Callidora ☆ Fred Weasley

[chapter 125]

Calli was downstairs before the house had even begun to stir.

The manor felt different in the early hours. It was quieter, but not softer. The silence pressed in, thick and unmoving, the walls holding onto everything that had happened the night before.

She hadn't slept.

Not even for a moment.

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw it again; red eyes, pale skin, the slow drag of a nail across her palm. Her body hadn't let her rest, her mind refusing to loosen its grip even for a second.

So she had given up.

Dressed.

Left her room.

She was heading for the back doors when she saw him.

Theo.

Already there.

He stood near the window, one shoulder resting lazily against the frame, but there was nothing relaxed about him. His posture was too still, his attention too focused.

Waiting.

For her.

Calli didn't stop.

Didn't hesitate.

She adjusted her sleeve slightly, her expression already settled into something neutral, something distant.

"I'm going outside."

Her voice was even.

Controlled.

A statement, not a question.

Theo didn't move.

"Before sunrise?" He asked, tone light, but his eyes sharp. "That's new."

Calli reached for the handle.

"Move."

He didn't.

Of course he didn't.

"You've met him then. Not just seen him." Theo said, not looking at her now, his gaze fixed somewhere ahead, as if replaying it in his mind. "Properly, I mean."

There was no fear in his voice.

No hesitation.

Just interest.

Calli's grip tightened on the door handle.

She didn't turn around.

Didn't answer.

"That's what that was last night, wasn't it?" He continued, quieter now. "Not just a meeting."

A pause.

Then, almost curious, he asked.

"What's he like?"

Calli turned then.

Slowly.

Her expression didn't change.

But something in her eyes did.

"You don't want to know." She said.

And for the first time, there was a hint of pain under her voice.

Not loud. Not obvious.

But there.

Theo watched her.

Really watched her.

And instead of backing off, he leaned into it.

"I do."