So you have braved my terrible spelling, heinous titles and suspicious use of punctuation to read another part. Sheez, you are brave.
Disclaimer - All JK's stuff belongs to her. All the rest belongs to me.
Disclaimer - All JK's stuff belongs to her. All the rest belongs to me.
(twice because I forgot to do a disclaimer last time)
Well, almost all the rest. I think someone else penned the organization 'the League against the Dark Arts,' but I didn't realize it till now when I am writing this intro. SORRY! To whoever actually invented the title.
You know, this story is lots like a person trying to row a boat with only one oar. You set it up to go one way, and all of a sudden it's veering off in another direction. So you set it up again, and what happens? So in a few chapters you might finally discover something all good writers are familiar with - it's called a plotline. Sorry about the lack of one so far, and this chapter does nothing to remedy this problem.
And sorry this has taken me a while - I got Laryngitis, Bronchitis, a Strep throat and the Flu all at the same time, and whattya know, over my Calculus exam! Thanks to all the people who wished me well - you were probably the only reason I didn't break onto tears halfway through the paper, as about a quarter of my class were doing.
Yes, it was that bad.
The Dux of our school (90's in the tests) came out thinking she had failed. I didn't even attempt 51 percent of the paper - somehow, I think I failed. Whaddya rekon? But I'm holding out for Compassionate Consideration, thanks to my doctor's certificate, which is made out that I was dying. Nice guy, that doctor. Well, anyway, enough about me and on with the story!!
The door swung open and Remus strolled in. Calypso stared at his retreating back.
Who is in there? She thought. The doctor and nurse had both hinted that she had important visitors.....she noticed a sign on the door that read 'Director's Private Study'. Calypso's spirits sank. Oh no, she thought desperately. I'll be in trouble about that streaking thing.......
She took a deep, controlled breath and took one hesitant step forward. Whatever was in her stomach seemed to be boiling, splashing and churning. Remus' face peered back over his shoulder and gave her an encouraging smile. Calypso gave a watery one back. She gathered her nerve and took three hurried steps through the open doorway to stand next to Remus' shoulder, robes swishing around her ankles.
They were standing in a beautiful, barrel-vaulted room, inlaid with wood and surrounded with heavy oak bookcases. The windows were high up the wall and in the old tradition of Gothic architecture, only let in enough light for the study to be bathed in a mellow, warm glow. At a long table flanked with plush velvet chairs in the center of the room, seated were two men. In the dim lighting, Calypso could not make out any features, but saw one of the men get up from his chair and walk soundlessly over the thick Persian rug to them.
"Mr. Lupin! Ms Grey!" it exclaimed
Calypso flashed a look to Remus, and saw him rather taken aback.
"Cor....Mr. Fudge!" stammered Remus. "I didn't expect you to be here...."
The portly man approaching brushed past Remus and straight to Calypso. Seizing her hand, he shook it enthusiastically. Calypso's eyes were slowly adjusting to the dim interior of the study, and could now see who was pumping her hand vigorously. He was a short, stocky man of about fifty or sixty. Wearing a green pinstriped cloak with matching purple robes he could be nothing but a wizard. He reminded Calypso of a teddy bear. A rather pompous teddy bear.
"...to see you are all right, we were somewhat worried that..." he blabbered on, still shaking her hand.
Calypso found her voice.
"You are Cornelius Fudge, aren't you? The prime minister for magic or something like that?" she suddenly cut in to his stream of words.
He looked mildly miffed. "Minister of Magic, actually. Lovely so know I'm so famous even in Australia, anyhow."
The other wizard sitting at the table cleared his throat audibly.
Fudge looked confused for a second.
"Oh yes....I was just leaving....lovely seeing you all alright." He shook Calypso's hand again and bustled out of the room.
Calypso gave Remus a look of incredulity.
"How did you elect an idiot like HIM to be your minister? Jeez...." She said, shaking her head.
"Because Dumbledore wouldn't take the job." He replied.
The wizard sitting at the other end of the table spoke up.
"If you are going to talk about me, at least come closer so I can defend myself" he said in a soft, amused voice.
Calypso looked at him, startled, and started walking forward.
"DUMBLEDORE? You're joking! Really?" she exclaimed
Dumbledore flicked his wand and two chairs opposite him moved back.
"Sit" he said amicably.
Calypso did that, careful to sweep her robes out from under her before sitting down. Robes, she thought, were neat, but you had to be careful not to stand on their hem or sit on them and crease them. She wondered for a second if the hospital would want these robes back - they were very comfy, and she was rather partial to navy.
Calypso looked carefully at the man sitting across the table from her as Remus took his seat. Dumbledore was an old man, approaching eighty or so, Calypso guessed. His gray beard stretched to his waist, and his hair disappeared over his shoulders, which were draped in deep blue robes, embroidered with silver stars and moons. Blue eyes raked her up and down from behind half-moon glasses.
"So you must be Calypso Grey." His wrinkled, weather-beaten face morphed into a smile, and his eyes twinkled.
Calypso gave him a suspicious stare.
"Are you REALLY Dumbledore?" she accused him, much like a five-year old child.
Dumbledore gave a small laugh.
"If there is another Dumbledore out there somewhere, please let me know."
"Yes, this is the one and only Albus Dumbledore" Remus said. "What do you know of him?"
Calypso leaned forward.
"Only the most powerful and respected wizard of this decade. Defeated Grindewald in 1945, and brought a end to World War II. Orchestrated the resistance against Voldemort during his evil reign. Reputed to be the only wizard Voldemort was scared of. Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft. Famous alchemist. Uhhhhh, what else?" she recited.
Remus grinned.
"You missed out, 'all-round nice guy'."
Dumbledore looked thoughtful.
"You were right, Remus. She would do well." He murmured.
Dumbledore and Remus exchanged looks.
Calypso looked puzzled.
Before Remus or Dumbledore could say anything more, Calypso cut in.
"Before we go any further with this conversation, thrilling as it is, could someone please explain what the hell has been going on?" she implored, looking from Dumbledore to Remus.
Remus gave Dumbledore another look, and Dumbledore nodded his head briefly.
Remus swiveled around on his velvet-covered seat to face a bemused Calypso.
"It's not public news yet, the ministry is trying to keep it under wraps, but..." he shot another look at Dumbledore, who gave another small nod, " about three weeks ago, Lord Voldemort resurrected himself to his former strength and rounded up all his old Death Eaters."
"I know that" interrupted Calypso. "In a graveyard somewhere."
Dumbledore quickly turned around to Calypso, a guarded look on his face.
"How do you know that?" he demanded
Calypso tapped the side of her head.
"I'm not a seer for nothing." She replied. "I dreamed parts of it."
Remus gave Dumbledore yet another look, which irked Calypso no end.
"Well, anyway, in the three weeks since he regained his strength, eight wizards and forty-three muggles have been killed. Fifty-two muggles, with the nine that were killed at Peachgrove Village." He continued.
"Woah, hold it there" Calypso interrupted. "This is what I want to know about. Why Peachgrove Village?"
Remus sighed, and paused before continuing.
"You know, on the road, when you met those men in robes when you went for that walk with Snuffles?"
"Uhhuh....."
"They were Death Eaters. They'd come looking for my house, hopefully to destroy it, because we periodically use it for headquarters for the League. League against the Dark Arts, that is" he added, seeing the confused look on Calypso's face. "You sent them the wrong way, they realized it and got a little peeved. So to vent their anger, they decided to blow up the shopping district of Peachgrove Village on a Saturday morning and kill a few hundred muggles and hopefully, intimidate us." He said wryly. "Didn't quite work to plan, though. You called in that bomb threat, and they evacuated the place in time. Only nine muggles, six of them policemen, died. Sixty-eight were injured though." He added grimly. "When I heard at work that the department for Magical Catastrophes lot were setting off to Peachgrove Village pronto, well, I hitched a ride and found you and Snuffles unconscious in the alley. I got you shipped off to St. Mungos, and took Snuffles home."
"Hate to interrupt again, but how is Snuffles?"
Remus smiled. "Fine. He was only concussed in the explosion, because he never hit the fence like you did. He hit you instead. So he's fine. He broke a couple of your ribs, I hear." He added jovially.
"Hmmmmm.........he'll pay......." Calypso grumbled under her breath, rubbing her ribcage.
"Calypso, how did you know that the Village was about to be attacked?" asked Dumbledore quietly. He had been silent up to now, listening carefully to the conversation.
"Had a vision at the Checkouts" Calypso said offhandedly. "Actually....how the hell do you know that it was me that phoned in the bomb threat? She accused, looking at Dumbledore suspiciously.
"As you may have realized, Snuffles is a very...erm...unique dog. I can..." Remus started to speak
"Oh, don't tell me, Snuffles talks as well!" cut in Calypso, exasperated
"No, through a spell only." Corrected Remus gently.
"Hmph." Was all Calypso had to say about that.
"So what did your vision entail?" asked Dumbledore again in a soft voice.
Calypso explained in vivid detail what she had seen, and then roughly described what had happened next.
Dumbledore and Remus both sat back and thought for a few seconds. Calypso took the opportunity to look into Dumbledore's eyes. They were, to anyone else, just cool blue, icy eyes. But Calypso saw further.
He was old and tired, yet still fighting strong. Wisdom, talent. A humanitarian. Kind, caring, lonely. Worried, overworked, stressed, responsible, trustworthy......Calypso had only begun to look hard when Dumbledore snapped his head around and broke contact.
"What happened here at the Hospital this morning?" he asked.
Calypso blushed beet red again and grimaced.
"I had a dream......" she said, and recounted her tale. "...and then everyone started yelling and stuff, and a nurse dragged me into another room, and, well, here I am." She concluded.
"Rastafarian monkeys? Whaa?" exclaimed Remus
Dumbledore looked confused.
"I must admit, I do not understand..."
Calypso cut them off. "Some of my dreams are more figurative than literal. I don't think there really was a dreadlocked monkey jumping in that man's chest, it was just a sorta poetic interpretation if you get what I'm going on about."
Dumbledore made a little 'ahhah' noise and Remus leaned back on his chair.
"Regardless, you saved Mundungus's life."
"Who?" asked Calypso, laughing. "Mundungus?"
"Mundungus Fletcher. An old friend of mine, and a member of the League." Said Dumbledore softly.
"You wizards have such funny names - Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, Mundungus Fletcher, Dr Cortex the brain surgeon.... Can't say I can talk, with a name like Calypso.....anyway, what kind of curse was that on him?"
"We don't know" said Remus tersely.
There was a few moment's silence.
"Remus said you were a true seer" said Dumbledore, breaking the silence.
"You betcha." Agreed Calypso.
Remus gave Dumbledore another one of those looks.
"Calypso, I'll make this brief. At the moment, we are loosing the battle against Voldemort. They are one jump ahead of us. What...."
Calypso interrupted again.
"Oh let me guess, you want me to be your little pet seer and tell you all about the future and make you win. Sorry honey, I don't think so. I'm not a pawn. It doesn't work like that. I don't take sides, and I don't screw with the future. If you are going to loose, even if you are the 'good guys', I'm not going to change that. Unless I have dreams or prophecies, I'm not doing jack." She spat, voice dripping with restrained anger.
Remus looked shocked, and Dumbledore suddenly looked very tired.
"Well, it was worth a try..." he started.
Suddenly in the back of Calypso's head, there was a little voice that piped up.
Bitch, it said clearly.
Stop being a stubborn little hormone-charged cow and help them, dipshit.
"AAAARUGH!" yelled Calypso suddenly, making Remus jump. "I thought I got rid of that fucking buzz!"
God you are stubborn, it said. You want a vision, here's a vision.
Calypso's eyes drooped and her head fell with a resounding smack onto the polished wooden table, making the candelabras above rattle.
Calypso was sitting in a room - someone's lounge/dining room/kitchen. There was a large table in the middle, and there were about sixteen people seated around it, including herself. She was holding a clipboard, and a feather quill. Looking up, she could see Dumbledore speaking, but could hear nothing.
She opened her eyes to see his half-moon spectacles only an inch away from her nose and a rough beard tickling her chin.
"Woah. That was trippy." She said quietly.
"You okay?" said Remus, concerned.
"Urgh, yeah, fine, just a little nauseous." She replied as Dumbledore sat her up. He looked straight into her eyes.
"What was that?" he asked sternly.
Calypso blinked.
"A vision - a very strange one at that. I think the buzz gave it to me." She said in a wavering voice. "I was in the living room of someone's house, and you were there and you too," looking at Dumbledore and then Remus, " and there were all these other people."
"What did the other people look like?" asked Remus gently.
Calypso screwed up her eyes.
"An old lady with glasses and her hair in a bun, two guys with shocker red hair - one was balding and the other looked like a punk, umm...a sallow-faced guy with shoulder-length black hair, a guy with a scrubby brown beard, a really old lady with heaps of wrinkles and a walking stick....and some others. Do you know them?" she asked.
Remus gave a smile. "I think you just described Minerva McGonagall, Arthur Weasly, Bill Weasly, Severus Snape, Amos Diggory and Arabella Figg.
Calypso gave him a blank stare.
"I think you saw out next League meeting." Said Dumbledore gently, with a smile. "And since you were in it, I have a feeling that that was the vision you just declared that you would need to have before you would join us."
Calypso blinked a few times, and then gave a growl and smacked her head hard.
"What are you doing that for?" cried Lupin.
"Bloody buzz. And now it has a voice, so it's verbally abusing me as well." She grumbled.
"Calypso, how old are you?" asked Dumbledore suddenly.
"Eighteen" replied Calypso, surprised.
"Will it be a problem getting in contact with your parents?"
"Hell yes. They're six feet under. I would deem that a problem." She said, unruffled.
Dumbledore was momentarily flustered. "Do you have any family then?" he asked
Calypso nodded. "I have two sisters -we're triplets, actually. My sister Melody is blind, and Aria has Down's Syndrome. They always had problems finding us foster homes - I mean, who wants to take in a blind girl, an intellectually disabled girl, and me, who had 'epilepsy'?" Calypso regretted saying the words as soon as they had left her mouth. Shouldn't get them mixed up in this, she thought. Shut your mouth girl.
"Oh. I'm sorry" he said, and did look sorry for her, which annoyed Calypso.
"Why should you be? I have the greatest sisters in the whole wide world, blind and disabled as they are. I couldn't have picked better mates if I had tried" she said tartly.
Dumbledore looked uncomfortable, and cleared his throat. "Well, you are no longer a ward of the state, so that's what matters. I hereby officially extend to you the formal offer to join the League against the Dark Arts."
Calypso turned to look at Remus.
"I 'spose this is when I graciously accept." She said.
Remus nodded.
"One problem." She said.
"What?" said Remus, surprised.
"It's too easy. Nothing in life comes easy, and this is too easy. I've been in England for all of a week, and you're offering me a job. You know there's something 'dark' in my past, bad enough to get me banned from being a Witch, and you don't even seem to care. You're mad. You don't know anything at all about me. Hell, Calypso Grey might not be my real name, sweets. I could be a Death Eater drinking Polyjuice Potion for all you know. It's crazy. And I don't have anywhere to stay." She added.
'Stay with me. I get a bit lonely just with me and my dog." Offered Remus kindly.
Calypso grinned, and her insides leapt for joy.
"R...really? You don't mind?" she stuttered.
Remus smiled back.
"Not at all."
Dumbledore spoke up quietly.
"Whatever you did to get banished is your own personal business. Your credentials are your achievements in the past few days, Calypso. We have ways, now, to weed out Polyjuice Drinkers, so that's not an issue. And to be frightfully honest, we are desperate."
Calypso looked back at Dumbledore and his eyes. Looking back into them, at length, she relented.
"Okay then. I hereby formally accept to being your pet seer. But I don't do tarot card readings for amusement, and I won't read palms during coffee breaks, okay?"
Dumbledore have her a brilliant smile and Remus reached over and squeezed her hand.
Calypso seemed dazed. A sudden thought occurred to her.
"Erm, hope you don't mind me asking, but what exactly does this League do?"
Dumbledore blinked.
"Oh...we take up the role of Aurors, since the Ministry hasn't officially declared that Voldemort has risen, they only have three official ones. That's what Fudge was doing in here before - I was trying to convince him to make it public. These rumors flying around only spread the panic." He sighed, and took off his spectacles and started cleaning them on the edge of his robes, while staring at the ceiling.
"I know this must sound stupid, but what are Aurors?"
Remus answered her question this time, as Dumbledore was lost in a melancholy world of his own.
"Aurors are Dark Wizard catchers. In a nutshell, the League works against Voldemort, protecting people, muggles and wizards, and undermining his efforts. We call ourselves Phoenixes. At the moment, though, we are struggling just to protect ourselves." He added glumly. "Can you see why we need you so much?"
Calypso shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
Dumbledore had snapped out of his solitary daydream and turned to face Remus.
"When is the next meeting scheduled?" he asked.
Remus racked his brains.
"Thursday night, Maria's house in Diagon Alley."
Dumbledore nodded. "Good time for Calypso to meet the rest of the crowd. I'll see you there." Blue eyes were lost in a thoughtful mist.
Remus and Calypso took that as a farewell, and with a nod, got up out of their chairs and walked towards the end of the study. Remus had his hand on the doorhandle when Dumbledore spoke up again.
"Calypso..."
Calypso turned around and looked at the thoughtful old man sitting at the other end of the Gothic study. He looked familiar. Very familiar. Where had she seen him?
"Calypso, would you be able to write down any visions or dreams that you have in a book somewhere? Even little things you may think are insignificant may be highly relevant to us."
"One step ahead of you, mate. I already have a book of dreams. But I'll keep updating it for you. Actually....I'll check out all the dreams and stuff I had since Voldemort rose. See if anything interesting turns up." She suggested helpfully.
Dumbledore gave her another brilliant smile, and it seemed to Calypso that a burden had been lifted from his shoulders since she had agreed to join the League.
"I can't promise anything though, Div is like that, and I only usually have about one vision or dream a week on average. Dunno what's going on at the mo."
"See you on Thursday." Dumbledore said finally.
Outside the study, Calypso squinted in the bright light of the waiting room. It was much brighter in there than in the delightfully mellow lighting of the study. And much hotter, too. Calypso concluded that there were a lot of parallels in muggle hospitals and in wizard hospitals, from the nightgowns to the sheets to the lino, and to the crappy architecture of the general wards and the opulence of the Director's wing.
When her eyes were used to the light, she could see the bubbly little nurse sitting on one of the seats engrossed in what looked like a dog-eared Mills and Boon.
"Dot! Good to see you!" exclaimed Remus.
The nurse wrenched herself away from her paperback and met Remus's eyes
"Golly, Remus Lupin! Have you aged well or what! A few streaks of grey I see though....that Maria's doing?" she said joyfully.
The two lapsed into what promised to be a lengthy reunion, and Calypso took a chair. Bored, she began toying with her hair, and quickly discovered when she picked up a strand or bunch of hair and twisted, pulled or twirled it, upon dropping it the hair would always fall back onto its place perfectly. Amazed, she scrubbed her fingers through her hair and watched and blonde strands floated back into a tidy silken river running down her back to her shoulder blades. It looked, Calypso thought in amazement, like it had just been brushed. Cool. Wish I was a witch and did this sort of stuff, she thought longingly.
She suddenly felt very depressed and tired and homesick. Homesick? She though. I'm eighteen, and I'm feeling homesick? God, grow up girl.
To take her mind off thoughts of home, she picked up the Mills and Boon that Nurse Dot had dropped. Entitled 'Brittle Bondage' and with a moving picture of two people (that you couldn't see due to all the steam) on the cover, Calypso started reading as Dot and Remus yabbered away happily.
Calypso had reached chapter seven, where the haughty, beautiful, yet troubled witch had just met the spunky, rich, sensitive wizard and brushed him off for the first time, when a small owl flew out of the ceiling and landed on the arm of Dot's chair, hooting softly. Dot broke off in the middle of her sentence and plucking the note from the owl's leg, quickly scanned it.
"Ooh, new admissions for Ward Three. Gotta run."
She got up and gave Remus a hug.
"Lovley seeing you again, though, Remus. Call by again some time, won't you?"
"I will be around a bit - when does Calypso get discharged?"
Dot shrugged.
"Today is Sunday, she should be out by Tuesday, Monday maybe if nothing goes wrong. I'll keep you informed. You still live at your parent's old place?"
Remus nodded.
"Great then!" she said brightly. "You..." gesturing towards Calypso, "Come with me, love."
Following Dot obediently down the corridors, Calypso thought about what she had just done. Her motto was never to take sides, and thanks to the buzz, she was now aligned with the League. Not that it was a bad thing - the League members were obviously the 'good guys' and fighting against Voldemort sounded like a morally good thing to do. And being a Phoenix sounded cool. Something told her that she couldn't be a neutral party in this struggle. Not this time. But still she felt uncomfortable. Why? She asked herself. Stupid, a few days ago you were lost and miserable and now you have a job and a place to stay. You are working with Albus Dumbledore for God's sake! And Remus is sweet. You have saved countless lives. They want you, and need you. What more could you ask for?
My friends, she replied. Suddenly it hit her like a sack of wet sand in the pit of her stomach. She was lonely. Incredibly lonely. She missed her sisters and her foster brothers and sisters. God, three months was a long time to be on your own. She had always craved time be herself - she had often spent weeks with only her horse and her dog up in the ranges - but it was different now. A lone wolf, they had teased her, when she returned. But even a lone wolf longs to run with a pack.
Caught up in her thoughts, she walked straight into Dot's back when she stopped unannounced.
"Oof! Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was go....." she started apologetically.
But Dot would hear none of it, and shooed her into the ward and her bed.
"Just go to sleep dear. I'll be back tomorrow. So will Dr. Cortex." And with a wink, she had scurried out of the ward again before Calypso could open her mouth.
Sitting in her squeaky hospital bed, surrounded by rows of other identical beds and muted explosions coming from the other end of the ward, Calypso could not go to sleep. She looked around instead.
About half of the beds were filled with patients, aged from three to eighty-three. Over the aisle from her was a sleeping five-year old, with his exhausted mother slumped over the end of the bed, fast asleep also, her pointed hat askew and her mouth open, snoring lightly.
In the bed next to Calypso was a grumpy old warlock who was reading a newspaper and completely ignoring everyone else. The bed on the other side was empty.
Leaning forward, she looked for the source of the explosions. It was from two twelve-year old kids playing a game of snap on the trolley between their beds. With every 'snap' there was a small explosion, which rattled the trolley. And the nerves of the witch in the bed opposite them, going by the evil expression she flashed at them over the top of her magazine.
Calypso was bored. She had nothing except her robes, and they didn't make very interesting reading. Plucking up her courage, she turned to the grumpy looking wizard in the bed next to her and asked politely if she could read the newspaper after he had finished with it. To her surprise, he pulled his face into a smile of sorts and gave her the front section.
Plumping up her rock-solid pillows and stacking them behind her back, Calypso shook out the front page to see a huge, moving photograph of what was left of Peachgrove Village, and the image of the skull in the sky above.
"DEATH EATERS STRIKE VILLAGE?" screamed the headline.
"Yesterday morning at 11.52AM, the isolated muggle township of Peachgrove Village was partially destroyed by a fierce magical explosion centered over the shopping district. Witnesses say that the explosion was brief but intense, and afterwards the Dark Mark was seen in the air over the center of the blast.
The Daily Prophet reports that muggle investigators believe that this was an IRA bomb, as a bomb threat was apparently called in twenty minutes before the explosion. This allowed muggle law enforcement people to evacuate the area, a move that probably kept the causalties down to the eight reported dead so far. Over eighty are reported injured, and with some in critical condition at muggle hospitals, the death toll is likley to rise. No magical peoples are reported injured.
This case if baffling the Department for Magical Catastrophes, who claim that while the explosion was defiantly magical, there was indeed a bomb threat. "We are definitely confused. This is a rather remarkable case." Said Department head Graham Lawton. "The attack was carried out at a time when there were the most people in the vicinity, Sunday morning market day, so the aim was definitely to kill - then why ring in a bomb threat and save everyone?"
You Daily Prophet reporter wonders if there is a mole in the newly-resurrected Death Eater society. If that is the case, why the warning?
The Death Eaters have been most active ever since their first showing at the Quiddich World Cup where they restricted their magic merely to tormenting muggles and shooting the Dark Mark into the sky. Yet, in the past few weeks, they have become much more cocky......"
The article continued in this vein for some time, low on facts and high in opinion. It continued onto page five, and linked to a small article on page thirty-three in the Muggle section about the new cracks in the Northern Ireland peace process.
Calypso breathed a sigh of relief. There was no mention of her in the whole article. She looked up and leant forward to see down to the end of the ward and out the window. The sky was sapphire-blue and there was only a few stringy clouds in the sky. Calypso flopped back onto her bed. Stuck in hospital when the weather outside was perfect!
By dinnertime, Calypso had read all of the other patient's newspapers, books, and magazines, and had played fourteen rounds of Exploding Snap with the twelve-year olds, loosing nine. When the dinner trolley arrived, pushed by a glum looking nurse in pastel green robes, Calypso was starving. She jumped back into bed and awaited her plate eagerly. When it was dumped onto her lap, Calypso sniffed it cautiously. It was, according to the nurse, 'Beef Rissoles with Cheesy Potato bake' but it looked like baby vomit to Calypso. And smelt like it. Still, she was starving and so reluctantly shoveled it down her throat before the taste could catch up with her, copying the rest of the patients in the ward. Again, Calypso marveled at the parallels between the muggle and wizarding hospitals. Even the food is crappy.
At least they can't ruin jelly and icecream, she thought positively when dessert was brought around.
Lights went out at half past eight, to Calypso's horror.
Oh well, she thought, at least I don't have to make polite conversation with the other patients any more. She lay down in her creaky bed and moved around, trying to find a comfy spot, but only succeeded in making the bed graunch and moan. Sighing, she tried to go to sleep.
The next morning, Calypso was humming as she strolled down the corridors. She had seen the brain specialist, who gave her a clean bill of health, and gave instructions for her discharge. She had nothing to pack, and never bothered returning to the ward. She went straight to the reception, and asked the red-robed receptionist if she could get in touch with Dot. The receptionist nodded, short brown hair swishing, and obtained a small owl to fetch Dot, who turned up within three minutes, as rosy as ever.
"Morning, dear? Feeling better?"
"Yeah, fine thanks Dot. Look, I was wondering if you knew where I could get in touch with Remus Lupin....."
Dot cut her off.
"He's stopping by at noon to pick you up."
Calypso looked momentarily flustered.
"Oh. It's nine fifteen now, what am I going to do till then?"
Dot sucked her lip, thinking.
"You any good at potion brewing?" she asked hesitantly.
Calypso nodded.
Dot beamed at her.
"Excellent, we are all a bit rushed here, and we are short on some essential potions. Mind helping?"
So Calypso found herself out the back of the vast marble dispensary, surrounded by herbs, liquids, dissected animals, powders and minerals and four enormous cauldrons, brewing simultaneously, Pepperup potion, Dreamless Sleep Potion, Burn Cream and Skele-grow.
She was just lifting the Burn Cream off the fire to stir it again when Remus walked in the door.
"Oh hi. Give me 10, will ya, and these will be ready." she said over her shoulder, and stirred the thick blue muck in the cauldron.
Remus walked over to stand beside her.
"What are you doing?" he asked curiously.
"Brewing Burn Cream, Dreamless Sleep Potion..." pointing to a clear, bubbling liquid in another cauldron sitting over the fire, "...Skele-grow..." pointing to the cauldron sitting on the bench filled with a dull green slop, "...and Pepperup Potion." nodding her head towards the final cauldron, which was filled with a watery red liquid, boiling and churning even though it was no longer over the fire.
Remus raised his eyebrows.
"I'm impressed."
Calypso grinned like a Cheshire Cat.
"Told ya I was good at Potions." she said proudly.
At that moment, Dot walked into the brewerey and upon seeing the potions, exclaimed with delight.
"Brill! That's just great darl! Here, I'll take over - what have you got left to do?"
"The Burn Cream is almost read, it just needs another five minutes over heat, the beetle's eyes need adding, and a bit more stirring. The others are done. Oh, I increased the concentration of the Dreamless Sleep Potion three fold, so when you activate it with rosewater, you need to use a third less. And a third less when you use the cream as well." She leant over the cauldron she was stirring and peered at the contents. "The Burn Cream is a bit runny, I'd add a touch more Dandelions. But then it needs a good beating if you want a smooth consistency."
Dot grabbed the stirring rod and poked the cream experimentally.
"Hmm...yes, it is a little on the runny side. Still, it'll be fine. Thanks awfully!"
Dot suddenly gave Calypso a huge bear-hug.
"Stay out of trouble, won't you? And come and visit sometime. You too, Remus." she added.
Strangely touched, Calypso found herself agreeing to visit. Remus, too, was given a hug before being shooed out of the lab and down the hallway towards the entrance.
"Thanks for coming to get me, Remus."
"Think nothing of it. And how else would you get back?" he said
Calypso suddenly gave a start. "Erm, Remus...."
Remus gave her an unconcerned glance. "Yes?"
"How are we going to get back? I mean, I can't apparate, and I can't go on muggle transport dressed like this...." she gestured dramatically to her creased navy-blue hospital robes, and her tramping boots showing underneath.
Remus gave a little smile. "Don't worry, I thought of that." he said as they pushed open the swinging doors that led to the reception. Calypso guiltily noticed a burn mark where a stunner had hit the door. Remus walked over to the long, horseshoe shaped reception desk and exchanged words with a receptionist. The man ducked behind the desk and came up holding two broomsticks. Remus took them and walked back over to Calypso, who was looking up at the owls circling overhead.
Remus tapped Calypso on the arm, and handed a broomstick to her when she took her attention away from the feathered messengers.
"Umm..is this a broomstick?" she asked hesitantly
Remus gave her a patronizing look. "Yes, of course it is. We're going to fly home." he replied, and started walking out of the great swinging doors to the road outside. Calypso stood with the broomstick awkwardly in one hand, before scurrying after Remus through the doors.
Outside, Calypso found herself standing at the edge of a street. Like in the lane, no-one looked at her at all. A truck went rattling by, and a woman with two small children trotted past. No-one spared a glance towards the hospital. Calypso suddenly realized that she couldn't see Remus.
"Up here!" a voice called.
Calypso turned around, to see Remus walking up a ramp to the top of the hospital. Broomstick in hand, she hurried after him, still checking out her surroundings.
She reached the top, and glanced around. They were standing on the roof of the hospital, and there was a large flat area in the middle of the uneven, sloping roofs with a large 'H' in glowing red paint marked out. Remus was standing there, leaning on his broomstick.
"Uhh...Remus, I think we have a problem." Calypso called out.
Remus glanced at her, suprised. "What?"
"I don't know how to ride a broomstick." she said apologetically.
Remus froze for a few seconds. "Oh." He tapped his foot, thinking hard.
"I'll teach you - it's quite easy really."
Calypso didn't share his enthusiasm.
"Yeah, I'm sure it's just like riding a bicycle. Easy when you know how." She grumbled
Remus beckoned her over, and Calypso trotted over. He took her broom and swapped it with the one he was holding.
"Erm....you can fly the Comet 220, it's a bit more sedate, and I'll take the Lightningbolt. Right, listen up, lessons begin now. Put your broom on the ground, parallel with your body. No, the other way. To your left. No, your other left. That's it. Okay, put your hand out over it and say 'up' in a commanding sort of tone."
Calypso gave Remus a skeptical look.
"This really works?" she asked.
"Won't know till you have tried it, will you now? Just trust me." He replied.
"Up!" Calypso declared imperiously. To her great surprise, the broom leapt off the ground to hover waist high at her side.
"Hey hey! Cool!"
'Now, throw one leg over your broom. No, you're sitting the wrong way around," Remus told her, smothering a laugh, "you want to face the open end of the broom, not the end with the bristles."
Grimacing, Calypso turned around.
"Yieke! What a wedgie! How can you stand this?"
"Grip with your knees, and it'll all be right." Remus was now struggling to keep a straight face.
With a pained expression, Calypso dutifully did as she was told, and to her amazement, found herself floating just above the broomstick.
"Hey! My arse isn't even touching the broom! You know, this is kind of comfy, floating in mid air." She remarked
Remus shook his head, grey-flecked hair swirling, trying to disguise the smile on his face.
"Okay, you need to adjust your grip. Are you right or left handed? Then have this hand in front, thumb on top, pointing parallel with the broom, and your other hand below it... that's it...put that thumb in the palm of your other hand, and link your top hand pinky with your bottom hand index...yeah, like that." He lectured while manipulating her fingers.
Calypso looked at her hands.
"It's just a Golf Club grip, isn't it?" she remarked observantly.
"What's a Golf Club?" Remus asked.
Calypso gave him an amused smile. "Don't worry."
Remus jumped on his broom in one fluid movement.
"Right, now, flying is easy. If you want to go left, lean left and pull the broom over. To go right, same thing. Down, dip the end of the broom down, and up, lift it higher. Speed depends on where you have your hands, and how far forward you are leaning. Further forward you have your hands and body, faster you go. Got that?" he lectured.
Calypso nodded.
"You don't need to grip with your knees all the time - it gets quite tiring after a while. But you need to keep a leg on each side of the broom at all times, and either grip with your knees, or, hold on with your hands, or both. But never do neither, or you'll fall out of the sky like a rock."
"Check."
"Right, give it a go. Just around the roof here where no-one can see you. Take it nice and slow."
Calypso took a deep breath, concentrated hard, and flew jerkily around the rooftops.
"Smoothly!" yelled Remus "You want to make all your actions gradual and smooth!"
"Jeez, I didn't know you could bunnyhop broomsticks as well as cars." She remarked upon returning.
After four circuits of the roof, the last one relatively smooth, Remus decided to take it the next step.
"A bit higher now, I think. Don't worry, all broomsticks are bespelled to make any muggle look away from them. No-one will see you." He told her, rising a few stories high on his own broomstick.
Calypso, biting the inside of her cheek firmly with concentration, tilted the end of her Comet up and slowly rose until she was even with Remus, and gave him a toothy grin. He gave her an equally toothy smile back.
"You're doing great. C'mon, this way." And shot off up higher and to the left, Calypso hesitantly following.
Calypso gave a yell of delight as they sped over the top of the large metropolitan sprawl. Streets and buildings flashed underneath her feet, and people were small figurines running around like ants. They ducked between skyscrapers and weaved in and out of church steeples. Calypso put on an extra spurt of speed and caught up to Remus.
"What city is this?" she asked breathlessly
"London" he replied.
"Wow" she said, visibly impressed. They were now crossing a large park, filled with lakes, huge trees and walking tracks. It was all a blur of greenery from above, though, as the pair on broomsticks zoomed past.
"WATCH OUT FOR THE BIRD!" Remus yelled suddenly.
Flicking her head up, Calypso ducked to the right, missing the pigeon by inches.
"Oops." She said, cringing. "Should pay more attention to where we are headed, not what we are passing over, shouldn't I?"
Remus gave a half-smile. "It's okay, you do some touristy geezing, I'll keep an eye on the sky. You got to watch out for birds, though. Deadly they are. We are crossing Hyde Park, by the way."
"Oh wow. I always wanted to go there." She said, blinking. "You know, goggles would be a good accessory on broomsticks. And I should stop grinning like a maniac, I'm getting bugs in my teeth."
Remus snorted with laughter.
Flashing past high-rises, over soccer grounds and streets jam-packed with cars, parks and gardens, with her robes flapping like a flag and her hair streaming out behind her like a banner, Calypso felt her heart soar.
She couldn't repress the joy and adrenaline that came bubbling up from her shoes to the top of her head, and let it out in one loud, spontaneous Xena-yodel, that startled Remus to the point that he nearly fell off his broom.
"Sorry, " she said, laughing, "couldn't help it."
"It's fine," he replied dryly, when he had straightened himself up again, "just next time, give me a warning, okay?"
They flew for hours, sky crystalline blue above, sun sparkling, as the landscape below slowly changed from densely packed to urban sprawl, gradually dissipating into lifestyle blocks, then rolling farmland, then forest, and farmland again. They passed over numerous villages, quaint cottages buried in the hillsides under trees, and Calypso delighted in seeing the fields laid out like a patchwork quilt, multicolored and pieced together randomly. Some were red, others brown, or yellow, or green, and some were polka-dotted white with sheep. With no skyscrapers to dodge, they went faster, so fast that Calypso's hair was slicked straight back and she was sure her boots would be ripped off if she wasn't careful.
She was actually quite disappointed when Remus began dropping in altitude. She was having so much fun, she could have flown to the moon and back and still flown more. Well, maybe now quite to the moon, but a bit longer at least, she thought ruefully.
Calypso tilted her broom downwards, and dropped with gracefully. She could spot the rust-colored house in the distance, and suddenly felt happy, like she was returning home. Then a sudden thought struck her square in the stomach.
"Eeek! Remus, how do you land?!" she yelled frantically as they raced along the road, a few meters above the surface.
Remus twisted around on his broomstick.
"Oh cripes, I forgot about that. Just get gradually slower and lower until when you come to a complete stop you are at ground level, okay?"
Calypso gave him a panicked smile, and started slowing - nice and smoothly, she thought to herself, pleased. Unfortunately, she was dropping too fast, and hit the gravel surface of the road at a considerable speed. Clutching onto the broomstick for dear life, she braced her legs, trying to slow down as if she was on a bike with no brakes. She skidded across the road, loose metal spraying out from under her boots. She eventually came to a staggering halt, and, overbalancing, promptly fell over on an ungracious, sprawled heap of blonde hair, navy robes and sunburnt limbs. She struggled to her feet, and brushed off her robes. She felt a great deal of déjà vu, at the same time noticing that the hospital staff had healed her grazes. Looking up, she enviously saw Remus make a graceful decent to land as lightly as a feather on his front lawn. Heart still pounding, she picked up her broomstick and walked up the path to the house.
"Gotta work on that landing, aye?" she said as she approached Remus.
"It wasn't too bad, I've seen worse. You didn't crash into anything, or break any bones and the broomstick is still intact." He told her, matter-of-factly.
"But wow, that was so cool! Holy shit, it was just....." she groped for words, "...cool!"
Remus smiled, and turned his head towards the house.
"Hark, do I hear an angel?" he quipped.
"No, just Snuffles." Calypso replied dourly, as she heard barking came from the back of the house, and the huge, shaggy black dog came bounding into view. Snuffles galloped though the long, wild grass and, still at a run, leapt and tackled Calypso, knocking her onto her back. Rolling over, she expertly pinned him and started ruffling up his fur as he thrashed around desperately.
"You owe me two broken ribs, pup, and I intend to have revenge!" she declared menacingly.
Remus was laughing.
"I really need a photo of this. Really." He managed to say between laughs.
Snuffles seemed to take offense at this, and haughtily got up and stalked away, leaving a bemused Calypso on the ground.
"Personal joke, I guess?" she said dryly.
Remus, who was still laughing, nodded, and started walking inside.
"Uhhh...Remus?"
He turned around.
"Can I just goof around on a broom for a while? I 'spose the novelty will wear off after a while, but....." she gave an impish grin.
Snuffles barked and stared at Remus, who sighed.
"Where on earth do you get your energy from? Personally, I'm exhausted."
"Being cooped up in a hospital for days on end" she replied melodramatically.
Remus looked thoughtful for a few seconds.
"Yeah sure, just make sure you take the Comet 220 and not the Lightningbolt."
"Why? They look the same." Questioned Calypso.
"The Comet is a good broom - actually it was a really good broom when I brought it. But when the Lightningbolt was new, it was top-of-the-line. You couldn't get better. It's really powerful. International standard. And what's more, it's not mine. So use the Comet, and it'll be fine." He said, tiredly.
Calypso grinned, and grabbed the Comet.
"I'll be back for dinner." She promised before scurrying off, clicking her heels with joy.
Hey, I have almost finished my next chapter (I'm on holiday) and I'll post it before Christmas,(my xmas present to the world) but I really need a really harsh beta-reader.
Due to my browser (apparently) I can't get into Writer's U, and I am desperately seeking someone who would like to pick holes in my fics - someone really nasty and finicky. People are usually too nice!!!!!
So mail me if you want to. But you have to be really harsh. I need constructive criticism!
So, well, you know the drill. I would really really love you to review, because, not joking, I hang onto every word you write. So send a ray of sunshine into my day, please please please! I do my best to read people's fics that review mine, so look out. So, brighten my (summer) day, and write a few words!!!! But I do prefer paragraphs. THANK YOU!!!!!!
And if you don't read my next part, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!
Disclaimer - All JK's stuff belongs to her. All the rest belongs to me.
Disclaimer - All JK's stuff belongs to her. All the rest belongs to me.
(twice because I forgot to do a disclaimer last time)
Well, almost all the rest. I think someone else penned the organization 'the League against the Dark Arts,' but I didn't realize it till now when I am writing this intro. SORRY! To whoever actually invented the title.
You know, this story is lots like a person trying to row a boat with only one oar. You set it up to go one way, and all of a sudden it's veering off in another direction. So you set it up again, and what happens? So in a few chapters you might finally discover something all good writers are familiar with - it's called a plotline. Sorry about the lack of one so far, and this chapter does nothing to remedy this problem.
And sorry this has taken me a while - I got Laryngitis, Bronchitis, a Strep throat and the Flu all at the same time, and whattya know, over my Calculus exam! Thanks to all the people who wished me well - you were probably the only reason I didn't break onto tears halfway through the paper, as about a quarter of my class were doing.
Yes, it was that bad.
The Dux of our school (90's in the tests) came out thinking she had failed. I didn't even attempt 51 percent of the paper - somehow, I think I failed. Whaddya rekon? But I'm holding out for Compassionate Consideration, thanks to my doctor's certificate, which is made out that I was dying. Nice guy, that doctor. Well, anyway, enough about me and on with the story!!
The door swung open and Remus strolled in. Calypso stared at his retreating back.
Who is in there? She thought. The doctor and nurse had both hinted that she had important visitors.....she noticed a sign on the door that read 'Director's Private Study'. Calypso's spirits sank. Oh no, she thought desperately. I'll be in trouble about that streaking thing.......
She took a deep, controlled breath and took one hesitant step forward. Whatever was in her stomach seemed to be boiling, splashing and churning. Remus' face peered back over his shoulder and gave her an encouraging smile. Calypso gave a watery one back. She gathered her nerve and took three hurried steps through the open doorway to stand next to Remus' shoulder, robes swishing around her ankles.
They were standing in a beautiful, barrel-vaulted room, inlaid with wood and surrounded with heavy oak bookcases. The windows were high up the wall and in the old tradition of Gothic architecture, only let in enough light for the study to be bathed in a mellow, warm glow. At a long table flanked with plush velvet chairs in the center of the room, seated were two men. In the dim lighting, Calypso could not make out any features, but saw one of the men get up from his chair and walk soundlessly over the thick Persian rug to them.
"Mr. Lupin! Ms Grey!" it exclaimed
Calypso flashed a look to Remus, and saw him rather taken aback.
"Cor....Mr. Fudge!" stammered Remus. "I didn't expect you to be here...."
The portly man approaching brushed past Remus and straight to Calypso. Seizing her hand, he shook it enthusiastically. Calypso's eyes were slowly adjusting to the dim interior of the study, and could now see who was pumping her hand vigorously. He was a short, stocky man of about fifty or sixty. Wearing a green pinstriped cloak with matching purple robes he could be nothing but a wizard. He reminded Calypso of a teddy bear. A rather pompous teddy bear.
"...to see you are all right, we were somewhat worried that..." he blabbered on, still shaking her hand.
Calypso found her voice.
"You are Cornelius Fudge, aren't you? The prime minister for magic or something like that?" she suddenly cut in to his stream of words.
He looked mildly miffed. "Minister of Magic, actually. Lovely so know I'm so famous even in Australia, anyhow."
The other wizard sitting at the table cleared his throat audibly.
Fudge looked confused for a second.
"Oh yes....I was just leaving....lovely seeing you all alright." He shook Calypso's hand again and bustled out of the room.
Calypso gave Remus a look of incredulity.
"How did you elect an idiot like HIM to be your minister? Jeez...." She said, shaking her head.
"Because Dumbledore wouldn't take the job." He replied.
The wizard sitting at the other end of the table spoke up.
"If you are going to talk about me, at least come closer so I can defend myself" he said in a soft, amused voice.
Calypso looked at him, startled, and started walking forward.
"DUMBLEDORE? You're joking! Really?" she exclaimed
Dumbledore flicked his wand and two chairs opposite him moved back.
"Sit" he said amicably.
Calypso did that, careful to sweep her robes out from under her before sitting down. Robes, she thought, were neat, but you had to be careful not to stand on their hem or sit on them and crease them. She wondered for a second if the hospital would want these robes back - they were very comfy, and she was rather partial to navy.
Calypso looked carefully at the man sitting across the table from her as Remus took his seat. Dumbledore was an old man, approaching eighty or so, Calypso guessed. His gray beard stretched to his waist, and his hair disappeared over his shoulders, which were draped in deep blue robes, embroidered with silver stars and moons. Blue eyes raked her up and down from behind half-moon glasses.
"So you must be Calypso Grey." His wrinkled, weather-beaten face morphed into a smile, and his eyes twinkled.
Calypso gave him a suspicious stare.
"Are you REALLY Dumbledore?" she accused him, much like a five-year old child.
Dumbledore gave a small laugh.
"If there is another Dumbledore out there somewhere, please let me know."
"Yes, this is the one and only Albus Dumbledore" Remus said. "What do you know of him?"
Calypso leaned forward.
"Only the most powerful and respected wizard of this decade. Defeated Grindewald in 1945, and brought a end to World War II. Orchestrated the resistance against Voldemort during his evil reign. Reputed to be the only wizard Voldemort was scared of. Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft. Famous alchemist. Uhhhhh, what else?" she recited.
Remus grinned.
"You missed out, 'all-round nice guy'."
Dumbledore looked thoughtful.
"You were right, Remus. She would do well." He murmured.
Dumbledore and Remus exchanged looks.
Calypso looked puzzled.
Before Remus or Dumbledore could say anything more, Calypso cut in.
"Before we go any further with this conversation, thrilling as it is, could someone please explain what the hell has been going on?" she implored, looking from Dumbledore to Remus.
Remus gave Dumbledore another look, and Dumbledore nodded his head briefly.
Remus swiveled around on his velvet-covered seat to face a bemused Calypso.
"It's not public news yet, the ministry is trying to keep it under wraps, but..." he shot another look at Dumbledore, who gave another small nod, " about three weeks ago, Lord Voldemort resurrected himself to his former strength and rounded up all his old Death Eaters."
"I know that" interrupted Calypso. "In a graveyard somewhere."
Dumbledore quickly turned around to Calypso, a guarded look on his face.
"How do you know that?" he demanded
Calypso tapped the side of her head.
"I'm not a seer for nothing." She replied. "I dreamed parts of it."
Remus gave Dumbledore yet another look, which irked Calypso no end.
"Well, anyway, in the three weeks since he regained his strength, eight wizards and forty-three muggles have been killed. Fifty-two muggles, with the nine that were killed at Peachgrove Village." He continued.
"Woah, hold it there" Calypso interrupted. "This is what I want to know about. Why Peachgrove Village?"
Remus sighed, and paused before continuing.
"You know, on the road, when you met those men in robes when you went for that walk with Snuffles?"
"Uhhuh....."
"They were Death Eaters. They'd come looking for my house, hopefully to destroy it, because we periodically use it for headquarters for the League. League against the Dark Arts, that is" he added, seeing the confused look on Calypso's face. "You sent them the wrong way, they realized it and got a little peeved. So to vent their anger, they decided to blow up the shopping district of Peachgrove Village on a Saturday morning and kill a few hundred muggles and hopefully, intimidate us." He said wryly. "Didn't quite work to plan, though. You called in that bomb threat, and they evacuated the place in time. Only nine muggles, six of them policemen, died. Sixty-eight were injured though." He added grimly. "When I heard at work that the department for Magical Catastrophes lot were setting off to Peachgrove Village pronto, well, I hitched a ride and found you and Snuffles unconscious in the alley. I got you shipped off to St. Mungos, and took Snuffles home."
"Hate to interrupt again, but how is Snuffles?"
Remus smiled. "Fine. He was only concussed in the explosion, because he never hit the fence like you did. He hit you instead. So he's fine. He broke a couple of your ribs, I hear." He added jovially.
"Hmmmmm.........he'll pay......." Calypso grumbled under her breath, rubbing her ribcage.
"Calypso, how did you know that the Village was about to be attacked?" asked Dumbledore quietly. He had been silent up to now, listening carefully to the conversation.
"Had a vision at the Checkouts" Calypso said offhandedly. "Actually....how the hell do you know that it was me that phoned in the bomb threat? She accused, looking at Dumbledore suspiciously.
"As you may have realized, Snuffles is a very...erm...unique dog. I can..." Remus started to speak
"Oh, don't tell me, Snuffles talks as well!" cut in Calypso, exasperated
"No, through a spell only." Corrected Remus gently.
"Hmph." Was all Calypso had to say about that.
"So what did your vision entail?" asked Dumbledore again in a soft voice.
Calypso explained in vivid detail what she had seen, and then roughly described what had happened next.
Dumbledore and Remus both sat back and thought for a few seconds. Calypso took the opportunity to look into Dumbledore's eyes. They were, to anyone else, just cool blue, icy eyes. But Calypso saw further.
He was old and tired, yet still fighting strong. Wisdom, talent. A humanitarian. Kind, caring, lonely. Worried, overworked, stressed, responsible, trustworthy......Calypso had only begun to look hard when Dumbledore snapped his head around and broke contact.
"What happened here at the Hospital this morning?" he asked.
Calypso blushed beet red again and grimaced.
"I had a dream......" she said, and recounted her tale. "...and then everyone started yelling and stuff, and a nurse dragged me into another room, and, well, here I am." She concluded.
"Rastafarian monkeys? Whaa?" exclaimed Remus
Dumbledore looked confused.
"I must admit, I do not understand..."
Calypso cut them off. "Some of my dreams are more figurative than literal. I don't think there really was a dreadlocked monkey jumping in that man's chest, it was just a sorta poetic interpretation if you get what I'm going on about."
Dumbledore made a little 'ahhah' noise and Remus leaned back on his chair.
"Regardless, you saved Mundungus's life."
"Who?" asked Calypso, laughing. "Mundungus?"
"Mundungus Fletcher. An old friend of mine, and a member of the League." Said Dumbledore softly.
"You wizards have such funny names - Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, Mundungus Fletcher, Dr Cortex the brain surgeon.... Can't say I can talk, with a name like Calypso.....anyway, what kind of curse was that on him?"
"We don't know" said Remus tersely.
There was a few moment's silence.
"Remus said you were a true seer" said Dumbledore, breaking the silence.
"You betcha." Agreed Calypso.
Remus gave Dumbledore another one of those looks.
"Calypso, I'll make this brief. At the moment, we are loosing the battle against Voldemort. They are one jump ahead of us. What...."
Calypso interrupted again.
"Oh let me guess, you want me to be your little pet seer and tell you all about the future and make you win. Sorry honey, I don't think so. I'm not a pawn. It doesn't work like that. I don't take sides, and I don't screw with the future. If you are going to loose, even if you are the 'good guys', I'm not going to change that. Unless I have dreams or prophecies, I'm not doing jack." She spat, voice dripping with restrained anger.
Remus looked shocked, and Dumbledore suddenly looked very tired.
"Well, it was worth a try..." he started.
Suddenly in the back of Calypso's head, there was a little voice that piped up.
Bitch, it said clearly.
Stop being a stubborn little hormone-charged cow and help them, dipshit.
"AAAARUGH!" yelled Calypso suddenly, making Remus jump. "I thought I got rid of that fucking buzz!"
God you are stubborn, it said. You want a vision, here's a vision.
Calypso's eyes drooped and her head fell with a resounding smack onto the polished wooden table, making the candelabras above rattle.
Calypso was sitting in a room - someone's lounge/dining room/kitchen. There was a large table in the middle, and there were about sixteen people seated around it, including herself. She was holding a clipboard, and a feather quill. Looking up, she could see Dumbledore speaking, but could hear nothing.
She opened her eyes to see his half-moon spectacles only an inch away from her nose and a rough beard tickling her chin.
"Woah. That was trippy." She said quietly.
"You okay?" said Remus, concerned.
"Urgh, yeah, fine, just a little nauseous." She replied as Dumbledore sat her up. He looked straight into her eyes.
"What was that?" he asked sternly.
Calypso blinked.
"A vision - a very strange one at that. I think the buzz gave it to me." She said in a wavering voice. "I was in the living room of someone's house, and you were there and you too," looking at Dumbledore and then Remus, " and there were all these other people."
"What did the other people look like?" asked Remus gently.
Calypso screwed up her eyes.
"An old lady with glasses and her hair in a bun, two guys with shocker red hair - one was balding and the other looked like a punk, umm...a sallow-faced guy with shoulder-length black hair, a guy with a scrubby brown beard, a really old lady with heaps of wrinkles and a walking stick....and some others. Do you know them?" she asked.
Remus gave a smile. "I think you just described Minerva McGonagall, Arthur Weasly, Bill Weasly, Severus Snape, Amos Diggory and Arabella Figg.
Calypso gave him a blank stare.
"I think you saw out next League meeting." Said Dumbledore gently, with a smile. "And since you were in it, I have a feeling that that was the vision you just declared that you would need to have before you would join us."
Calypso blinked a few times, and then gave a growl and smacked her head hard.
"What are you doing that for?" cried Lupin.
"Bloody buzz. And now it has a voice, so it's verbally abusing me as well." She grumbled.
"Calypso, how old are you?" asked Dumbledore suddenly.
"Eighteen" replied Calypso, surprised.
"Will it be a problem getting in contact with your parents?"
"Hell yes. They're six feet under. I would deem that a problem." She said, unruffled.
Dumbledore was momentarily flustered. "Do you have any family then?" he asked
Calypso nodded. "I have two sisters -we're triplets, actually. My sister Melody is blind, and Aria has Down's Syndrome. They always had problems finding us foster homes - I mean, who wants to take in a blind girl, an intellectually disabled girl, and me, who had 'epilepsy'?" Calypso regretted saying the words as soon as they had left her mouth. Shouldn't get them mixed up in this, she thought. Shut your mouth girl.
"Oh. I'm sorry" he said, and did look sorry for her, which annoyed Calypso.
"Why should you be? I have the greatest sisters in the whole wide world, blind and disabled as they are. I couldn't have picked better mates if I had tried" she said tartly.
Dumbledore looked uncomfortable, and cleared his throat. "Well, you are no longer a ward of the state, so that's what matters. I hereby officially extend to you the formal offer to join the League against the Dark Arts."
Calypso turned to look at Remus.
"I 'spose this is when I graciously accept." She said.
Remus nodded.
"One problem." She said.
"What?" said Remus, surprised.
"It's too easy. Nothing in life comes easy, and this is too easy. I've been in England for all of a week, and you're offering me a job. You know there's something 'dark' in my past, bad enough to get me banned from being a Witch, and you don't even seem to care. You're mad. You don't know anything at all about me. Hell, Calypso Grey might not be my real name, sweets. I could be a Death Eater drinking Polyjuice Potion for all you know. It's crazy. And I don't have anywhere to stay." She added.
'Stay with me. I get a bit lonely just with me and my dog." Offered Remus kindly.
Calypso grinned, and her insides leapt for joy.
"R...really? You don't mind?" she stuttered.
Remus smiled back.
"Not at all."
Dumbledore spoke up quietly.
"Whatever you did to get banished is your own personal business. Your credentials are your achievements in the past few days, Calypso. We have ways, now, to weed out Polyjuice Drinkers, so that's not an issue. And to be frightfully honest, we are desperate."
Calypso looked back at Dumbledore and his eyes. Looking back into them, at length, she relented.
"Okay then. I hereby formally accept to being your pet seer. But I don't do tarot card readings for amusement, and I won't read palms during coffee breaks, okay?"
Dumbledore have her a brilliant smile and Remus reached over and squeezed her hand.
Calypso seemed dazed. A sudden thought occurred to her.
"Erm, hope you don't mind me asking, but what exactly does this League do?"
Dumbledore blinked.
"Oh...we take up the role of Aurors, since the Ministry hasn't officially declared that Voldemort has risen, they only have three official ones. That's what Fudge was doing in here before - I was trying to convince him to make it public. These rumors flying around only spread the panic." He sighed, and took off his spectacles and started cleaning them on the edge of his robes, while staring at the ceiling.
"I know this must sound stupid, but what are Aurors?"
Remus answered her question this time, as Dumbledore was lost in a melancholy world of his own.
"Aurors are Dark Wizard catchers. In a nutshell, the League works against Voldemort, protecting people, muggles and wizards, and undermining his efforts. We call ourselves Phoenixes. At the moment, though, we are struggling just to protect ourselves." He added glumly. "Can you see why we need you so much?"
Calypso shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
Dumbledore had snapped out of his solitary daydream and turned to face Remus.
"When is the next meeting scheduled?" he asked.
Remus racked his brains.
"Thursday night, Maria's house in Diagon Alley."
Dumbledore nodded. "Good time for Calypso to meet the rest of the crowd. I'll see you there." Blue eyes were lost in a thoughtful mist.
Remus and Calypso took that as a farewell, and with a nod, got up out of their chairs and walked towards the end of the study. Remus had his hand on the doorhandle when Dumbledore spoke up again.
"Calypso..."
Calypso turned around and looked at the thoughtful old man sitting at the other end of the Gothic study. He looked familiar. Very familiar. Where had she seen him?
"Calypso, would you be able to write down any visions or dreams that you have in a book somewhere? Even little things you may think are insignificant may be highly relevant to us."
"One step ahead of you, mate. I already have a book of dreams. But I'll keep updating it for you. Actually....I'll check out all the dreams and stuff I had since Voldemort rose. See if anything interesting turns up." She suggested helpfully.
Dumbledore gave her another brilliant smile, and it seemed to Calypso that a burden had been lifted from his shoulders since she had agreed to join the League.
"I can't promise anything though, Div is like that, and I only usually have about one vision or dream a week on average. Dunno what's going on at the mo."
"See you on Thursday." Dumbledore said finally.
Outside the study, Calypso squinted in the bright light of the waiting room. It was much brighter in there than in the delightfully mellow lighting of the study. And much hotter, too. Calypso concluded that there were a lot of parallels in muggle hospitals and in wizard hospitals, from the nightgowns to the sheets to the lino, and to the crappy architecture of the general wards and the opulence of the Director's wing.
When her eyes were used to the light, she could see the bubbly little nurse sitting on one of the seats engrossed in what looked like a dog-eared Mills and Boon.
"Dot! Good to see you!" exclaimed Remus.
The nurse wrenched herself away from her paperback and met Remus's eyes
"Golly, Remus Lupin! Have you aged well or what! A few streaks of grey I see though....that Maria's doing?" she said joyfully.
The two lapsed into what promised to be a lengthy reunion, and Calypso took a chair. Bored, she began toying with her hair, and quickly discovered when she picked up a strand or bunch of hair and twisted, pulled or twirled it, upon dropping it the hair would always fall back onto its place perfectly. Amazed, she scrubbed her fingers through her hair and watched and blonde strands floated back into a tidy silken river running down her back to her shoulder blades. It looked, Calypso thought in amazement, like it had just been brushed. Cool. Wish I was a witch and did this sort of stuff, she thought longingly.
She suddenly felt very depressed and tired and homesick. Homesick? She though. I'm eighteen, and I'm feeling homesick? God, grow up girl.
To take her mind off thoughts of home, she picked up the Mills and Boon that Nurse Dot had dropped. Entitled 'Brittle Bondage' and with a moving picture of two people (that you couldn't see due to all the steam) on the cover, Calypso started reading as Dot and Remus yabbered away happily.
Calypso had reached chapter seven, where the haughty, beautiful, yet troubled witch had just met the spunky, rich, sensitive wizard and brushed him off for the first time, when a small owl flew out of the ceiling and landed on the arm of Dot's chair, hooting softly. Dot broke off in the middle of her sentence and plucking the note from the owl's leg, quickly scanned it.
"Ooh, new admissions for Ward Three. Gotta run."
She got up and gave Remus a hug.
"Lovley seeing you again, though, Remus. Call by again some time, won't you?"
"I will be around a bit - when does Calypso get discharged?"
Dot shrugged.
"Today is Sunday, she should be out by Tuesday, Monday maybe if nothing goes wrong. I'll keep you informed. You still live at your parent's old place?"
Remus nodded.
"Great then!" she said brightly. "You..." gesturing towards Calypso, "Come with me, love."
Following Dot obediently down the corridors, Calypso thought about what she had just done. Her motto was never to take sides, and thanks to the buzz, she was now aligned with the League. Not that it was a bad thing - the League members were obviously the 'good guys' and fighting against Voldemort sounded like a morally good thing to do. And being a Phoenix sounded cool. Something told her that she couldn't be a neutral party in this struggle. Not this time. But still she felt uncomfortable. Why? She asked herself. Stupid, a few days ago you were lost and miserable and now you have a job and a place to stay. You are working with Albus Dumbledore for God's sake! And Remus is sweet. You have saved countless lives. They want you, and need you. What more could you ask for?
My friends, she replied. Suddenly it hit her like a sack of wet sand in the pit of her stomach. She was lonely. Incredibly lonely. She missed her sisters and her foster brothers and sisters. God, three months was a long time to be on your own. She had always craved time be herself - she had often spent weeks with only her horse and her dog up in the ranges - but it was different now. A lone wolf, they had teased her, when she returned. But even a lone wolf longs to run with a pack.
Caught up in her thoughts, she walked straight into Dot's back when she stopped unannounced.
"Oof! Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was go....." she started apologetically.
But Dot would hear none of it, and shooed her into the ward and her bed.
"Just go to sleep dear. I'll be back tomorrow. So will Dr. Cortex." And with a wink, she had scurried out of the ward again before Calypso could open her mouth.
Sitting in her squeaky hospital bed, surrounded by rows of other identical beds and muted explosions coming from the other end of the ward, Calypso could not go to sleep. She looked around instead.
About half of the beds were filled with patients, aged from three to eighty-three. Over the aisle from her was a sleeping five-year old, with his exhausted mother slumped over the end of the bed, fast asleep also, her pointed hat askew and her mouth open, snoring lightly.
In the bed next to Calypso was a grumpy old warlock who was reading a newspaper and completely ignoring everyone else. The bed on the other side was empty.
Leaning forward, she looked for the source of the explosions. It was from two twelve-year old kids playing a game of snap on the trolley between their beds. With every 'snap' there was a small explosion, which rattled the trolley. And the nerves of the witch in the bed opposite them, going by the evil expression she flashed at them over the top of her magazine.
Calypso was bored. She had nothing except her robes, and they didn't make very interesting reading. Plucking up her courage, she turned to the grumpy looking wizard in the bed next to her and asked politely if she could read the newspaper after he had finished with it. To her surprise, he pulled his face into a smile of sorts and gave her the front section.
Plumping up her rock-solid pillows and stacking them behind her back, Calypso shook out the front page to see a huge, moving photograph of what was left of Peachgrove Village, and the image of the skull in the sky above.
"DEATH EATERS STRIKE VILLAGE?" screamed the headline.
"Yesterday morning at 11.52AM, the isolated muggle township of Peachgrove Village was partially destroyed by a fierce magical explosion centered over the shopping district. Witnesses say that the explosion was brief but intense, and afterwards the Dark Mark was seen in the air over the center of the blast.
The Daily Prophet reports that muggle investigators believe that this was an IRA bomb, as a bomb threat was apparently called in twenty minutes before the explosion. This allowed muggle law enforcement people to evacuate the area, a move that probably kept the causalties down to the eight reported dead so far. Over eighty are reported injured, and with some in critical condition at muggle hospitals, the death toll is likley to rise. No magical peoples are reported injured.
This case if baffling the Department for Magical Catastrophes, who claim that while the explosion was defiantly magical, there was indeed a bomb threat. "We are definitely confused. This is a rather remarkable case." Said Department head Graham Lawton. "The attack was carried out at a time when there were the most people in the vicinity, Sunday morning market day, so the aim was definitely to kill - then why ring in a bomb threat and save everyone?"
You Daily Prophet reporter wonders if there is a mole in the newly-resurrected Death Eater society. If that is the case, why the warning?
The Death Eaters have been most active ever since their first showing at the Quiddich World Cup where they restricted their magic merely to tormenting muggles and shooting the Dark Mark into the sky. Yet, in the past few weeks, they have become much more cocky......"
The article continued in this vein for some time, low on facts and high in opinion. It continued onto page five, and linked to a small article on page thirty-three in the Muggle section about the new cracks in the Northern Ireland peace process.
Calypso breathed a sigh of relief. There was no mention of her in the whole article. She looked up and leant forward to see down to the end of the ward and out the window. The sky was sapphire-blue and there was only a few stringy clouds in the sky. Calypso flopped back onto her bed. Stuck in hospital when the weather outside was perfect!
By dinnertime, Calypso had read all of the other patient's newspapers, books, and magazines, and had played fourteen rounds of Exploding Snap with the twelve-year olds, loosing nine. When the dinner trolley arrived, pushed by a glum looking nurse in pastel green robes, Calypso was starving. She jumped back into bed and awaited her plate eagerly. When it was dumped onto her lap, Calypso sniffed it cautiously. It was, according to the nurse, 'Beef Rissoles with Cheesy Potato bake' but it looked like baby vomit to Calypso. And smelt like it. Still, she was starving and so reluctantly shoveled it down her throat before the taste could catch up with her, copying the rest of the patients in the ward. Again, Calypso marveled at the parallels between the muggle and wizarding hospitals. Even the food is crappy.
At least they can't ruin jelly and icecream, she thought positively when dessert was brought around.
Lights went out at half past eight, to Calypso's horror.
Oh well, she thought, at least I don't have to make polite conversation with the other patients any more. She lay down in her creaky bed and moved around, trying to find a comfy spot, but only succeeded in making the bed graunch and moan. Sighing, she tried to go to sleep.
The next morning, Calypso was humming as she strolled down the corridors. She had seen the brain specialist, who gave her a clean bill of health, and gave instructions for her discharge. She had nothing to pack, and never bothered returning to the ward. She went straight to the reception, and asked the red-robed receptionist if she could get in touch with Dot. The receptionist nodded, short brown hair swishing, and obtained a small owl to fetch Dot, who turned up within three minutes, as rosy as ever.
"Morning, dear? Feeling better?"
"Yeah, fine thanks Dot. Look, I was wondering if you knew where I could get in touch with Remus Lupin....."
Dot cut her off.
"He's stopping by at noon to pick you up."
Calypso looked momentarily flustered.
"Oh. It's nine fifteen now, what am I going to do till then?"
Dot sucked her lip, thinking.
"You any good at potion brewing?" she asked hesitantly.
Calypso nodded.
Dot beamed at her.
"Excellent, we are all a bit rushed here, and we are short on some essential potions. Mind helping?"
So Calypso found herself out the back of the vast marble dispensary, surrounded by herbs, liquids, dissected animals, powders and minerals and four enormous cauldrons, brewing simultaneously, Pepperup potion, Dreamless Sleep Potion, Burn Cream and Skele-grow.
She was just lifting the Burn Cream off the fire to stir it again when Remus walked in the door.
"Oh hi. Give me 10, will ya, and these will be ready." she said over her shoulder, and stirred the thick blue muck in the cauldron.
Remus walked over to stand beside her.
"What are you doing?" he asked curiously.
"Brewing Burn Cream, Dreamless Sleep Potion..." pointing to a clear, bubbling liquid in another cauldron sitting over the fire, "...Skele-grow..." pointing to the cauldron sitting on the bench filled with a dull green slop, "...and Pepperup Potion." nodding her head towards the final cauldron, which was filled with a watery red liquid, boiling and churning even though it was no longer over the fire.
Remus raised his eyebrows.
"I'm impressed."
Calypso grinned like a Cheshire Cat.
"Told ya I was good at Potions." she said proudly.
At that moment, Dot walked into the brewerey and upon seeing the potions, exclaimed with delight.
"Brill! That's just great darl! Here, I'll take over - what have you got left to do?"
"The Burn Cream is almost read, it just needs another five minutes over heat, the beetle's eyes need adding, and a bit more stirring. The others are done. Oh, I increased the concentration of the Dreamless Sleep Potion three fold, so when you activate it with rosewater, you need to use a third less. And a third less when you use the cream as well." She leant over the cauldron she was stirring and peered at the contents. "The Burn Cream is a bit runny, I'd add a touch more Dandelions. But then it needs a good beating if you want a smooth consistency."
Dot grabbed the stirring rod and poked the cream experimentally.
"Hmm...yes, it is a little on the runny side. Still, it'll be fine. Thanks awfully!"
Dot suddenly gave Calypso a huge bear-hug.
"Stay out of trouble, won't you? And come and visit sometime. You too, Remus." she added.
Strangely touched, Calypso found herself agreeing to visit. Remus, too, was given a hug before being shooed out of the lab and down the hallway towards the entrance.
"Thanks for coming to get me, Remus."
"Think nothing of it. And how else would you get back?" he said
Calypso suddenly gave a start. "Erm, Remus...."
Remus gave her an unconcerned glance. "Yes?"
"How are we going to get back? I mean, I can't apparate, and I can't go on muggle transport dressed like this...." she gestured dramatically to her creased navy-blue hospital robes, and her tramping boots showing underneath.
Remus gave a little smile. "Don't worry, I thought of that." he said as they pushed open the swinging doors that led to the reception. Calypso guiltily noticed a burn mark where a stunner had hit the door. Remus walked over to the long, horseshoe shaped reception desk and exchanged words with a receptionist. The man ducked behind the desk and came up holding two broomsticks. Remus took them and walked back over to Calypso, who was looking up at the owls circling overhead.
Remus tapped Calypso on the arm, and handed a broomstick to her when she took her attention away from the feathered messengers.
"Umm..is this a broomstick?" she asked hesitantly
Remus gave her a patronizing look. "Yes, of course it is. We're going to fly home." he replied, and started walking out of the great swinging doors to the road outside. Calypso stood with the broomstick awkwardly in one hand, before scurrying after Remus through the doors.
Outside, Calypso found herself standing at the edge of a street. Like in the lane, no-one looked at her at all. A truck went rattling by, and a woman with two small children trotted past. No-one spared a glance towards the hospital. Calypso suddenly realized that she couldn't see Remus.
"Up here!" a voice called.
Calypso turned around, to see Remus walking up a ramp to the top of the hospital. Broomstick in hand, she hurried after him, still checking out her surroundings.
She reached the top, and glanced around. They were standing on the roof of the hospital, and there was a large flat area in the middle of the uneven, sloping roofs with a large 'H' in glowing red paint marked out. Remus was standing there, leaning on his broomstick.
"Uhh...Remus, I think we have a problem." Calypso called out.
Remus glanced at her, suprised. "What?"
"I don't know how to ride a broomstick." she said apologetically.
Remus froze for a few seconds. "Oh." He tapped his foot, thinking hard.
"I'll teach you - it's quite easy really."
Calypso didn't share his enthusiasm.
"Yeah, I'm sure it's just like riding a bicycle. Easy when you know how." She grumbled
Remus beckoned her over, and Calypso trotted over. He took her broom and swapped it with the one he was holding.
"Erm....you can fly the Comet 220, it's a bit more sedate, and I'll take the Lightningbolt. Right, listen up, lessons begin now. Put your broom on the ground, parallel with your body. No, the other way. To your left. No, your other left. That's it. Okay, put your hand out over it and say 'up' in a commanding sort of tone."
Calypso gave Remus a skeptical look.
"This really works?" she asked.
"Won't know till you have tried it, will you now? Just trust me." He replied.
"Up!" Calypso declared imperiously. To her great surprise, the broom leapt off the ground to hover waist high at her side.
"Hey hey! Cool!"
'Now, throw one leg over your broom. No, you're sitting the wrong way around," Remus told her, smothering a laugh, "you want to face the open end of the broom, not the end with the bristles."
Grimacing, Calypso turned around.
"Yieke! What a wedgie! How can you stand this?"
"Grip with your knees, and it'll all be right." Remus was now struggling to keep a straight face.
With a pained expression, Calypso dutifully did as she was told, and to her amazement, found herself floating just above the broomstick.
"Hey! My arse isn't even touching the broom! You know, this is kind of comfy, floating in mid air." She remarked
Remus shook his head, grey-flecked hair swirling, trying to disguise the smile on his face.
"Okay, you need to adjust your grip. Are you right or left handed? Then have this hand in front, thumb on top, pointing parallel with the broom, and your other hand below it... that's it...put that thumb in the palm of your other hand, and link your top hand pinky with your bottom hand index...yeah, like that." He lectured while manipulating her fingers.
Calypso looked at her hands.
"It's just a Golf Club grip, isn't it?" she remarked observantly.
"What's a Golf Club?" Remus asked.
Calypso gave him an amused smile. "Don't worry."
Remus jumped on his broom in one fluid movement.
"Right, now, flying is easy. If you want to go left, lean left and pull the broom over. To go right, same thing. Down, dip the end of the broom down, and up, lift it higher. Speed depends on where you have your hands, and how far forward you are leaning. Further forward you have your hands and body, faster you go. Got that?" he lectured.
Calypso nodded.
"You don't need to grip with your knees all the time - it gets quite tiring after a while. But you need to keep a leg on each side of the broom at all times, and either grip with your knees, or, hold on with your hands, or both. But never do neither, or you'll fall out of the sky like a rock."
"Check."
"Right, give it a go. Just around the roof here where no-one can see you. Take it nice and slow."
Calypso took a deep breath, concentrated hard, and flew jerkily around the rooftops.
"Smoothly!" yelled Remus "You want to make all your actions gradual and smooth!"
"Jeez, I didn't know you could bunnyhop broomsticks as well as cars." She remarked upon returning.
After four circuits of the roof, the last one relatively smooth, Remus decided to take it the next step.
"A bit higher now, I think. Don't worry, all broomsticks are bespelled to make any muggle look away from them. No-one will see you." He told her, rising a few stories high on his own broomstick.
Calypso, biting the inside of her cheek firmly with concentration, tilted the end of her Comet up and slowly rose until she was even with Remus, and gave him a toothy grin. He gave her an equally toothy smile back.
"You're doing great. C'mon, this way." And shot off up higher and to the left, Calypso hesitantly following.
Calypso gave a yell of delight as they sped over the top of the large metropolitan sprawl. Streets and buildings flashed underneath her feet, and people were small figurines running around like ants. They ducked between skyscrapers and weaved in and out of church steeples. Calypso put on an extra spurt of speed and caught up to Remus.
"What city is this?" she asked breathlessly
"London" he replied.
"Wow" she said, visibly impressed. They were now crossing a large park, filled with lakes, huge trees and walking tracks. It was all a blur of greenery from above, though, as the pair on broomsticks zoomed past.
"WATCH OUT FOR THE BIRD!" Remus yelled suddenly.
Flicking her head up, Calypso ducked to the right, missing the pigeon by inches.
"Oops." She said, cringing. "Should pay more attention to where we are headed, not what we are passing over, shouldn't I?"
Remus gave a half-smile. "It's okay, you do some touristy geezing, I'll keep an eye on the sky. You got to watch out for birds, though. Deadly they are. We are crossing Hyde Park, by the way."
"Oh wow. I always wanted to go there." She said, blinking. "You know, goggles would be a good accessory on broomsticks. And I should stop grinning like a maniac, I'm getting bugs in my teeth."
Remus snorted with laughter.
Flashing past high-rises, over soccer grounds and streets jam-packed with cars, parks and gardens, with her robes flapping like a flag and her hair streaming out behind her like a banner, Calypso felt her heart soar.
She couldn't repress the joy and adrenaline that came bubbling up from her shoes to the top of her head, and let it out in one loud, spontaneous Xena-yodel, that startled Remus to the point that he nearly fell off his broom.
"Sorry, " she said, laughing, "couldn't help it."
"It's fine," he replied dryly, when he had straightened himself up again, "just next time, give me a warning, okay?"
They flew for hours, sky crystalline blue above, sun sparkling, as the landscape below slowly changed from densely packed to urban sprawl, gradually dissipating into lifestyle blocks, then rolling farmland, then forest, and farmland again. They passed over numerous villages, quaint cottages buried in the hillsides under trees, and Calypso delighted in seeing the fields laid out like a patchwork quilt, multicolored and pieced together randomly. Some were red, others brown, or yellow, or green, and some were polka-dotted white with sheep. With no skyscrapers to dodge, they went faster, so fast that Calypso's hair was slicked straight back and she was sure her boots would be ripped off if she wasn't careful.
She was actually quite disappointed when Remus began dropping in altitude. She was having so much fun, she could have flown to the moon and back and still flown more. Well, maybe now quite to the moon, but a bit longer at least, she thought ruefully.
Calypso tilted her broom downwards, and dropped with gracefully. She could spot the rust-colored house in the distance, and suddenly felt happy, like she was returning home. Then a sudden thought struck her square in the stomach.
"Eeek! Remus, how do you land?!" she yelled frantically as they raced along the road, a few meters above the surface.
Remus twisted around on his broomstick.
"Oh cripes, I forgot about that. Just get gradually slower and lower until when you come to a complete stop you are at ground level, okay?"
Calypso gave him a panicked smile, and started slowing - nice and smoothly, she thought to herself, pleased. Unfortunately, she was dropping too fast, and hit the gravel surface of the road at a considerable speed. Clutching onto the broomstick for dear life, she braced her legs, trying to slow down as if she was on a bike with no brakes. She skidded across the road, loose metal spraying out from under her boots. She eventually came to a staggering halt, and, overbalancing, promptly fell over on an ungracious, sprawled heap of blonde hair, navy robes and sunburnt limbs. She struggled to her feet, and brushed off her robes. She felt a great deal of déjà vu, at the same time noticing that the hospital staff had healed her grazes. Looking up, she enviously saw Remus make a graceful decent to land as lightly as a feather on his front lawn. Heart still pounding, she picked up her broomstick and walked up the path to the house.
"Gotta work on that landing, aye?" she said as she approached Remus.
"It wasn't too bad, I've seen worse. You didn't crash into anything, or break any bones and the broomstick is still intact." He told her, matter-of-factly.
"But wow, that was so cool! Holy shit, it was just....." she groped for words, "...cool!"
Remus smiled, and turned his head towards the house.
"Hark, do I hear an angel?" he quipped.
"No, just Snuffles." Calypso replied dourly, as she heard barking came from the back of the house, and the huge, shaggy black dog came bounding into view. Snuffles galloped though the long, wild grass and, still at a run, leapt and tackled Calypso, knocking her onto her back. Rolling over, she expertly pinned him and started ruffling up his fur as he thrashed around desperately.
"You owe me two broken ribs, pup, and I intend to have revenge!" she declared menacingly.
Remus was laughing.
"I really need a photo of this. Really." He managed to say between laughs.
Snuffles seemed to take offense at this, and haughtily got up and stalked away, leaving a bemused Calypso on the ground.
"Personal joke, I guess?" she said dryly.
Remus, who was still laughing, nodded, and started walking inside.
"Uhhh...Remus?"
He turned around.
"Can I just goof around on a broom for a while? I 'spose the novelty will wear off after a while, but....." she gave an impish grin.
Snuffles barked and stared at Remus, who sighed.
"Where on earth do you get your energy from? Personally, I'm exhausted."
"Being cooped up in a hospital for days on end" she replied melodramatically.
Remus looked thoughtful for a few seconds.
"Yeah sure, just make sure you take the Comet 220 and not the Lightningbolt."
"Why? They look the same." Questioned Calypso.
"The Comet is a good broom - actually it was a really good broom when I brought it. But when the Lightningbolt was new, it was top-of-the-line. You couldn't get better. It's really powerful. International standard. And what's more, it's not mine. So use the Comet, and it'll be fine." He said, tiredly.
Calypso grinned, and grabbed the Comet.
"I'll be back for dinner." She promised before scurrying off, clicking her heels with joy.
Hey, I have almost finished my next chapter (I'm on holiday) and I'll post it before Christmas,(my xmas present to the world) but I really need a really harsh beta-reader.
Due to my browser (apparently) I can't get into Writer's U, and I am desperately seeking someone who would like to pick holes in my fics - someone really nasty and finicky. People are usually too nice!!!!!
So mail me if you want to. But you have to be really harsh. I need constructive criticism!
So, well, you know the drill. I would really really love you to review, because, not joking, I hang onto every word you write. So send a ray of sunshine into my day, please please please! I do my best to read people's fics that review mine, so look out. So, brighten my (summer) day, and write a few words!!!! But I do prefer paragraphs. THANK YOU!!!!!!
And if you don't read my next part, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!