AN: I remember playing "In a Room" in my bedroom when I was a teenager and my Dad told me to "turrn that garbage noise off", so this song has always felt rebellious and defiant to me. Also, apologies in advance for ruining "I Can See Clearly Now" for you...
Chapter 54 - "I'm waiting for you behind the door."
Circe was watching Fred Weasley's foot placement with scrutiny, calling out to the Weasley twin as he carried on his sparring match with Ginny. It was late afternoon and by that time of day she would normally be feeling tired and worn out from teaching all day, but not now. She felt alive, invigorated with the feeling of purpose and disobedience. Dumbledore's Army were beginning to show promise as an amateur group of Duellists. They were eager, quick to learn, hungry for whatever she had to tell them and it seemed to Circe that her mood had completely changed because of these kids. Before she had been morose and miserable, now she was bright and driven, and there weren't enough hours in the day to complete everything she wanted to do.
"Don't cross your feet, Fred! That's a sure fire way to trip yourself up…" She called out, spotting a point of correction.
She looked around the Room of Requirement, casting an eye over the other pairs of duelling teenagers practising her wand fighting techniques and drills. She couldn't help but feel a swell of pride deep within her.
A curse went whizzing over her head and collided into the roof with a bang. Circe let out a small sigh and looked to where the spell had come from.
"Harry, go and show Neville what level to keep his wand at!" she called over to Potter, on the other side of the room. She was surprised Potter could hear her over the amassed noise of flying curses, shouted spells and general uproar, but Harry gave a thumbs up to her and trotted over to Neville. Circe dodged and weaved her way through the duelling teenagers in Room of Requirement, judging the form and technique of each sparring pair she passed, unable to keep an august grin off her face. Hermione's otter patronus went scampering under her feet and her eyes followed the sleek, swimming creature back to the young Gryffindor as she helped to teach some other DA members to master the patronus charm. There were only a few remaining now who hadn't managed to produce even a non-corporeal patronus and Hermione was giving them her best teacher-esque voice as she marched up and down the small row of students still endeavouring to master the charm. Circe chuckled to herself as she realised even amongst the swell of noise around them, she could hear Granger's voice above it all as clear as a bell, but as authoritative as any Professor at Hogwarts.
I think I can see quite a few budding Professors in this room. She thought, as her eyes travelled back to Harry, his arm laid gently on top of Neville's to guide the point of his wand.
Then Cho Chang backed in to her with a surprised little yelp.
"Oh! Sorry, Professor!"
"Watch your back as well as your front, Cho. And- ohh!" She pulled Cho down onto the floor as a nasty jelly-legs jinx came flying at them, sailing just over the tops of their heads and missing them both narrowly. "Never take your eyes off your opponent!"
Circe pointed at Ron, Cho's sparring partner, with her own wand and she produced a quick protego spell to block the second of the hexes he'd sent careening at them.
"That would have been you jinxed, Cho!" Circe stated frankly.
"You alright, Professor..?" Ron called to them nervously.
"We're both fine." Circe called back, pushing Cho forwards and back into the sparr. "Come on Chang, use that Seeker spatial awareness I know you have."
"But he's the Snitch, right Professor?" Cho asked as a look of understanding passed over her eyes.
"Exactly."
It had been a few weeks now since she had first stumbled in on the group and they had religiously kept meeting despite Umbridge's growing list of offences. Hermione had given Circe one of her charmed galleons to signal to her when they were calling a gathering, but she had made it clear to the students that she wouldn't be able to attend every meeting; she still had a job to do, she still had to keep up to date with The Order, and she still had to keep an ear to the ground to listen out for Voldemort's movements. Luckily, Harry was a more than capable teacher and was a natural when it came to leading the group in spell practise or combat training. Today, however, Circe had managed to get enough of her lesson-planning done, as well as shaking off Dolores's request for a scrutiny of her scheme of work to be able to slip away into the Room of Requirement for a coaching session.
And her Cantuscope was churning out some bangers for this session:
"In a room there's no other faces
Don't know why I'm feeling like this
Tell me lies, I won't believe them
Why don't it always turn out right?"
Circe had moved the machine to the practise room as it was getting little use in her and Minerva's shared rooms. The Dumbledore's Army members who had also been a part of the MMAP had cheered with joy when Circe had arrived carrying it in her arms. It was good to hear music again, to see it light up the faces of those around her, feel the glorious effect it had on their mood as well as her own. And as always, the machine had an uncanny ability to pinpoint the atmosphere spot on. "The Star" was displayed proudly on the machine's exterior that day. The card of cosmic purpose and direction, the card that represented the guiding light through hardship and struggle, of good luck and destiny at work...
"If we are together again
Surely this will never end
These times have changed this is never gone before
I'm waiting for you behind the door."
Severus had wanted to meet with her that night, but she'd known from her burning galleon that the DA were planning to meet in the Room that evening too. She had managed to explain away her reluctance to meet with a nod towards her pile of unmarked books on her desk, and Severus had simply shrugged and nodded his understanding, untucking the hair from behind his right ear with a small smile. But Circe knew that one day Severus would find out that she was helping the DA. One day he would discover their meetings like Circe had done, looking for the "shag-palace" and instead finding the entrance to the cathedral-like practise room. And Circe hadn't exactly been forthcoming with her decision to coach the students in Duelling to Snape… She knew Severus would react poorly; if the wrong people found out about her involvement, it would breach her cover. It would be very hard to explain to Voldemort why she'd agreed to teach Harry and his friends the very skills they'd need to fight against him… And it was just the kind of excuse that Bellatrix would be looking for to out her as a traitor to the Dark Lord. Yet even with all of this added risk, helping the students in Dumbledore's Army was a decision she couldn't bring herself to regret.
Circe had been back to her Dad's street a few times in the last few weeks, just to set up some protective charms and defenses around his house. But she'd still kept her distance, not approached the front door just in case Madame Lestrange was watching. It was a temporary solution to a long-term problem and she knew eventually she'd have to think of something better that would keep them all safe, just in case Bellatrix turned nasty. However, it sounded like Bellatrix and her brother-in-law Lucius were being kept busy enough with the mission The Dark Lord had given them. Severus had told Circe that Lucius was having a considerable amount of trouble locating the record of The Prophecy in The Department of Mysteries.
Thank God. Circe thought. It keeps Bellatrix and Lucius occupied and the people guarding it in The Order out of harm's way… for now.
"Narcissa tells me that The Dark Lord is starting to grow impatient." Severus had whispered to her in a stolen moment together in the Potions storage cupboard.
"Narcissa writes to you?"
"She knows that we both curry favour with Voldemort." Severus had added quickly, his skin growing a little flushed. "And when Voldemort eventually loses his patience with Lucius she hopes that either you or I might be able to speak for him."
"Not me." Circe spat with a scowl. "Not for the bastard who killed Michael, I won't…"
"Circe…" Severus breathed, exasperatedly.
"I know the Malfoys are your friends, Severus. I know they helped you when you had to leave Spinner's End. But if it comes to it, I'd let Lucious be torn apart by the wolves."
"And allow his wife and son suffer as a consequence?" Severus asked.
"I can't help it if she married a-"
"And Draco? Will you blame him for being born into the wrong family?"
Circe fell silent. Draco was a little prick, but at least Circe knew that his prickishness was learnt behaviour. Draco was still a kid, a kid who didn't know any better. A part of her wished that one day she'd turn up to a Dumbledore's Army meeting and Draco would be there asking to learn to Duel. But she knew that wasn't going to happen. The boy was well on his way to becoming indoctrinated into the Death Eater's ranks like his father. Swept along by the surmounting current of war.
That realisation had made Circe pause, thinking carefully about what Severus was trying to say. Surely her role, what she was trying to do, was to protect all of the students of Hogwarts, irrespective of who their parents were. Perhaps even to protect those students from their own parents.
"Ginny, that reducto hex is good, but don't rely on it!" she called out to the Weasley girl. "And don't forget to block too as well as attack. You're all offensive and not much defensive."
Ginny nodded to Circe and promptly readjusted her footing into a more protective stance. Circe wandered from pair to pair, analysing their fighting technique and suggesting improvements as she went. As she had expected, Harry showed the greatest natural skill for duelling, but Ron was also a standout fighter as well as Ginny and Luna too. Hermione and Cho were still not fully leaning in to the Duel, letting their politeness and demurity hold them back, and the less said about Neville's skill, the better…
"That stance looks good Neville, just remember to point the wand at your target…" she said encouragingly. Neville smiled apologetically back at her, knowing within himself that his skill was poor.
"Sorry, Professor." he muttered, embarrassed at his ineptitude.
"Don't get down, Neville. You'll get it eventually." chimed in Luna, his sparring partner. Yet Circe thought, rather cynically, if a Death Eater would offer Longbottom any words of encouragement during a real confrontation.
The doors to the Room of Requirement creaked open and in crept Seamus. As he approached Harry, he was breathless and red faced, as if he'd run a fair distance.
"You alright there, Seamus?" Dean asked, furrowing his brow and laying a hand on his back, but Finnegan still gasped for air. The only thing not sending them all into a panic of a possible Umbridge invasion or another enemy at their gates was the large grin all over Seamus's red face.
"Hagrid... " he eventually breathed. "He's back!"
Harry's face instantly lit up and he looked to his friends Hermione and Ron with a joyous sparkle in his eye.
Oh good God, I hadn't even noticed that Hagrid wasn't here. Circe thought rather ashamedly, realising that the giant had been gone since the beginning of the school year. There had just been so much on her mind, so much to occupy her thoughts that she hadn't quite managed to put together why Hogwarts's grounds felt empty to walk around, why the air wasn't filled with the sound of a jolly whistle, why there was no drifting smell of fire smoke in the air…
Hogwarts hasn't been the same without Hagrid. Now where could he have possibly been that's kept him away for almost three months?
Harry looked around at the gathered faces and gave a short "Umm…"
"Oh, go on. Go see him!" Ginny said excitedly. "We'll always have time to come together again."
"Alright… just make sure you all give it about five minutes in between each one of you leaving." Harry added, his voice taking on something like a fatherly, caring quality to it. Circe, not for the first time, found herself marvelling at the amount of responsibility the young man had on his shoulders at his tender age.
"We know the drill by now!" laughed Padma. "Neville's getting quite good at asking the Room to create different exits for us all to leave separately through. It's running rings around the Inquisition Squad."
"At least I'm good for something." muttered Neville.
"Now enough of that, Longbottom!" Circe said strictly, giving him a playful cuff on the ear. "Every single person here has made leaps and bounds in their skills and considering these… odd times and never before seen circumstances… you should all be so proud of what you've done here. Now go and welcome Hagrid back home!" she finished, shooing Harry, Ron and Hermione towards the door before they could argue back.
"Wait, has everybody got their communicator?" Hermione asked, coming to an abrupt halt by the exit.
Both Ron and Harry delved into their pockets in unison and drew out two rather ugly looking cygnet rings. Hermione smiled down at their open palms with a pleased glint in her eye.
Circe had to admit, that had been something from a stroke of genius from Granger. Once Circe had told Hermione of all of the different abilities the Cantuscope had, the young Gryffindor girl had set to work on putting it to use. Every Dumbledore's Army member now had a piece of jewellery that had been paired up with Circe's Cantuscope in the way her amber brooch had. There was always somebody out on watch duty and it was his or her job to inform the DA if there was an enemy floating about outside or snooping around for the door to enter the Room of Requirement. All that the watchmen had to do in these cases was to whisper their previously agreed on codesong to their jewelry and the Cantuscope would play it for the others in the meeting room. Circe couldn't help but laugh when they'd told her of the songs they'd ascribed to certain unfriendly characters. Some of them she'd been able to work out, some had needed Luna or Ginny to explain to her:
If Filch was snooping about the halls near the Room of Requirement, then they'd hear The Cure's 'The Lovecats'.
Not too hard to figure out that one. Because of his rather uncomfortably close relationship with Mrs Norris..
If Malfoy or any of his cronies were on patrol, trying to brown nose Umbridge by joining the Inquisition Squad, then Blondie's 'Heart of Glass' would play.
"Why that one?" She'd asked Ginny when she'd heard The Cantuscope begin to play it one training session.
"Because what colour hair does Malfoy have?" Ginny had asked her back with a cheeky smile.
"Oh for goodness sake…"
But the one that had really got her tittering was the tune they'd reserved for Umbridge herself. Elton's 'The Bitch is Back'...
Luckily for them, whoever was on watch that evening hadn't given the signal for any enemies in the vicinity and the Cantuscope was quiet for the time being. Once Harry and Ron had slipped on their cygnet rings and Hermione had fitted her simple gold charm bracelet, the trio slipped out of the door of the Room of Requirement and safely out into the empty halls. The students left in the practise room didn't have to wait long before Johnny Nash's 'I Can See Clearly Now' started playing from the Cantuscope. The song to signal that the corridors were clear and the next person was clear to leave.
Neville was the first of them to head off, his mood a little low and his head dipped slightly from his frustrating fight with Luna. Circe gave him a hearty oat on the back as he made his way out and a questioning thumbs up. Neville nodded back to her, a small smile creeping across his lips. Before he left, he drew out a small medallion of St Christopher and placed it around his neck. Once it was fitted, he waved to the remaining DA members and slipped out into the corridor. After a few minutes of waiting Circe turned her attentions to the DA.
"Who's next?" Circe asked. "Miss Chang or Miss Weasley?"
"Professor, we haven't had the signal for all-clear from Neville yet." Luna chimed in, pointing to the Cantuscope.
"Maybe he just forgot." Circe grumbled, watching as the music machine remained deathly quiet.
"Oh no, I charmed his St Christopher to itch his neck quite ferociously if he forgets." Luna explained with a small chuckle.
"Then something must be up." Circe said cynically. "And it can't be Umbridge or Filch or Malfoy's lot. Otherwise he'd have used their songs."
Without warning, through the huge doors of the Room of Requirement burst forth George Weasley. Again he was panting and wild eyed, but this time with alarm rather than excitement. And as the student who'd been on watch that evening, Circe knew that it must be bad news.
"What is it George?" Fred asked his twin, rushing to his side in an instant.
"Neville… he's run into a spot of bother." Wheezed out George. "And I couldn't signal to you who it was…. because we don't have a code for them yet."
"Well who is it?" Asked Ginny.
"Snape!"
Circe had no time to react. The Cantuscope began to tick and hum and all faces of the remaining DA turned to watch the machine making its choice…
And then 'Back in Black' began playing...
The remaining members of Dumbledore's Army let out a collection of amused laughs. Circe too couldn't help but grin at the song her machine had ascribed to Severus. It was a little un-nuanced, but then again it was spot on enough that Circe wasn't puzzling over the Cantuscope's decision like some of the other code songs. Severus was the man in black, who rolled in like thunder, imposing, dark and raucous. Just like the song.
"I thought you said you lot chose the code songs?" Circe asked with an eye roll, hollering over the loud, heavy rock medley.
"Sometimes we do, sometimes the Cantuscope does it for us." Luna explained.
"It's started doing it for friendly people too." Cho chimed in. "It lets us know who's on their way. Who's waiting for us behind the door, friend or foe."
"Like Hermione's song is 'Brown Eyed Girl'." Michael Cormer stated, striding forwards.
"And Ron's is 'Eye of the Tiger'. I chose that one for him!" Lavender Brown stated proudly.
"And Harry's is 'Children of the Revolution'."
"What's mine?" Circe asked, unable to shelf her curiosity for another time.
"WE DON'T NEED NO EDUCATION!" Fred and George hollered out together.
"Oh, 'Another Brick in the Wall'?" Circe asked, secretly very pleased with the Cantuscope's choice.
"At first we thought it was another student. Y'know.. because of the whole "hey, teacher, leave us kids alone." bit." Added Ginny.
Little do you know, kid. Circe thought with a raised eyebrow. That's almost exactly what I'd like to scream at Umbridge. Though probably with more swear words…
"It's a pity the Cantuscope can't tell us who's friend or foe. Good tune or not, it doesn't help us figure out exactly what side people like Snape are on…" George whispered to Fred.
"What? What are you talking about? Severus is in The Order, you've seen him at Grimmauld Place…" Circe spluttered.
"Told you, Freddie…" George whispered to his twin with a smirk. Circe's face formed into a frown but she did not have the time to linger on their tittering.
"Um… guys. Neville?" Dean Thomas asked with a small nod to the door.
"Oh, right…." Circe grumbled. "Let me go out next and I'll try and distract Professor Snape. Then... Wait for my signal for the all clear and all of you can try and leave at once… Just in case he starts snooping around."
"That sounds like a plan." Ginny nodded.
Circe sighed heavily. Right, let's go and deal with Severus.
She slipped out of the Room of Requirement, closing the huge doors behind her as silently as she could. The hallways were quiet, but she could just about hear the slow drawl of Severus's cutting voice in the distance,
"I won't be letting you go until you tell me the reason why you're out of your dormitory at this hour, Longbottom!"
"P-P-P-Professor Sprout wanted me to check in on the greenhouses…."
"They are at the other end of the school, you moron!" Snape shouted.
Circe broke into a small trot, following the sound of the voices until she came upon Severus and Neville. Snape had the boy pressed up against the wall of the corridor and seized by his lapels. Poor Neville looked almost three inches shorter than he was, such was the power of Snape's vicious scowl bearing down upon him. Circe cleared her throat and the two of them suddenly snapped their attentions her way.
"Evening, Professor. Evening, Mister Longbottom." she said curtly, but she could feel the stirrings of anger deep within her. However, she tried to push past the feeling, saving Severus's telling off for another day. We still need to have words about how you treat Neville… She remembered.
"Professor Smith." Severus stated flatly, releasing Neville from his grasp.
"Lost again, are you Neville?" she asked, diverting her attentions away from the longing look in Severus's eyes. "Gosh, you'd think after five years here you'd know how to get to the greenhouses by now!"
"Sorry Professor…" Neville muttered.
"Now go on, on your way back to Gryffindor tower before Professor Umbridge corners you. And I don't think she'll be as… understanding… as Professor Snape was." she stated sarcastically, casting a judgemental eye on Snape, letting him know she had heard how he had spoken to Neville and she was not best pleased. "Off you go. Spit spot."
Neville gathered himself and slipped out from beneath Severus, running off down the corridor and out of their sights. Severus rounded on her with a look of utter confusion, dragging her into the concealed corner he had previously held Neville in.
"What's happened to you? What's wrong?"
"Nothing! Why do you assume something's wrong?"
"Because you've never once said "spit spot" in the entire time I've known you…"
Circe laughed but her laughter was cut short as she spotted, just over Severus's shoulder, the other DA members with Cho at their front holding her coat…
Oh fuck…
Her brooch was pinned under the lapel of that coat, and in her haste to leave the Room of Requirement, coupled with the odd and off putting statements of the Weasley twins, she'd forgotten to take it with her. They were all there, standing there in the corridor, looking at her with a mixture of expectance and panic. She had no way to signal to them when it was safe to leave and they'd all tiptoed out of the Room of Requirement to try and salvage her hastily made plan. If Severus turned around now, they'd all be seen by him…
Circe pulled Severus deeper into the little corner he had kept Neville in, until she could no longer see the DA in her line of sight, meaning Severus wouldn't be able to either. It was a neat little alcove, often a favourite spot for older students to be caught having a canoodle in. Small, dark and hidden from anybody who might pass nearby.
"Circe, are you alr-" Severus asked, but his question was cut short when Circe lay her lips on top of his. She pulled him deeper into a kiss, her heart pounding with the adventure and excitement of it all, and Severus leant into her hungrily.
"I thought you said you were preoccupied tonight…" he muttered, a hungry look in his black eyes.
"I'm suddenly in the mood for something a bit naughty, my love." she whispered, breathing her hot words onto his lips. He shivered as her hands travelled down to his crotch where she found him already firm beneath her palm. Her head was racing, trying to figure out a way that she could signal to the DA that it was safe for them to go without her brooch and keep Severus distracted…
Her hands kept working away at Severus beneath his trousers and she felt his hardness grow as his breaths became ragged. He kissed her deeply, with a wanting that longed to consume her entirely, his own heart thundering in his chest. Severus's desire soared as she sank to her knees before him and began unfastening him.
She wants me here? In this place?! His thoughts reeled.
This was risky, but the risk made his aching thirst for her even stronger. The seedy thrill of the publicness of it made his blood sing. But he was taken slightly aback when she began to whistle….
He looked down at her from beneath the hanging black curtains over his face with a look of bemusement. He hadn't imagined it. She really was whistling 'I Can See Clearly Now' as she released him from his clothes.
"Wh-what are you doing?" he asked breathlessly, his cock throbbing with lust as she carried on her work. She didn't answer him, but carried on her long strokes up and down his length, eliciting a shudder of pleasure from him each time her fingers passed over his swollen head. He was almost pulled out of his throws of ecstasy when he thought he heard the rustle of footsteps back in the corridor they had just been in. "Do you hear tha-"
But again, he was silenced as Circe placed her thick lips around his cock. He moaned, his attentions fully on the slick feeling of her tongue working its way up and down his member. Whatever noises he thought had heard, not three seconds into Circe's blowjob it was all forgotten. A distant memory as his mind was totally and utterly consumed by the feel of her mouth around him. He leaned back against the wall of their alcove, his moans growing louder. He covered his own mouth, biting down hard on his fist to try and silence himself but it was growing increasingly impossible as Circe grew faster and faster. His heart threatened to burst out of his chest as he felt himself grow close.
"Wait… Stop, I'll-"
But Circe showed no remorse, no intention of stopping. Her tongue danced across him, drawing him closer and closer to completion. He finally emptied himself out into her, feeling like he was going to collapse with the power of his orgasm. Circe stood to her feet and wiped her mouth, gazing at Severus with a look of fierce wickedness.
"Oh are you done, my love?" she asked hoarsely.
"Get in that room right now…" he growled, leaning in close to her and laying his hand around her neck. "I am not finished with you this evening."
After their deed was done, they lay together in the newly reformed Room of Requirement in the old familiar bed of the "shag-palace". Severus held her firm in his arms, toying with her hair as she leant her head on his chest, feeling the beating of his heart underneath his breastbone. They had discussed many things in the hours after they had fallen apart from one another, sweaty and exhausted. Circe had talked about her father's note, stating that the troublesome revelation it carried was the reason behind her erratic mood and secrecy of late. She'd used it as a bit of an excuse, to distract Snape's attentions away from finding out she was helping the DA, but he seemed equally concerned over that, falling quiet in her arms as he thought to himself, making her bronze hair dance around his finger as he twirled.
"You should have told me about your father sooner, Circe…" he whispered to her. "This is really quite serious if Bellatrix is on their scent."
"I thought about instructing the Dementors to guard the house." she answered, her hand unconsciously finding the oval necklace she still wore about her neck as Severus hadn't been able to take it off her on time before his impatience and his desire got the best of him.
"And what more of an obvious signal would Bellatrix need to point out to her exactly which home your father and step-mother are in…" Severus added flatly.
Circe sighed, letting the necklace flop back against her skin. "Some use this "Praetor" title is to me then…" she grumbled. "I can't even instruct the horrible things to guard the people I care about."
"Muggles also react rather poorly to the presence of Dementors. If your father did have a fleet of Dementors outside his house all hours of the day, then that would make for a very miserable experience for everybody in that home. And you told me before about how well your father reacts to stress and grief..."
"You'd never know to look at him. He's so straight-laced, so upstanding."
"Well, this is very much the pot calling the kettle black, but quite often it's the people who repress their emotions who are the ones that have them overspill in the most dramatic of ways."
"Pot, kettle, black indeed…" Circe said with a slight grin, trying to make light of the situation. But as her smile faded, Severus watched the heavy cloud of worry drift over her features again. "So what do I do, Sev? I need to keep them safe. Not just Dad and Jane, but Alec and Tom too. They're innocents in all of this. It's not their fault that I've become involved in this war."
"Well, consider the benefits that you still have: Bellatrix is obviously unaware of exactly who on that street you are connected to. Your father's letter stated that she was asking around blindly, hoping someone would point her in the right direction. Luckily, the people she asked played dumb. That won't be the case forever. But right now she doesn't know who your father is, or anyone else in your home for that matter. She's probably just going off hunches and rumours too, I'd wager…"
"But it will only be a matter of time before Bellatrix catches my owl there… Or she overhears Alec and Tom talking about their magic 'big sister' in school. Or Jane mentioning my name to the person down the corner shop who I went to Primary school with-"
"Then… perhaps…" Severus said achingly slowly. Circe's arms broke out in goosebumps, knowing from the tone of his voice that he was labouring over saying something very difficult. "Perhaps… they need to forget about you."
Circe sat up in the bed, looking at Severus with an expression of pure horror.
"You mean… obliviate them all?"
Severus nodded solemnly. Circe was never one to mince words but Snape's honest reply left her speechless nonetheless.
"It need only be till the end of the war. You could reverse the charm when The Dark Lord is defeated-"
"Which might be years away! Or never even happen!"
"It's not an easy choice. One that I do not envy you for having to make. But it would keep them safe, not just from Bellatrix but from anybody else who came snooping for leverage against you."
"But if I do that, Severus. If I take all of their memories of me and I end up... well
...dying in this whole charade." She choked on her words, acknowledging for the first time that she might not survive her dalliance with the wizards of dark magic. The reality of the war suddenly hit home for her and she knew that she might be fighting for a future she didn't get to see. But she swallowed hard, trying to muster the courage to continue what she needed to say. "If I did die in this war….There'd be nobody around to reverse the charge. They'd always forget me. My own father wouldn't know me. He'd go about his life not even realising that I was once part of it…"
It was futile trying to hold back her tears and she soon dissolved into bitter sobs.
"I know, I know" Severus cooed softly, drawing her close to him as she cried. "Like I said, it's an awful decision to make. But if I'd known where my mother was during the first war, I would have done the same."
"And your father too?"
"Well… as much as I despise him, I don't think I'd have needed the added guilt of knowing he may have been tortured because of me."
"Oh God… little Tom and Alec…." Circe's body shook with awful sobs as she imagined her step-brothers suffering at the hands of Bella's cruciatus curse.
"Don't think about it. It hasn't happened and it need not ever happen." Severus said firmly, gripping her in his arms tightly. "It's up to you. You have the power to protect them, Circe."
"You truly think it could end up being that bad,
Sev?"
"I wouldn't have mentioned it as an option if I didn't think so. I'm sorry, my love."
He held her firm as she wept in his arms.
"And I do not wish to rub salt into the wound, Circe, but it must be you who makes this decision and you are rapidly running out of time to do so."
"Well, this isn't really a choice I can make in a single evening, Sev! Agree to erase all of my father's memories of magic, of my mum and of me."
"I understand. But I presume you'll want to make this decision before a nasty incident occurs and not after."
Circe shivered as a thousand and one nasty images clouded her mind's eye. Severus was right; Bellatrix could discover who her family was any day now and there would be nothing holding her back from torturing every single one of them, or worse...
"If I do agree to do this… Will you promise me something, Sev?"
"Anything, my love."
"Before I have to take all of their memories from them… Will you come and meet them all?"
Severus's eyes bulged as he felt an icy shiver pass through him. "Y-you want me to meet your father?"
"That's what normal couples do, isn't it? I want him to know you. To have met you and shook your hand. I want him to meet the only other person on this earth that I love as much as him."
"Before you will be forced to take that memory away?" Severus asked morosely.
"Yes! Because I need him to understand who I am, who we are, Severus. Even if it's only for a few moments before I erase every trace of me from his head."
He looked into her eyes, so distraught and swimming in pain, and Severus found he didn't have the heart to tell her 'no'. Yet the idea of meeting Circe's father frightened him more than any conclave at Pettigrew Manor as it still baffled him why anybody would want to take him home to meet the parents. Severus sighed and tucked her curls behind her ear.
I would so have loved for you to have met my mother. He thought, feeling his throat close up with emotion. She would have adored you, Circe.
"Alright."
That night, Severus had parted from Circe with a sweet kiss at some time in the early hours. The halls of Hogwarts were blissfully quiet as he made his way back down to the respite of his dungeon. He felt his chest untighten as the cooling temperature of the subterranean floors soothed his anxious body. The dungeons were always seen as a bit of an odd and creepy place to the majority of Hogwarts students, but to a Slytherin like Snape, it was home, it was sanctuary, it was comfort to be surrounded and completely buried in the earth. As he approached his quarters, he looked up to the ceiling and tried to imagine where Circe was at that moment. Her on the surface and he tucked away underground. An eagle and a snake. She soaring in the world above and he lying in the cool comfort of the ground.
His mind ticked over a myriad of metaphors that involved Circe's "wings" and his "venom" but in the rather exhausted and drained emotional state he was in, by the time he lay down on his bed, he found he could remember none of them. He thought of her, still able to smell her on him, still able to taste her on his tongue and feel her in his hands. If it were up to him he would have the eagle come to his snake hole underground to warm his bed and flap away his loneliness. It was one of the many ironies of being with Circe. His loneliness, although manifesting much less frequently than before, was now more acute. When he would part from her at the doors of the Room of Requirement and tear himself from her side, the first moments he had by himself when he was truly alone were almost excruciating.
He was just about to allow himself to drift off into a semi-peaceful slumber when he was rudely awoken by a knock on his door. He sat up slowly, his face an expressionless model of utter exhaustion. He rubbed at his tired eyes and smelt Circe there again on him.
God, I should have had a bath.
The knock came again and Severus rose to his feet with an irritated grumble. When he swung the door open, Minerva was waiting there for him in her nightgown.
"Minerva… wonderful timing as always."
"Severus, Albus needs to see you this minute." She stated, the anxiety plain in her voice. Her tone made Snape straighten up as the squeezing sensation of worry began in his guts again.
"What's happened? Is it Cir-"
"No." Minerva interrupted him with a wave of her hand. "It's Harry. He says that he had a dream."
"A dream? Dumbledore wants me out of bed for a dream?"
"It doesn't look like you were sleeping much anyway." She responded with a raised eyebrow. Her nose wrinkled as she looked him up and down and Severus wondered for a tense moment if she could also smell Circe on him.
"What kind of dream?" He asked hastily.
"Well that's just it, Severus. Dumbledore believes it's not a dream… it's a vision."
"A vision of what?"
"An attack… on Arthur Weasley."