Hey darlings! I changed up the current timeline a bit, so if you've read the last three chapters just know that some dates are extended and little cue words are added to clarify that Circe and Wynn both recognize the other from around the school and other classes before this year. Just a few changes in order for the plot to run smoothly. Sorry for the hiccup! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

20 September 2011

Highlands of Scotland

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

The Black Lake was heavily covered in fog, making it difficult to see very far in front of me as I strolled its bank. I don't know what possessed me to come out here so shortly before curfew, but whatever it was, I can only be thankful. When I saw the figure curled in on itself, I almost assumed the moonlight reflecting off the fog was playing tricks on my eyes. It wasn't until I got closer that I noticed the figure was real and of all people, Circe Rosier.

She did not look okay.

"Circe, is that you?" I called out before I approached. "Are you okay?"

Her body curled in on itself more, unwilling to look at me or talk to me. I studied her further, taking in the way her hands disappeared into her unusually wild waves, small body shaking violently, eyes scrunched closed, tear tracks shining. Panic rose in me at the sight of her in such a vulnerable state, but I know I can't leave. I don't care if she wants to be alone. All of her actions were reminding me of the panic attacks I learned to coach my little sister Cara through. They are not easy to manage alone, especially if you don't know how to, and from the looks of Circe's state, I wager she might not even be aware of what she is currently experiencing.

My feet carried me over to her side before I even registered the action, plopping beside her on the sand.

"Hey," I whispered tentatively, "Circe, I think you're having a panic attack."

Her eyes opened to look at me, and her hazy, dilated eyes further confirmed everything, "A-a what?"

The hoarseness of her voice was almost heartbreaking, "A panic attack. My little sister has them too. I can help."

"No. No!" She wailed, backing away from me. "You have to g-go. I c-can't...I can't."

If I didn't help her now, I am going to have to carry her unconscious body to the infirmary when she passes out from hyperventilating, "Please, please let me help you. I know you don't want anyone else to see you like this, and I swear I won't tell. But please, I'm begging, let me help you."

Hinting towards the weird reputation she has around the school seemed to break her down enough, and she nodded reluctantly, allowing me to come closer. She flinched away when my hands came into contact with her own, as if I was about to hit her. The whole situation made me burn with anger toward whoever hurt this tiny girl enough for her to hide behind a cold mask of indifference in order to feel safe and in control. I wonder what she is like without the front she puts up. I wonder what kind of person she might be if she lived in a home like mine.

"I need you to breathe with me. Can you do that?"

Another nod.

I sat with her for twenty minutes past curfew, helping her slow her breathing. She never said anything, which is actually a nice change of pace from the nasty insults and snide comments over the course of the last few weeks. While the current situation is not ideal, I thank Merlin for the opportunity to see the small, Slytherin ice princess behaving a little less frostily.

"Do you feel better?" I asked, tilting my head to try to catch her downcast eyes. She sniffled, wiping at her face harshly before changing her expression back to that stone cold look I'm too familiar with.

"I'm fine," she bit out, her face twisting up like she was battling emotions. "Thank you."

My jaw nearly dropped at the thank you, expecting the usual bitter responses. It came out pretty harshly, but it's the first time Circe's ever said anything remotely kind to me. I'm content settling with that win.

"I never thought I'd hear the day those words came out of your mouth," I teased, smiling brightly at the way her face colored.

She cleared her throat, standing up on her shaky legs as her red tinged nose lifted in a weakened imitation of her normal haughty posture "Don't get used to it."

We made our way back to the castle, trying to be quiet and not get caught. It didn't work, and the two of us were reprimanded by a prefect, given detention, and sent on our way to bed. Before we went our separate ways, I needed to ask her a question.

"So, does this mean we are friends now?"

"Not a chance in hell, Sudrach."

…

21 September 2011

Highlands of Scotland

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

"So why did you get back to the dorms after curfew last night?"

I tried to avoid Teddy's interrogation by keeping my attention solely on my breakfast.

"Come on, Wynn. Did you finally put the moves on that Ravenclaw girl you were talking about last year? I saw you two talking in the halls after Charms yesterday."

Tessa Sykes. By Helga, I almost forgot about her in light of the issues that transpired last night. I developed the biggest crush on her last year. She asked me to hang out with her at Hogsmeade today, and at the time I was overjoyed. Now, as my eyes slid from Sykes at the table next to us to Rosier at the table behind her, I can't help but feel awkward about agreeing though I can't place why. Circe and I aren't even friends, so why do I feel almost guilty about hanging out romantically with Tessa?

Maybe I do need Teddy's advice about this.

"Tessa asked me to hang out with her at Hogsmeade today, but she isn't why I was so late getting back last night."

Teddy's brows shot up, disappearing behind his hair as a cheeky grin crawled across his lips. "Wynnston Sudrach, are you secretly a player? And you never told your best friend! For shame!"

"No!" I quickly refuted, frantically waving away his accusation. "It's not like that. I found Circe last night in a pretty vulnerable state and helped her back to the castle. I was excited about going to Hogsmeade, but now that I've had one semi decent interaction with Rosier I feel weirdly guilty about going to hang out with Tessa."

The blue haired boy before me brought his hand up to his chin in a dramatic thinking pose, "I see, I see. So, the ice princess shows you an ounce of human emotion, and now you have a crush."

My eyes bulged out of my head, "What?"

"A crush, my dear friend!" He sang. "Little Wynny has a crush on a demon."

I kicked him hard in the shin, "Shut the fuck up. It's not like that, and she's not a demon, you dunce."

Teddy clutched his shin in agony, "Keep telling yourself that, mate. I bet five galleons that by the end of fourth year you'll be snogging."

Crush or no crush, there is no point in going to Hogsmeade with Tessa if I am feeling guilty. Guess I'll just put up with Teddy's dramatics instead. Now to figure out how to politely tell the girl who captivated my thoughts for the last year that as of a few weeks ago, the interest was no longer mutual.

…

My doubts and frustrations melted away the moment the carriage came to a stop at Hogsmeade, despite the lingering pain in my left arm from the stinging hex cast by an irate Ravenclaw third year. The atmosphere in the town is amazing, and there are so many shops to visit. In my excitement, I was out of the carriage before Teddy got the chance to stand up.

"Hurry up, Teds!"

I watched as he cast a sad look back at the castle, climbing out of the carriage much slower. A long, forlorn sigh escaping him.

My hand came down to clap his shoulder, "Victoire will be fine. I'm sure she doesn't miss your ugly mug one bit."

"She asked me to help her with Potions! I could be spending time with her right now," he cried. "Why can't she see me the way I see her."

Laughter bubbled up inside me, "Cause she's eleven, Teds. We didn't pay attention to girls until after Christmas last year. I'm sure she probably thinks you're just a big brother. Especially since you grew up together."

Horror bloomed across his face at the idea, "Not a brother figure!"

"Relax and give it until her third year. I'm sure she will come around when she's a little older."

My response seemed to calm him down a bit, and we carried on to a place called The Three Broomsticks that a few fourth years told us about. The pub was homey with a crackling fireplace on one wall and moving portraits lining all the others, the place filled with students from every year and house. I smiled at the ambiance, happy to see so many different people getting along.

Teddy and I ordered a butterbeer before making our way closer to the fireplace and taking a seat. We chatted amicably for a few minutes before I spotted a tiny, familiar figure entering the pub, the seeker for Slytherin following behind her. The pair made their way over to a table before the tall quidditch player left Circe alone in favor of heading to the bar to order drinks. I watched as her shoulders slumped at his disappearance and worry flashed through me when I remembered what transpired the night before. She must be under so much stress.

Teddy watched me watch her with a knowing smirk, "You gonna go talk to her or…?"

"Hell yeah," I muttered, downing the last of my butterbeer and slamming the glass down on the table. Determination filled me, and Teddy and I both stood up to make our way over. Once I reached her table, I leaned on the bench behind her, clearing my throat to get her attention. Her big, golden eyes whipped around to meet mine, shock swimming across her features.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Came to say hello, Frostbite! Did you miss me?" I grinned down at her, loving the fact that I caught her off guard.

Circe shook her head, wavy strands falling into her face as her eyes rolled. "Hardley. And you'd do well to bugger off before McKendrick comes back."

My smile grew wider, "I'm willing to accept the consequences of kidnapping you from the big, bad wolf."

Her tiny nose scrunched as she peered at me warily. "What the fuck is that supposed to- ah!"

I didn't give her time to finish before pulling on her arm and dragging her out the door before that McKendrick guy she is with caught us kidnapping his date. Teddy doubled over in laughter the moment we exited the building.

"You've got a death wish, Wynn! Look at the ice princess's face!"

I turned to look back at Circe, joining Teddy in his laughter at the cold, dark look on her features. It is hard to take her seriously considering how small and cute she is, especially knowing that this anger and blood hate is all just a consequence of what I'm sure is a less than ideal homelife. The girl needed a severe dose of fun.

"Come on, Frostbite, have a little fun for once in your life."

She sniffed, raising her nose loftily, "How do you know I wasn't having fun before you rudely dragged me away against my will?"

"Because, I can read you like a book," I whispered, leaning down slightly to look her in the eyes.

They widened at my statement, her full lips parting with a sharp exhale. Taking advantage of her dropped guard, I once again began pulling her along towards the local candy shop called Honeydukes, ready to show the frosty stick-in-the-mud what a good time really looked like.

…

Hours went by, and slowly but surely Circe started to loosen up. Her shoulders relaxed, and the angry expression on her face smoothed over to one of indifference. Spending time with her and Teddy actually turned out to be way more fun than I anticipated, and it helped me learn a little bit more about my closed off companion.

For starters, she really, really liked sweets. Watching her in Honeydukes was refreshing, and for the first time since I met her, she was actually acting her age. Wide eyed and curious, Circe ventured from one rack to the next, marveling at the array of chocolate and candy. In the end we all settled for filling up a small bag with a few things, and then finding a bench big enough for the three of us to sit and share all of the things we wanted to try. There was an unfamiliar light in her eyes as we traded things back and forth, and at one point, when she bit into a chocolate frog, I even saw her lips twitch upwards into an almost smile.

I will count that as positive progress.

Today I also learned that Circe has a nervous habit of pulling on the oversized sleeves of her sweater. Anytime we entered a crowded shop or passed a student dressed in her house colors, she pulled the sleeves over her hands and kept worrying the cuffs until we left whatever situation made her uncomfortable. She isn't much of a talker, preferring to sit and listen to Teddy and I banter rather than pitch in her own two knuts. If she did talk, it was always to insult or demean us, but as the day went on, those insults weren't charged with as much hostility as before. Overall, everything we did with Circe today is a step in the right direction. I hope it isn't unrealistic to hope for more of these interactions in the future.

After a few hours of roaming the town, the three of us started towards the Shrieking Shack, Teds and I stumbling over ourselves and laughing about a joke I cracked a minute ago. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught one of Rosier's perfectly groomed eyebrows arching upwards. Is this a sign of amusement in the language of Icicle?

"Well would you look at that," I exclaimed happily as I spun to face the petite Slytherin. "We got a slight expression from the Snow Queen. Somebody notify the Daily Prophet! The woman finally realizes I'm funny!"

"As if," she responded hastily before returning her attention ahead, her footsteps faltering moments later, eyes slamming back to their normal, frozen state. I followed her line of sight, the proud grin sliding off my face as I noticed the Slytherin boy she was with earlier striding towards us with two rather large friends flanking him on either side. Anger contorted his square face, and suddenly, the bravery I felt earlier deserted me.

"You know," I started, whispering so only Teddy and Circe heard, "He looked a lot smaller from farther away." Teddy nodded in agreement, his face paling along with his hair. His eyes shifted uncontrollably from one color to the next in a visual show of nerves.

"Bloody hell, what are you two lowborn badgers thinking stealing my girl, huh?" McKendrick asked angrily the moment he got within earshot.

The rational side of me was begging to just hand Circe back over and run, but the inconveniently brave badger in me registered the amount of discomfort coming off the girl in waves. Regardless of my own wellbeing, I am always willing to fight for a friend in need, often to the point of ridiculous stupidity. Time to crack out the false bravado. Everything is fine!

I let a cocky grin slip onto my face, "Your girl looked bored out of her mind spending time with you, so Teds and I took it upon ourselves to be gentleman and entertain her. Something you seem to be incapable of doing."

The seeker's face turned five shade of red, "You good for nothing half-"

"Stop," rang Circe's voice from beside me. She walked forward and placed a hand against McKendrick's chest. "Don't bother dealing with the blood traitor and his mudblood friend, Lennox. I was dragged against my will, so if this is anyone's fight it's mine. They aren't worth the detention or loss of house points. Leave it be."

Lennox's two accomplices backed away and started walking back towards the Three Broomsticks. Circe grabbed the lapels of his coat and dragged him along in the same direction, leaving Teddy and I with our jaws on the ground. I thought for sure the time we spent together changed something, but maybe I'm wrong. I guess I can't expect these last few weeks to change Rosier completely, no matter how much I wished that was the case. A lifetime of prejudice can rarely be resolved overnight. However, her steering McKendrick away must mean something.

The two of us stood in silence as the group disappeared into the pub before Teddy exhaled deeply, "Well, that was...something. I gotta say, Wynn, your future wife sure knows how to smoothly deescalate a situation and be a bitch at the same time. I'm still not sure if she was saving us or insulting us."

"I feel like it was both," I responded, belatedly registering the comment he made about Circe being my future wife..

"Hey!" I shouted indignantly at my best friend's retreating back, huffing irritably as I chased after the cackling idiot. "Teddy, she is not my future wife! I'm never gonna date her! Oi, Lupin! Get your arse back here!"

(Revised)