CHAPTER SIX
DEATH IS UPON US ALL

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warnings: blackmailing/threats

     Celena Leociadus would be lying if she said her heart didn't thump extra fast whenever she walked into Professor Trelawney's classroom. Surely, the lady was crazy, but something about her visions always put Celena on edge. In First Year, she had told Celena that something was going to go missing and that it would never return. Fortunately, that missing thing was only a book, but still the accuracy scared her.

The strong smell of incense and dried tea leaves welcomed her as she entered the classroom.

The room was decorated with purple and red tapestries, some with delicate patterns. Celena looked up to the hanging lanterns, then walked over to her seat next to another one of her friends. Lacy Alyn sat there, in all her perfect glory. Like Celena, she was also sorted into Slytherin, but was unfortunately not a Pureblood. Lacy was a shorter girl, with platinum blonde hair and bright blue eyes almost the color of the ocean.

She sent Celena a small smile as she sat down, saying nothing as she fiddled with a marble on the clothed desk.

Already, as if she was a crashing wave onto the shore, Professor Trelawney spawned into the classroom. "Today!" She shouted, her glasses enhancing her bright eyes. "We look to the future!" She raised her hands.

Lacy sat next to Celena with a huge smile, trying not to laugh out loud and get detention. "For some... it will be a future of bright! For others, we shall see!" She spoke in a riddle, which was oftentimes very confusing to decipher. "Cel." She heard Lacy whisper from next to her. The girl turned her head, watching as she raised her hand to her mouth.

"Yeah?"

"Heard you're going out with Felix Alderidge, is that right?" She whispered back as Trelawney rambled on. The girl quickly raised her eyebrows, the expression in her face turning to a confused one. "Going out? No, no." Celena confirmed. "Really?" Lacy placed with the tablecloth, one hand rested on the side of her jaw to hold her head up. "Yes, really. I mean, I think he's cute, but nothing has happened between us."

"Yet." Lacy spoke, a smirk on her face.

"What?"

"Nothing has happened between you two, yet." She smiled, almost laughing. Celena sighed and looked back to Trelawney, who raised her hands towards the sky. "Now. Now! You must swap cups with the one opposite of you!"

Celena grasped onto Lacy's cup while Lacy took hers. The cup was full of wet tea leaves in odd shapes. The girl peered down to the books, trying to see what was in store for Lacy's future. With another glance, Celena noticed odd lines and shapes, and looking down at the symbols in the textbook, it meant trouble.

Quite literally, the abstract piece meant that she'd have lots of trouble.

"Give it here dear, let me see the cup." Trelawney came out of nowhere to Lacy, asking for Celena's cup.

As the older woman looked down she gasped, nearly throwing the cup and staring at Celena right in the eyes. Celena flinched at the sound, eyes widened so much that they could've popped out of the socket. "The Grim." She shook. Celena's heart dropped, what was the Grim? "What's that?" She heard Draco Malfoy yell out the question before she did.

"The Grim, taking form of a giant spectral dog, and it's amongst the darkest omens of our world, it's an omen...of death." A kid read from the back of the room.

From beside Celena, Lacy looked terrified, but Celena was not too far from it either. Death? Now? She had a life to live, a full life. The girl wanted to get up from her seat, away from the prying eyes of the other students, but she decided to stay still. To sit up taller and take a deep breath while Trelawney backed away silently. "Celena..." Lacy spoke.

"No. Half the time her predictions aren't true, we know this." She tried to joke, tried to push down the sinking feeling in her heart that begged to climb out of her throat. "I won't believe it until it happens." She shook her head, smiling greatly at Lacy next to her and moving on.

Unfortunately, Celena wasn't the only one that had 'the Grim' that day. Harry Potter had it too, and Trelawney gasped the same exact way, if not louder.

"Those two having the Grim? I'd love to see that." Draco joked from the back of the room alongside his clique. As if they shared a mind, Celena and Harry both snapped their heads back to stare at him. Draco quickly put his hands up, acting defensive.

He had to shut that mouth of his, he was acting too bold like Celena wouldn't punch him in the nose again.

Luckily the class ended before Malfoy could get anymore words in.

As much as the girl tried to not let it bother her, the goosebumps on her arms told her friends otherwise. It echoed in her mind, hauntingly etching itself into her memories while she walked. The Grim? How? The only prediction Trelawney ever gave her was about the notebook, but even then it was an exaggeration. She silently hoped this was only another mistake in Trelawney's vision.

Celena walked towards the dungeons, trying to find the Common Room so she could have some peace and quiet for the break.

With a sharp huff, she turned the corner, walking down some corridor in the dim lighting. The cold breeze of the steps blowing gentle swirls of her blonde hair. The tresses slowly entangled themselves as she flurried down the steps. Celena's hand graced the stone cold wall until she reached the common room door. The door creaked and she was met with the silence of the room. Luckily, no other noisy students had their breaks yet, which left Celena and a couple others with peace.

She sighed, placing her books down on a nearby seat while she laid down on one of the leather couches by the windows. Celena looked towards the glass pane, watching as the glimmering green hue of the Black Lake lit the whole room in a mysterious glow. If she were to be completely truthful, she hated how the common room was placed directly beneath the lake. Every other house had beautiful sunlight and outstanding views from the tall towers they were in, but Slytherin? They always got the short end of the stick.

Her eyes traced over the floating seaweed and occasional merpeople darting around the murky water. She watched intently how the sun-rays casted small cones of light to even the darkest places in the body of water.

"Hey." She heard a voice call out to her from behind the couches.

Celena sat up, the leather creaking as she turned around and placed her hands on the curved arm rest. Felix stood a couple feet away, watching as her sour expression bloomed into a tight smile. "Hello." She spoke, voice soft and clear amongst the crackling of the fireplace. She turned back around to face it. For a moment, there was a silence, a silence that Felix decided to break. "Is everything alright?" He asked.

At first, Celena wanted to ask how he knew something was up, but she realised her mellow tone gave it away.

"Yeah, yeah. Just some silly thing that happened in Divination." Celena brushed it off, scoffing lightly and keeping her eyes focused on the fire. "Come on a walk with me." The boy muttered from behind the couches, placing his hands on the back-board of the black leather. "Where?" Celena asked, nearly laughing.

"Don't know, anywhere." He spoke, his voice soft and sincere as the smallest smile lingered on his lips.

Celena nodded, gracefully taking his hand which he offered and standing up from the couch. It felt like a few minutes since they had journeyed out of the common room and up the steps towards the central hallways of Hogwarts.

She smiled as the cool breeze hit her face as they walked into an open corridor leading to outside. "Would you like to talk about it?" He asked, his hands behind his back as they walked shoulder to shoulder down some steps. "Hm?" Celena perked up, unaware that she had been thinking about her day too much. "Divination." Felix provided some context, earning a noise of understanding from the blonde next to him.

"It's okay, not much to tell. It was just a prophecy from Trelawney." Celena smiled. "Alright. Her predictions are wrong half the time, if that makes you feel any better." He smiled, guiding her down some steps that overlooked the Black Lake.

The girl let her shoes click against the cobblestone steps, she let the breeze play with her hair and the warm autumn sun grace her cheek. "I know. That's the little hope i'm holding onto." She smiled. "So," She quickly adverted his attention from the matter. "May I know where you are taking me, or is it a secret?"

"Not much of a secret, come sit here." Felix grinned, walking over to a circular incrusted part of the fenced stairs. The stairs led down to the boathouse, but it would be too far to walk all the way down, not to mention the exhaustion that came with it. "Here? On the ledge?" Celena questioned as Felix hopped over and let his feet dangle. "What? Scared of heights?"

"Not in the slightest, I just love looking at the lake." She joined him.

"Me too, even though it's bloody horrifying—as i've heard." He replied, hands resting over the perch of the stone as he looked towards her, then to the lake. "Not wrong about that, I refuse to touch that water. You'd have to chain me to the bottom for me to stay." The blonde joked. In all honesty, the Black Lake was indeed, horrifying. The Merpeople were not as nice as fairytales made them out to be, not to mention the murky water and other creatures lying beneath the surface.

It was simply something you left untouched.

"I haven't gotten used to the screeches of the Merpeople in the middle of the night." Felix joked. "Me either. Scared me shitless my first year, I couldn't sleep for a good three days." Celena rocked forward, watching her feet dangle over the ledge.

The girl squinted her eyes from the sunlight and watched the distant horizon. She gazed over the bumps and cracks of the mountains, as well as the  water gently splashing at the rocks below. The ledge was steep, and usually, Celena would be terrified, but this was an exception—Felix was an exception.

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     Walking from the lake all the way to Defence Against The Dark Arts class was the hardest thing Celena Leociadus ever did.

She huffed, hurriedly running up some steps and not looking where she was going. As she ran, she accidentally bumped into someone's shoulder as they turned the corner to head into the same class. Celena couldn't see who it was, but as she looked to the knocked round glasses on the stone floor, she had a feeling it was someone familiar. "I'm so sorry." She apologised, quickly grabbing the glasses and standing up.

Harry Potter stood tall, fixing his ruffled hair and taking the glasses from her happily. "Not an issue." He smiled in return.

Celena could count how many times she spoke to Harry on her fingers. Three. Thats all. From their three years at Hogwarts, she had only spoken to him three times. That's once a year, on average.

There was an awkward silence between them as they stared at each other. Celena held her tight smile while Harry just kept fixing his glasses. "Actually I wanted to speak to yo—" Celena began to talk really fast, but Harry had the same idea. "This morning, when—"

Celena laughed, this was the second time this happened, the first with Felix. "I'm sorry, go ahead." Celena gestured the boy to speak. "About Trelawney—" The pair was then interrupted yet again by the bell ringing and some leftover kids flooding into the classroom. The girl wanted to protest and continue the conversation, but she figured this class was something she did not want to miss—and Harry had the same idea.

She hurried to her the center of the room, where a bunch of other students looked towards a shaking closet. In the mirror, Celena could see herself. The glimmering hue of green in her tie and the hood of her robes, the shine of her blonde hair with the delicate tresses cascading down her chest.

"Intriguing, isn't it?" Professor Lupin spoke from the back of the class, making Celena shudder from surprise.

He walked towards the front of the class, his chestnut hair folded over with a little curl. Along his face, were three scarred scratches. Students murmured and wondered what could've caused them, but no one dared to speak out loud, including Celena.

The closet kept shaking, the wooden feet slamming onto the floor every few seconds. "Would anyone like to venture a guess...as to what is inside?" Lupin asked, eyebrow quirked just slightly.

"That's a Boggart, that is." One student claimed.

Celena gulped, she knew what mysterious entity it was, but she had never encountered one before. "Very good, Mr Thomas."

"Now can anyone tell me what a Boggart looks like?" He walked closer to the window, hands behind his back as his eyes trailed over the students carefully. "No one knows." Hermione started, but Ron interrupted when he was wondering about her whereabouts. "Boggarts are shape shifters, they take the shape of whatever particular person fears the most." Hermione shot a harsh look at Ron, who then kept his mouth shut.

"That's what makes them so—"

"So terrifying, yes, yes." Lupin interrupted. Celena just guessed today was a day for interruptions, and a lot of them. "Luckily, if any simple charm exists to repel a Boggart, let's practice it now." The man now stood to the front and center of the classroom, watching the closet and the students closely. "Without wands, please." He took his hand out of his pocket.

"After me, Riddikulus." He breathed. "Riddikulus." The class repeated back.

"Very good. A little louder."

"Riddikulus." Everyone spoke again. "This time clear, listen, Riddikulus." Professor Lupin sounded out almost every letter, putting an emphasis on his voice while everyone shouted a little louder. "This class is ridiculous." Celena heard Malfoy mutter from a few feet in front of her.

To avoid laughing at his comment, she bit the inside of her cheek.

This was the most annoying thing about Draco Malfoy, he could be pretty funny sometimes—even if Celena hated the very air he breathed.

"Very good. Well so much for the easy part, you see, the incantation alone is not enough," Lupin began explaining, eyes examining everyone in the vaulted class. "What really finishes a Boggart is, laughter."

Celena looked around. Laughter? Seriously?

"You need to force it to assume a shape you find truly amusing." He paused for each word at the end of his sentence. "Let me explain, uh Neville, will you join me please." He gestured to the brunette Gryffindor boy standing behind Harry.

Neville Longbottom seemed to have seen a ghost, by the way he looked at Professor Lupin, Celena would've guessed so.

The boy walked up with a face painted in worry. "Hello." Lupin smiled, his voice soft and warm. "Neville, what frightens you most of all?"

Neville's big eyes stared up at the older man, but he barely spoke above a whisper. Celena could see his small shuddering and offered a reassuring smile he couldn't see. "Sorry?"

"Professor Snape." Neville spoke out. Lupin laughed, alongside the class. "Well, Professor Snape frightens all." He joked. "I believe you live with your grandmother?"

"Yes." The younger boy quickly responded.

"But I don't want that Boggart to turn into her either!" He raised his voice a little higher than his normal speaking voice. "No, it won't." Lupin seethed his teeth. "I want you to picture her clothes, only her clothes, very clearly in your mind." He nodded.

Neville nodded back in response. "She carried a red handbag.."

"We don't need to hear, as long as you see it, we'll see it." He smiled. "Now when I open that wardrobe, here's what I want you to do." He walked over to the boy, and whispered something incoherent to the rest of the class. "Can you do that?"

Neville nodded.

The closet turned restless, bumping all over the ground and causing a commotion. "Wand at the ready!" Lupin grabbed his wand then counted. "One. Two. Three."

The closet door clicked as the knob turned and the door creaked open. A creature taking the shape of Professor Snape walked out, eyes squinted while his hand rested on the ledge of the closet. Celena's eyes widened as she stared. Yes, it was terrifying, but oddly interesting.

The door closed and Snape walked closer, still dressed in his usual black robes until Neville shouted and pointed his wand towards the man. "Riddikulus!"

Suddenly, Snape's clothes transformed into some silly frock and hat with an animal on it. In his right hand he held a red handbag, just like Neville said. Celena laughed, looking at the disbelief in the man's face. "Wonderful, Neville! To the back, form a line!" Lupin laughed. Suddenly everyone formed a line and Celena found herself first in place.

She hadn't meant to go first, but it seemed as if nobody else wanted to go in front of her.

"I want everyone to picture the thing they fear the very most, and turn it into something...funny!" Professor Lupin walked over to a record player and put the needles on a vinyl.

The music was silly, but Celena was excited for whatever was awaiting her inside that closet. "Celena!" Lupin called out, making the girl walk forward and stare at the silly Professor Snape. Suddenly, he had began to turn shape, twisting and spinning in funny ways. In the midst of it, a familiar face had popped out and stared at her.

It was herself.

Celena Leociadus truly only feared herself. She disregarded the murmurs of classmates behind her, watching as she stared at herself as though through a mirror. "Interesting, now turn yourself into something funny!" Lupin rested a hand on his jaw, eyes squinted as he looked. Celena thought long and hard.

"Riddikulus!" She shouted, taking out her wand.

Celena watched as her mirrored reflection suddenly grew wings and a tutu. The girl laughed, almost choking back a cackle as her pearly teeth shined in the sunlight. "Wonderful. Great job, Celena!" Professor Lupin smiled.

She walked to the back, walking past Malfoy who would've usually sent an insult, but this time he decided to stay quiet. Her eyebrows furrowed as she leaned against the wooden wall and watched Ron Weasley manage to turn his fear of spiders into a fear of spiders on roller skates.

Celena couldn't help the thoughts that flooded into her mind as she kept watching. Her worst fear was herself? She had been thinking of death, but then again, how would it present itself? Would it come on a silver platter with a card named "death" or would it pop out at her? She looked down towards the floor, watching the sun rays flicker on the floor.

Her worst fear was herself, and not even she knew what it meant.

✶ AUTHORS NOTE ✶

wow okay trelawney just tell
celena she's gonna die!!!  jk guys
she doesn't die (i mean idk maybe, we'll never know until the day the chapter comes 😁) but all i can say is that it isn't coming soon!! lacy oh lacy *cue olivia rodrigo* yes that's the purpose of her name 😊

wc: