Celia I A Harry Potter Fanfiction

Chapter Thirty-Three - Hiding From the World

31st July 2003:

I walked down the street, scared to bump into anyone I hadn't seen in a few weeks, but also knowing it was inevitable.

I entered the office, greeting those around me, before entering Rita's office and placing a letter on the desk.
"What's this?" She asked, frowning at me.
"A letter of my resignation..." I begin before she stands up and rounds the table.
"What do you think you're doing? You're not a big shot writer yet, Ms Diggory." She states, crossing her arms.
"I know. I'm so grateful that you gave me this job Rita, but it's time I move on and that includes this. I'm sorry to do it like this, but I've told the publishers that you are no longer my manager and I have included my finished work on my last piece here for you." She frowned even more as she opened up the envelope and brought out the papers.

"But... but you're my-" I stop her and smile slightly.
"You'll be fine. I have a feeling Astoria might do a good job as my replacement, and it might be worth contacting Ginny Weasley about the sports columnist position to replace her." Her eyes lit up at my request and I knew all would be fine.
"It's been a pleasure, Celia." I shook her hand and walked out of the room, grabbing my belongings from my desk and walking outside.

I walked down the streets of London and took in the sites, grateful for not bumping into anyone on my way. As I passed a red telephone on my way back to Draco's I stopped, recognising where I was.
Before I knew it, I had entered the box and pressed the buttons to get me down into the ministry. Once I had arrived I exited the box and looked all around me. I hadn't been here since the night Sirius died...

"Celia?" I looked around and smiled at the form standing in shock in front of me.
"Hey." I replied, walking up to his figure and hugging him back.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, pulling back and frowning in confusion.
"Happy Birthday!" I reply, laughing slightly. In my daydreaming I realised what day it was.
"Uhhh, thanks?" Harry replies, still confused.
"Well, do you want to get lunch?" I ask him, watching him laugh at me.
"Sure." He answers and I follow him outside and into the fresh air.

"How was Hogwarts? Where have you been?" Harry asked as we walked through the streets.
"Yeah it was good... actually, I got offered a job." I state, purposely ignoring his second question.
"Oh yeah?" He raises his eyebrows at me.
"You're looking at the new dark arts professor." He laughed slightly and stopped to look at me.
"Really?" He asks
"Yeah, McGonagall asked me personally."
"Wow, I never thought I'd hear you say that." He states as we continue walking.
"Why's that?" I ask, wondering whether I should be offended.
"Well, you're such an introvert, how are you going to deal with hundreds of students all around you, everyday?"
"I'm sure I'll be fine." I state.
"You sure, because there's going to be a lot of attention on you." He replies, seriously.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"Well for starters, you're friends with me. Plus, you have a book coming out which literally talks all about your time in school." I nod my head and laugh slightly.
"That's true, why did I do that to myself?" I ask, jokingly.
"You've never been one for the spotlight, but I guess teaching will be different." I nod my head in acceptance, knowing he was completely right.
"It's so hard not telling people to leave me be when I'm also trying to hype my work up." I laugh at myself, and the situation I was in.
"I wouldn't blame you if you did. My whole time at school I just wanted to scream at people to leave me alone and then after the battle, I just wanted to punch them instead."
"Didn't you actually do that though?" I ask, trying to remember what had happened.
"No it was Ron, not me... but the guy deserved it." I agree with him, the memory of that night now coming back.

We arrived at the pub and entered into their yard, placing our drinks down as we sat in the busy setting.
"So, how's married life now... are you excited for December?" I finally ask him, watching his face light up.
"I can't wait. Ginny's been shopping already and we've started to decorate the nursery." I smile at him as he talks all about his unborn baby, watching his mind light up with happiness and excitement.
Over the last couple of weeks I had started to get my abilities back slowly, it wasn't what it used to be, but I hoped that it would come back eventually.

"What happened with your Legilimency in the end? I feel like we talked about your weird dreams and the next thing you were in the hospital and it just got forgotten. Did you figure out what was going on?" He asks, his face turning serious as I sighed in response.
"Yeah, I figured out what was happening." I reply bluntly, questioning whether I should tell him the details.
"And? Is everything okay?" He presses and I realise there was no point in keeping any secrets. He was one of my best friends and keeping secrets wasn't something we did, he deserved to know.
"Don't freak out, but I found out I was having trouble with my legilimacy because I was pregnant." I blurt out, straining to see what his reaction would be.
"What? Why didn't you tell us? This is great news!" I bite my lip as the awkwardness arrives.
"Uhhh, well I didn't say anything because I didn't know how to deal with it. It was a lot to process you know-" I start, but quickly get interrupted by his excitement.
"Well of course! When Ginny and I found out I was so shocked, but obviously we realised super quickly how amazing it was." I struggled to find the right words to correct him, finding myself comparing both his and Nick's reactions to the news.
"And we'll have to figure out how to get you and George back together again..." He continued and I signed, realising I just needed to say it.

"Harry, I lost the baby." I stated finally, watching his eyes grow in embarrassment.
"Oh Ceils, I'm so sorry..." I smiled slightly at his awkward response, knowing he was trying to save himself from digging a hole.
"It's okay. I lost it during the attack on the hospital." He nods at me and I could see his mind whirring.
"Oh Ceils..." I wave him off and take a sip of my drink.
"George and I kept having all of these arguments about what we wanted, because he obviously wanted to have the child, but I wasn't sure if I could handle it... I guess the attack chose for us." He kept quiet for a while as I played with my fingers.
"So it was the pregnancy that was making you have all of those weird dreams then?" He catches on and I nod.
"Yeah, the healer I saw said it's as though your body and mind focus on the extreme pressure of growing something inside of you, that it forgets to control what it would normally. My mother went through the exact same thing, except it made her..." I didn't want to say mad, as it clung onto the notion of what I used to think about her.
"Is that why you weren't sure about having children?" I nod, grateful that he had caught onto what had been happening.
"Yeah, it was a lot to process..." I reply.
"Wow, that's so intense." I smile at him in reassurance.
"Yeah..."

"So... you and George aren't getting back together then?" He asks.
"Things just got so shit between us Harry, I don't think I can go back to that." I state, finishing my drink.
"Why didn't you talk to us about it?" He questions, grabbing my hands.
"I didn't know how to, I just needed some space honestly. I wasn't planning on seeing you today, I just did..."
"Well, you did rock up at my work." He jests and I laugh.
"True... just... can you not tell everyone else, please?" I ask him, selfishly.
"I can't do that Ceils, they're worried about you." He frowns at me.
"I know..."
"What's your plan?" He asks, taking me in.
"I'm staying at Draco's until school starts again." I reply to him.
"Draco Malfoy?" He asks, judgement clear in his voice.
"Yes, don't judge me... he's been really amazing throughout all of this" I reply, rolling my eyes.
"Okay, well as long as you're okay, I guess." He replies and I nod, getting up to grab us more drinks.

When I get back, Harry smiles at me, grabbing hold of his drink as I place it in front of him.
"It's been a bit of a weird year so far." He mentions, smirking as I roll my eyes.
"I'd say it's been a bit of a weird life for us so far, honestly."
"True, you can say that again." He replies, laughing.
"I honestly wonder sometimes whether I just dreamt everything we went through." I state.
"I mean, if I'd been told as a child that when I grew up I would have to battle snakes, dementors, werewolves, giant spiders, and then actually giants, and to top it all off I would have to die and then kill voldemort to save wizard kind. I think I would have told them to piss right off."
"Don't forget literal dragons and merpeople." I add, trying not to laugh too hard.
"Right, exactly. Our school was a little fucked really wasn't it?" He laughs then and I join him, realising he was completely right.

"In any normal universe we would be considered the 'lucky ones'" I state, thinking about how different our lives would have been if we hadn't gone down those paths.
"I guess you could say we are." He mumbles, thinking about all of those we had lost.
"In all honesty, I'm so grateful that you didn't ditch me when I pushed you away. Thanks for always being there for me Harry, really." I stare at him as the emotion in me wells up.
"I could say the same thing. Even though our relationship didn't work out, I would do it all over again if I knew we'd end up here." I laugh and roll my eyes at him.
"I get you, I feel the same. It was all worth it in the end." He agrees with me and we both laugh, thinking about how strange it would be if it had turned out any differently.
"Are you okay though Ceils, for real?" I think about it for a moment and smile.
"I'm great Harry, honestly." I was okay, and knowing that made everything so much brighter.

I walked back to Draco's flat that afternoon; glad I had ended up at the ministry. Talking to Harry had helped me realise that my life was not determined by what I had done, but what I made of it. I knew that I would have to face everyone eventually, but knowing that they weren't pressuring me into it, helped me in knowing I could take my time.