Song:
Friends (Chase Atlantic)
"And what the hell were we? Tell me we weren't just friends."
Callisto stayed in the Hospital Ward for a whole week, closely monitored by an overly agitated Madame Pomfrey. That meant that she missed the rest of the duelling matches, only getting informed by the occasional visitor. Much to everyone's expectations, the Durmstrang final four were the same as predicted, while for the Hogwarts champions, neither James nor Sirius managed to get a spot, the final Gryffindor being Remus Lupin.
Reyna Bekirov had beaten Hestia Jones, both girls being transferred to the Hospital Ward to mend a few burns and bruises. Nixie Brooks avenged her friend by absolutely demolishing Nadia Bekirov, the fight only stopping when Nixie punched the girl straight on the nose, causing her to faint.
Regulus' and Gruev's duel had been very much anticipated by everyone, especially since the boy's duel with Callisto. He recovered much faster than her, meaning that he was able to compete, despite their tie.
From what Callisto heard, it had been a brutal fight, even though Gruev was set up for failure from the beginning. He had underestimated Regulus, his polished appearance not convincing him that he would be capable of any type of brutality. That all changed when the young Slytherin hit him with a severing charm right on his palm, stopping him from holding his wand properly. Even while holding the wand with his non-dominant hand, Gruev had fought with his usual might fueled by the embarrassment.
Unfortunately for him, Callisto's influence was far more powerful than anticipated, because for the second time in his life, Gruev fell to the floor, convulsing violently and screaming in pain when Regulus managed to get a grasp of his arm. The poisoning was considerably less dangerous than the previous time, but debilitating enough to grant Regulus a win.
Remus was known as a gentle person, despite his snarky comments and attitude. That was why it had come as such a big of a surprise when he stepped on the table and didn't even hesitate to start throwing curses at Leo Roi with skill most people would dream of.
Sirius and James immediately regretted urging him to participate in the matches, mostly because they understood that this was more of a revenge for Leo getting involved with Callisto, rather than his competitive spirit. Lily was too busy cheering him on to care about the horrified looks on his friends' faces, while Narcissa was smirking as she was healing Regulus' scratches. Remus had won the duel, finishing it off with a nasty punch straight on his jaw. It was completely unnecessary, but it had filled him with great joy.
Callisto didn't have a chance to see Leo again, instead receiving a letter that she put in her pocket and didn't read until she was alone in the ward.
Dear Callisto,
It's a shame I won't see you again anytime soon, especially now that you're injured. I won't take all my time wishing you a speedy recovery, because that's a just waste of paper. You know I don't wish any harm upon you. Anyway, it would be rude for me to leave without a goodbye letter, especially after our night together. You left, no judgement there; I just hoped you'd do me the honor of staying until the morning. Then again, it's a good thing that you left because if you had stayed, I would have probably broken my promise and ended up liking you.
If you need anything, you know where to find me.
Send Nicholas my greetings. I'd like to know if he's okay.
Yours,
Leo.
The Durmstrang students left in the middle of the night, Callisto watching from her window as the large ship disappeared in the Black Lake.
The second letter Callisto received in that week had left her feeling ten times number. It was a spare piece of paper torn out of a muggle notebook, nothing fancy like Leo's letter. There was no greeting, or actual content, other than a sentence followed by a familiar sign.
Meet me by the Whomping Willow at midnight. It's urgent.
M.R.
"Don't you dare go, Claire." Lily hissed, looking at Callisto like she'd be a madwoman if she even considered going. "Meet me by the Whomping Willow at midnight, is it urgent? More like, come here little girly, I want to murder you and sell your teeth."
"Why my teeth?"
"I don't know, Callie, do I look like a creep to you?" The redhead argued, sighing. "Just don't go."
"I won't, Lily." Callisto stated, putting the paper down. "Do you know how many times she's tried to talk to me? Hundreds of times. I don't want to see her."
"Good." The girl said contently, tapping her fingers on the table. Her nails had been painted a vibrant aquamarine color, per James' request, little stars drawn on the thumb and middle finger after Sirius had insisted on it. She used to do the same thing, only that usually Peter would pick a striking pink color and Remus would want drawn on them little black flowers. The nail polish had been chipped, the outline of the last few flowers barely visible.
"How's Remus?" She asked, not processing the question until it was too late. "I mean, I'm ju-"
"Curious." Lily interrupted her smirking. "You're just curious."
"Exactly..."
"He's been asking about you." Lily hinted, her eyes glinting knowingly. "And he misses you, a lot."
"So, he's fine?"
"As fine as he can be, yes." The girl confirmed, letting out a sigh. "How many times have people tried to convince you to talk to him?"
Callisto shrugged, "I can recite their lecture in my sleep."
"I thought so." She mumbled. "I won't try to convince you, because I get why you're angry. What I am going to say though, as the woman that tried to bribe the giant squid into abducting Potter and is now dating him, is that you love him. And he loves you too; very much actually. He's just scared."
"Of me?"
"Not you, as in you specifically." Lily answered. "He's afraid of what that means and he thinks you're too good for him. He still wants you."
"He had me." She replied coldly. "Not anymore though."
"What? You got over him that quickly?"
"He's just a guy, Lily." Callisto sighed. "It's not rocket science."
"What about being just friends then?" Lily proposed, ignoring the sarcasm ever so present in her voice. "Forget about the dating stuff, and just be friends."
"We were never really friends"
It was true. From the beginning, their relationship had been much different to friendship. There was nothing friendly about the way she looked at him, there never could be. She could try though. Perhaps it would be fine in the end, maybe even much better than being with him.
"Maybe you should be."
Lily Evans was truly a sly woman. There was no way Remus and Callisto could be just friends, and she knew that all too well. Sure, they could act like it and pretend like their feelings had subsided into something purely platonic, but they couldn't keep pretending forever.
Callisto folded the paper and put it in her pocket, turning back to her essay. She couldn't help but smirk at the topic of the essay, knowing that it would be the first essay she would get an O on without anyone's help:
Discuss the implications of blood curses.
~ ~ ~
What had started out as a day like any others, would soon become a day full of resolutions.
Callisto had gone to her classes like usual, until the awaited class of the day arrived. Ever since her fallout with Remus she had stopped sitting with him in DADA, instead forcing a poor Gryffindor by the name of Frank Longbottom to sit next to Remus, while she crashed with Marlene.
Marlene had gotten quite satisfied by this change, not because she didn't like Frank, but because his hair was too short to braid, unlike Callisto's. She'd leave the class every time with intricate braids, Marlene even going as far as to charm small flowers on her hair with Dorcas' help. Ivan pretended he couldn't see the hair salon at the back of the class, except for that time he started sneezing violently. Since that day, Marlene never charmed daisies on the girl's hair again.
Remus had expected Frank to sit next to him again, when he noticed the sweet smell of Callisto's perfume mixed with the sharp notes of cigarette smoke lingering around him for a bit longer. Callisto sat down next to him quietly, letting her corrected essay up on her desk. She had gone to Ivan's office earlier, practically threatening to correct her essay at that very moment and had only left when he nodded approvingly and plastered the O on the top of her paper.
Remus glanced at her. Her blonde hair was falling messily on her shoulders, covering part of her face from him, but he could practically feel the smirk on her lips as he noticed the paper on the desk. Her fingers were tapping on the parchment almost nonchalantly, hadn't it been for the grade subtly pushed in his direction, the O making him smile lightly.
"Good job." He complimented, the tapping of her fingers stopping. She turned around, her chest puffing up with pride at the grade as she shrugged.
"This?" She asked, feigning ignorance. "Oh, it's nothing. Just one of the best essays that's ever been written, nothing more."
He huffed, "Bet mine's better."
"Sure." She dismissed, turning back to the front of the class. "Now, excuse me, but I have something very interesting to pay attention to."
"You hate this class."
"Lies."
Remus didn't say anything, looking at the board in front of him. She was sitting right next to him, after two entire weeks of either fighting with him, or ignoring him like he was nothing more but a nuisance. Surely, she was still tense around him, he could feel that, but at least she was warming up to him again. Maybe she'd ask to talk to him after class just to forgive him. Maybe things would go back to the way they were before, and he'd get to kiss her again.
He stayed awestruck for the entire class, sitting awfully straight on the uncomfortable chair as his knee slightly grazed hers. He didn't dare to move a single muscle, afraid that she'd move away and the tingly feeling on his leg would disappear. Callisto tore out a small piece of parchment from her notes and scribbled down a short sentence, carefully sliding it to his direction.
Can we talk?
He just nodded, unable to hide the smile growing on his lips. Usually, he wouldn't care about the class ending when Ivan was teaching, too engrossed in the professor's words. This time however, he couldn't stop his eyes from constantly glancing back at the clock above the board, tapping his foot impatiently. He had completely lost track of what the man was saying, his notes long forgotten as he tried to find the right words to say to her.
"Class dismissed."
That was all it took for Remus to shoot up from his seat, waiting for Callisto to pick up her stuff.
"We can go outside." He proposed, shoving his notes messily in his bag. "Or the common room."
"Outside works fine."
The pair walked outside in silence, until they reached a secluded corridor. Remus looked at the old portrait opposite them, vaguely recognizing it as the one he had kissed Callisto against a few months ago after an especially stressful full moon.
"I miss you." He blurted out, his eyes averting to the girl in front of him. It was taking all his constraint not to kiss her against that same portrait again, dark blue eyes looking up at him with an expression that made his heart race.
"Me too." She admitted, clearing her throat. "We need to solve this."
Remus frowned, "How? I-"
"We won't be together, Remus." Callisto stated, trying to convince herself that what she saw in his eyes wasn't disappointment. "We've been over this before, and I don't plan on making a fool out of myself again by asking you to be with me."
"So what? You want us to hook up again?"
"No." She answered, her voice hardening. "I want us to be friends."
His face fell even more, if that was even possible. Could he even be her friend when he cared about her in such different ways? Then again, being her friend would be much better than the absolute trainwreck those past weeks had been. At least he could talk to her normally. They could joke, and study together and do whatever the hell friends were supposed to be doing.
"I'd like that." He agreed, a small, sad smile on his lips. "How are you?"
"Fine."
Merlin, that was so fucking awkward.
"Callisto," He started, her head perking up at the sound of her name. "Can I hug you?"
Friends hug. You're friends, so you can hug.
"Sure."
His arms wrapped around her, his heart beating faster when he felt her reciprocating the gesture. He held her close, his hands firmly staying high on her back as he tried to push away all the times he'd hugged her with his hands inching lower and lower. She'd always tighten the hug at that, enjoying the warmth radiating from his body. But now, they both stayed in place, Callisto's lips not kissing his neck gently as he whispered in her ear.
Friends don't do that.
"I never wanted to hurt you." He murmured, his hand caressing the back of her head as he rested his chin on it. "Just know that."
"It's all done now." She responded, breaking the hug a bit reluctantly. It was certainly not all done now, but they could pretend it was for the sake of friendship. "So, can we go back to you helping me in DADA now, or..."
"And here I thought you were crushing it." Remus teased, smirking. "Getting all Os and everything."
"Actually," She laughed nervously, "Pretty sure I'm failing."
"Wish I couldn't say the same about Potions." He sighed, remembering the single question mark on top of his last essay. Not even a failing grade, just pure wonder and confusion at what he had written about a potion he didn't even understand.
"How do you even fail Potions?" She asked, snorting. "Just read the book."
"You threw my book in the trash." He reminded her pointedly. "And then lit the trash on fire."
"Well, yes, this book sucks." She huffed in annoyance. "Full of mistakes and inaccuracies."
"How criminal."
"Are you playing smart with me, Lupin?" She deadpanned, her eyes narrowing. "I'll remember that when you're begging for my help."
"So, I'm assuming you won't study with me today?"
Callisto didn't reply, her thoughts trailing off to the letter in her pocket. It felt as if she was burning holes on her skin, the warmth radiating from it being too hard to ignore. Usually, the letters she received from her were pages long and full of excuses, much unlike the one sentence she had barely written down.
Callisto knew that if Lily was there, she'd curse her into next week, but she couldn't help but wonder what Monica wanted.
"Actually, I have something to take care of tonight."
There was a certain type of seriousness in her voice that made Remus' gut feeling go haywire. Her blue eyes seemed to darken slightly, shadows casted on them, and her voice was sharper than usual, implying so many things at once.
"No problem."
And that was how a chain of events began, a little butterfly flapping her colorful wings in the Amazon River, only to inevitably cause the tragic death of James, Lily Potter, and their unborn child that Lily never had the time to talk about to anyone but Callisto Claire.
~ ~ ~
So, there's progress!!! At least she doesn't hate him completely now.
For some reason I'm very proud of that last paragraph idk.