Inside the pub they called for a single room and shut the door from Tom, the keeper, as quickly as possible,k though only after Calisto had him bring her a circular mirror. Once inside their room, she had Remus dim the lights while she took a place on the polished wood floor, holding the mirror vertical.
"You have to let your mind open up," Calisto instructed. "Otherwise you won't be able to see...just try not to look too hard...you'll see them when they come." And with that she stopped talking as she began to spin the mirror, faster and faster until it looked like an orb spinning on the floor. The noise grinded, echoing through the room, and Calisto can began to shake, as if she was struggling with an unseen force.
All the while Lupin kept his mind clear, not sure of what he would see, but knowing he would see it when whatever IT was came. And in an instant he saw it. A shimmering of the air above the Calisto and the spinning mirror. At first that's all it was; a shimmer and nothing more. But then it became more clear, as if her were gazing through a window and looking at people inside a house. And there were people too. But they looked more like zombies, half lifeless and grim. They were dirty and there eyes were sunken and dull, and their cheeks were hollow with hunger. Many appeared to be wounded as well, but Remus recoginzed most every one of them.
Suddenly the sound of broken glass filled the room and the mirror lie on the ground, shattered into millions of little shards. Calisto sat there, in the middle of it all, panting. She was drenched with sweat from the effort of opening the window, and she looked almost as bad as the people she showed him.
"Listo, are you alright?" he asked worridly.
"Yeah," she whispered tiredly. "That wasnt as bad as I thought it would be." She seemed very much relieved by this. "I guess I'm getting a little stronger." She smiled weakly as he carried her over to the bed. Calisto was asleep before he even got half way across the room, and with a heavy sigh he covered her up. The poor child was so unlucky, even more so than him, he thought. Sure he had to live with his curse 24/7 like she did, but he only had to endure the brunt of his pain once a month. Calisto had to deal with her's much more, whenever it chose, and then to show him what she saw almost all the time. She sighed and rolled onto her side, curling up, and Remus relaxed a bit, knowing she would be fine with some much needed rest.
"I'm going downstairs for a quick drink," He whispered in Calisto's ear. "I'll be right back, I promise." She sighed lightly, as if to acknowledge his words, and the former professor tip-toed out of the room and walked down to the bottom of the stairs where a cloaked figure was waiting.
"Remus Lupin?" they asked in a course whisper.
"I'm sorry, you must have mistaken me," Lupin lied, trying to walk by. But the man blocked Lupin's path, as short and stubby as he was.
"I wouldnt have mistaken the little imp that was with you," he pressed. "Don't worry I'm not here to turn you in. The last thing I want to see is that bastard get his hands on the girl."
"You know her father?" Remus inquired lightly.
"I had the unfortunate duty of working for him for many years," the man answered. "But why dont we continue this in a private parlor. I already have one reserved." He led Remus to a small parlor in the far corner, away from anyone else who might be roaming in and about. "I have some important information to give to you, as I guess you have found out about her...abilities?" Lupin nodded. "I can help you."
"I'll right, I'll listen," Remus agreed after a moment's thought. "But I'm warning you now, I was betrayed once by someone exactly like you. If you even think of doublecrossing I'll kill you without second thought and then they will actually have a crime to pin on me. Understand?"
"Perfectly," he agreed. "By the way, my name is Stadey." Remus just gave him a cold stare. "Ah yes...anyways. Where should I begin.. umm..okay. When Calisto was boen she was pretty much without magic. She had an occasional hopeful spurt here and there but it pretty much died out before she was five. And with her mother dead, her father pretty much whent nutters. Set about trying to cure his heir from being a suib. It started out innocent enough, trying to find a way to give her magical power...but then he went bad. Started to work for the dark lord and Calisto became his guinea pig. What he did I cant imagine...I dont want to..." He paused for a moment.
"Continue," Remus ordered softly.
"Well, he began to kidnapp people to drain energy from...he'd found some sort of source, even in muggle, which is what he used for a long time. He'd kidnap them off the streets and trap them in this sort of realm. There's a hall of his manor lined with the mirrors that trap them...you can see their shadows when you walk past. Anyways...he thought that all hi work on Calisto was a failure. He hadn't a clue of these abilities. But some of us...we knew...even though we didn't let on that we knew. Some of the staff took readngs of her brainwaves from a distance you could say, using a mix of muggle technology and magic. We found something interesting."
"And what was that?" Lupin questioned.
"Well, it was a new sort of brainwave, I guess is one way of putting it. Its almost like that of qwhen a person is in REM sleep, except the near opposite. Its more than that...a living dream. She sees what's going on through the eyes of the person and what befalls them befalls her. If they get cut, she bleeds from their wounds, their blood. The other staff member started calling them Omega waves because they would be the end of her." Stadey gave a shakey smile when he thought of the "Alpha to Omega" pun the staff had put to the girl, but it faded at Remus's look. "Er...the only problem is the Omega waves priduce a great deal of stress on her heart," he continued.
"So as the waves are produced in her mind they put her at risk of heart attack," Remus stated.
"Yeah," Stadey nodded. "And her father's beginning to pick up on it. He knows that the little imp knows what he's doing and that she'll find a way to break that truth locking charm he put on her. I know that he'll kill me too, when and if he finds out I was telling you this. He'll try to kill her too...using the Omega waves if he can figure it out. He hasn't realized yet that everytime he does something to those captives, he does something to her, even if its the smallest thing. But he learns fast."
"And what would you sugest doing?" Remus inquired with a touch of sarcasim.
"Show the ministry the truth," Stadey answered. "Get Calisto's father and the ministry people together in one spot and let them know the truth."
"And without any hard evidence I'll find myself in Azakaban and Listo wil end up back with him."
Stadey shook his head no and said, "Go to Flourish and Blotts tomorrow and at the counter say, "I need a book on dream reading. Keep your hood covering your face so they dont panic. The shopkeeper will hand you a file entitled the Omega Project. That's your proof. And Calisot will figure out her own way to spill the truth...knowing her. After all...she's made it this far right? And that is where I shall leave you, Mr. Lupin. Before the imp wakes up to find you gone." He rose from the table, bowed, and hurried away, leaving Remus to think about the tale just told. If it was true, then Calisto was in a lot more danger than he had ever thought possible.
"You have to let your mind open up," Calisto instructed. "Otherwise you won't be able to see...just try not to look too hard...you'll see them when they come." And with that she stopped talking as she began to spin the mirror, faster and faster until it looked like an orb spinning on the floor. The noise grinded, echoing through the room, and Calisto can began to shake, as if she was struggling with an unseen force.
All the while Lupin kept his mind clear, not sure of what he would see, but knowing he would see it when whatever IT was came. And in an instant he saw it. A shimmering of the air above the Calisto and the spinning mirror. At first that's all it was; a shimmer and nothing more. But then it became more clear, as if her were gazing through a window and looking at people inside a house. And there were people too. But they looked more like zombies, half lifeless and grim. They were dirty and there eyes were sunken and dull, and their cheeks were hollow with hunger. Many appeared to be wounded as well, but Remus recoginzed most every one of them.
Suddenly the sound of broken glass filled the room and the mirror lie on the ground, shattered into millions of little shards. Calisto sat there, in the middle of it all, panting. She was drenched with sweat from the effort of opening the window, and she looked almost as bad as the people she showed him.
"Listo, are you alright?" he asked worridly.
"Yeah," she whispered tiredly. "That wasnt as bad as I thought it would be." She seemed very much relieved by this. "I guess I'm getting a little stronger." She smiled weakly as he carried her over to the bed. Calisto was asleep before he even got half way across the room, and with a heavy sigh he covered her up. The poor child was so unlucky, even more so than him, he thought. Sure he had to live with his curse 24/7 like she did, but he only had to endure the brunt of his pain once a month. Calisto had to deal with her's much more, whenever it chose, and then to show him what she saw almost all the time. She sighed and rolled onto her side, curling up, and Remus relaxed a bit, knowing she would be fine with some much needed rest.
"I'm going downstairs for a quick drink," He whispered in Calisto's ear. "I'll be right back, I promise." She sighed lightly, as if to acknowledge his words, and the former professor tip-toed out of the room and walked down to the bottom of the stairs where a cloaked figure was waiting.
"Remus Lupin?" they asked in a course whisper.
"I'm sorry, you must have mistaken me," Lupin lied, trying to walk by. But the man blocked Lupin's path, as short and stubby as he was.
"I wouldnt have mistaken the little imp that was with you," he pressed. "Don't worry I'm not here to turn you in. The last thing I want to see is that bastard get his hands on the girl."
"You know her father?" Remus inquired lightly.
"I had the unfortunate duty of working for him for many years," the man answered. "But why dont we continue this in a private parlor. I already have one reserved." He led Remus to a small parlor in the far corner, away from anyone else who might be roaming in and about. "I have some important information to give to you, as I guess you have found out about her...abilities?" Lupin nodded. "I can help you."
"I'll right, I'll listen," Remus agreed after a moment's thought. "But I'm warning you now, I was betrayed once by someone exactly like you. If you even think of doublecrossing I'll kill you without second thought and then they will actually have a crime to pin on me. Understand?"
"Perfectly," he agreed. "By the way, my name is Stadey." Remus just gave him a cold stare. "Ah yes...anyways. Where should I begin.. umm..okay. When Calisto was boen she was pretty much without magic. She had an occasional hopeful spurt here and there but it pretty much died out before she was five. And with her mother dead, her father pretty much whent nutters. Set about trying to cure his heir from being a suib. It started out innocent enough, trying to find a way to give her magical power...but then he went bad. Started to work for the dark lord and Calisto became his guinea pig. What he did I cant imagine...I dont want to..." He paused for a moment.
"Continue," Remus ordered softly.
"Well, he began to kidnapp people to drain energy from...he'd found some sort of source, even in muggle, which is what he used for a long time. He'd kidnap them off the streets and trap them in this sort of realm. There's a hall of his manor lined with the mirrors that trap them...you can see their shadows when you walk past. Anyways...he thought that all hi work on Calisto was a failure. He hadn't a clue of these abilities. But some of us...we knew...even though we didn't let on that we knew. Some of the staff took readngs of her brainwaves from a distance you could say, using a mix of muggle technology and magic. We found something interesting."
"And what was that?" Lupin questioned.
"Well, it was a new sort of brainwave, I guess is one way of putting it. Its almost like that of qwhen a person is in REM sleep, except the near opposite. Its more than that...a living dream. She sees what's going on through the eyes of the person and what befalls them befalls her. If they get cut, she bleeds from their wounds, their blood. The other staff member started calling them Omega waves because they would be the end of her." Stadey gave a shakey smile when he thought of the "Alpha to Omega" pun the staff had put to the girl, but it faded at Remus's look. "Er...the only problem is the Omega waves priduce a great deal of stress on her heart," he continued.
"So as the waves are produced in her mind they put her at risk of heart attack," Remus stated.
"Yeah," Stadey nodded. "And her father's beginning to pick up on it. He knows that the little imp knows what he's doing and that she'll find a way to break that truth locking charm he put on her. I know that he'll kill me too, when and if he finds out I was telling you this. He'll try to kill her too...using the Omega waves if he can figure it out. He hasn't realized yet that everytime he does something to those captives, he does something to her, even if its the smallest thing. But he learns fast."
"And what would you sugest doing?" Remus inquired with a touch of sarcasim.
"Show the ministry the truth," Stadey answered. "Get Calisto's father and the ministry people together in one spot and let them know the truth."
"And without any hard evidence I'll find myself in Azakaban and Listo wil end up back with him."
Stadey shook his head no and said, "Go to Flourish and Blotts tomorrow and at the counter say, "I need a book on dream reading. Keep your hood covering your face so they dont panic. The shopkeeper will hand you a file entitled the Omega Project. That's your proof. And Calisot will figure out her own way to spill the truth...knowing her. After all...she's made it this far right? And that is where I shall leave you, Mr. Lupin. Before the imp wakes up to find you gone." He rose from the table, bowed, and hurried away, leaving Remus to think about the tale just told. If it was true, then Calisto was in a lot more danger than he had ever thought possible.