Chapter 44: The Quarrel in Godric's Hollow
"I'm afraid I must insist," Dumbledore said looking at her seriously. Calamity felt all eyes on her. She had never been in the Dining room of 12 Grimmauld place before the first meeting of the Order and had been impressed by it's size. Now, three meetings later, it felt suddenly very very small. Kreacher attempted to enter, but Sirius (who was sitting closest to the kitchen) put his foot on the door to prevent it.
"And I'm afraid," Calamity repeated calmly, "that I must decline. I think Bill makes an equally legitimate point. If Charlie will be there already it makes more sense to have him talk about the issue with Dr. Erza-Mahoney."
"He's your father," snapped Snape. "He won't talk to some Weasley."
Molly looked offended, but Arthur patted her hand comfortingly.
"You saw him last year," Remus reminded her. "What's changed?"
"You're aware that last time he kidnapped me, yes?"
Sirius had a smirk on his face that Calamity did not at all appreciate. She threw a roll at him from across the room, which he caught.
"How mature," drawled Snape.
"No one asked you," barked Sirius. He looked back at Calamity. "Your father's never been one for convention. He kidnapped me just to make sure he knew who you were dating."
"That doesn't make it okay," agreed Remus. Dumbledore looked at him significantly and the table fell into silence.
"We really should bring in the children," Molly said after a long pause. "It's nearly dinner time."
"Yes," Dumbledore agreed. He looked to Remus, then Sirius, then Snape, and finally Calamity. "We'll discuss this later. For now, let's eat!"
Molly rose and moved to the door and stuck her head out calling the under-aged wizards and witches hidden above.
"Fred! George! Ginny! Hermione! Ron! Dinner!"
With a pop of apparition Fred and George appeared on either side of Calamity. After dating a marauder, this did not startle Calamity, though she noticed Molly jump from her spot at the door, wheeling about with an irritated look.
"Smells delightful," Fred said sitting down. "What's for dinner?"
"Mum makes the best food," George assured Calamity. He spotted his mother's expression and gave a winning smile. "Isn't that right, Freddy?"
Freddy looked up from his scoop of potatoes which Kreacher had just brought to the table, despite his dark murmurs. "Course, no one makes it better!"
Molly seemed pacified and took her seat again, tucking her napkin on her lap as she asked, "And where are your sister and brother?"
"On their way," George said.
"Probably," Fred agreed.
"You didn't-" Molly began, but before she could finish there was the sound of steps. Ginny, Ron, and Hermione entered. They took their seats, muttering to one another as if they were plotting something.
"About time," scolded George before his mother could open her mouth.
"We've been waiting ages," agreed Fred, his mouth now full with the food.
"I see you waited with baited breath," smirked Ginny.
"Course, we're gentlemen," George said flicking a bit of roll her way.
Calamity saw Snape's eyes dart quickly to Calamity, then back at his food, which he ate with great disdain.
"It looks delicious, Molly," Calamity agreed as George passed her the potatoes. She rather liked the twins- they were sharp kids with a streak of mischief that she could appreciate. She knew that Remus and Sirius, despite their adult performance whenever the Wealsey children appeared, also had a soft spot for the twins. She had walked in on Sirius discussing the best dungbomb techniques with Fred just yesterday and she had very much enjoyed "accidentally" letting slip that Messr. Moony and Padfoot were the Sirius and Remus. The twins had brought it up nearly every night. Without disappointment they brought it up again ten minutes into the meal.
"So, Moony," Fred said leaning close and putting his elbows on the table. Arthur cleared his throat and Fred removed them hurriedly. "How did you find so many passages."
"Luck," Sirius smirked.
"And constant vigilance," agreed Remus.
"And then you made the map? What inspired you," asked George. Calamity caught Sirius' eyes which were dancing with pleasure.
"Sometimes a creative person needs to just let their creativity loose," Sirius replied.
She snorted into her pumpkin juice and Ginny laughed as the snort turned into a coughing fit. George smacked her back animatedly as he continued his discussion with Sirius.
"Course, we enjoyed the creation! Really helped us out of a few pickles. I mean, when we needed to hide from Filch after that exploding leech incident," George said. He looked at Fred. "Remember?"
"Do I remember," Fred scoffed. He turned to Remus. "We had wanted to disrupt some of the Slytherins. Mind you they deserved it," he added catching his mother's dark look. "They had been going on and on about the Chamber of secrets and how all the muggleborns should be nervous. Problem was that the study group had moved their location that night and Filch was on a war path. We had planned to expand the leech then leave it there to explode and get all the slime on them, but Georgie got too excited and started the process before i gave my word. By the time we realized it exploded on Filch instead. We had to make a run for it!"
"I believe it was you, Freddie, who expanded the leech too early," said George in a teasing tone, "Either way we somehow found ourselves at the kitchen, but we didn't know it was the kitchen. Fred pulls out the map and we can see we're done for, but then the map, miraculous blessing that it was, tells us to tickle the pear!"
"So I say," Fred continued, "George, it says to tickle the pear. Merlin's beard! Tickle the bloody pear!"
"And we did," George said, moving his hand in the air as if tickling an imaginary pear. "And not only were we safe, but we got butterbeer to boot!"
"Ruddy brilliant," Fred said with a sigh.
"Glad it helped," Sirius said leaning his chair back confidently.
"Yes," Snape drawled. "Thank goodness such irresponsible behavior can be passed from one generation to another."
Sirius glared at Snape from across the table. He was about to respond when Hermione spoke up.
"When's Harry to arrive?"
"He is safest at his aunt and uncles," Dumbledore said with a comforting smile.
"He's been writing almost every day," Ron said.
Hermione looked nervously from Ron to Dumbledore, but Ron seemed very sure of himself and his proclamation. Despite only being fifteen, the red head was staring right into Dumbledore's eyes defiantly.
"Ronald," Molly scolded. "He'll come when Professor Dumbledore thinks it's best!"
"He's got to know something," Ron said firmly. "It's been weeks since summer started and no one had been allowed to tell him anything. He saw Cedric die and you-" he looked back at Hermione quickly and rephrased his original though. "Voldemort is rising again. Shouldn't we tell him that it's alright for now?"
"You want us to lie," drawled Snape. Ron faltered.
"No," he said hesitantly.
"Then you wish we would expose ourselves," continued Snape, his dark eyes glinting maliciously. Calamity glanced back at Sirius, whose face was scrunched in dislike at his old nemesis.
"Of course not," snapped Ron, "Professor," he added hurriedly.
"Ron," Arthur said gently, "We can't hope to tell Harry anything yet without potentially exposing ourselves. He is safest where he is. There are order members watching to keep him that way."
Ron and Hermione leaned back in their seats defeated and remained quiet for the rest of the meal.
After dinner, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Hermione, Sirius, and Calamity went up to the top floor to Sirius' room. The teens were trying, as they often did, to get Sirius to share some snippet of information from the Order meeting. Sirius was obviously pleased with their interest, but couldn't share anything.
"You'll be old enough for the Order soon," Sirius said comfortingly as he pushed the Gryffindor covered door open. They still had not gone into Regulus' old room. Every day Sirius looked over at it as if tempted to turn the knob, but he never did.
The Weasleys and Hermione sat on the floor as Sirius laid down on the bed, resting his head on Calamity's lap.
"We're old enough to do magic outside school," George and Fred said at once.
"Talk to your mum about that," Sirius said. The twins rolled their eyes and Sirius smirked, "Yeah, I know how that is."
"You're not missing much," Calamity assured them. "All we've discussed is who will keep an eye on Harry and all he's doing is watching the news and keeping informed."
"So why do they want you to go to Albania, then," asked Ron.
All the teens glared at Ron, whose ears burned red though his face stood firm, even as George threw a pillow at his head saying, "prat!"
"And who told you that I was suppose to go to Albania," asked Calamity calmly.
"We just heard it,"Fred said hurriedly. "So what's in Albania?"
"It's the last place Voldemort was before he rose again," Ginny said. "Wasn't it?"
Sirius looked up at Calamity with a half grin, "they already know, you might as well tell them the rest."
Calamity flicked his ear halfheartedly.
"My father is in Albania and Dumbledore thinks he knows something. What he knows and why Dumbledore thinks I need to go is beyond me. If you ever want to join the order you had better get use to talking to Dumbledore and being told half truths."
"Not half truths," Sirius said sitting up quickly. "Just- Dumbledore knows the full plan. After Wormtail he doesn't necessarily trust anyone with it, so we get bits and pieces. You have to trust that it's the right thing." He glanced at Calamity. "Calamity doesn't like that. She wants the full plan," he added.
"How was the cleaning today," asked Calamity, urgent to change the subject.
The Weasleys and Hermione exchanged exasperated looks.
"Sirius, is every artifact in this house covered in dark magic," asked Ginny pulling up sleeve to reveal her wrist with a few bruises. Calamity moved forward to inspect them. They seemed like normal bruises.
"She got into a fight with a music box," Fred said. "Made the mistake of opening it up and all."
"And the rest of you," asked Calamity. They all had some kind of bruise or another. Hermione had an especially deep looking cut. Calamity pulled her wand out to inspect it more closely.
"Everything attacks in this house," said Fred. "How did you ever do spring cleaning?"
"We didn't," Sirius said with a bark laugh. "Find anything worth mentioning?"
"Kreacher did," George said darkly. "We threw a few things out like you asked, but he took them to wherever he keeps his treasures. Muttered something about red headed filth. I told him it wasn't nice to talk about Ron like that."
"No, George," Fred said watching as Calamity muttered a spell and Hermione's cut began to heal rapidly. "It was Ginny he was insulting."
"Maybe it was your ugly mugs," Ginny retorted. The twins looked surprised.
"These," they said at once pointing to one anothers faces. "Never!"
"We did find some potions," Hermione said. "Most of them were useless and Mrs. Weasley got rid of them. But we also found this." She pulled a vial from her pocket and held it out to Calamity. Fred looked betrayed. Calamity took the vial and held it up to the light. It was clear and moved within the vial as water would. She would bet money it was also odorless.
"Veritaserum," Sirius confirmed. "Grandmother Irma apparently enjoyed using it on unsuspecting guests to find out the latest gossip. I'm not surprised there is so little left."
"We didn't want to throw it away and let Kreacher get it," Hermione said.
"Thanks," Calamity replied. She tucked the vial away. "I'll get rid of it."
"Or we could," George offered.
"No," Calamity said with a raised eyebrow. "I think it's best if you leave it to me. I'm going out tomorrow anyway."
"To Albania," offered Fred.
"To Godric Hollows," corrected Calamity. "Now, don't you all want to go some place without adults to get into some kind of trouble?"
The teens stood grumbling and left the room allowing Sirius and Calamity to relax for the first time since the Order had arrived. Laying in the bed and looking at the teenage Sirius' room, Calamity could not help but smirk at her surrounding. This room was so obviously one that belonged to the future disowned heir of the most noble and ancient house of Black that it was almost laughable. Still, as Sirius rolled over and mumbled something in his dreams, Calamity could not help but let her mind drift to Dumbledore's insistence that she go back to Albania. What could be in Albania with her father that was so important?
Calamity was insistent that she would not go to Albania. She told the Order at the meeting, she told them at breakfast, she told them one by one when they attempted to ask her in their own unique ways. She had hoped that she could dodge them once she left the house. Before going to Godric's hollow she stopped at the old bookstore just a block away from the apartment she and Sirius had once lived in. She had been contemplating the last war: how many things had gone right, but also how many things had gone wrong. Had she done all she could to prevent it? Was now the time for redemption? Was this why Sirius and Remus were so eager to join the fight?
She felt a figure ram into her and turned to see none other than Ginny Weasley apologizing to her.
"Sorry," Arthur said dusting Calamity off, though she hadn't fallen. "We were in a bit of a hurry. I'm taking Ginny to work. She's interested in the ministry."
"Naturally," Calamity said skeptically. Ginny and Arthur's ears burned slightly pink- a Weasley give away. Arthur looked at his watch. "We'd better be going, Ginny!"
"Dad, can't I just stay with Calamity?"
She smirked at the two of them, their ears still pink, but their eyes determined not to break script. Arthur looked at Calamity.
"Would you mind?"
"We'll get lunch," Calamity offered, knowing they would persist until she made some compromise. She would give them lunch at the old Chinese restaurant that Sirius had once taken her to. It was now a sandwich shop. Arthur thanked her vigorously and sprinted off. He really was late to work.
"Sirius said you'd be here," Ginny confessed as Calamity brought their sandwiches over. "We didn't tell him our plan," Ginny added at Calamity's exasperated look. "Fred and George came up with it. We just asked what your plan was. He's going mad inside."
"He's not an inside dog," agreed Calamity.
"But Dad says that there is a really good chance Wormtail told them about him as Snuffles," Ginny said. She leaned forward as if in conspiracy with Calamity. "Do you think it's true?"
"Did Arthur tell you that or did you hear it?"
Ginny's cheeks flushed with her ears this time. "You won't tell will you?"
"I understand why your mom wants you all to stay out of this mess," Calamity said taking a bite from her sandwich. "But, I also know that you're in as much danger not knowing as you are knowing, maybe more danger. While I don't approve of your techniques, I'd rather you know what's going on. This whole affair puts you at risk simply by association. You've joined without joining."
Ginny seemed pleased by this information and took a bite of her sandwich with enough gusto to force a tomato to fall onto fell the table.
"What was your real plan today," she asked.
"This was the real plan," Calamity said gesturing about the restaurant. "This and then to Godric's Hollow."
"For what?"
"Just some contemplation."
Ginny looked disappointed.
"Not every activity I do is related to our friends," Calamity smiled.
"I know," Ginny snapped. She looked abashed a moment later. "Sorry, I just- well, I know. That's all."
They sat in silence. Calamity watched Ginny push the tomato back and forth glumly. The only Weasley daughter who spent most of her time in her brothers shadows, thought Calamity. Then she goes to Hogwarts and has to compete with her brothers and his best friend- the famous Harry Potter. Calamity could imagine every brother working overtime to protect little Ginny Weasley.
"Ginny," Calamity said cautiously. Ginny looked up. "Do you want to come to Godric's Hollow?"
They appeared in the West Country of England right next to the small community. Ginny let go of Calamity's arm and stumbled for a moment. Apparation had that effect on people who weren't use to it. Even worse if it was your first time, which Calamity had a feeling it was for the youngest Weasley. Probably because it was more likely to splice oneself when apparating with another. Calamity hid a smile to herself. Molly would be horrified. She looked back at Ginny who was beaming from ear to ear. She knew her mother would be horrified, that was obvious to Calamity.
They moved out of the alley way and passed the post office, pub, and a few retail shops. The residential streets were lined with quaint cottages, just as it always was. Nothing ever seemed to change in the sleepy hollow. They moved to the center of town where the statue stood dedicated to those who had fallen in the first war. Despite the warmth it always felt cold by the statue. They stood admiring it for some time in silence.
"I still can't imagine it," Ginny said softly. "How you could come back after all that: the Potter's deaths, Sirius being sent to Azkaban, and all those deaths. How come you didn't go back to America and never return?"
"Hmmm," Calamity said tracing the names of the fallen with her eyes. "I just came to be a Healer, but then I made friends and fell in love and they became family. I suppose you don't just leave family."
"But, you did go back, eventually."
"I did."
"And you started Healers without Borders."
"Yes."
"And got married."
"Right," Calamity felt her pocket warm and glanced about. There was nothing there. She touched her wand in her pocket. She smiled to Ginny as if nothing were troubling her. "You've done your research."
"I heard Sirius, Professor Lupin, and Professor Snape talking about it."
"I'm sure it was a lovely discussion between friends," sighed Calamity.
"More like Professor Snape trying to make Sirius angry and Professor Lupin trying to keep them separate."
"On the topic of my marriage?"
"On the topic of his going to Azkaban and how that was cowardly when he could have worked to rid the whole world of deatheaters and that you were worse," Ginny paused, though she seemed emboldened by her story. "That you left when the real work was starting and Professor Lupin ran away. It was only Professor Snape who remained."
"A loyal follower if ever there was one," said Calamity. Her wand cooled again and she released it. "And your follow up question is how could I leave?"
"I suppose it is."
"Life goes on," Calamity said. "It should. Those who don't let it won't live very happy lives."
"Like Professor Snape?"
Calamity gave her a sideways look, but paused. A figure darted into the alleyway and out of sight. She touched her wand again in her pocket.
" Let's go to the church, shall we? There should be a portkey set up there that can take you back to London and you can floo from there," Calamity said.
"Already," asked Ginny disappointed.
"The cemetery is the last stop anyway," Calamity said.
The church had more visitors than usual- the end of some sort of wizard tour. The somber faces watched the graves of Lily and James Potter, blocking them from Calamity and Ginny's view. One of the men with a beak like nose and a scrunch face leaned towards his friend with a spectacularly tall hat.
"It's just a shame about their son," he said.
"Harry Potter?" his friend asked. Her hat wobbled dangerously as she turned, though it didn't fall.
"The Daily Prophets been saying he's got scrambled brains from the whole affair."
"No," gasped the woman. The beaked man nodded seriously.
"Have a bit of respect," snapped Ginny. They looked back at her and the one with the spectacular hat scoffed.
"Come on Marvin!"
The group moved away revealing the tombstones. The names of Lily and James Potter stood out at them in the summer twilight. Calamity watched the stone.
She had visited this site a few times in the last twelve years, despite her declarations not. Each time with different people and with different books. There was the first time she visited alone with Heart of Darkness still fresh in her mind. She had thought of how it all was.
I have wrestled with death. It is the most unexciting contest you can imagine. It takes place in an impalpable greyness, with nothing underfoot, with nothing around, without spectators, without clamour, without glory, without the great desire of victory, without the great fear of defeat, in a sickly atmosphere of tepid scepticism, without much belief in your own right, and still less in that of your adversary.
Then, she had visited with Jaden. He had insisted despite her declarations that she was a new person and London, England, and the whole UK was long behind her. He had been reading On the Road and opened the book to her, pointing to an underlined passage: I realized that I had died and been reborn numberless times but just didn't remember especially because the transitions from life to death and back to life are so ghostly easy, a magical action for naught, like falling asleep and waking up again a million times, the utter casualness and deep ignorance of it. I realized it was only because of the stability of the intrinsic Mind that these ripples of birth and death took place, like the action of the wind on a sheet of pure, serene, mirror-like water. I felt sweet, swinging bliss, like a big shot of heroin in the mainline vein; like a gulp of wine late in the afternoon and it makes you shudder; my feet tingled. I thought I was going to die the very next moment. But I didn't die... She had scoffed at the passage at the time. Now she had East of Eden snuggly sitting on the beside the bed at 12 Grimmauld Place and she could not help but consider those lines she had read just last week: It seems to me that if you or I must choose between two courses of thought or action, we should remember our dying and try so to live that our death brings no pleasure to the world. All of these were true, yet none could capture Calamity's true feelings. Books had never betrayed her before, but here before the graves of Lily and James, they always did.
Here, staring at the stone, she could capture only feelings that the books glanced over- skimmed the surface of. She could see Lily Evans leaning over her books and trying to perfect an advanced charm, James Potter throwing the quaffle back and forth, Lily's outrage at James' immaturity, but also her fluttering laughter at his compliments. She could see James' eyes brighten when he heard Sirius explaining his newest plan and his laugh when Remus and Peter made a bet that Peter inevitably won. She could see them together for dinner and late nights and in the Gyffindor common room.
"Portkeys leaving in five minutes!"
The grumpy looking tourguide's yell broad calamity back to the present. He was motioning to the old tire in the corner.
"Should we head over," Ginny whispered. She had tears in her eyes which she rubbed away.
Calamity was going to say yes, but she suddenly felt a creeping on her neck. She whipped out her wand and pushed Ginny away from herself and onto the ground just as she heard the rough voice call "Crucio!"
Marvin screamed, though the hex shot passed where Ginny had been standing and into the sky. Calamity shot three spells one right after another as the figure leaped away, rolling behind an old, almost unreadable grave.
"Get to the portkey," Calamity demanded.
Ginny rushed from one stone to another as Calamity shielded and rebounded the next spells. One bounced away from Calamity with more power than Calamity had ever seen. It struck the headstone, a distinct crack was heard.
There was a popping sound of the portkey leaving. Calamity dropped the shield and shot a hex at the crack in the stone. It made the headstone wobble and the figure rush away before it fell backward. They shot a purple jinx at her, which skimmed her arm and burned as if acid had hit it. That would leave a mark. Calamity let out a string of curse words and sent out a stunning spell. The red beam that shot from her wand was thick and rapid. It hit the figure in the forehead and sent him toppling over a headstone and against the wall behind it. He didn't get up.
"Accio wand," Calamity said.
The wand flew up without resistance and into her free hand. She looked at it- it looked odd. Not like a British wand. She compared her own. Maybe not American, either. The figure disarmed, Calamity approached.
The figure was unmasked, but also unfamiliar. His dark hair curled into ringlets, much like a picture of Prince Charming Calamity had seen in a picture book when she was younger. This was more a boy than man, he had to be under twenty. She put his wand in her pocket, feeling it click against something. She pulled the vial out of her pocket: the veritaserum. She looked at the boy again, then back to the vial. She pocketed the vial again and muttered a spell, forcing ropes to appear from her wand and wrap around him.
"Rennervate," muttered Calamity.
The boy's eyes flew open. He squirmed for a moment before narrowing his eyes at her.
"You!" He spat. It fell to the floor harmlessly.
"Right," Calamity said. "And how did I gain such an adoring fan?"
"I'm not here for you," snapped the boy. "I'm here to kill a member of the Order of the Phoenix."
"And who was it you were aiming for?"
"That red head!"
Calamity made a tsking sound. "Who gave you any information?"
The boy said nothing, just looking scornfully at her.
"The red head isn't part of the Order," Calamity said. She pointed her wand at his throat. "I am."
The boy's eyes darted back to the spot Ginny had been at, then to the woman holding a wand to his neck, his eyes widening in fear and recognition. He began to speak in another language."Jo, zotëria asnjë. Jo, zotëria asnjë," He kept repeating himself over and over again.
"What did you want? Why were you sent here?"
"I can't," he said switching back to English. "I can't! Ai do të na vrasin të gjithë!" Hebegan squirming in his ropes, his eyes now panicked and darting about as if he could see something she could not and that something was terrifying. She grabbed the rope and shook it so that he refocused on her.
"I said," she repeated glaring at him, "Why are you here? Who sent you?"
"She said to come here and watch until I found an member of the Order. She said I'd know by how they acted at the grave, as if they'd known them."
"And you picked out the redhead? She too young to have known them."
"He'll kill me! He'll kill us all! She said it would be easy to tell!"
"Who?"
"Bellatrix Lestrange!"
Calamity looked around the empty graveyard as if the deatheater had been summoned. Assured that she had not been she turned back tot he boy. "Bellatrix Lestrange is in Azkaban."
"She won't be for long," said the boy, his tone raising into hysterics again. "He's making a plan. He wants them back! He needs them for his weapon. He needs them to kill their son! Jam i vdekur! Më vrit. Unë jam aq i mirë sa i vdekur!"
He fell suddenly quiet and limp, his face looking beyond Calamity as if he had given up completely. She looked over her shoulder to see where he was gazing. He was looking right at Lily Potter's grave.
Calamity stood and removed the ropes from the boy who didn't move. He just kept staring off at the grave, a vein throbbing on his forehead.
"Who is she going to kill," Calamity asked. "Who were you trying to protect?"
The boy looked up at her as if seeing her for the first time after a long sleep.
"My mother and brother."
"Where are they?" She had a sinking feeling that she had heard the language before.
"Albania," said the boy.
"Alright," Calamity said. "I'll see what I can do."
"You can't do anything," the boy said, he dropped his head back to the ground, looking again at Lily Potter's grave. "Hard heads suffer much."
"You have no idea how right you are," Calamity said thinking about Dumbledore's assignment and her father. She looked back at him once more before muttering, "Obliviate."
A/N: Don't Forget to Review!
