Disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. No infringement intended.

Rating: R for language and sexual situations.

Pairing: Severus/Hermione



Lightning Strikes



by Auror Borealis



Chapter 7



Callie's fear of storms was well known in her own time, and the phobia tended to make others see her as weak and easily frightened. They would have been amazed to know that she took regular strolls, very much against school rules, in the Forbidden Forest, and felt entirely comfortable doing so.

It was taken for granted that if you entered the forest, you were taking your life in your hands. Well, she often thought, Hagrid does it all the time, doesn't he? Sure, he was big, but many creatures that inhabited these woods were no respecters of size. Watching Muggle nature programs at her grandparents' house during visits, she realized that the same principles applied here. If one recognized the potential dangers and took proper precautions, it was no more dangerous than anything else. Or not much more dangerous.

Callie possessed two talents that were an advantage in the Forest. She had an affinity for magical creatures, nearly as great as Hagrid's own, and applied with a great deal more common sense. She loved Hagrid dearly, but he could be blind towards his 'wee beasties' sometimes. Her talent for casting charms, and the hexes that closely resembled them, was only average, but her ability to block dark magic was almost on a par with her father's. With more training and maturity, she might even surpass him, or so Professor Lupin often said.

The biggest danger to herself in the Forbidden Forest would have been her own overconfidence, had Callie been prone to any. As she was modest in her assessment of her own talents, she was cautious, and had never found herself in serious danger within these trees.

The woods boasted a small stream, clear and very cold, which flowed its way over a bottom lined with smooth, rounded rocks. She had discovered this clearing when she was six years old, and it had been her private retreat ever since. Occasionally she was joined by a curious unicorn, or had a visit from her good friend Firenze, a centaur who didn't let the fact that she was human bother him. He was very open-minded, for a centaur. Usually, she had the clearing to herself.

Today, it was occupied. She was stunned to find that the person sitting on her favorite boulder was the one person she least wished to find here. He sat with his legs drawn up, arms crossed over his knees, resting his head on them. His shoulders were shaking. He was crying.

Callie was torn between embarrassment at stumbling upon a weeping Ron Weasley, and a desire to find out what was the matter. It was hard for her to turn away from a creature in distress, and her mother's jealous boyfriend was no exception.

"Mr. Weasley?" she said tentatively. He jumped up, his wand already in his hand. He raised it towards her, and she didn't hesitate.

"Accio wand!" A moment later, she was holding it in her own hand.

"Callie…" his tear-streaked face went red. "I didn't know it was you. I didn't mean anything…"

"I know, Mr. Weasley." She calmly handed him his wand, and sat down on the rock he had just been occupying. "But I startled you, and I didn't want to take any chances."

"That was amazing," he said. "Do you duel much?"

"No, not really. I can field hexes and curses well enough, but I'm not very good at sending them, so there's not much point."

He looked at her, his face suddenly stern. "You shouldn't be in the Forbidden Forest."

"Neither should you. And I must say, you don't look very comfortable here. I think I almost gave you a heart attack."

He shivered, looking around. He still hadn't put his wand away, but gripped it tightly in his hand. "I'm lost."

"Is that why you were crying?"

He looked at her with loathing.

"None of your bloody business. Why are you here, anyway?"

"I like this spot. It's beautiful, don't you think?"

"But it's in the Forbidden Forest!" He looked at her as though she was mad.

"It's still beautiful. Just a bit tricky to navigate sometimes, is all. How did you get lost in here? We're not that far from the edge, you know."

"I… I was walking along the edge, and saw someone I didn't particularly care to talk to, if you must know. I ducked inside the forest for just a moment, then couldn't find my way back out. I've been wandering for hours, I think."

Wondering who it was he didn't want to meet, she replied, "There's a simple confundus charm on the borders away from the main path. Finite confundum, and you're out of here."

"Oh." He knew that should have occurred to him, and it made him feel stupid that it didn't. Callie anticipated this reaction; she'd seen it before with older students, usually boys, many times. She had no desire to give him further cause to dislike her, no matter how irrational the reason, and set herself to soothing his ruffled ego.

"I've known about it since I was very small. I can't tell you how many times I've towed lost seventh years out of here," she said with a smile. "It's one of the advantages of having spent my childhood at Hogwarts. I don't just know the forest; I probably know more secret passages in the castle than your brothers Fred and George."

Ron allowed himself to be assuaged. "So you've heard about them, have you?" He gave her a slight smile.

"At great length. You told me some of the funnier stories, yourself." She knew she wasn't supposed to discuss the future, but she wanted to help this boy accept the shock he'd received. Hermione had reluctantly explained the reason for his antipathy towards her, and while she couldn't wish for her mother to remain with Ron Weasley, and therefore undo her own chance to exist, she hated to see him feel so rejected. Hoping she would do no damage to the future, she went on.

"You and Mrs. Weasley visit us a lot. You've got a boy here in my time, a year below me," she said. He took the bait.

"Mrs. Weasley? Um… anyone I know now?"

"I think so. I've seen her several times since I've been here. I had no idea she played Quidditch when she was at school." She was teasing him, and he knew it. He smiled, and the friendliness in his face was very appealing. She could see now what her mother might have seen in him at one time.

"If you don't spill the beans, I'm going to dunk you in that stream. Who?"

"Cho Chang."

Ron's jaw dropped. "Cho? Harry's Cho?"

"She dated Mr. Potter? I didn't know that," she said, looking disgruntled at having been kept in the dark about such a juicy detail.

"Well, no, they haven't dated, at least not yet. Harry was madly in love with her for awhile, that's all. I think he's mostly over it, but he really hasn't dated anyone else, so I'm not sure. He'd better be over it," he said with a fierce but good-natured growl. "If I'm going to marry her, he'd better keep his hands off. So who does old Scarface end up with, anyway?"

"I think I've told you enough about the future for right now," Callie replied. "How about escorting me back to the castle?"

"It would be my pleasure, Miss Snape." For once, he said the name without a sneer. I think it worked, Callie thought. Ron offered her his arm. "But better yet, why don't you escort me? I quite fancy the idea of getting out of this forest, and not just wandering about without a clue."

All the way back to the castle, he regaled her with some of his twin brothers' more appalling exploits. She had heard most of them before, but his older self had edited out quite a bit, so she listened eagerly. As they reached the entrance, he gave her a quick hug about the shoulders.

"Thanks a lot, Callie, for everything. Hey, Cho!" he called, hurrying away. "Let me get that bag for you!"