Rose Weasley and the Callamitus Clause

Christmas was a more subdued event than Rose had expected. Albus' headache from the previous night had only gotten worse. A host of other symptoms now plagued him, including a rapidly mounting fever.

Rose and James brought the celebration to Albus' bedside, where he was confined, thanks to extreme dizziness that struck each time he stood. They sat around playing chess- Rose was thrashed by James- and talking about the Ball.

James' reaction was as Rose had expected. "I still can't believe you stayed around long enough to talk to him," he said with disgust. "I wasn't sure he even could talk. He's got a stupid look about him, don't you think?"

Rose rolled her eyes and did not respond. Scorpius had been nothing but polite to her, so she saw no need to be rude.

This thought did not seem to occur to James. "I hear he has an arranged marriage to Tomasa Kerpbow," he continued, blocking Rose's knight with ease. "Wouldn't that be just like the Malfoys?"

"I don't see how you'd know," said Rose absently, concentrating on the board, "seeing how you've never actually spoken to one before."

"He's not wizard enough to face me," muttered James, but then he let the subject drop.

Albus pointed his wand at the pile of sweets piled on the foot of the bed. They had been sent by Ron, though about half of them were prank candies. Albus murmured something indistinct, gave his wand a swish and flick, and a chocolate frog rose from the pile.

"I've got it, Al," James offered, grabbing the frog and tossing it to his brother, who nodded his thanks.

"You really need to keep drinking water," said Rose, frowning at the full glass by his bedside. "You've got to flush out this cold before classes start up again."

"Aw, don't harp on his," said James. "It's Christmas! We'll take him to see Madame Chang tomorrow. She'll give him some Pepperup Potion and he'll be as good as new. You lost, by the way."

Rose returned to her dormitory to change before supper- one of the candies had been filled with a drippy jam that spilled all down her front. Her spells had managed to reduce the mess to a small, sticky stain, but she hated looking sloppy.

On her way back down, she spotted Lysander nestled in a chair by the fire. "Happy Christmas," she greeted him. "I haven't seen you all day."

"I was up reading until this morning," he admitted, flipping the page. "I'm doing research for Lorcan, actually. It's quite interesting..."

"Have fun," she said, glancing at the cover of the book he held- Events Leading to the Second Wizarding War. "Tell me if that one's any good."

Wondering why Lorcan wanted to learn about the pre-war era, Rose climbed back to the door marked First Years. "It's me," she said, reentering. "James, are you-"

James lay flat on his back, sprawled across the floor. One of his hands was splayed over his face. The chess board lay abandoned by his side.

"This must be what dying feels like," he groaned.

"What happened?" Rose asked, startled and looking to Albus. "He was fine when I left!"

"He's got whatever I have," wheezed Albus, his dry voice cracking. "Go to dinner. It may be contagious."

Rose hurried to Albus' bedside and lay a hand on his forehead. "You're still burning up. Here." She pointed her wand at the half-empty glass. "Aguamenti."

Nothing. She tried once more, with no result. It wasn't exactly a surprise- the spell was far too advanced for a first year, but after her minor success during the storm, she had cause to hope.

There was one more thing she could try. Wrapping her hand around the locket, she whispered, "Aguamenti."

Nothing.

"I'll bring back whatever food I can," she sighed. "James, can you get yourself to a bed?"

He grunted. "I'll take that as a no," she said. Briefly she considered levitating him onto a bed in Albus' dorm, but she could only just make a book hover in the air, and had no hope of actually moving a human body around."Just... rest."

The Great Hall had once again switched decorations. Light flurries of snow fell over all of the tables, dissolving into the air before they reached the dishes of food. It was less full than on the days preceding the ball- in fact, there was a noticeable difference at all of the tables.

"Happy Christmas, Rose," said Lorcan, sitting across from her. "Where are Albus and James?"

"Sick," she responded, "incredibly so. Do either of you know a good way to break a fever?" Though intelligent she was, a Healer she was not.

Lysander looked up from his book. "Nonmagically, I'd say water," he said. "I don't really know any healing spells." He paused, then added, "They should really teach those here, shouldn't they?"

They brought as much food as they could carry back to the common room for Albus and James. When they returned, Dmitri and Rafael had finally appeared and were sitting by the fire.

"Ivanoff keep us longer than ve think," said Dmitri, exhaustion clear on his face. "Ve have celebration in the snow."

"In this weather?" gaped Rose, looking to make sure that she had not imagined the raging blizzard.

"Ve have more cold at school," Dmitri reminded her wearily. "Ve... I... climb to sleep."

"Get some rest," said Rose, worried, as Dmitri stood. Rafael stood as well, arm half supporting his younger brother, although he appeared equally tired."We can talk tomorrow."

But the next day saw an increase of illness at the school. Rose woke to find Albus, James, Dmitri, and Rafael all abed with the same symptoms. Lysander helped her walk each one to the hospital wing, where Madame Chang met them with pursed lips.

"I'm doing the best I can," she said to Rose, "but I was simply not prepared for this influx of students. It may take a few days." The wing was full of students of all years and houses, including a very ill looking Beaxbatons boy

Three days later, the nurse stood to address the students at the end of breakfast. "I know you are all anxiously awaiting the return of your friends," she announced, sounding almost nervous. "However, this illness is not something I have dealt with before. Your friends are in no danger!" she cried over the worried murmurs. "The fevers have begun to drop, and I believe that to be a sign of improvement. Now, to make sure that this does not spread..."

But it did not appear to be spreading. After Boxing Day, no new bouts of illness had sprung up.

Rose visited the hospital wing each day. All of the beds were occupied, and new ones had been added to the already crowded configuration. Albus, James, and Dmitri,their beds so close that they were almost touching, listened to tales Rose spun for them, mysteries and adventure stories that she had read as a girl. They told Dmitri of Beadle the Bard, a storyteller who had created most of the standard fairytales for wizarding children. He nodded along- his concentration wavered with the fever, so it was difficult for him to speak English.

Lysander and Lorcan both remained healthy. "I'm not surprised," remarked Lysander, setting down Emerald: The Year of the Scar. "I don't catch sick very easily."

"Why are you reading that?" asked Rose, looking at the book curiously. It was one of the many written about her uncle after the war. Her mother had an immense collection at home- "Isn't it best to know what people are saying?" she often told Harry when he visited. Harry disapproved, and his children were expressly forbidden from pickingso much as one such tome up.

"If they need to know something, they'll come to me," he hadsaid firmly.

"More research for Lorcan," explained Lysander. "I'm not supposed to tell you until he has it all figured out, though."

"Not only is it research, it's research I can't help with?" exclaimed Rose. "C'mon, what are you looking for? Maybe I already know!"

But Lysander shook his head. "Contain your curiosity, Rose," he said calmly. "You'll know when you know."

The rest of the school arrived the day before spring term began. Rose helped her roommates unpack- Mary Deverill had brought back an Oliver Wood poster that she insisted on hanging in the room, despite Tia Marsh's protestations.

"Home sweet home," muttered Tia as the other three girls squealed over the Quidditch captain.

No one was alarmed over the sick students. "A bunch of people are ill every winter," said Louis Weasley, who had opted to return home for break. "Madame Chang will have them back on their feet in no time."

Classes began as scheduled, though a large number of students were still under Madame Chang's care. The first Herbology lesson of the term was cancelled due to the persistent blizzard that lingered around the castle. Professor Longbottom, who had fallen ill himself, opted to cancel completely rather than hold a lecture in the Great Hall.

Potions was only missing two students- Albus and Callum Leach, who had attended the ball with an older Slytherin girl. Professor Slughorn sighed upon seeing the two empty spots.

"Still abed, are they?" he said, as if the boys had decided to skip class to have a kip. "Shame. Scorpius, go back over to Rose. At least something good can come of one tenth of our class missing."

It was the first time Rose had seen Scorpius since Christmas Eve. The corner of his mouth twitched like he was going to smile, but then thought better of it. He opened his book to the page on the board as Rose shifted her cauldron over on the desk.

The room was nearly as tense as the previous time the two had been paired together. Kara Welsh and Loren Nicosa stared openly, whispering to each other in hushed tones. Tia Marsh nudged Liam O'Grady, gesturing to the open book, but he ignored her. Shrugging, she began reading the instructions to herself.

Even Slughorn was aware of the unnatural, expectant silence in his classroom. He regarded Rose and Scorpius oddly for a moment, then made a show of looking through his desk.

What were they all waiting for? Did they really all believe that the pair would not get along just because of their parents? Something had to be done.

Rose turned to look directly at Scorpius. "What are we making today?" she asked, her voice ringing through the silent room.

"We're working on the Extract of Excitement again," Scorpius replied quietly. "Could you please pass the knife?"

"Of course."

She handed him the knife and lit a fire beneath the cauldron. Slowly, conversation in the room picked up. Rose glanced up to see that Slughorn was giving her an odd look.

"I tried one of your fires," remarked Scorpius casually, beginning to slice the lacewing flies with steady hands. "It didn't work."

Rose's first reaction was surprise, then offense, then something akin to flattery. Neither Albus nor James had ever attempted to light one of her fires before- though perhaps that was because she was always there to do it for them.

"You don't know the essence of it," she said, "that's why it didn't work. You didn't visualize the proper thing."

"That makes sense," he said. "It didn't seem too difficult."

"So Callum is sick as well?" guessed Rose as she looked over the rest of the directions. "I hardly saw him at the ball."

"You were hardly at the ball," he pointed out. "And yes, he went with Astra Cross. It was part of a bet with her sister or her friends or something- he told me all about it, but I forgot." After a moment, he added, "You said you didn't see him at the ball. Is it only people who went that got sick?"

"It seems that way to me." Rose began dropping the lacewing flies into the cauldron, one at a time. "Then again, almost all of the people who stayed at the castle were at the ball."

There were, however, Lorcan and Lysander, who remained well. Victoire was healthy, as far as Rose could tell- she only emerged from her room for meals, which she spent by Molly Weasley's side. Rose herself had missed a large portion of the event and did not catch whatever had sprung up.

Scorpius seemed to be following her train of thought. "I didn't go, and I'm fine," he said. After an uncertain pause, he added, a bit quieter, "How are... your cousins?"

Out of all the cousins of hers that were attending Hogwarts, she knew he was only asking about two. "They're a bit better," she said. "Madame Chang thinks she had finally found something that works. Albu- I mean, their fevers are almost gone."

"That's good," said Scorpius. He looked like he was going to say something else, then stopped short.

"Why did you stay here over break?" Rose asked. She had rather thought that he would have retuned home instead of staying at school.

"My mum and dad were visiting some relatives," he replied, but the words came hesitantly.

"Do you not like your relatives?" she asked, though it then occurred to her that she should have kept that question to herself.

Once again, Scorpius hesitated. "It's not that," he said, then stopped. With a mulish set to his mouth, he continued to chop the black beetle eyes in silence.

Rose could take a hint. The pair continued to work without speaking. Occasionally, Rose would ask a question. The invariable response would be a shake of the head, a nod, or a shrug. Eventually, she stopped trying to make conversation.

She couldn't even vent her frustration at the situation to Albus and James. Madame Chang had closed off the hospital wing to all visitors. "They need to get some rest, dear," she said through a crack of the door when Rose ignored the note and continued knocking. "You understand, right?"

She returned to the Gryffindor Tower unhappily, huffing, "Phoenix feather," to the Fat Lady and immediately collapsing in a chair by the fire.

"You're in a pleasant mood," noted Lysander over the top of his book, Hogwarts Hideouts.

"I've already read that one," said Rose sourly scowling at the book. She had worked her way through as many books about Hogwarts as she could get her hands on the previous year. "It doesn't even touch on the passageways. It's mainly debunking myths about the Chamber of Secrets, talking about the forbidden sector of the third floor-"

"Part of the third floor is forbidden?" asked Lysander casually. "I didn't know that."

"No, not anymore," she clarified. "Remember when Mum and Dad and Uncle Harry went to recover the Philosopher's Stone? It was their first year."

"But why would a corridor be in a book of secret locations in the castle?" He looked at her almost expectantly.

"It wasn't just a corridor," she explained, wondering why he was giving her that look. "They went down a trap door that led to the Devil's Snare, remember? I'm sure we're talked about this before. Next was the room with-"

She froze, her mouth half-open, and Lysander grinned. They both knew her next words.

"The room with the flying keys," finished Rose, shocked that she hadn't realized it before. "Lysander, that's it! That's the door!"

"Amazing how you figure these things out, isn't it?" he remarked, offering her one last smile before returning to his book.

Rose had no chance to tell Lorcan what she had learned. The next morning, Albus was back at breakfast.

"She just let me out," he explained wearily as he sat. "James should be better by tonight."

"Did Madame Chang figure out what it was?" asked Rose.

"No," he replied glumly, pouring himself a glass of pumpkin juice. "She couldn't break the fever, basically. It wasn't being flushed out by magic. She even tried some Muggle remedies, but those didn't work either."

Rose frowned; she didn't like the sound of the school's Healer not being able to cure what seemed to be so simple an illness. "That worried me," she said, but didn't go further. Albus looked too exhausted to think about more than getting food into his system.

The morning post arrived in a flurry of feathers and beaks. Two owls made their way to Rose- a small tawny that bore her issue of the Daily Prophet, and a large grey that she recognized instantly.

"Mum finally wrote back," she sighed as the owls landed. She dropped seven knuts into the pouch tied to the leg of the tawny owl, then took the letter from Minerva, her mother's owl.

She had been waiting for an update on the Trijuska research for almost a month. Her parents kept in touch, but with every letter came the confirmation that her mum knew nothing more.

She skimmed through the letter, then set it down with a sigh. "Nothing," she told Albus. "Nothing! Why can't I remember where I've heard this before?"

The school slowly filled up over the course of the day. James reappeared in time for dinner, though his throat was still too dry to speak. He picked at his food, heading back to the common room early to go to bed.

Dmitri was brought into the common room late that night, just when everyone was heading to bed, "He didn't know the new password," Lysander explained as he helped Dmitri in. "I found him sitting outside the portrait hole."

"They shouldn't let them out of the hospital wing when they can barely walk," Rose told Tia when they were getting ready for bed. "Dmitri had been sitting out there for who knows how long."

The next morning, all three boys had made a full recovery. They inhaled every dish in sigh during breakfast- "Being sick leaves you with a healthy appetite," said James between bites. Once they had finally slowed down, Rose asked about Rafael's condition.

"I vill go to the hospital ving after breakfast," said Dmitri, chewing busily. "He vas not good vhen I see him last night, but I think he is good now."

Rose went to the hospital wing herself during her lunch hour. Dmitri had not shown up for the meal, which worried her. She found him by Rafael's bedside, his eyes closed. He was speaking in a language she did not know. As she watched, his hands began to glow burgundy.

"Hraniti" he said, his voice strained. "Jak. Hranti. Vjera. Snaga."

The ball of light moved from Dmitri's hands to Rafael's, which he clutched. Slowly, the colour ran up Rafael's arm in a steady wave of magic. Rose watched until the colour had spread completely over his skin.

"I make a healing," said Dmitri raspily, not looking behind him to see Rose standing there. "I make a healing, but he is not good."

Rose sat next to him on the cot. Rafael was sound asleep, his breath coming in dry rasps. "He's not doing any better?" she asked, though the answer was clear.

"I thought he will be better. He is not." Dmitri's brow was creased in worry. "Madame Chang, she have him sleep, but it is magic. His fever is not avay.

She felt his forehead; it was blazing. "Maybe he should be sent to St. Mungo's," she suggested. "It's a wizarding hospital. They could help him."

At that moment, Professor Ivanoff entered the room. His face was surly, but when he saw Rose and Dmitri, he smiled. "There you are, Dmitri m'boy," he said warmly. "I was hoping to find you here. And... Rose Weasley, is it not?"

Rose nodded, and Dmitri said, "You vere looking for me, Professor?"

"Yes, well, Professor Slughorn was concerned when you did not attend his lesson this morning." His eyes fell on Rafael. His lips tightened. "I can safely assume that I was correct in informing him that you were with your brother."

"Professor, he is not better," said Dmitri urgently. "I know this, it is magic! Ve must-"

"That is a discussion for another time and location, Dmitri," Ivanoff said firmly. "For now, I believe it best for your friend here to escort you back to the Great Hall. We wouldn't want you missing any more lessons, now, would we?"

Dmitri obeyed the order sullenly, twisting his head to stare back at his brother as they left. Taking his arm, Rose decided that she did not like the Durmstrang headmaster very much. He had an almost greasy air about him, and everything he said came with a tinge of dishonesty.

Rafael showed few signs of improvement over the next week, By then, the entire school war aware of the champion's plight. Madame Chang resigned herself to Dmitri's constant presence by his brother's side. Rose, Albus, and James stopped by in-between classes, during meals, and at night before they were sent back to their dormitories to get sleep.

During one of these visits, they overheard a hushed conversation between Professor Ivanoff and Madame Chang.

"You can cure all of the Hogwarts students, but not my champion?" Ivanoff hissed angrily. "Doesn't that strike you as a bit suspicious?"

"You know as well as I do that there is magic in his ailment," replied Madame Chang wearily. "I am doing everything that I can. If you would just allow him to be seen at St. Mungo's-"

"No," he snapped. "He will be seen here and only here. You are aware of the rules surrounding the Tournament, are you not?"

She pursed her lips. "Each and every one," she replied icily, her tone colder than Rose had ever heard it. "Now, if you have nothing more to say, I have work to do."

Rose spent that Saturday in the library, going through all of the books with information on the Tournament. She found the rule Ivanoff had been referencing in Triwizard Mishaps: Tales from Beyond the Goblet.

Some rules of the Triwizard Tournament were lost in the gap between 1797 and 1994. One such loss was evident when Beauxbatons champion Remy Zuffery was seriously injured during a task involving a Chimera. Efforts were made to transport him to L'Academie de Medicin, shortly off the Beauxbatons grounds, but they were met with failure. Zuffery lived, thanks to the healers on site, but it was concluded that the Goblet would not letTriwizard contestant leave the grounds of the school they were competing at.

This appears to be contradicted in the 1994 tournament where dual Hogwarts champions Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory were transported to the graveyard of Little Hangleton via portkey. However, it is thought that as the Triwizard Cup served as the portkey, the touching of the Cup by aforementioned wizards simultaneously ended the tournament and activated the portkey.

So Rafael could not be taken to St. Mungo's because it was off Hogwarts grounds? But Rose specifically remembered her parents telling her about visiting Hogsmeade with Harry during their fourth year. She returned to the Gryffindor common room, knowing that the answer could be found in Hogwarts: A History.

Surely enough, one of the first chapters covered the relationship between Hogwarts and Hogsmeade.

The village of Hogsmeade was founded almost one hundred years after Hogwarts. When the four founders originally decided upon the location of their institute, they chose a tract of land owned by Helga Hufflepuff's family. As you can see from the map on the adjacent page, Hogwarts castle only takes up a small part of these lands.

After the original structure was completed, a section of land was returned to a relative of Hufflepuff's, Hengist of Woodcroft. He founded Hogsmeade to escape from Muggles that were chasing him. The thought was that wizards would be safe from prosecution in an entirely magical community. The initial magic lay down by the four founders, however, covered the village as well as the castle. Modern enchantments now are only laid on the castle and surrounding grounds, but the ancient magic recognizes Hogsmeade as part of Hogwarts.

Well that was certainly interesting. Rose wondered which protections lay on both Hogwarts and Hogsmeade- obviously not the inability to apparate or disapparate, from stories she had been told. Possibly the effect the area would have on Muggle eyes; she knew that if a Muggle was to stumble upon Hogwarts, they would see a tumble-down building with warnings to stay away, that it was dangerous. She was certain that Hogsmeade would have similar Muggle-repelling enchantments.

She decided to not bring it all up to Albus and James. Certainly it had been explained to Dmitri- he had been nattering at Professor Ivanoff each time the man was in sight. They had not discussed what they both knew, that the illness was of a magical nature. Dmitri had essentially shut down, only showing signs of life when Ivanoff entered the room or when, always out of his headmaster's sight, he pushed more red light into his brother's body.

Rafael himself was still asleep. A drained Madame Chang explained that the persistant fever was really draining his body. "If he's asleep, his body can concentrate on driving out the sickness," she said, wiping a cool cloth across Rafael's forehead. She would not admit out loudthat magic- obviously a magic stronger than hers- was behind the fever.

That night, Rose sat by Dmitri's side as he pulsed his magic into his brother. "Eat," she pleaded with him when he stopped, panting. "You're wearing yourself thin. You can't fight this with no food in your body."

Nodding, he took the overloaded plate she offered him. "Thank you," he grunted. "You have been too kind. Rafael vill thank you as vell, vunce he is avake."

Professor McGonagall swept through the door, imposing in her dark grey robes. "Mister Potter, Mister Potter, Miss Weasley," she greeted with a nod. "Mister Romolov. I am pleased to inform you that we have brought someone to the castle who may be able to help your bother."

This caught Dmitri's attention immediately. "Vhat?"

"An old student of mine is on his way as we speak. He specializes in... special circumstances such as this."

The doors to the hospital wing opened once more, and in strode Bill Weasley.