59. The Carrows
"What the hell happened?" Neville practically shouted at her when they met up in the Great Hall the next morning.
"I sent a house-elf to tell you I was going to be in the dungeons," she replied.
"Yes, I talked to him. But why? I was worried sick all night, I barely slept. I said I didn't want you alone down there with all of them. With Snape."
"It was fine," Callie said. "Uneventful. You don't have to worry about me any more than anyone else." Lowering her voice, she went on, "The Carrows? They were two of the Death Eaters at the battle last year."
"Yeah, I know. McGonagall told us."
"Did she also warn you not to cross them?"
"No," he replied. "I mean, I would think that goes without saying."
"She said it to me. Told me that I ought to keep my head down."
Neville considered that and said, "Well, that makes sense. Look at the way you used to go after Snape. You were never afraid to stand up to him. But..."
"But that was before," she finished for him.
"Exactly."
Callie thought back on the previous night, and something Astoria had said to her. "There are so few purebloods left in Britain. My parents said You Know Who won't be so willing to go after even those who are blood traitors. It would only go against his own ideals, to spill pure blood."
Perhaps Neville and Ginny would be safe, then. Their families were two of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. But not hers, and therefore, was she expendable? Could that be why McGonagall had warned her, and not the others, to toe the line?
Professor Slughorn approached the Gryffindor table, and greeted, "Good morning, Miss Warbeck. Lovely to see you again."
"You as well, sir," she replied. After a year of learning from the man, she still wasn't entirely sure what to think of him. He'd been quite good to her, getting her an in with Healer Winslow, and encouraging her in her career goals. But Snape had been good to her, too. Although, the normally cheerful man had seemed just as devastated as everyone else to find his former student had turned traitor. "Are you going to remain the Slytherin head of house?" she asked.
"Yes, I am," he said. There was a look of anxiety in his eyes that he appeared to be trying to hide with a friendly smile. "Unfortunately it seems as through you're stuck with me another year," he joked. "But I'm looking forward to seeing what my star student will impress me with this time. Your schedule." He handed it over, and Callie's brow furrowed.
"Wait," she said, "Muggle Studies? I don't take that anymore."
Slughorn explained, "The subject has been made compulsory for all students. As per... the Ministry's new curriculum guidelines."
When he had left them, Callie turned to Neville and asked, "Why would they want to make Muggle Studies compulsory? If anything, I would think they'd ban the subject."
But it all made sense when she had her first class with Alecto Carrow. "The non-magical being commonly know as the 'muggle,'" she began, "has been one of the greatest threats to wizardkind. Since the creation of the first witch and wizard, the muggle - no doubt set upon the earth by the devil himself - has sought to undermine our power, and usurp our gifts of magic. For far too long, many of our brothers and sisters have attempted to live in harmony with the creatures. To take them as husbands and wives. To breed with them, diluting the blood of our race and producing half-formed wizards and witches."
Callie felt as though a spotlight had been shown on her. Every single person in the room was a pureblood, she knew. Many of them belonged to the Scared Twenty-Eight - Pansy, Daphne, Millicent, Malfoy, Theo Nott. And Carrow herself. But I'm the only half-formed witch among the group, she thought bitterly.
The evil little woman went on, "But this is all about to change. For we are heading into a new era, in which the magical community will no longer be oppressed by such lower beings. We are going to stamp out those so called 'muggle-borns' who have wormed their way into our world and stolen our magic. We are going to take back what is rightfully ours."
Carrow went on with a lesson about the witch trials of the seventeenth century, and Callie was itching to speak up and say that that was four hundred years ago, that those responsible had been religious fanatics, and that it had only been other muggles who were persecuted. Those who were truly magical were never in danger. But she held back, reminding herself to keep her head down. What good would it do anyway? Nobody in the all-Slytherin class was going to be convinced.
Still, it was killing her to have to sit there and listen to that rubbish and not say anything. She couldn't wait for the "lesson" to be over, and practically ran out of the room when the time finally came. But on the way to Transfiguration, she heard Pansy and Daphne talking behind her.
"About time somebody told it like it is," Pansy said. "I don't know how much longer I could've gone on listening to all the muggle-loving bollocks."
"Personally," Daphne replied in a haughty tone, "I found it to be rather offensive." Callie did a double take. There was no way she had heard that right. But the girl explained, "'One of the greatest threats to wizardkind'? Oppressed by muggles?" She scoffed, rolling her eyes, "That's laughable."
Pansy argued, "You heard what she said about the witch trials."
"Yes," Daphne agreed. "But all that goes to show is how stupid muggles really are. If you do the research, you'll see that no wizard or witch was ever burned or hung during those trials. Hardly any of our people were ever even questioned. They mostly went after other muggles who they'd suspected of being devil worshippers. It was a joke."
Callie and Pansy both paused as Daphne made her way into the classroom. For one strange moment, the two enemies gaped at each other, both in shock that Daphne would contradict all that Carrow had said. Callie was oddly impressed that the girl wasn't completely stupid and could think for herself, but damn it, why couldn't she have made such arguments in class?
"It was awful," she told Neville during lunch. "Anti-muggle bullshit, talking about how they're a threat to wizardkind and that they've driven us into hiding."
"Nobody's driven us into hiding, we made that choice," he said.
"Of course. But Carrow insists that if we made ourselves known to mugglekind, it would stir up a rebellion against us. Which is why we need to 'contain them.' Once we've got control, then we'll be free to move around as we please."
"Christ, that's backwards," Neville sighed. "I'll bet Malfoy and his cronies just loved all that talk."
"Actually, Malfoy didn't seem to be paying all that much attention," she countered. "He's not the same as he used to be. I think all of this has gotten to him."
Neville furrowed his brow and asked, "What do you mean?"
"I mean that I think he regrets joining You Know Who," she explained. "That's what I gathered last year when I talked to him. Even Harry told me that he didn't have it in him to kill Dumbledore, and the man gave him every opportunity."
The boy still had that look of agony about him, even though, from what Callie had heard, his father was now out of Azkaban. His family was together again, his master was gaining more and more power every day, and he didn't have to worry about Dumbledore anymore. She would've thought he'd be rejoicing in all his good fortune, but instead he seemed just as miserable as he had the previous year. Maybe more so.
When she and Neville walked into Defense Against the Dark Arts two days later, her housemate was sitting at the back of the room with his head bowed, ignoring his best friends Crabbe and Goyle as they chatted excitedly at his side. What are they so happy about? Callie wondered as she took her seat. Just as with the previous year, all four houses took advanced Defense together, and many of her classmates were former D.A. members. From Gryffindor, there was Seamus, Lavender, Parvati, and Katie Bell - who had missed so much school from being hospitalized, that she had to repeat her seventh year. Hufflepuffs Ernie, Hannah, and Susan were also present, while Justin, a muggleborn, was notably missing. Finally, Michael, Terry, Anthony, and Padma were there representing Ravenclaw.
Leaning over to Neville, Callie muttered, "Almost feels like a family reunion, doesn't it?"
"Hmph. Thirteen people from the D.A.," he remarked bitterly, "but you and I were the only two who showed up at the battle. Some family."
He was still resentful about all the others "abandoning" them when Hermione had called. Perhaps they could have defeated the Death Eaters - and maybe even saved Dumbledore - if they'd had more people on their side.
"What's done is done," Callie reminded. "The last thing we need is to turn on each other."
When everyone was seated, their new professor shut the door and stood at the front of the room. "Let us jump right in," he said. "Who can tell me the three Unforgivable Curses?"
Nobody seemed to want to speak, though they all knew the answer, having learned about the Unforgivables in fourth year. Carrow gave it a moment, then slammed his hand down on the desk, making them all jump. "Oi! I haven't got all day," he said.
It was Theo Nott who provided the answer in a bored tone. "The Imperius Curse, the Cruciatus Curse, and the Killing Curse."
"Very good," Carrow replied, "Five points to Slytherin. Now - someone else - tell me why they are referred to as 'unforgivable.'"
"Because the use of any one of them is illegal," Padma answered.
"Incorrect," Carrow said. "Their use was illegal, up until recently. The Ministry of Magic has lifted the ban on these three curses."
A few people gasped, and Callie and Neville exchanged a worried look.
Carrow went on, "We are, as you know, in wartime. Our government has wisely decided that we ought to be able to protect and defend ourselves by any means necessary. As our enemies will no doubt employ the formerly-named Unforgivable Curses against us - regardless of their legality - the Ministry has granted us permission to retaliate without the threat of punishment."
Bloody hell, Callie thought. Not that the law would've deterred these bastards from using the Unforgivables, but to have express permission would only encourage them. She then remembered what Snape had said about the Carrows during the welcome feast - They will be responsible for any and all disciplinary actions. She was silently thanking whatever force had kept her from speaking up in Muggle Studies.
"Now," Carrow said, "I assume that most of you have never attempted to use any of the curses of which we speak, let alone successfully performed them. That is going to change this term. You will become proficient in the Imperius Curse, the Cruciatus Curse, and the Killing Curse."
"What?!" Seamus called out.
"The Killing Curse?" Parvati said.
"I am not killing anybody!" Hannah declared.
"Quiet, all of you!" Carrow demanded. "Obviously, we will not be practicing the Killing Curse on human subjects." Rolling his eyes, he muttered to himself, "Imbecilic brats."
"Well, what about the Cruciatus?" Michael asked.
"I was getting there," Carrow scowled. "And don't interrupt me again, any of you." He looked over all of them, as if daring them to speak out of turn. But everyone kept quiet. "Very well," he said, and then stalked over towards Callie and Neville, coming to stand before the latter. "Neville Longbottom?"
Callie set a hand on her boyfriend's thigh. She could tell that he was seething inside, and she knew exactly why. Practicing the Killing Curse may have been out of the question, but the Cruciatus wasn't fatal - not in the usual sense. He's going to try and make us do it, she thought. And to who? Each other?
He had his head bowed, either unwilling or unable to look the Death Eater in the eye. "Chin up, boy!" Carrow demanded, and Neville looked up with a resentful expression on his face. "You know all about the Cruciatus Curse, don't you, lad?"
Behind them, Crabbe and Goyle chuckled.
"Tell me," Carrow went on, "how are your dear parents these days?"
"Don't you say a word about my parents," Neville said warningly.
"Lunatics, they are," Crabbe called out.
Neville made to rise up from his seat, but Callie shoved him back down. Don't do anything stupid, she thought. They're baiting you.
"Stand up," Carrow said.
But Neville remained seated, and asked, "Why?"
"Because I said so."
He glanced at Callie, and she felt he was silently asking her what he should do. Panic and heartbreak came over her, as she had no answer for him. He could either obey Carrow, and have to face whatever the man had planned, or defy him and be met with some punishment that could potentially be much worse.
As she struggled to come up with a way to get him out of this, Carrow, again, slammed his hand on Neville's desk and said, "On your feet!" The boy rose up and followed Carrow to the front of the room.
"The Cruciatus Curse," the man explained, "is also known as the Torture Curse. Its purpose is to cause unbearable pain for the target, rendering them unable to fight back. It is quite a useful bit of magic to employ during a duel. Depending on its intensity and duration, it may even leave the victim... permanently incapacitated." That last bit he said in a disgustingly mocking tone, his eyes set on Neville's.
Callie never looked away from the man's wand hand. She had thought he was going to make them try the curse themselves, but it now occurred to her that he might just show them himself how it was done.
Christ, no, she thought. It was one thing to endure the sister's anti-muggle rhetoric, but there was no way in hell she was going to watch anyone - let alone the boy she loved - get tortured. But what could she possibly do to stop it? Any action taken against Carrow would surely lead to her own punishment. Perhaps something even worse than the Cruciatus. Maybe Azkaban?
Or death? She was, after all, an expendable half-blood.
Neville was glaring at the man, who went on, "It is a most powerful curse, and thus it requires extreme strength of mind. I'd hazard a guess that most of you won't be able to pull it off by the end of class..." he paused, looking back over the group "...except perhaps one."
They all glanced around at each other, some people setting their eyes on the four Slytherin boys in the back, one of whom was known to have the Dark Mark on his arm. But Carrow slowly advanced on Callie, and said, "Calista Warbeck. Lovely to see you again, darling."
Holy shit, he did recognize her. Her classmates broke out into quiet murmurs, wondering how the hell she and this bloke knew each other. He explained, "You all ought to watch out for this one. You see, a few months ago, my sister and I and a few of our friends were invited into Hogwarts. But we were most rudely welcomed with a vicious attack from a group of Albus Dumbledore's cronies. Among them were Mr. Longbottom and Miss Warbeck." Indicating Neville, he said, "The boy, here, wasn't much of an issue. But this lass-" he gestured to Callie "-from what I was told, was quite proficient with the Cruciatus Curse, having performed it on one of my fellows."
Whoever that bloke was that had been wrestling on the ground with Lupin. Callie had ended up having to appear before the Wizengamot two weeks after the battle, but considering the circumstances, and with Lupin's testimony, she'd been pardoned for her use of the - at the time - Unforgivable Curse.
Carrow continued, "As such, I do believe that Miss Warbeck should be able to demonstrate the curse for all of you. What do you say, lass?"
She gaped up at him, then glanced at Neville. No, he was not suggesting that she...
"Get up," he demanded, taking her by the arm and pulling her to her feet. "You like to play around with Torture Curses?" He nodded towards Neville. "Have at it, then."
"Absolutely not," she said. "And don't you ever touch me again."
He studied her a moment, looking quite pissed. Turning to the rest of the class, he said, "Let us all get a few things straight. One - when I give an order, it is to be followed without question or protest." He paused, turned back to Callie, and said, "Two - nobody tells me what I can and can't do. If I want to touch you-" he ran his hand along her cheek "-then I will."
Crabbe and Goyle laughed, but most everybody else was outraged. Every girl in the room had gasped, and Lavender said, "How dare you?" But of course, it was Neville who looked as though he were about to explode.
"You keep your hands off her," he growled.
"Quiet, boy," Carrow shot back. Then, to Callie. "Go on, love. Unless you'd rather be on the receiving end."
"No!" Neville shouted.
The man turned on him. "I told you to shut it!"
But Neville ignored him and said, "Callie, do it. It's all right, I can take it, I've done it before." The two stared at each other, he with a pleading expression on his face. I could've taken a hundred Torture Curses, he'd said before the battle in June, but seeing them hurt you would've killed me.
She didn't doubt that he would suffer more watching her get Cruciated, and surely Carrow would perform the curse on both of them if she didn't do as he said. But that wasn't enough; she simply didn't have it in her.
"I can't do it," she said.
"Callie..." Neville groaned desperately.
But she explained to Carrow, "You have to want to cause the victim pain. And I don't." Gesturing to the boy, she said, "I can't hurt him."
From the back of the room, Goyle called out, "Longbottom's her man," and he and Crabbe laughed again.
Callie shot them a look, thinking it would be easy to Cruciate them. To Carrow, she said, "If you want me to do it, then give me somebody I hate."
He considered the suggestion and replied, "All right." Then he went over to Malfoy, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, and dragged him to the front of the room. "Your wish is my command, lass. Perhaps you'd like to finish what you started in June. You two were going at it pretty rough, as I recall."
Callie stood in disbelief. Malfoy was one of Carrow's fellow Death Eaters; they had fought together two months prior. And the man was offering him up as a sacrificial lamb? Was this a test? Would she be in even bigger trouble if she Cruciated one of You Know Who's followers?
The boy didn't beg or even struggle with Carrow, and he kept his eyes averted from Callie. But he looked scared. In fact, she could've sworn that there were tears in his eyes. He isn't like the others, she thought. He's not built for this shit. He's weak.
For entirely different reasons, she couldn't hurt him either. And even if she had been capable of it, she still wouldn't have tried. This was simply too much, too sick, too cruel, and she wasn't going to engage in it, no matter what the consequences.
Die a hero, or live as a coward.
She held her arms behind her back and braced herself. "I am not Cruciating him or anyone," she said.
"Callie, for God's sake, just do it!" Neville demanded, taking a step towards her.
"Mr. Crabbe, Mr. Goyle," Carrow called out. "Please restrain Longbottom." The two hulking boys rose to their feet, and several people protested.
Seamus stood up, got in Crabbe's face, and said, "You stay away from him!" But the latter shoved him back into his seat.
"Sir, please!" Parvati shouted.
As the two Slytherins approached Neville, he turned his wand on them. But Carrow disarmed him before he could do anything, and each boy took hold of one of his arms. Struggling against them, Neville said, "Don't let him hurt her! Seamus-"
He was then Tongue-Tied by Carrow, who threw Malfoy to the floor and growled, "Get back to your seat."
Callie kept her eyes dead set on the man, her head held high. Malfoy didn't beg, and neither will I. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction if she could help it. Don't scream, she told herself. It's going to hurt like hell, but don't scream.
He turned his wand on her. "Crucio!"
Snape had been right. It did take a second or two for the pain to seep in - but then it was the only thing she was aware of. She couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't think. But she could certainly feel. It was as though her blood was quite literally boiling. And she had absolutely no perception of time. It could've been ten seconds or an hour, as far as she knew.
Later on they would tell her that she did scream, and that it had been agonizing just to listen to it. That Lavender had had to cover her ears, and Hannah had cried, and Neville had fought with all his strength to break away from Crabbe and Goyle, but it had been useless. At some point the pain let up, although there was a lingering effect, as though her body couldn't completely shake what it had just been through. As she gradually regained her senses, she found herself lying on the floor and trembling.
Carrow came to stand before her and nudged her with his foot. "Get up," he ordered.
She could barely move, but managed to roll over on her stomach, get on all fours, and push herself up on her feet. She looked over to see Neville staring at her, wide-eyed and still in Crabbe and Goyle's grasps, and she tried her best to convey that she was all right, standing up straight and lifting her chin.
"That was one," Carrow said. "For deliberately defying me."
Oh, fuck. It's not over yet.
"And this," he went on, "is for the battle." Once more he turned his wand on her. "Crucio!"