The last chapter. Enjoy :) lOVE, Wildreams
Snape opened his eyes and cursed. The sky outside his window was gloomy with a heavy drizzle over. Clearly he woke up late which he has never done before since his schooling times in Hogwarts. Pulling over his blanket, he got out of bed and headed over to the bathroom to wash up and change. Walking out of his room, the smell of French toast and coffee instantly hit his nostril. Apparently, the girl was playing in his kitchen. Grunting her name, Snape entered the kitchen and there underneath the cover was indeed a plate of French toast and a pot of black coffee. Next to the plate was a brown note with flat, sharp writings on it.
"Thanks for the dinner. Don't thank for the breakfast :) Going for a walk. should be back by 8."
Glancing on the wall clock, it was already 8.35. With long strides, he crossed over the living room, into the corridor and rap loudly on the guestroom's door. When there was no answer or sounds of movement, Snape could not contain his impatient and turn the doorknob. The bed was made and her luggage was opened wide on the bed. But there was no sign of her. Cursing under his breath, he checked every room including his own in case she was trying to play hide and seek. But after awhile, he was sure that she was not back from her stroll. Armed with his wand, Snape walked out of the house, well-prepared to skin Circe alive once he found her.
Ignoring the splatter of fat raindrops on his clothes, Snape walked with a quick pace while his eyes were scanning the surroundings for the dark haired girl. Why did she always have the knack of making his blood boil at the most inconvenient time, he wondered. They were supposed to leave in another 30 minutes and where in the world was she? When he reached at the end of the road, Snape's anger disappeared and was replaced by the feeling of anxiety with a mix of irritation. There was no sign of her. He then jogged back, deciding to take the other direction of the road, which will eventually lead to a junction where he would decide again which way to go. Paying no heed of an expressionless stare of an old lady who was watering her plants even though it was already raining, Snape reached a junction where he turned right and left, then right again before another quick turn to the left. At the far distance, he could make out a young girl with brown hair. In front of her was a man who looked as if he was injured.
Fear crept up his spine. Did Circe hurt the man? Why was he bleeding? Breaking into a run, Snape shouted her name but neither the man or she responded or maybe his voice was drowned by another groan of thunder. But as he got closer, Snape realised it was the other way around. The sight of the gun right on her forehead made Snape shouted her name again, screaming for her to run but she only stood there, transfixed. Running towards her in full speed, he already had his wand out, preparing to cast the Expellliarmus charm. But then, something odd happened. The man, who looked as if he was in pain, drew back the gun from Circe and pressed it hard against his temple. Circe eyes were still closed. Snape was getting nearer.
Everything happened in slow motion. The shot came like an explosion as Snape encircled his body over Circe's small figure. With his arms around her chest, Circe felt warm droplets splattered on her face. She felt the sudden jerk as Snape twisted her body to prevent more blood to splash on her. Circe eyes opened when she realised that she wasn't dead. For a second, she saw the man's face in anguish as he fell to the ground, the next moment; all she saw was the buttons of Snape's dark coat. Gripping against his coat as support, Circe felt her legs became like jelly. She couldn't explain her sudden numbness as she held tight on Snape, who also carried part of her weight by holding her at the waist. The rain was now beating on his back as he had to bend slightly to hold her body fully. Then, with a swift move, Snape lifted her as she buried her face in his shoulder.
Without a single word to her, Snape ran back with Circe in his arms. They needed to make themselves scarce before someone stumbled on the dead body of the man. Snape was now glad for the rain for it played its role in shutting everyone behind their curtains at home. Her frail figure made it easy for him to run at his fullest speed. He did not know what happened between the man and Circe. He did not know what made him pointed the gun at her or why he suddenly pointed the gun at himself before pulling the trigger. All he knew was that Circe was in shock and he needed to bring her back into the house.
The door swung opened the moment Snape approached it and automatically shut itself when Snape entered the house. Quickly placing her on her bed, he used the blanket and wiped droplets of blood off her face and limbs. Feeling that it was inappropriate to remove her damp clothing, Snape had no choice but to open his mouth.
"Circe, you need to get yourself out those wet clothes." He said.
But Circe only stared into the air with her blank eyes. Her face was pale and cold. She did not seem to hear him.
"Circe, you will get sick if you do not change into something warmer." He said again.
Then her eyes darted left and right. Then it settled right on his. "I know what to do now. I finally know what to do now!" she said in a trace as though she uncovered the origins of magic.
"I heard you the first time. But will you not change?" Snape insisted. Clearly what happened earlier has left her bit mental.
"Wait." Circe said, closing her eyes. "Let me think first."After awhile she still did not open her eyes, as if she was just stalling for time.
"Circe, are you alright?" Snape asked.
"I'm fine. I'm just...I'm just muddled up."
"What happened?"
"I don't know." She said, sounding rather confused. "I was just walking and then he came out from this factory, screaming that he murdered his father. He said he had to do the right thing but he was still sorry. I...I just need something strong."
"You're 6 years too early for that." Snape said. "Look, you should not have walked out of the house. It is exactly this kind of situation I wanted you to avoid." He said severely.
"I need to bathe. I smell of blood." Circe said decidingly.
"I know." Snape muttered as he twitched his nose. "We are already late for your exam. However, I supposed I could make up an excuse for you. So, please do not take your sweet precious time."
And he left her there on the bed. She said she knew what to do now, Snape knows what she was talking about and it sent chills on his skin. The daughter of Lord Voldemort has decided to murder her father.
The only reason why Circe passed the exam was not because she studied hard or scored most of the essays. In fact, she had lost a lot of her marks in most of the subjects. What helped her passed her exam were the hexes and jinxes in the subject of Defence Against the Dark Arts. Circe was so good at it that a few ministers of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was so amazed by her performance in a simple dual with one of the markers and her lengthy essays that they wanted to meet her in person. After seeing how advanced her knowledge was in Dark Magic, they have came up with so many possible reasons as to why her magical abilities was not detected at the age of 11. There was such a large commotion inside the office that Snape was getting very irritate and the stares he gave to the ministers when they requested to have a meeting with Circe were murderous. Circe Grace however was quite oblivious to what was happening around her. She seemed absorbed in her own world of thoughts.
"We want to see the child, Professor Snape." They demanded.
"Unfortunately, I have direct orders from the headmaster, as her head house, I am to ensure that Ms Grace is present here for the sole purpose to sit for the exam. Now that her papers are marked, may she leave the premises?" he said moodily while emphasizing Circe's name as though he hated that they see her as only a mere child when she was so much more than that.
"Her results were outstanding! She could easily pass her DADA in N.E.W.T with honours if she was pushed harder now!" insisted a long bearded man with dog's eyes.
Snape felt like making their heads explode. They have been arguing for a whole hour while Circe was waiting outside. "I understand that her intelligence in Dark Magic has no doubt amazed us all, however, as I have just-
"Her wand, Professor! The least you can do is to let us examine it. We have never come across such mixture of core-
"DO. NOT. INTERUPT. ME." Snape's tone was at the brink where it could kill anyone instantly. The effect was too good to be true; everyone kept their silence. "My instructions are clear." Grabbing Circe's official results from Adalhard Grimstone, Snape showed that this was the end of the conversation. "Ms Grace, it seems, has succeeded in proceeding to her third year. Thank you." Snape gave a curt nod and walk out, leaving four minister in annoyance and disappointment.
"Let's go before those babbling baboons follow us." He growled that moment he closed the door.
Seeing that he finally came out, Circe hopped out of the chair and followed him closely. "Did I pass?"
"Barely. I am quite disappointed with you, Ms Grace; I expected a perfect score from all the subjects." Said Snape indifferently. He was glad that the minister let them go after so much fuss.
"Let me see that." Circe said, looking at a rolled parchment inside his coat. She took it excited when he handed it to her. "Oh...I see," she said as she unrolled it. "It's not that bad. I scored full marks in DADA."
"And Transfiguration? Herbology? Charms? Potions?" demanded him.
"Hey, I wasn't exactly doing nothing right? I was busy saving the school's and Harry's ass!" defended Circe.
"Mind your language!" Snape snapped back at her immediately. "Where did you learn such foul words?"
"Hogsmead." Circe said quietly. She has forgotten that he was a man of refined and genteel.
"The next time I hear you speak like that under my nose as though you were brought up by some vagabond, which I am not, trust me, you will have nothing but bread and water for one whole month!" he said severely. He was much angrier about her mouth rather than her results she realised.
Circe did not say anything, knowing that he will take her silence as an agreement. "So I'm going to my third year?" she quipped, desperately wanting to change the topic.
"So it seems." He said unresponsively.
The whole day was just a tiring journey back to Hogwarts. Circe was either ignoring stares of leering man or she was busy holding Snape's coat so that she wouldn't get lost in the maddening crowd (Snape was not soft enough to hold her hand), or she was trying to hold her breath in the midst of stuffiness air below all adults' waist line (she was short). But when they finally get on the train, Circe could catch up some sleep, making sure that her unconscious head tilted on the window sill and not Snape's arm, knowing that it was reflex action when he jerked his arm to push her away.
When they finally reached Hogwarts, Circe grabbed her small luggage as she turned to face her teacher. "Well, I guess I'll see you next year."
Snape felt out of place. He was never used to saying goodbye to anyone, he would usually made a gruff and walk off. But in front of him was a 12 year old girl, demanding a formal farewell. "Study every day, Ms Grace. As I have said, you may have managed to continue to your third year but you results are not satisfying enough."
"For you at least." She muttered grumpily. "I'm going to learn more hexes during the summer. But don't worry, I won't neglect the others."
Snape just grumbled, there could only be one reason why she wanted to improve herself in dark Magic; she wanted to be better than her father. They have the same sense of competition and wanting to be the best when they find someone in par with them. Seeing a part of Lord Voldemort in front of his eyes, Snape looked away. "I'm off now. Be good." And then he turned around and got back onto the train without looking back again.
Stroking the furry head of a golden fox, Circe looked out of the library window. The best thing about being an orphan is that you get the whole castle to yourself during the summer holiday. She gets to eat supper whenever she wants to, explore the grounds, wonder about in the Forbidden Forrest without being constantly nagged when she was found out,have fun with the ghosts and making fun of Filch.
The fox nibbled her fingers playfully. He loved being patted and cuddled, which Circe find no qualms doing it often. "Ninetails, you are so adorable." She cooed at the fox, kissing its forehead. Ninetails responded by licking hers.
The fox was no ordinary pet nor was it an ordinary fox. Stumbling upon an illegal trader in Hogsmead, Circe paid a large sum of money for the large dog-like creature with nine bushy tails. It was a kitsune, a Japanese mythical creature that has the ability to assume human form, making it a very cunning creature. There were stories written about it by the people from eons ago who had personal encounter with a kitsune. The stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. The more tails a kitsune has (they may have as many as nine accoriding to 'Magical Creatures from the East') the older, wiser, and more powerful it is. Because of their potential power and influence, some people make offerings to them as to a God.
The amount of money Circe handed over was not of waste. She found Ninetails a loyal companion during her summer days in Hogwarts. He was even a very compatible partner when Circe wanted to practice her hexes. He accompanied her swimming in the Black Lake, running amok in the Forbidden Forrest and even dancing in the Grand Hall, which always infuriates Filch as he hated the noise made. But when he manage to make his way down, he only sees an innocent Circe sitting al alone at the Slytherin table spreading butter on her bread. But he did not see the arches above him where Ninetails's slick body balanced itself, hiding from Filch.
The illegal trader could have sold Ninetails for a lot more than Circe offered but the kitsune had brought many misfortunes on him so he was eager to get rid of it. Most wizards have thought that kitsunes have extinct. Their thoughts were not helped when kitsunes are also extremely hard to find creatures. The fact that they could take form into human beings made it almost impossible to tell from a real human and a kitsune. However, kitsunes were wise enough to care about a mere human being. They were much a silent creatures preferring the calm of the forest than interacting with humans and most wizards much prefered them to stay hidden as if they were to cross a kitsune, the consequences are unthinkable. Ninetails, however, delighted in Circe's presence. He was her best friend. But his existence must be kept secret and if he was exposed, Circe would no doubt be expelled. She felt almost like Hagrid keeping his various illegal pets that were at last, confiscate by the authorities.
Still stroking his head, Circe played the events that happened this year. It wasn't quite eventful now that she replayed it over. Nothing was changed. Harry was still the hero and Lord Voldemort was defeated again. Nothing was different. Circe sighed loudly, fogging up the glass. Sensing that she was upset, Ninetails nudged his head against her cheek.
"It's nothing. I'm just wondering how I am supposed to do it. It's almost impossible, you know." Circe whined. "I have to wait for him to show up first. And when will that be?"
Ninetails just made an encouraging sound. One of his large bushy tails began to tickle Circe's ear.
"Alright, stop it!" she laughed. "Look, even if he did show up again, I don't know how to do it. Of course, the unforgivable curse would be easy but he's powerful, very powerful. Hey, Ninetails, could you be serious for a second?"
Ninetails whined and bowed low. Circe rubbed his back lovingly, feeling the furriness of his skin. "I just wish…that…that I don't have to do It." she said ruefully.
But that was the missing answer; the ugly truth and Circe knows that she has no face it no matter what. He was her father and hence, her responsibility and no one else's. Even the feeling of objection, Circe knows that she has no other choice. If she decided to leave him be, she might as well be a part of his madness. It was a task difficult to swallow but she will do it because there are no other ways to make amends for his past deeds. Because she knows she can, because she must find faith in her own goodliness.
"Come, Ninetails, we must keep on practice." She said as she got up. The kitsune followed her suit, trotting behind with his nine marvelous tails hanging in mid-air.
THE END
I hope you stay tune to the next story. It is the continuation of Circe in book three. I will post it soon! Hope you enjoyed Finding Faith. Honestly, I couldn't find the courage and inspiration to finish it. THANK YOU SO MUCH! lOVE, Wildreams