31. Warbeck vs. Warbeck

Callie slept in a guest room from then on, but Mrs. Longbottom was, surprisingly, perfectly happy to have her there, once she'd explained the situation with her mum.

"Good Heavens," the elderly woman had said, "there's no reason not to return to Hogwarts! With Dumbledore in charge, the castle will be perfectly safe. And in any event, we mustn't step aside for those Ministry bastards, and certainly not for You Know Who and his army of abominable scum!"

Callie had gained a little bit of respect for the woman after that. When she wasn't berating her grandson, she was actually quite likeable. Tough as nails, but in a good way, if her energies were directed towards the right cause.

In any event, she had a rather active social life for an older woman, and with Callie's "explanation" about Ginny, she had no problem leaving them to their own devices throughout the day. They found themselves in Diagon Alley one day at the Magical Menagerie, where Callie was cuddling a baby Niffler that was for sale.

Scratching the little black creature's belly with a smile, she said, "I want one."

The shopkeeper replied, "Affectionate little buggers, they are. But a bit of a handful when they want to get at something sparkly."

"Aye," Callie said sadly. "Couldn't bring it to Hogwarts. I'd have to leave it at home, and I don't think Mum would be quite happy to keep him while I'm gone." Setting the animal back in its cage, she wandered around, checking out the rest of the magical creatures for sale. "What are those?" she asked, pointing to a container of what almost looked like turtles, but with legs like crab claws and multicolored jewels on their shells.

"Fire crabs," the shopkeeper said. "Highly valued for their bedazzled shells. They were imported from Fiji. The islanders have a reservation there, for protection. Even the muggles who'd come across them kept trying to poach them for the gems."

Callie picked one up and asked, "How much?"

"Thousand galleons a piece. But you need a special license to own one."

Callie's shoulders sunk. Moving on along the rows of cages and containers, she asked Neville, "What about a toad?"

"Nobody wants a toad," he replied. "Trust me." His own pet, Trevor, was quite the pain to keep up with.

"Yeah, but these are pretty," she said, bending to look into a container. "They're purple."

"Easy enough to manage," the shopkeeper said. "Rather solitary though, and they have the ability to stun a person when they're disturbed."

Callie threw her hands up in exasperation. "Isn't there anything relatively simple to keep?" she asked.

"What about a cat?" Neville suggested.

"I don't like cats," Callie said. "Ever had a cat? They're vicious. And moody. If cats were human, they'd be Pansy Parkinson." Even now, all the felines on display seemed to have such attitude in their expressions. Callie moved on, coming to stop at a bigger cage filled with common fruit bats. "Ooh," she said, "I love bats, and that oughtn't be too difficult to manage."

"Not particularly cuddly," Neville mused.

"Look at their faces. They look like little puppies."

"Puppies?"

"Just the faces." Callie reached into the cage to pull one out. Turning to the shopkeeper, she asked, "How much are they?"

"Seven galleons. Of course, you'll need a cage and feed too."

Callie flipped it over to check its sex, but couldn't tell. "Is this one a boy or a girl?"

They shopkeeper gave it a look and replied, "Boy."

"I'll take it," Callie said. "And the food and a cage and whatever else bats need."

"What're you gonna call him?" Neville asked.

"Bela."

He furrowed his brow. "Isn't that a girl's name?"

"No, as in 'Bela Lugosi.' The bloke that played Dracula in the movie." During her stay at the Longbottom residence, Callie had bought a television and showed Neville her favorite muggle horror films. They both got a kick out of all the things muggles got wrong about creatures like vampires and werewolves.

Callie held the little creature in her hands while the shopkeeper picked out its cage and supplies and set them up on the counter. "Would you get my money out of my purse for me?" she asked Neville.

But he reached into his own pocket and said, "It's on me."

"What? No!"

"Your birthday present," he explained. "Wasn't coming up with any better ideas anyway."

"Diamonds and emeralds would've sufficed again," she joked. But as long as it was a birthday gift, she let him pay for the bat and its supplies.

Next they found themselves in an herbology shop, and Callie stood off to the side feeding Bela mango pieces through his cage as Neville wandered among the many magical species. "Oi, they've got a Mimbulus mimbletonia!" he said with excitement, drawing her attention away from the bat.

"What's that?"

"It belongs to the cactus family," he explained. "Native to Assyria. It's really rare. Never seen one before, but I've read about them."

Callie followed his gaze to a display behind the checkout counter. The Assyrian cactus was a bumpy grey plant covered in what looked like boils. Upon closer inspection it appeared to be pulsating. Callie made a disgusted face.

"It's ugly," she remarked.

The shopkeeper came to stand behind the counter. "Never insult Kingdom Plantae, lass," he said to Callie. "After all, they be creations of the Lord, just like you and I."

Bloody hell, this bloke is even worse than Neville.

The man went on, "Hell of a species, too, it is. Known for its unusual defensive response when disturbed." He grabbed a jar of thick, dark green liquid from a shelf and opened it. "Give it a small tap and it releases some of this. Go on, have a sniff."

He held it out for Callie and Neville, who both gave it a whiff and then recoiled in disgust.

"God!" Callie exclaimed, covering her nose. "That is rancid!"

The shopkeeper smirked at her response. "Gotta be handled with care, it does. Part of the reason for the mimbletonia's rarity is its difficulty in harvesting and tending to it."

Callie looked over at Neville, who gawked at the plant as if it were the statue of David. Aside from his awe, there was also a rather curious look in his eye, sort of a thoughtful determination, as if the shopkeeper's words about the difficulty keeping up the plant presented a challenge he wanted to take on.

Turning back to the man behind the counter, Callie asked, "Is it for sale?" nodding up at the display.

"Yes, actually," he replied. "Two thousands galleons."

Both Neville and Callie gaped at him, and the latter said, "For a cactus?"

"Not just any cactus, my dear," he replied. "The mimbletonia is one of the rarest and most fascinating species on God's good earth."

Looking back at Neville's longing face, Callie sighed and reached into her bag. "We'll take it," she said.

Turning to her in shock, Neville shouted, "What?!"

"Happy birthday," she replied, pulling out her Gringotts bank book and a pen.

Shaking his head, he said, "Callie, no. Two thousands galleons?"

"I have a hundred times that much," she reminded him.

Behind the counter, the shopkeeper piped up, "Anything else I can interest you in, then?"

Callie shot him a look, while Neville argued, "I'm not going to let you blow two thousand galleons on this. That money was supposed to be for security, you said."

"I'll be perfectly secure with one hundred ninety-eight thousand," she countered. "Trust me, I could live on that my whole life and never have to work a day."

"No," he repeated, shaking his head again. "No, you're not doing this."

She turned on him, raising a brow, and said, "You're going to tell me what I'm gonna do?"

As he struggled to find a good argument, the shopkeeper glanced between them and asked, "Are you two married?"

"Bloody hell, we're only fifteen," Callie informed him.

To Neville, he said, "Seems to have you on a leash, she does."

"Yeah, well," Neville replied, "not today. I'm serious, Callie, I'm not taking it. You buy that plant and you're going to have to keep up with it 'cause I refuse."

"Fine then," she said airily. "Maybe I'll feed it to Bela."

"NO!" both Neville and the shopkeeper barked.

An hour later they were back at the Longbottom residence. "You can't win an argument with me," Callie said as she set down the bat cage. "I'm tougher than you and I'm much more stubborn."

Neville set the mimbletonia on the sitting room table. He'd been trying desperately to appear angry with her, but the wonderous look in his eye as he studied the plant gave him away. "I'm paying you back for this," he said. "If I have to quit school and scrub bedpans at St. Mungo's, you're getting your two thousand galleons back."

"Sure Neville," she said in a bored tone, "whatever you say."

She joined him on the sofa as Mrs. Longbottom came in from the kitchen. "Oh, my!" she exclaimed, spotting the bat and the cactus. "What's all this?"

"We went shopping," Callie explained. Then, indicating the cage, "I'll keep him outside, if you'd like."

"No, it's all right," she replied, taking a seat on what was designated as her chair. Then, nodding towards the television set Callie had bought, she said, "Casablanca was lovely."

"You liked it?" Callie said, perking up. "It's a classic."

"Victor Laszlo was so handsome," the woman mused. "So glad she got on that..." she trailed off, trying to remember the word, "...air-o-plane, is it?"

"Right, ma'am," Callie confirmed.

"Oh, but that vampire film. Ghastly!"

Callie bit the inside of her cheek, repressing a grin. "I'm surprised you watched that one," she said.

"You and Neville were laughing so hard the other night, I'd assumed it was a comedy show."

They all looked over when a knock at the front door sounded.

"Puffy?" Mrs. Longbottom called out. The elf appeared from a room off to the side to greet the visitor. He opened the door and Callie shot up to her feet as her mum appeared, looking right pissed.

"Who might you be, madam?" Mrs. Longbottom asked, rising up.

Without a word, Susanna marched right up to Callie and smacked her hard across the face. Neville shot up and put a hand on the girl's shoulder, pulling her back a few feet.

"What the bloody hell is this?!" Mrs. Longbottom shrieked. "You keep your hands off her, and I demand you tell me who you are and what you think you're doing barging into my house uninvited!"

Before Susanna could reply, Callie cut in, "It's all right, ma'am." Grabbing a handful of ice from a bucket and holding it to her cheek, she said. "Neville, Mrs. Longbottom, allow me to introduce you to my mother, the good doctor."

Glancing over at Mrs. Longbottom, Susanna said, "Forgive me, ma'am." Then she returned her attention to Callie. "I have never in my life been angrier with you than I am right now!" she screamed. "Running off in the middle of the night and I don't hear from you for seven days?!"

"I called and told you I was here!" Callie argued.

"Yes, and then nothing for a week!" Susanna replied. "I didn't even know where to find this place. I looked all over your room for an address and finally had to contact Professor Dumbledore."

"You haven't talked to her at all since you've been here?" Neville asked Callie, who sighed, but stayed quiet. Really she had no explanation for abandoning the woman completely.

Susanna went on. "You tell me that... thing is on the loose and a war is starting up again," she said. "It's going to be so unsafe that I'll have to leave the country. And that a student was murdered at Hogwarts last month. Then you disappear and I have no idea where the hell you are? Do you have any idea what you've just put me through! I've already lost the love of my life, I'm not looking to lose my daughter, too!"

Way to lay on the guilt, Mum, Callie thought. That had been a low blow, bringing up her dad.

Sticking her finger in Callie's face, the woman said, "You're not going back to Hogwarts, not after this little stunt. I'm pulling you out."

"You can't do that," Callie argued.

"Yes, I can. I am your parent, muggle or not, and I decide whether you attend."

That was true, but Callie wasn't giving up that easy. With a sigh, she replied, "Then I'm not coming home. And you have no say in that."

"You're fifteen!" Susanna argued.

"And I'm magical, you're muggle," Callie countered. "You literally can't stop me from leaving. I'm more powerful than you are."

The woman knew her daughter had her there, but she scoffed and asked, "What are you going to do, hex me?"

"I won't have to," Callie replied. "I don't even need a wand to overpower you."

Susanna glared at her. "Don't you dare threaten me, little girl. Think you're so powerful, do you? And I'm just the stupid little muggle that doesn't know anything about the wizarding world?" She paused, pacing the room. "For God's sake, Callie, I was there for the Great War - you weren't! You didn't see what that bastard was capable of, what destruction he caused! Every day, I watched your father walk out of the house and I was terrified he wasn't coming back! And he was a God damn banker, not a soldier. None of it had anything to do with him!"

"This has to do with all of us!" Callie said. "You, me, every other muggle and muggle-born in Britain. I have friends who are muggle-born. What about them? You expect me to leave everybody behind like a coward, to save my own arse? Hell, if you were a witch, I'd want you to stay and fight, too. And dad, if he were alive."

Susanna considered her daughter a moment, then shook her head. "You're not going to be some big hero, Calista," she said. "You're fifteen years old, you're not going to save the whole wizarding world from You Know Who."

"No," Callie said. "But I'm not going to stand aside, either."

The two faced off in silence, both of them standing their ground. But Callie wasn't backing down, and she had the fact that she was more powerful than her mum on her side. It was an undeniable truth; even if the woman pulled her out of Hogwarts, she couldn't keep Callie from anything else.

After a while, Susanna gave a pained expression and said, "Please, Callie. Please. Don't do this to me. You're all I have now, I can't lose you. I've already buried a husband, I can't do it again with my daughter."

Callie sighed and said, "Don't guilt me. Supposing the worst were to happen - wouldn't you rather I died fighting for what's right than live as a coward?"

"No!"

"Mrs. Warbeck?" Mrs. Longbottom cut in.

"Dr. Warbeck," Neville corrected.

Coming to stand before Susanna, the older woman spoke calmly, "Please, madam. I, too, was around for You Know Who's reign of terror. So were my son and his wife."

"Ma'am," Callie cut in, "you don't have to explain anything."

But the woman held a hand up to quiet her, keeping her eyes on Susanna. "My boy was an auror and fought against You Know Who and his followers. As did my daughter-in-law. They were noble and valiant, and though they didn't personally 'save the whole wizarding world from You Know Who,' they were heroes." She paused, before continuing, "And now they're confined to a hospital ward due to the events of the Great War. Neither of them know who they are, or who I am, or who their son is." She indicated Neville, and Susanna gave the boy a glance.

"My son, for all intents and purposes, is gone," Mrs. Longbottom went on. "I understand completely how it feels to lose a child, and I wouldn't wish that kind of hell on anyone."

Callie and her mum exchanged a look, and there were tears forming in the latter's eyes.

"But my son stood up for what he knew was right. He gave his life, as he knew it, so that his own boy might grow up in a world where he could meet somebody like your daughter - a half-blood, the child of a muggle woman, who may not have been given the opportunity to attend Hogwarts School at all if You Know Who had gone on to continue his reign." Pausing, she added. "I thank you for raising the girl who has brought so much joy to my grandson."

The old woman looked over at Callie and smiled kindly. Callie returned the gesture.

"She's a fine girl, she is," Mrs. Longbottom said. "Intelligent, talented, honorable... and feisty as a banshee when she wants to be." Susanna scoffed, and the woman said, "She'd make our militia and our people proud, as well as you, madam."

Susanna wiped away a tear that had fallen down her cheek. Sniffling, she said, "I'm already proud, Mrs. Longbottom. She doesn't have to risk her life for that."

"No," Callie spoke up, "but I will risk my life for my people and yours, if it comes to that."

"Callie..." Susanna said pleadingly.

"Mum," the girl replied, coming to stand before her, "it's going to be all right. Trust me. I really think it's going to be all right."

"After all of your 'flee Britain' talk?"

"Dangerous for you," Callie said. "You're a muggle, you can't fight back. But I can. And I will, if I have to. Whether I'm at Hogwarts or anywhere else."

A silence fell, before Neville said, softly, "Fighting back is sort of her specialty, ma'am. It's not so easy to contain the beast."

"Hmph," Susanna huffed, shaking her head. Callie was hopeful to see that she was smiling. Looking back up at her daughter, the woman said, "I'm so sorry," and caressed the girl's reddened cheek.

"It's okay, I suppose I deserved it," Callie replied. "Put McGonagall to shame, you did."

Turning to Mrs. Longbottom, Susanna said, "Ma'am, I'm so sorry for causing a scene."

"Not to worry, dear," the woman replied with a nod. "We're all a bit on edge these days."

To Callie, Susanna said, "Come home. Please. I'm not going to see you for a while." Callie could see the idea flash in her eyes that she may never see her again.

"All right," she replied. Then after a beat, "Mrs. Longbottom, can Neville come with us a few days? I got to see his home, maybe he should see mine."

The woman considered it a moment, then said, "Certainly, dear."

"Are you sure?" Neville asked Callie. Then to her mum, "Is that all right with you, ma'am? I don't want to intrude."

"Yes, that's fine," Susanna said. "Perhaps you could help me contain the beast."

Neville chuckled, then said, "I'll go pack."

Pointing to the mimbletonia, Callie replied, "Fine, but you're not bringing that thing in my house."

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Author's note: I try to keep as close to canon as possible, but I made an exception here. In the book, Uncle Algie gave Neville the Mimbulus mimbletonia.