Chosha's Notes

Hey everyone! Good to see you back and thank you to those people who reviewed last time. Just so you know how the votes are going, so far its mostly between HP-Daphne Greengrass and HP-Fem!Blaise. But you can still change it, as Votes for that are still open.

As the house Harry is to go into, I've had several people asking for one house or another, and I got curious. So, here's another vote about where to put Harry:

Ravenclaw

Slytherin

Independent study

I'm afraid Hufflepuff would just not go with Celestin Harry and I'm trying for different friends, so I think Griffindor is not part of this either, but if you want one, tell me. At the moment, I'm leaning towards Independent study, as then Harry can have friends in different houses and wont be completely part of the 'house war' thing, making it easier to gather information, etc. But still, I'd like to hear what you think.

One last thing – this isn't a manipulative Dumbledore thing. Albus and Celestin may have their differences throughout, but Albus is doing it in Harry's interest. Harry, of course, already knows most of the stuff Dumbles does, so it wouldn't work. But, I'll speak of this as things come. Now enough of me. Go! Go read!

Last time on Celestin:

Celestin and Marius plotted about what Celestin heard and decide its time that "Harry Potter" return to the wizarding world. And first stop is the headmaster's office.

Chapter Five

Meeting Albus

The forbidden forest surrounding Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was surprisingly calm and tranquil, despite the fact that it was full of many of the most dangerous of magical creatures having made habitat there. Of course, this was a defence for Hogwarts, as the forest was one of the nearest places to the Hogwarts grounds to apparate, except perhaps Hogsmeade, and the only place to arrive without anyone noticing you. Anyone who attempted to get into the Hogwarts grounds secretly, for instance, a death eater; they might get eaten before they made a single step if they weren't careful. But right now, in the middle of a bright summer's day, the sun flickering lazily like diamonds in the leafy canopy and birds twittering prettily in the trees, much of the danger of the forest was hidden, waiting for darkness to fall. For Celestin, he had already decided it was the perfect chance to get into Hogwarts to speak privately with Albus without alerting the entire wizarding world to his presence – especially where that damned reporter Rita Skitter was concerned.

The peace was disturbed when a loud pop brought the assassin right into the centre of a clearing rather unceremoniously. Celestin crashed to the ground as his feet slammed into the floor, the force making him land painfully in a heap, which erupted in a stream of rather colourful curses that would make half the Aurors in the ministry blush.

Most people would have thought this a strange way for an assassin to appear, and Celestin would actually agree with you. With Portkeys, a witch or wizard, Celestin found out, reacted more violently the stronger magic they had. Yes, he knew that Albus, who was considered one of the strongest wizards of the age, never fell and always looked regal when he used a Portkey. But for someone of Albus' standing it wouldn't show much decorum to have him falling flat on his face every time he went in public. There were spells that helped the person to remain standing after the use of a Portkey. However, Celestin would also have to say appearing in this very unceremonious way gave him several advantages. If someone found out where he was going and attacked the moment he arrived, they would all aim as body height. However, if Celestin were on the floor, the curses would just fire over the top of him. The other reason was that who would expect an assassin like him to be a fourteen-year-old sprawled unceremoniously on the floor. It caused people to underestimate him and become careless, and carelessness meant death. About five of his targets had been taken out of the world of the living, just because they had seen his rather undignified entrance. Still, no matter how many advantages it had for him, it still had Celestin cursing like a wand for several minutes straight, despite the fact he had charmed his clothes to be extra cushioned for the landings.

Having finally run out of swear words, Celestin pushed himself to his feet and dusted off his earth-coloured, muggle-style clothing – a long brown robe-like coat that reached his ankles, heavy darker brown trousers and cream-coloured sleeveless shirt – and straightening the wand holster on his arm under his wide coat sleeves. Adjusting the holsters for Nox and Dies, he glanced round his surroundings that seemed to have become calm once more after his, admittedly loud entrance. Then again, he wasn't trying to be silent. After a moment of studying to get his bearings, Celestin strode off in the direction of Hogwarts castle.

It wasn't long before the forest began to thin out and Celestin found himself at the edge of the forest close to a small, rounded hut at the edge of the Hogwarts grounds. Further up the path past a large pumpkin parch and an impressively sized lake, in which some sort of squid lazily waved its long tentacles in the sun, was a large castle that put many of the Death-eaters mansion homes (the ones from old, rich, pureblood families, anyway) to shame.

The castle could only be described as 'Magic' in his opinion. Hogwarts was perched atop of a high mountain and he was sure the scenery must be breathtaking, especially on such a clear day as this. It was easily ten times larger than Alric manor, with hundreds of turrets that seemed to try to scrape the skies, easily rivalling the muggle skyscrapers he had seem in America. Thousends of windows glistened like crystal in the sun and, somehow, the whole place breathed both elegance and welcome all at the same time. Celestin smiled. He was impressed.

As he began to walk up towards the castle, he heard a loud barking and a voice yelling in his direction. Celestin paused and looked round to find the largest man he had ever seen running up the path towards him. He was easily seven foot tall, His face almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild tangled beard, but you could just make out his eyes that glinted like back beetles under thick, bushy eyebrows. To any normal person, the sight would have been intimidating, but to someone who had been raised by a Vampire and trained all over the world in every fighting style you could think of, it barely caused Celestin to blink.

'Oi, what yer doin'? This' private grounds. Hogwarts isn' open yet!'

Celestin turned and nodded to the giant man. 'I'm sorry, sir, but believe me, I'm not trying to damage school property or anything. I'm here to see Albus. Its something of importance, you see,' he said calmly.

The man looked a little surprised, but nodded slowly. 'Oh, to see Dumbledore? Well, why didn' yer say so. Come with me, I'll show yer to his office then.'

Celestin smiled. 'My thanks.'

The man began to take him up towards the castle, but Celestin could feel him watching him out of the corner of his eyes. Finally, the giant broke the silence. 'So, what's yer name?'

'I'm called Celestin Alric,' Celestin said easily. Well, it wasn't entirely a lie. While Celestin was under the care of Marius and they were training around the world, they had both agreed that the name "Harry Potter" would be too risky to use, so Marius had renamed him Celestin and gave him the name Alric until the time was right. However, until he had spoken with Albus, he wasn't about to let his true identity leak out into the public.

Celestin saw the man's eyes crinkle into a warm smile. 'My names Hagrid. Rubeus Hagrid, Care of Magical Creatures Professor and Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts.' He stretched out a large hand and Celestin shook it.

'Pleased to meet you, Professor'

'Call me Hagrid, everybody does,' the giant man said. Celestin nodded in thanks.

The man led him through the large doors of the castle and into a large entrance hall. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches, but the ceiling was too high to make out. A magnificent, white marble staircase faced them, leading off into the upper floors. He followed Hagrid through the corridors, silently memorising the rout he was taking. After all, if Celestin needed to make a hasty retreat, he would need to know the layout as soon as he possibly could. After all, one couldn't be too careful.

It wasn't long before a large statue of a rather ugly Gargoyle at the end of the deserted hall came into view. It was tall, almost reaching the ceiling in height, its large, stone wings loosely unfurled at its back and its mouth was agape, revealing sharp fangs. Its eyes stared off into the corridor blankly.

'This is the entrance ter Professor Dumbledore's office, see,' Hagrid told Celestin as he came to a halt outside the stone gargoyle. 'Now, wha' was tha' password again…' he mumbled under his breath, scratching the back or his head in though. 'Oh, yeah, I know. Cockroach Cluster.'

The gargoyle immediately sprang to life and leapt aside, the wall behind it splitting in two, revealing a spiralling staircase that continually moved upwards, resembling an escalator. Celestin almost burst out laughing at the password. One would have thought that the man known to be one of the most powerful wizards in the world, having defeated the dark lord Grindelwald in 1945 and known to be the only wizard Voldemort feared, would have thought of a more impressive password than the name of a sweat. Even if said sweet was one that only the most insane wizard had to have invented.

'C'mon, Mr Alric,' Hagrid said, not showing the slightest reaction at the password. He stepped onto the moving stairs, Celestin close behind and was slowly carried up in smooth circles. Finally, they reached the top, where Celestin found himself faced by a large, gleaming oak door bearing a golden knocker shaped like a griffin. After a moment's hesitation, Hagrid raised his large fist and knocked on the door, receiving a 'Come in' from within. Hagrid pushed open the door and Celestin followed him inside, looking round with interest.

It was a large, circular room; the walls covered in portraits of what Celestin guessed were ex-headmasters of the school, all snoozing in their frames. A number of strange-looking silver instruments stood on spindle-legged tables and emitted strange whirring sounds and puffs of smoke. There was a shelf, upon which sat the sorting hat – a shabby, fraid wizards hat that, according to Marius, once belonged to the founder Godric Gryffindor. Standing on the back of the chair behind the desk was a magnificent bird about the size of a swan with a beautiful golden and Red plumage, that watched him with interest in its calm, dark eyes. On the chair itself sat a tall, slim old man with a long, flowing beard and hair of silver. He was wearing long flowing crimson robes lined with golden stars and silver moons. Perched on a crooked nose that looked as if it might have been broken at least twice, sat half-moon shaped glasses, bright, blue eyes twinkled behind them. He seemed a benevolent old grandfather, but Celestin wasn't fooled. He knew that Dumbledore had more power in his little finger than half the ministry put together.

When he entered, the old wizard showed no sign of surprise. Rather, he smiled. 'Ah, Hagrid. To what do I owe the pleasure?'

'I was jus' bringin' up Mr Celestin Alric 'ere ter meet yer, professor, sir. He says he's got summat o importance ter talk ter yer abou'' He waved a large hand in Celestin's direction as Celestin stepped forward and nodded to the professor in acknowledgement. Celestin noticed the professor's eyes flash in familiarity when Hagrid said his last name, as if he had remembered it from somewhere.

'Well, I've gotta be gettin' back to work, Professor,' his eyes flicked to Celestin for a moment, before returning to Albus, 'Unless yer want me up he, 'o course.'

Though Albus' face never changed, his blue eyes scrutinised Celestin, as if trying to place where he might have seen him before. Celestin almost smiled at the giant's concern. It wouldn't be the first time someone had been suspicious of him. It was the constantly wary look in his eyes, Marius had told him, which tended to set people on edge. But that was what happened when you became an assassin. To Celestin's surprise, however, Albus shook his head and smiled at the giant man.

'No, that's fine, Hagrid. Thank you all the same.'

Hagrid nodded and, giving Celestin one last glance left the room, leaving Celestin standing alone with the old headmaster. They were both silent for a moment, until Celestin smiled. 'Hagrid seems very loyal to you, Headmaster,' he said simply.

Albus chuckled softly. 'Indeed he is. I would trust Hagrid with my life. Now, Mr Alric, may I offer you a drink of tea? Or perhaps you would like a sherbet lemon?'

Celestin looked at the bag the man offered and, after a moment's hesitation took one. After all, Marius had taught him etiquette about as much as fighting. However, he gave the Headmaster a slightly interested look. 'Isn't that a muggle sweet? I didn't think any other non-muggle-born wizard knew of them'

Albus nodded pleasantly. 'Yes. A friend of mine a long time ago introduced me to them and I have grown rather fond of them myself.' He waved a hand at the chair opposite his desk. 'Would you care to sit down?'

Celestin nodded in thanks and took the seat, waiting for the professor to make the first move, mostly out of his assassin instincts. Once Celestin was sitting down comfortably, Albus spoke again. 'Now, Mr Alric, You wished to speak to me about something of importance?'

Celestin fiddled with the ties of his bandanna with one hand, fixing his green eyes on the headmaster's face. 'It's a bit…complicated. Firstly there are a few things I must tell you, before I can tell you anything else. You see, my real name isn't Celestin Alric, though I have been using it for some time now.' He tugged off the bandanna and lifted his fringe, revealing his lightning bolt shaped scar.

Albus, at first, looked as if he was going to faint on the spot. At first he gaped at the scar, then, to Celestin's surprise, tears came to the old man's eyes, but they sparkled tenfold. Celestin had to wonder how the man could look so old, yet look so undoubtedly young all at the same time. 'Harry!' he cried.

Celestin smiled. 'Yeah, but I haven't used that name in a while. Professor?'

Albus had suddenly looked very old again. 'I'm sorry, my boy,' he said softly, hearing the mild concern in Celestin's voice. 'When you disappeared, the whole of the wizarding world thought that you had died. I felt…particularly responsible for that, as I was the one who left you at your aunt and uncles house, in hopes you would have protection under them…'

Celestin waved it off. 'Hey, it turned out for the best. Don't blame yourself. You were just doing what you thought was best under the circumstances, especially since there was the prophecy to think about and all.'

Albus looked as if he had sat on a pin. 'You…know about the prophecy?'

Celestin nodded. 'Not from the copy in the ministry, but yes, I've heard it. The night you heard the prophecy, I believe there was another with you, yes?'

Albus thought for a second, then his eyes sparkled. 'I see. Then Marius is still alive? Now I know why the name "Alric" sounded familiar to me. However, I heard that he had died the same night Voldemort attacked Godric's hollow.'

'No. As Marius would say, it takes much more to kill a vampire. You see, Marius knew that Voldemort wasn't truly gone, so took me and trained me in order to combat Voldemort when that day comes.'

Albus nodded, Slowly he began to stroke the phoenix' feathers gently with one hand. 'Back then, I had hoped to give you the chance of a normal, loving childhood under the protection your mother left the day she died.'

'I can understand, I suppose. But I'm afraid I would have had to find out one day or another, wouldn't I? How long would you have been able to hide it from me, before it became too late? How many more innocent people might have died, if I wasn't ready? And please, Professor, could you stop trying to read my mind.'

Albus looked a little surprised then smiled a little. 'I'm sorry, my boy. However, it looks as if you are very well protected indeed, under Marius' supervision.' Albus nodded, 'Yes. I see that Marius might have been the one to choose the better of the decisions in this case. Despite popular belief, I am still human, still prone to mistakes, and, unfortunately for someone as intelligent as I, those mistake tend to be substantially bigger.'

Celestin chuckled. 'Well, I'm glad you are, really. I think there are enough moronic wizards who seem to think that they are more than human – which, I guess, brings me on to why I decided to show myself now, I guess.' Celestin grew serious. 'Listen, I've heard rumours that the Tri-wizard tournament is going to be held here at Hogwarts. Is that really true?'

'Yes. I believe the Ministry has been having a lot of problems setting everything up, what with the events of the Quidditch world cup.' Albus noted.

Celestin fiddled with his bandanna in his hands, sorting is thoughts. Finally he said. 'I guess you know about death-eaters having got a little more active than normal since Voldemort was defeated, what with being the leader of the Order of the Phoenix.'

'Ah yes, Marius would have told that to you, as he was a supporter of the original order himself'

'Yes, but it looks like you're going to have problems. This tournament is a perfect opportunity for someone to harm one of the champions involved, and it's a chance I know that Voldemort and his followers would be dying to take.' He leaned forward on the desk. 'Basically, Marius and I think it might be best if we helped out the order ourselves, because if I know Voldemort – which I do because of this lovely present he left me,' He indicated his scar. He knew Albus knew what he meant by that by the proud look that flickered over his face. 'I know that Voldemort will probably take the opportunity to take control here during whatever Chaos he decides to put his twisted mind to at the time. So, Marius and I decided that, if you'd let me, I will be coming to Hogwarts this year to hopefully prevent that and put Tommy back in his place – cause he's long overdue. And, there is also the fact that I need your help about as much as you need mine.'

Albus looked rather surprised and Celestin longed to use Legilimency to see what the man was thinking, but decided against it. Besides, he'd have ages to do it if he was going to be in Hogwarts for the next year or more. Suddenly, he began to smile and his eyes glittered behind his glasses. 'I'm honoured you place your trust in me. But apart from letting you into Hogwarts – which I am happy to do, of course – what else can I do for you, Harry?'

The assassin grinned at him. 'Well, I need all the surprised I can against old Mouldy-wart,' to which Albus' eyes shone even more as her chuckled. 'So I was wondering I you have anyone who could also teach me to become an Animagus.'

'Well, our resident Animagus is Professor McGonagall, who is our Transfiguration Professor and also a member of the order. I'm sure she will be happy to teach you how to become an Animagus.' Albus said, as if trying to make up for the years he had lost with Harry. Celestin smiled inwardly. He could see he and the Headmaster were going to get on very well. 'Do you have anywhere to stay until term begins?'

Celestin laughed. 'Headmaster, I have been completely elusive for the passed thirteen years. I think I can remain safe and homed for another few weeks, wouldn't you say?'

Albus smiled, his eyes twinkling merrily. He somehow looked younger than he did when Celestin had first seen him. 'Very true, Harry.' He outstretched his hand, which Celestin took. 'Well then, Welcome to Hogwarts, Mr Potter.'

TBC

Chosha's notes

Well, things are going to get interesting now, as Celestin is now ready to head off to Hogwarts to become a student. Oh the horror. Anyways, I know, not much action going on here, but it will come as the story progresses. However, forgive me for these not as action packed chapters. I'm afraid I don't like to just rush into the story.

Now, just a little note on Marius - I'm glad you like him, to start off, but I have been a little vague with him, haven't I? Well, I will be doing an explanation on him in later chapters, and I'm thinking of doing a Prequel of Marius as he took Harry as a baby and Celestin's training years. What do you think? Should I do that too?

Anyway, any Question's, votes, comments or constructive criticisms? Don't hesitate to review and tell me. I'll try my best to get back to you.

Next time on Celestin:

Harry has returned to the wizarding world and is ready to go on his biggest mission yet – Hogwarts! Next episode: Return of Potter