24. Pink Glowing Light
Callie found herself on a secluded beach, gazing out over the still waters and curling her toes over the warm sand. She was filled with a complete sense of calm, and smiled to herself. She'd always liked the beach, and presently she thought, Slytherin's element is water. The ocean, the rain, a hot bath... My element.
Initially it appeared as though she were alone, but as she looked around, she noted a figure in the distance who was dressed in royal purple robes. Who is that? she wondered, squinting to try and distinguish them. The figure waved their arm in the air as if in greeting, and as Callie took a step forwards, she was able to make out their long, grey beard and hair. Is that... Dumbledore? He began to move towards her, and his face became more distinct. It was definitely him, with his light blue eyes and half-moon glasses, and the kind, grandfatherly smile he'd always given her when he was alive.
"Professor Dumbledore!" she called out happily, running to meet him. Without really thinking about it, she threw her arms around him, and he gave her a gentle pat on the back.
"Calista Warbeck," he murmured in his soft, ethereal voice. "Good to see you again, dear."
"Good to see you too, sir." She released the man and stood back, studying him for a moment. Her wide smile faded as a thought occurred to her, and she asked, "Am I dead?"
He chuckled to himself and replied, "Goodness, no. You're only dreaming."
Letting out a breath, she remarked, "That's a relief."
Dumbledore took in their surroundings and said, "Lovely place for it. Nice and quiet. Serene. What a difference from where you've been spending your time these past few months.
Azkaban. She'd just made her seventh visit to the prison. Once again, it had led to nothing. "You know about that?" she asked.
"I know everything," Dumbledore replied. With a cheeky grin, "All-seeing, I am."
She returned his smile. "Yes, I always got that feeling."
Dumbledore gestured over the long stretch of sand and said, "Come. Let us walk."
As they did so, Callie told him all about her efforts with the Cruciatus Curse. "All-knowing, you are," she commented. "Maybe you can tell me if I'll ever be able to lift it?"
"Do you believe that you can?" he asked.
She hesitated, before replying, "There's got to be a way. I don't think it's impossible, but I've tried so hard and I just can't get it. I believe that I can get it." She shook her head to herself as she went on, "I just don't know how."
They came upon a large piece of driftwood and sat upon it. Dumbledore kept quiet, a thoughtful look on his face, as he pondered the situation. "You've been very dogged in your attempts to fight the curse. But perhaps you've been going about it the wrong way."
"Apparently," she agreed.
"You've exhausted every bit of strength and energy that's within you. I believe you told Professor Snape that you don't know how much more you have to give."
"I did, sir."
"Have you considered the idea that it's not always a matter of how hard we fight, but the way in which we do so?"
Callie furrowed her brow, unsure of what he was trying to say. "What do you mean, sir?"
"Magic of any type requires the right kind of motivation. You've said that yourself. Take the Cruciatus Curse. What drives a person to perform such a horrendous spell?"
She gave it a second of thought and replied, "The desire to hurt someone."
"Right. And why would the caster care to hurt anyone?"
Again, she thought it over. "Because they're bastards."
"Hmph," Dumbledore smirked. "Essentially. But I would rephrase that to say that they're driven by hate." He looked over and met her gaze as he said, "It is hate that you're attempting to counter. And just as water destroys fire, there is an antidote to hate - its complete opposite." He paused, before asking, "What's the opposite of hate, Callie?"
There was a beat of silence, and then she said, "Love."
With his signature soft smile, he replied, "Exactly. And I have found that love is also a much stronger motivator than hate." He set a comforting hand on her shoulder, then stood up. Gazing out over the water, he inhaled a deep breath and remarked, "Such a glorious setting. I think I'll stay a while."
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Callie was sure that it hadn't been an ordinary dream, but that the wise old man had actually contacted her from the spirit world. Just as when he'd been alive, he had come to steer her in the right direction. However, she didn't know what exactly she was she was supposed to do with his advice. Love was stronger than hate, and the antidote to the Cruciatus. But how was she meant to employ it against the curse?
Though she'd strained herself to figure it out all through the following week, she decided to give it a break as she traveled to Cornwall that Saturday to attend a celebration for the birth of Bill and Fleur Weasley's daughter. The girl had been born on the second anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, and her parents had given her a rather fitting name - Victoire.
Callie couldn't contain herself as Fleur handed her the newborn, who was bundled up in a pink blanket. "Merlin's beard, I want one!" Callie exclaimed.
"I know somebody who can help you out with that," George joked, inclining his head towards Charlie, who thankfully wasn't paying them any attention.
She rolled her eyes as Fleur opened up her gift for the baby, a mobile with pastel-colored angels that fluttered about playing lullabies on little harps. "Zees iz lovely," she remarked. "Zank you, Callie."
"And for Mummy," the potions mistress said, holding out a second gift bag, "a care package. Candles, body oils, bath salts... Every once in a while, hand the baby off to your husband and shut yourself up for a spa night."
"That'll be fine by me," Bill said, smiling down at his daughter and lovingly rubbing her head. "Haven't been able to take my eyes off her since the day she was born."
"Yes, 'e iz a proud papa," Fleur commented, an amused smile curling her lip.
"Proud hubby, as well," he said, and leaned over to give her a quick kiss.
Fleur's fifteen-year-old sister, Gabrielle, came up to the group and said, "Eh. Encore mon tour." Callie didn't know what that meant, but the girl held her arms out expectantly, so she passed her the baby. "Ma belle nièce," Gabrielle cooed.
"Belle," Callie agreed.
Neville appeared at her side, set his eyes on Victoire, and remarked, "Panemorfi," which was Greek for beautiful.
Callie did a double take. "Eímai entyposiasménos," she said.
Neville held her gaze for a second, then shook his head. "Yeah, I don't know that one."
"'I'm impressed,'" she explained.
"Ah. So I got that right, then? I remember a couple of choice phrases. 'Panemorfi,' 'Se agapó,' and 'fíla me.'" The last of which meant "kiss me."
In a teasing tone, Callie asked, "Do you use my special language on your filenáda?" She gestured to where Luna was chatting with Harry and Ginny. Neville glanced at his current girlfriend, then back to his ex. There was a bit of a worried expression on his face.
"Are you all right with this?" he asked. "Ya know, seeing us together?" He and Luna had been dating for four months.
"I told you I was fine with it," Callie reminded him.
"Yeah, but..." he shrugged "...actually having to witness it..."
She considered the idea for a moment and admitted, "Okay, it is a little weird. But it doesn't bother me. So long as you're happy and she treats you like the king that you are." Truthfully, she was rather unaffected by the sight of the man she used to be in love with cozying up to one of her best girlfriends. Maybe that wouldn't have been as easy to take if her mind wasn't occupied by someone else entirely, but as it was, they could've started snogging right in front of her and she probably wouldn't have minded. Although, she was a bit jealous that they had each other, while she only had her imagination.
Bloody hell, you are abnormal, she'd been telling herself for the past several weeks. What other woman would've passed on Cross but gladly spent a night with Snape? He had a miserable personality and he wasn't conventionally good-looking. And yet, she was finding it damn near impossible not to indulge in the fantasies that were becoming more and more elaborate. Fortunately, she was sure that the man had no idea what was going on in her head, because if he did then he wouldn't be able to look at her.
She was pulled from her thoughts when Bill called out, "Everybody, gather 'round! Fleur and I have got an announcement to make."
George looked up at him and said with a straight face, "You're getting divorced."
"Ha ha," Bill replied sarcastically. "No." To the group, he went on, "We've decided who we'd like to be Victoire's godparents."
Fleur turned to Gabrielle and said, "Petite soeur, nous serions honorés si tu étais la marraine de notre fille."
The younger girl's face lit up as she exclaimed, "Cela signifierait le monde pour moi. Bien sûr!" Then, nuzzling the baby, "Ma belle filleule."
Fleur explained, "Gabrielle iz to be Victoire's godmozer."
"And as for godfather," Bill said, "we've given it a lot of thought..." he turned to his younger brother "...and we're hoping that you'll take us up on the offer, George."
The man in question did a double take. "You-" he stammered. "Me? You want me, of all people, to be your daughter's godfather?" He was clearly stunned. "I'd have thought you would've chosen Charlie."
"I was going to," Bill admitted. "But after everything you've been through, I figured you needed something good in your life." A pause. "And you've earned it. It's kind of my way of saying how proud I am of you. We all are." It had been nearly two months since George had gotten out of rehab, and he hadn't had a drink ever since.
He looked around at his various family members, who were smiling and nodding in agreement with Bill. Mrs. Weasley went over to George and set a hand on his shoulder. "No one more so than me," she said, giving him a warm embrace.
George patted her hand and said, "Thanks, Mum." Then, to Bill, "But even so... you want me to be responsible for your child if anything should happen to you?"
"Gabrielle would be zere, too," Fleur reminded.
"And anyway," Bill said, "you've handled a lot more than anything a child could throw at you. I'm sure you'd manage."
"Oh, but let's not talk about this sort of thing," Mrs. Weasley chimed in. "This is supposed to be a happy occasion."
George got a thoughtful look on his face, then rose to his feet. "Right then. Pass me our goddaughter, Gabby. The girl's already two weeks old, it's time that someone taught her how to dance." He took the newborn in his arms and gently bounced her, while shifting from one foot to the other.
The sight of them made Callie want to grab up her own godchild, who Harry and Ginny had brought along. She found him playing with a balloon and lifted him up in the air, smiling at his delighted giggles as she asked, "How's Auntie Callie's little bear cub, eh? Have you been a good boy for Grandma?"
"Good boy!" he shrieked, waving the pink balloon excitedly. Callie held him close against her, and he showed it off, squealing, "Mummy's 'air!"
She glanced at the balloon and said, "That's right, little young'un - Mummy's hair! Bubblegum pink." The boy had seen plenty of pictures of Tonks, and sometimes he'd transform his normally turquoise locks to match his mum's. Presently, Callie watched them morph and ran her fingers through them. "Very punk," she remarked. "Tough blokes wear pink." She looked up at the streamers that were hovering above and pulled one down for him to play with. They, too, were various shades of pink, as were all the decorations, and the cake that was set upon the dining table.
"Did you know," Callie said, "that back in the day, pink was the color meant for boys, and blue for girls?" She spoke as if the two-year-old could understand every word she was saying. "Pink was considered a derivative of red, and red is a color that represents war. Ergo, tough blokes really did wear pink. But now people think of it as girly." Recalling her spiritual reading with Lady Octavia, she continued, "Somebody told me that pink is the color of love. How ironic, eh? Considering it used to have the opposite association."
As she shifted from foot to foot, "dancing" with Teddy like George did with Victoire, the Dumbledore beach dream came back to her, and she could hear the old man asking, "What's the opposite of hate, Callie?"
"Love," she'd replied.
Presently, she thought, And pink is the color of love.
"I see you surrounded by a pink, glowing light."
Callie paused, staring at a random spot on the ground as she imagined such a light emanating from her skin. The color of love, she thought. And love is a much stronger motivator than hate.
"Perhaps you've been going about it the wrong way," Dumbledore had said. Every time she'd tried to fight the curse, she'd been picturing the green flames as a visual representation. But maybe that had been a mistake. Maybe all this time, she'd been putting too much focus on the flames, and that was why she couldn't lift them. Bloody hell, I've been fueling them. All her energy and attention had been directed towards the curse, when she should've been shifting it away.
With this new theory in mind, she was wishing that she didn't have to wait another week until she could test it out at Azkaban.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Saturday couldn't have come quick enough, but finally she was back at the prison. It wasn't Hermione at her side, or Harry. This time, it was Neville. "Are you sure you want to see this?" Callie asked. He'd seen her Cruciated before, for real, and he'd always described it as the worst thing he'd ever witnessed. Why would he want to put himself through that again?
"Yeah, I'm sure," he replied. "Don't worry about me. You're the one who's actually getting it."
"Right. But you've said before that watching it is worse than experiencing it yourself." Of course, he'd been in love with her then. Maybe it wouldn't be as awful now.
However, he replied, "It is. I would gladly switch places if there were any point in doing so."
"Then why do you want to watch?" Callie asked. "If you feel like you have to be here for me..."
"No, it's not that," he said. "I mean... hell, you're doing this for my parents. I should be here." A pause. "But that's not why I am."
"Then what is it?"
He took a moment to ponder the question, then asked, "Did I ever tell you that my Boggart changed form?"
She wondered what that had to do with anything, but replied, "No. It isn't Snape anymore?"
Neville scoffed. "Somehow he isn't as scary after you've stood face-to-face with Voldemort. But it's not him either." He met Callie's eye and said, "It's you, being Cruciated."
Her mouth fell open and she looked in the direction of the padded room, then back to him. "Oh, come on!" she exclaimed. "You expect me to let you in there after hearing that?"
"Well, you better," he said. "I wanna see it."
"You wanna see what's literally your worst fear?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Why?"
He hesitated, then replied, "Face your fears, right?" Callie rolled her eyes, but kept quiet. Neville went on, "This curse has been following me around my whole life. It destroyed my parents, and then I had to watch Carrow do it to you, and there wasn't anything I could do to stop it." He paused, before continuing, "I know it's different this time. You're not as helpless as you were back then - you're fighting back now. And that's why I wanna see it. I wanna see that you can fight the curse, that it's not going to destroy you." Another pause. "And... if you could really lift it, then..." he got a thoughtful, almost hopeful look on his face "...I wanna be there to see you do it."
She kept her eyes on him as she thought, Christ, I can't let him down, wishing for a moment that he hadn't come along. But then it occurred to her that love was supposed to be the motivator here, and she loved him more than almost anyone. Maybe he's exactly what I need for this. She stood up and gave him a long hug, before they walked off to the padded room.
Upon seeing Neville, Carrow did a double take and said, "Well, I'll be God damned." To Callie, "You've brought along your lover boy to watch me torture you? Or is he here for a taste of what you've been getting?"
"No, actually, I was thinking he might like to have a look at the miserable sack of chained-up filth you've become," the potions mistress shot back. "I've gotten quite a laugh out of it myself. Thought he might appreciate it, too."
Carrow spit in her direction, and as Kinglsey vanished her mess, she sneered at Neville and said, "Your girlfriend's a feisty little lass, Longbottom. Puts up one hell of a fight. Such a shame your dear Mummy and Daddy didn't have the same spirit."
"Eh!" Callie barked, aiming her wand on the woman. "Don't you dare speak of his parents, you worthless bitch!"
But Neville grabbed her by the arm, and though he was staring daggers at the woman, he said, "It's all right, Cal. I've never paid any mind to what she has to say, I'm not gonna start now."
Still glaring at Carrow, Callie took a moment to calm herself, before she said, "Let's get started, then." She sat cross-legged on the cushioned floor while Neville went to stand beside Rochester. The potions mistress closed her eyes and took a minute to clear her mind, imagining the pink glow filling her veins and extending past her skin.
Love is stronger than hate, she reminded herself, and thought about the people she loved most - her parents, Neville, Teddy, Andromeda, Snape, Hermione, Astoria...
With her eyes still closed, she kept all their faces in mind, as well as the visualization of the pink glow. Don't scream. And don't thrash. Although that had been impossible thus far, she didn't want Neville to see her that way. She stuck a rag in her mouth to bite down on, and squeezed a pillow in her hands. "Okay," she said, "I'm ready."
Kingsley counted, "One... two... three."
"Crucio!"
She had gotten to the point where she could think through the curse with relative ease, but the pain was just as terrible as ever. As soon as it hit, she arched her back and made a loud groaning sound, crushing her teeth against the rag and digging her nails into the pillow.
The pink glow! Don't lose it! In her mind, her whole body was alight like a neon sign. But she also had to think about her motivation - love.
Mum and Dad. The two people who held the greatest fraction of her heart. Mum and Dad. Mum and Dad. Mum and Dad.
And on top of everything else, she was still struggling not to move or scream, although she couldn't help but growl around the rag. Then, just as she started to lose focus, the pain was ebbing.
"Ugh!" she groaned, snatching the rag out of her mouth.
Neville cautiously knelt down beside her and asked, "Are you all right?"
"Yeah." She was gasping through her words. "I'm sorry, I was trying not to scream."
Her face was covered in tears, and as Neville wiped them away with the rag, Orphie explained to him, "She's afraid of upsetting you. That's why she was trying so hard to keep still and quiet."
To Callie, Neville said, "You don't have to do that. I can handle it."
"And if your attention is set on remaining composed," Orphie said, "then it's going to take your focus away from the glow and your motivation. So scream if you have to. Flail, move around, whatever comes naturally. Don't waste your mind on controlling your body."
Callie met eyes with Neville, who said, "She's right. I promise I can take it. I told you, don't worry about me."
The potions mistress sighed, but replied, "Okay. But if it gets to be too much..."
"Then I'll leave," he finished. "Just do what you need to do to fight this thing." He gave her hand a squeeze, then returned to Orphie's side.
"Was that really thirty seconds?" Callie asked Kingsley. "Felt more like ten."
"It was thirty," Kingsley confirmed.
Callie muttered to herself, "Bloody hell." Then, to the minister, "All right, I'm ready." She shut her eyes and imagined the glow.
"One... two... three."
"Crucio!"
Come on, now - Mum and Dad! Mum and Dad! She repeated it like a mantra as she visualized the glow, but it was weak. Despite her determination not to allow them in, the image of the green flames invaded, pushing against the pink light and overpowering it. No! Love is stronger than hate! Mum and Dad. Neville. Snape. Teddy. Andromeda. Hermione. Astoria. Harry. George...
Suddenly, the pink flickered for just a moment, pushing back against the green. Yes! she thought, and then Dumbledore was saying, in his calm, comforting voice, "Love is stronger than hate."
Yes it was. And the hate that was fueling Carrow's curse was nothing in comparison to the love Callie had for all the people in her life. Ginny. Luna. Red. All my comrades. Lupin. Tonks. Fred. Dumbledore...
Once again, the pain began to fade. "Damn it!" she shouted. Shaking her head, she looked up at the minister and said, "Kingsley, I need more time!"
"We've already discussed this, Callie," he replied calmly. "Thirty seconds is enough of a risk. Not only mentally, but physically as well."
"I'm all right!" she insisted. To Orphie, she demanded, "Tell him I'm all right!"
The woman considered her, and said to Kingsley, "I don't think ten more seconds would hurt."
But Callie shook her head and argued, "No. I don't wanna have to rush myself. That's only another distraction, like trying not to scream. And if I need to stop then I'll tell you. I can speak while I'm under the curse."
"So what are you saying?" Kingsley asked. "That you want to have done with the time limits completely? I can't agree to that, Callie, it's out of the question."
Her shoulders sank, and after a moment she said, "All right, then sixty seconds. I can handle sixty seconds, I've done it before."
"That was different," Kingsley reminded her.
"Yes, it was," she agreed. "Back then I had no control. I was completely powerless against the curse. But now I can think. I can manage the pain." A pause. "And you told me in the beginning that this was my party. So please, just let me do what I need to do."
He took in all she'd said and turned his eyes on Orphie. The spiritual advisor reminded him, "I can see whether or not she's approaching her limit. If I believe we need to stop, I'll let you know."
Kingsley was quiet as he considered everything, and after a long pause, he sighed and said, "All right. Sixty seconds. But that is the absolute longest I'll allow, Callie. Don't ask me to extend it again."
"Fine," she agreed, still wishing that she didn't have any limit, but grateful that he'd given her more time. She took a few deep breaths, bringing the image of the pink glow back to mind. Focus. Pink is the color of love, and love is stronger than hate. Suddenly it occurred to her what she'd been doing while repeating the names of her loved ones. It wasn't a mantra, but an incantation. Words are a conduit for magic. Use them. With her eyes shut, she said, "Ready when you are."
There was a moment of silence, and then, "One... two... three."
"Crucio!"
As the pink light glowed throughout her veins, she incanted, Mum. Dad. Neville. Snape. Teddy. Andromeda. Hermione. Astoria. Harry...
Meanwhile, she was still half-screaming, half-growling into the rag, her body contorting as the green flames pressed in on the pink glow. The pain was just short of unbearable, and she had to strain to remember everyone's names. Mum. Dad. Neville. Snape. Teddy... The glow was fading, the pain somehow becoming even stronger.
No! Mum, Dad, Neville, Snape, Teddy! Mum-Dad-Neville-Snape-Teddy! Inside she was shouting their names at a rapid pace, leaving no room for any other thoughts. And the longer she went on, the easier it was to recall more and more. Mum-Dad-Neville-Snape-Teddy-Andromeda-Hermione... Mum-Dad-Neville-Snape-Teddy-Astoria-Ginny-Harry-Luna...
She didn't realize it herself, but something extraordinary happened - she stopped screaming. It had gradually faded until she was silent, and at the same time, her twisting movements also ceased. However, the lack of such expressions of pain only served to worry the minister, who asked, "What's going on, Orphie?"
The woman held up a silencing hand, her eyes glued to Callie, and said, "Keep going, Carrow."
Mum-Dad-Neville-Snape-Teddy-Harry-Ginny-Lupin-Tonks-Red-Luna-Alice-Frank... Her focus was so set on the incantation and the glow - which was growing bigger and bigger, pushing against the flames - that she had no idea just how calm she appeared, lying on the cushioned floor, her eyes closed but a look of concentration on her face.
Mum-Dad-Teddy-Snape-Neville-Harry-Luna-Stori-Alice-Frank... She was aware of the fact that the glow had grown to fill her veins completely, though the flames remained at the surface of her skin, still burning, but... not as painfully.
But she didn't allow herself to pay it any mind. Mum-Dad-Teddy-Snape-Neville... That was all she had room for - the people she loved. Harry-Hermione-Snape-Mum-Dad-Teddy-Stori...
Now the glow was extending outwards, beyond her veins and past her skin. Mum-Dad-Snape-Neville-Teddy...
Callie kept her eyes shut and continued to incant as she propped herself up on her hands and knees. She could vaguely hear Orphie's voice saying, "Let it go, Kingsley," but the actual words were meaningless to her.
Mum-Dad-Teddy-Snape-Neville-Stori...
Kingsley and Neville and even Carrow stared at her with wide eyes. She was rising up on her feet, and bloody hell, she was smiling to herself. Almost inaudibly, the minister breathed, "Oh, my God..."
Callie opened her eyes. Carrow still had the loaner wand aimed at her chest, but she felt nothing. Holding her arms out in front of her, she could almost see the pink glow lingering over her skin, and wondered if anyone else could. Lifting her gaze back to her opponent, she said in a quiet voice, "Wand down, Carrow."
The prisoner did as told and gaped at the potions mistress. "Merlin's beard," she muttered in shock. "She did it. The mad little bitch did it."
"Wha-" Kingsley stammered. "What did you do?"
Callie continued to gaze at her outstretched arms as the glow faded. "Love," she said, more to herself than to anyone else. "I saw the glow. It was neon pink. It acted as a sort of... shield against the flames. Against the curse, I mean."
"And that's it?" Neville asked.
"Uh uh," she replied. "I was... chanting. In my head I was repeating the names of all the people I love. Mum, Dad-" she shot Neville a glance "-you. Like an incantation." She paused, thinking back on it all. "The glow was growing and growing and then finally it was... It pushed the flames out of me. And then... it sort of stuck to my skin. It's gone now, but... it was shielding me."
"Shielding you," Kingsley echoed, pondering that. "No one's ever been able to shield against the Cruciatus."
"It's because you can't think through it," Callie replied. "There's no room for anything but pain."
"Then... how did...?" Neville stammered.
Truthfully, Callie didn't know how exactly she had managed it. But she said, "Love is stronger than hate." Everybody looked a bit confused by that, but she didn't explain. There was an overwhelming feeling of wonderment within her. She was shaking at the thought that she'd just accomplished something that no one had ever thought possible. "Bloody hell," she breathed. "I did it." Looking over at Neville, "I actually did it."
His expression was one of complete shock and awe. "You- You did," he agreed.
Callie turned her attention to Orphie, who smiled at her and said, "Well done, Professor Warbeck." There was a pause, before Callie ran over and threw her arms around the spirit woman.
"I fucking did it!" she shouted, tears of absolute joy sprouting from her eyes. "I fought the Cruciatus Curse! I beat it!" Next she threw herself at Neville, exclaiming, "You got to see it, for God's sake! You saw me beat it!"
"That was amazing!" he said. "Bloody hell, Cal, I..." He trailed off, holding her back so he could meet her eye. "I didn't think... I mean, if anybody could've done it, then it would be you, but..."
A wide smile spread across her face as she said, "But you thought it was impossible." A pause. "It's all right. Everybody thought it was impossible."
"It was impossible," Kingsley cut in. "Until now." He came up to her and said, "Calista Warbeck - you've just done what wizards and witches throughout history have been unable to do. Frankly, I never believed that you'd achieve your goal either."
"Never underestimate a Slytherin's ambition," she joked. A million thoughts were going through her mind. Would she be able to do it again? Would other people be able to do it? How could she improve her method to make it easier and quicker to perform the counter-curse? Or should it be classified as a shield charm? What would she call it?
She was bouncing with energy, and wondered whether she ought to give it another go. But her mind was all over the place, and she wanted to ride out the high that she was on. So despite the fact that they had only arrived at the prison an hour earlier, she told Kingsley they were done for the day. "I think you've earned the afternoon off," the minister remarked with a soft smile. "All of this has been kept under wraps until now, but would you be willing to share the story with the press?"
"Sure," Callie replied. "Just so long as it's anyone but Rita Skeeter."
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Weeee are the champions, my friee-eends!" Callie sang drunkenly. "And weee'll keep on FIIIGHTING 'til the eeeend!"
She and Neville were in the Hog's Head, celebrating her victory with a few rounds of Firewhiskys. Behind the counter, Aberforth called out, "Please, lass! I've got a hundred and sixteen-year-old ears, they can't take any more of this!"
"Eh!" Neville said. "This lass moved mountains today, she can do what she wants."
"Damn right, I can!" Callie agreed. "I... am a rock star!" She took a swig of butterbeer, then said, "No - a genius. No! A miracle worker."
"All of the above!" Neville exclaimed, raising his glass in her honor.
"I cannot wait to tell Snape," the potions mistress went on. "He didn't think I could do it. Nobody thought I could do it, but he didn't even have the decency to humor me." Shaking her head at his lack of confidence in her, she muttered, "Old, pessimistic bastard."
"You tell him, Cal! Tell him he's an old, peministic bastard!"
She attempted to correct him. "Pessinistic. Mistic. Peminist-" But she couldn't work it out, and the two of them burst into laughter.
"Yeah, a real genius, you are!" Neville joked.
Callie plopped into a chair beside him and stifled herself. Very deliberately, she said, "Pess-im-is-tic. There it is. Forgive me, my brain's all frazzled from the Torture Curses." A second after the words rolled off her tongue, her eyes widened and she clapped a hand to her mouth. "Oh, my God!" she shrieked. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean- I shouldn't have said-" She paused, covering her entire face. "I can't believe I said that!"
Neville didn't seem to comprehend what she was apologizing for, but after a moment it hit him. "Oh," he muttered, his face falling. Then he snorted and began to laugh again. "Ha! That's a slip of the tongue if ever I heard one!"
Callie couldn't suppress her own grin as she smacked his arm. "It's not funny, I feel like an arse!"
Still chuckling, he replied, "Don't, it's okay." When his laughter died down, he gazed at her and remarked, "You really are a rock star. Bloody hell, Cal, you fought off the Cruciatus Curse. No one's ever done that."
With a shrug, she said, "First time for everything." Then her expression turned a bit sorrowful. "I only wish that someone could've figured it out twenty years ago." After Azkaban, they'd stopped by St. Mungo's to visit Frank and Alice, and Neville told them all about Callie countering the curse. But of course, they'd had no comprehension of what he was saying.
Presently, he set a comforting hand on her shoulder and said, "Hey - don't do that, all right? Today isn't the day to have that kind of look on your face." She gave him a weak smile, but stayed quiet. He took her hand in his and went on in a soft but assured voice, "Cal, you're giving meaning to their lives. They were the inspiration for all of this, right?"
"That's right," she confirmed
"And you made something good out of what happened to them. They didn't lose their minds for nothing. It led to you figuring out a way to beat the curse that destroyed them."
"I know, but..." She trailed off, thinking, I couldn't fix them. They're still empty shells.
A silence passed between them before Neville said quietly, "One day they are going to know what you did." Callie understood this to mean when they passed over into the next life. "And they're not going to be sad that no one could restore them. They'll just be grateful that you saved the world a lot of suffering."
She held his gaze, pondering everything he'd said, then leaned in to give him a long hug. "I fought off the Cruciatus Curse," she muttered, as if unable to believe it herself. "Merlin's beard, I really did move mountains today."
"Then smile, why don't you? We're supposed to be celebrating here."
Callie released him and poured them both another shot. "What are we toasting to now?" she asked.
"It's your call."
She gave it a moment of thought, and decided, "To Frank and Alice."
"We already did them," Neville reminded her.
Inclining her head, she asked, "We did?" It took a few seconds for her to remember. Perhaps the four shots and two butterbeers had something to do with it. With a shrug, she said, "Eh, what the hell. It bears repeating."
Neville raised his glass. "To Frank and Alice," he said.
Callie did the same. "To Frank and Alice."
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Neville walked her back to the castle, and as they stumbled through the entrance hall, laughing loudly, she looked into the crowded Great Hall and remarked, "Oh, shit - I'm not supposed to let anybody see me drunk." Checking her watch, she realized it was dinnertime, then grabbed Neville's arm and pulled him towards the dungeons.
"Eh," he said, "I've gotta go home, I have field duty in the morning."
"You can use my fireplace," Callie replied. She opened up the door to the dungeons and looked down the long stone staircase, which - to her, at least - appeared to be moving. "But first you've gotta help me make it down these steps."
He wrapped an arm around her waist and they took it very slowly. When they got to the bottom, Neville asked, "Which way's your quarters again?"
Callie looked from one direction to the other and said, "Um... left." A pause. "Yeah, definitely left." But after a minute, she realized she was leading him completely in the wrong direction. "Oh, bloody hell, this is the way to Slytherin Dungeon! My quarters are back that way."
Neville chuckled and said, "You've lived down here for nine years, you don't know your way around?"
"Well, I lived in Slytherin Dungeon for seven of the nine. I got confused."
"No more Firewhiskys for this girl," he muttered to himself, grinning.
They retraced their steps, and Callie was almost positive they'd gotten on the right track. "This is where Dungeon Twelve used to be," she informed him. Now there was no indication that a room existed behind the stone wall. Holding up her middle finger at the spot where the door would've been, she said, "Eh! To hell with you!"
Again, Neville laughed. "You're yelling at a wall. You really are smashed."
"Oughta ask Kingsley if I could have just one good shot at Carrow. Think I've earned it."
"Warbeck!"
She and Neville came to a halt. His arm was still wrapped around her waist, but he finally released her as they turned to find Snape standing behind them. There was a beat of silence, and then Callie called out, "Snake Man!" He rolled his eyes at the nickname as she marched up to him and jabbed her finger in his chest. "You said it couldn't be done! Well, you're wrong. The great Severus Snape is wrong!" She'd practically shouted that last part.
With an irritated look, he said, "Keep your voice down, for God's sake. And what are you raving about?" Nodding to Neville, "And what is he doing here?"
"He came with me today," Callie replied. "He wanted to see me defeat the curse."
"Oh, really," Snape said. "Then I imagine it was quite a disappointing afternoon for the boy." He shot Neville a glance, and if Callie had been sober, she'd have noticed the hint of viciousness in his eyes.
But instead she exclaimed, "Ha! Wrong again, you are! I love this!" To Neville, she said, "Go on and tell him." But then, "No - I wanna tell him."
"Oh, Merlin's beard," Snape muttered in frustration. "Stop like acting like a fool and say whatever it is you have to say."
She got quiet for a moment, looking up at him with a smug little smirk on her face. Then, staring into his eyes and thinking of the moment she'd lifted the curse, she said, "I made history today."
Apparently he wasn't reading her, because he furrowed his brow and asked, "What are you on about?"
Keeping her eyes on his, and speaking very slowly and deliberately, she declared, "I fought off the Cruciatus Curse."
For several seconds, he merely stared at her. Then he scoffed and shook his head. "Right," he replied. "Say that again when you're not three sheets to the wind, and maybe I'll believe it."
The potions mistress grabbed him by the front of his jacket and said, "Read my mind. Have a look-see. Or ask the Minister for Magic or Orphie Rochester. Or give it a week and read about in the Prophet."
He held her gaze, watching her "push" the curse out of her body and rise up on her feet as Carrow attempted to torture her. Finally he breathed, "You lifted it," his skepticism fading away, only to be replaced by astonishment.
A huge smile spread across her face, and she replied, "I moved a mountain." Letting him go, she went on, "Bloody hell, you shoulda been there! It was brilliant! I was surrounded by a beautiful pink glowing light. Pink is the color of love - did you know that?"
"I-" he began, but he seemed a bit too stunned to speak.
"That ruddy street psychic was right. Christ in Heaven, she saw me defeating the curse. I thought she was full of it, but... Bloody hell, I need to thank her!"
"I've no idea what you're rambling on about," Snape said. "But I suppose... congratulations are in order."
Still smiling, Callie looked from him to Neville and remarked, "This is great, my two favorite men! Except for Daddy. No one trumps Daddy." To Snape, "Come and celebrate with us."
"I have to go home," Neville reminded her.
Snape stepped forward and said, "Then may I ask what you're doing roaming around down here? I believe the Hogwarts Express will be departing for London in approximately twenty minutes."
"I was going to floo."
"I told him he could use my fireplace," Callie said. Looking around in confusion, she added, "But somebody seems to have moved my living quarters."
With another eye roll, Snape said to Neville, "Use the one in the staff room on the ground floor." To Callie, "And you - come with me."
Excitedly, she said, "We're going to celebrate!"
As he took her by the arm and steered her down the corridor, he replied, "I'm sure you've done your fair share of celebrating for the night."