Screams

Seventeen

"What happened?" Calliope looked at the three younger students, all of whom were playing dumb.

"What do you mean?" Harry Potter asked.

"Don't even try that, I have a talent for sensing lies," Calliope told them, "I know that you were there the night that Professor Lupin got loose in the grounds, I know that you helped Sirius Black escape, what I don't know is exactly what happened to Peter Pettigrew, and that's why I'm talking to you three."

Calliope knew all of this simply because she had seen it. The night before, when the whole school was asleep, Calliope had a vision. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger talking to Sirius Black and Professor Lupin, whilst Ron clutched the rat-also known as Peter Pettigrew-in his hands. Then she saw Sirius Black flying away from Hogwarts on a hippogriff. From those visions, she was able to work out a few things.

Thing number one was that Pettigrew had somehow escaped from Professor Lupin's care. Thing number two was that somehow, the three third years had helped Sirius Black evade the clutches of both the dementors and the ministry. Calliope wanted to find out how, and where Pettigrew might have gone.

"I'm guessing that there's some big conspiracy and it wasn't really Sirius who betrayed Lily and James Potter?" Calliope asked.

"How do you know that?" Ron Weasley demanded, "who even are you?"

"I'm Calliope Doge."

"Doge?" Hermione repeated, "like Isaac Doge? One of the Marauders?"

"Isaac Doge was my father," Calliope nodded, "so I'm assuming that Remus told you the whole story?"

"About how they used to wander the grounds at night? Yes he told us that," said Harry, "how do you know that we were there last night."

Calliope bit her lip, wondering how she could explain it without giving away her secret to these three almost strangers.

"I've heard that your scar lets you know when you're in danger from You Know Who, am I right?" Calliope asked, Harry silently nodded in response, "well, I have a sort of sixth sense of sorts that helps me know when something bad is happening, it works kind of like your scar."

"You're the girl that put half of the Hufflepuff girls in the hospital wing last year!" Hermione finally seemed to make the connection.

"Like I said, sixth sense," Calliope nodded, "but that was an accident."

The three stared at her, with their mouths hanging open.

"Anyway," Calliope shook her head, trying to get the conversation back on track, "what happened to Peter Pettigrew, and how on earth is he alive?"

Harry glanced at his two friends as if asking for their go-ahead to give Calliope the answers to her questions. Hermione seemed to give him a small nod, and then Harry launched into an explanation of the events of the previous night. He explained the switch of the secret keeper from Black to Pettigrew, and how Pettigrew had faked his own death and framed Sirius. Then Harry told her what had happened in the Shrieking Shack and how they had used a time turner to save Sirius from the dementors.

"So Pettigrew escaped," Calliope said after the entire story had been told, "and he's going to run straight back to the big bad isn't he."

"The big bad?" Ron frowned.

"You Know Who," Calliope replied.

"But we can't do anything to stop that," said Hermione, "we don't know where Pettigrew is going, or where You Know Who is..."

"You're forgetting something," Calliope said, "I have a sixth sense for bad things, and You Know Who is definitely a bad thing."

"You're not going to try and find them are you?" Hermione looked stricken, "I'm sure that Dumbledore-"

"Won't be able to do it as quickly as I can," Calliope said confidently, "I put half of the Hufflepuff girls in the hospital wing by accident, what do you think I could do if I really wanted to hurt somebody?"