"He's Back"

June 1995, 6 months later

The tournament was coming to a close.

To Circi, the only excitement to come from it was the introduction of Dragons in the first challenge where Harry nearly died. This was before Christmas. After Christmas, she stood on a platform above the Black Lake, freezing her toes off beside Draco and watching the water for an hour. Apparently the champions had to fight grindylows and mermaids to save a loved one tied to the bottom of the lake but, of course, all she saw was water and the occasional ripple.

She bore no excitement from the tournament and paid no attention to Draco's attempt at forming a bet with her like he had with their Father. So when they entered the spectator stands on the quidditch pitch for the third and final task, you can only imagine her irritation at see a large hedge maze laid out in front of them tall enough to block nearly everyone's view of the actual layout.

She stood between Draco and Leslie at the back of the stands. Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy were loudly talking in front of them and Carmen, sidling up to Draco, crossed her arms and shrunk in on herself. She spared only enough time to smile and greet Circi but shrugged Draco's arm away.

The champions line up outside the maze entrance. Cedric's father had come to watch and stood talking to his son whereas the other champions were accompanied by their headteachers. Draco leaned over to Carmen in an attempt to talk to her but she shut him down. He then leaned over to Circi, undeterred.

"What's the bet Potter comes last." Sighing and rolling her eyes, she keeps her eyes on the green wall.

"Very low considering he's come second mostly." Draco huffs and leans towards his friends. Circi rolls her head back and looks at Leslie. She holds out her fist, almost discreetly, and they begin playing a simple game of rock, paper, scissors.

The band struck up, exciting the crowd, but the two of them continued playing. They hard snippets of Dumbledore explaining about the maze and the order the champions would enter the maze but Circi was too focussed on maintaining her winning streak. She groans when Leslie slaps his paper over her rock and they look up to see red sparks coming up from the maze.

A few minutes later one of the professors appears with Fleur, who was just recovering from consciousness. They can hear echoes of yelling and leaves rustling but nothing more.

"I spy," Circi began, stifling laughter at the irony of what she was about to say, "something green." They then continued to go back and forth, varying in the glaringly obvious and the more discreet. At some point Krum had returned, sedated and apparently cursed.

The crowd was screaming, cheering on Cedric mostly but Harry as well. As if the two could hear them.

But at that moment they appeared down below. The cup was glowing in Harry's hand and he was clinging onto Cedric, who was lying still beneath him. Leslie had spied something yellow, and Circi was the first to see Cedric between them so she called out 'the winner'. But then there was a scream. And silence. And a gasp, this time closer and from Carmen.

She was moving before most others, slowly and hesitantly. Circi watched her walk down the steps as her triumphant grin fell.

Harry was crying, why was Harry crying?

"He's back," the Gryffindor called out. "He's back! Voldemort's back." The world seemed to slow down.

Circi vaguely registered Carmen making it to the field below but nothing more. His words were echoing around in her head. He was back. Next to her, Draco was shaking her arm, he was talking to her, dragging her, carrying her. But she couldn't think, couldn't talk or walk.

He-who-must-not-be-named, one of the reasons her father is how he is, the reason her family was split and she didn't know her mother. The reason Cedric Diggory is dead.

She squirmed in Draco's grip, falling to the grass beneath them as he had been trying to take her and Leslie back to the common room. Circi was crying. She cried and kept crying, her mind racing and full of fear and grief. At first, all she could think of was Cedric. He was nice to her, he was nice to Carmen and- oh Merlin. How was Carmen coping? She looked around, as though her mind could slow down enough to see anyone.

But then another thought struck her. One much more terrifying.

What if her father had been there? When Cedric died? She had seen the faded mark on his arm, the same one in the sky at the quidditch cup. Her foot throbbed at the memory of the event.

He wouldn't. Surely he wouldn't.

Draco crouched down in front of her but all she saw was the blonde hair and screamed, pulling away. Immediately she registered her brother's presence and pressed her face into her hands.

"I'm sorry," she sobs.

"It's okay..." Draco hesitates, taking in a deep breath and looking around but Leslie had moved away to give them and himself space, "I'm scared too."

"If it's true... nothing is stopping father from- you know." She shakes her head. "I don't want to go home." He puts his hand on her shoulder, feeling guilty when she jolts unexpectedly.

"We're not going home yet, just to the common room. Can you do that?" Peeking through her fingers, she sees that he is really trying to stay composed out in the open. It would be better for both of them to return to a safer space. He pulls her to her feet and takes hold of her hand.

She cranes her neck, hoping to see Carmen coming back as well but she must still be with Mr Diggory. Leslie was trailing ahead of them.

Back in the common room, Circi had changed into comfier clothes and was cuddled up on a sofa next to Draco with her mother's scarf under her chin. She wasn't crying anymore but her mind was racing. Most of the students were resigned to their dorms. In hers, the other four girls in her dorm had their drapes drawn and the room was silent aside from a few audible cries and a prayer from Myrna's bed.

The Malfoys initially worried over the Dark Lord's return but, eventually, they discovered that simply sitting next to each other was the best comfort. There was no one else with them and the fire did very little to warm the chill in their veins. But each other's company was enough.

For a long time they sat there. It must have been gone midnight when the entrance opened and Carmen drifted into the area.

Circi half expected her to have returned home, especially seeing the broken look in her eyes. Launching herself from her seat, she barrelled into Carmen, nearly knocking her over as she hugged her tightly. It seemed as though the older girl would pull away, perhaps, but she squeezed back tightly and even crouched down to match Circi's height.

"Where were you?" Draco asked, his voice tight from not speaking for so long. "I waited for you." Carmen looked up, her eyes dull and her face numb. "I've been worrying about you for hours, Carmen, where have you been?"

"Draco..." Circi looked at her brother, unable to believe that his priorities truly lay with him.

"I saw you go to him," Circi was confused, why was he angry? Of course she went to Cedric. "Weasley." Oh. "You went to him for comfort instead of me? I thought I was your boyfriend." Carmen walked past him. No, she drifted past him and Circi trailed close behind. "Talk to me!"

"No!" She spins around, her skirt swishing around her ankles daintily but she looked anything but dainty. In the faint light, with her blotchy face and sad eyes, Carmen looked older and scarier. "No. I went to George because he understands, you don't and you never have. You beg for attention, you're a child and I'm not. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to grieve my best friend's death and you can grieve your pride because us," she motions to herself and back at Draco, "this is over."

She turns back to the staircase without turning back. Circi, scowling at Draco for being angrier, follows after Carmen.

They reach Circi's door first and Carmen stops. She turns to face her, cradling the second-year's face in her hands and pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.

"Promise me you'll stay you, Circi. This war that is undoubtedly coming will challenge you, scare you and possibly hurt you. But don't let it ruin you." She crouches down, an action which made Circi feel smaller than she really was. In reality, Carmen was just taller than average but the action was weirdly comforting none-the-less. "As long as we have each other we can't lose ourselves."

"Promise?" Carmen holds out her pinky finger with a weak smile.

"I promise."