Circi | 2

FORTY ONE

"Mother's Best Friend"

May 1998, one month later

"Circ, wake up... get up!" Stirring from her doze, Circi drops her arm from across her eyes and looks around at Myrna and Rhiannon, who are dressed in their robes.

"What time is it?" She grumbles, sitting up on the bed and taking note of the papers scattered around her and accepting her robe from Myrna. Frowning at the panic on Myrna's face, Circi arranges her dishevelled uniform and shrugs the robe on.

"Ten, but Snape's summoned everyone." There was a racket down the corridor as the prefects barged into the dorms to wake early sleepers and empty the dorms. The three of them left their room as one of the prefects had their hand on the door handle, causing them to stumble slightly.

They joined the crowd in the common room, having to join another fifth year to create a row of four.

One of Snape's bodyguards stood by the entrance, keeping watch over the students, which Circi had soon learnt that their presence meant they were to be silent. She bent down to pull her sock up where it had sagged around her ankle and readjusted her pleated skirt around her knees as the final few students joined the back of the group. The students were then marched from the Slytherin common room, out of the dungeons and towards the Great Hall. Circi's hands were sweaty as they walked, keeping her eyes on her feet even as she took up position with the other Slytherins at the front of the room.

The benches had disappeared and the students were forced to stand at attention in four separate groups before the raised platform at the end of the room. On the platform stood the Carrows, framing Snape as he stood in front of the platform but still towering over the first years.

The Ravenclaws were filling up the back of the hall when Circi took note of the heads of houses standing among the groups of students. Professor Sprout stood across the makeshift aisle between the four groups and scanned everyone gradually. Professor McGonagall stood at the front of the room, a fair distance away from Snape, and watched as everyone piled into the room. At the back of the room stood Professor Flitwick and Professor Slughorn, who had become the head of house after Snape's promotion.

Eventually, they were all there, and the students were either watching Snape in the dim moonlight that filtered through the window or staring at their feet.

"Many of you are surely wondering why I have summoned you at this hour," Snape began slowly, his eyes trailing over the crowd. "It has come to my attention that earlier this evening, Harry Potter was sighted in Hogsmeade." The students began muttering among themselves. Circi glanced between Myrna and Rhiannon, sharing discomforted looks as they waited for the rest of his announcement. "Now," he continued, subsequently silencing the crowd, "should anyone, student or staff, attempt to aid Mr. Potter, they will be punished in a manner consistent with the severity of their transgression." McGonagall noticeably straightens her shoulders and Circi couldn't resist mimicking the action for the sake of doing something that was not gossiping with the disgruntled few around her. Leslie's concerns itched at the back of her mind. "Furthermore, any person found to have knowledge of these events, who fails to come forward, will be treated as equally guilty." No one responds to this. "Now then. If anyone here has any knowledge of Mr. Potter's movements this evening, I invite them to step forward... now."

Circi glances around her briefly, only spotting the other students doing the same thing. Then, she sees him before he's even left the crowd, Harry Potter steps out of the Gryffindor group in his house robes. Her jaw drops open as everyone gasps and stares at him. Snape raises an eyebrow at Harry, but the boy is seething. His chest rises and falls heavily.