Callie walked down the corridor quietly, her feet barely making any noise as they padded against the cold rock. She had woken up after only an hour of sleep, it was snowing. The white flakes swirled down quickly, covering the ground in a soft white blanket. The trees sagged under the weight and the black lake was frozen over, winter had arrived.
Callie turned another corner and stopped next the a window, looking out over the dark grounds, the stars twinkling in the sky were barely noticeable through the thick white flakes. She stretched her arms out behind her, it was only 4 weeks until Christmas, she had been living at the school for 3 months, the longest amount of time in one place since she was nine.
And suddenly it felt like she was suffocating, why was she still here, she didn't want this, didn't need this. She needed her own space, not a cluttered dorm room, not a castle full of happy students. She needed air, and yet felt like her lungs had collapsed, she needed to get out of here, she couldn't do it anymore. She couldn't stand and watch as Hermione read every book she could find, trying to prepare herself, she couldn't watch as Harry crumbled under the weight of the world, as Ron dealt with being the weakest link, as Ginny strived to be recognized, as Blaise took care of Daphne, as Daphne out on a smile everyday, as Pansy begged for attention, as Draco struggled between his desires and his fathers, she couldn't watch. And then it hit her, she had grown attached, and that scared her.
Selena woke up and rolled over, Callie's bed was empty, she got up lazily and looked in the bathroom, Callie wasn't there, she looked in the closet, no Callie. She got dressed and looked downstairs, Callie wasn't there either, where was she?
She spun as the portrait hole opened ready to greet the missing girl, only to find Eric step in, looking defeated.
"What's wrong, where's Callie?"
Eric looked up at her concerned face, his eyes full of despair,
"Gone."
Selena felt the need to sit down, her head was spinning, the world was revolving too fast, the ceiling was the floor, gone?
"What do you mean gone? Gone for a run, gone for a brief break, gone shopping, what kind of gone?"
Selena's voice was attempting forced calm but there was an edge of hysteria she couldn't conceal.
"I mean gone, she isn't on the school grounds, she left last night. She might come back Selena, you know how she is, she just needs time."
Eric's voice was reassuring but his eyes told Selena he didn't believe anything he was saying.
"How do you know she is gone? She could have just gone for a run, you know how she loves the snow."
Eric just shook his head and sank onto the couch, his eyes staring at the embers with worry.
"I saw her leave, she didn't walk, she morphed and flew. I don't know when she'll be back, what are we going to tell the others?"
Selena nodded slowly, acceptingly, this was how Callie was, never tied down, never thinking about the consequences of her actions, selena smiled and did her best to hide the heart break.
"We will tell them the truth."
Eric nodded and stared at the flames as if Callie would appear in them and rush out, hugging them and apologizing, the idea was so ridiculous Eric would have laughed, except he couldn't help but wish that it were true.
"I'll go wake everyone up."
Selena swept out of the room, her eyes pricking slightly and her nose tingling, she barely made it up the stairs before she collapsed, her eyes rolling back into her head as the stress finally took over, completely knocking her out.
Callie landed lightly, morphing back into her human form, she was in a forest, the sounds of falling snow and wildlife gently hitting her ears. She looked around and started walking, her bare feet stinging as the cold snow stuck to them, her white tank top did little to keep her warm and her grey sweats were soon soaked, and she was freezing, and alone, and lost, perfect.
She stopped walking and looked up, the sky was starting to lighten, promising a very grey day, she sighed as she stared at the fading stars, snow flakes hitting her eyes and making them sting, but she didn't mind, she slowly started to spin, her hair fanning out around her as she spun faster and faster, still focusing on the sky as the last stars faded, and then she sank to the ground, and for the first time in 6 years, she cried.
Selena sat looking out the window, four days, four days and still no sign of her, not that anyone had really tried, when Callie walked away, it was like she had fallen off the face of the earth, and no one could find her. Selena had informed Dumbledore and he had understood, kind of. Keilly and Alyssa had shared Selena's heartbreak were as Alexa tried to comfort them, saying things about Callie's return being any day now.
"Selena? We need to start."
The beautiful girl was pulled from her thoughts and turned to look at the room, all eyes looking at her expectantly, she had taken over Callie's position in the class, leading the group through exercises that made them gasp for breath and their muscles clench, that made their minds swim with exhaustion and the wands droop.
"Break into pairs, duel, winner will then duel the winner of another match until it is down to two people."
The teens broke into groups, all pulling their wands and beginning their duels. 15 minutes later, only two pairs were left, Hermione vs. Harry and Ginny vs. Malfoy, Ron had been eliminated after Blaise had got him with a strange curse that mad him see everyone as if they were in his nightmares, all helping play out his worst dreams, he had been rushed to the hospital wing be Luna and Neville, both looking at him with worry.
"On the count of three, 1, 2, 3."
Hermione quickly shot a spell at Harry who dodged, Ginny nimbly side stepped malfoy's curse and sent back one of her own. Harry on the other hand, seemed to be holding back, not wanting to hurt Hermione, Hermione didn't take that well, if he was going to go easy, she was going to make him regret it.
"What the—"
Harry had to throw up a quick shield as Hermione started twirling hr wand, silently sending a variety of curses at him, not jinxes, curses.
"Don't just defend yourself Harry, fight back!"
Alexa tried to encourage him into the offensive position but he still seemed unwilling to hurt Hermione, who glared at him and started twirling, her wand swishing out as she sent curse after curse, Harry tried to dodge everyone, but dodging was a lot more tiring then just casting, and his reaction time started to increase after only a couple minutes, finally, one of the curses hit him and he fell to the floor, blood spurting from multiple gashes on his body. Hermione disarmed him and then ran to his side, healing him quickly before any real damage was done. Harry sat up quickly and glared at her, nearly stomping out of the ring, he hadn't expected something like that from Hermione.
"Okay, last duel, Hermione vs. Ginny."
Hermione looked up at the younger red head, who smiled slightly and jerked her head towards Malfoy who was being carried off the hospital wing, little bat bogeys pelting his face as he tried to bat them away.
"Nice one Ginny, although I recommend something a little more difficult in a battle, most death eaters won't be detoured by a couple of bogeys."
Ginny smiled and laughed lightly; bowing to Hermione once Alexa had finished her commenting.
"I, 2, 3."
Hermione and Ginny quickly started dueling, and the spectators were surprised by the two witches, even Eric had to admit they had improved, both were fluidly sliding through steps, casting different spells at each other. Selena went back to string out the window, her mind once again on her missing friend.
"And the winner is Ms. Ginny Weasley."
Ginny smiled and then helped Hermione u off the ground, smiling t her as Hermione tried to look angry, but in the end smiled at the younger girl, shaking her hand and pulling her into a hug.
"Class dismissed."
Eric walked over to Selena who was still looking out the window, the snow was falling again, and it seemed like it would never stop,
"She loved the snow you know, she would never admit it but she did, she always wanted to have a snowball fight, but she thought it was bellow her, she always wanted to be kid for just 5 minutes, but those bastards took it away from her, she wanted to be able to love us like we love her, especially you Eric, she always wanted to be able to love you, but she can't it isn't who she is."
Eric sighed slightly and wrapped an arm around the girl, leaning his cheek on the top of her head,
"What's with the past tense, she hasn't died Selena, she is just taking a little vacation, and she loves us, just in her own way."
Selena wiped away a tear that fell down her face,
"How do you know she isn't dead? She could be lying on a battlefield somewhere, or bleeding to death in some prison."
Eric shook his head,
"Her form Selena, what does she turn in to?"
Selena looked up at him, wondering where he was going with this,
"A phoenix."
Eric nodded,
"And what happens when a phoenix dies?"
Selena raised an eyebrow,
"They are reborn from the ashes."
Eric nodded,
"She won't die on us, you wait, she'll be back, as for her being in a prison, it'll take more than stone, steel and wards to hold her in, the only thing that keeps her caged is herself."
Selena nodded and sighed, four days, 1 hour, 8 minutes and 36 seconds, 37, 38, 39, 40.