63. Crime and Punishment

She bypassed the Gryffindor table that night at dinner and went straight to her own. Daring, nerve, and chivalry, eh? she thought bitterly, recalling the Sorting Hat's song in first year. More like recklessness, idiocy, and aresholery.

During the meal, a fourth-year came up to her and handed her a note. You are to appear for detention in Dungeon Twelve at 8:00 tonight - Professor Slughorn. She shot a glance up at the man. Since the start of term he hadn't been as jolly as he normally was, but he was still perfectly friendly and encouraging towards Callie in Potions class. She couldn't imagine him Cruciating her. He also didn't seem to like the Carrows any more than the other professors did. As such, she was cautiously hopeful that whatever he would have her doing in Dungeon Twelve wouldn't be anything particularly horrific.

When she arrived outside the cold, stone-walled room at eight o' clock, however, he was nowhere to be found. Peeking in, she called out, "Professor Slughorn?" Nothing.

And then somebody came up behind her and gave her a hard shove into the room. With a yelp, she fell to the ground, but quickly jumped up and spun around, drawing her wand as she did so.

"I don't think so, lass," Amycus Carrow said as he disarmed her. Alecto was shutting and locking the door behind him. Holy shit, Callie thought, they've got me trapped in here.

"Where's Slughorn?" she asked in a panicky tone.

"Probably in his quarters," the sister replied with a shrug. "Enjoying a glass of oak-matured mead."

Callie's mind flashed to the previous year, when Red had nearly been killed after drinking the man's poisoned mead. "What did you do to him?" she asked, fearing that they might have tried the same trick again.

"Oh, don't worry, he's all right," the brother informed her. "And here Alecto was so afraid you'd be able to tell that it wasn't his handwriting on that note."

"I don't know whether my dear brother is that good at forgery," the woman remarked, "or if you're just that stupid. But we figured you would never come down here for detention with the two of us."

Fuck, how could she have not realized? "What are you going to do?" she asked, her heart beating loudly in her chest. The dumpy little woman stalked towards her, but Callie kept her eyes on the bloke. His words from their first class echoed in her head - If I want to touch you, then I will.

Good Christ, anything but that. She would rather be Cruciated.

In what Callie thought was a rather tame move, the sister smacked her across the face. "Thirteen against one, eh?" she said in a mocking tone. "But you're not so bold when there's no one around to protect you. Where's your precious army when you need them?"

"You're not going to get away with killing me," Callie said. "Everybody in the D.A. will come after you, the teachers will come after you."

Sticking her wand right up under the girl's chin, Alecto warned, "Don't try and threaten me, lass." Callie glared at her, but inside she was terrified. All she could think about was her mum, and the idea of the woman looking down at her wrist and watching the heart tattoo slowly vanish.

Carrow flicked her wand, and Callie was on the floor, screaming and writhing in pain. It was just like it had been when Amycus had done it in class - all conscious thought was lost to her, and the burning sensation was all she was aware of. Every cell in her body felt as though it were on fire.

She was shaking all over when the woman let up, and tears were already streaming down her face. The bloke came to stand over her, and before she could do anything - either beg for mercy or tell him to burn in Hell - he aimed his wand and cursed her himself.

It seemed to go on forever before she was released again. As Snape had told her, time had no meaning while one was under the Torture Curse. Had it been ten seconds or ten minutes? There was no way to tell. "Please," she begged, hating herself for doing so, but desperate not to have to feel the flames again. "Please, I can't-" Before she could go on, he cursed her once again. That was three times, so far, and each one had lasted longer than the previous.

"Ya know, we're not so terrible, Warbeck," Alecto said before giving her a hard kick in the stomach. "We might even let you live, despite your attempts to undermine us."

With a smirk, her brother added, "Yes, there's really no need for us to kill you, love. Just ask your boyfriend. His mummy and daddy stood against the Dark Lord, and yet they're still around."

"Not quite so feisty anymore, though. What did Bellatrix say? 'Cracked like glass, they did'?"

"Poor things," the brother said in mock sorrow. "Perhaps you could keep them company up on the lunatic ward," he suggested.

Callie gaped at him. Christ, they were sick. Killing her wouldn't be enough, they wanted to try and drive her to insanity like the Longbottoms? She tried to push herself up from the ground, but the bloke put his foot on her back, forcing her down again. And then she was hit for a fourth time by Alecto.

"All right!" Callie shouted when she came back to her senses. "I'll-I'll renounce the D.A. if that's what you want. I'll do anything, just let me go!"

"Oh, it seems as if she's had a sudden change of heart," Amycus remarked. "But how can we be sure you're not just toying with us?"

"I'll tell you where our meeting place is," she offered. "I'll tell you if you let me go."

The siblings exchanged a glance, and then Alecto turned to Callie and asked, "Where is it?"

They could always find another place. Right now, she just had to get the hell out of here with her life and mind intact. "An old storage room in the basement on the east wing. Satisfied?"

The bloke held his wand on her and asked, "Are you playing us, girl?"

"No. I'll bring you there, you can see for yourself." They would have to go back through the dungeons and up to the entrance hall. She was already planning her escape when she was hit once again, and this one was the longest yet. "Christ!" Callie sobbed. "You've got what you wanted. Nobody can get into that room without me, so you've got us! The D.A. is dead!"

But this wasn't about gaining information or punishing her for standing against the Dark Lord. They actually had smiles on their faces as they cursed her again and again and again, taking pleasure in the sight of her writhing on the ground, her face scrunched up in agony, ear-splitting screams emanating from her throat. At one point she dug her nails into the stone floor and they all cracked. She noted the little spots of blood on her fingertips as she pushed herself up on her hands and knees. Then one of the two bastards kicked her in the backside and she fell to the ground again.

"Such a pretty face," the sister mused, gazing down at Callie in an almost admiring manner. And then came another kick. Blood dribbled down her chin as she spit her left canine out onto the floor.

The brother snatched her up by the hair and gave her an appraising look. "Yes, she is lovely," he agreed, and the expression on his face made Callie feel like she was going to be sick. But after a moment he went on, "Too bad she's a dirty half-breed," and tossed her aside as if discarding a piece of trash.

And then, of course, another curse. Please God, she prayed, make them stop! She felt as though this had been going on for hours, but for all she knew it could've only been twenty minutes. Were they really going to keep this up until her mind snapped like Frank and Alice's? Once more, her face was met with the woman's steel-toed boot, and there was a horrific sensation like her eye had exploded. She felt around the area and noted that it was still there, but she definitely could not see out of it. "What did you do to me?" she croaked out, her throat raw from all the screaming.

Their only reply was another curse, and this one lasted so long that she actually came out of it thinking that her heart must have stopped for a few minutes and she'd had a glimpse of Hell. Maybe I'm hallucinating, she thought. This is what happens; the mind can't withstand it anymore so it begins to dissociate from reality. The image of herself wandering around the Janus Thickey Ward with a vacant expression on her face filled her head. And Neville visiting her every holiday like he did his parents. Her mum patting her hair and spoon-feeding her like Mrs. Longbottom did with Frank.

And then she heard the door bang open. Good Christ, help me! she wanted to beg. But she could barely move at this point, and her throat felt like it was on fire. Shifting her eyes in the direction of the footsteps that approached her, a sudden rush of hope swelled up within her.

The headmaster knelt down at her side, taking in her horribly shaking body and her bloody face. You said you didn't care to see me battered, she thought. You've never hurt me. Please, get me out of here.

In a cold voice he said, "I offered you protection, Warbeck. Perhaps you should've taken it when you had the chance." He looked completely unbothered by the state she was in, and that glimmer of hope vanished into nothingness. "Tell me, is all of this worth it?"

She looked up at him with desperation in her eyes, but he was unmoved. Rising up and turning his back on her, he said, "Let us leave the girl to ponder the thought, shall we?" and ushered the Carrows out of the room.

As he made to follow them, Callie thought, No, don't leave me in here! With all the strength she could muster, she lifted her head and called out, in a barely audible voice, "Severus... please."

He halted in the doorway, and she could see his body go rigid. You're not a complete monster. I know you've got some semblance of a heart. Please, for God's sake, help me!

But without another look at her, he stepped out and pulled the door shut, leaving her alone and locked up in complete darkness.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The sun was shining, and she was met with a pleasant warmth as she came out from under the willow tree in the backyard. Closing her eyes and breathing in the fresh air, she thought, I'm home. Thank you, God, I'm home! She spread her arms out and spun around in elation, having never felt so light and carefree.

Her childlike dance of glee came to a halt when she spotted a figure standing a little ways away on the veranda. Squinting her eyes to get a better look, she muttered, "Dad?"

He'd been watching her. The corner of his mouth curled up in his signature half-smile, his chocolate-colored eyes sparkling as the sun hit them.

"Dad!" she exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear as she sprinted across the grass towards him. But he didn't wait for her; instead he turned on his heel and headed into the house. "Wait!" she called out, running as fast as she could to catch up with him. Once inside, she looked around, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Dad?" She moved from the kitchen to the sitting room. Still no sign of him. "Daddy?" she called up the stairs. Again, nothing.

But then there was a creaking sound, and she looked up to see that the ceiling was caving in above her. "No!" she screamed, covering her head. The next thing she knew, she was buried under rubble - and off to the side, so was her father.

"Callie..." he called out in a croaky voice. "Help me."

She struggled to get out from under the wreckage, but she was trapped. "I can't..." she groaned. "I can't move!"

Coughing and gasping for breath, he shouted, "H- Help!" as though calling for someone far away. His face was scrunched up in a terrible expression of pain. "Somebody, p- please, help me!"

"Daddy, I'm coming, just hold on!" Desperately trying to free herself, all she could think was, I have to get to him. I have to save him.

"God," the man pleaded, "help me. I can't leave them." His skin was beginning to grow pale and his breathing had become more shallow.

"Just hold on!" Callie repeated. "I'm right here, I'm coming to get you!"

"Suzie... she needs me. And C-Callie..."

And then there was a hissing voice that sounded like it was coming from inside her own head. "He knew he was dying," it said. "He could hear the goblins digging the rubble away, so close, but so far..."

"Stop it!" Callie shouted. It was just like when she had been under the curse, the Voice of Torment. You Know Who telling her all about the way her father had died.

"Every breath was a struggle," it went on. "But he spoke his prayers out loud."

"Please God," her father whispered, "take care of them..."

"Daddy, hold on! Don't leave me again!"

"Our Father... who art in Heaven..."

"No!" Callie screamed.

"Hallowed be Thy name..."

"He thought about you as he died," the voice said. "What was it he'd said during that last trip to Florean Fortescue's? Something about not being around to size up the boys who wished to court you?"

"Stop," she begged, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, how ironic. He wondered who was going to walk you down the aisle at your wedding."

"Please!"

"And imagined you in your healer's robes..."

"Daddy, please hold on!"

"But the last thing he saw was your mother's face."

She watched helplessly as her father's eyes fell shut, and he mumbled, almost inaudibly, "Susanna..." What little color he had left drained from his face as he took his last breath and went still.

And then it wasn't the Dark Lord's voice in her head, but Snape's. "Your father's dead," he said. "And so are you."

She awoke with a start, and panic set in as all she could see was darkness. My eye, they messed up my eye! she thought wildly. But it wasn't the eye - they had left her in the windowless dungeon with no light. The room was pitch black, and she couldn't even see her own hand when she held it in front of her face.

Bloody hell, how long has it been? She'd been in and out of consciousness, plagued by terrifying nightmares every time she drifted off. The hard stone floor was absolutely freezing, and she wished that she had worn her robes that night. Her body was shaking, but whether that was from the cold or the aftereffects of the curse, she didn't know.

I'm going to die down here. They've left me to die. Perhaps they'd try and cover it up, maybe say that she'd escaped from the castle. Nobody would be able to prove that they'd killed her, since they hadn't used their wands to do so. They wouldn't even have to bother with disposing of her body; with a flick of the wrist, they could simply vanish her.

How long can I survive in here without oxygen? Would dehydration get me first? She really had no idea how much time had already passed, and that was probably the worst part of this. It was messing with her mind even more than the Cruciatus had. And falling in and out of sleep for who knew how long only made her sense of time that much more blurry.

Then of course, there was the lingering pain from the physical blows. The sister had kicked her so hard in the stomach that she couldn't sit up, and the side of her head was pounding. If only she'd had just the slightest bit of light, she could've been able to check if the vision in her left eye had returned. If that dumpy little bitch has blinded me... she thought. But what difference would it make if she was never getting out of here?

I could speed up the process and bang my head against the floor. But she wasn't quite that desperate yet. The tattoo was still on her mum's wrist. She owed it to the woman not to give up so easily.

Then again, nobody knew she was down here except for Snape and the Carrows. And she was certain the siblings would be happy to let her rot in there until the end of the year. But Snape...

Turned his back on you and left you a quivering, bloodied up mess. Locked you up in the dark for what has to have already been several hours, injured and possibly blinded. He was probably standing outside the whole time, listening to them torture you.

He had looked at her so coldly, not giving a damn about what they had done to her. What the hell had happened to the man who'd taken care of her after Pansy's attack in fifth year? She could remember how horrified he had been when he'd seen her that night, how he'd insisted on treating her himself rather than sending her off to the hospital wing. How gentle he had been as he applied the healing balm to her face. And how he'd been so concerned for her safety that he'd refused to let her sleep in Slytherin Dungeon until he "talked" to Pansy.

That was not the same man that she had seen tonight, and it was practically the same situation, only on a much larger scale. How could he have changed so completely in the span of two years?

A tear rolled down her cheek as she drifted off again. And she dreamed that she was in his living quarters, her back against the wall as he slowly approached her. Coming up close and putting his hand at the nape of her neck, he whispered, "Close your eyes." She did as he said.

And then he dragged a knife across her throat.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

There was a loud clicking sound, and the door swung open. The sister came to stand before her, and ordered, "Get up."

Please, no more, Callie thought. She hesitated, debating whether it'd be better to just stay down, but the woman gave her a - rather light - kick in the side and said, "Come on, move it."

"All right," the girl croaked. She was still trembling like mad, and the soreness in her stomach made her groan. She was also extremely dizzy, and as it turned out, her left eye was still completely fucked. It took a lot of effort just to get up on her feet, and when she tried to walk, her knees buckled.

But Carrow grabbed her by the arm and forced her to stand. "I don't have time for this shit," she barked. "Now pull yourself together!"

Ordinarily, Callie wouldn't have touched the woman with a ten-foot wand, but she had to grab onto her to keep herself from falling. "Ma'am," she said, swaying on her feet, "please. For the love of God, let me out."

Holding her wand on the girl, Carrow asked, "Have you learned your lesson, then? That you ought not to fuck with us? And to never act against the Dark Lord?"

"Yes," Callie replied obediently. "I've got it."

With her head held high, the woman said, "Very well, then. You're not to speak of this to anyone. You now know what'll happen if you disobey me."

In a quiet, defeated voice, she agreed, "Yes, ma'am. I won't say anything. I promise."

"Good. Now get back to the common room."

She opened the door and shoved Callie out. The girl didn't look back - she never wanted to see that room again - as she made her way slowly through the corridors, holding her stomach and struggling to navigate her surroundings with half of her vision gone.

"Merlin's beard, she's alive!" a fifth-year boy that Callie knew as Derek Vaughn called out when she walked into the common room. About a dozen other people were gathered, some of them appearing to have slept on the sofas or in chairs. Astoria was one of them. Derek shook her awake and she ran over to Callie.

"Bloody hell!" the younger girl exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her friend. "I really thought you were dead! We've been up all night waiting for you to show up." She pulled back and put her hand to Callie's swollen eye. "What happened?" she asked. "We heard these horrific screams, and a few of us ran out to see what was the matter. They were coming from Dungeon Twelve - is that where you were? It went on for nearly an hour and then I went up to get Snape. We just couldn't stand the screaming anymore. And when you never came back after dinner, I thought it may be you in there. Callie, what the hell did they do to you? Was it the Cruciatus?"

The older girl ignored her, wandering off to the dormitory as if in a daze. Though it was only five o' clock in the morning, all four of her roommates were awake, and they stared up at her in silence when she came in. If she'd had the energy to feel any type of way about it, she would've been surprised to see that even Pansy looked rather disturbed by the sight of her. But she paid them little mind as she made her way into the bathroom and shut the door.

She studied her appearance in the mirror. The left side of her face was purple and swollen, but when she checked her eyeball, it looked normal, despite the fact that she could only see blackness out of it. She was reminded that her canine tooth had been knocked out, and when she lifted her shirt, there was a massive bruise on her stomach. And she was still shaking. Cold and sore and bloodied up, she drew a hot bath and slipped in, staring down into the water and processing everything she'd just been through.

Somehow she had managed to come out of it alive, but at what price? They know where headquarters is now, she thought miserably. And the next meeting is today.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Longbottom's outside. He wants to see you," Daphne informed her a few hours later.

Callie was still in bed, but she hadn't slept since returning from Dungeon Twelve. She knew exactly why Neville had come to see her, and in fact, she'd been expecting him. The D.A. was supposed to have met half an hour ago, but Puffy had never come to get them.

"We can't go to our regular meeting place anymore," she had told the elf, having summoned him while she was in the bathtub. "You're not to bring anyone there ever again. This is important, Puffy - no one can go into that room."

She knew they would all be waiting for him to show up, but she had ordered him to stay in the basement until she called on him again. How am I going to explain this? she thought, her head aching as she struggled to figure it out.

"You're not to speak of this to anyone. You now know what'll happen if you disobey me."

She couldn't tell them. They had already proven that they couldn't keep their mouths shut, and there wasn't a doubt in her mind that the Carrows would kill her if she told anybody what they'd done. And when Neville saw her swollen face, he was going to demand an explanation. What do I tell him?

"Hello?" Daphne said when Callie didn't respond to her. "Your boyfriend's waiting in the corridor. He says he isn't leaving until he speaks to you."

"Bloody hell," Callie breathed. She didn't want him to see her this way, and she was so God damn tired, both physically and mentally. I can't deal with this. With a sigh, she said, "Tell him... Just tell him to go away. I'll talk to him at dinner."

He couldn't wait that long, apparently, because Astoria came to her around two in the afternoon to inform her that Neville was back and he had others with him. "God, damn it!" Callie exclaimed, rising up from her bed and digging around in her trunk for ecchymesto balm. "Stall him," she instructed Astoria. "Tell him I need a few minutes." The salve had completely cleared her bruises when Snape had applied it two years ago. She slathered a generous amount around her eye and muttered, "Come on, fade," looking into a mirror and willing the discoloration and swelling to disappear.

Astoria returned a few minutes later and said, "Now Crabbe and Goyle and a few others are out there. It looks like there's going to be a fight."

"Then get Slughorn," Callie replied. "Or whoever you can find. Just not the Carrows - or Snape."

Astoria left again, and Callie ran to the bathroom to get a bottle of concealer. The bruising on the side of her face had grown more subtle, but it was still visible. Thankfully the makeup helped. She took a deep breath and went out to the common room.

Several people were gathered around the open door, and a few had their wands drawn. Someone in the corridor - Ernie, it sounded like - declared, "If you don't let her out, we're coming in there!"

Callie pushed through the crowd and found Crabbe, Goyle, and a half dozen other Slytherins holding their wands on Neville, Seamus, Ernie, and Lavender, all of whom were also armed. It really did look like a fight was about to break out.

"Callie!" Neville said, taking a step towards her. But Goyle blocked him from going any farther, sticking his wand in the boy's face.

"Get away from him, Goyle," Callie demanded. Of course, the bloke didn't move, so she grabbed him by the arm and shoved him away.

"What's going on?" Lavender asked. "What happened to...?" She caught herself before she could say Puffy. Instead she said, "We waited for a half an hour and nothing. Then Neville went to get you and he said that you wouldn't come out."

"I thought they had done something to you," Neville said, indicating her housemates. "I thought you were trapped or hurt. Damn it, why wouldn't you talk to me, Cal?"

She hesitated, then replied, "I have nothing to say."

It was Seamus who asked, "What do you mean, you have nothing to say? You've got plenty to say, lass. Starting with what the bloody hell you where doing while we were all sitting on our arses waiting for Puffy to show up!"

Neville elbowed him in the ribs, while Callie shut her eyes and sighed. She was this close to cutting his tongue right out of his mouth. They were all shit out of luck, but at least the elf had a chance to get out of this safely.

"Puffy?" Crabbe repeated. "What's Puffy?"

"Never you mind," Callie said. Then, to Seamus, "You just don't know when to shut up, do you?"

Neville turned to his housemate and said, "Seamus, get out of here."

But the boy replied, "I'm not going anywhere."

"Yes, you are," Callie said. "You all are. Now get upstairs before you do something else stupid."

"But what about the meeting?" Ernie asked.

"There aren't going to be anymore meetings," she replied. "It's over."

They gaped at her, and Lavender asked, "What do you mean?"

Unable to meet any of their eyes, Callie explained, "I told the Carrows where headquarters is. And... your ride isn't going to be coming anymore."

Their mouths dropped open in shock. Seamus looked absolutely pissed. "You bitch!" he shouted.

Neville gave him a hard shove and yelled, "Don't you call her that!"

"Bloody hell, Callie, tell me you didn't," Ernie said.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Seamus asked. "We've got no place to meet!"

"I told you, we're not meeting anymore!" Callie shot back. "The D.A. is done!"

"No, it's not," Neville said, shaking his head. "We'll figure something out."

"Christ," Lavender cut in, "she even said on Monday that she wanted to quit. Remember? And then she threw her coin at Seamus?"

Callie saw the opportunity and took it. With all of her housemates standing around, and her comrades yelling at her, this was the perfect time to let it be known that she would no longer have a part in the D.A. "Yes, I wanted to quit," she lied. "Because this isn't worth it. Trying to resist the Carrows isn't worth it, they're more powerful than the lot of us. It's a losing battle, and you all oughta realize that, too."

"You can't be serious!" Lavender shouted.

Neville was eyeing his girlfriend with a furrowed brow. "Did they do something to you?" he asked. "Did they hurt you? Did they threaten you? Tell me!"

Again, she lied. "They didn't do anything. Not yet, anyway. But we've been lucky enough so far to get away with banners and protests and sneaking around. And for what? We can't stop them from doing whatever it is they wanna do. We should've taken the opportunity yesterday to renounce the D.A. Hell, they gave us an out, but you all insisted on defying them."

"And you were the last one to stand up," Seamus scowled at her, looking disgusted. "There we were, lined up at the front of the room, while you were sat amongst Malfoy and Nott and these two gits." He indicated Crabbe and Goyle. "We should've known right then that you were going to fuck us over. Well good riddance, Warbeck, we don't need Slytherin trash in the D.A. We'll carry on without you."

"God damn it, Seamus!" Neville exclaimed, grabbing him by the arm and aiming his wand on him.

Theo Nott came to stand between Callie and Goyle. "I suppose there's no need for us to be here," he said. "The idiots are turning on each other."

"Fuck you!" Lavender shot back, as she and Ernie tried to break up the quarreling Neville and Seamus.

"Ernie, get them out of here!" Callie ordered. "I'm done with this shit."

As she made to return to the common room, Seamus called out, "That's right, you are done, Warbeck, you traitorous wench! Go back to the snake pit where you belong!"

She heard the sound of a spell being fired off, and a whole lot of shouting, and what she thought might have been somebody punching someone. But she didn't have the energy to look back. All she wanted was to crawl into bed, down a shot of Living Death, and escape from the complete nightmare that her life had become.