𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 [𝐑. 𝐋𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐧]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐑𝐀

Song:
I Want to Break Free (Queen)
"God knows, God knows I want to break free."

Unfortunately, the sexy duck tie was not one of the many things that ended up getting squished in Callisto's trunk as she prepared herself for her departure from Hogwarts. It was her last night, and she had promised to spend it with Narcissa, after she returned from her Order meeting in Hogsmeade. She had dreaded stepping foot on the village again, but it was the safest option according to Dumbledore.

How ironic.

She reached the small pub, opening the wooden door. "The Hog's Head" was engraved on a crooked sign right next to the door, no other fancy decoration visible. It probably wasn't the type of place to attract many clients, which made it ideal for these meetings. The floor was dirty and all the tables were either covered in a thin sheet of dust, or were slightly sticky to the touch.

The only people she recognized were the Prewett twins and Alice, who was talking with a taller man with brown curly hair and kind eyes.

"Claire!" Fabian called. "Come here!"

Callisto walked over to them, mumbling a low hello as she reluctantly sat down on the chair. Two butterbeers were set out on the table, a buttery scent exuding from them.

"Feeling any better?" Gideon asked, drinking some of his beverage.

"All good now." Callisto answered, feeling rather uncomfortable in the presence of all these people she didn't know. Alice was avoiding her gaze, probably as uncomfortable as her.

The three sat in silence as the small pub started to fill up. Andromeda and Ted came next, greeting Callisto and the twins before they sat down a table away. Moody arrived not much later, immediately shouting at Gideon for not having his wand at ready and transfiguring his butterbeer into a muddy like substance nobody dared inhale. Callisto was surprised to see Euphemia and Fleamont Potter arrive last with Dumbledore, the couple equally baffled by her presence.

"What are you doing here, Callisto?" Euphemia asked, concern in her voice. "Do the boys-"

"No, they don't." Callisto reassured her. "I'm making potions for the Order."

"No other missions?" Fleamont questioned, both him and Euphemia relaxing significantly when she shook her head negatively. They took their seats just as Dumbledore went to the front, sitting next to Moody.

"I want to thank everyone for coming in for this emergency meeting." Albus calmly started. "It has not been published in the Daily Prophet yet, but there has been increased Death Eater activity against ministry officials. It's a reason to believe he's trying to recruit some of them."

"Namely, the Potters, the Prewetts and the Longbottoms." Moody added, shooting a pointed look at the mentioned people. "It seems as if they go for purebloods for the moment, despite their reputation."

"If Voldemort wants to recruit so many Death Eaters all at once, it means there is some kind of big attack planned." Dumbledore explained. "It is in everyone's best interests to prevent that."

"Do we know what this attack is about?" Frank Longbottom asked, frowning slightly. "There's been talk in the Academy about him taking over the Ministry."

"It's only natural he'll attempt that, but the actual attack remains unidentified for now."

"Then, how will we stop it?" Alice questioned. "We can't just send off aurors and tell them to wing it. We need a plan."

Callisto hated to admit it, but Alice was right.

"We're not going to be sending off aurors." Dumbledore replied, his eyes twinkling slyly as he placed his hand in the pockets of his robes and took out a small vial with a translucent liquid inside.

"Miss Claire, if you'd be kind enough to explain what this is."

Everyone turned to look at her with questioning looks. They were hesitant and she knew it, after all, she was the youngest member here and she didn't belong to a family like the Prewetts or the Potters.

"It's a variation of Angel's Trumpet Draught." Callisto explained. "Odorless, tasteless, practically untraceable, due to the added gulf powder."

Andromeda frowned, "We're going to kill them?"

"No, it's not strong enough to kill." Callisto answered. "It will just knock them out for a good day, enough to transfer them somewhere else, I assume."

"Exactly." Dumbledore joyfully said. "There is a ball in Yaxley's Manor to celebrate his promotion next week. It's the perfect opportunity to capture some of his best Death Eaters."

"How will we administer it?" Euphemia asked, looking straight at Callisto. "In their drinks?"

"No, they probably have the house elves test the wine." Callisto pondered, her eyebrows knitting in concentration. "Will they be staying at Yaxley's for the evening?"

"I'm afraid this is not certain."

"When they're all in the ballroom, the doors will be shut." Callisto trailed off. "We can administer it as a gas. They'll inhale it, and it should also work faster this way. The only issue is the potency."

"It might not work for everyone." Euphemia murmured, Callisto nodding. "We can increase the
potency and administer more. Someone will lock the doors from the outside, so that when they finally start fainting, the others won't have a way out."

"Is it possible to increase the potency?" Moody asked, examining the small vial.

"Yes, you just add a bit more of the Angel's trumpet root, and some blood to stabilize it." The blonde explained. "Poisons tend to become less effective with time."

"Won't they be able to trace the potion back to you, if you use your blood?" Ted questioned. "Dromeda and I see many cases where the attacker uses blood to strengthen potions like that. It's the first thing they test if poisoning is suspected."

"I won't use my blood." Callisto scoffed. "I'll use his son's blood. Yaxley is a year younger and in Hogwarts."

"How would you even get his blood?" Alice asked. "Won't they notice you sneaking in and out?"

"I'll ask a friend to get it for me."

"What friend?" Alice asked suspiciously.

Callisto just shrugged, and turned to face Dumbledore, "We'll just need someone to lock the doors, someone else to put the poison in, and one last person to watch out for any Death Eaters."

"Very good, then." Dumbledore nodded. "Frank, Gideon and Fabian, how do you feel about this mission?"

"Are we sure the poison will work?" Frank asked, a bit unsure. "Maybe someone should test it out first."

"By all means." Callisto nodded, gesturing for someone to go. They all turned to look at Gideon who seemed rather excited at the prospect and went up on his own letting Moody pour a drop in his butterbeer.

"Well, let's test this out then." He exclaimed, drinking some of his butterbeer. A few moments passed and he frowned. "I feel nothing."

"What do you mean?"

"Claire, I don't think it w-"

He fell down on the floor before he even had the chance to finish his sentence, the butterbeer smashing right next to him.

Dumbledore clapped his hands together, amusement in his eyes.

"It seems like everything is settled then."

~ ~ ~

"You're finally back!" Regulus exclaimed, the moment Callisto entered the room. "Thank Merlin!"

"Why?"

"Since when does white have shades?" He asked, pointing at the dozen bridal magazines sprawled around the floor. Narcissa was seated in the center, skimming through a magazine while sucking on a sugar quill.

"We're looking for wedding dresses." Narcissa said, letting the magazine down. "But, that has to wait for a bit, because I need to have a talk with Callisto."

Regulus still remained sprawled on the bed, a magazine over his head.

"Regulus, out!" Narcissa hissed, taking the magazine and slapping his stomach with it.

He didn't bulge, pointing at the bathroom with his eyes closed.

Narcissa just grabbed Callisto's hand and dragged her into the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and locked it, turning around only to raise an eyebrow as she saw Callisto sitting on the stool with her legs crossed.

"What's up?"

"So, I have an announcement." Narcissa began, smiling widely. "As you know, my marriage is coming in a few months."

"Really? I thought those were for Regulus."

"As I was saying, I'm getting married." Narcissa repeated. "And I need a maid of honor."

"Oh, are we asking Regulus?"

"No, why would I want him around me at my wedding?"

"I heard that!" Regulus' voice was heard from outside.

Of course he was eavesdropping.

"You were supposed to!" Narcissa shouted back. "Anyway, my point is, Callisto, would you like to be my maid of honor?"

"Of course!"

"Oh, thank Merlin." Narcissa let out a laugh of relief. "If you said no, I'd have to ask Parkinson..."

"She's so annoying."

"I know!" Narcissa exclaimed, smiling. "I know things won't be the same once we leave the Castle, but I'll always be your friend."

"Cissa, you know too much for me to ever stop being your friend." Callisto joked. "War or not, we're a family."

Narcissa wrapped her arms around Callisto, feeling a bit awkward at first at the familiarity, but soon letting herself be moved around by the taller girl. Their hug didn't break as the sound of Regulus knocking the door was heard. Callisto unlocked the door and let him in. He stood in front of the door awkwardly for a bit, before he joined the hug, patting their heads.

"So, why are we hugging?"

"Stop pretending you weren't eavesdropping." Narcissa murmured, her voice getting muffled from Callisto's shirt. "And stop pulling my hair."

"You'd both be better off with no hair." Regulus said. "It hurts, you shed, you complain about it, just shave it all off."

"No, it's pretty." Callisto complained, touching her hair. "It's so long, and shiny and...healthy."

Narcissa's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"It's so healthy." Callisto repeated, looking at Narcissa. "It's almost as if..."

"Say no more."

Nobody dared to ask where Narcissa found the dark brown hair dye. Regulus also decided at some point that bridal arrangements without alcohol were too much of a bore. So, Callisto found herself covered in hair dye as Narcissa tried to coordinate her hand movements while being impossibly drunk.
For three drunken messes, they were incredibly effective. Regulus managed to get some of Yaxley's blood while Callisto was lying on the floor, whispering to herself about how they had to be quiet. Narcissa had picked the flowers for her wedding, as well as the remaining bridesmaids, while Regulus wrote a song about the Potions class with Callisto's help.

When they woke up the next day, everything had changed.

After all, it was the end of an era.

~ ~ ~
Friends,
Hogwarts is over.
Time for post-hogwarts chapters ;)
Should I do a q&a at some point? Idk... would you like that?