Lady Lion [Sirius Black] [DISCONTINUED]

X

After saying goodbye to Rory, since Eleanor found her and dragged her off to a compartment containing the rest of their friend group, Callie set off to find a compartment of her own. The train, although busy, was far less crowded than her first time on it, given that a surprising number of students chose to stay at Hogwarts for their Winter Break. It was much easier for the girl to find a compartment to reside in.

After closing the door behind her, the perking up of a brunette sitting in the corner startled Callie, but her shock quickly disappeared and she laughed. "We have to stop meeting like this." Callie told Remus, who chuckled in return. Her smile faded however, as she couldn't help but notice the scars along his face and the visible part of his arms- they had not been there before Winter Break.

"Hey Remus, you lose a fight or something?" Callie asked him. The smile on her face contradicted her feeling of concern.

"If you mean won, then yes." Remus replied. He was joking, but his voice didn't sound comical; his voice sounded more weary. He always gave the impression of being tired, that's just how Remus was, but this was more lethargic of him than usual; the way he looked, the way he spoke. This didn't help Callie's concerns.

Before she could further ask him about it, the door burst open. A shrill voice yelled Callie's name as she was nearly tackled in a hug. It couldn't have been anybody but Mercia.

"Callie! Oh my goodness, I missed you so much! I'm so used to seeing you everyday and not getting to was so sad. But I had so much fun on my break, wanna hear about it?" Mercia began to ramble on about things she did over break, almost to the point where she had to stop a catch her breath in order to continue on. It was the Mercia that Callie knew and loved. Meanwhile, Remus made eye contact with Callie. He looked sincere, and almost a little guilty. Callie knew that whatever was going on with him shouldn't be brought up when anybody else was around.

It wasn't long after Mercia arrived that Peter and the Devastation Twins did as well. Callie noticed an annoyed look on Sirius' face as soon as he entered the compartment; with Remus and now Sirius, it was clear to Callie that the guys on the compartment had some serious issues going on. It was like her father always told her though: Be kind to everybody you meet, because everyone has their own battles they're fighting. The way Callie would be kind is by not bringing up what she noticed about them in front of everybody else, and she hoped the others would do the same.

"Hey guys." Callie greeted the boys as they entered the compartment, earning a reply from only James and Peter. Sirius didn't answer, instead he stared out the window.

This was going to be the longest train ride ever.

"The Gang" as Peter called it, consisting of the group of six that often hung out together, sat around the table in the Great Hall chatting with each other about their Winter Breaks, until Remus suggested going back to the common room.

"You guys go ahead, I need to go ask Severus something." Callie said. The Gang nodded and went ahead, but Callie grabbed Sirius' arm, pulling him back. "Hey, hold on."

"I thought you said Severus, not Sirius. What do you want?" Sirius asked, annoyance clear in his voice. Today Sirius had not been his usual cocky, mischievous self. Rather, he had been quite irritable. A few months ago Callie would have given anything to make his typical behavior disappear, but now that she had grown to actually enjoy the Devastation Twins, his rapid mood change was concerning.

"I need to ask Severus something, but I need to talk to you too. What's wrong? I noticed on the train ride here that you were in a foul mood, and you still are even now." Callie explained. Callie had been dying to ask him about it, but he had been surrounded by their group of friends until this point. She wanted to know what was going on, because maybe she could help.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "It doesn't matter; you wont understand." He attempted to walk away after saying this, but Callie pulled him back again.

"What do you mean I wont understand? I'm very understanding- that's how my parents raised me. Let me try to understand."

"That's exactly it!" Sirius exclaimed. Callie was taken aback, but Sirius continued before she could question him about it further. "You and your family get along. You have the perfect life outside of Hogwarts, but when I go home it's the exact opposite. I don't get along with my family- we despise each other. My brother and my mum and my dad, they all team up on me. So no, you don't get it, because you have no idea what it's like to be hated by the people who are supposed to be there for you no matter what."

Callie was silent for a moment, as she wasn't quite sure of what to say. She tried to be comforting at least. "Sirius, I'm sorry. That is awful, really. Maybe if you try to understand where they're coming from sometimes-"

"It's not simple, it's not fixable." Sirius growled at her. "Callie, you always act like little miss perfect. We haven't known each other for that long, only a few months, but I know you well enough. You want to help me, but you can't. There are things that can't be fixed with a hug and a kiss, and this is one of them." With that, he left.

Callie felt devastated. All she wanted to do was help him; all she ever wanted to do was help anyone. She didn't know that it made her look like a "little miss perfect", and she didn't like that it did even one bit. It's just how she was raised; not one bit of her was a façade. With being able to change her appearance at will, Callie wanted to make every other aspect of her life as real and concrete as possible.

Callie went back to the common room in a daze, thinking about how she could appear more genuine and less "little miss perfect". Eleven year olds could be cruel.