68. The Mastermind
When the Easter holiday came, there were many students who chose not to return home. Mainly because there was nobody waiting for them. A couple dozen people had parents and other family who'd been captured and locked up in Azkaban, or killed, or in the luckiest of cases, were simply on the run.
Naturally, these relatives on the outside had been pursued because they'd spoken out against the Dark Lord, which had also caused problems for their children at Hogwarts. Luna hadn't been the only student taken away by Death Eaters, and those who were spared prison time had the Carrows' abuse to suffer instead.
Which is why Callie had decided to remain at the castle over break. She wanted to keep an eye on those who had no one to go home to, and who might be more vulnerable due to their family ties. Especially the younger ones. And she'd come up with the perfect excuse to stay behind, one that was sure to help her gain favor with the Carrows and throw them even farther off her trail.
"I thought I could patrol the corridors like Crabbe and Goyle do," she'd told Alecto. "Look out for anyone trying to cause trouble." The woman had shot her a smirk that conveyed something almost like... pride, and Callie wondered who exactly had appointed this idiot - who truly believed she had changed so completely - as deputy headmistress.
Of course, when she'd told Neville that she wouldn't be going home with him, and why, he'd refused to leave her alone at the castle. In addition, he'd brought her idea of sticking around to protect the underclassmen to the rest of the D.A. They'd figured two guards per house, so Neville, Seamus, Ernie, Susan, Michael, and Anthony remained along with Callie.
"Once again, the lone Slytherin," she remarked on the first night of break. She had snuck out in the middle of the night to meet with Neville in the greenhouses.
"Did anybody else in your house stay?" he asked. When she replied that they hadn't, he got a concerned look on his face and said, "So you're completely alone down there? With the Carrows and Snape?"
"Don't worry," she said. "The stupid bastards almost seem to like me. All that sucking up, ya know."
He pondered that a moment, then with a smirk he said, "Hmph. You know the D.A. pretty much hates you at this point?"
"I gather. Who exactly was responsible for that poisonous snake I got in the mail?"
"That'd be Hannah. I'm sorry, I didn't know it would go that far. I called her out on it."
"What about the rest of it?" she asked. "Lisa Turpin with that 'Judas' hex? Or all the dirty looks and the 'bitches' and 'traitors' every time I walk by?" She paused, then went on, "I have to say, I'm surprised my big protector - and the leader of the group - has let his friends go on harassing me."
He looked quite ashamed of himself, but explained, "I let it go on because I thought it would help. You wanted to look good for the Carrows so they'd leave you alone. That's why you tore down the Quibbler articles and kept on washing the graffiti off the walls, right? Well, I figured if they saw the D.A. being openly hostile towards you, it would reinforce the idea that you weren't one of us anymore. That's why I didn't stop it."
Callie gaped at him, amazed at how... cunning he could be. She was strangely proud.
"I'm sorry," he went on. "I'll tell them to back off."
"No, don't," she replied. "Better to go on letting everyone believe that I'm anti-D.A." She considered her position as an apparent traitor to her comrades and ally to the Death Eaters, and then it occurred to her - she was Snape. Chuckling to herself, she said, "Christ, I long for the days when no one had to sneak around or pretend to be something they're not." She hesitated, then asked, "If I told you something that could possibly get me killed, you wouldn't say anything to the others, right?"
"Of course not," he said, "But... what would get you killed?" She told him about her own private efforts to undermine the Carrows - screwing with their wands and flooding the dungeons. "You did that?" Neville asked regarding the latter. "Bloody hell, they were sure we had something to do with it. I got-" Suddenly he cut himself off.
"You got... what?" Callie prodded.
"I... nothing, never mind."
"No, what were you going to say?"
"It's nothing, I just..." Whatever was on his mind, he clearly didn't want to express out loud. But after a pause, he sighed and said, "They... roughed me up a bit, the Carrows. Like I said, they thought we were responsible for the flood, and they tried to get the truth out of me, but... of course-" he gestured to Callie "-I had nothing to tell."
She felt a chill spread throughout her body. "Oh, God," she breathed. "I never thought they would..." Dropping her head into her hands, she exclaimed, "Oh God, Neville, I'm so sorry!"
"You don't have to be sorry, you helped us. We were safe that whole time they were working in the dungeons."
Ignoring this, she demanded, "What did they do to you? Was anyone else hurt? Tell me everything."
Again he sighed, but explained, "Everyone else was fine. And it wasn't that bad. If you hadn't ruined their wands, they probably would've Cruciated me to hell and back, but all they did was give me a whipping."
"'A whipping,'" she echoed. "You've gotta be a little more specific."
He bit his lip, then said, "Twenty lashes to the back. It really was nothing, compared to the Cruciatus."
That comment did nothing to reassure her, and she eyed his back, setting a hand on it. When he winced at her touch, she said, "Take off your shirt."
"Here, now?" he asked.
"Yes. I wanna see it."
Hesitantly, he replied, "That's... No, Cal, you don't need to see."
"I want to."
He gave it a moment before giving in to her demand, standing to remove his button-down and lift his undershirt. Callie was horrified by the faded red marks that covered his skin. They varied in size but all of them were several inches long and one to two inches thick. And they were still very slightly raised, as she could tell from the oddly rigid texture when she ran her fingers over them.
"Bloody hell," she breathed. "Did you go to Madam Pomfrey?"
"No," he replied. "I knew you were working in the hospital wing, and I didn't want you to find out."
"Why not?" she asked.
Pulling his undershirt down and turning to face her, he said, "Well... do you feel any better now that you know?"
Of course she didn't, and that was one of the reasons why she hadn't told him what the Carrows - and Crabbe and Goyle - had done to her. Why upset him unnecessarily? "There are regenerative spells that could take care of the scarring," she said, thinking back on the one Snape had performed on her arm.
As he threw on his button-down, he replied, "I don't care about that. But ever since it happened I've been wondering... do you have any marks that I can't see?"
As if on instinct, she slid her tongue into the empty space where her tooth had been knocked out. So far he hadn't noticed that detail. And other than that, she had no detectable signs of abuse. What a perfect opportunity to assuage his fears that she had been hurt. Lifting her top, she slowly turned to show off her perfectly unmarred body. "Nothing to hide," she said. "But what about you? Have they gone after you since... that?"
With a shrug, he replied, "Couple light hexes, nothing major. And Amycus literally kicked me in the arse one day. I think they've been focusing the bulk of their attention on me, because they suspect that I'm one of the higher-ups in the D.A."
"Why would they suspect that?" Callie asked.
"Why wouldn't they? I've fought in two battles, and when rumors started going around about the Sword thing, my name kept coming up. They've had their eye on Ginny too, but remember that day in Dark Arts when we all stood up? I told Amycus the D.A. was my idea. I'm sure he hasn't forgotten that."
It occurred to her that with most of the students out of the castle, as well as several teachers, now would be the perfect time for the Carrows to make an attack on the D.A. They all should've gone home, she thought. But thankfully, all was quiet for the first few days. In fact, the first exciting thing to happen didn't even involve any students or the Carrows. Callie was patrolling the third floor one night when a swift movement at the end of the corridor caught her eye.
"Who's there?" she demanded, running off to investigate. With her wand drawn, she followed the sound of footsteps down to the ground floor, and turned a corner just in time to see a very familiar figure disappear into the hospital wing. She hesitated a moment, then went in after the headmaster.
He was digging around in Madam Pomfrey's supply cabinet when Callie called out, "Professor?" Startled, he whipped around and drew his wand, but she held up her hands in surrender. "Whoa, hold it! It's only me."
Looking irritated, he muttered, "Oh, for the love of God," and then asked, "What are you doing here, Warbeck? Why haven't you gone home?"
"Why would I? There's nobody there." She eyed his right arm, which was wrapped in a rag that was spotted with blood. "What happened to you?" she asked.
"Never you mind. Where is Pomfrey?"
"She went home for the holiday."
He rolled his eyes and whispered to himself, "Damn it." After a pause, "And what are you doing out of the common room after hours?"
"Patrolling," she explained. "The Carrows know. I'm supposed to be keeping an eye out for anyone trying to pull anything." He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously, but before he could ask any questions, she made her way over to the supply cabinet and asked, "What are you looking for?"
"It's none of your concern," he said. "Now return to the dungeons. I don't know what in Merlin's name my deputies were thinking, but I will not have you wandering about the castle in the middle of the night."
She didn't move, but glanced at the bloody rag and said, "I can take a look at that if you want."
He almost seemed affronted as he replied, "No, I don't want. And that was an order, not a request. Go."
With a defeated look on her face, she started to walk out, but paused halfway to the door and turned to watch him. He grabbed a couple of potion bottles and took a seat, then looked up at her and asked, "Have I made myself unclear, Warbeck? Get out."
"I'm only curious, is all," she said. "And I'm the closest thing you've got to a healer at the moment." When he scoffed, she explained, "I've assisted Madam Pomfrey plenty of times. And your wand arm is injured, you could use another hand."
"Oh, how thoughtful of you," he replied sarcastically. "Don't pretend to be so altruistic. Your only interest is to see me mutilated."
"Mutilated? What the hell is going on under that rag?" she asked, approaching him.
"None of your damn business, now go."
She pulled up a chair and sat beside him. "Let me see it," she demanded. "Come on, now, you got to see mine."
He glanced at the spot where Goyle had cut her, hesitated, then said, "Christ, I don't have time for this. You do as you please. Don't get in my way." He removed his coat and carefully pulled up his sleeve.
Callie took one look and her eyes widened. "Bloody hell," she breathed. His forearm was completely split open, a massive would deep enough that she could see bone. Inspecting it closer, she asked, "How... how did that happen?"
Angrily he replied, "I was attacked, how do you think?" He began to rinse the exposed flesh with water, wincing in pain as he did so. Callie ran off to get him a pain potion.
"Here, drink this," she ordered. "It'll help."
He did as told and went back to work. She watched in silence as he performed a spell that knitted the innermost layers of muscle together, and then repeated it with each successive layer until the wound was completely closed. As he treated the area with a generous amount of dittany, she said, "Well... I guess you didn't need my help." He made a small grunting sound in acknowledgement, and then she remarked, "You know a lot about healing. Why didn't you go into it?"
"Because I know a lot more about Dark Magic," he replied.
She rolled her eyes, but an idea came to her. "Do you know anything about optic healing?"
"Optic healing?" he echoed. "Why do you ask?"
She hesitated before explaining, "I'm blind in one eye. I was wondering if you might know something that could fix that."
Furrowing his brow, he said, "What do you mean, 'blind'?"
"I mean blind. Alecto kicked me in the face that night in the dungeon, and I haven't been able to see out of my left eye ever since."
He glanced at the affected eye, then aimed his wand to flash a light on it. "You didn't go to Madam Pomfrey about this?" he asked.
"No. Alecto warned me not to tell anybody what happened, and I didn't know how else to explain it."
He nixed the light and said, "Your retina is detached. Keep still." He held her eyelids open and muttered an incantation.
Callie closed her good eye as the vision in her left slowly began to return. "Oh, my God," she breathed. For six months she had thought that she'd never be able to see normally again, and now the sight of Snape's wand pointed in her face was one of the most wonderful things she had ever witnessed. When he was done, the left eye was just as good as the right, and she felt the strange sensation that the world had suddenly opened up a lot wider.
"Thank you," she whispered, unable to face him. If he were to read her mind right now, he would see that she knew about his true alliance. This was the first time they had spoken since she'd found out, and it was impossible not to think about the fact that he was still good. "I should go," she said, rising up and turning to leave.
"Back to the common room, Warbeck," he reminded her.
"Right," she called over her shoulder. Making her way out, she once again found herself missing the days when there was no pretending. I wish I could tell him I know, she thought. But he'd most certainly Obliviate her, and she couldn't go back to believing that he belonged to the Dark Lord. Knowing of his true loyalties was the only thing that had kept her going the last few months.
She was halfway across the entrance hall when the door to the dungeons slammed open and Ernie appeared - carrying a bloodied up, barely-conscious Michael Corner in his arms.
"What the hell?" Callie exclaimed, running over to them.
"The Carrows got to him," Ernie explained through gasps. "Go get Pomfrey."
"She isn't here, she went home," Callie said, drawing her wand and looking down the dungeon staircase. "Where are they?"
"I don't know. They were gone when I found him in one of the dungeons." He carried Michael across the hall, with Callie at his side, as he went on, "A first-year kid was chained up down there. The Carrows caught Michael setting her free and attacked him. The girl got away, found me patrolling, and told me what happened."
"Get him in here, quickly," Callie ordered, leading Ernie into the hospital wing. "Snape!" she called out.
As Ernie set Michael in a bed, the headmaster sprinted over and asked, "What's all this?"
"The Carrows attacked him," she explained, looking over the boy's many cuts and bruises. "Michael?" she said, taking his face in her hands. "Can you hear me?" He made a very weak groaning sound, but his eyes were swollen shut and he couldn't speak.
"Stand aside, Warbeck," Snape said, taking her place to examine Michael.
"Don't you touch him!" Ernie shouted.
The man ignored him, keeping his focus on Michael, but Callie said, "It's all right, he knows healing magic."
"And he's one of them!" Ernie argued. "He's killed before, you don't think he'll-"
"Ernie, shut up and go get Flitwick!" she demanded. "And McGonagall and Sprout."
He glanced between her and Snape, then said, "You're one of them too, aren't you?"
"What are you on about?" she asked, pulling a first aid kit from the bedside table.
"You've been working against us ever since you left the D.A.," he accused. Callie noticed Snape glance between them as Ernie went on, "And you've been kissing the Carrows' arses. And it was probably you who tipped him off-" he nodded to Snape "-about the Sword of Gryffindor."
"I didn't even know about the Sword until after the fact," she shot back. "Now quit being stupid and get the heads of house."
He glared at her before running off. Sprout was the first to arrive, and Snape ordered her to send for Pomfrey. As the other heads of house showed up, along with Neville and Anthony, Snape barely spoke, but continued to work on Michael with a blank, almost disinterested expression on his face.
"Where are the Carrows, Severus?" McGonagall asked. Her horror at Michael's condition was only eclipsed by her barely-contained rage.
"I imagine they're patrolling the castle for anyone else looking to make trouble," he replied coldly.
"Make trouble?" Flitwick exclaimed. "What trouble did the boy make, but to rescue an eleven-year-old child from your sadistic deputies?"
Meanwhile, Neville turned to Anthony and said, "Ernie's out there by himself. Go find him and patrol with him. He shouldn't be alone."
But McGonagall said, "No. All of you return to your common rooms and stay there. Find Mr. Macmillan and instruct him to do the same."
Neville started to argue, "But, Professor-"
"Do as I say, Longbottom!" she demanded.
"But what about her?" He gestured to Callie. "There's nobody else in the dungeons, she's alone down there."
McGonagall glanced at Callie, and said, "Go with Neville to Gryffindor Tower. And remain there until this situation is settled."
The girl looked from her to Snape, as if waiting for his permission, but he didn't say anything. To McGonagall, she said, "Ma'am, I'd like to stay here until I know that Michael is going to be all right." That wasn't the whole truth; she also didn't want to leave Snape alone with the three furious heads of house. She wouldn't put it past them to try and attack him after what his deputies had done.
However, McGonagall was in no mood to argue. "Do as I say, Miss Warbeck. I'll see to Mr. Corner's care." She then instructed Spout to escort the students back to their common rooms.
When Callie and Neville got to Gryffindor Tower, they were greeted by Seamus asking, "What is she doing here?"
"McGonagall told her to stay here tonight," Neville explained, shooting him a warning scowl. "There's no one in the dungeons but the Carrows and Snape. You want her to get what Michael just got?"
"Why would she?" Seamus asked. "The Carrows love her. The Killing Curse, the Fiendfyre Curse - you really impressed the bloke, ya did. And the woman? Your anti-muggle essays have been plastered all over the corridors like propaganda. I didn't see you ripping those down like you did the Quibblers."
"Damn it to hell, Seamus!" Callie exclaimed, stepping up to him. "Why do you think I've been kissing up to them and playing their games? Do you really believe that I'm against you all or that I'm suddenly sympathetic to the Dark Lord's cause?"
"You don't owe him any explanation, Cal," Neville said.
But she ignored him and went on, "This is exactly what I was afraid was going to happen when you all kept defying them. You ought to see the state Michael's in. They could've killed him, even unintentionally. And have you seen what they did to Neville? Whippings, beatings, Torture Curses - forgive me for wanting to avoid all that." She decided not to add that once had been more than enough.
Neville sent Seamus to guard Ravenclaw Tower with Anthony, while Callie remained with him in Gryffindor Tower. They spent the night in the common area instead of in the dormitory, prepared to defend the younger students if the Carrows somehow got in. "You've gotta stop this now, Neville," Callie declared with a sigh. "Michael could've died. They're going to keep getting more and more violent until..."
She trailed off, but he finished, "Until somebody's killed?"
"Yes. They don't wanna spill any pure blood, but Michael's a half-blood. So is Seamus, and Mandy and Wayne... and me." She paused, before continuing, "And they've already hurt you for being one of the leaders. They could go at Ginny too, for the same reason." Another pause. "You're not safe, even if you are a pureblood."
He and the others finally seemed to grasp the level of danger that the Carrows presented. And when the rest of the D.A. came back after Easter break, Neville told them that they were to lay low for the time being. It didn't help that they had suffered another setback - Ginny never returned, though she was able to get the message out that she was all right, and in hiding with her family.
And then Callie opened the Prophet one morning to find that Augusta Longbottom was wanted for attacking an auror named John Dawlish. Horrified, she'd gone to Neville about this, but to her astonishment, he had only laughed.
"You just know they didn't think she'd be an issue," he said with a smile on his face. "Seventy-six years old and all alone. But she isn't quite so helpless. They should've sent some back up."
"Is she going to be all right on the run?" Callie asked.
"Of course. I feel bad though. They went after her because of me. I'm sure the idea was to hold her hostage to keep me in line, just like they took Luna so Xeno Lovegood would behave."
But then they'd gotten another message from Luna, saying that she was free from her captors, and that Harry, Hermione, and Red - as well as Dean - were all right.
"They're coming back here," Neville said excitedly. "I know they're coming back. And when they do, they're going to help us overthrow Snape and the Carrows."
"What about the Dark Lord?" Callie asked. "Harry's got bigger problems than Snape and the Carrows. Why would he come here?"
"Well for one thing, he's going to want revenge on Snape for killing Dumbledore. And for another, we can help him defeat You Know Who. He'll be surrounded by his Death Eaters; Harry, Hermione, and Ron won't be able to take them all on, just the three of them. I'm telling you, there's going to be a revolution."
Callie couldn't help but be skeptical. Even if the trio did return to Hogwarts, who knew when that would be? There were still two months left of the school year, and the Carrows hadn't shown any signs of slowing down.
And now that both Ginny and Luna were gone, they only had one leader left to focus all their attention on...
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About a week after the Easter break, all students were ordered into the Great Hall. The tables had been vanished, so they were made to stand in four sections, divided by house. The heads of house joined their respective students, defiantly looking up at Snape, who stood at the front of the Hall with the Carrows on either side of him.
He spoke in his soft yet commanding tone, his eyes shifting over the six hundred students gathered before him. "There have been several upsetting incidents throughout the year," he said. "At the start of term, I implored you all to uphold the standards of Hogwarts, and to conduct yourselves properly. Many of you have failed to do so."
His gaze lingered over the Gryffindor faction of the D.A. before he went on, "You have demonstrated blatant disrespect for, and defiance of, your teachers. You have defiled the walls of our school with hate speech and slanderous articles. There have even been attacks made on your fellow classmates. Two students were lured into the Forbidden Forest and abandoned. Nobody reported their whereabouts, and they remained missing for several days.
"In addition, the windows in the Slytherin common room were broken, flooding the entire dungeon. Nearly two hundred lives were put in danger, including the very youngest of your classmates. As these windows had been treated with Unbreakable Charms, they could not have been destroyed by ordinary means. It is clear that someone in this castle had tampered with them."
He paused, once again setting his eyes on the group of Gryffindors that included Neville, Seamus, Lavender, Parvati, and Katie. He's not going to attack them, Callie thought. But that wasn't necessarily true; he could stun them or do some other semi-harmless curse. He was obviously planning something. Were they all going to be shipped off to Azkaban?
"Now," Snape continued, "I am not going to pretend not to know who's been responsible for these events - the rebel organization known as 'Dumbledore's Army.' Its members have not merely partaken in harmless pranks, but committed serious crimes worthy of several years in Azkaban Prison." He paused, staring daggers at them all.
"You all know who you are," he went on. And then he said, very threateningly, "As do I. However, I may be persuaded to be lenient with you, provided that your little club disbands, and that I am given the name of he who is responsible for its organization."
He stood with his hands behind his back, giving them the opportunity to come forward, but nobody moved or said anything. Callie glanced over at Neville, who kept his head held high but looked as though he were struggling with himself. Would he give himself up to spare the others? Yes, she was sure of that. But what was Snape planning to have done with him? Would he be able to stop the Carrows from hurting him - or killing him? Would he have Neville sent to Azkaban, and if so, would he be safe there with all the Death Eater guards?
Taking a step forward, Snape said, "To the leader of Dumbledore's Army, now is your chance to present yourself, and protect your fellows from punishment - which I can promise will be appropriately severe."
He's going to do it, Callie thought. There was no way her knight in shining armor was going to risk all the others getting the same treatment that Michael got. Not if he could help it.
But she wasn't going to let him get it either. With her eyes on Snape, she stepped out from the Slytherin crowd. There were gasps all around the room, and Neville shouted, "Callie, no!"
She shot him a warning look and growled, "Quiet!" prepared to stun him if he tried to involve himself in this.
"Wait a minute!" Amycus called out with an angry look on his face. "You gave up the D.A.!"
"That's what I wanted you to believe after you tortured me," Callie shot back. At this revelation there were murmurs of both curiosity and outrage.
A scowling McGonagall came forward and said, "Stand aside, Miss Warbeck."
"No, ma'am," she replied. "And please stay out of this. I wouldn't want you to be hurt on account of me." The woman tried to protest, but Callie ignored her, keeping her gaze locked on Snape. "Getting the D.A. back together was my idea," she told him. "And stealing the Sword was my idea. And leaving Crabbe and Goyle in the forest?" With a devilish smirk she said, "That one was particularly satisfying."
He was obviously trying to search through her mind, but she'd had a lot of practice with Occlumency in the last several months. She went on, "Of course, I wasn't going to make myself known after what your deputies did. You taught me well, Professor. Stay hidden as long as possible, right?"
He held his hand out and gestured her forward. "Come with me."
"Like hell I will," she returned.
"You're in for it now, girl!" Amycus warned.
Stepping towards her, Snape said, "You're not getting out of this, Warbeck, there's nowhere to run!"
McGonagall came forward again, drawing her wand, and yelled, "You stay away from her, Severus!"
And nobody would've predicted what happened next. It was neither Snape nor the Carrows who stunned the woman, but Callie. She knew McGonagall would try and defend her, and in that case, put herself in danger too. Callie didn't want that. Unbeknownst to anyone, she did have a way out of this, and she didn't need anyone risking their safety to help her.
Everybody cried out in shock as the woman hit the floor. Snape too looked completely astonished. Then Alecto shot a spell at Callie, who deflected it. Is he going to come to my rescue and risk blowing his cover? she wondered. But when he turned to the deputy headmistress and shouted, "No!" she took the opportunity to take him out of the equation as she had McGonagall, and stunned him as well.
Everybody watched as the siblings shot at Callie simultaneously, and she deflected whatever spells they threw at her. One of them took out a window at the back of the room. She could see Flitwick, Sprout, Slughorn, and Neville making their moves to come help her, but as she dodged the attacks, she waved her wand in a semi-circle, producing a charm that knocked everybody in the Hall off their feet, including the Carrows.
Now! she told herself. And then she turned on her heel and sprinted towards the broken window. She didn't take the time to look back, and thus missed out on seeing the hundreds of completely bewildered faces as she transformed into a fox and made off into the darkness of the night.