Diggory Is More Than A Loser (book 3)

35- Purpose

After Dumbledore's funeral, Harry disappeared for the rest of the day.
Although Celia wanted to give Harry his space to grieve, she knew it might be her last chance to talk to him.
With Dumbledore dead, hunting and destroying Voldemort's Horcruxes fell to Harry, so Celia had a hunch that he wouldn't be returning for his final year of school.
She found Harry's hiding place with ease, because it was also her favourite place to go when she wanted to be alone.
"Might if I join you?" Asked Celia, as she floated across the owlery to where Harry was sitting.
"Be my guest" mumbled Harry.

Since she was unable to sit on the floor beside him, Celia floated down as low as she could, so that she was at eye level with him.
"Most Hogwarts ghosts have a place where they like to go. Myrtle obviously has the girls bathroom that you brewed Polyjuice Potion in. So I thought that this might end up being my place. If anyone wants to find me, this will be the first place they will look" informed Celia.
"I mean, it kind of already is. We all know that you come here when you want to hide" replied Harry.
"You come here too... Anyway, I'm not just talking about now, I'm talking about in the future. At the moment, everyone here knows who I am, but when new students arrive, they will know me only as a ghost and not as a quiet lonely Ravenclaw. So they will need to know where this ghost likes to go. And for me, my favourite place at Hogwarts is the owlery" admitted Celia.

"I'm still not used to seeing you like this" Harry said quietly.
"I know. There are times when even I forget that I'm not alive anymore. And I have to admit that it's strange to be in here without Angel. My parents took her home with them, since it wouldn't have been fair on her, to keep her here forever. But I still miss my beautiful little owl" sighed Celia.
"Angel and Hedwig were the only snowy owls at Hogwarts"
"Yes, they were. But that will all change next year... I overheard you, Hermione and Ron agreeing to not come back in September".

"I'm not going to lie to you Celia, because that wouldn't be right. Dumbledore left me a job to do, as you know, and I can't just sit at school for another year, while Voldemort threatens everything I care about. I wanted to go on this quest alone, but Ron and Hermione have said that they are going to come with me" revealed Harry.
"You have some very loyal friends" replied Celia.
"Don't you mean, we have some very loyal friends" corrected Harry.
"I guess so. But they only became my friends, because they were your friends first and you brought us together".

"Do you really think that they are only friends with you, because of me?" Questioned Harry.
"Well, yes" answered Celia.
"That may have been true at first, when we initially started hanging out all those years ago. But that's not true now. Trust me, if anything happened to me, they would continue being your friends" insisted Harry.
"You really think so?"
"I do"
"Having friends is still kind of a new concept to me"
"You've been saying that for years"
"That's because I'm still suprised that I have friends, after so long of being on my own and living in Cedric's shadow"
"Well, you are never going to be on your own again".

"I'm a ghost. I will outlive you all and end up on my own in the end... I've been thinking about that for a while now, and I've been coming up with ways to make sure that I'm never alone again" announced Celia.
"Go on" encouraged Harry.
"I'm not going to be another sad lonely Ravenclaw ghost, like the Grey Lady, and Moaning Myrtle. And I don't want any students to feel as lonely as I did before I befriended you. I want to be there for every lonely student. I'm going to be a shoulder that they can cry on, and someone they can tell all their secrets to. After having my own therapist for a year, I'm pretty sure I can give students some good advice, if they are going through a rough time" replied Celia.

"So, you're going to be a ghostly therapist?" Asked Harry.
"Of sorts. Since you can't torture or kill a ghost for information, the students secrets will be pretty safe with me. Living people have their own agenda, but as I ghost I don't have any ulterior motives, which is why I'm perfect for the job. I know what it's like to be lonely, so I am going to be a friend to those who have none of their own. And since I died while still a student, other children will feel comfortable talking to me, rather than an adult, since we look the same age" said Celia.
"You've really thought about this" replied Harry.
"I have. Well, when you don't need to sleep anymore, you find that you have a lot of extra time on your hands"
"I bet".

"Oh, and with all this extra time, I'm also going to try and learn to speak every single language in the world" informed Celia.
Harry grinned, "That sounds like the Celia I know".
"One of the Ministry officials at the funeral came up to me and told me that I got all Outstandings in my NEWTs" revealed Celia.
"What! They've marked them already?" Questioned Harry.
"No, but I'm a ghost now, so they marked mine early. At first they weren't going to bother, since I'm dead, so won't need exam results as I have no future. But McGonagall put pressure on them to mark my results, just like everyone else. So they decided to do mine first"
"Well, congratulations on getting a perfect score"
"Thanks Harry".

"What are your plans for the summer?" Asked Harry, as the sun began to set, filling the owlery with a warm orange light.
"I'm going to Bill and Fleur's wedding, so if you're at the Burrow then, I will see you" answered Celia.
"Ron wants us to stay for the wedding, so we will be there then, but we'll probably leave after that" admitted Harry.
"Alright then, I guess I will see you then"
"You certainly will. What about your plans for the rest of the summer though? The wedding is only one day afterall"
"I plan on spending that time with Benjamin, and figuring out how our relationship is going to work from now on, since I'm a ghost".

"Well, I wish you good luck" said Harry.
"Thank you. I wish you luck as well on your Horcrux finding mission. Voldemort cannot be destroyed until the Horcruxes are gone. So, we are relying on you to save us all" replied Celia.
"I won't let you down" promised Harry.
"You'd better not-" Celia faltered as the sound of foosteps made her turn around.
"We knew you'd be up here" admitted Hermione, as her and Ron entered the owlery.
"Well, you found me" sighed Harry, as he stood to his feet and headed over to the large window that overlooked the school grounds.

Celia floated over to him, as Hermione and Ron joined his other side.
"It really is beautiful up here" Harry said quietly.
Celia smiled as she looked from her friends out at the vast landscape.
"Yes, it really is the most beautiful place in the world" she agreed.
Despite having an uncertain and possibly lonely future ahead of her, Celia was happy to be beside such good friends, staring out at the prettiest place on earth.
Hogwarts was her home, and it always would be.