THREE A CRACK IN THE DOOR

The house is tense and silent with Harry and Mr. Weasley absent. Despite the density, Calliope likes it when it's like this. Quiet was something she was used to with just Sirius around. However, she did feel bad for Hermione and Ron. After all, their friend was about to possibly get expelled from Hogwarts. She could hear them pacing and discussing in the room next to her. Calliope paced around her own room, contemplating. She could socialize with kids her own age, but that requires socializing. She could sit silently in her room until Harry arrived home with the verdict. That seemed to be the option she was leaning towards. However, hearing Ron and Hermione arguing about the possible outcomes next door was slowly driving her insane

She huffed, opening her door and marching to the next door over, knocking swiftly. The door swung open to reveal Hermione, looking disheveled with her hair tied up, but strands still flying all over the place. Her eyes widened when she realized who was at the door, taking a minute to say anything.

"Calliope, uh, what's... what's up?" Hermione asked with a small, almost nervous chuckle. Calliope didn't think she was that intimidating. She just had a resting expression that looked like she wanted to murder everyone in the room, but she couldn't help it.

"I can hear you guys through the wall and you're also hogging the literal only room with a record player so I can't even drown you out," she commented, pushing past Hermione into the room. Whereas she had her own room, it seemed the three of them were all sharing this one, but knowing how close they were, that was probably how they liked it. She wondered what it would be like to have people she was that close with that she never wanted to be apart from them.

"Well, to be fair, mate, Harry's kind of about to get expelled, so we're a little worried," Ron piped up, looking confused that Calliope was interacting with them voluntarily. She was a little confused too, but she was going insane in this house and Molly had other things to worry about than keeping her entertained, so, Ron and Hermione it was.

The girl ignored them, going over to the shelf in the room with all the records stacked on it, sifting through them before pulling one out, "Listen, there's nothing you can do for him now, all you've gotta do is put trust in the ministry -- loaded statement, I know -- and wait until he gets back. Until then, arguing with each other about what might happen is useless and will only make you feel worse. So, we are going to listen to some music and we're not gonna talk. If we do talk, it'll be about something other than Harry bloody Potter. Sound good?"

"Has anyone ever told you you're a bit blunt, Calliope?" Hermione asked. She sounded annoyed, but when Calliope looked over her shoulder at the girl, she saw her thin lips were forming a small smile. The brunette only shrugged, placing her favorite Pink Floyd record on the player.

"You guys listen to muggle music?" Calliope asked. Hermione nodded, but Ron shook his head. Typical. "What do you listen to, Hermione?"

"I don't really know many artists, just whatever's on the radio," the girl shrugged. "Why?"

"No reason, you guys might like this band. My parents loved them when they were young," she mused, lowering the needle onto the record as the first track of Dark Side of the Moon began to play. "Now, silence, please because you two are driving me insane."

The silence lasted for all of thirty seconds before Ron asked, "Do you always barge into people's rooms and ask them to shut up?"

"Only the ones who annoy me," Calliope shrugged, leaning against the bed Ron was sitting on. She hadn't spoken to him since they sat on the stairs next to each other and she had no plan to ever acknowledge the fact that happened because all they did was sit next to each other and there was no reason to think about it. Was it nice to have someone to just sit with? Maybe. Was Calliope going to admit that? Absolutely not.

Hermione laughed at this, "You know, Calliope, you're kind of funny."

"That's not what I aim for, but I'll take it," she sighed, fidgeting with the sleeve of her sweater, "You two are all right, I suppose. Don't think this means we'll be friends when we get back to school."

"Wasn't planning on it," Ron scoffed, but when she looked up at him, she could see that he was smiling.

"I'm not joking!" she exclaimed, trying to defend herself, but she couldn't help the slightest bit of a smile forming on her face. Okay, maybe it was nice to have some company with people her own age. Once again, she was never admitting that. "I only came in here to get you two to shut up, so if you could do that, it would be wonderful."

The silence fell once more, but as she expected, it didn't last for long before Ron spoke again, "You know, have you ever considered switching to Slytherin? I think you'd really find your people in there."

"Ronald!" Hermione groaned, trying to bite back her laughter.

Calliope wasn't offended, though, this was a question she had asked herself multiple times over her school years. Especially since she had been branded as a bit of an asshole, she wondered if maybe the sorting hat had made a mistake.

"That would require me to socialize with Draco Malfoy," she decided her answer would be, "I'm a half-blood, he'd probably smite me on sight if we were to be in the same room alone. Still, I think I look rather dashing in green, but the blue's all right."

The next song started and Calliope shushed both of them, "This is a good one, I swear."

"You know, you seem like a bit of a snob when it comes to music, Cal," Ron commented moving so he was sitting next to her instead of above her. "Coming in here with your seventies records telling us we don't know good muggle music. Very on-brand for you."

The brunette rolled her eyes at this, looking over at the ginger next to her, "This band reminds me of my parents. My mum's favorite album was this one, but my dad's was The Wall. Still, they used to sing the songs together while they made dinner. It was... sweet. Even though half of the songs are morbid in meaning."

She had almost forgotten Hermione was in the room because all she could focus on was Ron's eyes meeting hers. They had both gone quiet the moment she mentioned her parents, all smiles fading from their faces. However, Ron's expression didn't look sad, he was just... listening. It was nice. Still, she broke the moment by clearing her throat, getting up to grab a different record.

"Here, I'll put on something a bit more lighthearted," the girl announced as she thumbed through the records, "Maybe some Bowie. Yeah, can't go wrong with Bowie. Merlin, Sirius has got good taste."

"So, is Sirius like your guardian now?" Hermione asked once the man was brought up, "We know you've been staying here since..."

"My parents died?" Calliope raised an eyebrow as she faced the girl, "You can say it, it's fine. And no, he's not my guardian legally or anything, I think Dumbledore arranged something with the ministry so I'm technically under the care of Hogwarts until they can track down some long lost relative of mine for me to stay with or something, but I told him I wished to continue my parent's work with the Order, even if I don't have the power of being an inside source for the ministry. So, he figured here was the best spot for me until school starts. That's all."

They were both quiet for a moment before Ron spoke up, "You know, Calliope, I think this is the most I've heard you speak in the four years we've gone to school together."

She rolled her eyes as she sat back down, the new song playing through the room. She looked over at him with a bored expression, saying, "Don't get used to it. Also, you guys can call me Cal."

They sat and listened to the music after that, it seemed to calm them down from the earlier fervor. It was nice, Calliope thought, to have company. She wasn't exactly going to become best friends with them, but as they waited for news from Harry and Mr. Weasley to arrive, she was almost glad for once that she wasn't being left alone. Maybe she didn't have to let them in, but opening a crack in the door would be enough for now.