Screams

Thirty-Seven

"Calliope!" Elphias ran towards the hospital bed which Calliope had been placed in, he engulfed her in a tight hug, holding her close to his chest.

"Grandpa!" Calliope almost cried.

Once the two finally broke apart, Elphias looked at Calliope with a stern expression, "no more running off on crazy Calliope quests okay?"

"Okay," Calliope wiped away tears.

"I'm so happy that you're safe," he pulled her back in for another hug.

Calliope closed her eyes and tried to forget the events of the previous year, tried to pretend that nothing had happened. But she couldn't, she felt uncomfortable in her own skin, unable to shake the cold feeling that Voldemort had left lingering throughout her body.

"Callie!" another person charged forwards and tackled Calliope in a hug, "Oh Callie, I was so worried, you just disappeared! It was You Know Who wasn't it! I told George, I told him-!"

"I'm okay Natalie," Calliope let out a small laugh. When eventually her grandfather and Natalie released her, Calliope was able to see Remus, who was perched on the end of her bed with a sad smile on his face. Calliope gave him a small smile in return, and then glanced over to the bed beside her, where Fred was surrounded by redheads, the only Weasleys missing were Arthur, Charlie and Percy, all of whom had been notified about Fred's return, and were hurrying to Hogwarts as quickly as they could.

From amidst the gaggle of his family, Calliope saw the only person who could possibly hope to understand what she was feeling. Fred gave her a sad smile that conveyed the fact that he knew exactly what she was feeling.

The door to the hospital wing opened, which drew everyone's attention, and Harry and Dumbledore entered the hospital wing accompanied by a large black dog. Dumbledore's hand was pressed against Harry's back as if the old man was holding Harry up.

"Harry! Oh, Harry!" Molly Weasley cried as soon as she saw him, she began to hurry towards Harry, but Dumbledore stopped her.

"Molly," said Dumbledore, "please listen to me, Harry has been through a terrible ordeal, he has just had to relive it for me. What he, Fred and Calliope need now is sleep, peace and quiet. If you would like to stay with them you may, but I do not want you questioning any of them about what has happened until they are ready to answer, certainly not this evening."

"Did you hear!" Molly turned on all of her children and Hermione Granger, who was still all gathered around Fred's bed, "they need quiet!"

"Headmaster," Madam Pomfrey said, eyeing the dog, "may I ask what-?"

"This dog will be remaining with Harry for a while, I assure you that he is extremely well trained," Dumbledore replied, then he turned to Harry, "I will be back to see you as soon as I have spoken to Fudge, I would like you to remain here tomorrow until I have spoken to the school."

Dumbledore left, and Harry was ushered over to the bed beside Fred, which screens had been drawn around so that Harry could have some privacy as he changed. 

All three of them were offered a sleeping draft, both Harry and Fred gladly accepted it, but Calliope turned the offer down, and simply lay on her bed, very still, staring up at the ceiling. She was terrified that if she let herself go to sleep then she would be haunted by the ghosts of her mistakes, all of which had led to Lord Voldemort's rebirth.

She closed her eyes and faked sleep so that none of her family would force her to take the potion- the last thing that she wanted to do was sleep. She listened to the whispers and murmurs of the groups gathered around their beds, and she couldn't help but imagine that the whispers were murmuring about their impending doom.