Chapter 25: Deals with the Devil
Peter checked Gryffindor Tower, the Great Hall, the library, everywhere he could think of but there was no sign of Remus. He didn't really know why he was actually trying so hard to find him. His next meeting with Remus was bound to bring problems.
Peter stepped through the great oak doors of the Entrance Hall and drank what little warmth the sun offered. There was a bitter chill in the sir; winter was definitely on the way. There were no other students about. His eyes wandered over the empty garden paths, then settled on two figures walking hand in hand up to the gates. One was tall, very thin. . . ah, there was Moony. Since when did the werewolf hold hands with girls? Girls who were very thin, with hair that was ------ No way. . .
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Calista hugged herself with one arm. It was very cold, even with the sun beaming down on the world. She couldn't believe she was walking up the path with Remus' hand linked with hers. Life was very strange indeed to give her this gift after taking her through the nine levels of hell. It took all she had to keep from smiling continually like a fool.
Her eyes caught a small, plump figure darting inside the entry doors. Oh, no. . . .
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I'm walking up the path holding hands with a girl I've never really noticed before, a girl I've just - Merlin, how did all this come to pass? Remus had rarely been as confused by life as he was now. Calista Serene was not someone he had ever imagined being intimate with, yet here they were. He was more surprised than ever to find that holding her hand was not unpleasant. Her skin, sallow and very pale, was nonetheless soft to the touch. Her eyes were pale and colorless, yet they had a depth to them he was hard pressed to find in many others. There was definitely a mind in that head, a fact that was more attractive than anything.
She had a very pretty smile too. Her face changed from the cold, heartless Slytherin she was known as to something. . . something soft, and sweet and gentle, even kind. Calista was a paradox, a mystery Remus was becoming determined to solve.
Her hand went cold in his, breaking him from his thoughts. She pulled her hand from his, and he almost missed the feeling of it. What the hell?
"I have to go," she said quickly. Something was wrong; she wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were looking up at the castle and something very akin to fear skittered in her voice. She was gone, through the gates, like a ghost leaving Remus alone on the beaten path.
"What on earth was that about?" he wondered aloud. There were many mysteries these days. Problems to be solved. And speaking of problems . . . he had an appointment to keep with a furry little friend of his. He must have transformed during his confrontation with Peter. Someone had to have intervened; he had a feeling it was Prongs. That's fine; at least he didn't eat anything he wasn't supposed to. His stomach growled. He was starving.
Remus glanced casually at the sky. There was a dark cloud hovering over the North Tower. On closer look, it was a raven. Remus shrugged; it was just a bird.
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Calista ran away from Remus, hating to leave. She rounded the corner and stopped in shock. Someone had majorly trashed Greenhouse 2. She hadn't really noticed the damage last night; she'd been too engrossed in her own thoughts.
Now, she saw half the wall was gone. What on earth could tear out half a wall?
"Nice, isn't it?" The simpering little voice reached Calista's ears. It was exactly who she thought it was. Crapweasels. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and turned to deal with Peter.
"What do you want, rat?" She put on her best Slytherin charm, which didn't involve much effort. She despised Peter.
"I s-saw you," Peter leered at her. "What w-would the oth-thers think of-f your n-n-new b-boy toy? I b-bet L-Lucius and S-S-S-Severus would r-really love to h-hear ab-b-bout it."
"Why you little. . ." Calista had pulled out her wand without realizing it, and she now took the advantage to point it at Peter. "I should curse you into oblivion. What business is it of yours who I spend my time with?"
"C-Curse m-me if you w-want, but I-I'll b-b-be miss-ssed. Y-You're exp-p-p-pendab-ble, r-remember? I'm not."
Calista stared at the fat little boy in shock. He was completely right. He had made his place in the circle long before she was pulled into the scheme of things. Little Peter was more cunning than she had thought. She lowered her wand, eyeing him with distaste.
"What is it?" She asked. Peter gestured to her with one fat finger, and she reluctantly leaned in to hear what he had to say.
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Sirius was very tired now, eyes head drooping on his chest, but he fought valiantly to stay awake. He was tired of sitting, doing nothing, but he didn't dare move. What if Lily woke up and he wasn't here? It didn't matter if he was out of the picture, he just wanted to see her open her eyes and know she was all right...
As if the fates had read his mind and decided to take pity on him, Lily's eyes slowly opened. Sirius sat up straight in his chair, completely awake now. Her eyes gazed at the ceiling for a moment. She seemed confused, but the color of her eyes was strong and reassuring.
"Lily?'' His voice was a whisper, but she'd heard him. She looked at him, straight into his eyes, and smiled.
"Hi, Sirius," she said. Her voice was hoarse and scratchy, but to Sirius it was music. Lily stretched out one hand to him and he clasped it in his own. He leaned down and kissed her forehead.
"How do you feel?" he asked her.
"Hmmm, let's think," she said mock seriously. Lily then looked at Sirius and dropped him a wink and a small grin.
"At least you still have your sense of humor," Sirius laughed joyfully. His mind was singing. Lily's going to be all right.
"Glass half full, right?" Lily was doing her best to stay upbeat. Sirius took a chance and kissed her bruised fingers. Lily's eyes on him were tender, full of love. He couldn't pull away from her gaze. Sirius was moving closer to her. God, he wasn't doing this. They had been down this road already; was he insane? His lips were inches from hers; he could feel her cool breath on his face.
Sirius jerked his head up with a start. He looked around in surprise. Lily's hand was not in his, they were not about to kiss. Her eyes were closed and James was at her side, fast asleep himself. Autumn was gone and Spike had taken her place, pacing back and forth with wand drawn out.
He'd been dreaming again. Sirius let his head fall into his hands, elbows resting on his knees. He knew Spike's eyes were on him; he just didn't care. The fates were cruel, twisted beings, he decided. He silently cursed them all for bringing him and his friends into the warped world of adulthood so soon.
Sirius stood abruptly and walked to the window. The sun was shining, oblivious to their pain. Sirius felt the world should stop and take notice, damnit. He was bloody sick of all this nonsense. It was time for some answers.
Spike gasped behind him. Sirius turned and his eyes widened. Lily was sitting up, stroking James, hair as he slept on, unaware that Lily had awoken. Her eyes left the sleeping James and went to Spike. He nodded at her and Lily smiled back, blinking back tears. Her gaze left her guard and went to Sirius, standing alone by the window. There were no words spoken, no movements made. The room sparked with the electricity between them. Sirius felt the tears running down his face but made no move to wipe them away. They simply stared at each other from across the room, oblivious to the boy sleeping next to Lily, oblivious to the other boy watching so carefully. There was nothing for this moment but Sirius and Lily, and it was all right.
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Calista crept around the castle until she was very near the South Tower. She had a favorite spot here where she liked to sit and think. She would gaze at the misty mountains behind the castle and let her mind wander. She used to imagine the trials she would bring on the heads of her Gryffindor nemesis; ways she would make them suffer for being everything she hated. That was how Rabastan had found her, back in their third year, muttering about stupid Gryffindors under her breath. Rabastan had run off to tell his brother Rodolphus of the angry little Slytherin with the twisted ideas. Rodolphus had told his girlfriend, Bellatrix, who'd told Lucius . . . and the world had snowballed from there.
Calista hadn't been here in ages. She sat on the grass, still damp with morning's dew, and leaned back against the base of a small fountain. A statue of a fairy holding a flower in the palm of her hand rose out of the base. Calista liked this statue because it was sad, like her. The water was the fairy's tears; she was crying. Calista wasn't really into the happy, fluffy statues that lined the more populated garden paths. This corner of the garden was like the South Tower, unused and ignored. The greenery had grown almost out of control here, huge wild flowers and long branches of ivy everywhere. Calista could be completely alone here. None of the others ever came this way anymore.
Calista pulled out her wand and laid it on the ground before her, pointing it to the east. There was nothing in the world she wanted to do less than modify Remus' memory, but there was no other way. She would not let them kill him, and so she and Peter had reached this arrangement.
Calista leaned over her wand and muttered something indecipherable. A small sliver mist shot out of her wand and swirled away through the garden. She took a deep breath. This next one would be more of a chore. She was not fond of Sirius Black, and didn't much care for his fate. If he wasn't friends with Remus . . . She sighed. Peter had conned her into this one, too. Little slime ball was toast when she was done with this.
She muttered the spell again and another mist came out of her wand, this time going to the hospital wing.
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Remus was on a wild Peter hunt. He was bound and determined to find the little sneak and get some straight answers. He saw a very familiar brunette up ahead.
"Hey Autumn!"
"Yo, Remus!" Autumn came running over to him and he smiled. She was the only British person he'd ever met who said "yo.'' She thought it made her cool to speak American slang, she said.
"Boy, are you a hard person to find," she said upon reaching him.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Remus asked.
Autumn stared at him for a moment, then blinked. "Of course! You haven't been around; you wouldn't have any idea of what's happened. Duh, Autumn!" She smacked her forehead.
"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Remus almost shouted at her. She was making him insane.
"Lily was attacked again, and it looks like Lucius really did something to her this time. We're not sure what; Madame Pomfrey won't say. But everyone's staying with her. . . Spike and I were going in shifts until we found you. They sent Peter, but, well . . . you know Peter," she finished with a laugh. Remus twitched at the mention of Peter and opened his mouth to say something to Autumn.
There was a brush of something very soft against his ear. Remus stood with his mouth open, thinking. He couldn't remember what he was going to say. He closed his mouth with a snap. Autumn giggled.
"What?" he asked.
"You looked a bit like a codfish, mate," she said. Then her face turned serious. "C'mon, let's get to Lily-girl." Autumn took Remus' arm and together they went hurrying along to the hospital wing.
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Calista sighed and leaned back against the fountain again. It was done. The tears could come now, and they did, flowing freely down her silent face. She sat with her eyes closed, not making a sound, the tears traveling down her small face her only form of movement.
A twig snapped in the darkness. Calista opened her eyes and stared blankly into the sallow face of Severus Snape. He stared down his hooked nose at her, his dark eyes boring into her colorless ones.
"Happy now?" she asked him quietly. Something that was almost pity came into his eyes as he reached out and gently touched her face. They stayed that way, the two of them, for a long while, and no one missed them.
A/N: I am so so so sorry! It was not my intention to not update in so long! It's a bit easy to forget about this story sometimes because its already ssoted in so many other places and I am hard at work on its sequel. Plus the Marauder's Hideaway is up and running, so that's been going on. ( www.freewebs.com/marauders-hideaway/ ) but you guys don't care! You just want the story! So I will shut up and let you all enjoy! Please, post comments. I worship your feedback. I thrive on it. I crave it. I sound like I'm begging. I'm done now. :D