14. Hogsmeade
Neville made good on his promise to help her in Herbology. On Saturdays the two got together to study, switching off between Potions one week and Herbology the next. Professor Sprout was nice enough to let them hang out in the greenhouses so Callie could get more hands-on experience.
"What's this one?" Neville quizzed her one day in October, pointing to a plant that Callie thought looked indistinguishable from all the others.
"Motherwort?" she guessed.
"Mugwort," Neville corrected. "The one over there in the green pot is motherwort."
Callie looked from one plant to the other, shaking her head. "They look the same!" she whined.
Neville's lip curled into an amused grin. "If you have trouble telling them apart by sight, try doing it by scent," he suggested.
Callie breathed in each plant's aroma, committing them to memory.
"Even if you can't identify something," the boy went on, "Sprout'll still give you points so long as you can match a certain species with it's uses."
Callie flipped open the notes she'd compiled the previous night. "Motherwort," she read. "Useful in counter magic. May also assist in enhancement of spells for achieving success."
"Right," Neville nodded.
She continued. "Mugwort. A staple of curative magic. Also used in lust and fertility potions." She could see Neville's cheeks redden at that last part.
Just then, Professor Sprout came in with a pair of pruning shears. "All right, Warbeck?" she said, getting to work on some big mossy wriggling monstrosity in the corner. "Gettin' the hang of it, are ya?"
"Well," Callie replied uncertainly, "sort of."
The woman smiled back at her. "Ain't nothin' to it once you spend enough time with 'em," she said. "Got a right brilliant teacher to help you along at that, and I ain't talkin' about meself."
Sprout shot a look at Neville - who blushed, of course - and there was a hint of motherly pride in the woman's face.
"Brilliant," Callie echoed, smiling at him.
"I wouldn't go that far," he said.
"Ah, don't be so humble," Sprout argued. "Best in his class, he is."
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On Halloween, the third-years were bouncing with excitement, as they were going to have their first trip into Hogsmeade village. Callie was particularly looking forward to it; Hogsmeade was the only all-magical community in Britain. What a change from the ordinary muggle town she'd grown up in all her life. To not have to suppress one's innate magic, or watch that you didn't let anything slip during conversation - how freeing it must be for those who resided in Hogsmeade.
Unfortunately, everybody seemed to have a group or a partner to go with, except her. The thought of wandering around the village by herself made her feel like a wallflower at a school dance. Pathetic.
Still, she wasn't going to miss out. But she kept her head down and lagged behind all the others as they made their way off to the village.
"Can't believe she wouldn't just sign for him!" a vaguely familiar voice whined somewhere behind her. "This is rubbish!"
"Do you think she might've let him go-" Callie recognized this voice as Hermione's "-ya know, if Black wasn't on the loose?"
"What could he do in broad daylight, in public?" the boy, who Callie guessed was Ron Weasley, argued.
"A man like that doesn't think rationally," Hermione countered. "If he wants to get at Harry, even the threat of going back to Azkaban may not stop him." She paused, and then called out, "Hello, Callie!"
The girl stopped and turned toward them, offering a friendly wave. "Hey," she greeted. "Harry isn't with you?" Callie hardly ever saw one of the trio without the other two.
Hermione shrugged somewhat sadly. "His aunt and uncle wouldn't sign his permission slip," she explained. "Professor McGonagall wouldn't let him go."
"Prats," Callie said. "Why wouldn't they sign it?"
"Because they're awful!" Weasley cut in. "I've seen their house. They keep Harry locked in a room with bars on the windows."
"Bloody hell," Callie said. What kind of aunt and uncle were they?
The three of them continued on the path to Hogsmeade. While neither Hermione or Red seemed to mind her presence, Callie worried she might be an unwelcome third wheel. "You guys mind if I... hang out with you today?" she asked with hesitation.
"No, not at all," Hermione said, though Red looked slightly unenthused to have her tagging along.
Hogsmeade was wonderful. Cobblestone streets lined with all kinds of shops and pubs. People were dressed in bright, flowing robes, typical wizardwear but the kind of thing muggles would be shocked to see. Even some non-human beings wandered about.
"What is that, an ogre?" Callie asked, pointing out a large, green-skinned creature down the street.
"Maybe?" Hermione replied, squinting to get a better look.
"Blimey!" Red exclaimed. "Never seen one before."
After of few minutes of people- and creature-watching, Hermione said, "So, where to first?"
"Zonko's," Red said. "Or Honeydukes." The boy didn't wait for the girls to respond, but took off in the direction of the sweets shop.
Most of their class had seemed to congregate there. Callie was admittedly amazed at the impressive selection of treats. With so much to choose from, she had to remind herself that she only had so many galleons, and this was only their first stop.
Eventually, she meandered into a section of the shop called "Unusual Tastes." She stopped at a display of dark red lollipops and had to look twice to make sure she'd read the label right.
"Ugh, these are blood-flavored!" she said to no one in particular.
A couple of Ravenclaw girls were nearby. "No way," one of them said, grabbing a lollipop and studying it. "Blimey! D'you think there's real blood in them?"
"I don't want to know," her friend said, apparently done with the unusual tastes section.
Callie couldn't help herself. She took one of the lollipops and tossed it in her shopping basket, before rejoining Hermione and Red at the chocolate bar. "Oi, they're handing out samples!" the latter informed them with excitement.
The man behind the counter handed them each a cakey chocolate ball with pink and white cream in the middle. "What are these?" Hermione asked.
"Chocoballs," the man replied. "One of our specialties."
"Mmm," Callie breathed after taking a bite. She and Red nodded to each other as they enjoyed their treats, and Callie picked up two boxes at a display to the side. Then on second thought, she grabbed another. "Might as well stock up," she explained when Hermione gave her an amused look.
Next was the joke shop, followed by Spintwitches Sporting Needs. Callie suffered through that as Red looked in amazement at all the fancy Quidditch equipment. "Bloody hell, a Firebolt!" he exclaimed as he came upon the latest and greatest in broomsticks, as the sign below it claimed.
"I want to go to Tomes and Scrolls," Hermione finally said. She looked just as bored with the sporting goods store as Callie felt.
"Me, too!" Callie agreed happily. Red said he'd meet up with them in a bit, still gawking at the Firebolt as the girls made their way out.
Tomes and Scrolls was a specialty bookstore. Callie had heard it was a good place to go for hard-to-find works. Perhaps they might carry that Greek dark arts book that Snape has, she thought. Despite the grotesque images it had held, Callie found herself rather intrigued, curious to see what other horrors it contained within its pages.
Unfortunately, the shopkeeper told Callie he'd never heard of it, when she inquired.
She and Hermione were rejoined by Red, and they stopped into Dominic Maestro's Music Shop, Gladrags Wizardwear, and the Hogsmeade post office before they decided to try out the Three Broomsticks pub. Apparently this was the place to be on a free afternoon in Hogsmeade. The place was packed, especially with all the students taking over for the day. Callie and the Gryffindors settled into the only free booth, and were greeted by woman with big curly hair who introduced herself as Madam Rosmerta, the owner.
"What'll it be?" the woman asked.
"I'll take a Firewhisky," Callie tried, hopefully.
Madam Rosmerta put a hand on her hip. "Can I see some ID?" she asked, looking doubtful.
Callie's shoulders sank. "Well," she said, "you could, if I had one." The barmaid smirked and shook her head.
"Three butterbeers," Red ordered. Once their drinks arrived, they settled into a lively conversation about Sirius Black.
"What does he want with Harry?" Callie asked. Everyone and their brother, it seemed, wanted the poor boy's head on a stick. It was getting ridiculous.
"Black was one of You Know Who's most loyal followers," Hermione explained. "Now he blames Harry for You Know Who's downfall, plus his own arrest. He's out for revenge."
"Blimey," Callie said. "I swear one of these days, that boy-" Is going to be killed, she wanted to say. But perhaps that wouldn't be quite so tactful in front of his two best friends.
The bell above the front door rang, and Callie perked up as she saw Neville enter the pub with Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan.
"Neville!" she called out, and waved him over. He slid in beside her, setting a Honeydukes bag on the table.
Red reached over to check its contents, asking, "What'd you get?"
Neville shrugged. "Couple of sugar quills, some truffles..." he said.
"Blimey, Neville!" Red exclaimed. "How many packets of Drooble's are in here - a hundred?"
"More or less," the boy said, looking rather sheepish.
Hermione snatched the bag from Red, saying, "Give that back, you have enough of your own."
He shrank back as though he'd been scolded by his mum. "Only wanted to see if I missed anything," he explained.
Neville turned his attention to Callie. "So," he said, "how was the test?" He was referring to the previous week's Herbology practical.
"Think I did all right," Callie shrugged. "But a Flyzapper spit in my face." Everyone chuckled. The carnivorous plant was known to shoot out an inky black substance that paralyzed its prey. Luckily, humans were immune to this effect. "Took me forever to wash it all off."
"Is that why you had that sort of... bluish color to your face in Potions?" Hermione asked.
Callie nodded, then said to Neville, "See why I hate Herbology?"
"Getting spit on by a Flyzapper's better than spilling a potion for boils all over yourself," he argued.
Callie thought back on their first Potions class ever. "Wait," she said, "that was you who broke out into boils that day! It was supposed to prevent them, not cause them."
Neville's face reddened, but he said, "I still blame Seamus for that. He's the one that added the porcupine quills, not me."
"Oi, I apologized and apologized!" Seamus called out, approaching the table with Dean. "I'm the one that got my cauldron melted!" Turning his attention to Callie, he then said, "What's all this? Peace talks between Gryffindor and Slytherin?"
"I'm a refugee," Calling said, "seeking asylum from the mother country."
Seamus eyed her, and then smirked. "Guess you're all right," he declared, sliding into the booth beside Neville. Dean followed. "You did cost those dafty snakes five points," Seamus said.
"You're welcome," Callie replied.
"'Course, we'll see whose side you're cheering for come Saturday," he added.
"I'll cheer for whoever can slap a Bludger into Marcus Flint's ugly face," Callie said, setting them all into a bout of laughter.
"That'd be us," one of the Weasley twins said as they both appeared at Red's side. "Can't wait to knock the buggerer on his arse."
"Callie, this is Fred and George Weasley," Hermione introduced. "They're the Gryffindor beaters."
"Both of you?" Callie asked, raising a brow. Identical twins and both beaters - she was surprised they weren't wearing the same clothes.
"Couldn't let Georgie here have all the fun," Fred said, patting his lookalike's shoulder. "Wanted to get in on some good Slytherin whacking myself."
"Hey, that's my house!" Callie said, and everyone suddenly looked rather nervous. But she concluded, "I'll do the whacking."
The Gryffindors breathed a sigh of relief as Fred and George joined them in the booth. It was so crowded now, they were all practically sitting in each other's laps.
"Fred, George, this is Callie Warbeck," Hermione informed them.
The twins looked at Callie and one of them - she wasn't sure who - said, "Oi! Aren't you the one that told Professor Snape to shove it?"
"I didn't say that," Callie replied.
"Good on you!" the other twin said. "'Bout time somebody told the old bat off." Looking across to the bar, he called out, "Rosie! Get this girl a butterbeer, on me!"
Soon enough the conversation turned back to Quidditch. To Callie's left were Hermione and the three Weasleys; to her right, Neville, Seamus, and Dean. Eight people wedged into a booth made for four or five, and she was trapped right in the middle, forced to endure all this sports talk.
"I need some air," she finally said after ten minutes or so. To Neville, she added, "Walk with me?"
Seamus and Dean let them through, and they headed back out to the street.
"J. Pippin's Potions," Callie said, pointing. "Thought we could get some ingredients. Then we won't have to ask Snape for 'em."
They started off but were interrupted halfway down the street by Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley.
"Hi, Callie!" Ernie greeted with a wide smile. Then with a nod of acknowledgement, "Neville."
"So," Justin said, "you enjoying the village?"
"Yeah, it's great," Callie replied. "Shame we have to go back soon."
"Least there's the feast to look forward too," Ernie said. "Not 'til tonight though. Hey!" His face had gone from mild disappointment to glee. "Heard Madam Puddifoot's is pretty good. Care to stop in for a bite?"
Justin elbowed the boy in the ribs. What's that about? Callie wondered.
"We were just on our way to the apothecary," she explained. "Sorry."
Ernie's face fell, though Justin looked somewhat pleased. "Maybe next time," Ernie said. "Anyway, see you at dinner."
The two boys walked off, and Callie felt a little bad at having rejected the Hufflepuff's invitation.
"Madam Puddifoot's," Neville mused, and Callie turned to face him.
"What about it?" she asked.
He shrugged. "Just kind of... cozy, I guess."
"You've been there?"
"No, but... Katie Bell said people usually go there for dates."
Callie pondered that, looking back in the direction Ernie and Justin had wandered off in. "You don't think he..." she began, putting everything together. "Wait. Did he just ask me on a date?"
Neville was blushing again, his eyes averted. "Don't think me and Justin were included in that invite," he said.
Callie's mouth hung open. If that was an invitation for a date, it was the first one she'd ever received. Shaking her head, she said, "No. He was just being nice. He's a Hufflepuff, they're friendlier than most."
"Yeah, maybe," Neville said.
Still, she wondered if the boy had been a bit more friendly to her than to Neville, having barely acknowledged the latter's presence.
Suddenly, the all too familiar sound of shrieking laughter caught her ear, and Callie spotted Pansy and her girls coming up the street, right towards them.
"Shit!" she exclaimed, pulling Neville into an alley, hiding them both from her housemates' sights.
Holding up a finger to her mouth to shush him, Callie waited for the girls to pass. Once they were gone, she realized she'd been holding onto the front of Neville's jacket the whole time. "Sorry," she said, letting go and stepping back.
Any little thing could set the boy's cheeks aflame, but there was something about this particular blush that made Callie's heart flutter a bit. "S'okay," he said, his head bowed.
Callie checked the street to make sure Pansy and her clique weren't around.
Behind her, Neville's small voice called out, "Ya know, you don't have to hang out with me, just because we help each other out."
"What?"
She turned back to him, taking in his sad, sort of defeated stance as he finally met her eye. "Listen, I get it," he said. "Why you wouldn't wanna be seen with me."
Callie was bewildered. "What are you talking about?" she asked.
"You were embarrassed by me," he explained. "That's why you pulled me in here, isn't it?" He didn't sound bitter or offended, considering he thought she was ashamed to be seen with him.
"I wasn't embarrassed by you," Callie said. "I just didn't wanna deal with Parkinson on my day off."
He looked like he didn't know whether to believe her.
Callie scoffed and shook her head. "Bloody hell," she sighed, then grabbed him by the arm and said, "Come on."
She pulled him along to J. Pippin's Potions. Inside, the shopkeeper directed her to a back wall filled with shelves upon shelves of crystals. Callie looked over them and found a container of golden brown stones.
"Tiger's eye," she said, picking one up and holding it out to Neville. "A lot of people don't put much stock in crystal magic, but it's said to inspire confidence if you carry it around with you." Dropping the stone in his hand, she ordered, "Never take it out of your pocket."
"Yes, ma'am," he replied with a slight grin. He was about to follow Callie to the live ingredients section, but he paused, looking over the display of crystals and picking out a sky blue aquamarine. "I don't know what it does," he said with a shrug, handing it to her, "but it's pretty."
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"Oi! Warbeck!" one of the Weasley twins called out when she entered the Great Hall that night. "Come sit with us," he said.
Callie hesitated, wanting to take the boy up on his offer, but not sure if eating at another house's table was allowed.
"One second," she said, heading over to the teacher's table at the front of the room. Coincidentally, Snape and McGonagall were seated right next to each other. Deciding to go with the safer option, she directed her question to the woman.
"Professor McGonagall? One of the Weasley twins asked me to join them at the Gryffindor table. May I, ma'am?"
However, it was Snape that said, "And deprive your housemates of the pleasure of your company?"
McGonagall shot him a look of disdain, before turning her attention back to Callie. "I don't see why that ought to be a problem," she said. "As you wish, Miss Warbeck."
"Thank you, ma'am," Callie said with a nod. "And Happy Halloween."
As she turned to walk away, she heard the woman whisper to her colleague, "Honestly, Severus, the girl's perfectly respectful, well-behaved..."
That was all she got before the teacher's voice was drowned out by the crowd, but it left Callie grinning ear to ear.
"Best-looking girl in all of Slytherin and we snagged her away," said one of the twins. Blimey, she had to learn how to distinguish between them.
"Wish I could sleep in your dormitory, too," Callie said. "Best not to push it, though."
What a treat to share a meal with people who actually made her feel welcome. Even all the Quidditch talk was surprisingly nice. Perhaps she could slip into the Gryffindor stands at the upcoming match.
"Warbeck's always been a Lions fan," Harry informed his housemates. "Remember in first year, you bought one of our flags?"
"Caught hell for that one, I did," Callie said. "Think that was the only game I was ever excited for."
"Not a big Quidditch fan?" Neville asked.
Callie shrugged. "Never been much into sports. One time I joined in a game at a family reunion though. I was a beater. Ended up breaking my cousin's nose. That was fun!"
"Ought to stop by one of our practice sessions," George suggested. "I'll let you have a go with my broom and bat." To his twin, he said, "Imagine, this little pixie, a bone-breaking beater."
"Don't test her, Weasley," Dean piped up. "Remember, she stood up to Snape. She's hardcore."
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Gemma Farley popped into the girls' dormitory later that night. "Snape wants everybody in the common room, quickly," she informed them.
"Bloody hell, what now?" Pansy whined, rolling her eyes.
"Maybe a troll in the dungeons again," Callie suggested boredly, "or a petrified muggle-born. Never a dull moment at Hogwarts."
But it wasn't a troll or a basilisk this time. Sirius Black had gotten into the school, somehow, and all students were to spend the night in the Great Hall while the entire castle was searched.
Eight-hundred people spread out on the cold, hard floor in sleeping bags. No one seemed to mind, or even notice, when Callie spotted Neville and made her way over to him.
"Guess everyone's gotta have one good scare on Halloween," she said, unfurling her sleeping bag next to his. "Though a murderous prison escapee running around is a bit much."
"Think he'll come in here?" Neville asked, looking around with a worried expression.
"Well, if he does," Callie said, "we could always just hand Harry over and be on our way."
The boy gaped at her in horrified shock.
"Christ, Neville, I'm kidding!" she said. "What do you think of me?"
Relaxing a little, he said, "I don't know. Everything I learn about you is surprising." Smirking, he added, "Big, tough, 'bone-breaking beater,' yet you're freaked out by a mandrake."
"This coming from the boy who's afraid of his own shadow?" His face dropped a bit and she added, "Again, kidding."
"No, you're right though," he said. And then, bashfully, "When I heard about Black in the castle - Gryffindor Tower, at that... I started shaking." He paused, then said sarcastically, "Home of the brave at heart, right?"
"I don't know," Callie said, glancing at Snape who stood across the room with Dumbledore, "facing your greatest fear every day is pretty brave, I'd think."
McGonagall, at the front of the room, called out, "All right everyone, quiet down. We're going to turn down the lights. No one may leave the Great Hall without a teacher to escort them. Rest well."
The torches were extinguished, and only the moonlight from outside illuminated the hall. Callie pulled a box of sweets out of her sleeping bag and offered it to Neville. "Chocoball?" she whispered.
Both of them took one and ate silently. After a while, Neville called out, "Callie?"
She turned to face him.
"Being alone was you're Boggart, you said?" he asked.
"Yeah, that's how Lupin took it," she said.
Hesitantly, he went on. "Well... I might have to face my greatest fear every day, but... you don't. Not anymore, at least."
The boy could barely look at her as he spoke, but Callie couldn't take her eyes off him. That may have been the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her, and she was overcome with affection for her new friend.
Stretching to cover the distance between them, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. I don't think I've ever seen him redder, she thought with a grin, relaxing back into her sleeping bag.
"Good night, Neville," she said, turning on her side. Despite the convicted murderer running amok in the castle, she couldn't help but feel that this day had been one of her happiest days at Hogwarts.