"How long are they going to be following you around?" Sirius asked, peeking through the curtains while he, James, Calypso, Remus, and Peter lounged in the sitting room of Potter Manor. Sirius stared at the two Aurors who had been following Calypso around and guarding her at the command of the Minister himself. The two of them hid in the shadows, out-of-sight.
"For a while, I think." Calypso mumbled miserably. Her eyes quickly darted across the page of her latest read, Guide of Advanced Occlumency. "It would be nice to go somewhere without being followed, but I suppose it's my own fault they're trailing me in the first place."
"What happened again? Why won't they leave you alone?" Peter frowned.
"You're so forgetful, Wormtail." James said, but Calypso shushed him.
"I had a vision that there was going to be an attack on Diagon Alley, so I went to tell Dumbledore about it, but the Minister and Barty Crouch were there. They assigned the Aurors to keep a close eye on me since they know about my visions now, but there's a lot more of them creeping around Diagon Alley." Calypso explained. She didn't know when the attack on Diagon Alley was going to happen and she wasn't completely sure there would be one, but everything inside of her was telling her there would be.
"When do you think the attack's going to take place?" Remus asked. Calypso shrugged.
"I don't know. I could only tell that it's going to be foggy." Calypso said. She turned to her boyfriend as he turned away from the curtain, drumming his fingers against the side of his pants. Calypso rolled her eyes. "You're so impatient."
"You promised me that I could get it during break —"
"Oh, are you talking about the gift?" Remus asked, amused as he glanced between the two of them. "He's going to love it."
"You think so?" Calypso asked, grinning. Sirius turned to Calypso, a betrayed look in his eyes.
"You told Remus what the gift was, but you won't tell me?" Sirius asked.
"We all know what the gift is, mate." James laughed. Sirius's eyes bulged out of his head and Calypso chuckled. He looked at Calypso, pouting. She stood from the chair and turned to the boys.
"Sirius and I will be back." Calypso took Sirius's hand and pulled him out of the room behind her. She could hear him chattering excitedly behind her. She was confident he would love the present and that it was the perfect present. Calypso opened the back door of Potter Manor and led Sirius to the shed.
"Why has it been here all this time?" Sirius asked.
"Fleamont agreed to help me with it." Calypso threw the door to the shed open, buzzing with excitement. She pushed Sirius inside and he laughed at the grin on her face before he watched as she took a sheet off of a —
"No . . . way . . ." Sirius gaped at the motorbike Calypso revealed to him with a flourish. It had a tiny car attached to the side and was rather large. Sirius glanced between the bike and Calypso, his eyes wide.
"I put a spell on it so it can fly as fast as a broom. The engine is a bit loud, but I think you'll really like it. I haven't had a chance to ride in yet because I wanted you to be the first person to, but it should run smoothly and —" Calypso was cut off when Sirius strolled up to her and brought her to him, planting a deep kiss on her lips. When they pulled apart from each other, Sirius stared at her with a look of disbelief and she smiled at him. "So, you like the gift."
"You have . . . I . . . I have no words." Sirius stared at the motorbike and ran his hands against the smooth surface, admiring it. "She's beautiful. She's perfect."
"Oh, Merlin." Calypso groaned playfully. "Just don't go causing trouble. Remember, Muggles might be a bit suspicious if they see a flying motorbike in the air."
"Thanks for the lecture." Sirius kissed Calypso on the cheek and ran to climb on the bike. He grinned mischievously as he listened to the revv of the engine before he turned to Calypso. "Come on, love. I know you want to go for a ride."
A wide smile stretched across Calypso's face and she eagerly hopped into the sidecar of Sirius's bike. He flew out of the shed and they went high into the air. The wind caused Calypso's hair to hit her face and she could hear Sirius's laughter as they climbed higher and higher into the air.
Sirius thought it was the best gift he had ever received. It was perfect and he was excited to be able to fly around and show off to anyone who could see. He looked over at Calypso beside him and thought about how nice it was to have her sitting next to him.
"It's snowing!" Calypso exclaimed suddenly, breaking Sirius's concentration. She turned her face to the sky and closed her eyes as snowflakes landed in her lashes and dark hair. Sirius continued to stare at her, his lips parted slightly. He could hear his heart beating rapidly in his chest before he cleared his throat and turned away from her.
"I think we should leave for Uncle Alphard's soon and I was also thinking about visiting Andromeda sometime over break too." Calypso's face lit up excitedly.
"Really?" She asked. Sirius nodded.
"Do you want to spend Christmas with me at the Potter's? It'd be nice to have you around." Sirius said it offhandedly, but Calypso couldn't help but grin when Sirius asked her.
"I'll see what Rhea has planned, but I want to." Calypso said. She doubted her grandmother would want to do anything on Christmas, though. A few nights ago, Calypso put up a Christmas tree she bought from a shop in Diagon Alley. It was nothing big (tiny with a few randomly placed ornaments that was tucked away in the corner of their flat) but when she woke up the next morning, it was gone.
They flew the motorbike over the town until Sirius turned around and they returned to Potter Manor. The pair of them walked into the sitting room hand-in-hand.
"I have the best girlfriend ever." Sirius cheered happily making James, Remus, and Peter laugh. Calypso playfully rolled her eyes.
"Mum's making dinner." James informed them. Calypso sat down on one of the chairs, her stomach grumbling, while Sirius excused himself outside for a smoke.
"Did you hear that Aerin and his band's tour ended?" Remus asked Calypso. Her brows raised. She knew the band's tour kept getting extended, but she hadn't spoken to any of them to know when they were coming home.
"No, I didn't know that." Calypso said. "I haven't spoken to any of them in a while."
Her eyes landed on Heracles, who was playing with a ball of yarn on the ground. She sat on the floor beside him and played with the cat for a while until Sirius walked back inside. Eventually, Fleamont and Euphemia called everyone for dinner and they quickly scarfed down their food. Calypso stayed the night in one of the guest bedrooms and stayed at the Potter's until Sirius decided it was time to leave.
They stopped by her flat before they went to see Alphard Black. When she entered the home in Diagon Alley, Mercury swooped through the open window overlooking the crowded street and dropped a letter in front of her. Calypso tore it open and quickly read through Dorcas's frantic scribbles — Dumbledore invited her to join the Order, even though her birthday wasn't for another week. Calypso knew Dorcas would be a good addition to the Order, especially since she wanted to go into Magical Law at the Ministry and that could be helpful.
"Your stalkers are out front," Sirius said, when he passed by the window. "I didn't even notice them following us here."
"They'll stay out there unless I tell them to come inside, but I'm technically not supposed to leave which is why we're using the Floo Network." Calypso explained. Sirius joined her by the fireplace, ready to leave for his Uncle's. She took a handful of Floo Powder from a tiny, handmade vase atop of the fireplace. She crawled into the fireplace before clearly speaking the name of Alphard Black's home in Birmingham.
She glanced around the room, brushing ash off her robes as Sirius appeared beside her. The room was dark and dimly lit with one light hanging from the ceiling to illuminate the room. Cold air blew through the opened window that looked out on the quiet stone streets of Birmingham.
"Er — Uncle Alphard!" Sirius called out into the darkness, glancing around helplessly. Calypso's hand drifted towards her wand buried in the pockets of her coat. The door to the cellar swung open at once and Alphard Black peeked his head down. His dark eyes squinted down at his nephew and Calypso. She could clearly see the resemblance between Alphard and his siblings, Walburga and Cygnus, although Alphard looked more sickly than his brother and sister.
"Is that you, Sirius?" Alphard asked. Sirius grinned and took hold of Calypso's hand, pulling her behind him and up the stairs to his uncle. Alphard raised a brow at him. "You've grown."
"It's been a while since the last time you saw me." Sirius said. He glanced at the cane in his uncle's hand and the way his cheeks were sunken in. Calypso frowned, studying Alphard's appearance before his eyes landed on her.
"Who's this?" Alphard asked.
"Uncle Alphard, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Calypso Krane." Sirius introduced proudly. Alphard fell silent for a moment and stared at Calypso while she smiled at him.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Black." Calypso said.
"You're Icarus's daughter?" Alphard asked.
"You knew my father?" Calypso asked, though she wasn't surprised. Alphard shrugged, turning around to lead them to a different room.
"I knew your grandmother. Rhea was close with Walburga when they were in school." Alphard glanced at Calypso over his shoulder. "Sorry to hear about your father."
Calypso smiled softly at him.
"Thanks."
Alphard led them to the family room to sit down. The walls were lined with a few pictures of him in all sorts of different places. Sirius and Calypso sat down on the sofa beside one another while Alphard fell into the chair. They chatted for a while until the house elves called them into the dining room for lunch. In the middle of their conversation, Alphard fell into a coughing fit, taking a moment to collect himself before turning to Sirius with a lazy grin on his face.
"Cygnus told me you ran away." Alphard said. Sirius shrugged. "I doubt my sister is taking that well even if she isn't saying it."
"I haven't spoken to her since I left." Sirius said. Calypso could hear the strain in his voice when he spoke. She knew how hard it was for him to talk about his family. He wouldn't say, but a part of him couldn't believe his parents had truly disowned him. Alphard speaking to him was the first he had spoken to someone from the family since Regulus wasn't talking to him. "None of them are supposed to speak to me. Why are you?"
"I told you. I'm sick." Alphard gestured to his appearance. Calypso frowned, taking in his robes, cane, and pale face. Droplets of sweat rolled down the side of his face and he seemed to wheeze every time he breathed. "The healers at St. Mungo's said that it's a natural illness, but . . . I have no spouse and no children. I have no one to give my things to when I, eventually, die. You're my nephew, and the only one of my sibling's kids I ever had much of a relationship with so I'm leaving you a decent bit of money. Enough to sustain yourself for some time. A long time."
Sirius and Calypso exchanged wide-eyed looks with one another. Sirius's mouth hung open, shocked by his uncle's words.
"Wow," said Sirius, unable to form a coherent sentence for a moment. He blinked slowly. "I . . . I don't know what to say. Thank you."
Alphard nodded his head with a smile. They stayed at his house for a while, chatting about Hogwarts and life before returning to Calypso and Rhea's.
"I can't believe he's giving you money." Calypso said when she and Sirius entered the flat.
"I know!" Sirius exclaimed with a laugh. He ran a hand through his hair, turning to his girlfriend. "I'm going to get my own place."
"You should!" Calypso said. She glanced out as rain drizzled from the sky. She took the moment to check in with her Auror guards — they mainly gave her pointed stares which told her that they didn't understand why they were wasting their time guarding her — before she went back inside the flat to find Sirius playing with Heracles on her bed. "He likes you."
"He's nice." Sirius pet the cat's head and Heracles purred lightly. Calypso readied herself to leave when a silvery phoenix swooped in through the open window.
Dumbledore, Calypso recognized immediately that their Headmaster was trying to communicate with them.
"Obscurus Books. Midnight." Dumbledore's voice spoke through the phoenix's mouth. The phoenix soared over their heads before disappearing through the window as quickly as it came.
They spent the rest of the day sitting around, trying to stifle their excitement at going to a meeting for the Order.
"Our first official meeting for the Order. Aren't you excited?" Sirius said when night fell and he and Calypso readied themselves to leave. Rhea had come home a few hours prior and they sat through a rather quiet dinner. Calypso tried to ask her grandmother what she had been up to, but she seemed to be deep in thought over something the whole time. "James would kill to be able to go."
"He'll be able to join in a few more months and then the two of you can duel Death Eaters together." Calypso said with a smile. Sirius smirked at the idea of him and James fighting side-by-side before Calypso walked to her bedroom window and glanced at the fire escape leading to the back alley. She glanced back at her boyfriend. "This way the Aurors won't know we've left."
"What do you think we're going to talk about?" Sirius whispered as Calypso crawled through the window.
"I think it might be about my vision. I know I have no proof, but I have this unexplainable feeling that there is going to be an attack on Diagon Alley soon." Calypso frowned. "I hope they believe me. Crouch doubted me enough."
"I believe you." Sirius said as they descended the steps. Calypso smiled at him, relieved. "The prophecy said you would gain a power, so maybe this is it. Your visions are warnings."
"That makes sense." Calypso said, thinking back to all of the visions she'd had. The veil, the dragon, her daughter . . . Her visions were warning her and there was no sense in doubting them now.
They made their way down the dark street, hand-in-hand. Calypso kept her free hand on her wand and her eyes darted around to make sure no one was following them. Nothing could be heard except for the sound of their footsteps before they came to a stop in front of Obscurus Books, a small bookstore beside Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop. Sirius cast a wishful gaze at the bookstore and opened the door to the store.
The lights were off and the store seemed to be deserted when they stepped through the threshold.
"Lumos," Calypso muttered, holding her wand in front of them. The spell illuminated the tip of her wand and the space around them. Calypso and Sirius froze before a burst of cold air rushed over them. Suddenly, Calypso's tongue began curling backwards into itself. She brought her hand up to her throat as she choked and Sirius let out a strangled noise from beside her, experiencing the same effects of the jinx. "It's — Calypso — and — Sirius." Calypso croaked out.
The choking stopped and Calypso coughed as a door in the back swung open, allowing a small fraction of light to pool into the room. Standing in the doorway was Dorcas and she had an exasperated look on her face.
"There you are." She rolled her eyes, moving forward.
"Nox." Calypso mumbled to extinguish her wand light as Dorcas made her way towards Sirius and Calypso.
"Did you get my letter?"
"It came earlier today. I haven't had a chance to reply." Calypso glanced at the back room where the Order had gathered, feeling slightly nervous and unprepared. "Who's all in there?"
"Come see." Dorcas grabbed Calypso's wrist and tugged her inside with Sirius following close behind. They entered a room that had a long wooden table taking up most of the room. Dumbledore sat at the head, speaking to someone Calypso didn't recognize. He had dark blonde, grizzled hair and a few scars lining his face. He had small, dark eyes and was dressed in the scarlet robes of an Auror that matched the ones of the three wizards in the corner. Calypso's face lit up when her eyes landed on Fabian and Gideon Prewett as they spoke animatedly to Frank Longbottom.
"Fabian, Gideon," Calypso greeted, catching their attention. Their eyes landed on her and the Prewett twins cheered at the sight of the girl.
"Calypso!" The boys said in unison, giving her a quick hug. Frank gave Calypso a shy wave that she returned before Fabian and Gideon turned to Sirius and Dorcas.
"Black," Fabian greeted with a playful grin. "It's nice to see that you two are still together. Same with Frank and Alice."
"Too bad Alice isn't old enough to join." Gideon said.
"I can't wait to be able to tell her the truth. I hate lying to her, but it'll be worth it when she joins. She said she's been getting a lot better at Defense Against the Dark Arts this year, so she'll make a nice addition." Frank said, a faint smile on his face as he talked about his girlfriend. Fabian turned to Calypso with a smirk on his face.
"She's got him wrapped around her finger." Fabian whispered to her. "Have you and Sirius had a chance to meet everyone yet?"
"No, we just got here. Who's that talking to Dumbledore?" Calypso asked.
"That's Alastor Moody, he's an Auror. He finished his training a few years ago, but everyone says he's the best of the best." Gideon said. Calypso glanced around the room as Gideon pointed out other people. She recognized Cassandra, Edgar Bones, and Emmeline, but there were a few other older wizards she didn't recognize. "There's Caradoc Dearborn, he's a few years older than we are but he works in the Department of Magical Law."
Gideon told her about the other wizards in the room before Dumbledore gathered all of their attention by standing at the head of the table.
"You're all probably wondering why I've called you here." Dumbledore's eyes drifted on the faces of the other Order members. He met Calypso's eye and she gulped; She knew this was about her vision. "I believe Voldemort is preparing for an attack on Diagon Alley in the coming weeks."
"Longbottom and the Prewett's will stay in Diagon Alley until the threat passes. We'll tell the Ministry that it's for field training." Alastor Moody said in a gruff, gravelly voice. Frank, Fabian, and Gideon nodded their heads firmly.
"I want the rest of you to stay close. If there's an attack coming soon, we'll need all of the wizards we can get." Dumbledore advised. "For the new recruits, Alastor has agreed to go over fighting tactics and to practice battling strategies every night at midnight until the battle happens. Alastor —"
Dumbledore gestured to Moody and the Auror walked to the front. Calypso noticed he had a bit of a limp when he walked and he kept his hand on his side, biting back a wince every step he took.
"The key to fighting Death Eaters is —"
Calypso's gaze fell on Dumbledore as she motioned for her to follow him. She snuck away from the others and followed Dumbledore into a secluded room that was empty apart from the boxes stacked in the corner.
"There's something you should know." Dumbledore said. Calypso frowned curiously as Dumbledore turned to her. "Rabastan Lestrange accidentally let it slip to Cassandra that amongst Voldemort and the Death Eaters is someone named the Dark Lady."
Calypso frowned. The Dark Lady. The name seemed so familiar to her yet she couldn't place how she knew it.
"Who do you think it is?" Calypso asked. Dumbledore frowned. He appeared to be in deep thought for a moment before muttering,
"Who is the only person Tom Riddle would share power with?" Dumbledore wondered aloud. Calypso's eyes widened.
"Tom Riddle?" She asked "Tom Riddle is Voldemort?"
"What is it?"
Calypso's face fell. Her breath caught in her throat as a realization occurred to her that made her chest tighten.
"I know who the Dark Lady is."