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"Sarah took to spending most of her free time with Sirius from then onwards. Any time we did spend together she spent talking about him. It killed me to see the woman I loved fawning over and idiot like Black…Oh sorry, he is your god father isn't he. Well in school he was a bit of a tool. I hear he turned into a really decent guy afterwards. Anyway, I spent more and more time in the library with Severus. We would study together in complete silence, neither of us paying any particular attention to each other. Then one day the strange friendship we had developed took a turn."

Calliope entered the library like she had done every afternoon that month; she walked to the back row of shelves to the end and put her bag down on the seat opposite Severus. She took out her transfiguration homework and opened her book. After a few moments she looked up at Severus and put down her quill. The boy's eyes were puffy and red, fresh tears fell down his face, he attempted to hide behind a book but she could see he was upset. She stood up and walked around the table, moving his bag from the seat beside him.

"What happened?" she asked facing him and taking a one of the hands he had holding the book in both of hers. "Severus, I know this strange friendship type thing we have developed is usually a silent one, but you're not usually crying at the back of the library. I know you have feelings for Lilly Evans; I'm guessing I'm the only person that knows. If you can't talk to me who can you talk to?" She moved her chair closer to him resting their hands on his lap as she stared up at him.

"I love her" He said weekly. "I was walking behind them today, it wasn't on purpose. I heard her tell him that she loves him. It feels like somebody has punched a hole through my chest." He looked down at their hands then back up at Calliope; the strange confused expression from the night they met crossed his face. "Why do you spend your afternoons with me in the library, not talking? You have lots of friends I've heard them complaining in charms that you don't spend time with them. Why are you here, with me?"

"Because you are the only person that gets it, the pain of loving someone that does not love you. Because you don't feel the need to fill every silence with gibberish about the opposite sex, because you know my secret." She looked up into his dark eyes. "She loves him?" His face twisted in pain and fresh tears rolled down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry Severus" She rested her head against his shoulder.

"After that our friendship became more verbal, we would spend our afternoons having intellectual conversations about what we had been learning in our lessons or sitting in silence doing homework. I am pretty sure my grades would have been substantially weaker had we not become friends. When the weather got better we would take our homework out into the grounds, try and find quiet places where people would not judge us and our strange friendship. Mainly he was worried the Slytherins would confront him because I was a Ravenclaw. We were usually susses full at staying hidden but one day we weren't so lucky, that's the day I knew he would be there for me, the way I had been there for him. That's the day I realised I had a true friend."

Severus lay on his stomach facing the tree Calliope was sitting against, they both had their books open and there wands out. "So it's a big sweeping motion, followed by a sharp twist of the wrist as your arm swoops forward?" Asked Calliope practicing the twist of the wrist with one hand and holding her book with the other.

Severus shuffled himself forward and reached for her book. "Let me see." She moved her book further away laughing. "No ill get it on my own, get your copy out of your bag" He had clambered onto his knees and was reaching across her. The arm supporting his weight buckled and he landed on her lap. Calliope burst out laughing,

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HER?" came a booming voice from behind them. Suddenly Severus was ten meters away sprawled on his back. Calliope jumped to her feet, wand at the ready and pointed it at the culprit. Sirius Black was standing over Severus, boot on his wrist and wand pointing at his throat. "This will teach you not to put your slimy hands on innocent women" Sirius pulled his arm back ready to inflict a curse of Severus when suddenly his wand flew from his hand and was caught by Calliope.

"What do you think you're doing Black? I suggest you move your boot before I curse your foot off." Black did as he was told and moved towards her a confused expression on his face.

"He was sexually attacking you, I saw him." Sarah had come up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "What's going on baby?" She cooed resting her head on his arm. Calliope's stomach felt tight, like she would be sick at any moment. "I was saving your friend from this sex pest and she took my wand."

"He is not a sex pest he is my friend. We were studying when you came over and attacked him unprovoked" Stated Calliope throwing his wand to him as Severus came to stand beside her.

"Oh Cali no, no, no. I know I haven't been spending as much time with you lately…but this guy? You can do so much better than his kind of company. You don't need to hang around with creeps for attention." Sarah came forward her blonde hair falling across her face and took Calliopes hands in hers. "Come back to the castle with us, I will spend more time with you I promise."

Calliope pulled her hands away and took a step back. "If you want to see the creep in this situation I think you will find you have had your face attached to him for the last few months. I don't spend time with Severus for attention and we aren't involved like that. I won't come back with you and further more I won't spend time with you as long as you are with him. You know you can do better and he knows it too." Her chest went tight at the look of anger that crossed Sarah's face.

"If you're waiting for me to choose you over him, you'll be waiting a long time. I love him Cali and he loves me. Stop being jealous and get over it. If you want to spend your time with losers like him then that is fine by me. I'm done with you" With that she turned on her heel, grabbed Sirius by the hand and stormed off back to the castle.

Calliope felt her legs go weak. Her chest was tight and she could feel tears coming to the surface. Before her legs could buckle beneath her Severus had his arms around her. She leant her head on his chest and started to sob. They stood there for a long time while she cried. "I'm sorry" he whispered into her hair. As the tears finally started to subside she looked up at him. "Thank you" she said hoarsely. She wiped her eyes and took a step back. "We should get back to the castle; it's starting to get dark." With that they both collected there things and returned to the castle.