Circi | 2

THREE

"Draco"

September 1993, 1 month later

Serenity sat hugging her knees on a dining chair in the Tonks' living room.

Her fingers played with the soft cotton of the trousers Andromeda had lent to her as she rested her cheek atop her knee. Lazily, her eyes watched the steam rising from the cauldron while fighting the exhaustion that comes with the pain of her slowly healing arm. Andromeda had been administering Essence of Dittany to her splinched arm for the past month, it was taking much longer to heal due to Serenity having taken a day to reach her.

Ted was due home from some ministry business anytime soon and the steam from the cauldron mingled with that of the vegetables on the stove. Andromeda, having spent yet another day at home to care for the still-emotionally fragile Serenity, had her hair tied back with loose strands falling into her face. She focused on her potion as the radio crackled around a song from some muggle band.

The sun was nearly set. The open west-facing window cast golden squares of light onto the cream tiles, a breeze blowing in from the sea and kicking the sheer curtains into the room. A breeze ran up Serenity's spine, and she glanced up at the clock and released a whine. Andromeda's attention peaked, and she looked up while stirring slowly.

"Is there anything I can do?" Serenity shook her head and hit her head against her knee.

"It's Circini's first day at Hogwarts, the sorting ceremony has started." Glancing at the clock, also, Andromeda acknowledged that it was a few hours before the time she had received an owl from Hogwarts when her own daughter had been sorted.

"What house do you think she'll be in?"

"I'm not sure, Andy, I don't know her."

"SLYTHERIN"

While the Slytherin table erupted into cheers at the sorting hat's announcement, a group of boys from the Gryffindor table booed. Circi wanted to pull the hat over her head and somehow disappear into it but, instead, Professor McGonagall plucked it from her and ushered her in the direction of the other first-year Slytherins. She wanted to cry, but, for the sake of her own dignity and the Malfoy name, she ducked her head and slid onto the nearest available seat on the bench.

The room falls silent as a girl is sorted into Ravenclaw. As she joins her housemates, a young boy with black-rimmed glasses and a blush stained onto his tan cheeks is called to the front.

'Leslie Prott', that's what Professor McGonagall had called him, didn't look like much and some of the older Slytherins were whispering about his effeminate features. Circi didn't see what the problem was, finding him to be cute and approachable. So, when the sorting hat yelled out Slytherin once again, she had the sudden urge to wave him over. She wanted to be friends with him, she had an uncontrollable urge to get to know him and how he already appeared to exude more power than the students around her.

Luckily, the nearest empty seat was right beside her, so she didn't have to wave him over. But when he did sit down, he crossed his arms and paid no attention to her.

"Hi," she smiled wanly, earning only a glance out of the corner of his eye, "I'm Circi."

"I'm Circi."

"I know." They fell silent as the final student was sorted. She really wanted to talk to him, but she wouldn't waste her energy on him- perhaps he was tired. After all, the train journey was one of the most terrifying experiences of her life.

It was almost ironic that Circi's first time on a train would be the same year the ministry sent dementors to search the train for Sirius Black and, of course, her own mother. The sight and presence of the dementors had her trembling, cowering behind Draco before he could cower behind her. He and his friends were equally terrified, but as soon as word spread that Harry Potter had fainted at the sight of one of the ghostly figures, the compartment soon filled with laughter again.