The Gryffindor Boys
Either the Slytherin gang decided that it really was too dangerous to attack Circe again, or Lestrange had framed the story to convince them to stay away. Either way, it made Circe's life quite a bit easier if she didn't have people randomly attempting to curse her in the halls.
She did cackle when she saw Lestrange with a brand new wand the week after she'd snapped his, which had earned her a glare from Rowle, who'd always been sweet on Lestrange despite the boy being unofficially engaged to the current second-year Bella Flint. They were all respectable pure-bloods so, in the end, it didn't matter.
Circe wanted to break the girl's nose.
After all, even if none of them directly talked to her, Circe heard everything they said. She knew all the pure-blood gossip she could have ever wanted and didn't even have to attend any of their stupid galas or take tea with people who either wanted to enslave or kill all Muggles, Muggle-born, and blood traitors.
She just had to sleep next to them.
Circe had quite enjoyed surrounding her bed with Muggle posters that the girls who shared her dorm could do nothing about. They still glared every time they looked at her bed, but Andromeda had taught her a particular charm that meant no one but her could touch them.
Her father had told her that it wasn't worth it, that it was best to lower her head and bide her time until Hogwarts was done, but her father had never had any spirit for war. Enough to leave an ancient pure-blood family and run off with the Muggle woman he'd fallen in love with, but not for fighting.
Circe had a spirit for war. She had battle in her bones, fire in her blood. She would be everything her father hadn't been, and more.
Even if no one wanted her. Even if every fucking side refused to support her. She would fight and kill as many fucking Death Eaters as she could. She would laugh as they fell because they had no right to live in this world.
Circe's mother was a strong supporter of Circe fighting back. Her father may have given her pure-blooded Slytherin aristocracy, but her mother had given her all that fight that would never be silenced. Her mother, dark-haired and wonderfully Muggle, wanted her daughter to flaunt it in the face of everyone who dared tell her that her blood was poison.
Yes, Circe was poison. And she would kill them all.
When it was finally time for the first Hogsmeade visit of the year, on Valentine's day, Circe went with one thing in mind.
Elpis, her little sister, had asked Circe to bring her back something magical and she was happy to oblige.
Elpis, who was only nine but had never shown an ounce of magical ability. Who they all knew would never come to Hogwarts, no matter how much she'd told Circe she'd wished for it. Who the majority of the wizarding world would spit at if they encountered her because Squibs, in their eyes, were a waste of space.
Elpis, who'd started to dream of being a doctor because "Circe is going to get into a lot of trouble and someone needs to know how to fix her up."
When Elpis asked for something, Circe delivered.
It was a strangely warm February, even at Hogwarts, so the school descended on the wizarding village sans the cloaks and scarfs from before Christmas. Circe wandered through it with the "resting-bitch-face" she was known for – the term coined by Andromeda in second year when Circe came to visit the then newly born Dora.
Before she purchased anything, Circe ducked into the Three Broomsticks to get herself a bottle of pumpkin fizz. She spotted the Gryffindor quartet in the corner, but they were so enraptured by each other that they didn't notice her presence.
Even as the shunned Slytherin and waltzer through nightmares, Circe had never had the chance to have long conversations with the Gryffindor quartet, though she had spoken to them more than she had to the rest of their year combined. They were the only four brave – or stupid – enough to attempt to engage with her at all. The fact the rest of the school had deemed her unapproachable meant that they were practically expected to do just that.
Which had mainly resulted in her being the one they would bat eyelashes at because even they weren't brave enough to attempt to prank her. They were well aware of the fact she was not afraid of cursing them.
She'd cursed Potter in first year to make his ears grow thrice the size. He'd gotten better at dodging since then.
They hadn't actually spoken much over the years beyond the few Muggle Studies assignments that Potter, Black, and Pettigrew had needed another partner for. For some reason, she seemed to be the one they always desperately wanted to pick – simply because no one else would and they were Gryffindors so fuck what anyone else would do.
"Looking for a drinking companion?"
Circe didn't even look to see who'd spoken, just flipped them off.
"Oh, you're lucky you're my favorite, my girl."
She spun to find that Slughorn had stepped up beside her. "Professor!"
He was smiling. "No worries, my girl, no worries. I am well aware of your...tendencies." She smiled, a real one. "I have no doubt that you're about to be quite busy looking for something for your lovely sister, the poor girl," she'd told Slughorn about her little sister before, having required his assistance to acquire something Elpis had asked for. He'd sent the girl a present every holiday since. "I thought I'd take the opportunity to remind you of my little upcoming supper."
"Oh, don't worry, sir. I never forgot." Circe stepped back, a bottle of pumpkin fizz in hand. "See you in class on Monday?"
"Of course, Miss Carrow, of course." Slughorn waved at her before turning to summon Rosmerta for whatever his drink of choice for that day was.
Circe took the chance to leave the inn before he could find some other reason to keep her.
That attempt was fumbled by the inn's door opening again to let in two of the Slytherin gang, Snape and Mulciber. The taller boy immediately grinned. "What a treat."
Circe just nodded back at Slughorn. "No violence in front of the Slug, Mulciber. He'd never make you a member then." She tried to push past them, but Mulciber grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop.
"Not so fast," he hissed, bending down to speak in her ear. "You're coming with us." He started to pull her towards the door. Circe was strong, but she wasn't as physically strong as Mulciber when he put his full strength behind it.
"Don't you have the Goyle girl to entertain? It's Valentine's Day."
His grip on her tightened. Circe felt Snape's wand shove into her side. "Not surprised you don't have anyone today."
"Oh, I do," Circe slid out her wand as Mulciber pushed back through the door. "He's back at home. A Muggle."
In a different situation, Mulciber may have released her on instinct from that admission tainting her even more than her identity as a blood traitor. Sadly, that didn't happen today. "Of course. They're the only monsters a half-breed like you deserves." Circe didn't appreciate the lovely weather outside as much anymore. She was thankful that there was a crowd, so Mulciber and Snape couldn't do anything immediately, but there were plenty of shadows in the alleys, one of which she was currently being pulled towards. She still had to get out of their reach.
Circe attempted to find a Hufflepuff or Gryffindor who looked willing to exhibit the helpful bystander trait the two houses tended towards, but, of course, no one was daring to stare at the two Slytherins, let alone her. No one was noticing what was happening to her.
It was good, then, that Circe didn't need any of them. As a group of fourth year Ravenclaws moved past them, Circe took advantage of the shift they forced to step away from Snape's wand point, allowing her to free her own wand and shoot the first two jinxes she could at Mulciber. The spell fizzled out before it did any harm, but it was enough for Mulciber to let go of her arm and Circe to duck away from them.
She didn't get far before she felt a spell hit the bottom of her spine. It was an attempt at body-bind – possessing the distinct sharp of pain that Circe knew differentiated that spell from a leg-locker – but Snape hadn't done the best job and the most it had done was make her legs freeze and Circe fall forward, catching herself mid-fall on the first person she could reach.
It was only when the person turned that Circe discovered she'd grabbed the back of a Gryffindor's cloak. Specifically, a Gryffindor Prefect. Specifically, the Muggle-born Lily Evans. "Wha..." the girl exclaimed, but then she saw Snape and Mulciber reaching for Circe again. "What in Merlin are you doing, Severus?" She helped Circe stand beside her, letting Circe use her shoulders to support her failed legs.
"No need to get involved, Mudblood," Mulciber hissed, reaching for Circe. "Inter-house conflict."
"Do please get involved," Circe said, moving to curse the boy again. "Let's turn him into a slug."
Evans pulled her back more. "Let's not."
"I'll curse you too, Mudblood."
Before Evans could speak, Circe shot an attempt at slug transformation, but Transfiguration wasn't her best subject, so it only turned Mulciber's tongue into a slug-like substance. Granted, Circe was quite pleased with that. Evans grabbed her arms and dragged her back into the Leaky Cauldron to avoid an increased conflict.
There was a booth open near the door and Evans dropped Circe onto it. "Finite Incantatem."
Circe's legs jumped apart. "Thanks for the salvation, Evans."
"You have to stop doing that."
"I didn't do anything! They were the ones attacking me." Circe stood. "But, seriously, Evans. Thanks. I'm very lucky Snape has yet to master the body-bind. That could have been much worse."
Evans crossed her arms. "You need to tell Slughorn about it, Carrow."
"Things like that have been happening since first year. Even Slughorn isn't that much of an idiot."
"You're his favorite. He'd have done something if he knew."
"The fact I've kept avoiding serious incidents is the reason I'm his favorite, Evans. Besides, my reputation would be corrupted if I started running to professors for protection."
"Evans!" Potter shouted, making both girls' turn to look at his table. "How're y..." then he noticed Circe. "I never would have picked you two as friends."
Evans stepped back. "We're not, and mind your own business, Potter." She turned to leave and escape the Gryffindor quartet, but Circe grabbed her arm.
"Thank you," she repeated, dropping her voice so only Evans could hear. "I mean it. Most of the school wouldn't have interfered with Mulciber like that. Thank you."
The girl said nothing, but she did nod before leaving.
"Why were you talking?" Black asked and Circe turned to properly face them. The quartet had moved from their table, likely when Potter had spotted Evans, and now stood around her table. That boy had maintained an obsession with her since first year. "Evans scolding you for messing with Snivellus?"
"Mind your own business, Black." She turned to the door just as Mulciber and Snape re-entered. They weren't on the hunt anymore, but they were scanning the crowd. Circe ducked down before their gazes landed on her. "Shit."
The four boys, without thinking, mimicked her. The people around looked down in confusion at the sight of five people crouched by a booth, but no one said anything. "What did you do?" Lupin asked.
Circe frowned. "Why do both you Prefects assume I did anything? I'm more likely to be the victim, you know. They're the ones who actively go after me."
Pettigrew shrugged. "You keep winning. Makes people assume you instigated it."
"It is possible to gain the upper-hand mid-encounter." Circe dared to stand again, but ducked immediately, just avoiding Mulciber. "They always need to ruin a lovely day, don't they?"
Black grinned. "Want us to distract them?"
Circe met his eyes. The two of them had remarkably similar eyes – light grey. The result of centuries of pure-blood inbreeding. "Do you even have to ask?"
Two of the other Gryffindors grinned. It took Lupin a few seconds longer to join, mainly after Black had elbowed him. Pettigrew followed shortly after. After a nod, Circe ducked to the side as the four boys said. They started shouting something – it sounded like a song – but Circe didn't pay close attention to it. She moved quickly around the room, dodging between feet until she could reach the door.
When she glanced back, she found that Potter and Black had cleared a circle in the center and were performing some type of waltz, though it was no specific type of dance that Circe recognized.
She laughed and left Three Broomsticks. The rest of the day was less exciting, with no other Slytherins deciding to attack her on Valentine's day, all too busy with their pureblooded romances. Circe managed to find a secondhand potions book that shouted the required ingredients that she knew Elpis would adore.
She'd just turned to head back up to the castle to try and eat something before the rest of the school descended on the Great Hall when someone called behind her. "Carrow!" she looked back and found Black striding towards her, hands in his pockets. "Care for a chat?"
"Where've the rest of your quartet gone?"
"Trying to convince Pettigrew to buy candy for some seventh year." He shrugged as he reached her.
"And you abandoned that entertainment to spend time with me?" she laid a hand on her chest. "Should I be honored?"
"I wanted to ask you..." his jaw shifted. "How is my brother doing?"
Circe raised her eyebrows. "I don't spend much of my time focusing on the fourth years."
Black scoffed. "Really?"
"He doesn't seem any different."
"Can you talk to him?"
"And fight past the entire Quidditch team?" Ever since becoming seeker last year, Regulus Black was never far away from the rest of the team, of which Mulciber was a fellow member.
"You're both part of the Slug's club. Don't you have a supper coming up? You could talk to him then."
"Yes, we do, a fact you know because Potter's also a Slug club member. Make him bother your brother."
"But you're both Slytherins. It'll be easier for you."
Circe scoffed. "He's your brother. If you care about him so much, you should have stayed in contact."
Black clenched his fists. She couldn't see his hands, but she saw his arms tighten. "I won't do that to him."
Circe paused for a heartbeat. "Why did you leave your family?" she knew the rumors of the other Slytherins – it was how she'd even learned he'd left them – but no one had decided what the true reason was. Regulus had been hounded the first day, but he'd only shared that his brother had been officially blasted from the family tree.
"Why should I tell you?" Black laughed, though it was hollow.
She stopped, grabbing his arm. They were utterly alone on the path back up to the castle, which was the only reason she was willing to touch him in that manner. It was not affectionate, but it was as close as she'd come here with anyone entire time at Hogwarts. "I was not lying I said you'd be welcome at my father's if you needed to be. The same extends to me." She held his gaze. "I know what it is to live in a world of pure-blooded bastards, more than any of your friends." Potter was the only one with a pure-blooded family, but they had never been a part of the rest of the inbreeding.
"So you think that means I should trust you?"
"You came to ask me about your brother. I think you already do, like it or not." She released his arm. "You don't have to tell me." Another pause. "If I can get Regulus alone, I'll ask how he is."
"Thank you."
Circe smiled. "Now, should we kiss, so that the sixth years following us can start a rumor that's the reason you ran away from home?" the two Slytherin girls were glaring at Circe and Black, having just started on the path.
Black really laughed then and they continued up to the castle. "Don't be offended Carrow, but I do not want to kiss you."
"Likewise, Black."
They reached the gate and he held it open for her, bowing slightly as she passed. "My lady."
+CC+
Slughorn's supper was the next week and Circe arrived fashionably late, flaunting her Muggle dress. Everyone had just begun to move towards the table, but they turned at her arrival, Slughorn grinning widely. Behind him, Potter waved, though he was focused more on Evans, who stood with Snape. "Ah, my girl. I was beginning to worry that you wouldn't make it."
Circe smiled at the professor. "I would never miss one of your suppers."
He gestured for her to come closer. "Now, tell me, what do you think of the book I lent you?"
As Circe spoke to him and settled into her seat at the table – beside him, offsetting Malfoy and making the girl glare at Circe before Slughorn could notice – she looked around for Black's brother. Regulus ended up across from her, constantly speaking with a Slytherin girl at his side.
The rest of the supper was uneventful. Malfoy did keep kicking Circe's shin until Circe leaned over and reminded her that the next time she had her wand, Malfoy could kiss goodbye to her lovely golden hair. That shut her up. Slughorn moved around the table and asked each of them about whatever was currently happening in their life, which was how Circe discovered Regulus had received a new broom for Christmas.
If Slughorn knew about what had happened in the Black house, he didn't ask. Circe had to wait until they were all milling around together after dessert. Those who wanted had a small glass of wine – Circe swirled her own – and the rest merely a glass of juice. She managed to corner Regulus as he moved to put down his empty glass.
"Hello," she said, taking a sip.
Regulus glanced at her. "Hello."
"How are you doing?"
He raised his eyebrows. He greatly resembled his brother, but there was a reason that Black drew more attention than his little brother. "Has my brother sent you?" She nodded. "Tell him that I don't need people checking up on me. I can take care of myself."
"Well, then may I ask how you are on my own, since we are of the same house and probably third cousins twice removed or something?" She put down her glass. "So long as you don't tell anybody that I expressed any concern for you."
He glanced around the room. "We are in public."
"I'm just casually chatting with a fellow classmate who has never actively attacked me in the halls." She sighed. "I will warn you, Slughorn will start bugging you about becoming my friend for the next few weeks. He is insistent that I need one."
Regulus cracked a small smile. "We are second cousins, by the way. Both our grandmothers were Crabbes."
"Charming." She stepped closer. "Are you actually okay?"
"I'm fine."
"Even at home?"
Regulus stiffened. "We're fine."
"If you ever need to talk..."
"You don't mean that." Regulus went to move past her. "I appreciate you asking after me, but you don't need to do anything else." He paused. "Tell my brother that I'm fine. I don't need him sending people after me. I can handle our parents myself."
Circe didn't try and stop him. She just found a new glass of wine. When she turned, she nearly ran headfirst into Potter. He grabbed her arm to help balance her. "Woah, Carrow. How much have you drunk?"
Circe stepped out of his hold. "I'm perfectly sober." She took a drink. "Did Black tell you to check in on me after I talked to his brother?"
He stepped back to give her more space. "He thought it'd be easier than the two of you trying to find a way to talk in private again."
"Regulus is fine. To quote 'I can handle our parents myself'."
Potter grinned. "Sirius will be thankful."
Circe scoffed. "Don't let him thank me."
"Don't worry, we would never dream of it." He stepped back and gave her a dramatic bow. "See you in classes, Carrow."
She just sighed at him and walked past him towards Slughorn. Thankfully, no one else stepped into her path to try and talk to her the rest of the night. She was the last one there, leaving a few minutes after Snape and Evans, who'd monopolized most of Slughorn's time with discussing the discovery of a new potion.
It was later than even Circe dared be out wandering the castle, but all Prefects knew the members of the Slug Club on sight and tended to give them a free pass on the nights of Slughorn's get-togethers.
This meant that she was not expecting anyone to stop her. Really, she wasn't expecting to see anyone. She wasn't as aware as she typically was of her surroundings.
So she didn't notice when someone approached her from behind until it was far too late and a wand was pressed to her neck.
"Look who've I've found," Mulciber's breath brushed her ear.
"I'd be careful if I were you."
Mulciber laughed. "You don't have your wand. For once, I have the high ground."
Inwardly, Circe cursed the fact she'd let that fact slip to Malfoy. "Perhaps I was lying."
Mulciber pressed his wand tighter. "Would you have let me get so close if you were?" Circe said nothing. "Come on out, boys." Her heart started to hammer in her throat despite herself. The rest of the Slytherin gang emerged from a nearby classroom, wands in all of their hands.
"Don't be stupid," she warned.
"There's no one around to save you this time," Snape said.
Mulciber wrapped an arm around her chest, locking one arm to her side. "You're all ours."
Circe may have still been able to get Mulciber's wand away from him if she surprised him, but after pulling a similar trick on Lestrange she knew they'd be looking for it. Even then, once she had the wand, it likely wouldn't obey her well enough to let her curse five boys at once, including its actual master. She could always try to run, but they all had wands and it wouldn't take that good of aim to hit her, and then she'd be in the same situation.
"I'm sure we can come to an agreement."
Lestrange laughed. "Yes, we can agree that you deserve to be punished for being a blood traitor." He came closer and grabbed her jaw. "It's time we had some fun with you."
"Careful, Lestrange," she ground out. "Don't want my dirty Muggle blood to contaminate you. Mummy might not let you home again."
Lestrange punched her stomach, making her keel over in Mulciber's hold.
This was not good. This was very, very not good.
But she was Circe Carrow. She would find a way out.
"You're all so brave," she said, breathing through her nose. "I'm almost complimented that you need five armed men to have a chance at overpowering me. No doubt all your mothers are pushing you to breed with me to strengthen the family lines."
That earned another hit and that time Mulciber dropped her to the ground. Lestrange kicked her in the chest a few times, each time making her breath harder to draw, before grabbing her hair to force her to his eye level when he crouched down. "Please, do tell how you're going to get out of this."
"If I told you, we wouldn't have any fun."
Lestrange dropped her and kicked again. If any of her ribs survived this, she would be shocked. "Who wants to try it first?" Another kick.
"I'll try," Avery said. Circe had just managed to push herself up, pulling off her bracelet, when he began to speak again. "Imp..." Circe spun and threw her bracelet at him. She wasn't actually aiming to hit him, just to distract him.
She could deal with Crucio or any other painful dark curse they wanted to try on her. But she would not let these idiots use Imperio. It was a dangerous curse to be cast by the unprepared and she much preferred to keep her mind her own.
"Don't you dare," she hissed and made herself stand up. The boys formed a circle around her. "You know they'd send you all to Azkaban if you actually tried that on me."
Lestrange pouted. "Always ruining all our fun."
She turned in a small circle, trying to keep herself from holding onto her torso. "You know, if you let me go, I won't curse you all to hell and back once I have a wand." Wilkes seemed slightly convinced by the offer but the others didn't move. "I keep giving you chances to run. My high regard for your intelligence is quickly diminishing the longer you stay."
"Why don't we shut her up?" Mulciber said, adjusting his grip on his wand. "I think she's done enough talking." He stepped forward. "Silencio."
The charm hit her chest and Circe felt her voice ripped from her as though it was a physical thing. Of course, Mulciber was good at Charms – even Circe hadn't mastered this one yet. Thankfully, she still had the use of her hands, so she flipped all of them off, glaring.
Lestrange made to stride forward, but he paused at a sound down the corridor. His gaze flickered back. "You said no one was down here," Avery hissed at Lestrange, the Prefect of their group.
"No one should be." He stepped away from the group, fully facing where the sound had come from. "Who's ther..." he was cut off by an arm appearing in midair to punch him squarely in the face. Lestrange fell back, grasping at his face, unable to form proper words to curse whoever was responsible. The rest of the boys all turned as well, but they didn't know where to curse.
Circe had just swallowed hard when she heard someone whisper from beside her. "Duck." She didn't think hard about it, just obeyed. Some type of fabric fell around her and a hand pulled her standing, though it also held her quite close to their body. "Stay crouched, and let me guide you." By then, she recognized Potter from his voice and body, still wearing the dress robes from the supper.
"Wait, where did she go?" Snape cried, making Circe frown.
Potter only pulled her along, moving through the boys carefully as they tried to close in and locate her again. He didn't let them stop until they couldn't hear anyone again, and only then did Potter pull them into an empty classroom and remove whatever fabric he'd draped over them. "Are you alright?" he asked, whispering. Circe gestured at her mouth, though her attention kept being drawn to the fabric. If it had kept the boys from seeing them, then that meant it was some kind of invisibility cloak...and quite a good one, it seemed. "Oh, right. Finite Incantatem."
Her voice returned to her in a jolt. "What the hell just happened?"
Potter frowned. "I'd like to ask you the same question, Carrow."
"You have an invisibility cloak."
That made him wince. "Yes."
"You punched Lestrange." A nod. "Oh, Potter, I can't decide to curse you or kiss you."
He took an immediate step back. "I'd prefer neither." Then his brow furrowed. "Wait, curse? But I just saved you."
"I would have hoped that you would have learned this by now, but I never need to be rescued. I can handle myself fine on my own."
"Even without a wand? Against five armed competent Wizards?"
"I'm capable of far more than you think."
He nodded. "I'm well aware of that, but you can't actually have had a plan to get out of there alive."
Circe shrugged. "Who needs plans?" She crossed her arms. "What were you doing there, anyway? You left Slughorn's an hour ago."
Potter fingered the invisibility cloak. "I was going down to the kitchens." He looked her over. "You are alright, aren't you?"
She restrained herself from rubbing her stomach or chest. "I'll be a bit bruised, but everything can heal." She almost laughed. "Lestrange has a strong arm."
Potter swallowed. "Do you need me too..."
"Escort me to my dormitory?" Circe scoffed. "I promise I'll be fine, Potter. No need to be a hero again." She made to go past him, but Potter held out an arm, stopping her.
"I can't just let you leave unarmed when they're all probably still looking for you. Especially if you're going back to the Slytherin common room."
"I'll be going back to my wand," she reminded him. "They know not to mess with me when I have a wand in hand. Today was just bad luck."
He tightened his jaw and then pulled his own wand from his back pocket. "Take it."
"I'm not taking your wand, Potter."
"I have this," he waved the invisibility cloak. "You can just give it back to me tomorrow." He held it out to her. "Take it, please."
She held his gaze, frowning. "You're actually concerned about me. Why? You're only ever nice to people who can do something for you or you're attracted to."
"I've been nice to you before."
"Not nice enough to trust me with your wand. We're not friends."
Potter clenched the hand holding the invisibility cloak. "I can't just stand by and watch those bastards hurt you if that's what you're asking for. Even if we're not friends."
Circe laughed. "In the future, I'll be sure to call out for my savior, James Potter. He may not be my friend, but he'll still save me." That made him smile. "I don't need your wand, Potter. I don't need to be indebted to you Gryffindors anymore than I already am."
"You're not indebted to us." She raised her eyebrows at him. "I promise. Remus wouldn't let us."
"Which means you intended to use helping me to your advantage." She pushed down his arm. "Now that I'm aware of the threat, I'll be able to avoid it. But thank you for your concern." She left him there and was, thankfully, correct. The Slytherin boys didn't find her until she was already back in the dormitory, wand in hand.
They didn't dare attack her then.
A/N: Circe should really watch herself when she starts telling people she doesn't have her wand on her...
