Fatal Sun - Harry Potter

𝖎: ashes still scorching

  The doorknob twisted and Aunt Andromeda appeared with what looked to be an exasperated expression on her face, although it quickly twisted into a smile as she saw her two girls giggling together on her niece's bed.

  "It's been time to go for nearly an hour now, I thought you both were looking forward to seeing your friends at the cup? Or perhaps I can just sell our tickets..."

  Circe snickered as she opened her mouth to issue a snarky reply "Well, I know Dora is excited to see a certain Maeve Scamander."

  Dora's face flushed a shade of red deep enough to give the Weasley's hair a run for its money, but before she could respond, Andromeda beat her to it, shooting a wink Circe's way and interjecting with her own witty response. "Oh? I see then, we better get a move on then. Don't want anyone else sweeping up Dora's girlfriend, do we?"

  Tonks, still blushing profusely, stood up from the bed while muttering. Circe giggled into her fist at seeing her cousin so flustered while Andromeda pretended to jokingly scold the two, both of them quickly erupted into laughter before Andromeda and Tonks descended the stairs into the kitchen.

  Everything felt perfect. Circe didn't want to move from this very spot; she wanted to dissolve into the comfort of this idealistic moment and never resurface from the depths of her daydreams.

  She was knocked from her fantasy when she felt a soft vibration and a fuzzy tail wrap around her ankle. Circe opened an eye and smiled softly at her cat as she stroked his fur, propping her elbows up and dipping her dainty floral comforter into the mattress as she reached her hands down to pick up Cheese, her orange Tabby cat. She sat up further, running her hands through his tangerine colored fur in a rhythmic pattern that brought solace to her anxiety ridden mind.

  Cheddar, or Cheese as Circe often called him, was a gift from her Mother's sister right before starting at Hogwarts, as a way to soothe the young orphan's fears. He had always been a comforting presence for Circe while she endured her first three years at Hogwarts, more during her last one as she was constantly ostracized from others in her year due to her relation to the violent criminal on the loose, Sirius Black, despite never having met him.

  She was constantly told and praised for being so similar to her Father, mostly by her Grandmother when she was still alive, usually on one of their rare visits with one-another and Circe was grateful for that. The last thing she wanted was to be associated with or compared to was her maniac of an uncle.

✸✸✸

  A hurried knock reverberated on her door and the sound of her aunt's scolding voice sounded through, albeit a little muffled due to the thick wooden planks blocking the space between them "Circe Black, we are running late yet again thanks to Nymphadora- are you packed?"

"No, but I will be in five minutes!"

  Circe uttered a vague response to her Aunt as she threw almost everything in sight into a small pouch her Uncle Ted had enchanted to fit quite literally, anything and everything.

  Circe swore she was getting better or at least attempting to get better about her time management, but most people expected her late anyways due to her history with being an enemy to time. Of course, she could always blame her abrupt transformations but it was well known that it was due to the girl's constant procrastination.

  Closing the pouch, Circe hurriedly raced across the room to grab her well worn converse that looked as though they had gone through multiple wars and the creation of the universe, balancing on one foot and hopping up and down as she struggled to pull her left foot into the small canvas shoe. Laces knotted, she swiftly moved down the stairs that proceeded to explode with creaking noises as she ploughed her feet into the wood, yet before completing the last step, Circe lurched forward violently, over-estimating the size of the ledge and quickly sliced through air. She could feel herself rushing towards the oak floorboard, and in true Tonks fashion, she collapsed onto the ground.