HI YO WASSUP LOL HIYA! Hi. Okay, so I'm pretty satisfied with how my story is going along, but I still need to tweak some finer points. I'm sorry I haven't mentioned the pensieve thing in a while; it'll come up.
(pov is celia, I'm very sure you know that now)
At dinner, Tom hadn't come back, and I was sitting at the Gryffindor table. Harry was quiet, poking his food, but none of us dared to bring up the touchy subject.
I sipped my juice quietly, eyeing Harry nervously. He stood and pushed away his barely-touched plate, leaving. Hermione and Ron ducked their heads.
"Harry-wait-" I followed him upstairs.
"Skirmish Waggle Puffs," he muttered to Sir Cadagon, who brandished his sword and stroked his gray pony, opening the portrait. Harry slipped inside, and the portrait door shut.
"Ah! A foe in the midst! You, in the robes of green! Be gone, Slytherin!" He pointed the tip at me with menace. I fought the urge to laugh.
"Skirmish Waggle Puffs." I replied. Sir Cadagon blinked and stopped stroking the pony.
"Ah…I do apologize, good lady." He awkwardly let me through. I slipped into the portrait hole and almost shielded my eyes.
Almost everything was red and bright gold. I rubbed the colors out of my eyes and spotted Harry walking stiffly to his bed up some stairs.
It read, "BOYS" and I went up the stairs. Harry was sitting on his bed, holding a red album, messy curly black hair shielding his eyes.
"Harry?" I said softly. He didn't look up. I went up to him and sat down next to him. He glanced at me, eyes filled with burning tears.
With one hand, he flipped open the book, and showed me. It was a picture of a green-eyed lady with what seemed to be a manly version of Harry. "Your mom and dad? Who's that-" I traced my finger along a laughing man, with wild hair and a handsome face full of smiles.
"That's Sirius Black. He was their best man at the wedding." Harry's voice was tight. He turned to me desperately. "D'you reckon he was planning their deaths already? Thinking about handing over information as a Secret Keeper?"
"I don't know, Harry. But you need to stop feeling so upset. It's not going to help anybody." I thought back to the Peter Pettigrew thing, and gulped.
"If Black goes anywhere near you, we'll find a way to feed him off to the dementors." I promised.
Harry nodded and flipped another page. Sirius Black again, laughing with one arm draped over James Potter and the other over Lily Potter, who was bouncing a mini scar-less Harry on her knee and grinning. Harry forcefully slammed the book shut and tucked it away in his pile of books. I gave him a small hug and he smiled a little.
"I have to go before I get caught being in here." I gave him another quick hug and dashed out.
HHHHHHHPPPPPPPOOOOOOOO
"Yes! Yes!" I jumped on my bed in excitement. The door opened.
"What's all this commotion?" Dad raised an eyebrow. I grinned and flopped off my bed.
"IT'S THE HOLIDAYS! That means no homework, duh!" I beamed and grabbed my robes, still in my pajamas. Dad rolled his eyes and closed the door.
"Oh, well, Happy Holidays to you too." I huffed, and got dressed.
At least Hermione was excited about the holidays.
As soon as I met up with them, Hermione hugged me. "Happy holidays!" She squeezed me again.
I choked. "Happy-holidays-to you-too! Okay, you can-let go now! Need to-breathe!" After Hermione flushed sheepishly and removed her headlock on me, I sat down next to Harry, who looked like he hadn't slept in years.
Ron looked tense. "But-Harry, you don't mean you want to-to kill Black, do you?"
I sobered instantly. "No! Harry doesn't mean that! Don't be silly; Harry doesn't want to kill anyone!" Hermione panicked.
Harry was quiet. I clenched my fists. "Harry James Potter! You're not going to kill anyone, do you hear me? Don't even THINK about it! Because-because if you kill, then you'll be just as bad as Black-no. You'll be as bad as Voldemort!"
Hermione gasped in her hand. Harry looked up at me for the first time that day.
"Black is not going to ruin things for you, Harry. If he's after you, he's after you. There's people willing to risk their lives for you; calm down. If you're going to chase after Black and hunt him down, go ahead. Get yourself killed. And then everybody's going to lose hope because the stupid Boy Who Lived decided to play hero!" I stated firmly. Then I got up, turned on my heels, and walked away.
Harry's freaking out right now. You should go back and give your boyfriend another hug.
Happy Holidays to you too, Tom. I can't believe I said all that, it's not Harry I'm mad at-it's that he has to be burdened with all those things. And I thought Black was innocent! I sighed and turned the corner, into the Slytherin table, and began to eat quietly. I could feel the teachers' eyes on me, which was seriously creepy.
I bit my lip and buttered my toast silently. After chewing my way through two slices, a person sat down next to me. I looked to my side.
Harry smiled sheepishly. "Hi."
I pushed my plate away and cocked my head. "Done brooding?" He looked like he was about to protest, but then thought better of it and nodded.
"We're going to Hagrid's. The last time you asked us…" He trailed off, but I knew what he was talking about.
"Really? Yes! Okay, I need to ask my dad-don't worry, he'll say yes, I'm sure-I'll meet up with you…um…outside the front doors?" I grinned. Harry nodded and got up. I swung my feet over to the High Table.
Dad looked up when I approached him, jumping with excitement. "Can I go see Hagrid?"
He opened his mouth to say something. "Thank you! Okay, bye! I'll be back soon; bye!" Before he had the chance to say anything, I gave him a hug and ran down the steps, to his office.
You're going to ruin his reputation as a strict teacher. Tom smirked. I grabbed my scarf.
Take your cloak before you freeze to death! I'm not freezing to death with you! Again! I rolled my eyes and grabbed my cloak, putting it on. Yes, MOTHER.
After I got over laughing from his affronted look, I sprinted outside, where Harry was waiting with Hermione and Ron.
The wind blew sharp, numbing coldness into my face, and I wrapped my scarf around my neck tighter as I followed the trio past the forest, which was currently decorated with icicles.
Hagrid, half-giant, lived in a cabin, and it looked like an igloo with all the ice and snow. I yelped as I reached the doorway; some snow had fallen off the rood and right onto my head.
Hermione pressed her ear against the door. I didn't need to; I could hear the loud moans clear enough standing in front of the closed door. "Um…is he alright?" I shifted from side to side. "You don't think the flobberworms died and he had to mourn?"
Buckbeak. Oh. The hippogriff. I felt the urge to punch Draco again. I shivered under my cloak, along with Hermione.
"HAGRID! Hagrid, are you in there?" Harry thumped the door. I knocked.
Hagrid peeked out, tears leaking out his eyes. And then he flung himself towards Harry, who crashed into me and almost made me fall. Hagrid was seriously heavy, as he was twice the size of a grown man, and adding Harry's weight-even though he was scrawny-I felt like I was holding up the sky. Luckily, Hermione grabbed him and hauled him back into the cabin with Ron.
"'m sorry, ye'r Severus's girl, aren't you?" He mopped his eyes fruitlessly. I nodded, trying to hide my annoyance. Snape girl, I could handle. New girl, I could handle. But Severus's girl? That just sounded like…never mind. It was just wrong on so many levels. I coughed.
"It's actually Celia, sir. What-what's that?" I pointed to a letter on the table. Hagrid sobbed again, and shoved it towards me. Harry took it, and read the letter aloud.
"Disposal of Dangerous Creatures?" I frowned. "Buckbeak doesn't seem dangerous! Where is he?" I turned my head at a crunching sound. The hippogriff lay on the floor, blood oozing from the food it was chomping on. I gagged a little, but marched over to Buckbeak nevertheless.
"Celia-y'er need ta' bow!" Hagrid gasped. I had already bent down and held out my hand. "Celia…"Harry whispered with bated breath.
Buckbeak glared at me, then at my hand, then at me. "You're a pretty fella, aren't you? Hagrid did a good job!" I soothed, and Buckbeak let me rest my hand on his head. I stroked the feathers gently, trying not to look at the blood.
"See? If you just-take some students-maybe they'll see-Buckbeak's not dangerous!" I continued stroking, still speaking in that soothing voice. Hagrid broke down sobbing again. I got up and sat back down next to Harry.
"Er-shall I make him a cup of tea?" Ron awkwardly suggested. We all looked at him like he had three heads.
"It's what my mum does whenever someone's upset." Ron shrugged. I smirked. "Sure." Then, in a nicer voice, I said to Hagrid," We're going to help you Hagrid, just take deep breaths." Hagrid's quick breaths slowed to a breathing hiccup. Hm. Better, I guess.
After brewing some tea and talking, we all headed back, heads put together and already planning on how to help Buckbeak's case.
HHHHHPPPPOOOOO
I coughed and batted away a tendril of dust wafting under my nose. Gently plonking the books down on the library table, I seized the first one and opened a dusty page, eyes scanning.
Occasionally, one of us would pipe up, with some useless-but-important information. ("Oh, look, here's one-oh wait, never mind, it was just a different Hippogriff-")("How about this one-oh, ew, look what they did to it-""-Harry! Ew, you didn't have to show me-okay stop it! Turn the page-Harry Potter!")
After I swatted away the disgusting picture and resisted a laugh at Harry's grin, I returned to my book, only to have found it set to the disgusting picture. Harry had swapped books. It worked; I laughed.
"Seriously? That's just revolting!" I took the book and hit him, once, on the head with the book. He grinned again and we continued reading, me shaking my head.
Of course, the moment had to be ruined by Hermione when she shot me a knowing smile and waggled her eyebrows. I formed a spitball and shot it at her, rolling my eyes.
HHHHHHPPPPOOOOO CHRISTMAS
"Get up, get UP! It's Christmas!" I growled impatiently and knocked the door again.
The door opened, and Dad strolled out, purposely slow. I huffed. "Come on! I have a present for you!"
My fingers tightened around the box, and my nails fingered the green and silver wrapping paper.
I left the present on his desk, and he did the same. Honestly, it was better that way. I grinned when I found the set of broom polishing-kit. It was the newest one, created just for the Firebolt.
"Cecelia!" I put the polish down tenderly and went to the desk. "Yeah?"
He was staring at the present, which was peeled and opened neatly. I sheepishly remembered my torn wrapping paper. "How did you know I needed this potions?" he asked suspiciously.
"Um…it was on a list in your bedroom." I smiled.
He raised an eyebrow. "Is that not an invasion of privacy?"
"Excuse me?" I protested. "Who's the one who let Draco in when I was sleeping?" He frowned.
"Draco informed me that you had given him permission."
"And you believed him?!" I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. "Still totally your fault."
"I'm going to go say Merry Christmas to my friends; Merry Xmas, bye!" I grinned and set the broom
HHHHHHPPPPPOOOOO
Mrs. Weasley hadn't gotten me a sweater, but I didn't mind. Hermione had gotten me a book on Magical Creatures, which was awesome because it had a special editions on unicorns, which made me freak ("UNICORN POWER!" "Okay, Celia, calm down…"), and Ron had gotten me a hastily wrapped package of Zonko's Christmas specialty items from the Pranks aisle. Harry gave me a tiny, tiny box, which was wrapped in gold and silver.
Curiously I scraped the tape off and ripped the wrapping paper out. Cue gasp. "Harry-where did you-it's so nice!"
It was a plain metallic bracelet, with beautiful cut jewels of emerald and sparking ruby in the edges. Harry took out one more tiny thing and attached it to my bracelet. I lifted my wrist and grinned. It was a tiny chain on one of the loops in the bracelet: a broom. Of course.
I noticed Ron's sly smile when I hugged Harry, who looked a little pink, and rolled my eyes. "Why didn't you get Hermione a bracelet, too, Ron? I'm sure the jewelry store will have some Valentine's Day bracelets left over." I remarked. Ron flushed.
Harry still looked a little pink, and I smirked. "Blushing?" I couldn't help it; the chance was too great to pass.
His face turned a beet red, when suddenly his eyes darted towards a package. Moments later, after much peeling, Harry took out his mysterious present.
"A Firebolt." The words were faint from awe, coming from Ron.
"Check if there's a card! Check!" I cried out, bending forward excitedly. Harry flipped the Firebolt over and over, examining every perfect polish, and then I helped him check the wrapping paper, but there was no signature or anything.
"Maybe it's a secret message? Maybe you need to polish it or something?" Ron suggested, eyes gleaming. I laughed. "You just want to shine it, Ron. Alright, I'll go see if Oliver has any already opened and used polish." Shaking my head, I got to my feet, feeling the bracelet droop on my wrist with a small tinkle.
Oliver wasn't hard to find; I saw him gawking over a magazine on this Quidditch Player. "Hey, Oliver."
He looked up briefly, startled by my green robes. "Snape." He nodded and his eyes strayed back to the magazine.
I resisted the urge to huff. "It's Celia."
He bobbed his head. No eye contact.
"Er…I was wondering, you don't happen to have any old broom polish, d'you?" I asked, watching his fingers flip the magazine.
"I do, actually; borrowed some to clean a CleanSweep Seven; still have some; why?" He looked at me suspiciously. "It's not some prank you're planning on for us Gryffindors, is it?"
I shook my head. "Harry got a mysterious new broom, we wanted to polish it."
Instantly the magazine flopped closed and Oliver leaped to his feet. "Really? It's a decent one, right? I doubt Harry could catch the snitch before Malfoy on a Comet Two-Sixty." He pulled out a bottle of polish happily. I took it with a grateful smile.
"Thanks; I didn't need anything good, just old polish." He nodded with a small smile, and returned to his magazine, ogling over the incredible tosses("Amazing catch, cost 'em the Cup!" "Mm…complicated move, very hard; nice curve there; very good picture angle, too..")
I walked back to the boys' dormitory, and a boy cast me a fearful look. I sighed through my nose as he quickened his pace when he passed me. He looked like a first year, and he kept staring at me.
"Take a picture, why don't you," I muttered under my breath.
Ron yelled and i rushed in. "What the-Crookshanks?" Crookshanks sprang from a bed and clawed at Ron's chest, while Ron held…Scabbers.
"GET-HIM-OUT-OF-HERE!" Ron bellowed, and I reluctantly pried Crookshanks off, eying Scabbers.
A shrill whistling sound filled the air. I saw a whirling, gleaming Pocket Sneakoscope on the floor. "Doesn't that…do that when something untrustworthy is around?" I frowned and glanced at Scabbers again. Pettigrew….?
For the rest of the day, even when Tom came back, Harry and I couldn't get Ron or Hermione to talk to each other. Of course, I wouldn't want to talk to someone who had just called me a prejudiced git, but really, it was like they weren't ever talking to each other again.
At lunchtime, the tables had been pushed aside and the High Table was in the very middle. Sitting there was two fidgety and nervous first-years, Dumbledore, Mcgonagall, Dad, Sprout, Flitwick, and Filch.
"Merry Christmas!" Dumbledore cheerily greeted us. As we sat down, he didn't seem to notice the sour face Ron made when he sat down next to Hermione. I smirked at my Dad's face when I sat down next to Harry, who looked extremely scared at the glare Dad was sending him.
"Um…Dad? Are you trying to bear a hole into Harry's head?" I asked him, and he turned his glare to me.
"Crackers!" Dumbledore offered a noisemaker to Dad, who grudgingly tugged. A bang shot out and revealed a witch hat with a vulture hat. I caught Ron and Harry's eyes and snickered, remembering the boggart incidence.
We helped ourselves to food, and Trelawney swung in, looking like a very green bug. I muffled a laugh. Dumbledore asked her to join us, and she let out a shriek.
"I dare not, Headmaster! If I join the table, we shall be thirteen!" She shrieked. "Whoever rises the first will be the first to die!" After much impatient coaxing, she shut her eyes and thinned her mouth, sitting down.
"What do you do on Friday the 13th?" I asked her, and she let out a whimper. "Oh, my dear, do not speak of such terrible times…"she replied with a shaken, upset voice. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, while Mcgonagall didn't bother hiding it.
We were quiet as the teachers discussed random things, but I stiffened when Trelawney said that Lupin's time would be short.
After we filled ourselves up, I got up from the table. Trelawney shrieked at me with large, sorrowful eyes. "My dear!"
"It's alright, Professor," I assured her. "My head is still attached to my neck, and I intend to keep it that way for a long, long time."
"Fate may not agree, my dear." She bowed her head. I smiled and excused myself. I needed to study for the History of Magic test, no doubt Binns would have a thick pile of exams for us.
I went back to the Gryffindor dormitory, after Sir Cadagon let me in with the password-Harry had given it to me-, and saw Mcgonagall carrying the Firebolt away.
"What-what happened?" I asked, staring, stunned. Ron rounded on Hermione, whose face was a red as a tomato. Oh.
"What did you go running to Mcgonagall for?" Harry looked shocked; the Polishing tin still in his hands.
Hermione defiantly pushed a book aside. "Because I thought, and Mcgonagall agrees, that the broom was probably sent by Sirius Black!"
I groaned. "Can we PLEASE get through one day without hearing that name?!"