Turning Time

Chapter 3

"Who?" Remus asked quizzically, looking as if Callie had just begun the oddest topic he had ever heard of.

Callie stood gagging to herself before she was able to come up with something proper to say. "No time to explain. It's complicated." The group of Gryffindors began to move along as Hermione headed them back to the common room.

"Bu--" Remus began, but when Callie sped forward in the group, perhaps predicting that he might attempt to inquire her further, he gave in.

***

"What's going to happen to Abby?" Callie thought. "Why is Voldemort after her? Just another fun target caused by Pettigrew's disgusting traitorism?"

"It's because of you," rang a voice in her head. "You cause everything. Your mother died to save you. You were a troublesome child, now you are a troublesome student. And you don't just cause trouble as is normal. You cause death and destruction. You have to learn to accept that."

"Shut up," she told it, shaking with fear and sorrow from its constant occurrence within her head. "What do you know, anyway? I know myself better than you do."

"Your mother wouldn't be dead if it weren't for you." The voice had caught Callista completely off-guard. "If you hadn't wandered out into that particular forest at that particular time, your mother might still be alive. She died to save you."

"You're wrong!" Callie yelled at it in thought, a pained expression captivating her face. She tried not to cry. "My mother died because she was worried about me! I couldn't do anything about that!"

"So you mean to say... Your mother got what she deserved?"

"No! She didn't! She should still be alive!" Callie was furious that her conscience, if it was indeed so, would make such a comment.

"Then whose fault is her death?"

Callie thought for a second. "I was a very young child! I didn't know any better!"

"I told you that you caused it."

"Go away..." she said, accidentally aloud, beginning to cry, just as someone tapped her on the shoulder. She came back to reality, realizing that she was directly before the Fat Lady's Portrait. "Hm?"

"Callie?" said Kevin Brooks from behind her, baby-blue eyes concerned, shaggy, dark-brown hair shining a dim scarlet tint in the torchlight from the fires lit upon the wall torches. "Are you alright?"

"Yes--Kevin," she said, trying to smile as sweetly as possible. "I'm fine." She turned back to see that Hermione had spoken the password.

***

After nearly half an hour of sitting nervously, crowded onto one scarlet sofa of the Gryffindor common room, discussing things quietly and solemnly, Professor McGonagall came in to summon the four time travelers to Dumbledore's office. She also told the rest of Gryffindor house that it was alright if they wished to leave Gryffindor Tower.

When they arrived at their destination, Dumbledore had set out four identical chairs built elegantly of a rich mahogany wood. "Please have a seat," Dumbledore said, peering at them kindly. His attitude was very welcoming, but they all knew that they were called to this place for a solemn reason unheard of.

Dumbledore opened his mouth with no words coming out, but only momentarily. "I am assuming that you four remember what happened during breakfast this morning."

"Yes," James said, the others nodding in agreement.

"Well, then," Dumbledore said. He paused for a moment. "Now I must tell you what I brought you here for."

He took another pause, which was annoyingly long. The four began to wonder if he would ever get to telling them what he meant to. They all had the urge to make a comment such as, "Yes?" or "And?" although any comment such as which would be rude, so they did not go to the trouble of saying anything.

"Young Miss Abigail Black," he began, "was being attacked by one of the Dark Lord Voldemort's many servants, which we know as Death Eaters. Among all of them, he is Voldemort's most faithful by far."

"Professor," Remus cut in, "is there any particular name we could recognize him by?"

"That, I am afraid," Dumbledore told him dreamily, seeming to drift into a different world, "I cannot tell you. It would cause great confusion and change each of your futures in a different way." Dumbledore came back into a look of being-in-reality, and he looked upon Remus rather sternly. "As you may have guessed, Abigail is Sam's," Dumbledore began again, putting emphasis on Sirius's false name, perhaps to make a statement that their true names must remain unrevealed, "daughter. As Voldemort has his way of finding out that you are time travelers, you may have to leave. At least Sam will have to. Voldemort will try to kill him so that Abigail would never have existed in the first place. I was going to send for some sort of agent from the ministry, maybe an auror, to locate one of these rare time turners you have. But as we must get you four out of this school as soon as possible, I should have you go locate it yourself. This will not only save Sam's life, but it will save Abigail's."

***

Callie was walking past Dumbledore's office and to her arithmancy class. She couldn't help but overhear what made her drift toward the wrong direction to listen. It was eavesdropping, but she couldn't resist. "...life, but it will save Abigail's," was all that she could catch before she came to the gargoyle. She knew the password; she'd seen them enter the office. "Sherbet Lemon." The password was also rather obvious; Dumbledore loved the Muggle sweet that he always seemed to use for his password.

"They're going to help Abby somehow?" Callie thought. "How? I want to help her, too. She's done so much for me. I owe her something in return. I don't want to be a lousy friend. Should I go in and offer my help? Would that be bad?" In her thought, she had lost track of some of the conversation.

"I believe that you should leave in two days, if not by tomorrow. I will be writing you letters of where the object might be located, only hoping that the owls might find you."

"So there's an object that will save her?" Callie thought. She wanted to help her friend with all her heart. She would die for her friends. She couldn't resist opening the door.

"Please, I want to help Abby, too," she said.

"Now, Callista, this is dangerous business. You could lose your life doing this. Death Eaters will chase after you, most likely."

"I want to help Abby," she said. "I'd die for my friends if I had to. Please, Professor. You must let me help her."

"Miss Lupin, I can understand you want to help her and feel that you would do anything for her. This is extremely dangerous."

"I know everyone thinks I'm a pathetic wimp who doesn't know how to take care of herself," she said. "I know everyone thinks I can't live on my own without supervision and security. But I'm not! I swear I'm not! I can manage myself in life-or-death situations! I know I can!"

"Now, Callie, I didn't mean that you--"

"It's true! That's what everyone thinks! I don't care if they think that, as long as they don't restrict me from helping my own friends. I've never repaid any of them for anything, and now's my chance to pay back everything Abby has and will ever do for me."

Professor Dumbledore didn't say anything to this.

"Please, Professor." A very troubled expression was upon her face, like she had to make a very difficult choice. It wasn't hard; she knew she wanted to help Abby in any way she could. But if it meant her life being taken, it scared her. To show fear would only increase the image of her being pitiful. Fear was within everyone, whether they liked it or not, but this was different.

"I will write to your father as quickly as I can," Dumbledore told her. "If he confirms the information he can give me, then I will allow you to."

"Thank you, Professor," said Callie, making a polite bow, though confused by the words "the information he can give me." What did her own father know about her (excluding many of her dark secrets and great fears that were naturally cast upon her darkened soul) that Dumbledore did not? What could he possibly tell Dumbledore?

"Now, Callista, please resume your class."

Callie turned for the door and left to continue towards her arithmancy class, which she knew she would be at least a little late for, but if it got her into any sort of trouble, Dumbledore could save face for her.

***

"Wow..." Remus thought solemnly yet amazedly. "She's really willing to risk that much for her friends. I wonder if any of my friends would ever do anything like that for me... All of her friends are lucky to have her. I know that I'd want a friend like her."

"Now, as you can see," Dumbledore began, "she is taking a dangerous risk. Now that we have that understood, I want you four to know that at one point she must know the truth. I suggest you tell her at the end of this quest, if you can call it that."

The four began to ponder why Callie was taking such a big risk when they were saving Abby themselves. She wants to pay back what she owed. That was clear. But it was such a risk!

***

A letter arrived for Remus Lupin's twenty-year-older self. It had the scarlet Hogwarts seal holding the envelope closed. He was cautious in opening it, wondering why in the world he would be receiving a Hogwarts letter rather than a letter just from Dumbledore himself if it was business about the Order of the Phoenix.

He finally managed it open, after slow and cautious patience in doing so.

"Dear Mr. Remus Lupin,

You most likely will know exactly what I am talking about when I say this. Your daughter Callista has decided to help on the quest to possibly save Abigail Black. You know about this, but I must write to you all the same about the matter. I need your permission to send her on this quest. We must know if she will be alright and able to return to us.

In addition, even if you are certain that she will remain well, you must show concern for her departure on such a mission. This talking to her may be part of what keeps her alive.

Thank you for taking your time to read this letter.

Yours sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore"

Yes, Remus could recall the time-traveling incident in which his own daughter was certain of herself in the task of getting the four back to their place in time, and it would save Abby's life. She had no idea about any of it, but she would learn the truth about it. And she would be alright, although after a dangerous incident. He knew that he didn't have any reason to worry about her, but he was worried all the same.

***

Sitting within their potions classroom, the four time travelers discussed quietly their situation, wondering what potion they'd have to do now, after doing and complex and very identity-wise confusing Polyjuice Potion.

Soon, a teacher entered with incredibly greasy black hair, incredibly sallow skin, and incredibly dark robes. Everything that was "incredibly" about him made him appear more of a vampire-like character. This was without a doubt Severus Snape. Professor Severus Snape.

The four knew that as they would be leaving within two days, Dumbledore might not have to tell the staff why they came and went so quickly from Hogwarts for quite a while. Snape began to instruct his class on which page to turn to.

"Open your books. Turn to page," When his gaze fell upon the four, even the disguised appearances that McGonagall had given them could not shield Snape's eyes from who they truly were. "two hundred eighty-seven." He kept his eyes on the four. "We shall be going over a review of the potions we have made progress on since the beginning of term, so as to refresh your minds before your Christmas holidays."

They immediately knew that he was only saying this so that they might be caught stupid in class, not being able to recall the exact potions or even the slightest hints about them. One piece of evidence they had that he did not usually review with the class was the confused expression spread over the entire class as a whole, and even some curious muttering and whispers exchanged between some students, among which were Harry and Hermione, as well as Callie and a Slytherin girl with long black hair and deep emerald eyes.

***

"This class is dismissed," Snape said, and the time travelers shoved as much at once into their bags, so as to escape such a predicament as to have to talk to Snape in high chance of being deducted tremendous amounts of house points for very slight, ridiculous reasons or even no reason at all.

"You shall not be leaving so quickly," Snape said, "you four."

He was bound to say just that. The rest of the class scurried out, and Snape approached the four. "May I ask what you think you are doing here?" Snape asked them, disgust dripping from every word he said.

"We are transfer students," Sirius attempted.

"Then may I ask why your manner of speech is that of England?" Snape had caught Sirius wrong. "I don't understand why most students and teachers here are caught dim so easily with 'transfer student' titles such as your own. And those disguises. I don't see why you bother. It is extremely simple to recognize who you are, Potter. Black. Lupin. Pettigrew."

"Yes, we are. I suppose Dumbledore hasn't told you, then?" James said haughtily.

"No, he hasn't." Snape glared at them with lifelessly dark eyes. "I suggest you watch your step around here. As a student in my class, you shall behave properly."

James glared right back at Snape, and they were glaring in such a manner that one could assume that they were holding a hateful staring contest if one entered the room.

"You may go, Mr. Potter. And your pitiful friends, too." Snape spoke the final sentences rather loudly, even more loudly when stating James's surname, as well as putting extremely strong emphasis on it, so as to 'accidentally' notify a passerby of the classroom, the door of which was open, of James's identity, and possibly the others as well.

Peter poked James's arm, beckoning him to leave with them, as if Snape let them leave, they were more than glad to do as he bid them. So they turned and left the room, and not only were they glad; within each of their own heads, there was rejoicing. Snape was extremely unpleasant to be around, present or future. Or was it past?

***

Morgra was straining toward her. "What they did to me," she snarled. "Your mother's pack."

"They were mistaken, and they were wrong. But because of it you would have the world live forever in hate and guilt and darkness. Like some terrible story we can never escape."

"They betrayed me. The wolf is the Betrayer."

"Don't you know yet who the Betrayer really is?" growled Larka. "Hate is the Betrayer, Morgra, for it feeds on itself. Hate and its mother, Fear."

But Morgra's eyes were burning. "Then I will kill the thing you love. I will kill the child."

"Miss Lupin," said Professor McGonagall, coming into the Gryffindor common room again. Callie looked up from her book, which pained her to lay down. It was such a good book. Maybe just a novel, but there was more to it than just words spoken that were never truly said. Novels can't usually teach one the logic that fills the mind, which one can learn from schoolbooks, but they taught her many ethics that went straight to her heart, about the many different virtues and their effects on the ways of life. These ethics were very dear to her, and she learned as much about them as she could.

"Yes, Professor?" she asked her teacher curiously.

"Miss Lupin, Professor Dumbledore would like to see you in his office."

"Again, I was just in there this morning..."

"Yes, Professor. Right away." Callie finally managed to lay the book down and head for the office.

***

Walking down the halls of Hogwarts, which remained empty, as most of the students were studying in the library, Callie could feel chills of air around her, as the voice found its way back into her head, always there, haunting her. Trying to turn what good there was within her to darkness. Leeching her very life out of her. She never was able to make a decision without the voice in her ears, trying to affect her choices.

Callie tried to speed up so that she might become distracted by absolutely anything and the voice might be banished, but she only walked more slowly, the faster she attempted to go.

"It's the darkness inside of you," Darkness told her. "It's weakening you. You will grow weaker and weaker until you are unable to do anything for anyone."

"You lie!" Callie thought back. She heard a scuffling behind her and turned to see a shadowy figure turn to the nearest corridor, making her nervous.

"You think you're so great and pure," Darkness said. "No one is. There is sin in everyone, whether they like it or not. You should learn to accept that."

"I know that no one is perfect! Of course I'm not perfect! And one of the reasons why is because you're ringing in my ears all the days of my life!

"But only to help you, Callie. I want to help you. Surrender to Darkness. It's feeding off of Light within you. If you don't give up all the Light you have left for Darkness to consume, you will grow weak with the feeble resistance and selfishness."

Callie finally managed to speed up her pace, hoping that she would manage to get to the staircases soon, perhaps finding a friendly face who she could talk to rather than the voice of Darkness. "I'm not selfish! I don't' want to give in to Darkness because of what it is. It is a terrible evil that I strongly dislike. What is so selfish about that? Some of us are Light, and some of us are Dark."

"Everything," Darkness replied. "The Light needs the Darkness, it's true."

"Yes... the Light calls upon the Darkness..." Callie thought in a daze, "...as the Darkness calls upon the Light... They survive by calling upon each other... And when they succeed and come together, they are one..."

"You seek the Darkness," Darkness tried to convince her, perhaps assuming that Callie's daze meant that she was becoming assured of Darkness's benefits.

"I don't," Callie thought. "I seek the Light!" she said aloud. It seemed to banish Darkness, as the voice didn't call to her any longer.

Callie was able to run for the staircases, a shadow seeming to fall everywhere she looked. Maybe the shadowed figures were just figments of her imagination. Maybe Darkness had summoned her shadows to frighten her into surrendering.

"I'm not giving in!" Callie told herself, trying to be strong. She ran as quickly as possible along the staircases, hoping that they wouldn't move, toward Dumbledore's office. When she finally arrived, she was surprised to notice that the gargoyle had already stepped aside to welcome her, so she came in, relieved that Darkness had not disturbed her ever since she spoke the word Light.

"You called for me, Professor?"

"Oh, yes, Callie." Dumbledore beckoned to a chair for her, and she bowed slightly in thanks. She sat down in the chair.

"Well, Callie, your father is coming to wish you luck on this quest. He should arrive shortly. Also, he has already written back to me saying that you may depart to achieve your goal."

"Thank you for telling me, Professor. I will thank him."

"However, there is something else that I have told him." Dumbledore looked at Callie with a smile, yet it was nervous. It made Callie anxious about what it was. Had she done something terrible that her father needed to be notified about?

"What would that be, Sir?"

"I notice that something has been troubling you. I don't trust that you should wish to tell me, nor any of the other teachers, unless you consider your own father still one of your teachers." Remus had been the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in Callie's third year. Callie understood that Dumbledore had told Remus that something was indeed troubling her, and since Callie was very mysterious and secretive of most things as such, she could tell her father, if anyone.

"So I should talk to him about that, Professor?"

"Yes, Callie. Not to mean that you do not trust us, but perhaps," he paused for a moment, "he would understand better than any of your teachers. If I meant that I assumed your trust in any way, I would have offered to listen to your side of this matter, unsure of whom you trusted. This is not a matter of trust, but understanding. You trust your father, and he understands you. So I expect you to tell him."

"Thank you, Professor."

"I shall leave you here so that you may talk to him in silence. I will bring him to you. I do believe that I see his carriage arriving through my window." Dumbledore made a motion toward the window, and Callie wondered if that was an offer for her to look through it.

"Good day, Professor," Callie said as he left his office.

"Good day, Callie," Dumbledore closed the door behind him.

Callie got up to look out the window, and there, just as Dumbledore said, was her father, climbing out of his carriage. She retired to her seat to wait for him, choosing a spellbook off of one of Dumbledore's many cluttered shelves to look through.

***

"...clears the mind. This will leave the user of the spell in peace. This will work well on Lupiredes, who may hear voices within their own heads..."

"So I hear this voice... because I am a Lupirede? I am a Lupirede, but is that the reason?" Callie sat pondering, as she continued to read. She took no heed of the door to the office opening and closing.

"Callie?" came her father's voice. Callie lay the book on its side on the space between the spines of the books and the shelf's edge. She turned to look at her father, his light brown hair streaked with grey, though he was young, his amber eyes concerned yet confident. He was dressed in navy blue robes that might have been formal if they weren't so ragged.

"Hi, Papa," Callie walked over to hug her father.

Remus smiled at her. "I suppose Dumbledore told you what I am here to talk to you about?"

"Oh," said Callie. "Yes. He did." Callie was staring at the ground, giving Remus the idea that something most definitely was troubling her.

Remus directed her gently toward the seat she had been seated at before, and he sat on a corner of Dumbledore's desk, after making slight adjustments to whatever of Dumbledore's clutter was on that corner. "Well?"

"It's..." Callie hesitated. She couldn't even tell her own father, who she trusted with her very life. "Come on, Callie!" the voice within her, which was not Darkness, demanded of her. "Whenever I'm not doing anything, mostly walking through corridors or taking time to think..." She paused for a while.

"I can understand if you can't tell me," her father told her. "If you don't' think you can tell me, then you don't have to."

Callie shook her head, resisting the urge not to say anything. "It's like there's this voice... somewhere inside my head. Not my conscience. No shoulder angel, I can say that. It.... It's..."

Remus remained patient while Callie struggled to find the right way to word it. He found it hard to be cheerful with her being so confused and fearful, which she never seemed to be.

"It's like a voice of pure Darkness, trying to take over me and convince me that I've done terrible things. Blaming me for everything that has affected me life. I think the voice's motive is to get me to think that I'm so terrible I might as well give in to Darkness." Callie gulped in fear of the voice. She was afraid of it. She didn't want it to talk to her. However, that was not possible. It was a shadow upon her soul that she couldn't escape. The shadow was nearly impossible to shrink, but it could grow faster and faster, the more she surrendered.

Remus nodded. "You don't want to give in to that Darkness, Callie."

Callie removed her gaze from the floor to look her father in the eye. "I know I don't. But is there another reason to than that I might be trapped in dark thoughts?"

"There is what you just mentioned. You don't want to be mourning and afraid for the rest of your life. There is Fear, Hatred, Sorrow, Solitude, Anger, and then Darkness itself. So many dark virtues that will possibly take over you if you give in. Another thing that might happen is that you might end up like me. A real werewolf; not just a Lupirede."

Callie became pained to look at her father. She hated seeing any of her loved ones so upset about anything, and just the word "werewolf" seemed to pain him more than anything.

"You might not think that being a werewolf is very bad, but it hurts, Callie. I can't say that I know having a voice of Darkness inside my head will be less painful than being a werewolf, but you never know. Just try to accept what you have." Callie nodded to show that she understood. "I don't know how to free you of the voice. It's because of what's in you, Callie. Because your blood makes you half werewolf, you have tremendous amounts of dark power within you. Fortunately," he said, "maybe unfortunately, you have it fighting against you, meaning that you have enough Light within you to stand up for yourself when the Darkness comes for you."

Callie smiled. Having good in her as well as bad made her feel better. So the voice was wrong about everything she did being bad. This gave her confidence, "Thanks, Papa."

"I also wish you luck," he said, "helping Abby. I don't want you looking for too much trouble, okay?"

"Right," Callie said, and Remus, who had stood up, helped her up from her seat.

"I can't have you dying on me now," Remus pulled her into a tight embrace, much like the protective ones she had been given as a small child, always seeming to be afraid of something within or around her. "Everyone who I know I can count on is dead and gone," he said, "except you."

Callie knew that she had to stay alive then. She had always helped her father and friends. Even so, she was shocked that her father would ever need her alive and well as much as he did now.

"When Sirius died in the Department of Mysteries," Callie felt a twinge of pain. "I was very certain that I was alone. But then I remembered that you were still there, and I could count on you," Remus told her. "Do you understand? I need you to survive." He pulled out of the embrace and lowered himself to Callie's eye level. "Pettigrew might follow you."

That thought frightened Callie, but she understood. "I do understand. I'll be alright."

Remus kissed Callie's forehead and headed to the door. "Good luck," he said, before closing the door behind him.

Callie smiled at him. "Good-bye, Papa."

"'Bye, Callie." Remus closed the door behind himself.

"It's...full moon tonight..." Callie suddenly thought, sinking into prayer. "Please let Papa return home safely. Don't let him get hurt. And don't let him hurt anyone."

***

Remus sat in the common room. Most of the students from the library had returned. But where was Callie? She hadn't been in the library; she should have been in the common room. Remus didn't even know why he noticed she had vanished. Why was he paying so much attention to her?

"Oh, yes," he told himself, distracting his thoughts from her, "full moon tonight. I need to work around that..."

Just as he was about to stand to go ask Dumbledore to help him work around his unfortunate circumstance, Callie came through the portrait hole. She had a stressed, confident, lost, and frightened look upon her face all at the same time, an almost impossible expression.

Remus was about to greet her when she suddenly clasped her hands to her ears. She fell against the wall beside her.

***

"No! No!" Callie was gasping for air, unable to breathe.

"I told you that you would become weak. But you don't listen. You never listen, do you?"

"The Light is the greater power!" Callie thought. "It will triumph!"

Darkness laughed in Callie's ear. "Foolish girl. So young, so naive. You must learn what is best for you. Darkness has chosen you in particular. It has always been with you. If you just surrender to me, you can gain a great power."

"I don't want power!" Callie told it. "I want to be normal!"

Anger, Fear, Solitude, Hatred, and Sorrow, everything her father had warned her of, became known to Callie as they began to seep into her soul. She tried to build up all of the Light within her to fight it. "Hope, Desire, Beauty, Love, Kindness..." she thought, still attempting to gather all of her Light.

Suddenly, a hand was laid on her shoulder. It was Hermione. "Callie, are you--"

The collision of the two powers of Light and Darkness caused a surge of something between pure energy and rage. "GET OFF ME!" Callie screamed, shoving away from Hermione, and then she noticed that nearly everyone in the common room was looking at her. She collapsed again in weakness, Darkness no longer calling out to her.

"I'm sorry.... Hermione," she said.