ғᴏʀ ʏᴏᴜ | ғʀᴇᴅ ᴡᴇᴀsʟᴇʏ ᴛʜᴇ sᴇᴄᴏɴᴅ

16.

James sits in the library tapping his fingers off one of many piles of books in front of him. He has been waiting for ten minutes for Celine to show up as Stefen scoured the library for any book on anything to do with Gytrashs', Banshees and Augureys'. A loud bang snaps James out of his small trance to find Stefen back with twenty more books.

"Do you think we really need all this?" James looks at him flicking through the pages of the hard red copy of 'British Islands and their native beasts'

"I mean, the clue Riley told you helps, but the animals are still very much a mystery to us, and unless you have a better and more time-efficient way I think my way is best." Stefen looks at the boy.

Both of them don't want to flick through pages upon pages of information, most being completely futile to them and their search to figure out the next task. They wanted a much faster way but they knew, at this moment of time, this was their best option.

"Ya know, if Karkaroff found out we were helping each other like this, I'm sure he'd convince everyone to swap me out for Krum." Stefen let out a chuckle.

"It's a bit weird how everyone else worships the ground he walks on don't you think? I'm glad no one in Hogwarts gets that treatment." James smiles.

"You don't think anyone gets that treatment because it's you who gets it." Celine states coming up from behind a bookshelf.

"That's not true. I'm treated just like everyone else." James smile fades and turns more into a scowl.

"I wouldn't think so Potter, besides you tell me, would someone really dare mistreat the boy who lived firstborn son?" Celine sits down the other side of Stefen.

The room goes cold as the group of champions sit in the uncomfortable silence. Stefen slides a book over to Celine, as she opens it, it starts to wail. Celine throws a cold-eyed stare at Stefen as she's almost sure he did it on purpose but Stefen's horrified and scarlet face tells her otherwise. The three teens sit and flick through page after page hoping to see something on any of the beasts. They spend maybe thirty minutes, reading and checking and going back to the last paragraph, much to no ones surprise they haven't made much progress, maybe excluding Stefen who is making an alarming dent in the books.

"Wait, I think I found something." Stefen looks up at the group.

"What is it?" James questions the older boy.

"Look," he pushes the book in between James and Celine, "Augurey's, they are known as Irish phoenixes. So not only are Banshee's Irish, so are Augurey's." Stefen beams.

The two other champions look at Stefen confused on where the Irish fit in but they are sure it adds up somewhere. They continued to go through the stacks and stacks of books, re-reading not only their own but each other's, looking for anything they could've missed.

"Wait. Celine? You said your wand is made of Veela hair, right?" James lifts his head from the book 'Banshee Basics'.

"Yeah."

"Banshee's have a link to Veela's you know." James taps the paragraph he sees the small sentence with the connection between Banshees and Veela's.

"So what's that got to do with anything?" Celine's eyebrows quirk.

"Don't you see? Banshees are linked to Veela's, your wand core. Augurey's are also known as Irish Phoenix, Phoenix that's my wand core. If we can find a link between unicorns and Gytrashs' it would prove what I think it is already, it to do with our wands, maybe not the whole things but definitely the cores." James says excitably.

"That's something." Stefen looks quickly through the pages he just read.

"Both unicorns and Gytrashs' are linked by the chocolate frog cards." James laughs.

"What?" Both Stefen and Celine look up from their books.

"Chocolate frog cards? Don't tell me you guys have never heard of them. Fred and I have been collecting them for years, my dad and our uncle and aunt even have one for them. You guys seriously have no clue what I'm on about do you?" James stares at the two teens in front of him.

"No, but you said your dad has a card?"  Stefen asks.

"And Where and how do unicorns and Gytrashs' come into it? Celine rolls her eyes.

"They have different sets. Famous Wizards and witches but they're more simply called gold, silver and bronze, famous hags, vampires, goblins, dragons giants and beasts. Ya know, I'd say Fred still has his collection around, never let it outta his sight from ages 6 to 12." James laughs at the thought of his cousin clutching his scrapbook, so worn from use, bringing it everywhere he went.

"But you're saying in the beast category, Gytrashs' and unicorns both have cards?" Stefen questions.

"Yeah, that's how I remembered how to get rid of them, it was on the card, Fred use to recite them, like all the time." Celine's eyes widened when James mentions Fred as if it let off a light bulb in her mind.

She gets quickly from her seat and hurries to an aisle of bookcases. Getting down about halfway down the aisle she returns holding the ear of a squirming and very familiar face. Fred Weasley the Second.

"Huh?" James looks between his cousin and Celine.

"This imbécile was listening." She says nodding to Fred. "Now, these cartes de grenouille au chocolat, chocolate frog cards or whatever, where do you keep them, Weasley boy." Celine spits at the much taller boy.

"It's somewhere in the dorms." He looks at James, holding a look of "is she serious" on his face.

"Well Celine, um, if you want you can accompany him to the common room, or you can stay here?" James tries to hold back his laughter.

"I'm going, was that not obvious?!" She struts out of the library, head high in the air.

"I think it's safe to say Celine gets very French when she's angry." Stefen laughs to the Gryffindor boys. James joins him but Fred finds this situation more frightening especially when they hear a throat being cleared to catch his attention.

"Go, quickly before you have to add her to the list of women that aren't the fondest of you." James giggles.

"She was on it long before today." Fred sighs as he follows Celine's path slumply.

"I do pity him sometimes.... most of the times though he brings it upon himself. Like with Riley, he's never been great with the ladies." James smiles.

"Funny that, thought him and Riley would be back on good terms by now." Stefen scratches the nape of his neck.

"It's more awkward than anything, I think Riley's just a bit fed up of Fred's constant acting before thinking routine and he's embarrassed not only by the way he reacted to me asking her to the ball but the other things he's done in the span of these few months." James confesses.

"When are they just going to admit that they are mad for each other." Stefen laughs.

"I think it's one of those, I don't know, you know when everyone can tell two people are perfect for each other, and somehow they aren't together, I think Fred and Riley don't even realize what they feel for each other. In all honesty, I invited her to the Yule Ball, not just for her friend sake but to try and kick Fred in the arse a bit and make him realize what he might miss." James looks down at his thumbs.

"Wow, they are, uh ehm, I mean, were very close when we all arrived in Hogwarts. I remember Aleksi telling me he wanted to ask her out but he needed to clear it with tallboy before making his move. I do hope they realize it, and it would be a nice parting gift to see them together." Stefen smiles.

"Trust me, at this stage, everyone in the whole school is thinking the same thing." James laughs.