Cacoethes

six

Circe groaned quietly at the soft hands shaking her awake, pouting at the thought of being woken up. She was having a rather nice dream of her, Steve, and Bucky, all enjoying the view of the Black Lake. She rubs her eyes, stretching her arms up as she looks around. Malfoy was ogling her chest, only being stopped by Orion hitting the back of his head.

"Are we here?" She asks her cousin lightly, and Walburga nods.

"We are, darling," she answers, grinning at the light flush on her cheeks from the pet name.

"Come with me to change?" Circe asks in a small voice, making her cousin frown.

"Of course. My King?" She asks, and the boy nods, waving them off.

"If anything happens, report to me, Walburga."

The girl nods, taking her cousin by the hand after fishing her robes out from her trunk like Circe did, and the two head down to the bathrooms.

"What did the King mean by that?" Circe asks, and Walburga stares at her for a second before shaking her head.

"Nothing you need to worry about, just Court things," she says, and then cringes. "That came out rather rudely—"

"No, it's alright. I'm not meant to be on the Court, anyhow," she says with a smile, and Walburga frowns, tugging her into the bathroom. They step into separate stalls, joining back together to walk down the hall together.

"You're looking pretty good for a mudblood," someone said from behind them, making Circe tense. Many, many memories of men hitting on her and successfully managing to scar her mentally float back. Walburga simply tugs her along, unaware of Circe's hand on her blade in her pocket. Erskine had gotten it for her for Christmas before the experiment, and now she carried it with her everywhere, as well as the necklace that sat under her shirt.

The voice scoffs, talking with his friends about Circe being a buzzkill. She releases her hold, gripping her cousin's hand as they reappeared back into the compartment. Walburga sits her down, leaning over to whisper into Riddle's ear as Circe buries herself in a book, desperately trying to forget the scene.

Once the train came to a stop, and Circe had successfully latched onto her cousin, the group walked toward the carriages pulled by one of Circe's favorite creatures, the Thestrals. Walburga had instructed her hours earlier to wait with her with the Court for the last carriage, as was tradition. Circe pet the Thestrals smiling at them as Walburga looked at her weirdly.

"What are you doing?" She asks, and Circe frowns before realizing.

"Oh, I'd forgotten. The creatures that pull the carriages can only be seen by those who've seen death," she explains. "I first began to see them in my second year after watching my mom die in the hospital."

Walburga pats her arm comfortingly, Circe smiling thankfully at her cousin. Walburga was the first in the carriage, followed by her fiancé and Abraxas, who playfully pushed her out of the way before scrambling on.

"Here, let me," Riddle says from behind her, offering his hand out for her to take. She flushes, nodding, and she sets her palm in his, allowing him to help her up. His other hand had pushed her up from behind, it's warmth surprising Circe a little. Walburga had a knowing gleam in her eye, pulling Circe to sit next to her, with Riddle on her other side.

Malfoy continued conversation between them, making Circe chuckle here and there. Circe felt nice, having a group that she could be with, even if they probably didn't like her. At the Great Hall, Circe moved to go sit in her usual seat, far from the Court, but Walburga tugged her over to her seat, sending her a blank look that told her she wouldn't be leaving her side for the rest of the school year.