43. The Beginning
It took her a good thirty seconds to remember where the hell she was when she woke up some time later. "Morning," Snape greeted her flatly.
"What-" she began, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "What happened?" She was on a sofa, still in his quarters. He was sitting in front of his desk looking... stunned. She bolted up. "What happened?" she repeated, panicking.
"They're alive," he informed her. "All of them." He paused. "Except for Black."
"Sirius Black?" she asked, and he nodded. Christ, another casualty, she thought. First Cedric, now this poor bloke. After a moment, she muttered, "I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry for?"
"I-" She paused. "I figured he was..." She trailed off. The two had worked together; they were comrades. She wouldn't have wanted to see any of her D.A. fellows killed, and assumed he felt the same about the other members of the Order.
"I hated him," Snape replied.
"Oh," she breathed, taken aback. "Why?"
He met her eye, hesitated, and said, "Stop trying to figure me out."
"I'm not- I-" she stammered. Then after a pause, "Never mind." A silence passed between them, before she went on. "But he was one of you, right? The Order?" Again, he nodded. "And he was Harry's godfather?" Another nod.
Callie signed, rubbing her head. The boy had already been through so much, and had already lost his own parents. Now his godfather? "Jesus H.," she breathed. "Just what he needs."
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She ran into the hospital wing looking for Neville. Glancing around the room, she noted Hermione and Red before her eyes found him, taking in the bandage on his nose and his two black eyes. Sprinting over to his bed, she jumped on top of it, took his face in her hands, and smashed her lips to his. Then, pulling back but still holding his face, she said, "Don't you ever do that to me again!"
"What?" he asked.
"You take off, you don't tell me where you're going, you leave me standing at the willow for an hour!"
"We were kind of in a rush," he explained.
She ignored him. "And what happened to 'you fight, I fight'?" she asked.
Smirking at her, he said, "You were in the shower."
She gaped at him. "Bloody hell," she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder.
Rubbing her back, he joked, "I could still go for that Irish coffee."
"Get your own God damn coffee!" she said, smacking his arm.
For the next twenty minutes or so, he told her all about the previous night - how they'd fought off thirteen Death Eaters, how he had somehow managed to end up as the last one standing, aside from Harry, how he had begged the boy not to give up a prophecy the Death Eaters were after, even when threatened by Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange.
"No," Callie said in horror. "They weren't there, the Lestranges?"
"Yeah, all three," he said. There was something in his expression that bothered her. Not the anger with which he usually spoke of the family, but something almost... secretive. Something he didn't want her to know.
"Don't ever keep any secrets from me," she reminded him.
He hesitated, but explained in a soft voice, "The woman... Bellatrix... she..."
Callie prodded, "Yes?"
Again, hesitating, "She wanted to see how long I'd last... before I 'cracked like my parents.'"
The realization slowly came to her, and her eyes widened, her jaw dropping open.
"It's all right," Neville said. "It wasn't... that long."
"Neville..." she said almost inaudibly.
"I promise I'm all right," he assured her. "I'm still here, aren't I?"
Yes, he was. And he was still himself. She pressed her forehead to his, and then kissed it. Looking away, she spotted Umbridge lying in a state of shock in another bed. Nodding towards the woman, she asked, "What happened to her?"
It was Hermione who answered, "We dropped her off in the forest with some centaurs. Think she's a little bit shaken."
"Centaurs, eh?" Callie said, rising to her feet. She looked down at her right arm, noting the very faint, but still visible scar from that special quill. I'm going to have this thing for life, God damn it, she thought. She's marked me.
Callie kept her eyes set on the woman as she approached. Although Umbridge didn't look like she had any idea what was going on around her, Callie figured it couldn't hurt to try and have a little fun. She clicked her tongue in a clip-clopping noise, and the woman came to life. "NO, NO, NO!" she screamed, flailing her arms and legs about.
A wide grin spread across Callie's face as the others burst into laughter. Madam Pomfrey appeared and said, "What's going on?"
"Think she must be having a nightmare, ma'am," Callie replied. Patting Umbridge on the arm, she said, "Rest well, Dolores."
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A couple of days later, Neville's nose was back to normal and the bruising was gone. "What was that stuff you put on me?" he asked.
"Ecchymesto balm," Callie replied. "Courtesy of Severus Snape."
He scoffed. "Snape actually gives a damn about me?" he asked in disbelief.
"No," she replied, shaking her head. "But it's what he used on me after Pansy beat my arse. I demanded it."
"Since when can you just make demands of Snape?"
She sighed, looking off in thought. "We've got a sort of understanding between us," she said. "Remember - prick, but not evil."
He cocked a brow at her. "You sure about that?"
She didn't have to think about it before she replied, "Yes. Absolutely sure."
They walked along the fifth-floor corridor, coming to a halt when Luna Lovegood appeared from around a corner. "Hi, Callie!" she greeted brightly.
Nodding, the Slytherin replied, "Luna." It was still a wonder how the little flighty blonde girl had managed to fight and survive the battle at the Ministry, but she'd ended up coming out the least scathed. I should've been there, Callie still thought. But eventually, she figured, there'd be another one.
Looking to Neville, the Ravenclaw asked, "Are you ready?"
He nodded, and Callie asked, "What are we doing?"
"You'll see," he said, wrapping an arm around her waist. Luna led them through the corridor and up a spiral staircase, to a door with a knocker in the shape of an eagle. "I have cities, but no houses," the eagle said, coming alive. "I have mountains, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I?"
Luna gave it a second of thought, and replied, "A map." The door swung open.
"I could've gotten that," Callie muttered. She and Neville followed Luna into a room that was decorated with sapphire blue carpeting and drapery. It was decorated with many bookshelves and a white marble statue that stood between two doors, each opening onto another set of spiral stairs. White and blue sofas and chairs, adorned with bronze detailing, were set around the room. Looking up, Callie noted a velvety midnight ceiling covered with stars. Taking everything in, she thought the room looked very vaguely familiar, and suddenly it came to her. "Oh, my God..." she breathed, looking around in awe.
"Neville said your dad was a Ravenclaw," Luna informed her. "He thought you might like to see his old common room."
"Surprised?" Neville asked, raising a brow at Callie.
"This is..." she began, but trailed off. Moving to get a better look at everything, a tear fell down her cheek as she could feel her father's presence in the room that had been his for seven years. "Neville..." she breathed, and he came up from behind, wrapping his arms around her.
"David Arden Warbeck," Luna said, drawing their attention to her. She was holding what looked like a very large yearbook and reading from it. "1963 to 1970. Is that right?"
"Yes," Callie said, coming to stand beside her. Pointing to his picture, she said, "That's him." Neville joined them to have a look.
"He was handsome," Luna commented. Then, considering Callie, "You don't seem to have many of his features, but you both have the same sort of..." She trailed off, unable to explain.
"Intensity?" Callie offered.
"Yes, that's it," Luna said. "Like you might not be as friendly as you really are."
Callie smiled to herself as she replied, "He was a teddy bear." Then, turning to Luna, she pulled the girl into a warm embrace. "Thank you," she said.
"You're welcome, Callie. My mum passed when I was nine. I know how you must have felt when you lost him."
Maybe she's not so... odd, Callie thought regarding the Ravenclaw. She pulled away, then leaned back in to give the girl a kiss on the cheek.
"I'm not a lesbian," Callie informed her.
"Oh, I know," Luna said. "After all, I've seen the way you look at Neville."
Callie turned to the boy, who blushed, and Luna made her way over to the dormitory. "You can stay as long as you want to," she said. "I'll be in my room, packing." With that, she left them alone.
Once she was gone, Neville said, "Somehow it wasn't so bad, seeing you kiss another girl."
Callie chuckled, shaking her head. "See? I flirt with everyone. I'm a people person."
They made their way over to the sofa, leaning their heads on the backrest to look up at the starry ceiling. "Oh, by the way," Callie said after a moment, "remind me to bring you to the Great Hall tonight, after everyone's gone."
"Why?"
"Star-gazing. You'll see."
After a while of simply cuddling in silence and watching the stars, he sat up and said, "Oh, I have something for you."
Callie furrowed her brow as he pulled out a rather large pouch from his robes and handed it to her. "What's this?" she asked.
"A down payment," he said.
She opened the bag and her jaw dropped. It was filled with shiny gold galleons. Looking back at him, she said, "You know you don't really have to pay me. That was only a rumor."
He chuckled, and explained, "No, it's for the plant. Only a small fraction of what I owe you, but-" he shrugged "-I'll get there one day."
She gaped at him. "The plant," she said, "was a gift."
"Two thousand galleons?" he reminded her.
"Yes." She looked back at the coins, and asked, "How much is in here?"
"A hundred."
"How did you get it?"
He sighed. "Some of it was Christmas money. The rest..."
She prodded, "Yes?"
Sighing again, he said, "I earned it."
"How?" she asked, very curious to hear the answer.
He pulled a sheet of parchment from his robes and held it out to her. She took it and read.
Gallons of Galleons!
Pocket money failing to keep pace with your outgoings?
Like to earn a little extra gold?
Contact Fred and George Weasley,
Gryffindor common room,
for simple, part-time, virtually painless jobs
(We regret that all work is undertaken at applicant's own risk)
Callie shot him an exasperated look. "Tell me you didn't," she said.
"I didn't," he replied, not meeting her eye.
"You did?"
"I did."
She was shocked. "What the hell did they do to you?" she asked.
He shrugged. "Couple of Skiving Snackboxes. Fainting Fancies, Fever Fudge..." He paused. "You don't need to know about the rest."
Again, she gaped at him. "How long have you been doing this?" she asked.
"Pretty much from the start of term until right before they left," he replied.
After a moment, she said, "All that to pay for the God damn plant?"
"Yes. I said I wasn't going to let you pay for it, and... well... in about twenty years I'll own it outright."
"Neville," she said, dropping the coin pouch in his lap, "I am not taking this. For Christ's sake, I have two hundred thousand. What am I going to do with a hundred more anyway?"
"Two thousand more in twenty years," he reminded, trying to hand back the pouch. But she refused.
"Take those coins," she said, "and get yourself a new wand." His old one had been broken during the battle.
"I'm not taking them," he said, looking resolute. "If you don't then I'll give them to your mum."
"What's she going to do with them?"
He considered it a moment, and said, "Smelt them. Muggles like gold, too."
"I'm gonna smelt you in a minute if you don't take them back," she warned.
Unfazed, he said, "Wicked lass," and pulled her in for a kiss.
After a couple of minutes of this, she pulled away and said, "Ya know, I can think of much better ways for you to pay me back."
"Yeah?" he said, raising a brow. "What'd you have in mind?"
"You, me, my house." She paused, putting her lips to his neck. "My room." Kiss. "My bed."
"Your shower?" he suggested.
"All in good time, love," she teased. They continued to kiss - until two Ravenclaws came down from the dormitory and said, "Oi, who the hell are you two?"
"We're guests," Callie replied. "Luna let us in."
"Who the hell is Luna?" one of the boys asked.
Looking back at Neville, Callie joked, "Wait - has she been a spirit this whole time?"
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On their way to the hospital wing to visit Hermione and Red, they ran into Harry. "Hey," Callie greeted in a sympathetic tone.
"Hey," he replied. Then to Neville, "You look better."
"Thanks," he said.
"So..." Callie began after a moment, "I heard about... your godfather." Harry and Neville exchanged a glance, before she said, "I'm sorry."
Harry smiled sadly at her. "He was innocent. It wasn't his fault, the breakout in January."
"I know. Snape told me he was working for the Order."
He raised a brow at her. "Snape told you?" he asked.
"The night of the battle," she explained. "He was trying to contact him to tell him where you were."
Harry considered that, then shook his head to himself. "Snape hated Sirius," he said.
"Snape hates everybody," Callie replied. "But... comrades, right?" Harry shrugged, and she stepped forward to give him a hug. "Don't you leave me here next time," Callie said. "I enjoy a good fight." He smirked as she pulled away from him. Then she noticed the newspaper in his hand, and asked, "What's this?"
He handed it over; it was the Sunday Prophet. She read the front-page headline to herself: He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Returns. Finally, the Ministry and the press were acknowledging it, and Callie thought to herself, No need for the Dark Lord to stay in hiding anymore.
She looked up at Harry and Neville, sighing to herself. "And so it begins," she said.
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Author's note: Year five is done. I'd love to know what you all think. Please review :)