Two weeks had passed since Callie injured herself. She didn't realise it had been that long until her cellphone notified her she could finally take off the cast that had been around her right ankle for weeks.
Meanwhile, it had been a week since they spent Christmas. They still had two days left until students could get back to Hogwarts. And fortunately, she'd been fully healed, they could get the diadem back.
She updated Regulus about it of course. And oh boy, how close did they grow throughout the week? Albeit Callie could still feel a wall between them. And she understood. They had just met a few weeks prior, he could not just let her in the deepest darkest parts of his life. But there was a small part in her that wished he'd trust her.
She, herself, knew she meant no harm. Regulus didn't know that. Or he did. He just wouldn't believe it. So, she just had to show him.
"Anyone has any idea where the diadem could be?" Callie asked the boys in front of her. Peter was slumped on her bed whilst the three remained standing, watching her eat her breakfast.
"Could be in Filch's office," Remus shrugged with his crossed arms, leaning on one of the poles of the bed strong enough to hold his weight. "He usually brings items he confiscated in his office. If he saw the diadem——which he most likely did——then it'll most probably be there."
"So, we search Filch's office?" James asked, almost too excited to hide it. He eyed Sirius who looked back at him and gave him an equally sly smile.
"What are you two planning?" Remus asked, dissatisfied only by just their stares.
"Nothing!" the two mischievous boys defended, which Remus obviously did not buy leaving Callie and Peter snickering.
"After I'm done with my breakfast, let's get the diadem and destroy it once and for all," Callie suggested.
"Okay," the boys agreed——not in unison.
"What's next after we destroy it?" Peter asked, playing with her bedsheet.
"We need to wait for Regulus. He has another horcrux and a thing needed to get another."
"You mean my crazy cousin's hair?" Sirius asked with his crossed arms, leaning on the room's wall. Other than the diary, it was Bellatrix's hair she asked Regulus to fetch for her.
"Yes."
Sirius opened his mouth to say something. Even raising a finger as though he'd suggest a thing. But he never spoke a word and kept his mouth zipper.
"Was that where you'll use the polyjuice potion?" Remus asked, voicing what his friend had in mind.
"Yes. Had you found one?" There was no sense in denying it anyway. Why would she in the first place?
"We've already snuck you a bottle," said James, remembering how they easily took a bottle from Slughorn without him noticing and had been hiding it in their room. "Why would you need someone to turn into Sirius' cousin?"
"You'll see. I'm very bad at explaining so I'd suggest you watch instead. Just give me the potion as soon as you can."
"Sometimes, I still can't understand you," said James, shaking his head with his narrowed eyes, bringing a smile to Callie's lips.
After finishing her breakfast, Callie quickly changed into better clothing, one that would let her run without tripping. She'd learned her lesson. And Callie couldn't handle any more injury, might it be a small sprain or a broken bone.
Using James' cloak, they walked into the castle grounds and towards Filch's office. Callie kept the fang close to her and her grip was so tight that if it was breathing, it'd be dead due to suffocation by then. They timed it right just so Filch was by the lake while they were retrieving the diadem. They had to destroy it as soon as they could. They couldn't afford any more lives to be taken and especially these boys' lives for Callie.
"We'll wait by the door to make sure Filch won't catch us," said James as the three slipped inside the door, Sirius walking in first, then Callie, then Remus who left the door slightly opened so James and Peter could easily alert them.
As soon as they were inside, they rummaged through Filch's stuff. And oh boy did he have mountains of confiscated items magical and non-magical alike. The room looked more like a trash room than a storage room.
"This is worse than I imagined it to be," said Callie, looking around to search for a place she'd start. She kept the cloak in her left hand whilst the other searched through the table. Sirius went on the right side of the room whilst Remus took the left.
"Ah! I remember this." Sirius raised a small ball the size of a crystal marble.
"Oh, that marble?" Remus sounded like he remembered something after taking a peek at what caught Sirius' attention.
"What's that?" the one who had no idea asked.
"A marble that we enchanted so that it would make scary noises when rolled," Sirius explained and knelt down. "Watch this." He rolled the marble and as it rolled, a high-pitched screech echoed throughout the room making Callie flinch and hide her ears with her hands.
"Help! Somebody help me!" a voice of an old woman cried.
All her hair rose up at the hoarse yet high-pitched voice. Callie knew the voice wasn't true but she couldn't help but fear it.
"Stop it, Padfoot," said Remus, going under one of Filch's drawers.
Sirius just laughed it off and continued searching. The boys found more familiar toys Filch confiscated from them and they'd tell Callie about it. James and Peter would even yell from the outside to correct them in some details.
The searching took quite some minutes. With the mountains of items, it was hard to look for one piece of head peace. But as Callie was searching through the cabinets, she found a golden necklace— no. That wasn't just a necklace. It was a time turner.
Oh my god.
It was a time turner!
Callie quickly shoved it in her pocket. That might come in handy. If their mission failed, she could go back to the past and redo everything but next time, she'd be more careful.
I'm a genius! Callie cheered.
"Is this it?"
Sirius and Callie looked up and turned to Remus who had his hand in the air, along with it, the beautiful diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw.
It was heavy and cold. Remus suspected it was the metal and the gem that caused its weight. The diadem was really pretty. He was sure if it was a human, it'd be like a goddess.
"Yes, that's it," Callie confirmed, walking towards him and pointing at the item, Sirius following.
"It would be better if we destroy it outside," she suggested as soon as they were both in front of him. Filch might be back in a few and besides, it would be dangerous inside. It was daytime and they weren't the only students in Hogwarts. "And also, don't hold onto it too much. Horcruxes make people act negatively."
With that advice——which also sounded like a threat at the same time——Remus held the diadem loose yet still made sure it'd be safe in his care.
"Let's go."
With Callie's initiation, the three went back outside, the only girl hiding beneath the cloak.
"Did you find it?" James asked, getting up from reclining on the door frame so as Peter.
Instead of answering, Remus showed him the diadem. "Let's head back to the Whomping Willow."
"No. We'll need a wider place to destroy it," said Callie beneath the cloak.
"What about by the forbidden forest?" Peter suggested.
"No. We'll go in the forbidden forest." Sirius grinned mischievously to which Remus quickly shook his head, looking at him in a disapproving manner.
"It's called forbidden for a reason," he lectured with much emphasis in his every word to let everyone know his disagreement with the plan. "And that reason being us."
"Wait, what?" Callie asked in confusion inside.
"Yeah. It was called the Dark Forest before. But after Sirius accidentally injured a centaur, everyone started calling it the Forbidden Forest," James explained in a whisper as the two argue in front of them.
"Come on, Moony! Think about it! No one would see us inside the forest doing whatever business we have because, as you said, it's forbidden!"
"Did you remember what happened the last time we went inside the forest?"
"Yeah! We saw a unicorn! A unicorn, Moony! What if we saw it again?"
"A no is a no, Sirius."
"Wait, Rem, I think Sirius has a point," said Callie making the two turn to the direction where the voice came from. "We need as little attention to us as possible. We'll just finish our business in the forest then we'll speed back to the shack."
Remus opened his mouth to speak back but he stopped. They caused inconvenience once to the centaurs. If they did so again, they might not come out of the forest alive. But Sirius did have a point. And Callie sided with him.
He sighed. "Fine."
Sirius hissed a yes in victory.
"But! We won't go far inside."
Sirius and Callie nodded, though the latter couldn't be seen doing so thanks to the blanket.
Remus initiated the walk. They made sure Callie was in their middle, as usual, to make sure of her safety. They might be only a few students left, but still, they couldn't risk such small chances.
Fortunately, no one suspected their craning heads that they almost resembled an owl. They didn't even meet Filch on their way which was a massive relief for Callie. There was no one who could suspect the boys of any mischief or suspicious act or a missing headpiece that she hoped the caretaker wouldn't notice that was gone.
As soon as they reached the entrance of the forest, they halted.
Callie took off the blanket on her head but kept her body hidden.
The forest was darker than she had expected. The stems of the three were deep brown and thick. They'd probably fit in her hug. The leaves of the trees in the entrance were still green but Callie could see how the trees on the farther part of the forest lack healthy leaves.
It surely looked eerie. And Callie could swear she heard someone whisper.
The wind blew, sending a shiver all over her body.
On the second thought, maybe Sirius doesn't have a point.
"Shall we?" Sirius asked, pointing his hand into the forest.
Callie swore she saw a figure pass by when she looked but when she blinked, there was no one.
"Maybe this was a bad idea?" she whimpered, feeling her heartbeat at a speed of a racing car.
"What do you mean? You agreed to this," James reminded her.
"Yeah. But I think someone will eat us inside."
"Centaurs don't eat people," Remus corrected her thoughts. "I think," he murmured.
With a huff, Callie bravely stepped inside. As soon as she did, the leaves swayed with the wind as if the forest was telling her to turn around and walk away. If her back didn't have anything blocking her way, Callie had broken into a run minutes ago. But the Marauders were there, leaving her going forward.
Once they were in a part of the forest that wasn't so deep and was near enough to the entrance, Callie stopped. She turned around to find the boys waiting for the next move, Remus in the front, offering her the headpiece.
But she didn't make a move just yet.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" Sirius asked.
Their hearts drummed quite hard and fast at that moment. Not from running, no. They didn't run. It was possibly the nervousness. The boys didn't know what would happen if a Horcrux was destroyed. They didn't even know if the fang could destroy a Horcrux. What would happen next if it didn't? They wouldn't be able to stop He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. They couldn't allow that. They just couldn't.
The stakes were far too high. It wasn't just their lives but also innocent ones. Those undeserving of death.
This had to work. One way or another, it had to.
They could start with this piece of jewellery that was hidden from anyone's eyes for centuries.
The fang came into Remus' field of view while his head was down and his finger was caressing the gem on the diadem. He looked up to see Callie offering it to him with a small and tight smile.
"You found it. You deserve to be the one who will destroy it," she spoke softly.
"Will it be destroyed?" he asked for assurance.
"It will. But for the Horcrux to be completely destroyed, it must be so beyond repair."
Remus stared at the fang first and then at the diadem he had in his hand. Could he really destroy it? If not, he might blame himself. But he had to take all chances he could get. For the sake of peace in the world.
He took the fang from Callie's hand. It was heavy and hard and somehow, it fits just right in his hand.
This is it.
This is it Remus John Lupin.
It had just sunk on him that he would destroy a Horcrux. A powerful magical item. That this would mark the beginning of their movement of going against the evilest wizard of their time.
The thought made his heart do acrobats. No, he wasn't afraid of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He was actually more scared for the lives of his dearly beloved friends than anything.
With a shaking breath, Remus knelt on the ground, the twigs and crunchy dead leaves breaking. His shaking hand set the diadem down in front of him.
He breathed out. His stomach twisting.
All right. Just do it, Moony. Just stab the diadem with the fang. Just that and you'll be one step closer to the end.
Callie had told them that stabbing the Horcruxes with the fang would be effective in eliminating them. And yet, he was scared he'd missed and stab something else instead.
"It's okay, Rem," Callie whispered seeing his hesitation. She figured he could use a small push and assurance.
"You can do it, Moony," James cheered with enough enthusiasm not to disturb the intense atmosphere around them and just enough to give spirit to his friend.
Remus nodded. He gripped the fang with both his hands and raised them directly above it.
With one swing, the fang touched the diadem. It dug into the headpiece.
But it didn't stop.
It dug all the way to the ground.
And without a prompt, a thick black smoke came out screaming that led the five to step back in horror, Remus scrambling his way to get back on his feet.
"Callie!" James screamed in worry about the girl across them, the black smoke in between.
Callie should've run. She should've gone behind the Marauders. But it was as though her mind was on auto-pilot mode. Her legs froze and her feet were nailed where they were standing. Nothing was running in her mind but her heart kept screaming, telling her to run away. Because if she wouldn't, it would run away itself.
That was exactly what happened. Her heart fled from her.
Her brain was out of order.
Hence why she knelt down, took the fang from Remus' side and continued stabbing the diadem. The cloak fell to the ground behind.
Callie felt like a robot. She couldn't feel anything. Not her drumming heart. Not her twisting stomach. Not her throat begging to pour out the breakfast she had. Not her cold body.
She couldn't think of anything. Nothing. Her mind was clean empty.
She was snapped out of her trance when Sirius pulled her back, sending them both to the ground.
"Reducio!" Callie heard Remus yell and the once giant smoke turned into a small one as if the mist of ice.
The most slowly disappeared until the diadem was left in pieces.
"What in the world is that?!" Sirius exclaimed, getting up from pulling their friend down.
"Voldemort's...soul," Callie replied weakly, slowly regaining from what happened.
They weren't running but they were panting. Sirius helped Callie stand up as soon as he was on his foot. She had difficulty doing so as all the energy she put into butchering the diadem started catching up on her.
"We should bury it," Remus suggested, wiping the sweat around his forehead with his forearm.
"Yeah, yeah, you should," Callie agreed, still weak whilst the boys started searching for twigs strong enough to be able to deep a pretty big hole for the diadem.
That's one Horcrux. Four more to go.
"Sirius?" she called, gripping his sleeve.
"Yeah?"
I think I'll faint.
But Callie had no opportunity to say it. Because her consciousness left her before she could even open her mouth to speak.