September 20, 1987

Callie quickly learned that Sirius Black was not the kind of Supervising Officer to train his subjects gently. It was more like he threw her head-first into the worst, most reckless missions he could find. He preferred to teach in the thick of things, coaching her on blending into the shadows or picking the right target. He could be fighting two Death Eaters simultaneously, and yet never lose sight of her for a second. His easily-bored mind was never happier than when it was forced to focus on several things at once.

One night in late summer, four months after she first began work for the Ministry, Callie and Sirius crouched outside a tall, derelict house. It resembled a dead bird, with a short section in the middle and two wings stretched out on either side, climbing up into the night.

"We're after the Carrow siblings," Sirius whispered. "Death Eater double-act. They work well together, so keep your guard up. Separate them. They're much less of a threat alone."

News of Amycus and Alecto Carrow had spread through the office like wildfire after their recent terrorist activities. They'd killed three Muggles and one Squib on a street corner in Devon. Eyewitnesses accounts confirmed it was them. Three months previously they'd tortured a former Hogwarts professor to near-insanity. He was still in St. Mungo's. They were lethal killing-machines, dogs of the Dark Lord, in the words of other Death Eaters. Ferocious, but also teetering on the edge of madness.

Sirius crept around to the back door, a solid wall of oak. "Revelio," he whispered. A door knob sprang to existence. After a simple unlocking charm and a grin at his partner, Sirius led the way into the dark room beyond. Callie tiptoed after him, keeping a firm grip on her wand. The entrance opened into a wide hall, doors branching off every few feet. Paintings of horrid, proud-looking men and women stared down from their ornate frames. They preened and leered, but remained quiet. A faint scurrying punctuated the silence; rats in the walls.

They were halfway down the hall when the back door closed with a slam. A scream tore from the painted throats of every portrait; an alarm. Disoriented, Callie put her hands to her ears to block out the horrible noise. She felt a body slam into hers and push her against the wall as double streaks of green met exactly where she'd been standing.

"Magnum Selintium!" a voice bellowed. The screaming abruptly ceased. Callie had a glimpse of a portrait's mouth still open in a silent cry before Sirius forced her head down to avoid another Killing Curse. A bright Stinging Hex shot from his wand's tip.

Shaking herself, Callie turned and shouted, "Reducto!"

Sirius grabbed her shoulders and shoved her through the nearest door. He slammed it shut and pushed her forward. "Run!" he yelled. She obeyed. The other end of the room showed another hall and a staircase. She bounded up the steps.

A crash below indicated they were being followed. Sirius shouted hexes and curses, firing them behind him, hot on Callie's heels. "Go! Higher!"

Callie took the steps two at a time, climbing a forth flight. She risked a look down, and saw two black-robed figures chasing after them. "Immobulus!" she shouted, aiming down. The spell glanced off a barrier around the first figure.

Callie climbed higher. She shouted every hex she could think of down at them, giving up on aiming. Sirius' occasional shouted reminder told her that getting to higher ground was the priority. Finally, they ran out of stairs. The path was blocked by a door. "Reducto!" Callie shouted, putting as much energy into the spell as she could muster. The door blew outwards in pieces.

Warm, night air enveloped her. She could tell by the strength of the wind that they were over a hundred feet above the ground. The flat roof stretched ten yards before and behind her, ending in a short wall promising a sheer drop on the other side. Two chimneys stood on either end of the roof. Sirius bounded up behind her a second later, nearly running into her back as she skid to a stop.

Sirius swore. "No cover." He took her hand and pulled her behind the small, brick rise in the roof where the stairs ended. "Take opposite chimneys," he ordered. "It'll force them to split their focus."

Callie darted for the nearest chimney and ducked behind it. She turned just in time to see Sirius disappear from behind the opposite one. She took a moment to catch her breath. Silence descended again. The nearly-full moon and stars illuminated the roof. She watched the opening between herself and Sirius, waiting for a figure to emerge.

A sharp pop sounded behind her. She turned. A sneering face bore down on her. "Protego!" she screamed, just in time to deflect a curse. She shot a jet of red sparks at the form of Alecto Carrow and dove out of the way. Multi-colored light flashed from the far end of the roof. Out in the open, her only option left was dueling.

Green light flashed at her. She darted to the side. Alecto bore down on her, want tip flashing with nasty curses. Callie blocked or dodged most of them; Alecto wasn't a very good shot. She laughed too much and got too much pleasure out of it. She wasn't terribly fast, either.

Callie parried and darted in distance. Alecto dove forward, the Killing Curse spilling from her mouth. Callie moved in, grabbed her wand arm, and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" Alecto's wand shot from her hand. The Auror followed it up with a binding spell before Alecto could think. She grabbed the Death Eater's wand and snapped it in two, throwing the pieces off the roof for good measure.

Spells flashed on the other end of the roof. Amycus had managed to back Sirius up against the edge of the roof. The usually ambidextrous Auror was fighting only with his left hand. His right arm was hanging limply, dripping blood. Callie ran toward them. She conjured ropes and sent them flying for the Death Eater. They struck him in the back, wrapping around his arms, chest, and ankles. He lost his balance. He toppled headfirst. Sirius stepped aside. Amycus bent over the wall and pitched forward.

Her heart skipped a beat. She saw Sirius watching, unconcerned, as a human life fell as if in slow motion. Her gut clenched. She dove forward. Her fingers stretched out, wrapping around the last cord of rope. As she felt her body being pulled after the Death Eater, she shouted, "Arresto Momentum!" They stopped falling. "Ascendio!" She dragged Carrow with her as they shot back up, landing roughly on the roof.

Sirius quickly stunned Amycus and grabbed Callie's arm, hauling her up. "Are you crazy!?" he demanded. "What the hell was that?"

Callie glared at him, nervous, but sure of herself. "We don't kill people," she stated.

Sirius blinked. He looked at Amycus, then across the roof at Alecto, who writhed and spat curses. He looked back at Callie like he'd never quite seen her before. He paused. Callie wondered what he was going to say. The casual way he'd stepped aside and let a man fall to his death had startled her. For the first time she wondered if they had different views about what exactly was allowed when defeating Voldemort.

After a moment, he nodded. "Quite right, Potter," he affirmed. He cracked a smile. "Azkaban is better for them, anyway." Sirius flicked his wand at Alecto and she soared toward them. Another flick, and she stopped in mid-air. "I'll get this one; you take Tall, Dark, and Handsome."

Amycus jerked when Callie grabbed his arm and spat in her face. Callie barely flinched, but Sirius drew his hand up in a sharp motion. Skin connected with skin, and Amycus staggered back a step.

"She saved your life!" Sirius barked. "Don't make her regret it."

Callie gagged the Death Eater when he tried to answer back. She wiped the spit from her cheek and used her wand to push Amycus back down the long starcase, Sirius and Alecto following behind her.