CHAPTER FOUR
THE SWEETEST REVENGE

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warnings: mentions of blood, cursing, mentions of a dead snake, bruising.

     Fortunately, the rest of the day had gone smooth, but the ache in Celena's hand was growing more and more painful as she shifted through classes. She noticed some tender bruising, and a soft flush of violet grow darker as the hours passed.

Stupid Malfoy and his bony nose.

She traveled through the hall with her books in hand, shielding them closely as she wandered through the castles corridors. Luckily, Potions was very close to the Slytherin Common Room, so she didn't have to walk very long. "Cel! Heard you booted Malfoy straight in the nose!" Cornelia snuck up behind her alongside Dalton.

She took a breath and fluttered her eyelashes while subtly rolling her eyes.

"How'd it feel?"

"Magical. Although, his face was really bony, and now I have a bruise." She frowned, showing her hand to her best friends. "That looks terrible, I wonder how Malfoy looks." Dalton smirked.

"I guess I'll find out next bell, unfortunately I have Care of MC with him and his clique." The blonde responded, playing with the trim that was falling off the spine of her book. "Anywho, where are you headed?" Cornelia wondered.

"Unfortunately, potions." She grumbled, thinking about the extremely detailed ingredients made her want to explode. "You should be lucky that Snape actually likes you, that man likes no one." Dalton shuddered at the thought of him, especially ever since he accidentally caused his cauldron to implode by adding the wrong ingredients, Dalton almost never saw the light of day after that.

"I guess so. I think he just liked my parents, not me."

"True." Cornelia spoke.

Soon enough, the potions classroom came into sight after many steps and dark corridors. Celena had already bid Dalton and Cornelia goodbye as they wandered off to Charms with Flitwick.

The warm air full of different scents filled Celena's nose as she walked in, slowly giving her a headache. Snape stood near the front, watching as students flooded in and stood near their friends. Towards her left, she noticed a familiar brunette standing and staring at some pages in his book. Celena walked over discreetly, shifting her book to her other hand. "You look invested." She smiled, watching as Felix looked up from the words.

"For sure, I'm super excited to sit here for a full hour and listen to Snape yell at everyone." The boy joked, earning a laugh from the girl beside him.

"Heard you punched Malfoy." He spoke while their conversation went silent. Celena gritted her teeth and showed him the bruising on her hand. "How does everyone even know." She looked around the room and adjusted her robes.  "News travels fast when Malfoy starts whining and Merlin! That's terrible, you should go get it checked out." Felix took her hand, apologizing when she seethed as he accidentally pressed down.

He looked at the bruising, eyebrows furrowed and expression lined with pain as if he was the one who punched Draco.

"Really, It looks quite bad. I don't think Malfoy has a normal face." Felix clicked his tongue, smiling at his own joke. "It's in fact extremely bony." Celena smiled back, almost choking on a laugh.

"Welcome to Potions. Now, I want you all to follow three simple rules." Snapes voice boomed from the other side of the classroom.

"No horseplay. No fighting. And no mistakes."

Celena nodded as he spoke, showing that she did indeed understand his directions—but seriously? No mistakes? That rule itself was a mistake.

She stood close to Felix, playing with a string hanging from her robes while she awaited further instructions. "Today we will be brewing Veritaserum, because, it seems as though some of you have a talent with lying." The man with long black hair looked over some of the students in the front with narrowed eyes.

Celena smiled, trying to bite the inside of her cheek to stop her from laughing.

"Page seventy-two." Snape watched as the students stood still, but waved his hand to make them move.

Celena walked towards her assigned desk, she noticed a girl with auburn hair looking over her book with an intense stare. As Celena set her books down, the girl looked up, her eyes a piercing blue—which deeply contrasted the rest of her features as her skin was pale and her hair was dark. "I'm Fallon." She smiled, extending her hand as a formality. "Celena." She returned her bright smile

Professor Snape soon whisked everyone away to retrieve the ingredients. Veritaserum was meant for advanced potion makers, but Celena didn't dare to go against Snape.

"I'll go get the ingredients." Fallon got up from the seat before Celena could protest. She felt a pair of eyes on her and slowly glanced to a few tables behind her to the right. Felix looked to her with a slight smirk. Celena pried her eyes away as quickly as possible.

There was something about him that just made Celena so nervous, so raw—like she could be herself around him without having to mask anything. She felt safe, with a sense of security that he provided whenever he stepped around her.

Was it a crush?

Celena didn't know. She didn't know what she felt. To be totally honest, she needed time to figure it out. School was the most important thing in her life, and anything that interfered with that was an anomaly. A crush was out of the equation.

Fallon soon returned, pulling the girl out of her debacle while she placed the ingredients on the table. Celena stood up, glancing at the book and letting the portioning water simmer. Fallon looked for the Vial of Ptolemy that she placed down, head swinging side to side before she set her eyes on it. "Stir it anti-clockwise." She instructed. Celena nodded and did so as the vial was poured gently in the water. "Now we let it sit." Fallon sat back, watching others start the potion. "Well, Snape seems to be relatively happy today." Celena watched Snape nod profoundly at another groups potion.

"That's rare, I wonder who put him in a good mood." Fallon laughed from beside the blonde. "Me too. I don't think I've ever seen the bloke smile." She flattened her lips, twirling a piece of her soft hair and resting her elbow on the tables ledge. "He yelled at me last year for walking on the wrong side of the corridor. There was no one around." The Hufflepuff confessed.

"You having a laugh?" Celena grinned, unable to believe Fallon's words.

"Set." She responded.

"That's bloody ridiculous." She watched as Snape hauntingly paced around each desk. "Tell me about it, I had to scrub cauldrons for two days!"

"Insane, he is."

Shortly, the ten minutes had passed. Celena grabbed the powdered Moonstone and mixed in small spoonfuls one at a time, letting it simmer while Fallon sliced the Adder's Fork lengthwise. The tongue slightly gooey as she dropped the two halves into the liquid. Celena watched as the water shimmered and smoked.

That meant it was working. Snape walked by, giving a curt nod and continuing onto the next.

Fallon raised the heat, letting the mixture roll to a boil. Celena glanced up at the clock, watching it tick and grow closer to the end of class. Soon enough, they emptied the last contents into the potion.

"Well. We will see which group brewed the best potion next cycle." Snape spoke as the bell rung. That was another bad thing about brewing Veritaserum, it took a whole month. Celena packed up her books, then waited for Fallon while she watched Felix wave her goodbye.

Raising her hand she sent him a small wave and a bright smile. "What's your next class?" Celena asked, walking alongside Fallon as they paced down the hallway. "Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid, you?"

"Me, as well." Celena smiled.

The two girls walked outside one of the entrances, walking down a steep hill to Hagrid's hut. Celena never really talked to Hagrid, but when she did, he was always extremely sweet. Fallon followed the blonde as they stepped on asymmetrical rocks and dirty stones. A few other students followed shortly, but Celena looked at three in particular.

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley.

The infamous trio, as many called them.

Celena worked alongside Hermione sometimes in old classes, but she never really talked to Harry and Ron. Many pureblood Slytherins disliked Harry Potter, for a reason she couldn't name. Surely she wasn't too fond of him herself, but she didn't want to curse him unlike other people.

"That's it. Come on, now. Come closer!" Hagrid swatted his hands as he stood on the steps of his hut. "Less talking, if you don't mind."  He tried his hardest to soothe the noisy kids that gathered around, but it didn't work that well. "I got a real treat for you today," he began, placing his hands on his hips, "A great lesson. So follow me." He waddled down the steps and into a clearing in the forest.

Students grabbed their books and followed after him. Fallon and Celena stood a couple yards behind him, gazing upon the trees and the way the sunlight hit them at this hour. She loved watching as they swayed delicately with the late summer wind and early autumn breeze. She loved watching the leaves turn from deep green to crumbling colours of orange and red. There was nothing better than Hogwarts during the fall, and she would die on that hill every chance she had. Walking to Hogsmeade and shifting through the fallen, crunchy leaves. The butterbeers and the pumpkins lined on the steps of each corridor.

Autumn was when Celena Leociadus truly felt alive.

The class came to a clearing surrounded by stacks of rocks that made a short fence-like wall around the perimeter. Celena stepped over it, helping Fallon over as she held out her hand.

"Right, you lot. Less chattering." Hagrid spoke, looking to Harry and the rest of the students. "Form a group over there, and open your books to page forty-nine." He pointed to a nearby tree. Celena and Fallon walked near the tree, but a body bumped right into hers, sending a sharp sensation through her shoulder. "Shouldn't have done that, Leociadus." Malfoy huffed, merely whispering into her ear as he continued walking towards her left and to his group of friends.

"Oh cry about it, bitch." Celena tilted her head and pouted. "Looks like you got beaten up pretty bad, oh wait!" She gasped, gesturing to his bloody nose and bandage that sat on the top.

Malfoy rolled his eyes, wanting to use a banned cursing spell on her right then and there—but he refrained. A loud thud was heard right in front of her as someone fell on the floor. Celena looked down to the book furiously eating at Neville Longbottom's robes. "Oh goodness." She groaned. The girl held out her hand, helping the boy up and showing him how to hold the book the correct way.

"Tha-Thank you." He spoke nervously, taking the book back from Celena as she offered him a small smile.

"Oh, yeah, terribly funny. Really witty!" She heard Malfoy's dreadful voice from beside Fallon. He had been responding to something Hermione said. Celena fought everything in her bones that told her to tell him to shut up and stop talking.

"God, this place has gone to the dogs." He cursed, setting his satchel on the stone fence. "Wait until my father hears that Dumbledore's got this oaf teaching classes." He scoffed, Crabbe and Goyle laughing along with him, right when Celena was going to shut him up, Harry Potter had beaten her to it.

Rightfully so, better him than her.

"Shut up, Malfoy." He walked closer, other students chiming in to a shared 'oooh.'

A circle formed in the middle, many students waiting to see what happened between the two. It had been left unsaid since their first year that Draco Malfoy hated Harry Potter, but in the end, it was so incredibly stupid that Celena had forgotten to card. Some of her classmates always asked if she heard the news about the latest brawl, but quite frankly, she didn't care.

Draco looked at Harry for a few seconds, standing just a couple inches taller than him. Harry looked furious, his scowl resting on his mouth while his eye slightly twitched. Draco peered up towards the sky for a moment, then pointed and backed away scared. "Dementor! Dementor!" He shouted, his robes fluttering in the wind as he backed away like a scared child.

Gasps echoed throughout the tiny clearing, and almost every student looked up in fear. Celena knew it was just another of his stupid tricks and refused to give him the satisfaction of a successful scare. Draco laughed, throwing on the hood of his robe alongside Crabbe and Goyle, then wiggling his fingers to make him look like the cruel creature that infiltrated the train. Hermione whisked Harry away, sending a sharp look towards Draco.

"Such an asshole." Celena groaned, "No wonder Mommy and Daddy keep him busy during the summer." She murmured the last part, trying her best to not pick yet another fight. Fallon laughed, holding her hand up to her mouth to stop any escaping sounds.

Celena was growing to be tired of him and his irritating personality. He was tiring to be around, he might as well been a dementor himself—sucking out the life of everyone around him.

She first began to dislike him when they were seven years old. He had stolen her prettiest drawing from her hands during a Slytherin House gathering and showed it to his parents, taking all the credit and recognition. At she grew, it was a silly thing to hold on to, but it didn't stop there.

Their first class was just Draco being the teachers pet and competing against her for every little thing, whether it was helping Professor Sprout get books or giving gifts to Flitwick in hopes for a good grade. Draco always had to be one step ahead, no matter what—especially if it was against Celena. The reasoning behind this was waiting to be answered, but Celena had a guess. Everything was handed to him on a silver platter since he was born, and he believed that when he reached the real world, it would continue.

But he was wrong. Celena decided to not put up with his ego, nor his lack of empathy.

Hagrid cleared his throat, silencing all the chatter for good. He smiled, turning towards the woods in back of him and singing a small tune. "Da, da, da, da!" He held out his hands, showing them what lay ahead.

"Now, what is that?" Fallon asked, silently to Celena who furrowed her eyebrows. "Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid tossed him a dead ferret, watching as the creature jumped and gobbled it into his mouth.

"Say hello to Buckbeak!" The tall man smiled cheerfully.

"Hagrid...exactly what is that?" Ron Weasley whispered, his mouth nearly dropped to the floor in confusion. "That, Ron, is a hippogriff." He walked closer to his students, occasionally looking back to Buckbeak.

"I think he's sort of cute." Celena smiled towards the creature. "Yeah but he'd probably eat you." Fallon joked. "Hey!" Celena nudged her shoulder. "Buckbeak wouldn't do a thing." She smiled, turning back to the animal and hugging her book tighter.

"First thing you want to know about hippogriffs is that they're very proud creatures." Hagrid started.

"Oh like someone else we know!" Celena whispered, gesturing towards Draco who seemed to be awfully interested. "Very easily offended. You do not want to insult a hippogriff."

"It may just be the last thing you ever do."

The blonde and brunette watched the creature look over the students, he was a curious little guy. The white feathered animal walked closer near Celena, who seemed to stand off near the middle and by Hagrid. "Now, who'd like to come and say hello?"

The girl looked down, looking to her book then back up, completely oblivious.

"Celena! He looks to have taken a liking to you!" Hagrid smiled, gesturing the girl to step forward.

"You know what, that's alright, I think he's more interested in Fallon!" Celena tried to push Fallon closer but failed to do so. "Nonsense! Nothing to be scared about, just follow my instructions and you'll be fine!" The giant placed a hand on her shoulder as Celena slowly moved closer.

"Now, you have to let him make the first move. It's only polite." Hagrid stood in the middle of the two like a mediator.

Buckbeak, however, seemed uninterested in her and more interested in the swaying trees. Me too, Buckbeak. Celena quietly related.

"Give him a nice bow." Hagrid spoke.

"A bow? Sir?"

"Yes, it's a formality. He'll trust you more if you give him the space and time to understand you."

Celena hestitated, then lowered her head and her torso. "Don't get eaten, Leociadus! Malfoy shouted from the back. Celena ignored him, rolling her eyes and continuing to do what she was doing. Through her eyelids, she tried her best to look up at the creature who stared at her. "Cmon." She thought to herself.

After a few moments, Buckbeak lowered his head. Celena heard gasps behind her, and a few claps.

Bonding with a magical creature, check.

"Well done! Go on, go and pet 'em!"

Celena looked to Hagrid with a hesitant smile, but he gave her a small thumbs up and tossed the creature yet another ferret. "Are you sure about that, sir?" She asked. "Yes, yes! Go on." The man gestured her to go up to the hippogriff. With an exhale, Celena walked closer slowly. "Nice and easy, let him come to you."

She reached out her hand, pausing shortly in the dirt and letting the animal come closer.

For a moment, she closed her eyes, but as she opened them again, Buckbeak rubbed his beak against her hand, then his head against her arm. "Woah!" She laughed, petting the soft creature nicely.

"Give a clap guys, cmon! Well done, Celena, well done!"

More claps erupted as Buckbeak started 'speaking' with soft growls. "Would ya like to ride 'em?" Hagrid asked the girl, but she quickly shook her head. "I think i'll pass on that one, sir." She smiled.

"Alrighty, who's next?" He asked.

With one final pet and bow, Celena returned next to Fallon who gave her a small high five. "Oh please, what a wuss. Too scared to ride, Leociadus?" Draco spat and quickly walked up to the animal.

"Not dangerous at all, are you?" He taunted the animal.

"Malfoy. No." Hagrid tried to warn him but Buckbeak had already jumped up in the air and scratched Draco's fore arm. With a small shriek, he fell on the floor. Celena bit her lip, nearly falling over from laughter. Fallon looked to her like she was crazy, but started laughing alongside her.

If it was any other student, it wouldn't be funny, but it was Malfoy. Stupid Malfoy couldn't follow simple rules.

"Buckbeak! Away you silly creature!" Hagrid warned, throwing another ferret off to the side and looking down to Draco on the floor who clutched at his sides. "Oh, it's killed me! It's killed me!" He whined, acting like a little child rolling on the floor.

"Calm down! I-It's just a scratch!" The giant stood above him, looking down at Malfoy like he was going to get fired on his first day of teaching. He quickly picked up Draco, walking over the clearing. "Class dismissed!"

"Oh you're gonna regret this. You and your bloody chicken!" Draco nearly cried, hanging from Hagrid's arms like a baby.

Celena Leociadus would never let him live this down.

ᛝ

     That night, Celena walked into the Great Hall, saying goodbye to Fallon as she walked towards the Hufflepuff table. She took a deep breath, sitting down next to Cornelia while Dalton scarfed down some bread.

Ah, seems as though they had a very easy day.

"Does it hurt terribly, Draco?" She heard Pansy ask as they sat across the way. "It comes and it goes. Still! I consider myself lucky," He started, Celena rolled her eyes as she listened in. to his nonsense, "According to Madam Pomfrey, another minute or two, and I, uh, could've lost my arm."

"Would you listen to that idiot." She whispered to Cornelia. "Oh I have been, you should've heard him before you got here. Kept speaking about some bloody chicken, did the medicinal potions work correctly?" Cornelia furrowed her eyebrows.

"I'm afraid so. He's talking about Buckbeak."

"Buck-What?" Dalton quirked up, drinking some fruit juice from his cup. "The Hippogriff from Care of Magical Creatures." Celena filled in the two quickly.

"What a drama." She huffed.

"How was your day?" She took a sip of the soup from her spoon, letting the warm liquid soothe her sore throat. "Not as eventful as yours, but Flitwick did find a way to banish Dalton from using expelliarmus in class."

"It was a mistake! I wasn't aiming!" He fought.

"He accidentally sent a second year flying into a stack of books." Cornelia revealed. Celena gasped, pressing both hands onto her mouth. "At least it broke his fall." Dalton shrugged, face turning pink from embarrassment. "I still don't know how you managed to make it past first year with your horrible 'talent' of Charms." Celena shook her head and smiled.

"Me either. I could've sworn Dumbledore was going to kick me out if I couldn't keep up." Dalton huffed, remembering the fear he had from Charms in First Year.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt your wonderful dinner, but Felix hasn't been able to stop staring at you since you walked in." Cornelia nudged her best friend's shoulder, making her glance up from her soup and straight into the bright blue eyes of Felix. Suddenly, a note landed in her lap.

Celena looked down, taking the crumbled the piece of paper and reading it silently. Cornelia tried to peak over but it was enchanted. "Meet me in the left stairs near the Slytherin Common Room at nine-fifty." The paper read.

Celena glanced back up, nodding from across the way. "What does it say!" Cornelia gasped, trying to steal the paper from her. "To meet near the left stairs at nine-fifty." She smiled.

"I told you! He likes you!" Cornelia beamed, smile almost as bright as the candles floating above.

Celena glanced to her side, feeling that familiar pair of eyes sending daggers through her head. As she looked, she watched as Draco sat semi-bruised and bloody with a sling around his shoulder. His jaw tightened and his mouth was turned downward as he stared at her. Celena brushed it off, whispering something incoherent to Cornelia who seemed to look over.

The girl got up, following Felix who walked out of the Great Hall. It was only nine-forty-five, but by the time she got there, it would've been nine-fifty.

For a second, she lingered, trying to not make it to obvious to anyone who was watching that she was leaving with Felix. The dark corridors welcomed her, draping her tan skin in a darkened orange while the candles on the walls flickered with the gusts of wind.

She could smell the food from the Great Hall, but also the sweet scents of cinnamon coming from the wax dripping to the floor. The nights grew colder, but Celena held them close. Fall was upon Hogwarts, her favourite time of the year. She listened closely as her school shoes clacked on the stone floor, echoing against the stillness of the once lively hallways. Celena glanced back, making sure she wasn't followed as she stuffed the note back into her pocket. For a second, she stopped, peering into a mirror that clung to the wall. She gazed at her reflection, watching as her straightened blonde hair slowly curled as the day went on. With a smile, she quickly hurried up the steps to where the hidden stairwell resided.

As she approached, she could see Felix waiting nearby the arched window. When he noticed her, he smiled, extending a hand to help her up the stairs. "Look." He pointed out into the dark abyss.

Celena climbed the stairs, squinting her eyes to see what he saw. Outside were thousands of glowing bugs. "Apparently they are all over the muggle world." He whispered, Celena hadn't noticed how close he was until his breath tickled her ear.

"What are they?" She asked.

"Fireflies. I used to see them all around Beauxbatons." He looked down to her as she watched in complete awe. It was silly to be so infatuated with a bug, but as light within them flickered and faded, it made her heart warm.

"Is this what you called me here for?" Celena asked, turning around to face him as he stood closer to the stone wall rather than the window. "Maybe? Maybe not." He smirked. Celena bit the side of her lip, then looked down and laughed. "How's your hand?" He asked, taking it in his and gently rubbing over the bruise. "Looks good but hurts like hell." She joked, letting his soft finger graze over the purple skin.

For a second, she just watched him. Watched how he put so much care into just a simple injury of hers. Watched how his eyes twinkled against the candlelight in the stairwell.

She blinked quite rapidly and looked down as he soon made eye contact with her. There was a silence between them, but it was comforting, not awkward. "I think I should return to the dorms now, I have to suffer in Charms first thing tomorrow." Celena stated, gently taking her hand away from his grasp. "Alright." Felix responded. Celena waited for a moment and then walked down the stairs.

"Celena?" He asked.

"Yeah?"

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Felix."

She disappeared down the steps, leaving him to rest in his own thoughts.

✶ AUTHORS NOTE ✶

some more celena and draco
tension for yall. celena's foot stays on this
man's NECK i swear, girlie won't let him breathe 😭😭 but as she should, me next celena!! 😁

wc: 4,336