We're Called The Marauders

Thirteen: Calysta

CALYSTA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Calysta sat on Remus' bed with Sirius on Remus' other side. She held a damp cloth to Remus' chin. Remus winced; the cut on his chin bled through the night, leaving his pillow blotched with red. Had Calysta known, she would have stayed up with him.

"Sorry, Remus." Calysta smiled guiltily, removing the cloth momentarily.

"No, I'm sorry. About that." Remus nodded towards Calysta's arm. A single, thin scratch ran the length of her bicep. She threw her friend a look.

"Look at this scratch, Remus. Barely noticeable. Hardly grazed me at all. However, that tree branch did not graze you." Calysta laughed gently. Remus shrugged.

"It's not the worst I've seen." Sirius added. "He had this nasty gash across his nose one year. He had to go through school like that. He was totally bombed with questions. Which the rest of us redirected."

"Well, with the Essence of Dittany I sent James for, it won't be nearly as bad," Calysta lowered the cloth from Remus' chin. As if on cue, James burst through the door with a tiny green bottle of Dittany. Calysta took it from his fingers, uncapping it with a small pop from the cork. She dabbed some of the Dittany on a clean part of the cloth and told Remus to hold it to his face.

"You got a little, uh..." James waved his finger at Remus' face. He leaned down and picked at dried mud on Remus' forehead. Remus didn't fight it; he looked so exhausted.

"Peter will you stop that?" Sirius ordered. Peter looked from the floor to Sirius, ceasing the rhythm of his foot tapping. He gave Sirius a weak smile.

"Sorry," Peter moved around the bed post to stand near James. They watched as Calysta delicately fixed Remus' wounds with a wave of her wand.

"How do you fix them all at once?" Sirius inquired. Calysta smiled, brushing off her hands.

"My father's a Healer. He works at St. Mungo's, the name is I think? He lets me read through his books and practice," Calysta admitted. The Marauders had a short laugh.

"Good job, Doc. Do we get sweets for being good patients?" James joked. Calysta rolled her eyes.

"I'm not a doctor. And I wouldn't give you candy no matter how hard you pleaded." She said defiantly.

"Your bed-side manner is ghastly," James threw his hands down in defeat. Calysta smiled as the scratches on Remus' face cleared. Normally, they would have gone to Madame Pomfrey, but Remus hated the attention it brought him when he walked out of the infirmary the next morning. 

"I'm done. Wanna go get breakfast now?" Calysta asked them all. They nodded, heading towards the door. Remus gave his face a once-over before exiting. Calysta was last to follow.

~~~~~

Breakfast was mainly uneventful. Except on a rare occasion a third year Slytherin tried to start a duel with a fifth year Ravenclaw because his peers told him to. One, it would have been hopeless for the third year; two, the Ravenclaw was having none of the nonsense and called over a teacher.

"Dumb bloke." James and Sirius muttered as the Slytherin passed. He glared at the two older boys as he walked behind the Professor. James' eyes followed the student, but went elsewhere and landed on a certain red-head. Lily glanced over and ignored James.

"Come here," Lily mouthed to Calysta. She excused herself from the four boys and brought her bag over to Lily and Skylar. Marlene elected to eat early and venture to the library to study before class so she was not around. Skylar looked sick, trying to hide her face from Lily. Calysta wondered why.