The letter arrived that same afternoon.
Thick parchment. Heavy.
Calli knew what it was before she even opened it.
She stood by the window in her room for a moment, just looking at it, her fingers resting against the seal like it might burn if she held it too long. Then she broke it cleanly and unfolded the contents.
Her Hogwarts list slid out first.
Routine. Expected.
Normal.
Her eyes skimmed it without really reading; ink, parchment, textbooks she already knew by heart.
Then something else slipped free.
A badge.
Silver.
Polished.
Precise.
Calli stilled.
Head Girl.
Of course.
She stared at it for a second longer than necessary, turning it slightly in the light. It should have meant something. Pride. Satisfaction. Achievement.
She felt nothing.
Or not nothing.
Just weight.
Why would he do this to me?
The thought came uninvited, sharp and immediate. She was already balancing too much, already walking a line thin enough to snap under pressure. This didn't help.
Then another thought followed, quieter.
Or maybe it did.
Access.
Freedom.
An excuse.
Head Girl meant proximity. Meant conversations that wouldn't be questioned. Meant she could speak to him without raising suspicion.
Calli exhaled slowly.
That sounded more like something Albus Dumbledore would do.
Not reward.
Positioning.
She gave a small, almost absent shrug and set the badge down on her desk. It didn't change anything.
It couldn't.
She had already known.
It had been expected.
Then her heart lurched.
Hard.
Head Boy.
The thought hit her before she could stop it.
Cedric Diggory.
It had been rumored.
Talked about.
Certain, almost.
Calli's left hand trembled slightly before she forced it still, her fingers curling into her palm.
She swallowed, pushing the thought down before it could settle anywhere deeper.
Not here.
Not now.
"I will be going to Diagon Alley after my shift." She said later, her tone even as she stood across from her father.
It wasn't a request.
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...
