The Death Eater [HARRY POTTER]

8

"How long do we have to be here, honestly?" Draco complained as he and the rest of the school curled up to sleep in the great hall. Calla, who had somehow ended up right beside him, scowled at him in the darkness. It had been her intention to curl up in some corner, far away from anyone else, but for some reason the Malfoy boy had decided to come sleep beside her. And the rest of the Slytherin house had followed his lead. Including but not limited to Crabb and Goyle, both of whom seemed to be experiencing extreme digestive problems, and who were farting every couple of minutes.

"Could you shut up?" She growled, lowly, burying her overly sensitive nose in her sleeping bag. "It's bad enough you brought the entire house over here, but some of us have classes in the morning, and homework to do when we wake up."

Draco rolled his icy blue eyes, but seemed to settle down a bit. It was one thing, that Calla had been pleased to see over the last few years. Draco had become more and more accustomed to following her direction if he knew he was being insufferable. Calla didn't know what made Draco listen to her, those rare times that he did listen to her, but she was glad that he did.

The boy beside her was quiet for a long moment, and Calla was glad to imagine that he fell asleep. Thinking she should do the same, before either of Draco's minions took the chance to poison the air once more, and then giggle about it, Calla closed her eyes, rolled onto her stomach, and fell asleep.

*******

Calla and Crookshanks sat side by side, staring out across Black Lake. Calla had been sitting quietly under a tree, reading a book about alchemy, when the orange cat had sidled up beside her. And somehow, the two of them had ended up enjoying one anther's company for quite some time. The orange cat wasn't being nearly as feisty as it normally was, and when Calla went to turn her page, she would pause long enough to give the orange feline an affectionate scratch behind it's ear. Honestly, Calla was taking a much needed moment to herself, and the presence of the cat was oddly soothing.

Finally, though, Calla couldn't ignore the mountains of grading she still had to do before the next day, and she reluctantly got to her feet, stretching her arms up above her head and feeling the satisfying crackle of her joints as she did so. She glanced down at Crookshanks with a wry smile on her face, which only grew when she noticed the look of almost disgust on the cat's face.

"Don't look at me like that," Calla scolded teasingly. "Not all of us are used to sitting around all day. My bones aren't used to it."

Crookshanks stared moodily at Calla for another long moment before he too got to his feet and stretched, almost seeming to eye Calla out of the corner of his large yellow eyes, emphasizing the fact that he didn't make a single sound when he stretched. Calla rolled her eyes and bent down to pat him on the head a few times, to which his only response was yowling loudly. Calla rolled her eyes and spun on her heel to head back to the castle.

"Well this was fun friend, but I've got things to do and people to see. Same time tomorrow?" Calla glanced teasingly over her shoulder, and then had to look again when she saw the large orange cat sitting there, but not accompanied by a large black dog that looked like it hadn't been brushed in weeks. "Guess you have other people to hang out with, huh Crookshanks?"

Calla stared at the duo for a moment longer, trying to get the feeling of oddness out of her chest, before she finally turned back toward the castle and continued her walk. She didn't notice the way the dog stared after her, an almost thoughtful look on it's face. Not did she notice the slip of paper Crookshanks dropped at the dogs feet. A slip of paper that contained the passwords for Gryffindor Tower for the rest of the week.

*******

"Hello, Hermione," Calla greeted quietly as she carefully perched beside the girl in the library, noting the way the other girl looked extremely cross at something. "What's the matter?"