"The willing, destiny guides
them. The unwilling,
destiny drags them."

A leaf fell onto Callista's parchment as she sat in the shade under a tree in the Hogwarts grounds. Genevieve had dragged the group outside to study in the sun that appeared after a full week of hiding behind the clouds. The rest of her friends, save for Rabastan who leaned over her shoulder and brushed away the leaf, sat in the sun. As for her, she was not excited for the heat that would come with the season progressing further into Spring and then Summer.

"Wait, your essay is different from mine," Rabastan said, glancing back and forth between the two essays.

Not lifting her eyes from her own essay, Fallon said, "It's generally supposed to be."

Callista sighed and glanced at his Charms essay. She continued writing her own essay. "You're doing it on the wrong spell."

"What?" He scanned through his essay. "Isn't on Incendio?"

She looked at him in bewilderment. "We did Incendio in First Year. It's Acendio."

"We did it last year too," He mumbled.

Fallon looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "We did revision on it."

"Same thing." He leaned further over Callista's shoulder, his chest pressing against her back as he read through her own essay.

Her breath caught in her throat at his closeness but she forced herself to finish her conclusion and let him read through it. He moved back and Callista released her breath.

"This makes so much more sense."

"Obviously, we did it in class yesterday."

"I wasn't paying attention."

Aidan threw a scrunched up piece of parchment at him. "No, you were too busy staring at Callista." Staring at her? Why would he be staring at her?

Rabastan caught it and threw it back. "How would you know? You spent the whole class staring at Emmeline Vance."

His face turned red and the boys laughed.

"Vance?" She asked. "You like her?"

"No," Aidan said but his voice betrayed him.

"Ask her out." Genevieve encouraged, sitting up, her face lighting up in excitement. She loved a good romance.

"Nah," Aidan shook his head. "She wouldn't like me."

Callista's own experience with Emmeline was limited but she could see where Aidan was coming from. She was friends with quite a few Gryffindors who were quite vocal in their dislike for Slytherins. Aidan was not perfect, but he had a good heart. She knew it would not last as the war progressed and he was dragged further into the Dark Arts.

~~~

The day progressed and soon Callista was getting ready to sneak into the Gryffindor Common Room to celebrate James' birthday. Earlier that day James had said she could bring Fallon and Genevieve but she could see that he was wary about them. He still held so much discontent for Slytherins but she had stopped trying to change his mind.

Fallon laid back on her bed, throwing an apple into the air and catching it. "How long to I have to stay?"

Genevieve looked at her and frowned. "We're going to keep our friend company, we stay as long as she does." Her voice was stern.

"Stay for about an hour or two and then I'll just annoy Remus, if Sirius isn't all over him." She opened at the door and looked back to them, gesturing for them to leave.

Fallon got up, following her out the door. "Leaving you to fifth wheel two couples? Definitely."

Genevieve left last, shaking her head at her two friends.

They walked into the common room that was lit by the warm glow of the fire and filled with the sounds of light chatter. The only people still awake were Aidan, Magorian, Rabastan, and Severus. They waved to the girls who began their journey trying to sneak out. They only had to avoid any teachers who were awake. James, being Head Boy, told all the prefects not to tell on anyone trying to get to the Gryffindor Common Room or he would take points. James, being James, they all believed he would not be afraid to take points from anyone, even his own house.

The halls were quiet and they avoided anyone with ease, only passing a Hufflepuff Prefect who winked at them when they passed.

The Gryffindor Common Room was roaring with life and people who talked and laughed in groups. James was at the centre of it all and many people of all houses, except Slytherins, surrounded him.

Fallon scowled and Genevieve nudged her adm to get her to stop. Callista sighed at the two and then walked forward to greet James.

"Cal!" He saw her and dropped the conversation he seemed to be engaged in.

"James!" She pulled him into a tight hug. "Happy Birthday!" She pulled back and met his wide grin with one of her own. She already gave him his gift that morning, which was a new Quidditch jumper of his favourite team. He was wearing it now, and the colours of the Montrose Magpies, clashed with his Gryffindor scarf in a horrendous mix of colours.

Her two friends behind her wished him a happy birthday, one normal and one mumbled. She almost shook her head but let them be. She wandered off to a corner with them following behind her and she found Remus and Sirius sitting together, though Sirius seemed eager to leave.

"Can I please go?" He begged him as they approach. He spotted Callista and grabbed her wrist and in one swift motion, threw her into the seat he was on. "You can have her." The worried came out hurried and he ran away, taking his place at James' side.

"What was that about?" Callista asked, a beginnings of laughter filling her voice.

Remus sighed and leaned back in the chair. "I forced him to stay with me so I wouldn't be alone."

"Ah. Where's Peter?"

"Oh, he was smart. Ate a bunch of sweets and claimed sickness so he could sneak off until most of the people leave."

"Clever," Fallon added. They were still standing.

Remus looked up at her and his eyes widened slightly. He moved across the couch and Callista followed, allowing space for the two of them, though only Genevieve sat down on the couch. Fallon sat on Callista's lap.

She tried to shove her off, groaning, "Must you." When her attempts failed, she sighed and wrapped her arms around her waist in defeat.

"Did he really have to have a party this year?" She asked Remus.

He nodded. "He said it was his last year and he had to make it worth it."

"Of course he did. The prick." She tried adjusting in her seat but she ended up only making herself more uncomfortable. Fallon only chuckled. "Why did we have to come now anyway? I could've come later so it'd just be us."

"He doesn't think about those things."

"Right. Yes. I should know this."

The party passed by in a rush and soon she was saying goodbye to Fallon and Genevieve and moving to sit next to Lily and James and on long couch in front of the fireplace. Remus sat on an arm chair on the right and Sirius sat on the floor between his legs. Dorcas and Marlene shared the other armchair, the latter sitting on one of the arms. Peter joined Sirius on the floor and Alice sat on the arm of the chair beside Lily.

Sirius chucked another piece of parchment into the fire, leaning his head against Remus' knee.

Dorcas brought up the question of are they dating and they were met with a shy, mumbled yes, and an enthusiastic nod.

"Is everyone here in a relationship except Peter?" Alice asked, glancing at the boy. Her own boyfriend, Frank Longbottom, had retired to his dorm earlier, declaring he was too tired to stay up any longer with her.

Peter nodded and Sirius patted him on the shoulder. "Won't be long before you find someone."

Peter held up a pumpkin pasty and said, "I've got more than enough right here."

James huffed. "Doesn't mention his dear friends at all."

"We discussed this already, we'd all betray you for food," Callista added.

He sniffed. "Some friends you are." His facade did not hold and the grin that was on his face all evening returned.

"Can we really say Greengrass has a boyfriend if it's Lestrange. Anyone can see he's corrupt." Marlene glared at Callista, her gaze unflinching.

"Marls," Lily cautioned.

She frowned. "It's not really your place to comment on my relationship."

"Well, no one here disagrees." She glanced at James who had decided to keep quiet. He did not even try to defend her.

"If none of you want me here, I guess I'll leave." She got up and made her way around the couch to leave.

James got up and grabbed her wrist. "Wait. Don't leave. I want you here."

"Let me go." Her voice was hard, telling him that now was not the time to talk.

He looked at her, understanding. With a reluctant glance, he loosened his grip and lowered his own hand. As she turned to leave, Marlene added. "If you hang around the snakes long enough, you'll become one."

Callista looked at her. "I am one." Her tone was cold. They wanted her to be a snake. She would be a snake. She turned for a final time and walked out the Common Room door.

The hallways were empty and quiet as she walked through them. She walked through the dark halls, the way to the Dungeons inked into her brain. It was a path she knew well and it gave her time to reflect over what happened.

James did not like Rabastan and she could respect that. She was wary of the same things he was, but he did not even try to ease the tension or change the topic. He let McKinnon chastise her and judge her when he knew that this whole situation was out of her control. That it was not a choice she could make.

Would she even choose different if she could? She liked Rabastan. He was good company and he made her laugh, but there was something darker inside his heart. The same darkness his brother possessed, that his brother embraced. Would he do the same? There were days when she looked at him and it felt like they were two normal teenagers with no troubles or worries about the future. Other days, she looked at him and was reminded of their situation, their future. Their feelings, genuine or not, were only there because they had to be. They could not love another because they were supposed to marry each other.

However, she would not be ashamed. No matter how much others tried to make her feel it. She could not sit in her own self-pity, she would embrace it. She would embrace him because there was nothing else she could do. If she could be happy with him, she would try. There had to be light at the end of this, because if there was not she did not know what she would do. She had to be willing to do it, because it was going to happen either way.

She whispered the password to the portrait and it swung open. She walked in and was ready to fall over onto the floor and sleep there for the night. Her body ached and her mind was weary. Her objective changed when she saw who was sitting in the common room, still awake.

Rabastan sat on and armchair, staring into the fire. He was chewing on his lip but he stopped when he heard the portrait door swing shut. He turned and saw her standing there, her sleeves pulled over her hands and a look of determination across her features.

He glanced at the clock on the wall behind her. "You're back early." Early as in before 4:00am.

"What are you doing up?" She asked, taking a few steps towards him.

"I couldn't sleep, so I did some homework." His books and quills were spread out on the coffee table in front of the fire.

She stood in front of him and he furrowed his brows, but he did not speak. They were close enough that if one of them took a deep breath they would touch. She leaned on her toes and rose slightly. She glanced from his eyes to his lips and back up to find his eyes stayed on her lips. When he did not move, she rose further and pushed her lips against his, her hands moving to his chest and shoulders.

He pushed back, one hand raising to cup her neck and the other to her waist to steady them. He was shocked by the force of it but he responded with the same energy. They broke apart and their eyes fluttered open. His eyes ran back and forth across her face looking for any sign of regret, of hesitation, but he found none.

She titled her chin up and met his lips again, softer this time, though her heart still pounded in her chest. When they parted, they stayed silent as they looked at each other. They were no longer just two people forced into an engagement. They were something more as they stood on the edge of a cliff, balancing between war and love. The path ahead was foggy but they were further than they had been before.

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Writing these on my laptop makes it so much easier to write more lol

Anyway enjoy! <3

– walkingmasterpiece xx