❝ I wanted each and every one of them,
but choosing one meant losing all the
rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide,
the figs began to wrinkle and go black ❞
― Sylvia Plath
The seventh floor was deserted. There was no trace of life, no evidence that anyone was there. The entrance to Dumbledore's office was open ― that menacing hippogriff still standing guard. Its right wing was raised, revealing a spiral staircase up the headmaster's tower.
Celeste had climbed it and found the room empty as well. Where had everyone gone?
She stood at the center of the oval room, wary of all the whimsical machines and artifacts surrounding her. There were bronze globes and silver trinkets. Sterling stars hung from the midnight ceiling with tiny faeries fluttering through them. The walls were lined with shelves of ancient books, thrumming with power and promise.
But where would a prophecy be put?
She walked behind the grand desk, cautious not to touch anything. There was nothing but some blank pages and worn quills. Her heart hammered, betraying her thoughts. If she was caught, what could she possibly say?
If Celeste was bound by an oath, was this really considered treachery?
That sweet, cruel voice lingered by her ear. Certainly, it said. You're a liar and a traitor. Thief too, it now seems.
She clenched her jaw, pulling open the first drawer of the desk. Nothing. Then the second, which held nothing but some pots of ink. The third contained limp scrolls, bound by twine or ribbon. They made her heart leap ― until she realized they carried no whispers of magic.
The fourth and fifth drawers held nothing of note. The sixth was the same, stuffed with several boxes of pumpkin pasties. Celeste was losing patience. Where else might they be?
She aggressively yanked on the seventh drawer when a brilliant flash of aquamarine illuminated the room. Rolling around in a silver tray, a glass ball pulsed with light and the sound of secrecy. It was filled with mist or liquid, the gleaming threads coiling and twisting through the space. Gingerly, she picked it up.
A voice of a different world hissed in her head at the touch and it began to speak. The voice was gentle, but not kind.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ― and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not, and either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives."
Celeste gazed at the sphere in wonder, lost in the lull of the voice as it went on.
"A cursed heiress will make her final choice. What she will choose will determine the fate of the Dark Lord. She will be free from her prison, another to take her place. Her duty will be done, and blood will surely run."
Celeste's blood ran cold as the voice went silent. There was too much to dissect, too much to comprehend. How could Dumbledore have simply stashed this prophecy at the bottom of his desk?
She rose to her feet, hands shaking. She needed to deliver this back to Voldemort.
But what of the Order? What of the Order, who was currently dangling their lives before death and fighting down there? What of them, who needed this piece of information the most?
Celeste tried to calm herself; tried to seize the steady composure she always carried.
And she failed miserably.
She couldn't breathe. The horrific events of the day all came crashing down on her. Her father had just died, and nobody except Sirius seemed to know. And Sirius hadn't really cared either. He had been neglecting her ― up until this night. She had been struck by the Cruciatus Curse for crying out loud! Moreover, it had killed her to speak to Marlene, and now the Dark Lord had given her an impossible task.
She was crying, raw and unrestrained. Every inhale and exhale was faster and heavier. Her panic was holding her body hostage, somehow even worse than the Cruciatus Curse.
Nobody cared ― nobody understood.
Celeste glared through her tears at the ugly glass sphere. She wanted to smash it and burn the remains. The whole world was against her again, like it had been so since she was born. It had built her up to be destroyed.
Just as the prophecy had said, she needed to make her final choice. The choice she'd flinched away from for so long. Because if she chose greed and abandoned her duty, she would curse the world. But if she was selfless and stayed, she could wind up dead.
A vain voice told her that the world deserved to be cursed. That it had done nothing for her at all and therefore deserved nothing in return.
She had to make her choice now. She needed to stay or go, like Olivia had said. Her gaze hardened at the prophecy. This was her curse. It had always been waiting for her.
Its power hummed in her hands ― like it knew what she was.
What she will choose will determine the fate of the Dark Lord.
But what if she stayed and somehow found a way around the Dark Lord's task? What if she could manipulate this horrible prophecy into something better? Something that could let her survive?
Maybe it still made her the worst person alive by refusing to defy the dark side. But Celeste could keep dancing this dangerous game. That was her choice. She had no side to pick because this was her side. Her own.
Inhaling sharply, she stood on shaking feet, shoving the heavy prophecy in her pockets. No matter the cost, she would protect herself. She would protect her family, her friends, her reputation.
Celeste had swam too far out in the sea and could not turn back now. The cold black water was closing over her head.
But Malfoys did not drown. They just held their breaths.
-
The entire castle was empty.
Celeste raced through the corridors, following the sound of screaming till it led her outside. Before her was a battlefield, spread all across the grassy grounds she'd learned to love. The Order was spread out thinly, dueling an overwhelming amount of Death Eaters. Some lay lifeless on the ground, some barely breathing.
It had also started to rain. A storm stirred above, crackling the sky with lightning and roaring with thunder. It was like the world was fracturing and cleaving into two, as chaos and evil escaped from the cracks. The water hit her face harder and harder as she ran down the hill. Her eyes searched for Sirius, but he was nowhere to be found.
"Sirius!" She tried to shout over all the screams, but the nightmarish sounds drenched the air louder than the rain. "Sirius!"
The thin silk of her dress did nothing to keep her warm. The urgency of the moment made her forget to shiver, despite how she was soaked to the bone. The smell of earth and smoke filled her nose as the wind and rain struck her face with relentless intensity.
Their lives were in the hands of malignant fate here, at the center of the universe where nothing else mattered. They needed to live ― needed to live or else everything would go to waste.
And then she finally saw him.
Celeste had always known of Sirius' violent nature. It was no secret to her. But now in the open, she finally saw him. He was a force across the field, moving so effortlessly that one could assume he'd been trained for killing. He cut down an enemy and moved on to the next, unflinching at the spilled blood.
He was a little bit wicked and entirely ruthless.
There was no way to get to him ― not without getting hit by a deadly curse.
Celeste looked around for some solution when she felt a firm hand grip her shoulder. Fingernails cut into her skin as a Death Eater shoved her to the ground. She hit the earth, feeling her bones scream in pain. She rolled to her back and looked up. Breathing hard, she stared into the eyes of Evan Rosier.
He had woken somehow. A fresh scar ran across his face, still bloody and bruised. His swollen lip had turned an awful shade of violet.
He grinned with delight. "Aren't you a pretty thing?"
Her eyes widened. He couldn't tell who she was. She was still partially Olivia.
The words felt familiar ― like he might've said them to her before, back when she was younger and naive. Back before he had stolen her girlhood. Celeste climbed to her feet, remembering every bit of rage he'd ever given her. She still felt his horrible hands crawling over her skin and the feeling of helplessness he always made her feel. She still remembered the possessive ways he forced her across dance floors and how he'd strung her up like a ragdoll puppet for nearly two years.
Celeste's vision burned red as she let loose of her wrath.
"Expulso!"
Evan dodged as it narrowly missed his face. He glowered at her. "Reducto!"
The ground beneath her exploded. Grass and dirt sprayed all over her body and the bursting ground scattered the duelers around them. Celeste hissed in pain at a cut on her arm.
"Relashio!" Evan yelled, aiming at her hands.
"Protegro!" Celeste rolled out of the spell's range and climbed to her feet, moving more quickly than she'd ever had in her life. He would not pin her down. Not this time. She pointed her wand at his heart, and her aim struck true. "Stupefy!"
Evan flew back and slammed into the muddy ground. His eyes were so wild with rage that she flinched. His nose was bleeding and a nasty gash was across his chin. "Advada―"
"Crucio!" Celeste cut him off, her body seething with the most rage she'd ever felt in her life. Evan deserved this. He deserved every ounce of suffering that was coming for him. The idea of killing him did not make her flinch. She just kept pouring her grief and fury into her wand, fueling and channeling it through the curse.
Evan was screaming, writhing on the ground as he clutched his head. It felt so relieving, so satisfying, that she didn't notice when another knocked the wand out of her hand.
The curse broke at once and Evan's screaming was reduced to pathetic whimpers.
Celeste gasped as an arm locked around her neck, threatening to choke her. The unknown person pressed the tip of their wand against the side of her throat, increasing the pressure every second.
"Don't move," they hissed. "And don't speak."
She was utterly defenseless as Evan slowly climbed to his feet. She looked around, seeing other members busy dueling ― but they were too far to notice her. Her back was to Sirius' direction, and she had no way of knowing if he might save her.
She was sick of this. She was so sick of being helpless.
And yet it kept happening.
Evan smiled cruelly, though the aftermath of the Cruciatus Curse had clearly taken a toll on him. He limped a step closer to her. "Dolos. We've been trying to catch you for a while now. Not so fast this time, eh?"
Celeste schooled her face into coolness, though the rage in her eyes had likely not diminished. She hated him with her entire soul and being. She wanted to strangle him and cut his throat from ear to ear―
"Expelliarmus!"
A dazzling streak of scarlet light came from the left of Celeste and hit the Death Eater that held her. The wand at her throat was flung away into the dark. She lurched away at once toward the direction of her savior when Evan shouted, "Interitus!"
Celeste felt her limbs lock. Terror overtook her body as she crashed to her knees. Evan struck the side of her head and seized a fistful of her hair. He yanked it back, forcing her to look up.
"If you try anything I'll kill her," Evan shouted at her savior. He pointed his wand at them. "Not a step closer!"
Celeste almost rolled her eyes. She sighed, already tired of Evan's dramatics.
"Hands off," Olivia's voice rang out, cold and clear as day. "Or else you'll be losing your hands."
Evan laughed, though his grip on Celeste tightened. He jerked her head back even further. "And what will you do? I can tell you're a coward, hiding in the shadows like that."
"Release her." Olivia's voice dripped with calm authority, but there was no sound of her stepping closer. She was still trying to protect their identities.
Celeste's attempts to move were useless. Her body was still rigid and stiff, unanswering her brain. She felt her head prickling with the effects of polyjuice and knew that it would be running out any moment.
A loud bang suddenly shook the ground, followed by a blinding crimson light. Evan flew back somewhere and hit the ground with a pained shout. Celeste felt a rush of energy surging back through her veins and she felt herself being pulled up.
Olivia had sprung into action already, firing curse after curse in Evan's direction. Celeste looked to her side, meeting Sirius' silver eyes. They were wide with shock and confusion.
"Celeste," he said with a harsh edge.
Her stomach dropped. She already felt the argument rising between them. "Sirius," she said shakily. "Don't be upset with me."
Sirius clenched his jaw as he examined her face for injury. "I'm not."
But Celeste knew. She saw the betrayed and angry look gathering in his stormy eyes and knew. Maybe he wasn't upset at her, but he was still upset. And that was even worse.
She had lied to his face and it had gotten her nearly killed. How many times would he still have to save her from impending death?
Sirius shook his head. He turned away from her and looked over at Olivia and Evan, who were now dueling. "Dolos got hit by the Cruciatus Curse earlier. We should give her a hand."
Celeste looked around at the ground, shaking her head. "I've lost my wand. You should go help her first. I'll catch up."
Sirius sighed. "I'm not leaving you. We'll look together."
Celeste knelt, pressing her fingers against the earth. The tall weeds and grass made it too difficult to see anything and she prayed that no insect or snake would lash out at her. Sirius flicked his wand and muttered, "Lumos."
It took another minute before they found it several meters away. Every second, Celeste's heart raced faster and faster with desperation.
They ran down the hill where Olivia and Evan had neared the edge of the Black Lake. Wind and rain whipped through their drenched hair, but Celeste couldn't feel anything anymore. She was too numb to pain now.
"Stupefy!" she shouted, releasing a streak of blue light. "Impedimenta!"
Evan stumbled back, barely deflecting both. His glare flickered with shock as he locked eyes with her. He looked between Celeste and Olivia. "You two―"
"Everte Statum!" Olivia yelled. Her face transformed into panic as she saw Celeste.
"Protegro!" Evan barked. "Enough of your games! Celeste, what the fuck are you doing here?"
Sirius was looking at the three of them, trying to assess the situation. Celeste refused to meet his gaze, knowing the guilt would eat her alive.
"Don't be a fool, Evan," Celeste said lowly. "I think you know."
Evan clenched his jaw and slowly lowered his wand. "It was polyjuice wasn't it? Clever, I'll admit. But not clever enough. You could've died, Celeste. I could've killed you!"
"Oh that's rich coming from you," she hissed. "You―"
"We're going home," he demanded. "Now."
"Don't tell her what she can or can't do," Sirius snapped. He moved closer to him, angling his body so that he slightly shielded Celeste. "She is under no obligation to listen to the likes of you."
Evan laughed coldly, shaking his head. "And who is she to listen to? You? Am I really supposed to believe that you allowed her to be here?" He smiled cruelly when Sirius had no answer. "You forbid her, didn't you? And she came anyway. That's what my wife does best. She disregards everyone and everything around her and takes what she lik―"
Sirius swung hard. Celeste watched as his fist hit the side of Evan's face, making the scars on his face bleed all over again. He seized the front of Evan's robes, forcing the Death Eater to look up. "I should've killed you when I had the chance," he seethed. "She's not your wife. Her name is too good to be in your mouth, you filthy bastard."
Evan's eyes gleamed with wicked delight. "Now what sort of lies has our darling Celeste been feeding you? What― has she promised to marry you and be with you forever?" He shook Sirius off and chuckled as he adjusted his robes. "She can never, Black! Don't you see? She's not disowned like you. She can never run off into some delusional sunset with you! She's mine."
"Enough!" Celeste snapped, her voice cutting between them like a vicious dagger. She ignored the knot of terror in her stomach, saying, "Finish your mission and go, Evan. You've done enough."
Her husband's face darkened. "And what will we do about your treachery? The Dark Lord will have your head."
"You won't tell him," Celeste countered with a lethal glare. "You won't tell anyone. You wouldn't."
Evan surveyed her expression and smirked. "Now what makes you so sure of that?"
She held his stare, sharing a terrible understanding with him. He was the worst person to relate to; to find comfort in, but for some strange reason, Celeste felt their twisted bond shared a thousand small agreements. They understood one another in ways that no one else could. They defined all that pureblood society was ― beautiful, with carnage hidden beneath their smooth skin.
Voice dripping with venom, she said coldly, "Reputation."
Evan swallowed and nodded stiffly, glaring at Sirius before telling her, "You have thirty minutes. Thirty minutes to do whatever the fuck you need and then we're going home."
"Fine," Celeste answered. "Now get out of here."
Evan vanished into a pillar of black smoke and melted into the air. It took two seconds of silence before Olivia crushed Celeste into a hug.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered in Celeste's ear. "I should've known it wasn't enough polyjuice. I don't know what I was thinking ― especially when we got split up, I was so worried. I'm so sorry, Celeste."
"It's alright," Celeste said, slightly surprised. "Everything's alright."
"Oh Godric, if anything had happened because of me―"
"Which one of you did I pull out of the Cruciatus?" Sirius interrupted urgently.
Olivia blinked, her expression turning to horror. She turned to Celeste. "That Death Eater on the sixth floor?"
Celeste glanced away and nodded. "That was also Evan."
Her horror intensified. Olivia shut her eyes. "Your husband needs to seek help," she muttered quietly.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Sirius asked gently.
Celeste looked back at him, trying to disguise her helplessness as hope. She smiled weakly and promised, "I will be."
Sirius' response went unheard as howling winds shattered under shrilling gusts of icy rain. They had all likely caught vicious colds by now. As the wind died down, Sirius said, "You don't have to go with him."
Celeste met his gaze, trying to calculate the weight of her next words. "An oath is an oath."
"Not for Rosier," he countered sharply. "He's a cheating liar. We shouldn't trust him."
She stilled, feeling the rain continue to hammer against her skin with hostile ferocity. It was terrifying and intoxicating.
She couldn't explain to him, how despite everything, Evan was perhaps one of the only people in the world she could trust. Of course, she hated him. But if Celeste ever fell from grace, she would be dragging Evan right down with her. They shared a dangerous dynamic; one where they desperately needed the other.
"You can't actually be considering it," Sirius hissed. He dragged a hand through his soaking hair and stared at her in disbelief. "Celeste."
"I don't think he'll hurt me this time."
"That doesn't matter!" he shouted in agitation. "You can't jump in based on random predictions and maybes."
"Like you said," Olivia loudly interrupted with a glare. "Don't tell her what she can or cannot do. She's heard you out now, so you shouldn't be angry if she goes the way you don't prefer."
Sirius clenched his jaw but did not object. He looked away from Celeste and cleared his throat. "We should start moving. I'm fucking freezing." He turned and started trekking up the hill without waiting for a response.
Celeste and Olivia shared a glance before following suit.
As they ran through the battlefield, Celeste saw Lily and James dueling three Death Eaters. Frank and Alice took on four, while Moody and McGonagall fought five ― with a sixth already knocked out cold. Celeste looked around for a solution, only to be met with more death and destruction. They only had twenty minutes remaining, and it wasn't enough.
"What are we trying to do?" Olivia shouted.
"Do you know how to record a prophecy?" Celeste asked.
"Why would―" Sirius stopped speaking.
Celeste pulled the glass sphere from her pocket, which had miraculously not shattered somehow. It glowed and gleamed like a smooth sapphire in her hands. This time, the wretched voice did not speak.
Olivia stared with wide eyes, transfixed by the light. "Yes," she murmured. "I learned in Divination in my sixth year. We could do it in the classroom."
The three looked to the highest tower on the northern side of the castle. An eerie dread settled over them.
"Well," Celeste said shakily. "Let's start moving."
-
The three raced up the stairs of the North Tower, leaving behind a trail of wet footprints. Somehow, the interior of the castle was even colder than the outside. And it was certainly darker. Every torch that lined the walls had been extinguished, forcing the trio to guide themselves with their wands.
"This is like a haunted house," Olivia said, sounding completely terrified.
Celeste wasn't exactly sure what that was, but she agreed with the name. "It's good that it's still summer. Students in the castle would be a disaster."
By the light of his wand, Sirius pushed open the divination classroom door. Fae lights faintly twinkled at the ceiling, casting extra light through the room. Olivia immediately began rummaging through the storage bins in the back.
"What are we looking for?" Celeste asked.
"A prophecy orb," Olivia answered breathlessly. She flung open another cabinet. "They should look like plain glass spheres. Just like yours, but empty."
"Here!" Sirius announced, dragging out a basket of prophecy orbs. They were covered in a thin layer of dust and were just as Olivia described. They were just glass spheres, hollow and ordinary.
Olivia nodded tensely. "These will do fine. Celeste, what exactly do you need?"
She pulled out the glowing prophecy from her pocket. "I need to somehow remove a bit from this one."
Olivia winced. "It would be easy to just record a brand new one, but repeating the same prophecy with alterations can't be done. It wouldn't be true. And there can only be one version that exists. Pulling apart and separating the one you have now would be better, but it won't be easy. It wouldn't be whole anymore. It borders dark magic."
"But it can be done?" Celeste pressed.
Reluctantly, Olivia nodded. She grimaced and chose an empty prophecy orb, setting it on a silver stand on the closest desk. "I'll need you to recite the bit that you need to remove."
Celeste placed her prophecy beside the empty one and held her breath as Olivia muttered, "Intoqure plectear, frangere mutara." She pointed her wand at the two spheres in a spiral movement and gave a final flick. She glanced at Celeste and mouthed Now!
"A cursed heiress will make her final choice," Celeste said slowly. The filled prophecy began to burn brighter as it recognized the familiar words. The room hummed with electricity and excitement, like a magical static. She trembled as she continued, "What she will choose will determine the fate of the Dark Lord."
A thread of blue light uncoiled from the sphere and extended out of the glass, reaching for the empty orb. Their eyes all widened at the sight. Olivia looked towards Celeste, urging her to continue.
"She will be free from her prison―"
The empty orb exploded. Shattered glass shot in every direction as the three swiftly ducked and faced away from it. Despite the small size of the orb, the little bits of glass smashed against every wall and plummeted to the floor. When it was over, there was a deafening silence.
"No," Olivia whispered hoarsely. "I swear everything was going right, I don't think I missed anything―"
"Hey," Sirius interrupted. "It's okay, right? We'll just try again. You said it yourself, this isn't easy."
Celeste nodded quickly, her heart pounding with anxiety. "Right. Of course. What time is it?"
Sirius squinted at his wristwatch, the polished black leather of the band glinting through the dark. "It's a quarter past twelve."
"Five minutes left," Celeste murmured. "We can do this."
They quickly set up a new prophecy orb on the stand, wasting no time. Olivia cleared her throat and said loudly, "Intoqure plectear, frangere mutara!"
"A cursed heiress will make her final choice. What she will choose will determine the fate of the Dark Lord."
The room pulsed with the same energy as before, their eyes dazzled by the glare of the light. But even faster than the first time, the empty orb cracked and fell into several large pieces. Celeste was panicking now.
"Intoqure plectear, frangere mutara!"
It happened again. And then again. Olivia groaned, tangling her hands in her hair. "I don't understand what I'm doing wrong!"
"Don't blame yourself," Celeste sighed, shaking her head.
"One minute left," Sirius warned them.
"What can we do?" Olivia cried desperately.
"You said," Celeste said slowly. "That only one version of the prophecy can exist."
Olivia nodded. "Yes."
"So what if we just destroyed this one? Make it cease to exist and then make it new."
"Technically," Olivia murmured, staring at the heap of shattered glass on the ground. "It might work. Just maybe. You'd need to make it twice then, with the first part and then the second. One can't exist without the other."
"I'll take a maybe. We don't have any other options." Celeste moved towards the desk, taking the incandescent prophecy. It thrummed with wicked glee; like it somehow knew. She hated it. She would enjoy smashing it.
She raised it in the air, preparing to hurl it against the ground just as the door slammed open.
"There they are!" a masked Death Eater announced. "I told you I saw a group running off."
"Shit," Sirius hissed.
Celeste shoved her prophecy into her pocket at once, looking down to conceal her face. She froze, not daring to breathe.
Four Death Eaters circled the room. Three of them had forsaken their skeleton masks, their faces full of sinister delight. The masked fourth stood at the door, trapping them in. He stood as though he were their leader, chuckling, "Black and Dolos. An unlikely pair, I'll admit. But you'll be marvelous dead bodies just the same. Carrow, let me look at the third girl."
Amycus Carrow stepped forward, forcing Celeste's head up. She heard all their breaths catch at the sight of her seething face.
She didn't recognize the masked man from his voice, but he knew her. "Mrs. Rosier! What a pleasant surprise." His voice dripped with accusation and surprise as he said, "Now why might a nice lady like you be doing here? Surely you aren't a traitor. What a scandal that would be!"
Celeste flashed him a lethal smile. "That's a very large claim to make. Especially now that you've interrupted my assignment. The Dark Lord would be very furious. He cleared out the entire castle for me, and now look at what you've done!"
The man hesitated. "An assignment, you say? Surely we'd be aware of it."
"But you aren't," she said coldly.
Carrow shifted at her side. "Hargrave, maybe we should leave the lady to her business."
Hargrave, the masked man, ignored him. "The Dark Lord trusts me. Why wouldn't he inform me of such an important task? He gave me control over this entire attack."
Travers, who stood at the left of the room spoke, "Hargrave, maybe you just didn't know. This is Celeste Malfoy. We can trust her word."
"Well, I don't!" Hargrave barked. "What good has this girl done to earn our trust, besides having a prestigious bloodline? I want proof that she's innocent! Search her!"
Celeste braced herself, ready to lash out. But none of the three Death Eaters moved. They glanced at each other uncertainly, sharing wide eyes.
The third Death Eater, Macnair said, "We don't dare to, Hargrave. You don't know what you're doing. Her husband is right out there!"
"Evan Rosier is a fool," Hargrave spat. "I don't care. If you won't search her, then search Black and Dolos. We don't know why they're here."
"You won't touch them," Celeste ordered sharply. She straightened herself, lifting her chin. "If you lay a finger on them I will have your head."
"My lady," Hargrave laughed, waving his hand in the air. "Death threats do not become you. We will handle these vigilantes the way we see fit and return them to you promptly. Why would you ever object?"
Celeste smiled widely, stepping forward. "I have everything under control here," she lied. "If you proceed with your foolish plans, I'll have to report your insulting behavior to the Dark Lord."
"Foolish?" Hargrave hissed. "You have no idea―"
"Hargrave!" Travers argued. "Drop it. Let's go."
Hargrave glared at Celeste, narrowing his eyes with suspicion. "I don't trust her."
Macnair scoffed, crossing his arms. "Well, between the three of us, we do."
"Evan Rosier can have his bitch back when I'm done with her," Hargrave growled. He lunged towards Celeste, pointing his wand at her heart. "Incarcerous!"
"Protegro!" Sirius shouted, leaping in front of her. "Stupefy!"
The bright spell illuminated the room for several seconds before Hargrave deflected it with the wave of his wand. "Get Black and Dolos!" he yelled, an animalistic savagery gleaming across his eyes. "Malfoy is mine."
Olivia and Sirius surrounded Celeste, steeling themselves for a fight. Wand at the ready, Celeste cursed herself for her miserable dueling skills.
But there was no fight.
Not a single shot was fired.
"We told you, Hargrave," Carrow said evenly. "We aren't hurting her. If she gets hurt, all of us will too. You're still new to this. Let us help you."
"You're all cowards," Hargrave drawled, letting out a sarcastic scoff.
"We know better," Travers insisted.
"Fine!" Hargrave barked. "So be it! Let the criminals get away! The Dark Lord will hold you all accountable."
Olivia laughed at that before her grin faded to a sneer. "Get out."
Hargrave stared at her hard, his jaw clenched with rage. Without warning, he slashed his wand through the air and pointed it at Celeste, hollering, "Legilimens!"
She ducked at once, the spell crashing into the wall behind her. She sucked in a breath at the horror of the spell. It had been too close.
"Give it up, Hargrave," she demanded, straightening. "Your efforts are useless."
"I know you're hiding something," he jeered. "I'll claw it out of your throat if I have to."
Suddenly, a force shoved him forward, slamming him into the floor. Evan stood behind him, his expression half-exasperated and half-furious. He held Celeste's gaze and rolled his eyes. "So dramatic, Barry Hargrave," he tutted. "And here I was thinking you'd gone home early."
The blood drained from Hargrave's face. He stammered, "Rosier."
Evan grinned. "Which one?"
Celeste moved forward, now more annoyed than fearful. Evan's presence had a way of doing that. She stopped in front of Hargrave, his body now trembling. Leaning low, she said quietly, "I told you ― if you touched them I'd have your head. But how dare you try to invade my head?"
The masked Death Eater faltered. "I'm sorry," he finally pleaded. "Have mercy, my lady."
She ignored Evan's wide smirk. "You questioned my loyalty. My worth. You address me as though we are equals." Her lips stretched into a thin smile. "I don't want your filthy head or your insignificant soul. I will put you in hell and make the flames burn higher."
"Please," Hargrave begged. "I didn't mean it."
"Yes you did," Olivia called lazily.
"I didn't know," he said desperately. He was on his knees now, eyes wide and terrified.
"Of course you did," Sirius snapped, breaking his silence. "All your friends were telling you as well, but it didn't go through your thick head."
Evan's face darkened. He moved to Hargrave's left and ripped off his mask. "I don't tolerate slander against our house, Barry. Be glad of my wife's kinder heart."
"I'm sorry," Hargrave whispered.
Celeste ignored his half-hearted apologies. She knew they were empty and full of distress to simply keep his life. She was sick of men, constantly assuming to be her better. She met Hargrave's glistening eyes and said lowly, "Do not test my power. And do not tempt my fury."
Hargrave slowly stood, his expression unreadable. "I understand."
"Good," Evan answered. "Perhaps you'll leave us to our business now."
Hargrave swallowed and said stiffly, "Of course." He turned and moved towards the door, clenching his wand. In a sudden movement, he lurched back and fired a curse so quickly that Celeste couldn't process it.
Sirius lunged forward, shoving Celeste to the ground as a killing curse nearly grazed the side of her face. The red bolt of light soared high and struck a head of beautiful blonde hair.
Celeste screamed.
Olivia fell to her knees and crumbled to the floor. Celeste viciously clawed out of Sirius' arms and fell to Olivia's side. Her eyes were shut and her skin was still flushed with life. Celeste pressed her fingers at Olivia's pulse and her breath caught.
She could still feel Olivia's heartbeat racing beneath her skin. It thundered and pounded with alarmed panic. Celeste sobbed, clinging onto that shred of hope. She still felt the life within Olivia. Still felt that vivid soul clawing and strumming the chords of fatal mortality. Olivia's heart still sang and pounded.
And then Celeste felt it as it stopped.
"No," she said hoarsely. Her eyes were wide with disbelief as the frantic pulse entirely vanished. No, no, no, no, no it couldn't be.
She lifted her gaze to the doorway, where Evan and Hargrave had disappeared. "I changed my mind," she whispered to herself. "I think I will have his head."
AUTHOR'S NOTE
hi! i'm back! (with 5.8k words!!)
once again, it's 3am and i have no thoughts left. way too many things just happened so please ask questions!
Olivia's death has been planned since chapter 10, but I ended up loving her character more than I expected... so now I'm mad at myself! also all of these dark thoughts and epiphanies that celeste has been having lately is building up to something i've been so excited to write.
xx, aria!