moral obligation and confundus charms

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November 30, 1977
10:31 pm
Dumbledore's Office

"BECAUSE HER NAME LEFT THE FUCKING MAP!" Sirius shouted, slamming the parchment in front of Dumbledore. "DOES THAT NOT CONCERN YOU?"

"Maybe your Map is incorrect," Dumbledore said calmly. "It is entirely possible, especially considering that tracking is incredibly complicated magic and you have all not graduated yet. Have you considered checking the places you would usually find her?"

He was met by the ten disbelieving, furious stares of Lily, James, Peter, Frank, Alice, Dorcas, Marlene, Sirius, Remus and Leo.

"HAVE WE CHECKED THE PLACES WE WOULD USUALLY FIND HER?!" Marlene repeated back in a roar. "NO, WE JUST STUMBLED AROUND BLINDFOLDED AND HOPED THAT WE WOULD RUN INTO HER!"

"Well, Miss Callaway is quite the loud one, is she not?" Dumbledore prompted, and Leo's fist curled. "I'm sure that if she was in any trouble, she would have made quite the scene of leaving and we would all know."

"She was getting something she left down by the Black Lake, and everyone is in the Great Hall," Sirius snapped, eyes flaring. "We wouldn't have been able to hear her if she screamed at the top of her lungs."

"Please, remind me how long she's been missing for," Dumbledore said.

"Forty seven minutes," Leo said after checking his watch. "And Anneliese would never just leave without an explanation. That's not the kind of person she is."

"Yea, even when she went to New York that one time, she told us, actually yelled, I think, where she was going," James added, running a stressed hand through his spiky black hair. "She would make us feel bad before she left if we deserved it."

"Well, then perhaps none of you were the issue here," Dumbledore suggested, just a tad bit too confidently for Leo's comfort and trust. "She has a world outside of you ten."

"What the hell aren't you telling us?" Anderson snapped, standing beside Sirius with his hands flat on the desk and leaning towards Dumbledore. "You know something about this that we don't, don't you?"

"Or you're just a shit headmaster that doesn't care if one of his students went missing," Black snapped. "Maybe you're even happy based on how much you dislike her and the fact that she figured something out you didn't."

"Of course I care, Mr. Black," the headmaster replied. "I just believe that you should let the adults worry about this if there is reason to worry at all. The ball is to go on until midnight, if I'm not mistaken. That's still another hour and a half to enjoy yourselves-"

"ARE YOU FUCKING JOKING?!" Alice shouted, pounding her fist down onto his desk. "ENJOY OURSELVES WHEN OUR FRIEND IS MISSING? YOU THINK WE'RE HEARTLESS?"

Peter shrunk away from the argument. He was feeling dread, but for a different reason than the fear of Anneliese's safety with the fact that she was missing.

Things in his plan had been going perfectly until now.

"Miss Callaway is not missing," Dumbledore said firmly. "She has been gone for less than an hour, and all ten of you are making a much bigger deal out of it than it is. It is highly possible that she could show up any moment and this all could be for nothing."

"Yea, well it's also highly possible that she won't," Sirius said, leaning forward so that his necklaces were dangling apart from his chest. "You know better than anyone that she has a target on her back, professor."

"You would do well to let this go for the night, Mr. Black," Dumbledore said. "I am aware about your two's dance, but that is not a cause to be so upset. I will update you in the morning if anything is wrong."

A shock of guilt went through Pettigrew about the dance. He shouldn't have interfered.

"So you want us just to wait around and do nothing?" Lily asked furiously. "We're leaving tomorrow and then not coming back for a month! What if she comes back and we're already on the Express? You expect us to just accept that?"

"I am not expecting it of you," Dumbledore said, looking each of them in the eye. "I am ordering you, as your headmaster, not to do anything. If there is something wrong, it is not your job to handle it."

"But we want to!" James cried emphatically. "You can't-"

"I can," Dumbledore said, his tone becoming more firm. "And all ten of you are to leave this office this instant, otherwise there will be severe consequences. If I hear that any of you have taken matters into your own hands or gone looking, then you will regret it. Understood?"

"Not understood," Leo snapped. "I guess I'll just have two headmasters who hate me now."

The other nine followed Anderson's example of not acknowledging Dumbledore's warning, until Frank finally slammed the door on his way out so forcefully that the portraits above the door frame rattled on their hooks.

Severe consequences my ass, Sirius thought bitterly as he lit a cigarette and placed it between his lips. What could be more severe than her missing?

December 1, 1977
9:01 am
The Burrow

The first thing Anneliese noticed was the smell.

The strong scent filling her senses was pure warmth, with rich, full cloves, soft cinnamon, and another few spices that she could recognize from the Great Hall during Halloween but quite put a name to.

Among this, wherever she was smelled like something was cooking, like muffins or bread or some form of wintery pie that just the nutty scent of alone made her feel like she was being wrapped into a warm blanket.

And the second thing she noticed was that she was wrapped in a warm blanket.

Someone had taken off her shoes and tucked her under a sheet, quilt, duvet, blanket, and what felt like at least five throws and pillows.

It was soft and the pressure on her body felt heavenly, and some irrational part of Anneliese wanted to stay in the most comfortable bed she'd ever been in and let herself get some highly deserved rest.

But the reasonable part of her told her to get the hell up and figure out what was going on.

Her eyes flew open as her hands ran along the lines of her underwear, scanning the room around her for some sort of indication if she was safe or not.

The same person had gently set her heels on top of a stack of clothes that included a large crimson sweater with an F on it along with some grey sweatpants and a pair of pink and blue striped fuzzy socks.

The room itself had a slanted ceiling, like she was in an attic, and was somehow both extremely cluttered and tidy at the same time. There was a slightly shabby rug on the ground, but instead of looking old, it just looked like it was loved.

The space was small and lit by a lamp on a wooden, chipped dresser along with the beginnings of a sunrise peeking through the window.

Anneliese rushed forward, shoving the thin white curtains aside, to look at where she was.

And where she was happened to be absolutely nowhere.

As far as the eye could see in the dusky purple light were rolling, lush green hills and coppery fields of tall grass with a more marshy area to the east side. She also saw from this viewpoint how she was very high up, confirming her theory that she was in an attic.

Anneliese ignored the pile of clothes, moving towards the door barefoot in her black dress and his black jacket. Her fingers wrapped around the knob, silently praying that it wasn't locked.

The door swung open, and she sighed in relief.

Her hand gripped around her less powerful wand, which hadn't been taken from her nor had the other, as she swiftly descended down the stairs, feet padding softly and not making a single noise. She had no idea where she was going to end up.

As she got lower, Anneliese could begin to hear voices and sounds.

There were a few high pitched giggles and shouts from very distinctly toddler boys and scolding from a woman who Callaway assumed was their mother. Some dishes clinked together and water began to run as a timer went off.

Anneliese's brows furrowed. This didn't seem like a very dangerous place.

But then again, neither had the foster home at first. No one, no girl, could ever be too careful when it came to this sort of thing.

She held her wand out in front of her as she stepped into the low ceilings of the kitchen.

The room was packed full.

A woman with flaming orange, short hair cut sharply to her chin was pulling a tray of pumpkin muffins from the oven while a man teasingly wrapped his arms around her pregnant belly and kissed her on the cheek.

A dark skinned man wearing a blue sweater was sitting at the large, rickety wooden table with another who had scars all over his face and extremely scraggly eyebrows.

Gideon and Fabian entered from another entrance, both shirtless and yawning enormously.

The woman who had introduced herself as Andromeda was talking to a man with their hands together on the table while he gently rubbed his thumb on the back of her palm with a soft smile. He had a tiny child cradled in his arms, one with a tuft of red hair on his little head.

Around the legs of all the adults, three children were running around, nearly tripping all of them in the process.

The youngest was a little girl who couldn't be more than four with bright purple hair and a duck bill for a nose. Two little ginger boys, the oldest looking to be seven and the middle five were shrieking and giggling as she chased them.

The whole room was filled with smiles and muffins and laughter. It made Anneliese instantly feel like she didn't belong.

The woman who had pulled out the muffins was the first to notice her standing there.

Her eyes judgmentally scanned Callaway up and down, from the tattoos to the dark makeup to the black dress to the toned muscles and tight, freckled skin.

"Andy, she's awake," the woman said with a frown as she looked at Anneliese. "And apparently very aggressive."

Andromeda turned to look at Callaway, a soft smile on her face.

"Forgive Molly," she said. "She can be very judgemental. And put your wand down, dearest. You're going to scare the kids."

Sure enough, the two boys and little girl had hidden themselves behind the legs of the woman Anneliese now knew was named Molly and the man that she assumed was her husband based on the matching rings on their fingers.

"Yea, well I'm a kid and you're scaring me," Anneliese snapped. "So, no. I'm not putting my wand down until someone tells me what the hell is going on here. Who are all you people, and what do you want from me?"

"And that is the correct response," the man with the rough eyebrows said in a coarse voice and satisfied tone. "You people are already trying to soften her up, aren't you?"

"Anneliese, please put your wand down," Fabian said, eyes darting all across her. "None of us are going to hurt you, alright?"

"A little too late for that," she retorted, voice dripping with venom. "You're the people who knocked me out and took me away from Siri- and took me away from Hogwarts right when things were even slightly starting to go well."

Andromeda's eyebrows shot up, but she said nothing yet.

"Yes, we do apologize for that method of getting you here," she said instead, sounding genuinely sorry. "But we didn't think you were going to come willingly in the first place, and then you proved it to us instantly."

"So you kidnapped me?!" Anneliese shouted, and the man in blue winced slightly. "What kind of people are you?"

"I think kidnapping would be a bit of a harsh term," he said, voice low and rumbling like summer thunder. "You're perfectly welcome to go at any time you please, but you would be morally obliged to stay."

"And why exactly would that be?" Anneliese asked in a freezing tone. "Please explain before I blow up this entire fucking kitchen."

"You're not powerful enough to do that," Molly muttered.

"Am I not?" Callaway challenged, narrowing her eyes. "Try me, Molly."

"I think everybody just needs to calm down," Fabian said, holding his hands up for peace. "A, wand down. Molly, I love you to pieces, but please just stop. She's right. She deserves an explanation, so we're going to give her one."

Molly went back to aggressively doing dishes, and Anneliese slowly lowered her wand.

"Let's start with names, shall we?" she suggested, guard still far from down. "Who are you? Even the kids."

"Well, you know me and my brother," Fabian said, gesturing to him and Gideon. "That's my sister, Molly, and her husband, Arthur. You already met Andy, and that's her husband, Ted."

They all gave Anneliese slightly wary nods.

"These two are aurors from the Ministry," he continued, nodding to the men at the table. "Kingsley and Moody. The one Ted's holding is Percy, he's a year old. That's Bill, that's Charlie, and that's Dora."

"Why is there a dog on your leg?" Dora asked blatantly. "Is that your favorite animal?"

"Not anymore," Anneliese replied coldly, only sparing the little girl a very brief glance. "And why did this lovely little makeshift family have to take me away from mine? Have I done something to any of you?"

"Quite the opposite, actually," Arthur said, wiping his hands off on a dish towel. "You happen to be looking at a very large number of Order members, and we need your help."

Anneliese laughed cruelly, and the sound sent a shiver down Fabian's spine. What had happened to her while he was gone?

"I'm so very sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not a member of the Order," she said in a tone that said she was not at all sorry for disappointing them. "And I never plan on being one either."

"And why is that?" Andromeda asked, turning in her chair towards Anneliese. "You do believe in working against the Death Eaters, do you not?"

"I've fought Death Eaters before and knocked out a dozen of them on multiple occasions," Callaway snapped. "And I'm muggleborn. Does it seem like I would want to work with them?"

"Then why are you not an Order member?" Ted asked. "You're not too young."

"There are so many things wrong with that," Anneliese said with a small shake of her head. "But the main reason is because Dumbledore is an awful person that does not deserve either my loyalty nor my friends. Is that a good enough explanation?"

"Fair enough," Andromeda muttered, and Anneliese tried to hide her surprise. "But you don't seem like the kind of person who would back away from a chance to help our side even if it does get her in trouble. Am I right?"

She couldn't shake the feeling that she recognized this woman although she had never seen her before in her entire life.

"The chances normally come to me first," Callaway said honestly. "I never go looking for a fight, the fight tends to find me."

"Well, then we have something in common," Andromeda smiled. "Would you like to hear the details?"

"Do I get to go back to my friends once I hear the details?" Anneliese challenged. "Or am I stuck here until you've gotten whatever you want from me?"

"And who exactly is it that you want to see?" Molly asked, and Callaway stiffened. "What exactly did we interrupt for you that was so important?"

Anneliese opened her mouth to reply, but then found that the words didn't come right away. What had she been taken away from?

"I'd rather be in different things. Like in between your legs."

"They don't know how to get you to make those sweet little whimpers and groans. They don't know how to make you beg for it."

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Are you aware how much is fucked up in your head? Or should I spell it out for you?"

"You seem like a whole new person with the all black and your hands all over Malfoy, whispering god knows what in his ear."

"I miss the old A."

"I care about you, and in the right ways."

"You don't have to be angry. I'm so sorry, Anneliese, I'm so sorry."

"May I have this dance?"

Andromeda watched with slight confusion. This girl's face had changed from cold and cruel to broken and hurt to hopeless and scared to angry and regretful and then back to cold and cruel in a matter of seconds.

She had obviously been through some major bullshit recently, and Andromeda silently hoped that the black leather jacket she was wearing had nothing to do with any of that.

Molly seemed to regret her pointed question as she watched Anneliese's face.

I shouldn't have kissed him. What possessed me to kiss him? That wasn't me. I only danced with him because I was desperately trying to be happy, not because I wasn't upset. How could I possibly have been so damn stupid?

"You didn't interrupt anything," Anneliese said finally. "I'm ready. What do I have to do?"

Fabian frowned. This wasn't right. The Anneliese he knew would have done anything to get back to her friends, get back to Sirius right now. Someone, most likely Black, must have messed up big time for her to be acting like this.

Andromeda pressed her lips together.

"You might want to sit down for this," she said with a sigh, gesturing to the chair across the table from her. "It's going to be a lot to take in."

"I have a suggestion first," Molly said, still frowning. "Perhaps Anneliese could find something else to change into? That dress can't possibly be very comfortable, and it's not a very good influence for Dora either."

Fabian and Andromeda both began to say something with furious expressions, but Callaway just held up a tired hand.

"It's fine," she said, running a hand down her face in exhaustion and wanting to pick her battles wisely. "I think I saw some clothes upstairs anyways."

"That poor girl," Andromeda said as she shook her head. "You can't even let her wear something that's not as frumpy and conservative as you in peace, can she?"

"That poor girl is walking around in my kitchen in a scrap of black silk and flaunting those ridiculous tattoos like they're some kind of trophies," Molly snapped back. "If we're trying to be professional in this, then that is certainly not the way to do it."

"I thought she looked fine," Fabian muttered, taking a very long sip of tea as he pictured her standing there again, vision still pleasantly fresh.

"She can wear a damn blazer with nothing underneath for all I care as long as she gets the job done," Andromeda said, and Fabian quickly exited the kitchen. "Besides, I think we need to irritate her as little as possible."

"Why, because you think she's going to explode all of the sudden?" Molly scoffed. "Or blow up this kitchen as she threatened? She's unstable and angry and broken. You can tell from just her expressions. We can't trust her."

"She hasn't given us a reason not to yet, Molly," Arthur said soothingly. "And would you not be angry too in her situation? She's a Gryffindor, really. We aren't exactly known to be the most calm people."

The words of her husband seemed to reach her more than Andromeda's.

"Fine," Molly muttered finally. "But if she ends up making everything go wrong, then don't say that I didn't warn you."

Ted rolled his eyes.

"I highly doubt I'm going to make everything go wrong in whatever little scheme yall have planned," Anneliese said coolly as she walked down the stairs. "And if you have something to say to me, say it to my face."

Molly's cheeks

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