Book 1 in the Screams Trilogy
Calliope Doge doesn't speak. This is a fact that the entirety of Hogwarts knows full well.
She doesn't answer the questions that teachers ask in lessons, she doesn't speak to people over dinner in the great hall and sh...
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Almost as soon as Calliope realised she was screaming, she clamped her hands over her mouth to drown out the sound.
She hastily drew back the curtains around her bed and jumped to her feet, scrambling over to Natalie's bed, and tearing open the curtains. Only to see that Natalie remained motionless, stiller than sleeping. She tore around the dorm, checking on the other three occupants, but they all seemed in the same state as Natalie.
Before she knew it, Calliope found her feet carrying her through the tunnel out of the common room, and up the stairs to the entrance hall. Here, she hesitated for a moment, unsure of where to go. Then she took off again, in the direction of the hospital wing.
Please don't let them be dead, she changed over and over in her head. She couldn't bear the thought that she may have killed some of her classmates, and she was struggling to get the image of her dead father out of her head.
She hammered loudly on the door to Madam Pomfrey's office. The woman emerged moments later, rubbing her eyes and tying up a dressing gown.
Before Madam Pomfrey could say anything, Calliope grabbed her arm and pulled her off in the direction of the Hufflepuff common room.
"Miss Doge, would you care to tell me exactly why you have dragged me from my bed?" Madam Pomfrey demanded, seemingly forgetting that Calliope wasn't much of a talker.
But the woman's complaints ceased as they tore through the Hufflepuff common room, to see many tired looking boys gathered there, wondering what the screams they had heard had been about.
Calliope dragged Madam Pomfrey into her dormitory and gestured wildly at the other girls, who all remained unconscious. The matron's eyes widened and she rushed forwards to Natalie and began to check on the girl.
Calliope backed away and fell onto her bed. She sat as far away as she could from the other girls and drew her knees into her chest.
Madam Pomfrey rushed out of the room again, Calliope was sure that it was to tell someone to fetch more teachers. The matron was back again in no time, she waved her wand, and all four of the other girls floated into the air, following Madam Pomfrey out if the room, as if on some invisible floating stretchers.
Calliope's breathing was shallow and heavy, she hugged her knees tighter to her chest, and screwed her eyes shut. Too many thoughts were going through her head for her to pin one down, but at least they were her thoughts. She hadn't noticed it before because of the panic that had filled her, but her scream had made the whispers go away.
Calliope wasn't really sure how long she sat there, but it was definitely quite a long time.
"Miss Doge," a tentative voice asked. Calliope her mattress move and heard the springs in it groan slightly, as someone else settled down in it with her, but she kept her eyes tight shut.
"Calliope, the headmaster would like to see you," the voice said again. Calliope opened her eyes to see Professor Sprout sat there, with a concerned look on her face. Calliope nodded slightly, keeping her mouth shut tightly, afraid of any small noise escaping her. She and the Professor got to their feet, and Sprout began to lead her from the room.
The common room was quite full, but Calliope noticed that it was only boys. There was not a single girl there (apart from herself of course). Calliope kept her eyes down, and hastily followed Professor Sprout out of the common room.
For the second time that night, she found herself hurrying through the darkened corridors. The dappled moonlight cast shadows across the hallways, which did nothing to soothe Calliope's frantic state. She was still trembling from head to toe at the prospect of being expelled-which she was sure was about to happen.
The images of her dorm mates lying still in their beds swam in and out of Calliope's mind.
"Come in," the voice of Albus Dumbledore said when Professor Sprout knocked on his door. Sprout gestured for Calliope to enter. Calliope did so, leaving her head of house outside.
Dumbledore's office was beautiful, with many whirring instruments and ornate paintings. But Calliope was fully focused of the man who sat behind his desk. Albus Dumbledore wasn't even in pyjamas, he wore midnight blue robes and his usual half-moon spectacles.
"Calliope, please sit," the man unlaced his fingers, which were folded on his desk, and gestured to the chair across from him. Calliope did as she was told, clenching her hands into fists to stop them from shaking, and blinking rapidly to prevent tears from streaming down her face. She looked at the headmaster, as was stunned to see that he did not look angry at all.
"Madam Pomfrey has told me with much confidence that none of your peers is permanently injured from the events of tonight," he said. Calliope let out a shaky breath that she had not realised she had been holding. A great weight seemed to leave her shoulders.
She looked around the desk and pulled a piece of unused parchment and a quill towards her. Are you going to expel me? Calliope wrote in shaky lettering, before pushing the parchment to the headmaster.
Dumbledore chuckled slightly upon reading the note, "no, I will not expel you today. However, I must ask the reason behind your scream."
Calliope grabbed the parchment again, the whispers came back.
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