The journey from King's Cross to Nott Manor passed far too quickly for Calli's liking.
Lucy and Stella had barely disappeared with their families before Calli spotted Theo waiting near one of the station exits.
Their father wasn't with him.
That wasn't unusual.
Calli tightened her grip around the handle of her trunk and reached Theo.
Neither sibling spoke much.
Theo looked exactly as he always did; composed, detached, seemingly unaffected by the prospect of returning home.
Calli wondered whether he actually felt that way.
She didn't ask.
She held out her arm.
Theo glanced at her, sighed and took her arm anyway.
The familiar crushing sensation of Apparition seized her.
Calli's boots struck frozen ground.
She released Theo immediately.
Nott Manor stood before them.
Home.
The word didn't fit anymore.
Perhaps it never had.
Snow covered the sprawling grounds, untouched except for the narrow pathway leading towards the house. The gardens had been stripped bare by winter, skeletal branches twisting against a grey afternoon sky.
The Manor itself looked darker than Calli remembered.
That shouldn't have been possible.
The same stone walls.
The same tall windows.
The same severe architecture she'd known her entire life.
Calli stared at the house.
A strange pressure settled over her chest.
Theo started walking.
"He's probably waiting you know." Theo muttered not looking back.
Calli forced her feet forward.
The front doors opened before they reached them.
Tinky stood inside.
Calli's heart squeezed.
"Miss Callidora. Master Theodore."
"Tinky."
The house-elf bowed deeply.
Calli wanted desperately to pull her into a hug.
She didn't.
Not here.
Not yet.
Calli stepped inside.
The doors closed behind them with a heavy thud.
The cold outside had been preferable.
Nott Manor had always been quiet.
Now it felt silent.
Not peaceful silence.
The sort that made Calli instinctively lower her voice.
Several wall sconces had been extinguished, leaving long stretches of corridor in shadow. The portraits lining the walls seemed darker too, generations of Notts watching the siblings return beneath flickering candlelight.
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...
