NOX° SIRIUS BLACK

Chapter Forty-Two

    "Maybe we should start staying at the castle more often for breaks if this is what it's like," Sirius said as he and Calypso lounged under the warm April sun by Black Lake. Calypso stared up at the clear sky, watching as the clouds passed them by. "It's quiet though."

     "Too quiet almost." Calypso replied, turning to look at the side of Sirius's face. "It's weird not having a bunch of students wandering around the halls all day and it's weird being here without the boys or Dorcas. Even the common room is so clean without everyone's experiments and inventions. I hate how quiet everything is."

     "What if we sleep in the Gryffindor common room?" Sirius suggested. Sirius turned to stare at her. "We could sleep on the floor by the fireplace. I could set up the blankets and everything."

      "All right, sure." Calypso smiled. She pulled a book out of her bag and opened it, using it to shield her eyes from the sun as she read through its contents.

     "What're you reading?" Sirius asked.

     "A book on the history of vampires. Frederick, our financial advisor, is supposed to be meeting with Ira today about donating our funds to the Society. I wanted to become better educated on the topic before I donated the funds." Calypso said before leaning up on her elbows. "Did you know that witches and vampires actually used to live amongst each other? Apparently, during the early persecution of witches, vampires would help witches hide or provide distractions from the Muggle hunters. Vampires used to be considered an ally to us."

     "What happened?" Sirius asked curiously.

     "Wizards stopped being persecuted and started taking over, I guess." Calypso frowned deeply. "You know, we never really talk about any of this in school. I've been doing some research and vampires aren't the only non-wizard creatures who we've treated this way. Goblins, house-elves, werewolves . . . It's like if you're not a wizard, then your voice doesn't matter. And to some wizards, you could still be a wizard and your voice won't matter. And no one ever does anything,  or holds these people accountable."

     "People are doing something about You-Know-Who. That's a start."

      "Hardly." Calypso scoffed. "It took Voldemort killing people in large numbers and announcing to the public that he was the Dark Lord for people to even bat an eye, but look at how many people he has on his side. And it's not like he randomly decided one day that he was going to become one of the darkest wizards in history, he's probably been preparing for this for years and people have supported him. It's not just him and his followers either. There are people who don't actively fight on his side who support his beliefs and not to mention all of the people who just sit around and do nothing. People like Mulciber and Avery can go around calling Muggleborn students horrible names without any consequences at all.

     "Even when all of this done with Voldemort, it doesn't change the fact that there will still be beings out there who aren't being treated fairly and people like you and me are actively benefiting from this social hierarchy that we created which keeps them below us."

     Sirius nodded his head in agreement with Calypso and she went back to reading her book. Sirius softly hummed a soothing tune to himself that Calypso didn't recognize while he studied the side of her face.

     "Calypso," Sirius started after he let out a tiny sigh. She turned to him and met his eyes with a patient expression on his face. She could tell he wanted — needed — to say something to her. There was something weighing down on his mind that he needed to get off his chest and confess. But, when she looked at him everything he wanted to say would get trapped in his throat. So, instead, he said, "Do you want to go swimming in the lake?"