part 2
After lunch came and went, Celio was trekking down to the area beside Hagrid’s hut for Magical Creatures. He actually rather liked the class and enjoyed it because magical creatures were so wondrous to use as drawing references.
The day had left behind its pretence of being a little warm and had instead become cool and windy. Hagrid had still not returned, much to Celio’s dismay, and Professor Grubbly-Plank instead stood at the head of the lesson. Celio eyed the table at the front wearily. Were they really studying a load of twigs?
“Let’s crack on then - who can tell me what these things are called?” Grubbly-Plank barked. Potter’s bushy haired friend’s hand immediately shot into the air, and beside Celio Draco Malfoy leaped into an imitation of her, bucktooth and jumping up and down. Celio repressed a snort, because that was actually funny.
Pansy Parkinson, though, immediately shrieked with laughter and all the sticks jumped into action. Bowtruckles, Celio realised with a slight smile of realisation. Very cute, if he did say so himself. If he got one though, his cat currently prowling the Hogwarts halls would eat it in minutes.
“So, does anyone know the names of these creatures? Miss Granger?”
Potter’s bushy haired friend spoke. “Bowtruckles. They’re tree-guardians, usually live in wand trees.”
“Five points for Gryffindor,” said Professor Grubbly-Plank. “Yes, these are bowtruckles and, as Miss Granger rightly says, they generally live in trees whose wood is of wand quality. Anybody know what they eat?”
Zabini leant over to Celio to whisper in his ear as Granger answered the next question as well. “Maybe you can use one as a wand.”
Celio scowled and batted his shoulder without any heat. “Shut your mouth, Zabini.”
He just grinned.
“Good girl, take another five points. So whenever you need leaves or wood from a tree in which a bowtruckle lodges, it is wise to have a gift of wood lice ready to distract or placate it. They may not look dangerous, but if angered they will gouge out human eyes with their fingers, which, as you can see, are very sharp and not at all desirable near the eyeballs. So if you’d like to gather closer, take a few woodlice and a bowtruckle - I have enough here for one between three - you can study them more closely. I want a sketch from each of you with all body parts labelled by the end of the lesson.”
Celio positively lit up at the prospect of sketching it. Everyone moved forward to get closer and Celio tentatively lowered his hand to the closest Bowtruckle that was nearly grey and it happily climbed onto his hand. Grubbly-Plank noticed and smiled brightly at him.
“Careful picking them up, everyone.”
He moved away from the group to lower himself slowly onto a tree stump, giving the creature a small smile. “Hello there. You don’t mind me drawing you, do you?”
The bowtruckle chirped, and Celio hoped it was a good sign as he set it down in front of him. “Please don’t run away just yet. I’ll find you some fairy eggs if you stay, hey?”
It very literally jumped for joy and scurried to pose for him. Its little tongue stuck out to the side as it tried to keep the pose.
“You can relax,” He said softly. “Just stay upright, yeah?”
It lowered its outstretched arms with another chirp and he happily went about sketching. He finished early and produced the promised eggs from deep in his bag. He had nicked them from potions a long while ago. “Are two okay?”
It raced forward to take them gently from his fingers and he was picking it up to place on his shoulder when suddenly someone’s loud “OUCH!” echoed around the small clearing. Harry Potter next to his two friends gripped his bleeding fingers as his brown bowtruckle ran towards Celio after apparently watching him give the other one fairy eggs. His hazel eyes flickered to Potter’s electric green - surprised. Maybe a little worried. A cut like that would definitely hurt.
The bell rang distantly in the background and Celio handed his sketch back to Grubbly-Plank where she awarded him ten points for finishing it and an extra five for its quality. She took the two bowtruckles from him, both of which reached for him as they were pulled away. He pouted at them.
“I haven’t seen bowtruckles so tame since that bowtruckle Newt Scamander took care of.” Grubbly-Plank chuckled. Celio burned crimson and turned to walk away, stuck behind Potter’s trio once again.
“If he calls Hagrid a moron one more time…” snarled Potter. Celio assumed he was talking about Malfoy.
“Harry, don’t go picking a row with Malfoy, don’t forget, he’s a prefect now, he could make life difficult for you…”
“Wow, I wonder what it’d be like to have a difficult life?” said Potter sarcastically. Weasley laughed, but Granger frowned. Celio did his damn best not to laugh, but a smile slipped through as he rolled his eyes. Together they traipsed across the vegetable patch with Celio finally finding a spot to speed around them.
He had just reached the castle when a loud voice came from behind him, causing him to turn.
“I want you to know, Potter,” Ernie Macmillan said in a loud, carrying voice, “that it’s not only weirdos who support you. I personally believe you one hundred percent. My family have always stood firm behind Dumbledore, and so do I.”
“Er - thanks very much, Ernie,” said Potter, taken aback but smiling. His gaze suddenly went from Macmillan to Celio by the castle entrance. Celio couldn’t help the way his eyes widened before he took a deep breath and then turned away.
—
The following day Celio had double Magical Arts where he was hard at work on his sculpture being created piece by piece by clay and magic. Sure, he still didn’t have a wand, but he knew enough wandless magic from his childhood to manage. His teacher, Professor Predomin, walked over to him as he worked. He gently lifted the sculpture's head, smoothing the lines of its throat.
“You’ve enchanted it already?” The professor asked. “Why?”
“Makes me feel more in touch with it? I dunno,” He released it to look back up to the teacher and the sculpture turned its head to blink its blank eyes at Predomin. “It’s easier, at least for me.”
“I thought you’d be happy to hear that our next major project will be on a muggle artform of your own choosing,” Predomin smoothed back his own long hair. “Which means I will be accepting those ‘cartoons’ you’re so fond of.”
Celio leapt to his feet with a bright smile. “You won’t regret it, sir!”
“I better not.”
Celio settled back down to work on the shoulder when the sculpture turned to him with a curious raise of its eyebrow. “What are cartoons, creator?”
“An amazingly simplistic animated art style,” Celio said with a smile. “I don’t expect you to understand, though.”
It nodded carefully, but its movement made Celio panic. “Don’t move too much yet! The clay hasn’t dried!”