บท 19: The Coven 0019

The next week passed uneventfully as the evening of September 30th rolled around.

Most of the student body had the day off. Almost all of them were out and about the Beauxbatons castle, doing their own things. It was still a couple of hours before curfew. But a small group of students was on the grounds. Most of them were ninth and tenth-year students who were there to bid farewell to their peers, but there were a few juniors too, either to say goodbye to their seniors or just to enjoy the spectacle. Some of the professors were also there to maintain the decorum.

"Don't you have any friends who came to see you off?" Harry asked Celine as he saw the students bidding farewell to their friends while Celine just stood there with him and Fleur. Gabrielle, unlike Harry and Fleur, had friends, who had all come to see her off. These two dumbasses on the other hand were so indulged in each other that they didn't even bother making acquaintances, let alone friends. It wasn't their fault either. Most of the guys that tried to approach Harry ended up either in love with Fleur or jealous of him so they never talked to him again. As for the women, they were too intimidated by Fleur and couldn't gather the courage to approach him. And even if some of them tried, Fleur scared them away with the excuse that they had ulterior thoughts.

Celine blushed at Harry's words and looked down, "I'm only friends with the Head…" She said in a small voice before glancing up at a man in the crowd who was glaring at Harry and Fleur hatefully, "I already talked to him before…" She lied. Anyone could tell by the look of pain that she had in her eyes.

"You're that junior Faust keeps bragging to everyone about?" Harry asked with genuine surprise and a hint of pity in his tone, "No wonder you're so meek and don't have any friends."

Faust was in the same year as Fleur, so Harry had had some interaction with him before. The man would've probably come on the trip too, but he prioritized getting the Head of the Delegues position and couldn't capitalize on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Celine asked with a frown.

"How long have you been with him?" Harry asked her.

"I'm not with him," She clarified, "He's been my friend for years now… Why do you ask?"

"I'll tell you once we're in the carriage," Harry said before looking to the side and ignoring her completely. Just as Celine was about to say something, "Come here…" Harry spoke and opened his arms before a smaller version of Fleur ran into his outstretched arms. She hugged him and slipped her locket into Harry's pocket. He could audibly hear her increasing comfort as she hugged him and closed her eyes.

"I hate that locket…" Gabrielle said with a pouty tone, making Harry feel some heartache. He wanted to tell her that she didn't need to wear it anymore, but he didn't want her to be lonely once he graduated from Beauxbatons.

Steeling his heart, he whispered in her ear, "It's okay… You'll get used to it. And once you can control your allure without the locket, things will be even easier."

"Mou…" She didn't like his answer and puffed her cheeks, "Go away…" She said but still kept her arms wrapped around his waist, making Harry smile amusedly.

After a minute or so, Harry pushed her away, "All right, it's time for us to board the carriage, let's go." He said as Gabrielle only held him tighter, "No!" She resisted, "I'm cold."

"It's merely September and you're already wearing your winter uniform," Harry was speechless at her excuse to stay close to him and gave up after trying to pry her off a few times, "Whatever," He said, "Come on up." He bent a little and put his arm under Gabrielle's thighs before picking her up, using his waist to support her weight. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly.

"Isn't she a bit too clingy?" Celine couldn't help but ask Harry, only to receive a cold expression from him when he felt Gabrielle tense up at Celine's words. Harry's glare made a shiver run down Celine's spine, "Sorry…" She replied instinctively before looking down with a meek expression, almost tearing up.

"Ignore her, Gabi," Harry caressed Gabrielle's hair, "You can be as clingy with me as you want," As Gabrielle's tense shoulders calmed down, Harry rested his palm on her head and looked back at Celine who had stopped walking and was looking down meekly with her hands clenched at her sides, "Stop dallying, Celine," Harry called out, "We have to go." Harry turned around and approached Fleur who was looking at him with an annoyed pout.

"Let's go," Harry brought his palm away from Gabrielle's head and grabbed Fleur's hand, pulling her toward the carriage entrance. He turned his head a little and saw that Celine had caught up with them and was walking behind him with her head lowered. He sighed inwardly, realizing that he would need to set things straight with her, "Gabi, can you walk with your big sis for a while?" He asked, "There's something I need to talk to Celine about," His words made Gabrielle hug him tighter for a few seconds before she loosened her arms and nodded, "Okay…"

"That's my girl…" He patted her head and nuzzled his face in her neck, making her giggle cutely. When he let her down on the ground, she forcefully separated his hand from Fleur's and grabbed Fleur's hand herself. Giving Fleur a cheeky smile, Gabrielle showed her tongue to her elder sister.

Harry chuckled at the display and looked at Fleur, "Go on, I'll be right behind you." Seeing Fleur nod, Harry slowed his pace such that he was walking beside Celine, "Hey," He said. Seeing her unresponsive as she kept walking forward, Harry grabbed her shoulder and called her again, "Celine."

"Huh?" She opened her eyes and looked up at him, stopping, "Yeah?" She asked.

Harry narrowed his eyes when he saw her slightly puffy eyes with hints of redness around them, "Your situation is worse than I thought, huh…" He mumbled, confusing Celine further.

"What?" She asked, only to see Harry shake his head dismissively.

"We'll have enough time to talk about your confidence issues during the very long carriage ride that we have," Harry said, "I don't want you to feel that you're unwelcome with us, so I had to clarify some things," Celine nodded at his words as Harry continued, "When it comes to Fleur and Gabrielle, just don't make some random comments that you think would be harmless. The comments aren't harmless. Both of them are very sensitive to small things and if you want this trip to be a positive experience, I suggest that you don't antagonize them, understand?"

Celine gulped and nodded fervently, "I understand, sir…" She said, "I'll make sure to not say something like that again."

***

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