Book 1 in the Screams Trilogy
Calliope Doge doesn't speak. This is a fact that the entirety of Hogwarts knows full well.
She doesn't answer the questions that teachers ask in lessons, she doesn't speak to people over dinner in the great hall and sh...
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"Calm down Miss Doge," Madam Pomfrey said in a soothing voice, as Calliope sat bolt upright in her hospital bed.
Her head whipped around, and she took in the scene around her. Several other hospital beds were also occupied. All of the occupants seemed to be frozen in position as if they were statues.
"You were petrified Miss Doge. But not to worry, it has all been sorted now. You may head to the great hall for the feast if you wish, I'm sure your friends are anxious to see you."
Feeling slightly disoriented, Calliope climbed out of the bed, walked out of the hospital wing, and made her way towards the great hall. It was packed with students, all of whom were wearing pyjamas and talking loudly and happily.
As soon as Calliope entered the hall, there was a loud shriek and Calliope was tackled in a hug.
"Merlin Callie! You have no idea how much I missed you! It's been months Callie-months!"
"Months?" Calliope demanded.
Natalie jumped away from her, staring at the girl with utter shock written across her face.
"You spoke!" Natalie declared, "you've never done that before-well, you've done it before, just when you were much younger-" Natalie went silent when Calliope pressed a finger to her friend's lips.
"Months?" Calliope repeated.
"Yeah!" Said Natalie, "its July. You were petrified in October. You missed everything- there were loads of petrifications because the Chamber of Secrets was opened. But Harry Potter killed the monster, and Madam Pomfrey used mandrake draft to fix you and the others."
Calliope stared at Natalie, unable to believe that she had been petrified for almost a year. But her thoughts were silenced when she looked at the Hufflepuff table and saw it covered in foods, which made her stomach groan.
"Food!" Calliope exclaimed, before hurrying to sit down at the table and pile her plate high with all sorts of different food, not bothering to differentiate between main course and pudding, but pairing a chicken wing with a jam tart.
Natalie sat down opposite her, watching Calliope with a small smile. It had shocked Natalie beyond belief when Calliope spoke. Since waking up from the petrification, Calliope had spoken three words, that was three more words than she had spoken since the age of seven. Natalie was not sure what had caused the change, but she loved her friend, and she could already see that Calliope seemed to have a weight taken from her shoulders. Natalie didn't want to pressure her friend, but she was desperate to know what had changed.
Despite the loudness of the hall, the two girls had one of the quietest meals they had ever had, as Natalie was trying to think of what could have happened to Calliope, and Calliope was too busy stuffing her face with food to notice Natalie's silence.
********
The end of term approached quickly. Everyone else found themselves with a lighter workload in anticipation of summer, however, Calliope was drowning under the mountains of work that she had to catch up on from all of the schoolings she had missed that year.
The library was pretty much empty, everyone was outside enjoying the hot weather out in the grounds. The sounds of their laughter floating in through the open windows of the library (much to Madam Pince's dislike).
The only other occupants of the library were the Weasley twins, who occupied a table close to Calliope's and were bent over some notes, murmuring quietly. Calliope had been pleasantly surprised to see the two boys working. She did not know them well but was very aware of what their reputation was. This left her curious as to what they were doing.
The thing that really set her curiosity alight was the fact that the two boys glanced around at the empty library a lot, as if fearful of being overheard.
On several occasions she caught them looking right at her, but they looked away quickly when they saw they had been spotted. Every time that Calliope looked at the boys, she got a funny jolt in her stomach, which she couldn't identify as anything but bad news- either that or it was just the social awkwardness she felt every time that she accidentally made eye contact with one of them.
Calliope tried to focus on the Transfiguration textbook in front of her, but it was difficult with the two boys muttering to each other. Eventually, the noise got on Calliope's nerves so much that she picked up her wand, and pointed it at them, casting the silencing charm over them without a word. She returned to her book, thankful that their muttering had ceased.
But before she knew it, one boy was sat on either side of her, with very irritated expressions on their faces. Calliope gave them a grin and pressed her finger to her lips, a clear indication that she wanted them to shut up.
One of them (Calliope wasn't entirely sure which one), tapped his lips, asking her to take the charm off. Calliope's grin widened, and she shook her head. The one on her left grabbed the Transfiguration textbook and pulled it away from her.
Calliope raised her eyebrows and held her hand out for the book, but the boy shook his head stubbornly. Calliope rolled her eyes and drew her wand, removing the silencing charm from the boys.
"Georgie, am I dreaming?" The one holding Calliope's textbook asked.
"No Freddie I don't think you are," said George, "Calliope Doge just played a prank on us."
Calliope rolled her eyes and gestured for her book back. But Fred held onto it, "don't think you're getting this back right away after you just silenced us, Doge. My voice is one of my best features-"
"Yeah, because I'm clearly the more attractive twin," interjected George.
"Give!" Calliope demanded, narrowing her eyes at Fred, and totally ignoring George.
Fred jumped back slightly, clearly stunned to hear her speak, but he didn't let it phase him for long, "she speaks!" He dangled the textbook just out of her reach, "ow!" He exclaimed Calliope had stomped heavily on his foot.
"Shush!" Madam Pince rounded the corner, clearly, her senses had detected something amiss in her sacred library.
Fred eyed the librarian and seemed to think better of tangling with her, as she seemed in a particularly foul mood. He set the book back down in front of Calliope, and he and George got to their feet.
