Forever A Marauder

Twenty-Four: Calysta

CALYSTA

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Calysta was sprawled out on her bed in her own room, alone and thinking to herself. Her body shuddered suddenly and she realized how cold she was. The old house was emptier without her mother there. Even allied with Death Eaters, she was still Calysta's mother, and sometimes she needed someone closer to her to talk to other than a house elf.

And Sirius was also on her mind. It may have seemed like a good choice to  break up with when she did, but her mind was clouded with the falsehood of her own claims. They were better together. He would have helped her without a second thought. Calysta shifted to lay on her stomach and rested her head in her arms. Her eyes traveled around her room, finally landing on the picture of the Marauders in that one train compartment they claimed before Christmas break the previous year. Remus rolling his eyes with a crooked smirk, Sirius with his hand around her waist...

"I've just been called to work, darling. Emergency potion mishap. Will you be alright by yourself?" Oren Daelynn gently pushed the oak door to his daughter's room open. Calysta was reminded of Dumbledore then: both men were charismatic and patient in the way they held themselves. Oren's presence made everything feel a little better. Calysta's eyes dragged away from the cheerful picture to look at her father.

"I'll be fine. Be careful." She replied into her arms, noting the changes in her father's stature. He was much more slim and the bones in his hands were more pronounced. Bruises were still present on them as well. His beard had turned grey in places. But a certain youthful sparkle in those Healer's eyes reminded Calysta there was still something to be truly happy about.

"As to you." Oren bent forward and kissed the top of her head. Calysta felt like he never let her out of his sight over the course of a new Christmas break from Hogwarts. She never expected him to leave. What with the Aurors gone officially, the house was only protected with spells.

"I'll see you tomorrow, darling" Oren smiled warmly at his daughter.

"Is that an accent I hear?" Calysta teased. She noticed herself that she was beginning to use words she usually didn't, and the Marauder boys would note it out loud when they picked up on it. Oren laughed.

"I should guess it could be," He bowed his head and the door clicked shut behind him. Calysta waited for a while before moving out of the room. A long, gray-wool cardigan wrapped around her shoulders as she left her room. Her foot left the hallway, and her eye was caught by something. Calysta turned her head fully towards it; a photo of Sirius swinging her around in a circle. She recognized the location as the old tree the Marauders always met at. His arms were around her from the back and his smile was so bright. Silently, the picture showed them both laughing. It had been two months since Calysta broke up with him.

She shook her head and proceeded along the hallway. A patterned runner now lined the halls, at Calysta's request. A curved sofa with a high back caught Calysta as she fell back into it. Sighing heavily, she let the crackle of the fire in the hearth be the only disturbance in the otherwise still house. An exotic creature--a bug of sorts, perhaps?-- sat still in a glass tank with grass at the bottom. Its metallic shell shielded the creature's face from her. Something her dad brought home, she was sure. It was at that time Calysta wished her family's record player hadn't been damaged when the Death Eaters fought on Christmas night the year previous. It was Christmas Eve now but it didn't feel like it. She had plans to see the rest of the Marauders after Christmas before they went back to Hogwarts, but she worried about being around Sirius. She didn't know how much longer she could pretend she didn't need him.

"Does Calysta have need for some tea?" The familiar and squeaky voice of her favorite house elf said to her right. Calysta's eyes opened and smiled gratefully.