AN: Thanks for reading, especially those of you who have left a review!

Don't worry, Snape is not about to turn into a big softy. I intend to keep him greasy and horrible, just the way I like him ;-)

Here's the third chapter as promised, next one will be up shortly after the weekend.

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything you recognise.

Calliope's tears were flowing freely as she entered the girl's bathroom down the hall from the potions classroom. The bathroom wasn't empty, but fortunately the only other occupants were a pair of first year Gryffindors who were smart enough to pretend, after their initial surprise, that they didn't notice the older girl. Calliope locked herself in one of the stalls, sat down on the toilet and collapsed with her head in her lap. For a while, she just huddled. If any of the girls coming and going from the bathroom, noticed her muffled cries, none of them attempted to speak to her.

He is going to drop me from potions.

The thought was so horrendous it seemed made her want to wail.

I have one more chance. But I'll probably just mess up gain. I just can't seem to do anything right in potions these days. By all the deities in the pantheon, what am I going to do? I can't fail…

A typical Ravenclaw, the thought of being a failure at anything academic was so alien, so…humiliating. Of course, Calliope wasn't perfect. She sometimes messed up new spells in Charms and Transfiguration. She didn't always get 'Outstanding' in tests: she got her share of 'Exceed Expectations' and even the occasional 'Acceptable'. But with practice, she always mastered spells in the end and she had never outright failed a test. Not ever. Even in Herbology and Astronomy, her worst two subjects by far, she had easily managed an 'E' in the OWLs.

Eventually the worst of her tears subsided. When she was sure there was nobody else in the bathroom, Calliope came out the stall. Standing by one of the sinks she looked at herself in the mirror. Not surprisingly, her face was all swollen, her eyes puffy and red and her nose a colour to match. Not that she was much to look at in the first place, or such was Calliope's opinion of herself. She did like her eyes, which were large and dark brown, but her face was forever breaking out, and her hair, which she usually wore in a messy ponytail, was a dirty blonde. When freshly washed and combed it could be sleek and shiny, but it tended to turn into a frizzy tangle again about five minutes later. Calliope was tall, but not in a graceful sort of way; she was awkward and clumsy. It had been a relief not having to struggle through flying lessons anymore after first year.

Calliope ran the cold water tap and washed her face. It improved her appearance somewhat, but she still looked a mess. I am going to have to get back to the common room some time. Might as well do it now. She figured that it would be dinner time by now. The halls would be deserted, so with a little luck she could sneak back to the Ravenclaw tower without being seen. She would skip the meal itself, she wasn't particularly hungry anyway.

Moving quickly to the familiar corridors, she chose the shortest route to the Ravenclaw tower. On the way, Calliope encountered one or two people heading in the opposite direction, running late for dinner, down towards the Great Hall, but fortunately, no fellow Ravenclaws amongst them.

The brass eagle doorknocker shone in the faint sunlight of the setting sun filtering in from the windows overhead as it intoned, 'Why did the scorpion sting the turtle as they were crossing the river, causing them both to drown?'

'Because it is in his nature,' Calliope answered without needing to think. As she went through, she couldn't help but be a bit surprised at how easy the riddle had been. Perhaps the knocker had sensed I'm upset and decided to let me off the hook for once. She wondered, not for the first time, why the Ravenclaw common room could not just have a password like everybody else. I'm all for learning, but come on, sometimes I really wish I could just enter my dorm without having to argue my way to a logical problem first.

There was nobody else in the Common Room. It seemed as if everybody else had gone down for dinner. That was a relief. Calliope took her favourite chair by the fire, and was not at all surprised when out of nowhere her cat, a black-and-white fatso by the name of Mr. Wobbles, appeared, settled himself on her lap and purring loudly as she obligingly scratched him behind his ears. He always seemed to know when she returned, showing up the instant she settled down in the common room. Today Calliope was more grateful for that than ever. Stroking the soft, warm feline had a calming effect, and she slowly began to feel a bit more relaxed.

She remained in her chair by the fire, until Laura McGregor joined her. The Scottish girl was a fellow sixth year Ravenclaw, one of Calliope's dorm-mates, and her best friend. She appeared well before the rest of the Ravenclaws returned from their dinner, and she was carrying a plate of food.

'Hey Cal', Laura said softly, placing the plate on a nearby table, and setting herself down on a stool beside Calliope. 'I heard what happened in potions. Are you alright?'

Laura did not take NEWT potions, but several other Ravenclaws did, and obviously they had told her about what had happened. Calliope only shrugged, not knowing what to say. But with Laura there was no need for words. The other girl knew of Calliope's recent problems with potions and of her fear of Snape, and was not surprised to see that she had been crying. Laura reached out to give Mr. Wobbles an affectionate pat on the head, and said 'You missed dinner. Can't say I blame you, your little outburst is the talk of the table.'

Calliope grimaced. 'Oh great, just what I need,' she muttered.

Laura smiled. 'It is not so bad. General consensus is that you are this week's official Ravenclaw hero, standing up against the tyranny that is potions class.' This got a weak smile from Calliope, as Laura continued. 'I brought you some food anyway. Roast chicken, I know you like that.' It was true, roast chicken was Calliope's favourite dinner. And she had been starting to get hungry. She had in fact been eyeing the plate ever since Laura had brought it in. Admitting defeat, Calliope reached over and took the plate, tucking into the delicious food. In no time at all, she had polished it all off.

'Thanks Laura. That was lovely.' She smiled gratefully at her friend, who had watched her eat. Laura grinned back at her. 'Hey, it's what friends are for. Now, tell me what happened?'

The question immediately wiped the smile of Calliope's face again. She didn't really want to talk about it, not in the least because she might start crying again. But Laura deserves to know. Besides, I have to tell someone.

Calliope let out a sigh and closed her eyes as she leant back in her chair. 'Too be honest, I am not sure what happened. I mean, my potion was already a failure, but then Snape startled me and I added too much Nightshade, the whole thing turned into a disaster, and then…' She shook her head in disbelieve. 'And then I told Snape it was his fault.' Laura sat squinting at Calliope through the lenses of her thick classes. 'But surely it was his fault if he startled you?' she said. Laura didn't wait for her friend to answer. 'But of course,' she sighed, 'that doesn't matter to the greasy git. I am sure he considers himself to be infallible.'

Then the Scottish witch surprised them both by giggling. 'Sorry, Cal,' she apologised. 'But I was just imagining what must have been going through Snape's head when you told him off. I mean, the man is a tyrant. He'll land you in detention for sneezing or dropping your quill. Nobody ever dares to stand up to him. It must have been quite a shock that someone finally did, especially you.' Laura spread her arms in a dramatic gesture. 'Calliope Lode, who is probably the quietest, shyest witch in all of Hogwarts. Calliope Lode, who does whatever she can to talk to as few people as possible. I mean, you don't even like shopping 'cause you don't want to have to talk to shopkeepers! And here you are, talking back to Snape of all people!' Laura's giggles were infectious, and Calliope found herself unwillingly laughing along. I suppose she does have a point, he mustn't have seen that one coming from me…

'So, I imagine he gave you a detention, then, did he?' Laura asked, almost casually.

Calliope squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and took a deep breath before she answered. 'Yes. He also threatened to drop me from potions.' Don't start crying again.

Laura stared at Calliope with her mouth open. 'Oh.' The bespectacled girl finally understood why Calliope was looking quite so distraught. Quietly, she had thought her friend's reaction to a detention had been a bit extreme, but this... Well, this was different.

'Actually, I don't know if it had to do with what I said, so much. It's that I have failed yet another potion. He feels that I am not good enough for the NEWT class. He is given me one more chance though. If I manage to not mess up my brew next week, it'll stave off the execution for another while.' Calliope grimaced, near to tears again now, as the horror of her situation came flooding back. 'Although,' she added bitterly, 'that means I might as well give up now, as I've no chance of getting it right the next time. I mean if I can't even do it when I don't have everything riding on it, what hope have I got doing it under that sort of pressure.'

Laura didn't speak in response at first, but leant over and gave her friend a tight hug, earning her an indignant meow from Mr. Wobbles, who found himself squashed between the two girls. Calliope winced as he took his revenge by digging his nails into her leg before he settled comfortably back in her lap again.

'Then we must find a way of helping you through the lesson,' Laura mused. Calliope just shrugged, she had pretty much given up already. But Laura was not so easily defeated. The Scottish girl was anything if not practical. She decided to approach the problem in the true Ravenclaw way: tackle it with logic.

'Your main problem is nerves, right?' Laura did not wait for an answer, it was a statement of fact. That's where start when solving a logical problem after all; establish what the facts are. 'Yes. I know for a fact that you can brew. I've seen you do it quite competently. But you get nervous in potions class, partially because of Snape, and partially because you're afraid to mess up. And because you're so nervous, that's exactly what happens. It's a vicious circle'

'Well, thanks for pointing out the obvious,' Calliope muttered, stroking Mr. Wobbles. Laura ignored her. 'What you need is to get more comfortable in class. Your problem is that you get too nervous. Therefore, the solution is to find a way to settle your nerves.'

'And how do you propose to do that? Give me a partial brain transplant?' Calliope could not prevent the sarcasm from entering into the remark. Gods, does she not think I know all this already? If I could just settle my nerves I wouldn't be in this position in the first place.

But Laura remained undeterred. 'As for how, well, I don't know…yet.'

The two girls sat side by side for some time, not speaking, the silence only broken by Mr. Wobbles' obscenely loud purrs. Calliope actually found herself dozing off, exhausted by what had been a very difficult day, and lulled to sleep by the warm glow of the fire. A loud snap of Laura's fingers woke her up though.

'I have it!' Laura exclaimed. 'It is really very simple.' She looked triumphantly at Calliope, showing her teeth in a wide grin. 'What you need is a Calming Draught.'

Calliope nearly laughed at the absurdity of the suggestion. 'You mean to say that you want to drug me before going into potions?'

Laura frowned, then shrugged. 'Well, you would only have to take a small bit. No need to drug you into oblivion or anything, but take just enough to relax you a bit, settle your nerves. And once you build up some confidence, you can stop taking it.'

'Okay, so even if I agree that this is a good idea - which I don't, by the way – how would I even get hold of a Calming Draught? They are powerful potions, highly addictive. I can't just go to Madam Pomfrey and ask that she give me one.'

'That is true,' Laura conceded, 'although, given the circumstances, she might even agree that it would help you.'

'Even if she did, which I highly doubt, it will create a big fuss. If nothing else, she will tell my parents.'

'Maybe we should ask your parents then? Your mother is lovely, I'm sure she will understand.'

Calliope shook her head. 'No. I don't want my parents knowing about this. This whole thing is messy enough as it is.' Laura accepted the explanation without further comment, appreciating as only another sixteen year old could the necessity to not get parents involved.

'How about the apothecary in Hogsmeade?' Laura offered. 'Although, the first Hogsmeade weekend isn't for a few weeks. It will be too late by then.'

'Besides, they will probably not be happy selling potent potions to students,' Calliope agreed.

'So we can't ask Madam Pomfrey or your parents, we can't walk into the Hogsmeade apothecary,' Laura summed up. 'Where else might we obtain one. Hold on a second, what about your sisters?'

Calliope, who, under the force of Laura's enthusiasm had by now forgotten that she wasn't even in favour of the idea in the first place, considered this latest proposal. 'Well, Euterpe will just run to my parents if I asked her, so that is no good. Thalia, however, yeah, she might do it. She won't tell on me anyway, even if she doesn't agree to get me the Draught.'

'Thalia it is, then,' Laura decided. She rummaged through Calliope's bag until she found a scrap of clean parchment and her friend's writing utensils. 'Write her a note. No time like the present!'

Calliope rolled her eyes, but did not comment as she took quill, ink and parchment. She'll bully me into it no matter what I say.

'Dear sis,

Hope you are keeping well. How's the job at the ministry going?

I'm writing you with an unusual request. You would do me a huge favour if you could send me a couple of vials of Calming Draught. I don't really want to go into the details of why I need it. You know I am always careful. Please don't tell mum & dad though. I'll write you in more detail soon.

Love,

Calliope.'

Calliope rolled up the parchment and sealed it. She thought she had phrased the note in a way that Thalia might think she was simply experimenting with something again. She had asked Thalia for things before, although not previously for something so potent. The last line was meant to suggest without actually making the promise that she would give more details on the purpose of the Calming Draught later.

Note finished, she turned back to Laura. 'Okay,' she told her friend. 'I think we can make it up to the owlery before curfew.'