The Hufflepuff dorms are a lot nicer than Circe thought they'd be when she had learned that the room was situated underneath the great hall. It was actually extremely cosy looking, not the damp, dark cesspit that she had been imagining, and the conservatory, along with the bay windows, would bring a lot of light into the room. The dorm rooms themselves were also rather nice, especially compared to the eight person dorm she shared at Eronmayervos. There is a four-poster bed in the corners of the room, each accompanied by a wardrobe, a desk and a mirror. Not to mention the spacious bathroom, with a bath, shower and double sink.
One of her roommates, Addy, had taken it upon herself to show her around the castle, the tour ending with the dorm room. The blonde girl had chattered endlessly to Circe, hardly taking a breath between each word. An odd 'cool' or 'okay' was given from the brunette, nothing more but that didn't seem to bother Addy. Their two roommates hadn't made an appearance yet, so the pair decide to start unpacking. "How do you know Sirius Black?"
"Oh, I don't really, I met him on the train." Circe tells the girl honestly, as she sifts through her luggage. "I was apparently sitting in 'their' compartment."
Addy bites her lip, looking thoughtful, nodding. "He's a bit of a player, I hope you aren't interested in him." The blonde tells her honestly, not having any malicious intentions. "Unless you want a one night stand or something. Not that I'm saying-" The girl begins to ramble, a panicked look overtaking her face.
Circe chuckles at the girl, finding her rather sweet. She had been expecting a threat once Sirius' name came up, the glares in the hall hadn't exactly been discreet. "Addy." The rambling stops. "Thank you."
"Oh. You don't need to-"
"No really, thank you." She sends a grateful smile over to her roommate. In all honesty, Circe hadn't been planning on getting to know any of her roommates, or even talking to them for that matter, but Addy's surprisingly sturdy arm wrapped around hers at the end of the feast, rendering her unable to escape. "I'm actually more interested in his friend, Remus Lupin."
The blonde's eyes light up after hearing this, relieved to find out Circe isn't going to become one of the James and Sirius fan girls- there is more than enough of them already. An excited gasp escapes the girl's mouth. She too believing that Remus is the most likable in the little group- any sane person would in Addy's opinion. "Really?"
Circe nods, her confident persona fading away, leaving her looking a lot meeker. The brunette had only ever seen him in visions before today but she couldn't wait for their future together, and its the first time she has ever admitted her feelings out loud. She shakes herself out of her thoughts and clears her throat. "He's definitely more my type than James or Sirius. They seem nice, don't get me wrong, but they're a bit too egotistical in my opinion."
"Right?" Addy laughs, abandoning her trunk and hopping onto her bed. "And you know what they say about big feet." She quips, causing the girl to choke on her spit before she releases a booming laughter. Circe never would have expected that to have come out of her sunshiny new roommates mouth.
♡
Circe wakes up in an empty room, bound to the wall by the chains shackled to her wrists, which were already red and swollen. Her voice is hoarse, practically non-existent as she tries to catch the attention of whoever is standing outside the room- most likely a guard. Other than her own voice and the clanking of the chains, the room is silent.
Another set of chains are attached to the wall across from her but these ones are unoccupied. Red stains the grey wall, the blood appeared to be fresh seeing as it was dripping still dribbling down the surface and onto the floor. Circe looks down at her body as sees the torn and dirty rags covering her body. Her legs are covered in cuts and bruises and she is barefoot, the coldness of the cement floor stings the soles of her feet. The tears she had shed had dried up, making her face stiff, only making it harder for her to use what little energy she has left into screaming.
The door of the room is old, practically falling off its hinges and splintering. Slowly, the door squeals open but before she can see who is entering the room her eyes snap open.
Leaping out of bed, Circe makes a mad dash to the bathroom to release the contents of her stomach. The cold sweat and shaking hands made it virtually impossible to hold her head above the bowl but she pushes through, only letting herself collapse onto the floor once she had finished. Her sobs go unnoticed by her roommates as she curls into a fetal position on the cool bathroom floor.
The girl is sure it has been over an hour since she had stormed her way into the bathroom and readies herself to move from her spot on the floor. Her vision suddenly goes blurry, so she stumbles over to the sink and begins drinking the water directly from the tap. The mirror in front of her allows her to get a glimpse of the state she is in. Her eyes are bloodshot, with the biggest eye bags she has ever seen underneath and her skin is clammy and pale. She splashes water on her face, choosing to believe that it would fix all of her issues.
Stepping back into the dorm room, Circe takes one look at her roommates sleeping forms and decides to go explore the castle. She slides her black dressing gown on over her long, red, silky nightdress, and slips her pack of cigarettes in the pocket- hoping to find somewhere she can smoke. Her steps echo against the stone walls as she marches down the stairs, cringing at every noise she made. The door was the loudest, the hugh pitched creek sounded loud enough to wake up the entire castle.
Once she has successfully made it out, Circe spares a glance in each direction before shifting into her animagus form, which would allow her to seamlessly explore the castle without getting in trouble for being out after hours. Her small paws quietly pad down the corridor as she attempts to remember where the astronomy tower is.
The corridors look so different now that they are void of students, appearing somewhat ominous in the darkness. Circe is relieved that her animagus form allows her to see in the dark, or else she would be well and truly lost in these unfamiliar halls. Her whiskers twitch as every little sound, which often ended up being one of the portraits snoring or shifting around in their sleep. And whilst it did take her longer than she would like to admit, Circe does end up finding the astronomy tower, and slinks herself down in front of the balcony like area.
The small, black cat morphs back into the sleep deprived teenager, who immediately snatches the full pack of cigarettes out of her dressing gown pocket. She lights the end of it with her pointer finger, being extremely careful not to over burn it. The girl just sits there, smoking the better part of the pack until the sun begins to ride, which is probably a very good sign for her to return to the dorms and get ready for the day.
None of her roommates are awake yet, so she is easily able to slip back in without anyone noticing and get dressed before walking down to breakfast by herself. She feels grateful for the amount of coffee on the table, helping herself to four cups. "Hello Miss Darkwood," a voice speaks up from behind her, causing her to snap her head around. "I'm professor Sprout, the herbology professor and head of the Hufflepuff house."
"Oh, hello." Circe replies, avoiding the woman's eyes guiltily as she had dropped the subject in her third year.
The woman hands her a sheet of paper. "Here's your timetable for the year, dear. I hope you have a great first day." She smiles kindly at the girl before trotting off towards the next student at the table.
That's when the boys walk in. James and Sirius yawn tiredly, their uniforms are scruffy but it looks like they are wearing it that way intentionally, as they stroll in first, followed by Peter who looked like had just rolled out of bed. Remus is the last of them to walk in, looking well put together- especially compared to the other three.
James snaps awake when he notices Circe sat by herself at the Hufflepuff table and runs over, telling the boys he'll just be a second. "Hey Circe, do you want to sit with us at the Gryffindor table?"
"I think that's against the rules." She says, taking a sip from the mug of coffee in front of her, eyeing him up.
"And?"
The girl puts the mug back down on the table, before glaring up at him. "James, its my first day. I think I should keep my head down for a while, I did get expelled from my last school." They look at each other seriously before bursting into a fit of laughter. They both walk over to the table, earning a couple of glares from the professors at the front of the room. "Hi Remus." She says sliding down into the space across from him. The girl shoots him an innocent smile as she rests her chin on her hands.
The boy blushes as he looks over at Circe. "Hello Circe." He manages to say, before diverting his eyes down at his plate.
"Don't I get hello, love?" Sirius asks, pouting at her. Circe fakes disgust as she looks over at him, pretending to throw up a little in her mouth. The boy scoffs, throwing a roll of bread at her head.
The girl decides to help herself to a croissant as she give him the finger again. Its on the other side of the table so she has to stand up and reach over to get it. Remus' eyes widen in shock, when he looks at her bent over form. She's wearing a cardigan instead of a jumper, so when she leans forward her loose shirt drops down allowing him to see her lacey black bra. He clears his throat and snaps his eyes away, the boys face had turned scarlet as he shifts uncomfortably in his seat.
Circe chuckles at his adorable expression, she knows that this isn't the way into his heart but his reactions are just so cute that she can't help but tease him. She sends him a smirk as she sits down, telling him she knew exactly what she was doing. "What lessons are you taking?" He asks her, his voice breaking a little. The girl hands him her timetable and he looks visibly impressed at the subjects she had chosen. "Ancient runes, arithmancy and advanced potions? That's a pretty hefty work load."
"Blimey!" James exclaims, snatching the paper out of Remus' hands to make sure that is what it said. "You're a nerd. Better watch out Remus, it looks like you've got some competition."
Circe shrugs, slightly embarrassed. Whilst she definitely isn't most studious of people- often not bothering to show up to class or do her assignments- somehow she always manages to earn exceptional grades. "I do well in standardised tests." She shrugs, causing the boys to look at her in surprise. "What, I can't have layers?"
a/n don't be afraid to comment! i'd love to hear your thoughts