Celeste || Sirius Black

Chapter 6: Being a Wraith

The week flew by really quickly for Celeste. She buried herself with schoolwork more than usual and even took additional assignment inputs from her partner at potions, Lily. She was surrounded by assignments whenever you saw her with her hair in a messy bun and her fingers twirling a pencil.

She was a quiet girl, or so people thought. They deemed her to be the Switzerland of the group. She never took sides or took part in arguments. But when she wanted her voice to be told aloud, she made sure that it happened. That was one of the reasons that people preferred to stay away from her.

One thing that people wondered about her was why she always wore long-sleeve shirts. She was quite intimidating, with her dark long hair and dark eyes. She was always so silent, but she was definitely a Hufflepuff.

The people that knew her in her First Year had left her side once the change came over her. Only Lily stuck by her and she was not judgemental. Lily knew everything about Celeste. She was the only one that Celeste could trust.

One more thing that the fellow students and staff at Hogwarts did not know was that she had a big secret that was vital to her survival. The biggest secret that she ever had to keep even from the people that she trusted was necessary, for that order had come directly from the Headmaster himself.

So, after everyone went to sleep, Celeste snuck out of the common room. She didn't have to worry about being seen by the caretaker, Argus Filch because nobody could see her. She called herself 'the Wraith' because she could sneak through the castle without being seen.

But I, the author, am not talking about that in a metaphorical sense.

She started to make her way towards the library of the school and when she almost crossed paths with a certain Slytherin ghost, she hid herself behind a pillar. Although Peeves couldn't see her, he may have been able to sense her.

Once he was out of the way, she continued walking. But that night, she came face to face with her Charms teacher, Professor Flitwick. He was holding a steaming cup of cocoa in his hand and was wearing a tall twisted sleeping hat.

Celeste smiled. His insomnia was getting to him. He had been sleepwalking around the castle but Professor Slughorn was working on a sleeping draught that would help his colleague.

And how did Celeste know about this? Well, everyone has a story that they don't tell out loud. This was hers.

She spent some time reading in the library, the one place where no one would disturb her. She didn't have to worry about any side glances about who she was and how her family had.... "Stop." She scolded herself under her breath. She didn't want to think about that.

She shut the book with a slam because white lights flashing before her eyes from a certain memory. She was grateful for the Headmaster helping her with her life. But why did it have to happen in the first place?

Her eyes started to get foggy and so, she diverted her thoughts to the Rajputs. They had taken her in so easily, without thinking two thoughts about it. She was forever grateful to them for giving her a roof over her head. Maya and Shiv Rajput had magic blood in them. They had specialised in Muggle Studies when they were studying at Hogwarts and they decided to provide input for the Ministry by living a normal life in the muggle world.

And when the night of 18th June entered her life and destroyed every piece of emotion that she had, the Rajputs had taken her in without any questions. They did not make her talk and neither did they ask her to. They only wanted her to eat properly and try to move on in such a way that her life wouldn't be affected.

But how could she?

How could she forget that stormy night where her parents were taken away from her? Where she was tortured for being who she was before the Ministry came for her rescue?

"No." She wasn't going to go through that pain again. And why was she thinking about that again?

"What the hell do you think you are doing!"

Her jaw clenched. It was because of Sirius Black. He had tried to indicate that she was going to take her own life away. But she was only looking at the stars! She looked down just for a moment to see if she was okay with the height, being feared of it.

Would she have taken a leap off of the tower if he hadn't come at that moment? Was she going to take her own life because of what had happened to her and her family?

No. There was no way that she would have done it.

But his words were echoing in her ears. He had tried to knock some sense into her by shaking her shoulders.

Celeste shivered. He had touched her. She pulled the sleeves of her dress till they reached her fingers. He had touched her. She didn't know why she didn't feel uncomfortable by thinking about it, because it was the heat of the moment that removed her fear of being touched.

Yes. That was it.

She shook her head and wiped her face. She wasn't going to cry that night. She had cried her share of tears every moment that she was alone. She was never going to forget what happened.

Walking back in the direction of her common room, she saw two shadows against the western wall. She stopped walking in an instant and waited for the two silhouettes to start making their way towards their destination.

A sleepy Remus Lupin and a mischievous Sirius Black stumbled out into the corridor. They looked like they had been spying on someone because they needed information. "Do we have to pull it off, Padfoot?"

Sirius laughed. "Why not? We are the Marauders. And how many more years will we spend here." He clamped his friend's shoulder. "We need to make the best of what is going to happen, don't we?"

"But McGonagall-"

"Wants us safe. That's it. And we won't be harming him, right?"

She tried not to move, but the rustling of leaves made the two friends look in her direction. She knew that they couldn't see her, because she couldn't see herself. But that didn't stop her breath from catching.

Remus nodded. "Let's do this. But no one gets hurt. We cannot hurt him at all costs."

"Of course, Moony. Tomorrow night....after everyone has gone to bed, we can pull out the prank. Hagrid will be waiting outside his hut playing his flute. We have our set up."

The two started walking towards their dorm rooms while discussing their plans when one name stood out, the name of the person who was also present on the night of 18th June - a person who helped her try to move on.

The Marauders had chosen Hagrid as their target for their next prank.

Celeste closed her mouth to repress her gasp. "Oh my...."

*****

Oh my indeed because I updated? This is a miracle! How is everyone?
Sorry for the delay but I have been working on my original books.

'Empires Fall' is now available. 
If you like this book, I'm certain you'll like that one as well

Also, the playlist for this story is available on Spotify and I've also created a Pinterest board in case anyone is interested, because I may make this a series.  I will also be posting
edits on my Instagram. Marauders manips are calling for me

So stay tuned!