"Remus," Harry asked over a cup of tea, "why wouldn't you let me fight that Boggart?"

Remus stilled, setting his tea down. He looked like he was deliberating very carefully over his words. "Harry," he began carefully, "I thought that if you were to fight the Boggart, it would take the form of Lord Voldemort. And I think you could see why I wouldn't like that in the classroom."

"No," Harry said. "I suppose not. But I don't think it would have become Voldemort."

"No?"

"Well, I mean, that's who I thought of at first. But then I remembered the Dementor on the train..."

"I see," Remus said, frowning at him. "Needless to say, I imagine that would have scared a fair few people, too."

Harry nodded. There was a question he wanted to ask, but wasn't totally sure how. "Remus, did you let Calla fight it?"

With a sigh, Remus nodded. "I did. I believe her Boggart assumes the form not of Lord Voldemort, but of his younger self. Tom Riddle."

Harry's stomach fell. Not just because of who Calla's Boggart turned into - it made perfect sense - but that Remus had thought she could handle what Harry couldn't. Or maybe because he knew that her Boggart wouldn't be Voldemort;. He looked at him. "Why did you let her fight it and not me?"

Remus sighed. "I had recently spoken to Calla about some of her worries about not being... Magically gifted or strong enough. I thought that it was best to let her try and prove to herself that she could. But I fear I've now done more harm than good. Your sister didn't manage to get rid of the Boggart."

Oh. "I - she didn't say." But she had seemed upset, he thought, in History of Magic. He ought to have realised.

Shaking his head, Remus stood up. "I don't suppose she would have. I have a feeling your sister struggles with more than she wants to let on." He smiled wanly. "You ought to get going back to Gryffindor Tower before you have Mr Filch looking for you."

"Right," Harry said, getting up. He took his bag and downed the last of his tea to be polite. "I'll see you later, Remus."

Xx

In the evening after the Boggart class, Calla hadn't felt up to speaking to her godfather, though she knew that Harry had gone to see him. The next day, though, she knew she had to talk to him about what had happened, even if she was scared what he thought of her. She was the only one in the class who hadn't managed to fight her Boggart, after all, and afterwards she thought she'd been ridiculously upset by it, much more than she really ought to have been.

"Uncle Remus?" she asked as she knocked on the door. It took a long moment, during which Calla considered turning and running away so she wouldn't hear what he had to say, before he opened the door.

"Calla," he said, smiling just as warmly as he always did. "How are you feeling? Harry told me you were upset after our class yesterday."

Of course he did. She stepped inside, closing the door. "I'm really sorry," she told him in a rush.

"Sorry?" Remus frowned at her, confused. "Whatever do you have to be sorry for, Calla?"

"I was rubbish in your class yesterday," she said, the words spilling from her. "And I was the only who couldn't fight the Boggart, and you had to jump in because I was that bad, and just after you'd said that I wasn't a bad witch, but... But I didn't prove that right! And I'm really sorry, because I know I must have disappointed you-"

"Disappointed me?" Remus shook his head. "Calla, you never disappoint me." He sighed at her, and she looked back nervously, stomach churning. "Sit down, come on." He guided her to an armchair by the fire. "Why would you think I'm disappointed?"

"Because I couldn't do it," she whispered. "I was - I was useless."

"You know your brother didn't fight the Boggart, either."

"Yeah, because you jumped in front of him before he could try. He probably would've been able to. He's Harry. But I couldn't, and everyone saw!"

"And you're upset everyone saw?" She nodded, cheeks flaming. "I understand, Calla. But you still did fantastically. You said the spell right-"

"It didn't work-"

"You still held your own. And, Calla, none of your classmates' Boggarts became people who had almost killed them a few months ago." Calla shuddered at the memory, eyes stinging. "I'm sorry, I don't say that to scare you. But you coped very well in facin it in the first place, Calla. And for that, I am proud of you."

"I couldn't imagine the Boggart as being anything else," Calla told him in a whisper. "It was like it was stuck, and my - my mind was stuck."

"You were scared. That's nothing to be ashamed of. Your Boggart was still a very real threat to you, Calla. It would make sense for you to not be able to see it in a more humorous light."

"But I still have to be able to," she said. "Don't I? And it'll be on the exam and I - I don't want to fail again!"

"I'm sure you won't fail, Calla."

"Well you have to say that, though!"

Remus looked at her for a long moment. "You'll have other chances to practice with the Boggart. I'm sure Daphne's said to you by now that I offered for her to practice privately instead of in front of the rest of the class." Calla nodded tearily.

"I still won't be able to do it."

"You won't know until you try," Remus said calmly. "And believing you can fight it is half of the battle."

Xx

It seemed over the next few weeks that there was barely anyone in the castle who didn't think Uncle Remus was an amazing teacher. The only ones Calla had heard say a bad word against him were Malfoy, Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle, though after Daphne had a very strong word with Malfoy about him saying Remus dressed like his old house elf, even they had quietened down a bit. Daphne hadn't spoken to them so much, Calla had noted, and though she wasn't entirely sure what the reason for this was, Daphne did seem quite secure in her choice.

Care of Magical Creatures, on the other hand, had been a lot less interesting. After the incident in Harry's class, Hagrid hadn't even introduced hippogriffs to the other third years; instead, all of them had been dealing with looking after flobberworms, which were utterly boring, green wormy creatures that seemed to do nothing but eat lettuce and (once) do the toilet on a disgusted Michael's Corner's hand.

"They're so dull," Daphne whined after every class. "I don't see why we have to look after them; who would want to?"

"They are quite interesting, though," Isobel kept arguing to everyone, though no one agreed. "And cute."

"I would definitely not call them cute," Michael had said disgustedly, still mourning his once-pure hand. "Not when they pee all over you."

"They're animals, Michael," Isobel had told him tiredly. "That's what they do."

Divination, though, was becoming ever more interesting. Although Harry seemed to hate it - and with Trelawney's predictions, she couldn't really blame him - Calla was fascinated by the various ways that omens could be interpreted. The only downside was the dizziness she usually felt in the classroom, with its perfumed smoke that seemed designed to try and draw out visions. She'd had various during classes, but had become better at hiding them. One had shown her the upcoming Quidditch match which was meant to be between Gryffindor and Slytherin; and though it was cloudy, Harry had beaten Draco Malfoy spectacularly to get the snitch, and the crowd had gone wild. She couldn't wait to see it in person and celebrate along with everyone; she knew Harry and the Gryffindor team had been training almost every night of the week to win. There was another that concerned her, though; the sight of the Fat Lady, the portrait that guarded the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room, screaming and running away, and her picture slashed open. Professor Trelawney told her that the first vision represented a coming victory of friendship and the second represented a fear of confrontation that would need to be overcome. Calla worried it was more simple than that; Sirius Black would have plenty of motive to destroy the Fat Lady's portrait of he tried to get into Gryffindor Tower.

Every Monday evening, too, Calla would climb the stairs to North Tower on her own to be taught in person by Professor Trelawney. Aside from the tea leaves she studied in class, Professor Trelawney had her moving onto fire omens early. "I sense flames in your past and in your future," she had said, "you are a girl of passion, my dear."

Calla wasn't totally sure what that meant, but at least Trelawney wasn't predicting her death, so she worked away at watching the fireplace for images that shifted in the flames. Too many times, she'd seen a dog - she refused to believe it had to be the Grim - and a wolf, running along atop the burning logs. The wolf she thought had to be Remus, though she didn't mention that interpretation to Professor Trelawney. But more than once she'd seen other animals running along the fire - a rat and a stag mostly, but also what seemed to be a crow, and a sort of pegasus like creature (after a discussion with Harry, she thought that might be Buckbeak the hippogriff).

Fire omens, unlike omens from tea leaves, tended to deal with separate futures and symbols of themes rather than events. While a rat in a teacup may herald an illness coming soon, rats in fire omens were generally perceived as bad luck in general. Wolves on the other hand were omens of loyalty and close relationships, and dogs meant that there would be new friendship. Crows were omens of death which was not as positive, but Trelawney had told Calla to count her crows first. During that session, she had found seven flying around in the flames; that didn't mean death, but secrets. Apparently, crows were very important in Divination and had their entrails been used for centuries to create prophecy, but Calla really did not want to try that method out.

The omen she was most interested in, though, was the Stag. According to Trelawney and Calla's book, it represented not only awareness of self, but discovery and a great quest yet to come. When she'd asked what that may be, Trelawney had just said, "Much of the future still remains to be seen," and had set Calla the task of writing up more of her visions and keeping a log of everything she had divined. "It will be most useful to you," Trelawney told her with a smile. "The Sight is one thing, but recollection and remembrance are just as crucial to seeing the greater image of the future."

Ancient Runes, similarly to Divination, only got more and more interesting. They'd moved on from basic alphabet Runes to more complex ones with more meanings. Professor Babbling was an incredibly interesting teacher, too, and always seemed able to find some fun fact to throw in; Calla thought it was amazing how much one person could know. Despite Harry's assertion that the subject still sounded awful, Calla was certain no one in the class thought so; she was pretty sure Daphne and Susan both looked forward to writing essays for Professor Babbling.

In the meantime, she'd been doing a lot of reading about Magical theory and how to harness and manaifest magical power. It was all very interesting, and after using Aegelbert's Theory of Intent - which argued that intention and focus were crucial to channeling magic far more than pronunciation - she managed to almost successfully turn a teapot into a tortoise (though it didn't quite have the right pattern, or any, on its shell).

One thing that did put a damper on her good mood, though, was the upcoming Hogsmeade trip on Halloween. It seemed to be all that anyone could talk about in Ravenclaw Tower, and though she'd told herself she didn't care that she couldn't go, she really did. That didn't mean she was going to, certainly not while Sirius Black was still a threat, but she wished that she and Harry weren't the only ones in their year who didn't get to go. They were going to spend the day with Remus in the castle, which Calla supposed would be nice as she'd barely seen her brother this term, outside of class, what with her new study interests and his near constant Quidditch practices.

The morning of Halloween dawned crisp and bright, which did not reflect Calla's mood at all. She hid her scowl as the other girls in her dormitory got ready, chattering non-stop to each other about how excited they were. The plan seemed to be that they'd all set off together and explore, and then Lisa and Michael were going to Madam Puddifoot's together, Isobel and Mandy wanted to be go to Zonko's, and Sue, Terry and Anthony were all determined to see the Shrieking Shack.

"We don't have to go," Padma said to Calla as they left the Great Hall after breakfast . "It seems a shame for you to be the only one missing out."

"It's alright," she said, putting on a smile. "I've got Harry and we're going to see Remus anyway. I'm sure I'll have a fine day."

"Are you sure?" Daphne asked, setting her bag down. "It won't be half as fun without you."

She shook her head. "Just go. I'll be fine, really. I expect plenty of chocolate from Honeydukes, though."

"Noted," Daphne said, grinning as she gave a little salute. They approached Professor McGonagall and the caretaker, Filch, who were checking students' permission forms. Harry stood by Hermione and Ron, and waved enthusiastically over to Calla when she arrived, which was quite unexpected given his gloom over the matter of Hogsmeade recently. She narrowed her eyes; what was he up to?

"We'll see you later," Padma said as she hugged Calla tightly. "And I promise there'll be plenty of chocolate!"

Calla raised her hand in a small wave, smiling smallly as her friends walked on and disappeared from view. She was about to turn and head back into the castle when Malfoy's voice stopped her. "Not going to Hogsmeade, Potter?" he called. "Too scared to go past the Dementors, are you? Think you might faint again? Or do you think another Boggart might pop out somewhere along the way?"

Calla clenched her fists, refusing to let tears come to her eyes. "Shove off, Malfoy," she told him, tensing as someone came to stand by her side, but it was only Terry. "Leave me alone."

"Ooh." He laughed beside Parkinson. "Touched a nerve have we, Potter? Don't suppose you're going to try anything with that wand of yours. Tell me, what spells can you do?"

A spell hit Malfoy in the arm and he yelled, stumbling back. Calla turned to see Harry glaring at him furiously. "Mr Potter!" McGonagall called incredulously. "That'll be twenty points from Gryffindor and a detention. You cannot use magic on other students."

"Don't talk about my sister, Malfoy," Harry snarled, ignoring McGonagall, and striding over to take Calla's arm. "You're worth ten of any of those Slytherins," he told Calla in a low voice. "Don't listen to him."

"He's right," Calla said to Harry gloomily, and he shook his head.

"No, he's not. You turned a teapot into a tortoise, remember? You're doing really well." Calla glared at him. "You are!"

"She really is," Terry added, with a smile at Calla. "Malfoy's just mean."

Harry nodded at Terry. "See!" He Calla away around the corner as Sue and Anthony caught up to Terry. "Look, ignore Malfoy. I've got an idea of how we can get into Hogsmeade."

She stared at him, not sure she liked where this was going. "What do you mean?" Calla asked slowly

"You've got your map, right? I remember Ron saying that Fred and George know every passage in and out of Hogwarts - because of the map! If we can find one that goes to Hogsmeade, all we have to do is follow it and we can get there without anyone being any the wiser! Come on, you must know a way out to Hogsmeade!"

"Well, I'm not going," Calla told Harry, crossing her arms. "First of all, we said we'd visit Remus, second of all, its dangerous, third of all, Remus explicitly told us not to, fourth of all I don't even know what passages go to Hogsmeade. And I'm also not chancing it going anywhere near any of the dementors."

"We won't be near the dementors, though," said Harry, grinning. "That's the point. And I can't believe you've never tried sneaking into Hogsmeade before!"

"Of course I haven't!" Calla said shrilly. "The castle's so interesting on its own, and who would I go with anyway?"

"Me!"

She rolled her eyes. "Im sure we'll get the chance to go at some point. Just not right now."

"Calla, look, I get why you're scared-"

"I'm not scared, Harry!"

"Yes, you are!"

"Am not! Just because I'm not ridiculous and impulsive! This is dangerous, Harry." She lowered her voice. "Sirius Black could be out there."

"Yeah, well, if we happen to run into a fugitive on the run in a major town on one of the busiest days of its year, I'll-"

"What, fight him?" Calla retorted; Harry scowled. "Forget it, Harry."

"I don't need you to go with me," he said sullenly.

"Well, I have the map, so yes, you do. And I'll tell Remus if you sneak out."

He gaped. "You wouldn't!"

"Yes, I would, because you're being ridiculous. Just get Hermione and Ron to bring you stuff back! Daphne's getting chocolate for me."

"I can't believe you don't care," Harry said, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. "You've snuck out before, haven't you?"

"No," Calla said indignantly. "I just said that I hadn't! But I just don't really want to risk it for a wander around and some sweets. It's not like we're alone here, either. There's plenty to do."

Harry huffed. "Look, if you won't come with me then just give me the map and I'll go myself. Don't tell Remus."

"I will," she said, quickly tapping the map to close it and stuffing it hurriedly into her pocket. "And you're not getting the map."

She turned around as Harry lunged forward, reaching for the map. "Give me it, Calla!"

"No!"

"I'd give you the cloak!"

"I wouldn't ask you to give me the cloak so I could go and risk my life over some sweets!"

"It's not over just some sweets, Calla!" Harry replied indignantly. "Stop being so annoying!"

"No!" she shouted over her shoulder, before she turned a corner and ducked down a passage she'd memorised to go back to Ravenclaw Tower. She hated the fact that her eyes stung with tears again - it seemed she was never not on the verge of tears now, and she didn't even think she had anything much to be upset about.

She was still upset with Harry when they went to see Remus for lunch later on. He did show up, at least, so she knew that he hadn't snuck out himself and gotten into trouble; but he still looked incredibly sullen. Remus was looking between the two of them curiously, clearly sensing the animosity. "Look," Calla said quietly as Remus went to make tea, "thanks for earlier, for jinxing Malfoy for me."

Harry made a huffing sound in response and she rolled her eyes. Fine, then. He could be in a mood with her if he wanted to be; she knew she'd done the right thing.

"Are you both managing to keep up with your Studies alright?" Remus asked, looking between the twins. "I've seen Snape is in an even worse mood than usual of late." His eyes twinkled and Calla laughed forcedly.

"Yeah, I think so. He's not been too bad though, with our class at least."

"He always hates our class," Harry muttered. "Well, the Gryffindors in the class, anyway."

"He does seem to have a bit of a grudge," Calla agreed, nodding at Harry. Then she asked him, "Have your class been doing Flobberworms too?"

Harry groaned and nodded. "They're so boring."

"I know!" She looked at Remus. "After What happened with Malfoy and Buckbeak, Hagrid decided he wasn't going to teach us about Hippogriffs anymore. So we're feeding flobberworms every lesson."

"Well, I'm sure flobberworms are very important creatures. They'll be interesting if you give them a chance."

"I really don't think they will," Harry said dullly. "They don't do anything. At all."

Remus looked like he was trying to withhold a chuckle. "Well, you never know when you might be surprised."

"I don't think flobberworms are capable of surprise," Calla told him, shaking her head. "They are really, really boring. It's a shame; I love Hagrid, but I wish he could make his lessons more interesting."

"It's not his fault," Harry said, looking sharply at Calla, "it's Malfoy's, for making all that fuss about Buckbeak."

"I know," Calla sighed. "I know. But that doesn't mean the lesson isn't boring."

"Still better than Divination."

"I like Divination!"

"I know you do," Harry said, sighing. "But Trelawney's rubbish."

"She's not! She just... Likes to be dramatic in her predictions."

"Hermione says she's a fraud."

"Hermione would," Calla muttered, and Harry frowned in response.

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing," Calla said. She took a sip of her tea and looked at Remus, who was frowning at them. "It's just she seemed to have already made her mind up about Divination before she even started learning." She shrugged. "She doesn't seem to think Divination is a very valid form of magic, or accurate, so she's obviously not going to think Trelawney's right."

"Do you think Trelawney's right?" Harry asked quietly.

"I think... We can put some stock in what she says. But Divination is still very subjective, like I told you. She's maybe not entirely right in everything, but she isn't a fraud either."

"That seems like a very rational conclusion," Remus said, nodding at Calla. "Professor Trelawney has been known to make some accurate prophecies and predictions in her time. Dumbledore wouldn't have hired her if he didn't think so."

"But-"

Just as Harry was about to speak, the door blew open and Professor Snape strode in, carrying a large, steaming goblet of potion. Calla and Harry both stared at it, and it took Calla a moment to realise what it was; the Wolfsbane Potion Remus had told them about, to help him through the full moon. Snape looked between them all with a sneer.

"What a nice little meeting," he said, as he put the goblet down on Remus' desk. "How... Touching."

"Thank you, Severus," Remus said tiredly.

"You should drink that directly, Lupin," Snape said.

"Yes, I will."

"I made an entire cauldronful last night," he added. "Should you need it."

"Yes, I think I might take some tomorrow. Thank you, Severus."

"Not at all," Snape said, backing out of the room and watching them all with keen eyes. The door shut behind him.

"Is that your... You know, Wolfsbane Potion?"

"Why yes, it is, Harry," Remus said, smiling. He winced as he took a sip. "Rather disgusting, actually. It's a pity sugar makes it useless." He downed the rest of it, and set the still smoking goblet down. "Well, I suppose I had better get back to work. Enjoy the feast later, the two of you?"

"Won't you be able to come?" Harry asked.

Remus shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Hopefully next time." He nodded at them. "Stick together, the two of you."

Though they spent much of the rest of the day together, visiting the Owlery and roaming the castle aimlessly and eventually sitting in the library to do homework - Harry was writing an essay for Flitwick, and Calla was working through Rune classifications for Professor Babbling - things between the twins weren't particularly easy. Calla couldn't quite explain why she was annoyed with Harry - maybe because he had argued with her, or her thought she was scared, or because he didn't like Divination or maybe just because she was upset in general - but she was, and she was sure Harry could sense it. More than that, she was sure Harry was annoyed with her too. It was a relief when they went down to visit Hagrid, and see Buckbeak the Hippogriff, who Calla hadn't yet met.

"Yeh oughtta be careful," Hagrid said. "But I'm sure he'll like yeh, Calla. He's a good Hippogriff, Buckbeak is... A good Hippogriff."

Calla smiled as she went outside, Hagrid just behind her. "Mind and bow, now. And if he don' do the same, step away. Yeh gotta be respectful; proud creatures, Hippogriffs, they don' like being insulted."

Of course, she knew Draco Malfoy rarely had respect for anyone or anything else. She walked over to Buckbeak, who turned to her, with great bright eyes. He was beautiful, she thought, as she sank into a low bow, keeping her eyes on the Hippogriff.

There was a long moment where he didn't do anything, and Calla began to feel a little nervous, but then he bent his knees. "There's a good Hippogriff," said Hagrid, clapping. "Great, Calla. Yeh can pet 'im now."

Calla looked back, grinning, and then turned to Buckbeak. She reached out a tentative hand, unsure quite where to pet him, but then he moved towards her, butting his head against her palm. "There yeh go," Hagrid said softly, and Calla stroked the side of Buckbeak's neck. His feathers were so soft.

"You're beautiful," she told the Hippogriff, and he made a sound sort of like a purr in response. "Yes, you are."

She stayed with him, Harry and Hagrid most of the rest of the day, until the sun began to go down and Hagrid ordered the two of them back up to the castle for the feast.

They parted ways at the doors to the Great Hall, and Harry went (still rather gloomily) over to the Gryffindor Table to sit with Ron and Hermione, who were looking very excited after their Hogsmeade visit. Calla on the other hand, made her way to sit by Daphne and Padma, the former of whom wasted no time at all in telling her all about Hogsmeade.

"...And then we went to Honeydukes and, Calla, there were these lovely little pink and blue chocolate mice that scurried around the whole store, they were so cute! And they had so many sweets we could barely fit them in our pockets to bring back, but Astoria told me I had to bring her back some sugar quills so I stuffed them in. Zonko's was interesting, but things kept exploding so Padma decided we should probably just have a wander around outside in the town instead." Daphne grinned between her words, spilling various sweets and chocolates out onto the table before Calla. "Then we went to Dervish and Banges, and there wasn't really much that was that exciting there but then we went to Scrivenschaft's Quill Shop, for stationery, and I really liked that. Padma got this really nice colour changing notebook - it uses paper, not parchment, like the Muggles do - and I got a pretty purple quill. Then we went into Gladrags, but there wasn't really much we liked the look of, so we decided to go and meet Ron and Hermione in the Three Broomsticks for butterbeer instead. It tastes wonderful," she said, beaming.

"Let her eat, Daphne," Padma said, chuckling.

Calla smiled at her half-heartedly, taking a bit of chicken. Hogwarts feasts were always spectacular but she didn't quite appreciate this so much; everyone around her was speaking solely about Hogsmeade and it was getting old.

"How was your day, though?" Padma asked. "Did you see your godfather?"

Calla nodded sullenly. "Yes."

She saw Padma and Daphne exchange glanced. "And?"

"And Harry's in a mood with me and probably will be all day and maybe all week and maybe all month, because I wouldn't let him sneak out."

Padma looked like she was about to say something, but Daphne got there first. "Well why wouldn't you?"

Calla looked at her. "Because of Sirius Black? It's dangerous, and he'd get in trouble."

Daphne shrugged. "I get that, but I'm surprised he didn't just do it anyway."

"He wouldn't know how without the map," Calla said. "So I wasn't about to give it to him."

"Well of course not," Padma agreed, nodding. "It would be far too dangerous, and besides, you weren't missing out on too much. You'll get a chance at some point."

"He does look a bit moody," Daphne said, nodding towards the Gryffindor table where Harry sat with Ron and Hermione, seeming to be barely listening to Ron who was talking to him with great excitement.

"Well, I'd rather him moody than hurt," Calla told her crisply, and set about eating her dinner instead of talking.

"Did you start the Ancient Runes homework at all?" Daphne asked, cutting up a steak. "I looked at it but I couldn't be bothered with it yet."

"I did a little," Calla told her, relieved they were moving on, "but I got stuck on the different derivations of Younger Futhorc, so I think I'm going to go to the library tomorrow to figure it out."

"That's probably a good idea," Padma said, nodding. "I don't think anyone's managed to get it done actually, so at least we're all in the same boat."

They chattered amicably for the rest of the feast, and Daphne at one point went over to speak to Astoria, who was promptly embarrassed by her older sister and made a fuss that had Daphne grinning and Calla and Padma both doubled over laughing. "She's so ungrateful," Daphne laughed, shaking her head as she returned to them. "Honestly, I got her four sugar quills and all she says is, 'Stop embarrassing me!'" But Daphne didn't seem too bothered; they were all in good moods by the time the feast ended and they made their way up to Ravenclaw Tower.

"Oi, Potter!" Lisa called across the dormitory once the girls were changed into their night clothes. She tossed something book-shaped across to her bed, and Matilda scowled at it. "Thought you might use it."

Calla looked down and frowned. 'The Senile Cat Witch and Her Place in British Wizarding Folklore'. Lisa was grinning, and Calla pouted. "Thanks," she drawled back.

"You're welcome! It's a fascinating read!"

Calla rolled her eyes, but it wasn't with the irritation she'd once held towards Lisa; they'd settled more now into a sort of teasing that wasn't necessarily friendly but also wasn't malicious. "Maybe I'll keep an eye out for one on the role of hags," she called back and Lisa grinned.

"Who for, though?"

Before Calla could retort, there was a sharp knocking on the door. Padma looked around sharply before everyone nodded and she went to answer. Penelope Clearwater stood in the doorway, shaking slightly with her dressing gown pulled tightly around her. "We're all to go back to the Great Hall. Now." Her eyes fell on Calla and she bit her lip, looking anxious. "They're saying Sirius Black's gotten into the castle. He went for Gryffindor Tower."

Calla's stomach plummeted and her heart raced at the thought of what might have happened, of her brother. "Did - did he hurt anyone?"

"Only scared the Fat Lady," Penelope said gently. "The students are all shaken, but safe. We're all to go down to the Great Hall together."

Daphne placed a comforting hand on Calla's shoulder. "Alright, Penelope," she said, smiling. "Thanks for letting us know, we'll come to the common room in a minute."

As soon as Penelope was out of view, all the girls crowded around Calla, chattering worriedly. "He got into the castle?" Isobel was saying, looking very white. "How do you think he did it?"

"He must have sneaked in with the students coming back from Hogsmeade," Mandy said breathlessly, eyes wide as saucers.

"Don't be ridiculous, someone would have seen him, and so would the Dementors," Lisa said. "He must have gotten in some other way."

"But there is no other way," Sue said. "Is there?"

But Calla was feeling very sick now. She felt in her pocket for her map; it was still there, thank God, but she knew that there were other ways in and out of Hogwarts. "Lucky he came on Halloween, though," Isobel said as the seven of them traipsed down the stairs into the common room, "when everyone was at the feast. Imagine if he'd run into someone..."

"He must have lost track of the days," Padma said, "being on the run."

But Calla didn't think he had at all. This was twelve years to the day her parents had died, the day she and Harry had survived and Black's master Lord Voldemort had been destroyed. If he had come for them as she was sure he had, it would have been the perfect day for his revenge. She shuddered at the thought; but she was very, very glad she hadn't given in and let Harry sneak out today of all days. With Sirius Black nearby, he - Well. She didn't want to think it, but she knew what could have happened.

"What's going on?" Terry asked Calla, as the three boys came to stand by the girls. "They're saying Sirius Black was here!"

"He went to Gryffindor Tower," Lisa said, looking nervously at Calla and Padma. "Apparently he frightened the Fat Lady off. I suppose she wouldn't have let him in."

"Can you imagine?" Anthony whispered. "Sirius Black, here?" He gave a massive shudder, wrapping his arms tightly around himself. "Do you know if anyone was hurt?"

Daphne shook her head. "Penelope said no one was," she told him. "But..."

"Come on, now," Professor Flitwick was saying, standing on top of the stairs by the common room door. "That's everyone, let's go down together. No disappearing off anywhere, we all have to stay together now, thank you. Follow me."

They made their way back down through the castle, and Calla's year all huddled closely together, with her in the middle pressed close to Daphne and Padma. When they got back to the Great Hall, the Gryffindors were already there, standing still in their clothes from the feast. She picked out Harry standing between Ron and Hermione and tried to catch his eye, but didn't manage as they were shepherded into the Hall. The Slytherins and Hufflepuffs went in after them, and McGonagall and Flitwick closed the doors firmly shut behind them.

"The other teachers and I," Dumbledore told them, standing at the front of the hall, "will need to conduct a thorough search of the entire castle. For your own safety, you will all have to stay here for the night. I am leaving the Head Boy and Head Girl in charge and the prefects to stand over the Hall. Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately," he added to Percy Weasley, who puffed out his chest proudly. "Send word with one of the ghosts."

As Calla noted when she looked around, all of the house ghosts were lingering around the edges of the hall, including the Grey Lady, who was rarely seen. Dumbledore turned just before he made to exit the hall, "Oh yes. You'll be needing these."

He waved his hand and the house tables moved off to the sides of the hall; a second later, the floor was covered in squashy purple sleeping bags and pillows. Dumbledore smiled serenely as she made to close the doors behind him. "Sleep well."

The second he left the room came alive with conversation, as the students started discussing the varying versions of events and the Gryffindors went about telling everyone what they'd seen. "Come on," Calla said to Daphne and Padma, tugging them over to see Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Harry! Harry!"

Her brother turned to her, and seemed to sigh, rushing over. "Calla! Are you alright?"

"Am I alright? Are you alright, what did you see? Is he really here?"

"No one saw him," Hermione said, "but the Fat Lady did. I don't know if he's gone or not."

Calla looked worriedly at Harry. "He could still be in the castle, do you think?"

"No one knows," Ron said. "Mind you, no one knows how he got in either."

Calla's stomach swam. "Harry, you don't think-"

"No more talking!" Percy Weasley snapped. "Everyone get back into your houses! Lights out in ten minutes."

Calla reaches out to squeeze Harry's hand nervously; she really didn't want to leave him right now. "I'll be right over here," he said. "It'll be fine, he'll have run off once the Fat Lady raises the alarm."

"Harry's right, Calla," Daphne said, taking her arm. "Come on, let's get some sleep."

Calla nodded nervously at her brother. "I'll see you in the morning. Don't wander off without seeing me."

"I won't," Harry laughed, and to her surprise he reached out to hug her. "It'll be okay," he promised, holding her tightly. "Sleep well."

She went back over to the rest of the Ravenclaws still feeling uneasy. They were all clustered in a little group of seven as she, Daphne and Padma slipped in. "How do you think he got in?" Lisa was askin lowly. "Do you think someone let him in?"

"Must have," Michael said. "It's the only way."

"But who would let him in?" Sue asked in a whisper. She looked at Calla nervously. "What did Harry say?"

"They've no idea how he got in either," she said. "But he scared the Fat Lady like nothing. She's done a runner."

"Merlin," said Michael, shaking his head.

"They'll catch him," Terry said, sounding like he was trying very hard to be confident. He grinned at Calla. "I'm sure they will. Any day now I'm sure."

"He seems desperate though," Mandy whispered, as Calla and Daphne set about trying to curl up in their sleeping bags. "He'll mess up at some point, you'll see. He'll get himself caught and then everything will be fine."

But they all still had trouble sleeping that night.

Author's Note: It's my birthday tomorrow! Here's an early new chapter to celebrate! Hope you all enjoy!