A/N Here we are, Chapter three! Thank you for the review! Yay-ness! This chapter is for you, hotredhead!


A screaming met Severus's ears as he walked into the order house, about three days after he had escorted Calliope there. He sighed with a shake of his head. He hated Sirius with a passion, and Calliope was just another log on the fire of his passion. Sirius had toyed around with many a girl and he had not minded… but the seemingly delicate fairy warrior should not have been some woman he liked playing house with as he went out on his many conquests with half of the wizarding population. No, one did not play house with someone like her. She was a rare jewel to be studied. Not that he didn't mind the new attitude adjustment that had taken place in Sirius's absence… her wide-eyed fighter for the side of good had made her a bit of a bore sometimes… But the new Calliope, the enchanting, dark, and mysterious woman he had met once in Ukraine and then again in the club was a black emerald amongst a bunch of rocks.

He growled as his thoughts were once again interrupted by screaming from the war room. Everyone seemed to be milling around as the screams stopped, Molly looking almost teary-eyed at the door to the war-planning room. Severus looked to her, raising an eyebrow.

"What in the world is making all that racket? Another one of the twins' experiments?" He asked, looking to Molly, who shook her head.

"No Professor Snape… that would be your science experiment." She responded, pulling some cotton from her ears. "Calliope has lodged herself on top of the china cabinet and has been screaming for someone named Tryca for the last two days… She's stopped for the night, I think. She usually does."

Severus stared at the woman like she had an extra-head. Calliope was on top of the china cabinet? Screaming a woman's name? His science experiment? He frowned before he went into the planning room.

"Professor, don't do that! You'll catch fire! Charlie has already been scorched by her!"

Severus ignored the warning and walked in, closing the door. The china cabinet in question was sitting in a dark corner of the room, a very strategic spot if someone was trying to keep watch on the rest of the room. He silently applauded Calliope's instincts as he slowly made his way to the cabinet, levitating himself up with a silent mutter of a spell.

What he saw nearly made his eyes pop out of his head. There in the corner, covered in dust and grime was a small girl, about the age of three. Mismatched eyes peered at him, and a small sound came from the back of her throat. He pocketed his wand and lifted his hands, showing her that they were empty.

"I will not hurt you, Calliope." He said softly, trying to soothe the girl. She took a moment and moved forward a little bit, her grey-green eyes watching him.

"Not even a little bit?" She asked softly, with a small lisp that came from being a child, he supposed.

"Not even a little bit. Will you come out with me? I can get you food and some clothes." He promised matter-of-factly, almost feeling a spark of protectiveness over the small girl. Dumbledore had asked him to make an aging potion a few weeks before, and he had thought nothing of it, giving it to him with a silent nod. Dumbledore must have found some spell to make her mind one of a small child as well.

"Will you make the red people leave me alone?" She asked, looking at him, as if debating on whether or not to leave the quiet of her hiding space.

Immediately Severus realized what must have spooked the child. All the Weasleys were here for Ron and Hermione's nuptials. Having the whole group, at least twelve people, crowd a small child who had no clue where she was…

He was surprised and mildly disappointed they all hadn't been burned to a crisp. Charlie's hair must have been either a warning or a misfire.

"Yes, but you must stay with me." He said with finality. He made this, he was going to take care of it. Calliope crawled to him, climbing into his arms and clinging to him tightly. Severus frowned and moved her weight to his hip, walking out into the main room.

"Would you like food or clean clothes first?" He asked, looking down at her. She thought for a moment.

"A bath… then clothes…then food. I feel yucky." He chuckled slightly, looking around.

"Well, we must find a bath, and then a lady can give you one."

"Will she be nice?" She asked, looking to him.

"Yes, I promise… can she be one of the redhead ladies?" He asked, causing the small child in his arms a moment's pause. He looked down at her, wondering what in the world she was wearing. It was a white dress that seemed to poof out into a confection of lace, and the thing was tied off with a pink ribbon. He made a small sound of disgust, hoping it wasn't her choice to wear this.

"Okay… but only one. And you have to promise she will be nice, and talk slow." Severus chuckled. Apparently he wasn't the only one that disliked the family's loud chattering ways.

"I promise." He said, motioning Ginny out of the kitchen, and she was all too happy to escape her mother's talk of the birds and the bees. She must have assumed that Ginny was the next one to be married, and would be sometime soon.

"I see you managed to get her out, Professor." She said, nodding to Calliope, shaking her head at the dress.

"Hermione's idea to transfigure her robes into that." She said, shaking her head. "Did you need something?" Severus let out a sigh if relief that it wasn't Calliope's decision to wear the…thing.

"Yes…she needs a bath, and new clothes…" He said, motioning to the small girl in his lap.

Ginny smiled. "Just hand her over to me, Professor, and I will handle it." Severus nodded to the young girl, the only one with some sense in the house now, and handed over Calliope.

Calliope looked started for a moment, staring at Snape, who nodded. "You'll be fine." He said, and she relaxed as Ginny took her to the large bathroom, silently tapping the door with her wand to lock it.

Severus sighed a bit, looking down the hallway. What was Dumbledore thinking?