Blackmail?
The climb to the Owlery was more than welcome for Calli.
Most students were buried in revision, the castle humming with that pre-exam tension that kept everyone indoors.
She needed the air.
Needed the space.
Fred and George had offered to get Artemis themselves, but she said she'd do it for them.
She pushed open the wooden door and stepped over the threshold and stopped.
Harry.
Ron.
Hermione.
All three of them stood there and they looked exhausted.
Eyes shadowed like they hadn't slept in days.
Calli's brows pulled together immediately.
"Merlin." She muttered. "You three look like ghosts."
None of them laughed.
"Hi." She added, slower now.
"Calli." Harry started.
Then stopped.
Like he didn't know how to continue.
Calli stepped further inside, the soft fluttering of owls filling the silence.
"Harry." She replied, studying him more closely now. "You okay?"
"Yeah..." He said.
But it wasn't convincing.
Not even close.
There was a pause.
A look passed between the three of them.
Weighted.
A decision.
Calli's stomach tightened slightly.
"You guys are scaring me." She said. "What happened?"
Harry exhaled.
"Mr. Crouch said Voldemort was getting stronger."
The name hit the air like a curse.
Calli flinched.
Visibly.
Like she'd been struck.
Her shoulders tensed, her breath catching for just a second before she could control it.
She didn't speak.
Didn't move.
"Say that again." She said quietly.
Not because she hadn't heard.
But because she needed to be sure.
Harry opened his mouth but Hermione's hand shot out, gripping his arm.
"Shh!"
Footsteps echoed up the spiral stairs.
"-that's blackmail, that is, we could get into a lot of trouble for that."
George.
"We tried being polite; it's time to play dirty like him. He wouldn't like the Ministry knowing what he did-"
Fred.
"I'm telling you, if you put that in writing, it's blackmail!"
The Owlery door banged open.
Fred and George stepped in and froze.
"What're you doing here?" Fred and Ron asked at the exact same time.
YOU ARE READING
Callidora ☆ Fred Weasley
FanfictionCallidora Nott has always known exactly what is expected of her. As the daughter of one of Britain's oldest pure-blood families, her future has already been carefully planned; alliances, power, and a life shaped by tradition she never chose. At home...
