Chapter Text
Circe Darkwood was a name that everyone in the Eronmayervos Institution of Magic knew. The name held a certain level of notoriety within the school, once upon a time she had been the 'it' girl- one with a sharp tongue and the utmost sense of superiority. Her expensive sense of style and perfect grades had quickly put her at the top of the food chain, the other girls in her year rallied around her, practically worshipping the ground her designer shoes walked on. Her thirteenth birthday was the moment this all changed.
She had woken up in a foul mood, cursing at anyone who dared to approach her, and skipped all of her classes. From that moment on, she had abandoned her chique wardrobe and instead dressed in intimidating, dark clothing, caking her eyes in dark eyeshadow. She had driven away all of her admirers, shunning even those she would consider friends. It wasn't long before her grades began slipping (as she tended to sleep through most of her classes). Her witty insults and snide remarks evolved into borderline bullying.
Of course there was a reason behind all of this. Circe had become plagued with visions of her future- some of them good, most of them bad. Eventually, she began seeing the futures of those she hasn't even met- yet at least- and not one of them appeared to have a happy ending. One person frequently making an appearance in these visions, most of them being of the pleasant variety.
Remus Lupin.
The relationship between the two was fairly obvious, even upon first glance. Remus looked at the older Circe as though she hung the stars in the sky, and she as though he had descended from the heavens. The couple were utterly devoted to each other, like the only reason they were ever born was to meet the other. Circe yearned to reach this part of her future, to meet him, despising that they would only meet after their seventh year. The half-blood would return to England, where her family live, and bump into him in a small bookshop at Diagon Alley. Both future her and Remus were emotionally stunted and had it had taken two years for them to admit their feelings for each other.
During her fifth year, is when she realised 'why wait?' and began wreaking havoc upon the entire student body, in an attempt to be expelled. It had taken a few months of hexing, cursing and verbally abusing anyone she set her sights on, finally succeeding near the end of the year. The obvious choice for her new school would be Hogwarts, the only reason she had gone to the Eronmayervos Institution in the first place was because everyone in her mother's family had gone and her father had no preference, as he is a muggle.
Her mother had cursed at her in Greek for two weeks straight before cooling down. On the other hand, her father had been guilt tripping her, constantly asking her where his little girl had gone. None of this bothers Circe, as she is overwhelmed with feelings of worry and excitement. For the most part is happy with the choices she's made to change her future, but another part of her worries that she has messed up everything.
When the first of September finally rolls around her body is filled with dread, not that anyone would notice. The girl hated the thought of anyone seeing her in such a weak state, so she buries these feelings deep inside of her. Her heavy eye makeup, dark clothing and resting bitch face made her look nothing less than intimidating as she trudges down the train in search of a compartment. "Out." She snaps at two first years, standing threateningly in the doorway, having had no luck in her search. The two of them dash out of the cramped space, holding back their tears.
Circe smirks to herself as she sits down by the window, throwing her feet up. I've still got it. The train soon sets off, the crowd of parents still on the platform wave sadly. The brunette basks in the silence of the compartment, she had a feeling she wouldn't be getting a lot of peace and quiet during her time at Hogwarts- and her feelings are always right.
The door slides open, revealing two mildly annoyed boys. One of them is fairly tall, with messy raven hair and a pair of circular glasses, he was handsome but definitely not her type- he looked somewhat familiar. The other is short and stubby with mousy brown hair, he appears particularly short- especially compared to his counterpart who looks to be around 5'11- the boy couldn't be taller than 5'4.
"What are you doing in our compartment?" The one with the glasses huffs in her general direction.
Circe chuckles at him slightly. "Didn't realise you had some sort of weird claim on it, my bad." She replies, not moving from her spot, much to his annoyance.
Another head comes into view, confused as to what the delay is about, his eyes lighting up when he sees the girl. He pushes Sourpuss and Mousy to the side and slinks down next to her, a flirty smile on his face. "I don't think I've seen you around before."
"That would be because I'm new." She tells him matter of factly.
"Really?" He smile widens as he sticks his right hand out for her to shake. "I'm Sirius Black, and you are?"
Player.
Circe takes his hand, shaking it enthusiastically with a sarcastic smile on her face. "So not interested." Her smile drops, the natural scowl returning to her face.
The boy holds his hands to his chest, feigning pain. "Ouch." He isn't bad looking, she has to admit that, and his charms more than likely gets him his fair share of girls. His black hair reaches his shoulders, brushing against the pinned leather jacket he's wearing. His features are sharp, contrasting his feathery looking hair, and is around 5'9. "Are you really not going to tell me your name, love?"
Sourpuss and Mousy groan as they sit across from the pair, just resigning themselves to their fate. Had Circe not become a seer, she imagined this is what she would have been like- or some kind of variation. The brunette is about to snap at him, and his friends, feeling like this conversation isn't going to end any time soon, when the door slides open again.
How many of these pests are there?
The girl's jaw almost drops when she sees who is standing in the doorway. Remus. The very boy she had come here to see, the one who had been in her visions, who looked at her so tenderly. She feels like a bit of a stalker now that she has seen him in person, it finally making him real.
He looks exactly like he did in her visions, albeit slightly younger. The boys large frame took up most of the compartment's doorway, ducking his head ever so slightly as he enters. His caramel hair is messy, in a boyish kind of way, and looks incredibly soft. "Oh, hello." He says, noticing Circe in the corner, his scarred face twisting into a polite smile.
"Hi." Circe replies breathlessly, her attention fully directed towards him. She shakes away her feelings of nervousness, this is the moment she has been waiting for. "Circe Darkwood, you are?" She introduces herself, sending him a cheeky grin.
"Remus Lupin," he tells her, going to sit down on the otherside of Sirius, before Circe shoves the boy harshly to create room for him next to her. "I don't believe I've seen you around Hogwarts before." The boy, sits down next to her, his 6'3 figure making it a bit of a squeeze on the small bench meaning that he is pressed right against both Cirice and Sirius.
"I'm glad you think you'd remember me." She flirts, completely shamelessly, causing the boys face to flush. His large, spindly hands grip the worn book in his hands tightly, causing the veins to pop out slightly. "I've transferred here this year."
Sirius pouts slightly on the other side of Remus when he hears her flirting with his friend, losing hope of being the first to shag the hot new girl. Sourpuss laughs loudly at the boys expense, happy to see his friend's ego kicked down a notch or two, whilst Mousy's displeased expression remains. "O-oh?" Remus stutters, his mouth opening and closing as if he's searching for the word's. "How come?"
"I got kicked out." Sending him a shameless grin as she crosses her legs, her foot brushing against his calf.
Sourpuss lights up when he hears this. "Oh, dare I say we have a trouble maker in our midst?" His hand darts out for her to shake it, and she does, sincerely this time- now feeling the need to be nicer to the boys seeing as they are Remus' friends. "James Potter at your service Miss Darkwood."
"You can call me Circe, I'm not one for formalities." She tells them, causing Sirius to scoff due to his bruised ego. "That means you too Sirius and so can you..."
She looks over at Mousy. "Peter." He responds, his face relaxing a little but he still doesn't seem pleased with her presence. "Does that mean M- Remus has to call you Darkwood?"
"Remus can call me whatever the hell he wants." She looks over at the boy, who is now a spluttering mess next to her. His face is so red she thought he might combust on the spot, so she teases him once more before deciding to back off a little- not wanting to scare him away. "I'd personally prefer to be called his."
He chokes on his spit, quickly trying to cover it up with a cough. How cute.
Sirius' barking laugh fills the compartment, James quickly following. "It looks like someone's going to give me a run for my money as Hogwarts' biggest flirt." She shrugs cheekily.
"So where did you transfer from?" James asks curiously.
"Eronmayervos Institution."
Remus, who had now regained his composure, gives her an impressed look. "You're Greek?"
"Well my mama is, all of her side of the family went there so she wanted me to go there- I speak the language of course- but I grew up in Merseyside." She tells the group, all of whom are listening intently.
James fidgets in his seat, Circe can see he is debating whether or not to ask her why she got kicked out of one of the best magic schools- certainly the oldest. The brunette considers just telling them why (at least partially, she obviously isn't going to tell them about her being a seer), but ultimately decides to make him work for it seeing as he was so rude to her before. "So how come you got kicked out?" He blurts out, noticing her shit eating grin.
"Oh, y'know, the usual." She teases, kicking her legs back up on the seat across from her, the weight of her chunky combat books causing them to dig into the cushion.
Sirius shakes his head, amused by her taunting expression. "We don't actually, considering we've never been expelled before."
"Fights, falling asleep in lessons, not doing my homework, making a first year piss himself," she lists off, causing the boys to burst into a fit of laughter at her blasé tone. "Hexing the odd pureblood prick in the middle of the corridor. The usual."
"I think I might piss myself." Sirius chokes out.
The boys can barely breathe by the time they had finished laughing. James wipes a tear away from his eyes. "I mean, most of that sounds like our average afternoon but how in Merlin's name did you make a first year piss himself?"
The girl chuckles to herself, fondly remembering the incident. "Well, I was dressed like this." She gestures towards her outfit. Her black leather pants, the tight, red milkmaids corset which push her large breasts up, the netted top- wrap around her arms looking like a spiderweb- and the dark makeup around her eyes, accompanied by dark red lipstick. "He thought I was a vampire, so I told him that since he knows my secret I'd have to drain him of his blood. Poor bloke obviously didn't take it well."
"Oh M- Remus can we keep her?" James asks his friend, giving Remus a pleading look.
Sirius too joins in, making sad puppy eyes at the boy next to him. "Please, please, please." He begs.
The boy sighs tiredly, realising there is now three fools in the group. He shakes his head.
-
Remus' hadn't known what to expect when he walked into the compartment after the prefects meeting. A girl was sat in the corner and Sirius looked like he had been laying on the charm pretty thick, but the girl looked completely unamused with Hogwarts' resident heartbreaker. He had assumed his friend had pulled her into the compartment in an attempt to impress her, but once the boy slid the door open he didn't know what to think.
The girl's angry expression, once she sees him standing in the doorway, faded away. Remus can't help himself from feeling completely flustered by her persistent flirting. At first he had thought it was a joke, after all who would want to flirt with him when Sirius and James were right there, but her coy gaze didn't stray from him.
He had to admit she is definitely the most attractive girl he has ever seen, especially when he studies her face up close. She has long, dark eyelashes, that are constantly being batted in his direction, with deep brown eyes. Her face is unblemished, apart from a beauty spot under her left eye, and her lips are full. The intimidating makeup covering her face only enhances this natural beauty.
Remus doesn't think her attraction to him will last, especially considering how well she is getting along with James and Sirius, a girl as bewitching as her will have a crowd of guys fighting for her attention. The boy finds himself feeling slightly disappointed at thought, but knows he is being realistic. Who would ever find him attractive? His arms and legs are far too lanky and his body is also rather thin for someone of his stature- especially compared to the other boys in his year, who had all begun packing on some muscle. Scars cover his entire body and they would only continue to grow in number. Not to mention he is a monster. There is no way she, or anyone for that matter, would want to come within a miles radius of him if they knew.
He finds himself spiralling as the journey passes by him, pretending to be entranced by his book. In all honestly he hadn't read a single word since entering the compartment, and hadn't even noticed when the train arrived at Hogsmeade station. "You coming pretty boy?" Circe asks.
Remus snaps out of his thoughts, looking over to her and his lingering friends. The words don't seem to find their way out of his mouth, so he just nods instead. When the group of five steps off the train, Circe waves at them. "W-wait, where are you going?"
The brunette chuckles, directing her thumb over to the group of first years surrounding the large man at the other side of the platform. "I have to go with the firsties." She tells the group. "I haven't been sorted yet."
"We'll catch you later then, right?" James asks, already having grown fond of the girl in the fews hours they had known each other. She nods, receiving a farewell from the group. "I hope she's in Gryffindor." Remus can't help agreeing with his friend.
Sirius chuckles. "She's certainly daring enough." He looks over to the tallest of the group, sending him a cheeky grin and a sharp elbow to his side. "Bet Moony wants her to be in Gryffindor too. Did you see how all over him she was?"
"Circe wasn't 'all over' me, Padfoot. She was just being nice, it can't be easy having to transfer schools- especially in her sixth year." Remus denies, hopping up onto the carriage, the other boys give him a look- knowing full well she hadn't been able to look away.
Peter tries to hide his annoyance with the girl, not happy they she had stolen his friend's attention away. "She was quite the character."
The whole carriage ride James and Sirius tease Remus about how enchanted Circe was with him, the boy not believing how closed off she was before he had entered. By the time they reach the castle, his face looks ready to explode in both embarrassment and annoyance. He stomps into the castle, relieved that they'll be forced to sit in silence during the sorting. Most of their table is already filled, but luckily there was enough space for the group to sit together.
Half of the girls in the great hall stare at the boys as they enter, or more precisely James and Sirius. The pair are the most sort after boys in the school, however only Sirius gave the girls the time of the day. James shut down all of the advance that came his way, not interested in a relationship with anyone other than his precious 'Lily-flower', who is more commonly known as Lily Evans. The girl herself looks relieved when she sees the four boys walk past her and her friends, not wanting to deal with Potter's antics so soon.
When the first years enter the hall Remus' eyes immediately land on Circe, who is trailing behind the group with a straight face. Both of her hands are stuffed in the pockets of her robes and her feet drag across the stone floor. "Oh there she is!" James says, pointing over to the moody looking girl.
"Hi Circe!" Sirius shouts, giving the girl an enthusiastic wave, finally being able to distinguish her from the rest of the crowd due to her dark makeup. She looks over and sticks her middle finger up at him.
The sorting seemed to take forever, as it always did, and by the time it was Circe's turn the focus had completely dwindled. Whispers filled the great hall as the students quietly converse with their house mates. "Finally, we have miss Circe Darkwood, a sixth year who has transferred from the Eronmayervos Institution of magic." McGonagall announces, drawing everyone's attention back to the front of the room. Remus doesn't miss the looks some of the guys were giving her, scanning her up and down hungrily. Nor the jealous gazes from Sirius' fan girls, who hadn't missed their previous interaction.
She sluggishly walks to the stool, looking bored from waiting so long. The hat was barely on her head for a second before announcing the house she had been sorted into. "HUFFLEPUFF!"
Remus' eyes widen a little in surprise, but he claps nonetheless. She had been a little rougher around the edges than the average badger and seemed to lack the patience that most of them had. On the train, she had told the group about how she would treat the blood purists at her old school and with one of the houses traits being 'justice', he decides that perhaps her being Hufflepuff isn't as much of a surprise as he had first believed.
The yellow house cheers, happily welcoming their new addition. Remus chuckles at how out of place she looks when she sits down. The other sixth years, who had beckoned her over to sit with them, smile at her brightly- whilst she attempts to do the same back to them. "Don't be too sad Moony, I know you were hoping for some late night rendezvous with her in the common room, but if you get too lonely you can hop in my bed. BUT NO FUNNY BUSINESS! My body is for Lily-flower's eyes only." James tells him, patting the werewolf on the back in mock pity.
Remus sends the boy next to him an annoyed glare, he'd already had enough nonsense for the entire year. "Shut it Prongs." He snaps, finally looking away from the Hufflepuff table. His stomach feels queasy as he looks down at the food that he piled onto his plate, the full moon is in two days and he's already starting to feel its effects.
The boys finally cease their teasing when they see him picking at his food, which is a common occurrence before a full moon. James swiftly changes the subject over to one of the pranks he had been planning on the Slytherins, much to Remus' relief. The boy listens intently but doesn't contribute much to the conversation. As he picks at his food, Remus can't help but flicker his eyes over to the Hufflepuff table.
Once everyone had finished eating, the boys all trudge to common room James, Sirius and Peter practically had to be rolled there because of the sheer amount of food the had devoured during the feast. The four of them settle themselves in front of the fire, drifting into a quiet conversation. The room was empty, as most people had gone straight up to their dorm rooms, which unfortunately made it a lot easier for James to spot Lily as she and her friends trailed in.
"My darling Lily-Flower!" James pronounces, jumping up from his spot of the couch. "How lovely it is to see you!" The ginger groans, quickly trying to guide her giggling friends up the stairs. "Would you like to-"
"No Potter. I would not like to go to Hogsmeade with you." She sasses back but Remus can see the light blush on her cheeks, which had never been there before. Perhaps the fool had actually done it.
James shrugs, his smile not budging an inch. "It was worth a try." He tells his friends as the ginger escapes up the stairs of the girl's dormitory.
"I'm sorry Prongs." Peter says, pulling a chocolate frog out of the pocket of his robes and offering it to the messy haired boy, who refused.
"Right so, it might take a while to find the right spell but I was thinking," Sirius speaks up, pulling a crumpled piece of paper out of his trouser pocket.
Remus zones out, his stomach still feeling queasy. His eyes are drawn to this light of the fire in front of him, the crackling of it now being the only he could hear. Much to his discomfort, he can't help but think about Circe. The memory of her long eyelashes batting in his direction plays on repeat in his head. Her dark, chocolate eyes that only seemed to properly focus on him. He lifts his right hand up to his left bicep, remembering the way her breast kept brushing against it as she animatedly talked about her antics at Eronmayervos. Despite her constant flirting, he didn't believe it was intentional. Sirius, Circe and him had been squished together on the seat and had been constantly knocking into each other.
He shakes his head attempting to shake away the thoughts that had begun to swarm his head and shifts in his seat.