Screams

Eleven

The two girls whiled away the rest of the train journey catching up. Natalie described the extra security that the school had been placed under due to Sirius Black breaking out of prison, and described the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin. From Natalie's description, Calliope couldn't help but feel as though she knew Remus Lupin from somewhere, but she couldn't quite recall where she knew him from.

Calliope received many odd looks from her peers, all of whom appeared to be wondering where the girl had been, and why she had missed so much school. But she offered them no explanation, merely ignoring them as she was happy to be back in the place she loved again.

Natalie happily chatted to her friend over dinner, seemingly glad to have someone who would listen to her ranting without interruption, and the two girls retreated to their dorm not long later.

********

"I swear Professor, I'll catch up on all of the work that I missed," Calliope told Professor Dumbledore in his office the next morning after he had summoned her there for a 'chat'.

"Along with the work you missed last year due to the unfortunate circumstances?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not trying to sound cocky or anything Professor I swear, but I can already do everything that I missed in third year, and it won't take me long to catch up with the work since September."

"I'm not denying that you are an exceptional witch Calliope, I just do not want you to put yourself under too much pressure. We have all encountered the ramifications when you are... shall we say stressed."

"That's all under control now," Calliope said confidently, "that's where I've been for the past few months. Learning to understand my talents and not hurt anyone with them. I can actually understand what the whispers are telling me now, rather than just being overwhelmed by them."

"So what do the whispers tell you then?" Dumbledore leant forward slightly in his chair as if itching to hear what the future held.

"Nothing good Professor," Calliope said grimly. "Can I go to lessons now?"

"Of course you can," Dumbledore rested back in his chair.

Calliope hastily got to her feet and hurried out of the office. She hadn't liked the look that crossed Dumbledore's face when she mentioned knowing what the future would be. He had a hunger in his eyes that scared her slightly. She realised that if Dumbledore (a generally kind and inquisitive man) had reacted this way to hearing the power that Calliope now held, how would others react? Would they try and force her to tell them their futures? She was no seer, all that she could sense was death and destruction, meaning that her talents weren't exactly a party trick to whip out for entertainment purposes. But other people wouldn't understand this, they would think she could see everything.

********

Calliope silently slipped into the empty seat beside Natalie in the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, not registering anything around her. She was far too lost in her own thoughts to notice anything.

But she was abruptly pulled back to reality when she noticed the new teacher at the front of the room.

Natalie had mentioned Professor Lupin when she was catching Calliope up on what she had missed. He had battered robes on, and a tired expression on his face, but he still had a wide smile as he described the uses of the stunning spell.

This wasn't the thing that drew Calliope's attention, however, what drew her attention was that she recognised him. This man was Remus Lupin, her father's best friend. Sure Remus looked older and more tired, but there was no mistaking him.

She stared up at him, her mouth hanging open in shock.

"Are you coming Callie?" Natalie asked as she packed her bag up to move onto the next class, "I want to hear what happened with Dumbledore."

"I'll meet you in Charms," said Calliope absentmindedly, already drifting towards the front of the room where Remus was preparing for his next class.

"Can I help you?" Remus asked, not glancing up from the parchment he was gazing at.

"Uncle Remus?" Calliope asked in a shaky voice.

Remus looked up, seemingly surprised to be addressed as such. "Calliope?" He squinted, not believing what he was seeing. For a second his face broke into a massive grin, and he moved as if to embrace her. Then he seemed to think better of it, and held his arms tightly at his sides and the smile dropped from his face. "You should get to your next class Miss Doge."

"You're not even going to speak to me?" Calliope gazed up at the man who had not been present in her life since the death of her father, the man whom she had once seen as a sort of second father.

"I think we are both safer without the other in our lives." Remus seemed to be forcing every word out of his mouth.

"Fine then," Calliope stormed away from Remus, feeling beyond hurt that he didn't even want to speak to her, that he was so disgusted by her banshee heritage that he wouldn't even look at her. She had asked after Remus many times since her father's death, but Elphias' answer was always that he was travelling, or unwell, or too busy. But this just showed that it was her he didn't want to see. Remus had put up with her as a child, because of his friendship with Isaac, but now that Isaac was gone he wouldn't give her the time of day.

And the funny thing was- Calliope couldn't blame him for this. She knew what her mother's kind was like, cold and unfeeling, and she feared that one day she would become this way too. Maybe Remus was doing her a favour by not getting to know her, saving her from letting down another person when eventually she wouldn't care for anyone or anything except herself.