The next week flew by, Circe is still attending lessons- however long that would last, she isn't sure- and she had spent a lot more time alone with Remus. The boy in question still hasn't gotten used to her flirting and still believes that her actions are due to some kind of pity she feels for him.
"Are you excited to go to Hogsmeade for the first time?" Remus asks her as they walk over to the library. They both had homework that they need to complete today so that they could relax over the weekend and enjoy their Hogsmeade trip.
Circe nods happily. "There's quite a few wizard only settlements in Greece, so I'm looking forward to seeing how they compare." She remembers all of the stalls filled with different artefacts and books, many of them one of a kind. The streets would be filled with people, crowds of them walking up and down the markets. A lot of the items would be unique to Greek magic- the country has a long history of utilising their magic differently to most, but that was mostly in the past. She imagine that Hogsmeade would be quite different to the wizarding settlements she has grown to know. "I heard people bring dates."
"They do." He responds stiffly, earning a glare from the librarian when she hears his voice. Remus casts his eyes over to the girl, who is searching for a table for them to sit at. "Do you have a date?" He asks her quietly.
The brunette shakes her head, a wicked grin appearing on her lips. "Nope." She smacks her lips. "Everyone has been too afraid to ask me out, ever since that guy- what was his name again? I dunno. So, no I don't have a date. What about you?"
The pair sit down at an empty table, one that is as far away from the stern librarian as possible. "I usually just go with the boys, but James is going with Lily this year and I think Sirius finally said yes to a date to Hogsmeade. So it'll probably just be me and Peter, unless you want to join."
Circe laughs, shaking her head. "I probably didn't word that clearly enough, especially considering how direct I usually am, so let me try that again." She reaches her hand over and gently places it on one of his. His caramel eyes lift up from the page nervously, as they meet her piercing, chocolate ones. "I meant, would you like to go on a date with me?"
Remus' whole body freezes at her question, a million thoughts running through his head. Why would she ever want to go on a date with him? Why is she still flirting with him in the first place? Perhaps it would be better for her to go with him, even if it is out pity, than for her to go out with one of the other guys in their year. Maybe that is why she constantly flirts with him, so that other guys will think twice before approaching her. He is supposedly intimidating after all. "Okay." He replies, still completely misunderstanding her intentions.
Circe's whole face lights up when he agrees to her request, believing that she is one step closer to winning him over. She could see the reluctance in his eyes before his response and she knows she still has a long way to go before he comes to terms with his feelings for her, however this doesn't deter her one bit. "Really?" She asks loudly, learning forward slightly in amazement. This earns her a hush from Madame Pince but it doesn't deter the girl in the slightest.
He nods, confused as to why she is so excited to go on a date with him. He's no one. "Of course." Remus tells her sincerely, removing his hands from her grasp and opening his work book.
James and Sirius enter the library, it being as much of a surprise to Circe and Remus as it would be to anyone. The two of them scan the room, before locking eyes with the annoyed looking brunette- wondering why they are interrupting her and Remus' alone time. They march over.
"Hey, you're a girl, right?" The messy haired boy asks, sitting next to Circe.
She crosses her arms and looks over to him. "What do you think?"
"Right." James says, running a hand over his face. His eyes flicker between Circe and a spot in the wall as he debates his next words. "It's just, my date with Lily tomorrow. I need it to be perfect, I only have this one chance with her and if I blow it- I just can't."
Circe chuckles, amused by how nervous the usually confident boy is. He was never even this nervous when asking the girl out. "Okay?" She responds. "What do you want to know?"
"How do I make it perfect?" The boy pleads.
Sirius scoffs at the question. "You just need to lay the charm on thick. Flirt with her every chance you get and 'accidentally' brush your hand against hers a few times before grabbing it."
"Don't listen to him." The brunette insists, giving Sirius a dirty look. "You can plan it as much as you want but that won't account for every situation. Make a loose plan based on the places you know she likes, which will show her that you care, but take her anywhere she wants to go. Offer to pay for anything she wants, but don't overly insist or she may find it a little insulting."
Remus leans forward deciding to throw in his own two cents. "And compliment her, but don't go over the top. Tell her how nice she looks, just don't go on one of your long spiels about how perfect she is." Circe nods, showing that she agrees.
James nods, listening intently to his friend's advice. "Okay, got it."
The girl's face softens a little. "Look, I've never spoken to Lily before but anyone can see how head over heels you are for her. I think she'd be fool not to like you back."
"Circe-" The boy begins, his face lights up when he hears the rare kind words for him come out of her mouth.
The gentle look on her face disappears, a more teasing grin appearing. "Even if you are a troll."
"We were having a moment, I can't believe you ruined it." James pouts a little.
"Just speaking the facts." She tells him, kicking her legs up on the table, laughing at his expression.
He scowls at her. "I've had it up to here with you." His hands demonstrate how annoyed he is with her, before his face pales a little.
A shiver runs up Circe's spine as she feels a figure approach behind her. "That's it!" Madame Pince screams. "I want all of you out. Now!"
The four of them scramble to collect their things before dashing out of the library. "Merlin, that woman terrifies me." Sirius admits.
"Thanks a lot." Remus frowns, realising he'll have to find somewhere else to finish his work.
"Sorry pretty boy." Circe laughs, his sulky appearance makes him look adorable.
-
After another horrible vision, Circe finds herself wandering around the castle again in her animugus form. She'd fallen asleep quite early, especially for it being a Friday, because of how tired she has been over the past week. Which means that she has also woken up quite early on in the night. A few teachers are still walking around the castle and the prefects are still patrolling.
Of course, none of them take much notice of a small black cat walking around the castle. It isn't really much of an unusual sight. The building is still somewhat unfamiliar to Circe and on her almost nightly walk abouts she still seems to be finding new parts of the castle to explore.
She turns around a corner to find Filch, Hogwarts' caretaker, rooting through a broom cupboard. His cat, Mrs Norris, is sat loyally beside him. The cat's eyes focus on Circe as she tries to slip by the terrifying pair. She purrs and takes it upon herself to follow the animagus down the hall.
"What are you doing, my lovely?" Filch asks his cat, noticing she has removed herself from his side. His strides are a lot bigger than the two cats so he catches up to them quite quickly. "I see, you've found a friend."
His beady eyes scan over Circe, seemingly deciding if she would be a good enough companion for his precious Mrs Norris. The man reaches down, and despite Circe's effort to escape from his approaching hands, he picks her up- having surprisingly fast reflexes. "Hmmm." He debates. Footsteps approach, causing him to snap his attention over to the boy who had froze upon seeing the situation. "What are you doing out of bed?"
"I'm a prefect." Remus responds, immediately recognising the black cat to be Circe.
The girl herself feels absolutely mortified by the situation she finds herself in. Shadow writhes around in the man's arms, extending her claws to scratch his face before dashing off to an empty classroom.
"You better stay away from that one Mrs Norris, it seems to have quite the temper." Filch tells his cat.
Remus takes this as an opportunity to follow Circe down the dark corridor and follow her into the classroom. He finds her hiding in the corner, under one of the tables. "Are you going to come out?" The boy asks, crouching down so that he can see her. She shakes her head. He can only really see her glowing yellow eyes in the dark but he sees them moving from side to side. "Circe." His voice is a lot sterner this time, causing her body to run hot at the time of his voice.
The cat walks out from under the table and shifts back into Circe. Her face is bright red and she avoids eye contacts with the boy. Remus bursts into a fit of laughter, seeing her embarrassed expression. He couldn't even get up from the floor he is laughing so hard.
"It isn't funny!" She shouts, trying to completely rid herself of the memory. "It was awful. He absolutely stinks, I need a shower." The girl shivers slightly.
Remus' breath is shaky as he gets up off the floor, trying to contain the laughter but a few chuckles still find their way out. "It's a little bit funny." He insists.
"You prick!" Circe seethes, hitting him on the arm repeatedly. "I think that was the most embarrassing moment of my life."
"Ow." Remus winces, not that they really hurt him. "I can't wait to tell the boys about this tomorrow."
She sends him a death glare. "You better not speak a word of this to anyone- especially not those trolls. I'll never hear the end of it." Circe gives his arm another good smack for good measure.
"Alright, alright." He replies, finding her annoyance actually kind of cute. Footsteps can be heard from outside the classroom, causing the pair to give each other a worried look. "Change back, quick."
"If it's Filch, you better not let him get me again." Circe hisses before her form is replaced by that of a small black cat.
The door swings open, revealing Lily Evans. "Is everything okay in here, Remus?" The ginger asks.
"I thought I heard someone in here, turned out to be a cat." He tells her, pointing to Circe who is sat on the table.
Her tail is swaying from side to side as she approaches the stunning girl. She jumps of the table and brushes against her legs before planting herself down in front of her feet. "Oh, she's gorgeous." Lily says, picking her up. "There's no collar, any idea whose pet she is?"
Remus shakes his head, panicking slightly as he watches Lily admire the black cat. Circe purrs happily in the girl's warm embrace before she is placed back on the ground. "Rounds are just ending now, so you want to head back to the dorms together?"
"Okay." Lily responds, giving the cat a little wave as they leave the room.
The boy turns round to give a Circe a glare before leaving, to which she responds with a grin. Her eyes suddenly cloud over, seemingly in a vision. She's never had a vision whilst awake before, it feels to weird.
"I'm here, I'm here!" Circe announces, running into a small room- it looks like a church.
There's only one other person in the room and she is dressed all in white. The dress is gorgeous, the netted, ivory material hugs the woman's large curvy figure perfectly. A lacy train is attached to the back of her head but it is unable to hide the mane of fiery curls. "Thank Merlin, I didn't think you'd make it in time." The woman turns round, revealing a slightly maturer looking Lily.
"You look amazing." Circe gasps, taking in her appearance. "I'm so glad you decided to get that dress."
Lily laughs pulling her into a hug. The silver heels on her feet add to her already impressive height, making her stand a couple of inches taller- the Lily here already looks a little taller than the one Circe knows now. Her, what looks to be, usual 6' frame is now more like 6'4 with the heels. I'm glad you gave me the confidence to wear it, you were right. This is the one."
"That's what the maid of honour's here for." Circe teases, tightening the hug before releasing her. She looks up at her friend's face, seeing the joy plastered on it. The brunette has quite honestly never seen anyone look happier than Lily does in this moment. "James might faint when he sees you though, we better make sure there's a healer on standby."
"Do you think?" Lily winces slightly, knowing that it is a very real possibility.
"Nah." Circe laughs. "But I bet you ten galleons that he's in tears within the first three seconds of seeing you."
"Circe!"
A/n sorry for not updating in a couple of days, work has been hectic- practically everyone has called in sick so I've had to cover a lot of shifts.