I Lived - Fred Weasley

Detention Again

The days that follow are terrible, but not as terrible as she thought they would be. Cedric is disappointed, but understands. He continues to be her best friend.

Angelina, Alicia, and Katie have stopped talking to Celeste. Angelina has always been worried the girl would get Gryffindor into trouble, she's been telling the blonde girl to be more careful for years. Lee and George also have stopped talking to her. Celeste understands it, she deserves their anger. But it still hurts.

The Slytherins have begun saying things about how Cleste is a "true Slytherin" by getting Gryffindor into so much trouble. Phoebe is suddenly incredibly nice to Celeste, but in a mean, mocking sort of way.

Fred seems to be the most conflicted about it all. He's certainly angry and upset at Celeste. He, along with the rest of the Quidditch team, refuses to even acknowledge Harry's existence (they refer to him as "the Seeker" and only when absolutely necessary). But he simply can't ignore his blonde friend. He tried it the first day and it just felt wrong. Celeste Malfoy is too important to him to ignore.

So, what he does instead, is have crazy mood-swings regarding her. Sometimes they're best friends, other times they don't know each other. It's giving Celeste whiplash, but at least her redheaded friend is trying to stick around for her. Well, one of her redheaded friends. Either way, it's nice to know that Fred won't leave her, no matter how angry he gets at her.

—

One morning, notes are delivered to Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Celeste at the breakfast table. Celeste is sitting with them because she can't sit with Cedric (on account of the rest of the Hufflepuffs hating her) and Fred has decided that he doesn't know her this morning (though they were best friends last night). The notes are all the same:

Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight. Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall.
— Professor M. McGonagall

Celeste hasn't thought about the detention at all, forgetting about it in all the chaos of losing points. She feels that the detention is overkill, considering all the points and friendships they've already lost. Being out at night just doesn't seem like that big of a deal.

The blonde girl doesn't say this to the three first years as they leave the common room that night, ready for their detention. The eleven-year-olds feel awful about everything.

Celeste's only sorry she got caught (Neville's fault, but she can't bear to blame the poor boy). Though there is a little part of her heart that stings at the thought of Professor McGonagall being disappointed in her. And she hates that she's lost her friends because of it.

But none of this would've been a problem if she never got caught. The more she thinks about it, the more angry she gets. This anger, of course, is just the tip of the iceberg. It's easier to handle than the crushing sadness and loneliness she feels.

And so, as Filch leads her, Neville, Hermione, Harry, and (to Celeste's great annoyance) Draco down to Hagrid's hut, she tries not to think about it. She pushes her sadness and anger down so she can focus on the task at hand without snapping.

When Filch tells Harry that their detention will be spent with Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest, Celeste's heart soars. She loves the forest! She's got friends there! Well, maybe not friends, but they treat her better than her family does.

Draco, however, is not as pleased about this new information as the older girl is. "The forest?" He repeats, stopping dead in his tracks. "We can't go in there at night— there's all sorts of things in there— werewolves, I heard."

Neville clutches the sleeve of Harry's robe in fear while Celeste looks up at the crescent moon with a raised eyebrow. She nudges Hermione, silently pointing out that there are no possibilities of werewolves tonight.

"That's your problem, isn't it?" says Filch, his voice cracking with glee. "Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"

Because that makes sense, Celeste thinks. When she figures out how to turn into an animagus, just before she breaks her first actual wizarding law, she'll simply think of the werewolves. Next time she sneaks out at night, using the Marauder's Map, she'll think of the werewolves. Because werewolves have so much in common with the mischief she gets into. Right.

Hagrid comes striding towards all of them, Fang (his dog) at his heel. He's carrying a large crossbow, and a quiver of arrows hangs over his shoulder.

"Abou' time," he says. "I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right, Harry, Hermione?"

"I shouldn't be too friendly to them, Hagrid," says Filch coldly, "they're here to be punished, after all."

"That's why yer late, is it?" says Hagrid, frowning at Filch. "Bin lecturin' them, eh? 'Snot your place ter do that. Yeh've done yer bit, I'll take over from here."

"I'll be back at dawn," says Filch, "for what's left of them," he adds nastily, and he turns and starts back towards the castle, his lamp bobbing away in the distance.

Celeste sticks her tounge out at him as he leaves.

Draco turns to Hagrid. "I'm not going in that forest."
Celeste and Harry share a pleased glance at the note of panic in his voice.

"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," says Hagrid fiercely. "Yeh've done wrong an' now yeh've got ter pay fer it."

"But this is servant stuff, it's not for students to do. I thought we'd be be copying lines or something, if my father knew I was doing this, he'd—"

Celeste winces at the mention of Lucius.

"— tell yer that's how it is at Hogwarts," Hagrid growels. "Copyin' lines! What good's that ter anyone? Jus ask yer sister, yeh could stand ter be a lil more like her. Yeh'll do summat useful or yeh'll get out. If yeh think yer father'd rather you were expelled, then get back off ter the castle an' pack. Go on!"

Draco doesn't move. He looks at Hagrid furiously, then to Celeste in the same manner, and drops his gaze.

"Right then," says Hagrid, "now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want no one takin' risks. Follow me over here a moment."

He leads them to the very edge of the forest. Holding his lamp up high, he points down a narrow, winding earth track that disappears into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifts their hair as they look into the forest.

"Look there," says Hagrid, "see that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. That is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery."

"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" asks Draco, still unable to keep the fear from his voice.

Celeste gives Draco a curious look before telling him, "We'll tell it to eat you first and run away before it can get the rest of us."

No one's really sure if she means it or not. Hagrid doesn't acknowledge her comment and answers Draco's question.

"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," he says. "An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last light at least."

"I want Fang," says Draco quickly, looking at Fang's long teeth.

"All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward," says Hagrid.

"Then they're made for each other," mutters Celeste.

"So me, Harry, an' Hermione'll go one way an' Draco, Neville, Celeste, an' Fang'll go the other. Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get yer wands out an' practice now— that's it— an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come an' find yeh— so, be careful— let's go."