The Mystery of the Frozen Heart

Chapter Nine: The Greater Good

1925

1 Even though Celestia was itching to just be on her way to the next clue, her sister convinced her to be patient and catch a decent night's rest. They still had some planning to do, anyway, and Celestia had still not fully recovered from the strains her body had been put through the last few days. Her contact had left her instructions to collect what he had called clues from two different sites in something called Black Rock Forest. The coordinates weren't all too specific, so the group decided to split up into pairs after apparating to the location Celestia had been given, and going from there. Yes, it was all a little vague, but that was for everyone's protection. If the clues were too easily found, then what would stop the local Aurors from getting to the prize itself with relative ease? No, that must be prevented at all costs.

Frankly, Celestia didn't like giving Ares Malfoy or that strangely nonchalant Ethel girl the opportunity to find the frozen heart before she did. After all, they were committed to the Grindelwald cause and would do anything to gain an advantage over their powerful enemies at the MACUSA and the Ministry of Magic, among other wizarding governments. It wasn't as if Celestia couldn't get behind their motivation. After all, there was a war going on, and in war, every means leading to a final victory were permitted. Even though she felt squeamish about some of Grindelwald's goals, she had to admit that she wasn't entirely opposed to his views about the superiority of magical people. Neither was she opposed to his fight against the Statute of Secrecy.

Ares had been more right about her than Nocturna: Celestia really was a lot more committed to saving Alastair and his family than to the Grindelwald cause. Well, to be fair, Celestia had put all the cards on the table and outright admitted the truth, but she knew her sister. Nocturna was enthusiastic and prone to letting herself get carried away by her emotions. She'd always been the more passionate of the two sisters, and she'd been so bubbly about Celestia joining that it was hard to believe she wouldn't try to get the latter to pick up the mantle of righteousness permanently. It was probably a little cowardly, but Celestia decided, as they all sat in the decrepit brownstone's living room discussing strategy, that she wasn't going to keep harping on the fact that saving the Fawleys was her one and only goal right now. Of course she loved her sister and was glad to be close to her again. Of course she had opinions. Of course the current global crisis plaguing the wizarding world didn't leave her cold.

Of course she felt guilty about lying to Newt after he'd stopped supporting her goals.

Still, she'd set out on this quest with a single goal in mind, and she knew that she must either succeed or perish. This wasn't just about Alastair or his closest relatives. This was about her validating her own choices. Percival Graves had said that she'd kept out of politics all her life, that it was time she got off the fence and took a side. This assessment of his was partially correct; she had to admit to this. Politics made her squeamish, and she liked to tiptoe around things that made her feel uncomfortable. He wasn't completely in the right, though. She already had taken a side. Was it selfish? Oh, yes. Would this self-awareness stop her? Would she, if push came to shove, choose the greater good over the lives of the Fawley family? No. No, her mind was made up, and nothing that Nocturna said to her would change this. Celestia would not fail. She couldn't.

Truth be told, she didn't think she'd be able to bear losing Alastair, after everything that she had sacrificed to be with him.

With everything going on and all the disconcerting suspicions whirring about in her head, Celestia didn't think she'd be able to ever fall asleep. She drifted off about ten minutes after lying down and didn't wake until the next morning.