"Talking"
"Parstletongue"
-o-
Chapter 6
The two cousins had talked for a few more hours before Lucius took Draco home, and Callia found herself alone and wandering aimlessly around the massive manor. Her mother and father had gone to Malfoy manor with Lucius to sort out the prisoner they had taken the day before, and so Callia was alone in the manor save for Nagini. Said snake was curled up in the library in front of the fire Callia had lit for her. Callia knew she wanted to be somewhere in the massive manor, but just couldn't figure out where.
Callia suddenly had an idea. She sat on the ground in the middle of the hallway and closed her eyes. She completely relaxed and let her magic flow out of her, filling the corridors around her with a soft, warm breeze. Her tiny body lifted a metre off the ground, and she let her magic carry her to where she wanted to go. Callia felt herself being carried around the manor, still hovering a metre off the ground. She pulled her magic back in, opening her eyes when she felt herself being lowered to the ground, and blinked in surprise. She was at the door to the dungeons.
Callia could feel Sirius' magic from behind the door, and it seemed like the man was happy, despite being chained in the Dark Lords dungeon. Callia's curiosity got the better of her and she silently pushed the door open, and descended and sat on the bottom step like she had the day before. She sat there and watched Sirius for ten minutes, because she found him fascinating. He was chained to wall by his ankles and probably hadn't been fed today, yet he was smiling. He was whistling softly to himself, tracing a pattern on the floor with the tip of his finger. Callia stood up and walked forward, deciding to reveal her presence, for he hadn't seemed to notice her.
"How can you be so happy when you have been starved and are chained to a wall?" Callia questioned before stepping out of the shadows. She was disappointed when he didn't jump.
"Good afternoon Callia. I was wondering when you were going to say something." Sirius said, not looking up, still watching his finger trace patterns on the cold stone floor. "You've been watching me for long enough," Sirius muttered dryly, and she hid her surprise that he actually had noticed she was there. "And I am happy because my dearest cousin is finally happy. I heard of poor Rodophlus' death, and knew she wouldn't take that well. I'm glad she found someone who makes her happy. She might be a pain in my arse sometimes, but she is still my cousin, and matter how much of a crazy bitch she is I still love her."
Callia was surprised at his honest answer, for she had expected some smart arse comment. After a moments silence Sirius finally picked his head up to look at her.
"And I'm even happier that she had you. Ever since she was young she always wanted a kid. She went mental when she found out she couldn't have a baby, and I think that was one of the main reasons she became a Death Eater. I don't know what changed, but she has you now, and she is happier then I have ever seen her before." Sirius said softly, staring up into Callia's ice blue eyes.
Callia was left speechless. She didn't think Sirius cared much for her mother, but turned out he did. And the way he was looking at her? Sirius thought of her as family already.
"You think of me as your family, don't you?" Callia asked, moving to sit beside him on the floor. She wrinkled her nose at the stained stones, before releasing some of her magic, letting it hold her a few inches of the ground. Sirius raised an eyebrow at her, smirking before he answered her.
"Yes, I do. I wish Bella had of told me she had a child. I know she thought I was with the Light," he sneered for a moment, "And truth be told I was for a while, but not now. Not for a long time." Sirius sighed, then looked at the space between Callia and the cold floor he was sitting on.
"How do you do that?" he asked, pointing at the space he had been staring at. Callia shrugged.
"All my life I've been taught to just do what makes me feel comfortable. By the time I was seven I could light a fire just by glaring at it, speak Parstletongue perfectly, summon anything to me I wanted just by pointing at it and throw anything across the room with just a flick of my wrist. The house elves actually feared me more then they feared my father!" Callia laughed, and the sound rang through the dungeons, bouncing off the walls; chilling Sirius to the core, yet somehow warming his heart. Callia sure was a strange girl.
Sirius allowed himself a laugh at her comment about the Dark Lord, wondering just what made this child so special. Sirius shivered, the approaching night cooling the stone floor even more. Callia looked concerned, then hovered over, leaning down to place a tiny hand next to Sirius' leg, palm down on the floor. It immediately began to heat up, and Sirius threw her a grateful look. He then sighed and curled up on the now warm tiles like a dog. It was ironic, considering his animagus form.
"Have you had anything to eat today?" Callia asked, pulling her hand back and smiling at him. She was still hovering a few inches off the ground, and Sirius noticed her shiver slightly. She waved her hand absently and a warm, silent breeze picked up and started to swirl soundlessly around her. Sirius widened his eyes; he had never seen such advanced magic performed by a child, much less wandlessly and non-verbally. He saw Callia's wand holster under her robes, stuck to her leg, and wondered why she didn't use her wand.
"Umm, no, I haven't," Sirius finally answered. "By the way, why do you carry your wand with you but not use it? And how are your spells so strong when you don't even say the incantation."
Callia shrugged. "It feels unnatural. I've been doing wandless magic since before I could walk, and it's just what I'm used to. And as for the non-verbal part, I was doing magic before I could talk, and even when I could I would say the incantations wrong and muck up a spell, or do something I wasn't trying to. I would just think what I wanted, and most of the time it happened..."
Sirius was sitting there, open-mouthed, staring at the little girl hovering in front of him. She was smarter and more powerful then any which or wizard he knew, including her father. If she followed in her fathers footsteps she would be one bloody deadly Dark Lord, even worse so then the current one.
Callia , realising Sirius had yet to eat, snapped her fingers and an elf appeared.
"Yes young master?" the elf said, shaking.
"Can you bring me a plate of food please?" she asked sweetly. No matter how cruel her parents were to the house elves Callia was always nice to them, and they had often let her into the kitchen to help them cook.
"Of course, young master!" the house elf disappeared, only to reappear seconds later with a tray full of food. Callia smiled and nodded at the elf to show he was no longer needed, and he was gone again. Callia slid the plate of food over to Sirius.
"Dig in," she smirked, and stood, reeling her magic back in. She walked over to the door, and Sirius smiled when the floor stayed warm.
"Thankyou, Callia. For everything." Sirius smiled, a chicken leg in each hand.
"Your welcome. I have to go to bed, but I'll come down tomorrow and make sure you get some more food," Callia smiled and walked up the stairs and to her room.
Sirius watched her as she slipped silently up the stairs.
"I'd like that," he whispered to himself, and dug back into the food.
-o-
Callia had the house elves serve her dinner in her room, and she sat thinking about her conversation with Sirius. About the way he had answered her questions honestly, without hesitation. She went over the afternoons conversation in her mind, smiling broardly when she remembered him saying he thought of her as family.
Callia smiled widely as she snuggled under the covers.
