Hey! What's up? How's life. Mine's fabulous, thanks for asking! So now it's time for Callista to go home. How will Lily and Arthur react? Will Callista regain her memories? What skeletons are hanging up in her closet? Read on to find out! Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I'm just a HP nerd who is still waiting for a teacher to say "Turn to page 394."
Lily paced around the living room anxiously. It was 9 o'clock, and she hadn't heard one word from James. He said he was staying a little while to finish up paperwork, but she hadn't thought it would be this long. He'd been at the office since ten in the morning. Usually he or Sirius thought to Floo her when they were staying late or going on a raid. She was officially worried.
"Mum, stop worrying. I'm sure Dad just got caught in something," Arthur reassured his mother, though his mind was also filling with possibilities of all the bad things that could've happened. He always worried about his dad coming home. Being an Auror was dangerous, especially in these times, and he had already lost one member of his family. He didn't want to lose anyone else.
Suddenly, the fireplace flashed to life. Lily's heart twisted in anxiety. It always did when someone Flooed the house. She was always afraid of hearing bad news: that James was hurt during a raid, that Arthur had fallen off his broom, that more friends and family had been killed. Of course, there was that little place in her heart that hoped for good news, the place that just kept waiting to hear that Callie was safe and on her way home.
"Lily!" She was able to breathe again. It was James's voice. "Come through here. I need to tell you something." Once again bracing herself for the worse, Lily give her son a quick kiss on the forehead before rushing into the fireplace. Most teenage boys would've protested or wiped it off, but not Arthur. Callista's disappearance had one positive effect: bringing the Potter family together. Lily and James were fiercely protective of the only child they have left, and Arthur did his best to not disappoint them.
Lily stepped into James's office. The first thing she noticed was her husband practically jumping up and down in joy. His hazel eyes seemed to be dancing, and he was smiling harder than he had the day they got married and the day the twins were born. "James, what's going on?"
James grinned at her. "I found her," he said excitedly. "I found her!"
Lily furrowed her eyebrows. "Found who?" she asked. James gave her a look of disbelief and shock. She racked her worried brain for who he could be talking about. Suddenly, a light went off in her head.
James could tell his wife had figured it out. Tears appeared in her eyes, but they were ones of relief. She clung to her husband crying as he comforted her. "Callie's coming home, Lily," James soothed. "She's okay, and she's coming home."
Lily could not believe what she was hearing. She had hoped for so many years that her baby girl would come home, that she was still alive. She pulled away from her husband, looking around the room wildly.
"Where is she?" Lily asked frantically.
"Lily…" James started to say.
Lily refused to be placated. "James, I want to see my daughter!"
James lowered his voice. "I know." He met his wife's eyes and opened the door to his office. Lily stayed, hearing James's unspoken request. She did, however, watch from the doorway.
There were at least thirty girls in the office area. Most of them were dressed in very provocative clothing. The youngest of them couldn't have been older than 10 or 11, causing a pang in Lily's heart. What kind of place had her daughter been stuck in? There was also a little girl, probably three of four, playing with a teddy bear. She was very cute, with blonde hair and big startling grey eyes, and Lily couldn't shake the feeling she knew this little girl somehow. Her eyes continued to roam the room, searching for her daughter, until she saw a flash of familiar blonde hair.
She couldn't help but stare. Callie had indeed grown into a great beauty. Her long blonde hair was as beautiful as ever, and the elegance in her features had been enhanced with maturity. Lily noticed with great joy that they shared the same eyes, though Callie's were much older and sadder than she remembered. Currently, however, her daughter's beautiful features were marred into a frown. She seemed to be arguing with someone. Lily could vaguely identify him as one of the Auror trainees. She leaned in closer to the doorway to hear the conversation.
The argument was in another language that Lily was not familiar with, but it sounded like it was getting heated. Callie threw her hands up in the air, clearly frustrated with the boy she was talking to. He stood against the wall, silent.
"Fine," Callie stated, switching back to English. "Have it your way." She called out, "Grace", and the little girl immediately scurried to her side.
"You should take my advice," the boy warned.
Callie's eyes hardened. "Unlike you, I don't turn my back on my friends." She turned to James, who was not standing far away. "I am ready to go."
Many of the girls rushed to Callie, hugging her and crying. She whispered comforting things to them, reassurances and promises of letters.
"Don't worry," she told Becks, who was the most worried of them all. "Niebo jest wciąż niebieskie."
Becks smiled. "You always say that."
Callie shrugged. "It's always true."
Damien couldn't help but smile at that. He remembered the first time Lista had said it. Con, Jace, and he had been helping Con's grandfather fix the fence in the front yard. The three little boys, who would've much rather been playing, anguished over their assigned task. Lista, who was helping Ciocia with laundry, had come outside to hang up some clothes. Seeing their downtrodden faces, she had asked what was wrong. Jace and Con had bemoaned about their job. Lista just laughed and said, "How can you be sad? It's a beautiful day, and the sky's still blue. Nothing bad can happen when the sky's still blue." From then on, that became their motto to life by.
Just as Lista was about to grab her stuff, Damien said, "Okay, I'll do it. I'll go check on Con for you."
Lista brightened. "Really?" she said hopefully. Damien nodded. She rushed to hug him and kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you," she whispered.
"And I promise to take care of your girls," Damien added. "They'll go someplace good."
Lista smiled widely. Damien scowled. "What?" he asked.
"Nothing," Lista replied. "It's just that you're not nearly as cold-hearted as you want people to think you are."
James and Lily were both watching this interaction with intrigue. Lily wondered about that boy, if her little girl was dating him or had dated him. They seemed close, but she wasn't sure if it was a romantic relationship. James, having heard the earlier conversation, knew his recruit hadn't dated his daughter (which meant he could keep his life), but they did have a history. He had noticed Callie retreating when Damien said the name Jace and wondered just who that was. Vowing to do more research, he motioned for Callie to follow him into his office.
Callista followed her father, Grace's hand intertwined in hers. She could tell the little girl was nervous. Grace had seen more evil in her life than any little girl should have to, and she knew not to expect the best. She squeezed her hand comfortingly. They went back into the office. A redheaded woman was waiting in front of the desk. She and Callista had the same emerald eyes.
Lily didn't waste any time hugging her daughter. She stroked her hair, and Callista cried a little bit. She had dreamed of finding her family one day, of meeting them, but she never thought she would. She'd been on her own so long she'd forgotten what it was like to have an adult hug and comfort her. Lily was crying as well, tears of joy and relief and sadness. She had her daughter back, her baby, but they had missed so many years together. She didn't know what had happened to her little girl, where she had lived, what she had been through. She didn't know anything, but there would be time to learn those things.
Finally, James spoke up. "Let's go home," he said.
Callista smiled. "Okay," she agreed.
Arthur paced around the Potter manor living room, worried out of his mind. His mom had been gone almost two hours, and there had been no message from either of his parents since. That wasn't like them. Horrible thoughts rolled around his head until the fireplace flashed. Anxious, he watched as his parents stepped out. He was just about to ask them what had happened when the fireplace flashed again. A girl about his age with blonde hair and familiar emerald eyes stepped out, her hand holding a little blonde haired girl's. Arthur felt his heart pound. He knew, with every fiber of his being, that it was…
"Callie?" he said, his voice slightly broken. He hadn't said her name in so long, the memory painful. He wouldn't even talk about her with his friends, Ron having to explain to Hermione what had happened to his sister. Sometimes he would talk about her with Luna and Ginny, maybe Neville on occasion, but only because they were the few other people outside his family that had felt Callie's loss as keenly as he did.
Callista looked at this boy. She remembered his face, remembered their adventures. Much of her memory was still a blank, but she remembered this boy. This was her brother. "Artie?" she asked tentatively, stepping closer to him. Grace lingered by the fireplace, still unsure of this new situation. Artie just pulled her into a hug, not wanting to let his sister go. Callista, usually on edge when any boy she didn't really know hugged her, leaned into the hug. She trusted him.
The biggest thought running through Arthur's head beside the fact his sister was back was that he'd have to scare a lot of boys away once they went back to Hogwarts. As predicted when they were children, Callie was a great beauty. Add that to the fact that she did not have remarkable height, and all the boys would want to have her.
"I'm still taller than you," he teased softly.
Callie pouted. "I am not that short!" she exclaimed. "I am 5'2 and ¾ thank you very much!"
James got in on the teasing. "Ah yes, that ¾ really makes a difference."
Lily gave her boys the look, the one that meant cut it out or there'd be trouble. "I think you're just tall enough, sweetheart."
Callie smiled and then yawned. Lily looked concerned. "Are you tired?" she asked.
Callie nodded. "I've been up since five o'clock this morning."
"Five o'clock?" Artie repeated. "Is that legal?"
Callie rolled her eyes, trying to keep them open. Lily called out, "Alfred!" and a house elf bearing the Potter crest appeared.
"Yes, Mistress?" he asked politely.
"Please take Callie's things to the guest room." Alfred looked over at Callie, and his eyes widened.
"Yes, Mistress," the house elf replied, snapping his fingers and disappearing with Callie's stuff.
Lily motioned for Callie to follow her, leaving the boys in the living room. "We'll fix up your room tomorrow," she said. "It's exactly how you left it." They arrived at a door. "This will do for tonight."
Lily opened the door to reveal a room that was bigger than both Callie's room at Madame's and Con's apartment. Callie couldn't help but stare. Grace was right behind her, looking around the room with wide eyes.
Lily couldn't help but noticed the little girl that clung to her daughter. "And who is this?" she asked, leaning down to meet the little girl's eyes. Grace hid behind Callie.
"This is Grace," Callie said gently. "I take care of her." Lily sensed there was more of a story there, but she decided not to ask right now.
"Good night," Lily said, kissing her forehead.
Callie smiled. "Good night."
Lily left the room, and Callie looked around. She couldn't believe this was her home. She couldn't believe she was finally home. She only hoped it would last.
