The Emperor of Snakes
,, 'TIA!!!!!!!!" at the sound of her name being loudly called into both of her ears Celestia abruptly sat up in her bed, her hand quickly reaching for the mechanism that would turn around her Headboard where an array of knives and daggers were hidden to fight of the intruders, Chrome tumbling onto her lap with a surprised squeak as Fenris raised his head briefly to find out who had woken him up.
Her fear and alarm quickly turned into exasperation and a fond sense of amusment as her eyes made contact with Fred and George's who were sitting on each side of her wearing matching grins, both still dressed in their Pyjamas and their hair untamed and most likely tangled...
They had sneaked into Celestia's chambers as quietly as possible every morning since the start of their Yule break, just so they could wake her up in the most curious ways possible. A very dangerous endeavour as they had learned the first time they had done so, the half-Veela's reflexes and the fact that she was a light sleeper working against them as they were chased out of her quarters with Hexes and Curses following after them....
Not to mention the time two daggers had almost hit them straight in the eye sockets...
The girl shook her head, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart down as she let out a sigh. ,, Fred.... George...... You two are going to be the end of me one of these days...."
,, Sorry." They chorused, their lack of sincerity made obvious by the fact that they were still grinning.
Shaking her head in fond amusment she got out of bed, Chrome climbing onto her shoulder and Fenris looking less than pleased as he jumped out of bed to follow after his Mistress.
,, Did the Owls arrive already?" She asked, quickly putting her hair up into a messy bun.
,, Yep! -"
,, We've been waiting for you to wake up-"
,, So that we could open up presents together!" They chimed, following after her.
,, *Chuckle* Is that so ?" She asked, grabbing their hands while shooting them a smile her eyes twinkling with mischief. ,, Then let us make haste."
The trio made their way down to the smallest living room of the castle, where Theo, Perenelle, Nicolas, Gellert, and Xavier were already waiting for them.
Perenelle was the first to notice them and gave them a bright smile. ,, Good morrow to you three! We've been waiting for you."
,, Good morrow to you as well, Perenelle." Celestia greeted, smiling back at the woman, before sitting down next to Theo who looked like he was still half-asleep, all kinds of presents piled up on the table in front of them.
,, Go on, open them." Nicolas encouraged, grinning mischievously, his hands tinkering away with another explosive of his, which earned him a slap to the back of his head from Perenelle.
Ignoring the couple's usual banter they each picked up a present, the one in Celestia's hold being from Regulus.
,, Oh! Is that from Regulus ?" Perenelle asked, excitement all over her face as she clapped her hands together and leaned in closer to take a better look, all the while ignoring the groan of pain Nicolas let out as he rubbed the now sore spot on his head.
,, It is." Celestia confirmed, involuntarily letting a smile tug at the corners of her mouth at the thought of the boy.
Since he had given her his scarf they had spent a lot more time together, taking walks across the castle grounds where they talked about their interests and likes, or sitting in the Ravenclaw or Slytherin common room where they read or played a round of chess, exchanging small pieces of their respective cultures with the other.
The first year of a Courtship was to find out if the other party was a suitable match for oneself and their family, after all.
And so far it was looking exceptionally well for the two of them, their families histories long since intertwined and making for a prosperous future should they marry in a few years time.
Not only that, but Regulus was only ever patient with her, even though he knew she kept secrets, and showed her kindness, never overstepping boundaries yet still affectionate with her.
Because of that she hoped that he liked the present she had picked out for him........
,, Geh......."
,, Can we please throw that thought out of our minds ?"
,, We really don't want to think about our little sister being romanticly involved with one of our friends in any kind of way, thank you very much." The twins said, looking very much like they wanted to throw up.
Lord Lestrange and the twins were having a field day when they discovered that the three of them shared a common dislike for Celestia being in a relationship, specifically with Regulus.
The half-Veela was still trying to figure out if their alliance was something she needed to warn the Slytherin about or not...
,, Oh Shush!-" said Perenelle, turning to the twins. ,, I think it's lovely. You two should be happy that Celestia chose Regulus instead of someone we need to thoughtfully investigate before letting them even step within a three feet radius of her."
,, Yes Ma'am...." They replied, rolling their eyes, still smiling.
Perenelle huffed, but couldn't help the amused smile making its way onto her face.
Celestia could already see that she had adopted the twins as her fellow Grandchildren in her mind. The fond expression on her face usually only reserved for Nicolas and herself.
Chrome rolled off of her shoulder and onto her lap, right next to the present, and started fiddeling with the Shiny Bow on top of it.
Fenris noticed this and gently nudged his head against his Mistress's leg, bringing Celestia's attention to him.
,, I believe it would be for the best if you open it now........before Chrome grows even more impatient and tries to sneak it into his pockets when no one is looking." He said, at which the girl nodded.
, All right.... all right.... After all, we wouldn't want an annoyed Chrome walking around the castle.' She thought, having more often than not experienced what it was like to witness the sassy Niffler in a foul mood.
It was not pretty.
So she carefully started unwrapping and lifted the lid of the box, only to spot a smaller one with a Note attached to it inside.
Dear Celestia,
Seeing how much you liked the gifts Theodore and Blaise sent you last year I thought you would appreciate this gesture.
With Love,
Regulus
, What could he mean by that....?....' She wondered, slightly worried.
The witch hoped that he didn't buy her anything too expensive......
Celestia opened the little box, where she was greeted by the sight of a beautiful pair of Hourglass-shaped earrings, with sparkling blue sand inside of them.
She looked at them, mesmerized by their beauty......
,, Earrings, huh ?" At the sound of a certain individual's voice who had not said anything since they arrived, her eyes traveled upwards towards Gellerts', who had sat down beside her on her armrest.
The older man gently brushed a few strands of loose hair away from her ear, took one of the earrings, and lifted it up.
A beautiful young woman stood in front of a full body mirror, wearing a long, black dress, her hair braided and decorated with star Ornaments...
Her Golden eyes were a stark contrast to the soothing blue of her Hourglass shaped earring which was oozing Magic....
He smirked once he left his vision, nodding in approval. ,, Good..... The boy has fine taste."
Gellert set it down in the box again, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his seat. ,, Though he forgot that you first have to get your ears pierced.... A slight mishap on his behalf, but not too crucial of a mistake."
, It sure sounds like it, by how you word it.' She thought, letting her fingers glide over their silver surface.
She actually quite liked them............
They strangely reminded her a lot of the green Hourglass earrings Esmeralda used to wear back when Celestia was still a child.
The Voodoo-Witch had always stored certain amounts of Magic in them and made her carry them around in her pockets to get used to the feeling of Dark Magic surrounding her.
,, Ya first gotta learn how to crawl before startin' to walk!" Was her Quote for everything, concerning Celestia's studies.
She was probably the only witch that could mask her true strength by acting like a complete and utter fool and still make it a part of her own personality.
Now that she thought about it.... She remembered telling Regulus about the earrings after he had asked about one of Esmeraldas' old rings that she liked to keep on a chain beneath her necklace with the other prisoners' rings......
She had managed to hide several pieces of jewelry of Esmeralda's shortly after her death before they took her body away because the guards who carried the deceased away never thought about searching the children or dying, only ever bothering to take the things they could see in the cell.
Sadly the elder witch's earrings were not part of the pieces she had rescued, a fact that greatly saddened her to this day....
To think that Regulus had taken her brief description and created an almost identical copy of them.......
Celestia got snapped out of her train of thoughts by Gellert, who placed another box into her lap, carefully placing the earrings aside so Chrome wouldn't try to put them in his pockets.
,, It's a present from Xavier and me." Were his only words, making her blink and Xavier's eyebrow twitch.
, I asked you to help me get it in order with the Goblins, not to take credit for it, you cretin.' Celestia sweat dropped at her Grandfather's thoughts, but opened the gift anyways.
Unexpectedly she pulled out a human skull...
,, It's similar to my Skull-Hookah in a sense." Gellert explained, eyeing the skull as well. ,, It will allow you to show others your visions when you touch it, but be sure to watch where you use it. We wouldn't want to cause a problem with your Headmaster, now would we ?"
She replied with a nod, her fingers tracing over the different Runes carved into the bones....
----------------
Later that evening Celestia sat in front of her mirror, one of the Hourglass earrings in her right hand, as she used the other to hold back any loose strands of hair.....
She aimed the sharp tip as close to the middle of her earlobe as possible and then pierced it through.
She watched her own reflection, trying to look if she had managed to aim decently.
, .............. It didn't hurt at all..............' She thought, frowning when she felt liquid drop onto her fingers.
, Ahh....... It's bleeding.....' Celestia took a Handkerchief and held it to her bleeding ear, standing up and walking to her work desk.
,, Tom, do you think it looks fine ?" She asked, sitting down on her chair.
,, It does... Though I'm worried, does it not hurt you ?" The Soul piece asked, concerned by how nonchalant the girl seemed to be.
Celestia gave a small hum. ,, No..... It does not feel sore either...." She replied, at which the male sighed.
He knew her pain tolerance was exponentially high......
But it worried him that she felt nothing after she pierced her ears, even as blood made its way onto her fingers..
,, Be sure to thoroughly clean it so it does not get infected." He told her, only receiving a nod in response.
The girl was too deep in her thoughts to care about the Soul piece's concerns......
Hogwarts was growing more and more dangerous by the second.....
She did have a suspicion about what beast may lay in the Chamber, but she had yet to find out for sure..........
And even if she was right, she still did not know where the Chamber was located and how one could enter it.....
, *Sigh* Salazar.... Where could you have hidden it............' She thought, grabbing the final book of those she bought at Knockturn and flipping through the pages.
Only two Chapters were left to read, and there was still no hint of anything that could be of use to her.
She had tried asking Tom, but the Soul piece seemed suspiciously closed off whenever she tried getting a direct answer from him, making her feel like he knew about it and wanted to keep her away from it as far as possible.
Celestia stopped on the last page she had been on and continued reading deep into the night, only the fire of the candles there to offer her a source of light.
And by the time the Moon was at its highest point in the sky, she had reached the last Paragraph.
-The King and Queen have granted my request to build the Chamber, both understanding my need to protect the students...... I may have come too late for one of my own Slytherins, but if Godric, Rowena, and Helga are unable to see past the danger that follows with Muggles knowing of our existence I see no other choice but to go against their wishes. Manasa has agreed to keep watch over Hogwarts from inside the Chamber even after my passing......... Some day I hope one of my Heirs will be able to open the Chamber and let my old friend see the world like she had many Moons ago..... but until the day arrives she will protect the students under my command................. I truly apologize for going against you my friends, but it is for the sakeof our students.....
- Salazar Slytherin
Celestia frowned, deeply frustrated by the fact that Salazar had written down nothing that could help her!
Her eyes flashed Golden, her reflection in the window before her clearly visible...
She suddenly remembered the Golden Orbs from her vision.................
, Golden Orbs............. There aren't many creatures with such features......' She thought, digging through her brain to piece every piece of information she had gathered together.
, It travels fast, able to disappear within a few seconds after attacking........... Traveling through the pipes which connect all of Hogwarts.'
The girl stood up, snapping her fingers at which her Journal flew into her hands, the pages fluttering at a fast pace as it opened by itself.
, I could understand it without a problem.... meaning it must be either of Demonic or Snake origin.... It will probably be the second one.......... A Parseltounge himself, Salazar would have been easily able to control it while still alive..... And snakes are far more suitable familiars than Demons.... Merlin knows those things strike a deal as soon as they deem you unnecessary enough with their next victim anyways.' Her eyes scanned page after page, trying to find the one she was looking for.....
, A Snake with Golden eyes, that can petrify you with a single glance...... Big enough to travel through the large pipes, but small enough to remain undetected while doing so........... ' The fluttering pages came to a sudden halt, at which Celestia let the book float into her awaiting hands, her eyes immediately growing wide as she read the Headline of the Chapter....
The Emperor of Snakes: The Basilisk
She grew pale...........
Manasa.....
The Hindu Goddess of Snakes.......
Salazar had put a Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets!
And then it hit her.
Tom had once told her about an incident in his youth that made him create his first Horcrux, which was inside his diary.......
,, ..... You let the Basilisk roam around Hogwarts, didn't you...?..." She asked, Magic surrounding her in large amounts.
The Soul piece kept quiet, which was all she needed for an answer.
,, I can not believe you! Letting a Basilisk roam free with hundreds of children in one place! Did you want to risk killing them all !? Who knows how it would have reacted being forced to disobey its original Master's command!" It had been a while since Celestia had been this angry...........
And the last time had ended with a lot of Scientists cowering in front of her, begging for mercy.
,, Celestia-"
,, Don't you dare try to talk yourself out of this, Tom. " She said, feeling her skin prickle from the amount of Magic coming out of her, her blood clawing its way up her throat until it began trickling down both corners of her mouth. ,, You will tell me everything. From where the Chamber is to how it managed to open itself again, and I am warning you, Tom, should I get the slightest hint of suspicion about you lying I will not hesitate to destroy you."
The Soul piece sighed in irritation, the girl was too much like him when she was angered for her own good.
,, Celestia..... I am unable to tell you anything." He told her, at which she tried her hardest not to snap the bloody Soul piece in half.
,, And why is that ?" She asked coughing as the amount of blood increased, the Horcrux in the Gaunt Ring trying to calm her down by letting some of its Magic infuse with her own, to halt the blood.
He sighed, and even though she couldn't see him, she was pretty sure he was running a hand through his hair in frustration, similar to how she did whenever she got irritated or annoyed.
Camila tried to get rid of the habit a few years into her childhood, but never got far with it.
,, A fellow Soul piece... I don't know which one, but it holds more strength than me, Celestia." He answered. ,, How it got into Hogwarts of all places I have no idea, but now that it's back it will finish what it tried to do over fifty years ago."
,, Over fifty years ago...." She repeated. ,, So the Chamber has been opened once before by you.......... and it must have caused a similar ruckus................ "
A sudden realization hit her. ,, Dumbledore knows that it exists..... He knows that you did it..... and he also knows where it is, doesn't he ?"
,, Yes..." He answered, unable to tell her anything else.
She really wanted to kill that man more than she had thought she would ever do.
,, Listen to me closely, Celestia... You must stay away from that Horcrux...... We may not share much of a connection anymore, but it knows of you and the fact that you may become a hindrance to its plans since you are another descendant of Salazar Slytherin. If it thinks you're moving against it, it will try to get rid of you." He warned.
He knew his younger self, knew of how he had almost successfully killed every single person in Britain who shared even the tiniest bit of blood to Slytherin in his madness...
Tom did not want her anywhere close to the Chamber of Secrets, which is why he did not want to talk about it in the first place........
He raised her like a Father would do his daughter and he refused to lose her because she wanted to save Hogwarts.
Celestia sighed tiredly, shaking her head.
At this point, she really questioned if there was even a reason for her to try and have a normal life...................
Especially since whenever it seemed like things went well Dumbledore had another trick up his sleeve that ruined her school year............
Her eyes then went to the Hourglass earring Regulus had sent her.........
No.....
She refused to cave in.
Not when there were still people who she cared about at risk inside the castle....
The castle her ancestors had build to protect and nurture the next Generation of witches and wizards.....
Celestia took a piece of Parchment and began to write....
She would not go down without putting up a fight..
To King Ragnok of the Goblin Nation......