright and that It was too dangerous for me to be there, and he was right! ("What gave you that idea?" Hermione huffed) Charon attacked me, again." Hermione stopped and starred.
"Cha-Charon? Cleo, where is he?" She said frantically. Cleo tried her hardest not to laugh.

"Australia." Hermione looked at her blankly.

"What?" Cleo couldn't contain it any longer. She laughed and clapped.

"That spell I learned in charms, I used it on Charon and he's in Australia!" Hermione tried to look stern but failed and laughed along.

"Honestly Cleo you're a moron!"

"But you see don't you, a bright Mars must mean some sort of danger! What kind of danger is the question." Hermione shook her head.

"I don't know, lets figure it out tomorrow, I'm worn out." Cleo agreed and slept.

It was an odd sleep as a matter of fact. She continued to dream that Mars was getting brighter. Finally Cleo grabbed it out of the sky and smashed it. There was his one guy who came up to her; Janus who stopped her half way threw her distraction and told it would be alright. Whatever.

At very long last the sun rose and all was good. Cleo leapt from her bed like a spring and pulled Hermione out of her slumber.

"Cleo, I'm glad to see you're interested in learning but this is ungodly!" Hermione said when she was fully awakened.

"The boys are already awake." Cleo said. Hermione gave her a quizzical look.

"Cleo, not even on Christmas do they wake up this early, or at least not voluntarily. What gives you he idea that they're awake now?" Cleo contained her amusement. Before she went to sleep last night she had put a spell on them. When she woke up, water would instantly poor on them and wake them.

"Just know." Hermione decided she preferred not to ask, so she dressed and went to see the boys down stairs. They were already dressed (with stringy wet hair Cleo knottiest!)

"Gosh boys, get a prank pulled on you?" she said innocently. Harry saw threw her like she was glass, even though his own glasses were fogged and soggy.

"You little Witch!" Cleo laughed.

"Way to state the obvious! But seriously, we have something important to discuss."

"Must be to wake us up that way!" Ron sneered.

"Its is!" Hermione vouched for her.

"What?"

"Mars was bright!"

"WHAT?" Cleo sighed. Honesty I love them but they're all clueless.

"Last night I was in the forest (she ignored that gasping and swearing at her from the boys) and I came apon Firenze! He told me that Mars was bright and I would do good to get out while I could."

"You would've done well to listen to our warning in the first place!" said an acrimonious Harry.

"HARRY IF YOU WILL JUST LISTEN YOU WILL SEE THAT THIS IS IMPORTANT!"

"ITS IMPORTANT THAT YOU LISTEN TO US!" Cleo took a deep breath while still glaring at Harry.

"If it makes any difference to you I saw Charon in his full form and he attacked me! Just last night!" Ron turned a pasty white.

"You saw him! Cleo what happened, tell us now!" He demanded.

"Well, he attacked me and I sent him to Australia…"

"Australia? Blimy! Your ruthless Cleo!" Ron spewed out, between surprise and amusement.

"But that's not important now," Cleo persisted "What is important is that Mars is bright and that Charon can reach his full form!"

"What dose a bright Mars mean!" Harry said impatiently. Their Cleo had no explanation, and was rather embarrassed to tell the truth. Hermione thought a moment before speaking.

"Well…Mars was the Greek god of war. Perhaps…certainly when the planet Mars is bright that means some war or struggle is going to happen."

"Yeah! That must be why Charon attacked you when Mars was bright." Ron said. Hermione made a little croak before they started congratulating her on her brilliance.

"What is it Hermione? What's the matter?" Cleo inquired. Hermione looked about ready to tell them but stopped.

"No, I'll tell you latter."

"No you wont!" Cleo said, forcing her down into her chair. "You tell us now!"

"I've seen Charon too." She whispered.

"What!" Cleo said with all the fury she had in her little body.

"I saw him the same night you got attacked! He started laughing at me and I knew something was going to happen; then when I saw you weren't in your bed I got worried." Harry nodded.

"My scar was giving me a lot of trouble last night." Cleo hugged Hermione and put her hand on Harry's.

"I am so sorry! I swear…I'll kill that…I'm so sorry!" Ron's eyes increased in its worry and reached over to her shoulders.

"Cleo calm down. We'll deal with this guy!"

"We need to go tell Dumbledore, now!" Hermione ordered them, which they all obeyed with in a matter of seconds.