Celestial Ascendancy

Author's Note: I'm so damn tired. I've been working to increase the advanced chapters for that site, which meant writing three chapters over the past few days. But hey, I managed to get it done before New Year's, so that's a nice gift, I guess! So yeah, if any is interested I have up to chapter 16 right now.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to write tomorrow, and I don't want to make any promises about today either. That said, I'll see you all soon-ish.

In case I don't post tomorrow, Happy New Year! I hope it's filled with blessings and joy for all of you. These past five months since I started writing have been amazing, and I truly appreciate this fantastic community. Let's keep growing together in the coming year!

As for this chapter, it's a slower one, but a necessary step in the story. Elias is awkward, and Iris is bullheaded, it's usually the other way around, but I found it amusing to explore their relationship dynamics this way.

Don't worry, Elias will grow and learn soon enough. Please don't be too harsh about this for a few chapters; this is his first relationship ever, and he's figuring things out. Let's be honest, we've all been in his shoes at least once.

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Celestial Ascendancy.

Chapter 11: Another Day Gone By.

Elias Blake.

Hogwarts.

It's been three days since the school term started, and nothing interesting happened besides the students and professors noticing Ash. Iris and Hermione were busy pampering the baby phoenix, and sometimes, I wondered if she would grow fat since she spent all the time she was awake eating berries or nuts.

Thankfully, the house elves from the school were happy enough to help with that.

Right now, I was walking toward the room of requirements to meet with Iris and Mione, with Ash watching from above my head, her favorite spot, if I understood it correctly.

Smiling at the cooing seventh-year Ravenclaws, I hurried my way since I did not want a repeat from last time.

When the girls of the Gryffindor's Quidditch team learned about Ash, they ran toward us like women possessed, and they spent most of an hour playing with the baby, something I did not mind when I wasn't busy, but since I had things to do, I could not waste my time. It's not like Ash was ignored by my best friends; in fact, they were probably her biggest fans and the ones who spent most of their time with her.

Cleaning myself from the sweat, I looked around to ensure that no one had followed me, which became the norm now that I had Ash with me. I never thought that having a phoenix as a student would be that big of a deal, but I underestimated what an otherworldly adorable bird would do to the female population of Hogwarts.

Seeing that I was alone, I walked three times in front of the tapestry and smiled when the door appeared out of thin air.

Opening it, I walked inside, wondering what kind of room Hermione decided to create today.

Snorting, I continued onwards, rolling my eyes at the insane number of books there.

I smiled at Iris, who noticed me instantly. My heart raced at the smile she returned to me. I did not understand how they could make my heart flutter with such a simple gesture, but both of them were capable of it, and I just hoped that I could control my feelings in the future.

In part, I understood that it happened because it was the first time in both lives that I had such a connection with a person, let alone multiple people, but it was surprising nonetheless. I liked girls before, in my previous life, but no one made me feel like these two people in front of me.

I shushed Iris when she opened her mouth to greet me, and her eyes twinkled with amusement when she saw me walk behind Hermione.

"I'm finally here; sorry for the wait," I whispered to her ear, grinning from ear to ear, hoping to scare the bookworm so engrossed in her book that she did not notice my entrance.

"Eeek!" Hermione jumped from her seat and tried to grab her wand, but in her flustered state, she dropped it to the floor.

That finally did it, and Iris started laughing out loud at our friend, who was clutching her chest with a panting breath.

"Elias!" she whined, pouting at me.

"Hermione," I grinned as I approached her, hugging her from behind and putting my chin on her hair.

While nothing had happened with Hermione in the past few days, there was something quite different about our relationship since Iris kissed me in the infirmary. We all were more affectionate with each other, even if we did not speak out loud about it. The smiles, hugs, and even the goodnight kisses we shared. For me, it felt that each action weighed more than before… In truth, I mostly followed the flow, but as long as it worked, I was happy with the current situation.

"How have you been, girls?" I asked them both, pecking Mione's cheek and sitting beside her.

"What? No good morning kiss for me?" Iris, who made me nervous since instead of pouting like I expected, just glared at me.

"Heh, sorry," I rubbed the back of my head while standing up and walking beside her.

"I'm still not believing that this is happening, and sometimes I feel like I dreamed everything," I admitted with a weak chuckle, "I honestly find it surreal."

Iris sighed but never stopped looking me in the eyes with those beautiful green eyes of hers. "I know you are an idiot, Eli. But please, believe this is happening, and let me show you."

Iris stood up from her seat and grabbed my hair from the top of my head before pulling me toward her. As our lips touched, I could not help the small gasp that came out of my mouth.

Her lips were as soft as I remembered, with a slight taste of vanilla that drove me crazy.

I clumsily grabbed her shoulders and put one hand on her lower back, not daring to push it more than that because I was afraid of ruining it, so I just pulled her toward me and continued the kiss.

Before I could get lost in her eyes again, Hermione's cough, which had repeatedly occurred in the past few days, interrupted us.

"Ahem," Hermione whispered with a blush, "We have things to do, remember?"

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I tried to move back, but Iris' grip on my hair was just as firm as before. After ten seconds, she finally let go.

"Mmm," Iris moaned from the back of her throat. "I'll never get tired of that." She smirked toward Hermione, who looked away from Iris with a bigger blush than before.

I did not understand why Iris wanted to do such things in front of Hermione whenever she could, but the hidden looks between them every time made me believe that there was something else going on that I wasn't privy on. Iris had always been the more adventurous of us, so in part, I knew that she lacked the embarrassment I felt, but even then, sometimes, I felt that she pushed our resident bookworm too far with her teasing.

Hermione took a deep breath to calm herself before looking at her notes.

Coughing again, she wrote something in her notebook before lifting her eyes.

"I think I finally have everything I could think about the Celestial Grimoire, Eli." She said thoughtfully, "At least from the information you have told us."

"Thanks a lot, Mione," I smiled at her, "You have no idea how much of a help you are."

Hermione smiled, "So, from what we know, you gain points at random intervals, and you can only roll whenever you obtain those points, even if you have some available."

I nodded thoughtfully, "Yes, I can't roll right now, even if I have some points saved after the last failed roll,"

"Hmm," she nodded while scribbling in her notebook. "Can you take it out? Even if you don't roll?"

Iris took a back seat in the conversation, preferring to leave everything to Hermione now that she was in the zone, although the little minx took Ash from my head without me noticing, probably when I was entranced with the kiss we just shared.

I pulled the Grimoire from the depths of my soul, "Yeah, I can. It works like an inventory to store things I have no use for at any moment."

"Like the sword you mentioned before," She nodded thoughtfully, tapping the pen on her lip.

"Yeah, just like that," I smiled, pulling the sword for a moment and putting it back in with no problem.

"That's so cool," Iris gushed from her seat, "Can you store anything else?"

I opened my mouth but clicked it shut a moment later; I was unsure since I never tried.

"No idea," I shook my head, "Let me try with a pen,"

Hermione gave me a pen and looked at my hands with utmost focus, but I sighed, feeling the Grimoire stay dormant, unlike when I moved the sword.

"Nope, I can't," I shook my head, "It's a shame. It would have been really useful, but we have my new trunk for that."

"Awww," Iris whined, "but imagine how cool it would be to be in a take things out of thin air."

Hermione laughed at the petulant sound coming from Iris, "While I was not thinking about that, it could have been useful since people can see the trunk, but the Grimoire is hidden inside you."

Shuddering at that, I whined, "Ugh, don't say it like that."

"Whatever," Hemione rolled her eyes with a snort, "Well… We cannot learn more with the available information, so let's change the subject."

"Have you heard anything from the headmaster?" Hermione asked after a moment of silence.

I shook my head in response, "No, but I don't think it will take much longer. People are beginning to talk, and I've seen several Slytherins whispering when they don't think I can see them."

"Ugh," Iris grumbled, "I hope he can get it done on time before someone has to get hurt. No one will take my baby away from us."

"It is my baby," I glared at her, "You are Ash's aunty."

"No, she is also my baby," Iris glared at me, "if anything, Mione is the aunty."

Hermione stood up and banged her hands on the table, "Don't start, Iris, I will fight you for it," she threatened, completely serious.

I could not help it and laughed out loud at the sparks coming from their eyes, "You can share the spot," I grinned at them, "She will be the most loved phoenix ever."

The girls smiled in unison, and a calm silence descended into the room. There was so much danger in the upcoming months, but I knew that we would come out on top as long as we faced it together. When Iris told us about her dreams, which I knew were real thanks to my knowledge, I had to admit that I was pretty afraid, but I just hoped that we could be ready for anything.

"What do you think of Mad-Eye?" I asked, trying to break the silence. I was ninety percent sure that he was Barty Crouch's junior, but before yesterday, I did not have a solid piece of evidence to explain my distrust of him.

Flashback.

"Curses, students! What do you know about them?" Moody barked with a bang of his fist on his table.

Most of the unsuspecting students jumped in their seats, but not me. There was no way I would let him out of my sight whenever he was near. Iris and Hermione had noticed my serious eyes but had not commented about it. It might have been because most of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors, including Remus, tended to be a danger to us, even if they did not mean it.

"Curses are magical spells used to cause harm to another person," Hermione replied primly from her seat beside me.

"Good," Moody nodded with a grizzly smile, the scars on his face making it seem more like a grimace. "As the lass said, curses are meant to harm people, and the Ministry expects me to teach you only counter spells and leave it like that. But they aren't here," he grinned. "I will show them to you. You need to know how they look if you wish to have a chance to defend yourself against them."

The Slytherin part of the class cheered from their seats, and I had to stifle a snort that threatened to come out. They expected to have a fun time, but I knew better. For racist little shits they were, they did not have the stomach to avoid becoming squeamish about what was coming next.

"Something funny, lad?" Moody grunted, turning around and focusing both eyes on me.

"Nothing, professor," I replied, shaking my head. "I just find it weird whenever they cheer for something like that when most of them will be throwing up after class."

"Smart lad," Moody nodded his head with an ugly grin. "Like he said, I would not be cheering right now. Most of you don't know how terrible magic can be; just look at me. I'm one of the best Aurors this country has ever had, and I'm living proof of what curses can do to a person."

Moody stood up from his seat and walked closer to us, "Look at my face!" he barked, "Do you wish to end up looking like me? This is what happens when someone has a fight to the death. I'm good; I could beat ninety-five percent of Wizarding Britain in a duel when I was in my prime, and even then, I ended up marked like this."

The atmosphere turned tense for a moment under the professor's apparent ire. I noticed most of the students present wriggling in their seats, most of them averting their eyes. I could even hear faint whimpers coming from Lavender, who was sitting a couple of feet away.

"Magic is beautiful; everyone here knows that, but it can also be incredibly dangerous in some cases," Moody finished with a growl, "Why are you smirking, kid?"

He turned around and glared at Nott, who had a smirk on his face while whispering to Malfoy's ear.

"You think this is funny? Some of these scars were from your father." Moody continued stomping toward him, the sound of his prosthetic echoing in the dimly lit room, "It seems we have the first volunteer for today's lesson."

With a swish from his wand, Nott left his seat in complete silence, arriving at the center of the room. Never in my memory has a professor ever cast magic on a student, and it showed that almost everyone in here was terrified of what he would do.

It was hard not to smirk, but I managed, if barely. I always found it fun when the Slytherins learned things would not go their way. The smirks on their faces disappeared as soon as Moody had his wand pointed to Notts face, who let out a whimper but kept silent.

Moody ignored him and turned to us, "Like I was saying, I will teach you something that may save your life in the future."

Even knowing what would happen, I felt shocked at hearing the word imperio. The events did not follow what I expected, but it was close enough to show that the essence of what I remembered was still important, even after four years of affecting it by my presence alone. There were no spiders or something similar. No, this moody went straight to it.

"Jump," Moody ordered firmly, and Nott could not deny the order.

Nott started jumping, and some students found it funny, something I knew would not last.

"Funny, eh?" Moody barked. "I could make him try and kill everyone here but me, or maybe it would be funnier to make him jump through the window or something like that. What do you all think?"

"To your seat, Nott. You will pass once more when I'm done with everyone else. Let's see if you learn something." he continued with a grunt. "Now, who wants to go first?"

No one offered, at least not for a moment, until Iris stood up from her seat, surprising most of us, myself included.

"You sure?" I whispered to her, but she just nodded with a frown.

"It could be useful," she grinned weakly.

That, I could not deny. "Well, go ahead. I'll do something if he asks for something embarrassing." I continued, crossing my arms.

"My dashing prince," she replied with a smile and a more calm attitude.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Eli?" Hermione asked quickly.

Nodding in response, I observed Moody to ensure he did not step out of line just for my peace of mind. If he was the real Moody, I knew he would not do that, and the probability of Crouch doing something like that was also pretty low since it would break his cover.

"Nice to see you have the same courage as your father, lass," Moody grunted with a smirk.

I had to hand it to him; if it wasn't for my knowledge, I would have no idea about him being a death eater in disguise. It was no surprise he managed to stay in the school almost the whole year without any of the professors suspecting a thing.

"Let's get this over with," Iris said firmly before taking a deep breath.

End of flashback

Hermione, Iris, and I were the only ones who managed to resist the effects of the unforgivable, which attracted even more attention than usual but passed quickly. I did not know if the rings the Grimoire gave me helped them in that situation, but it was possible since they blocked the meddling of the mind, something the imperio did as well.

I was happy to know that the Grimoire helped with that, but what excited me the most was that I now had the excuse to start investigating Moody to find out the best way to act against him.

"By the way, Iris," I called her out, smiling when she turned her eyes up instead of playing or feeding Ash, "Can I borrow the Map? I want to check something."

"Sure," she chirped. "Just take care of it. It's one of the only things I have that is from my parents."

"I know, don't worry," I smiled softly at her, brushing her hair with one hand before pecking her on the lips, "I'll see you later in class; I need to check on something. Also, I'll go and search the headmaster to see if he has done as promised."

"Sure thing," Iris nodded, and Hermione waved from her seat.

100 CP awarded, 450 CP in total

"Oh, nice, I can roll right now," I said out loud, with Iris standing up from the floor as Hermione did the same.

"Oh, I want to see," Hermione gushed.

Laughing, I nodded, allowing the flow I felt from the Grimoire to go on with a roll.

Consummate Rules-Lawyer- Dresden files-300 CP

There's three types of people in the world: Those who don't deal with the Fae, those who get really good at navigating the confusing maze of faerie law, and those who get dragged screaming from the world. Since the first isn't an option, you've gone to the second camp. You now understand every paragraph of the Unseelie accords by instinct, and can tie loops in others using it while slipping similar knots yourself. It's also given you quite the perspective on quaint mortal legal systems, and after dealing with Winter Fae, mortal bureaucrats or lawyers just seem adorable.

Smiling in satisfaction, I felt the perk settle into my very being. I did not learn any new knowledge per se, but I trusted the Grimoire enough to do what it said, so it was no problem.

I was happy with this perk since, to be honest, I needed something like this. The only thing that made me upset was that I was filling myself with passive perks and powers since the only attack method I had, for now, was Power Through Pain. I already regretted pushing myself like I had, even if I earned Ash through my suffering.

I was planning to wait until Ash could cry without harming herself to train more, but going through all that risk made me nervous; the only reason I did not die was thanks to the adaptability of my body, and even then, I had never suffered pain like that, ever. Not even when I died I felt something like that.

"Oh, this one will be helpful," I grinned, "I can't wait to deal with the Ministry."

"Don't keep us waiting, Elias," Iris whined, "What did you get? Can you call meteors now? Or can you throw beams of light?"

Looking at her weirdly, I snorted, "Well, that would be another way to deal with them, I guess."

"No, I got something called Consummate Rules-Lawyer, and it allows me to deal with any kind of tricks from even the Fae from myths." I grinned, "Now the ministry won't be able to get any of us with technicalities, and we can use the law against them whenever we want."

"No one knows if the Fae you are talking about is real, Eli." Hermione frowned, "Some books here in the room of requirement say that they exist, but the ones in the library state the opposite."

"I trust the ones we can find here more. We know that the library has been handpicked by the headmasters and the Ministry in these past generations." I snorted. "We need to learn a lot about how big the world really is. There are a lot of inconsistencies in history books."

Hermione nodded sadly, having noticed the same thing.

"Well, there won't be meteors for now," Iris grumbled, "It would be easier with one falling on top of some people."

Laughing at that, I hugged them once more before I grabbed the Map and opened the door.

Since the room was unplottable, the Map did not show our names, and I was sure the same thing happened for the castle wards, but that was not important for now.

After checking the Map to see if someone was close, I took a deep breath and started searching for the Defense class, seeing Moody's name inside.

That did not mean anything since he could be the same as in canon, staying inside the trunk for Crouch Jr. to grab his hair whenever he needed it.

"I should get going," I whispered, walking directly to the classroom. It was my first stop, but not the last one for today. Thankfully, classes were over until midnight, but I had a lot to do before returning to the seventh floor.

Walking briskly, I thanked my lucky star that I had left Ash with the girls. Now, whenever people notice that she is not with me, they leave me alone.

After ten minutes of walking down the multiple stairs, I finally noticed that the room was closed, with a sign saying that Moody was out of the classroom.

To make sure before deciding, I knocked on the door twice, but no answer came.

I planned to check the Map when I could see the probably fake Moody before deciding the best way to take him out before he could cause some damage. I was still not sure why he failed to attend the opening feast, but I hoped I was worrying for nothing.

Opening the Map again, I failed to see Crouch's name on the Map, but it was a big school, so it was understandable that I could miss it with the hundreds of names floating around.

I quickly checked the headmaster's office and sighed in relief, seeing that he was alone.

Deciding to get it over, I walked towards his room again, hoping for the best.

Headmaster's office.

Sitting comfortably in a chair I waited patiently for Dumbledore to finish with his business. Sneaking a peek at the multiple trinkets and books around the office.

I could not deny, for all his faults, Dumbledore had style. Not a good one, mind you, but he had one.

It was chaotic and ordered simultaneously, if that made sense. But when he was the closest thing in the world to an Archmage or something like that, I expected him to be somewhat quirky. You don't get to that level of power without some screws loose.

"What brings you here, my boy? Is it about Ash?" he asked softly, and honestly, it worked at calming my nervousness. I hoped with all my heart that he would not end up being my enemy in the future, but I genuinely believed that he was a good guy behind all of his hubris.

"Yes, headmaster." I nodded with a calmer smile. "I noticed a lot of the Slytherins whispering behind my back, and I know most of them have parents working in the Ministry, so I got nervous when I did not hear about you for some days."

Dumbledore sighed, "They were making some problems, but nothing that I could not deal with. Fret not, my boy. I was going to call you when Dinner started since the Ministry will send someone here to check on Ash and make you sign some papers so you can keep her."

Sighing in relief, I slumped in my seat, "That's good, that's good. What about helping to take care of her?"

"Oh, that was easier, my boy. Not to brag, but I've grown quite convincing in my old age, and I managed to invite an old friend to the castle. Newt will come here tomorrow, and you can meet him with Ash while he explains how to take care of her."

"Oh, The Newt Scamander?" I asked, surprised. Sure, I was somewhat expecting it, but hearing a confirmation was surprising, considering that, if my memory serves me right, he never appeared in the books or the movies.

"Indeed, my boy," Dumbledore replied with a grandfatherly smile. "I know no one else in the world who knows better how to care for a phoenix, not even me."

"How did that happen, by the way?" I asked, quite confused, "How did you meet Fawkes?"

"Oh, a great tale indeed, my boy," he said with a fond sigh. "I met him during my travels some years after the war against Grindelwald. Fawkes had been injured by some poachers, and I managed to save him just in time. I took him with me, healed him the best I could, and when I noticed, a bond had formed between us."

"We are quite the opposite, then," I missed out loud, "You saved Fawkes, and Ash saved me."

"Yes, you could see it like that," Dumbledore nodded. "I planned to ask this before, my boy, but I did not want to put you on a spot in front of your friends. How have you been after the incident? I know for a fact that magical mishaps can leave quite a scar in the mind."

I shifted in my seat for a bit. "I was afraid, but also… I don't regret it at all", I said firmly, being honest with myself.

"Oh?" Dumbledore quirked his eyebrow, "Explain a bit more, my boy,"

Sighing, I slumped a bit, "You know I'm close with Iris, headmaster. And I care for her so much that I can't even begin to describe it."

"Oh, believe me, my boy. Everyone knows," he grinned a bit. "What does this have to do with what happened?"

"I was training… I need to be stronger to protect her even if she doesn't like it. Iris is a magnet for trouble, and I will make sure nothing happens to her if I can help it," I said with conviction, my resolve hardening again.

"I was lucky enough that Ash's saved me from a lengthy recovery… But even if she was not there, I would do it again. Not happy, mind you, but I would. I will not allow anyone to harm my friend more than they already have. We know that Voldemort is still out there… I will not stop training until I'm strong enough to stop him if necessary."

Dumbledore looked at me with an expression I did not expect, sadness.

"Love, my boy, is one of the most dangerous feelings in our world. It can do great, miraculous things, but it can also push us to do things we would not normally do." he sighed, "I know what you feel... I'm afraid I know exactly what you are going through,"

"Yes… I know I love her," I smiled sadly. "And I do not doubt you know what I'm going through, and I also know that you won't change my mind."

"I just hope everything ends happily for both of you," Dumbledore said as a clear tear streamed down his cheek.

"So do I, headmaster; so do I." I said as I stood up, "I will come back after Dinner. See you then, headmaster Dumbledore."

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