Chapter One

Author's Note: I want to apologise to everyone who has kept with me as I've wrote this. I gained some difficulties in writing this and have never been completely happy with this. I've left it so long that I've now forgotten where this was heading (if anywhere!) I'd like to apologise to those readers who have continued to read this fic from the beginning but I have redrafted once again. With any luck it will be different from what I've already wrote and hopefully I will feel a lot happier with it. Again, I'm sorry to everyone but please bear with me, as this will be the last time I make any changes to the story.

AAN: I want to say thank you to KCstreetlamps for pointing out some spelling and grammatical errors. Hopefully I've corrected them all. I also spotted my own mistake with Bellatrix's last name. This has (hopefully) been corrected as well.

Disclaimer: I own Violet Evans. No one else. J.K. Rowling owns all other characters and places. Situations and events in this fic may not be in accordance with the Harry Potter books. In order for this fic to work this has to happen. If you don't like it then stop reading now.

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As Violet and Lily Evans said goodbye to their parents outside the train station both could see tears welling up in their mother's eyes. Violet stifled a sigh as she hugged her father goodbye. Still smells of oil and grease. She thought and smiled pleasantly at the memories the smell triggered. She released her father and picked up the end of her trunk. Lily forced herself out of their mother's vice-like grip and picked up the end of her own trunk. Slowly the twins moved away from their parents, waving back every so often until they were out of sight. Violet sighed loudly, glad to be away.

"Every year she cries. She knows that we're coming back at Christmas, well at least one of us is, and she'll see both of us at summer. Why does she keep crying?" Violet asked her identical twin. Lily sniffled and shrugged.

"I don't know Vi, why don't you ask mum when you go home at Christmas?" Lily replied wiping her eyes as they walked. Violet looked back at her sister and saw the tears. She put an arm around her and hugged her tightly.

"Yeah right, I'm not going home at Christmas. You are." Violet told her matter-of-factly. Lily stopped and looked at her quizzically. "C'mon Lil. We both know that you get more homesick than I do. And who will play peacemaker between Petunia and I whilst you're not there, huh? Oh no, my sister. You are going home. Not me."

"But it's your turn." Violet gave her twin a look.

"Did you not hear what I said? Me. Petunia. No peacemaker. I'd end up killing her before an hour was up." She paused as they walked through the magical doorway that led onto platform 9¾. It was full of students and parents. Mr and Mrs Evans had never been on the platform. They were too afraid of walking through what seemed like a brick wall. That, and most of the other parents were witches or wizards. They always felt uncomfortable around large groups of them, their daughters were one thing, but a large group that they did not know was quite another. Neither one of the twins could blame their parents at all for it.

"I'm surprised you've managed not to kill her throughout summer." Lily exclaimed as they walked up the platform looking for somewhere that was reasonably empty.

"Dad solved that one by having me work at the garage all summer. Made a fair bit of wage from it as well." Lily laughed as they handed their trunks over to the station porters who, with a few others, were loading the trunks onto the train. They moved off and got onto the train. They hugged briefly as Lily moved off down one side of the train and Violet the other: each looking for their respective cliques of friends. Lily had seen her group of friends as she and Violet were walking down the platform. Violet however, had a little more trouble. After going up and down the train twice looking for them, and finding no sight nor sound of them, she decided to take a seat in an empty carriage and wait for them to find her. She sighed as she looked out of the window and watched as students said goodbye to parents and vice versa. She was secretly glad that her parents never came onto the platform with them. It made it easier to say goodbye.

It was nearing the time for the train to leave when Violet became a little anxious about where her friends were when the door opened suddenly, crashing as it swung open freely. Remus winced at the sound and Violet smiled brightly.

"I was beginning to think no one was coming." She told him as she stood up and helped him lift his bag onto the overhead space. "What do you have in there? It weighs a bloody ton!" Remus smiled at Violet as they both took up seats by the window.

"Just some knick-knacks my mother packed for me." Violet looked up at the bag above her.

"That explains everything." Violet said sarcastically. Remus laughed but offered up no explanation of what was in it. Violet shrugged it off mentally and turned to Remus. "So how was your summer?"

"It was alright, well except the whole turning into a werewolf thing. Sodden blue moons, made me feel worse than ever. I spent most of the holiday sleeping and recovering in my room. How was yours?" Remus replied.

"It was alright as well. Worked at the garage. Nothing too strenuous." She replied and smiled at him wryly.

"So your father had you working hard. That's good to hear."

"Charmer!" Violet stuck her tongue out at him. "Oh! I just about got the whole animagus thing down now. In a few more tries I might be able to do properly without getting stuck."

"That's great news Vi! I'm proud of you. Your magic is really coming along now." Violet laughed out loud in one burst of breath.

"Yeah right. My defensive spells suck and I can't attack to save my life. It's really coming on in leaps and bounds!" She told him sarcastically, nodding her head as if to agree with him. They laughed for a moment until the train started to move. They looked at the empty seats in the carriage.

"We're three down." Remus noted.

"Do you think they missed the train?" Violet asked as she looked out the window.

"More than likely. If we're lucky." Remus replied. He was just about to put his feet up on the opposite seat when the door burst open and two very lanky boys came in.

"Morning all!" James cried heartily. "Ready for another year?"

Violet just looked at him then turned to Remus. "We weren't lucky." Remus nodded his head slowly. James looked back at Sirius who was wearing a stupid grin across his face. "What you grinning at Black?" Sirius sat down beside her and kept grinning.

"You'll never guess what we've just seen on the way down here?" James was sat opposite Sirius now, smiling as well. Remus closed his eyes and settled back into his seat.

"Peter and Sybil kissing in a compartment about three down from here." Remus replied. The smiles vanished instantly.

"How'd you know that Moony?" James asked immediately, wanting to know why his fun had been taken away so fast.

"I passed them on the way here." Violet sat with her mouth open.

"Peter and Sybil?" Sirius nodded. "I thought she had more taste than that." James glared slightly at her.

"What's that supposed to mean Evans?" Violet met his gaze, held it, and James looked away.

"You know exactly what it means Potter. Peter ain't a great catch and I thought Sybil had a different taste in guys. Obviously, I was wrong. I wonder what happened to that boy she was seeing over the summer though. They seemed to have a great thing going."

"Like you and Sirius." James added.

"I suppose so." Violet paused. "What?" She asked confused. "What do you mean 'like me and Sirius'?" She looked at Sirius and found that he was looking anywhere but at her.

"Well, me and Remus thought that you two were together. You are, aren't you?" James asked now uncertain. Remus looked at all of them in turn. Like James, he too had thought that there was something between Sirius and Violet. In fact, the better part of the student body thought that something was going on. Violet looked back at Sirius.

"Do you know what they're talking about?" Violet asked him. Sirius began to move away from her ever so slightly.

"Just before the end of term me and Snape had a little fight." Violet held up a hand and glared at him.

"You had a 'little' fight with Snape? You and Snape never have 'little' fights Sirius. How could you? I know the four of you don't get on with him, but he and Lily are the only people I have to talk to over the summer." Violet was trying to keep her voice even and controlled. It would not do for her to lose her temper here on the train, especially as the walls were so thin.

"It really was just a little fight. Hardly anything at all. You can even ask Snape about it if you don't believe me." Sirius told her, trying to ease her temper as best he could. Violet looked at him evenly.

"I think I will." She stood up and left the compartment in search for Severus. She could not understand how the five of them could not get on. Sure Severus was in a different house, and yes, admittedly that house was Slytherin, but if she could get on with him, why couldn't they?

She stopped outside a compartment full of Slytherins, or at least she assumed they were Slytherins, if truth were told, she could not remember ever seeing two of the students before, and motioned for Severus to come out. He did so rather reluctantly. She hugged her cardigan tighter to her as she leant against the opposite wall. Severus opened the door and closed it quickly behind him, a paper bag grasped in his hand. All conversation had stopped within and all eyes were on the two of them. Severus headed off down the train and stopped in the vestibule. Violet followed him slowly. Now that she was here, she was not sure how to begin the conversation.

"You wanted to talk to me?" Severus asked, a little coldly in her opinion. Then feeling slightly guilty, he opened the bag. "Sorry, want some chocolate?"

"Thanks." She said, slipping her hand into the bag and popping a piece of chocolate in her mouth. "That's really nice." She said with a smile. "And yeah, I did want to talk to you. Sirius told me about a fight the two of you had at the end of term." Violet began. "I just want to know if it was actually a little fight, or whether it was like your usual ones." Severus looked at her blankly.

"We never had a fight at the end of last term." Severus told her. "What exactly did Black tell you?" Violet could feel her temper beginning to rise.

"He said that the two of you had a little fight near the end of term." She told him, confusion sneaking into her voice. He smiled at her slightly.

"The last time I had a fight with just Black and at the end of a term was last Christmas." He told her matter-of-factly. Her tempered flared up and she could only nod her head at him.

"Thanks." She gasped out, and stormed back down the corridor. Sirius was in some serious trouble. As she stormed passed the compartment that Severus had left the door opened and a girl with frizzy black hair stood in the doorway. She looked Violet up and down as Violet went passed and raised an eyebrow.

"He could do so much better than her." She commented before turning back to Severus. "What did she want?"

"Oh, she just had a question to ask." Severus replied with a smile.

"What kind of question?" She asked again.

"Let's just say I wouldn't want to be your betrothed right now with her on the war path." Severus replied, making his way back into the compartment, and joined back in with the conversations that were taking place. Bellatrix closed the door and joined back in as well.

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Violet slammed the door of the compartment open and glared daggers at Sirius. Sirius had taken Violet's seat by the window and looked like he wanted to climb out of it and take his chance in the wild.

"You son of a -!" She started and headed towards him, a hand already curled into a fist. Before anyone could stop her, she was punching Sirius in the back and on his arms as the boy had turned himself towards the window to protect himself and had raised his arms to protect to his head.

"I'm sorry Violet!" He yelled as she continued to hit him. James and Remus watched in silence, letting her temper run its course. Soon after her punches became lighter and he eased himself back into a sitting position. Vi sank against the cushioned chair, her temper leaving her slightly exhausted with the effort.

"End of Christmas term. You should have told me." She said finally. James and Remus tried to pretend that they did not exist at that particular moment in time. With her temper eased for the time being, Violet began to think back on how all of this had started in the first place. "So what happened between you and Severus to make people think we're an item?"

Sirius pulled a face at the window, hoping she had forgotten about that part, whilst James and Remus stood up in unison. They did not want to be witnesses to murder. "We're going to go find Peter." Remus said as both he and James made a run for the door. Both giving sighs of relief that they had made it out alive.

"You think we'll see Padfoot alive again?" Remus asked. James just shook his head.

"Not if Claws has anything to do with it." They entered the compartment they had seen Peter and Sybil in and sat down opposite them. Both were bored out of their minds in five seconds flat.

"Well?" Violet asked, tiredly.

"I'm not entirely sure to be honest Violet. We were shouting insults at each other and somehow you got dragged into it, and, well, I kind of said that we were going out and that you were mine." Violet nodded her head.

"It's no secret how Severus feels about me and Lil, but to go that far." She shook her head at him. "That was too far Siri." He hung his head at the look she gave him. "Well, I suppose this explains a bit." He looked back up at her, a quizzical look on his face. She smiled slightly at the look as she replied, "You don't remember do you? All the funny looks I got when everyone came back after Christmas. I thought I'd done something wrong again, got points taken off the house, or royally screwed up. But this, this is easy to explain away." Sirius stared at her as her gaze drifted from him to the ceiling as she spoke. Now Sirius's temper was beginning to flare up.

"What do you mean 'easy to explain away'?" Sirius asked, his voice was shaky from trying to control his own temper.

"Well you can just tell everyone that there's nothing going on between us and never was. It's easy." Violet looked at him. He went pale and looked sick to his gut at her words. She put the back of her hand to his forehead but felt no fever. "Sirius, what's wrong?" Sirius gulped loudly.

"Well, you see, that's not all of it." He started off. "You remember me talking about a cousin I'm engaged to, Bellatrix Black?" Violet nodded her head. "Well, somehow our parents found out that we were seeing each other and now she's been transferred from another school to Hogwarts. The same with Lucius Malfoy. They're both starting Hogwarts his term. They're pretty nasty pieces of work and well, so long as Bellatrix thinks that we're going out with each other we're not safe from her. So I was wondering if you'd consider being my pretend girlfriend for the next year, or three?"

Violet thought about it for some time, before looking at him. "Okay, but if she found out that we weren't seeing each other, only you would be in danger." She replied with a small smile. Sirius looked at her with sadness in his eyes. She laughed at him. "That has to be the worst lost puppy look I've ever seen." He smiled with her, though he had to admit she had a point. "Tell you what; I'll pretend to be your girlfriend on one condition." She had a mischievous grin on her face as she spoke, a look Sirius had come to mistrust.

"Oh?" She laughed at the worried tone in his voice.

"We have to make it clear to them the difference between me and Lil. I don't want her getting involved in this if it can be helped. Also, hmm, okay, I suppose I have more than one condition." She shrugged her shoulders. "Oh well, the other condition is this. One of you, and by you I mean you, James or Remus, is always with me. I do not walk the corridors alone, sit by myself or anything else, unless we are in Gryffindor tower in which case I think I'm going to be safe from them. We all know how useless my magic is. It's crap and temperamental. Basically, I'm useless."

Sirius sat in silence taking in her conditions. "We already had that planned." She looked at him in surprise. Usually they only ever thought things half the way through. "We'll need you and Remus to explain things to Lily, just in case they do go after her or mistake her for you." Violet nodded her head.

"Then I guess you got yourself a pretend girlfriend then." She told him with a smile and looked out the window. The happy atmosphere that they had started with had completely gone. Violet slowly began to fall backwards in her seat and before long she was resting against Sirius, his arm around her shoulders. James and Remus had come back, bored with watching Peter and Sybil making out, and were now playing cards opposite them. Violet kept staring out of the window.

"James says that there's going to be more quidditch practice this year than the last. It should be pretty tough." Sirius said trying to make conversation with Violet. She sat as still as a statue and stared out of the window.

"Bet we get loads of work this year." Sirius tried again, still getting no response from her. He turned his attention to his two friends. "Where did you two slink off to before?" Sirius asked. James and Remus both pulled the same face. They had hoped they would not be asked about that.

"We went to go sit with Peter and Sybil." Remus told them. "For a while they had an in-depth conversation about the purpose of divination and why it's so important in every day life. It was quite amazing to listen too, especially as Wormtail doesn't take divination."

"Yeah and then they started to play tonsil hockey and we legged it." James added on. Remus merely nodded in agreement. It had not been a pleasant sight for either boy to witness. "How are things between you two?" Sirius winced at this question.

"I've agreed, and I've given him some conditions, but he said that you lot had already worked it out." Violet replied, sitting gazing out the window. She shifted and looked up at Sirius from where she sat. "This cousin of yours, Bellatrix. Does she have frizzy black hair?" Sirius gave a small start at this.

"Yes she does. Why?"

"I've seen her already. And this Malfoy bloke, platinum blond hair?" Sirius nodded. "They were sat with Severus when I went to see him." All three looked at each other. "Yeah, I guessed that wasn't going to be good news."

The rest of the journey went by mostly in silence. They were even quite when they walked up the stairs to the main entrance. Peter walked passed them still talking to Sybil. Sirius was trying very hard not to smirk or laugh at the sight. The four of them entered the Great Hall and took seats near the very end of the table. Lily and her friends sat nearby and on the other side of the table to Violet and Sirius. James and Remus were sat opposite the two of them. As the journey had continued Violet had slowly lost her colour and had grown pale and sickly looking than they had ever seen her before.

Professor Dumbledore stood at the front of the hall after all the new first years had been sorted. "This year is more important for some of you as it is for others. Exams will be upon you in no time at all. Spend your time wisely." His voice echoed throughout the hall. "But for now feast!" And with a wave of his hand, a glorious feast appeared on each of the tables. Excited chatter erupted throughout the Great Hall as everyone began eating their fill. Violet however, ate very little and was earning herself curious glances from her friends and sister.

As they were all finishing their meal, Violet suddenly fell backwards. Lily was immediately out of her seat and in next to no time at all, was around the other side of the table and kneeling by her sister's side.

"Violet! Vi! Wake up!" Lily shouted at her sister, trying to wake her up. But it was no good. Violet did not even stir when her name was called. Lily started to gently shake her shoulders. "Wake up Violet!"

Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall were by their side in moments. "What's wrong with her?" Professor Dumbledore asked Lily. But by now, Lily was too anxious to get her sister awake then anything. Professor McGonagall gently placed a hand on Lily's shoulder and looked up at her startled. She could see that Lily had tears in her eyes. Professor McGonagall turned to Professor Dumbledore.

"I think Miss Evans should be taken to the infirmary at once Professor. Madame Promfrey might have a better understanding of what's going on." Professor Dumbledore nodded his head and quietly took Violet up to the infirmary with Lily following close behind. Sirius, James, and Remus were left to watch from the Great Hall, uncertain as to whether to follow or not.

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It was after midnight when Lily returned to the dormitory alone. The three of them were still up and were eagerly awaiting news of Violet. Lily sat down in a chair and looked at the fire. All the other three could do was watch and wait patiently for Lily to start speaking.

"She's ill." Lily said. The three boys looked at her. It was the first words she had spoken to them all day. "Madame Promfrey says she has food poisoning and that she'll be fine in a day or so." James and Remus looked relieved to hear that it was nothing serious, but Sirius was still looking concerned. "She'll miss the first few days of classes, so could you take some notes for her in divination please?" Lily asked looking at Sirius. Sirius nodded his head.

"Of course I will." He replied. James looked up at him in shock. Sirius had never taken any notes what so ever in divination before. It had always been Violet who took the notes. "Can she have visitors?" Sirius asked Lily. Lily only nodded her head.

"She had to get sick didn't she!" Lily almost shouted. "The first few days are the most important of the year and she goes and gets food poisoning!" James, Remus, and Sirius all smiled in unison. This was the Lily Evans they knew. Inside, Lily was shaken to her core. She did not believe that it was food poisoning. Violet had eaten nothing for breakfast and she had eaten very little at the table. So had she eaten something when she was with the boys that could have made her ill?

"Did she eat at all when she was with you on the train?" Lily asked. The three boys looked at each other.

"Not that I remember." James replied.

"No, she didn't have anything." Sirius replied firmly.

"Though she did go and talk with Snape for a while. She might have had something with him?" Remus told her. Lily shook her head.

"If she had anything with him, he'd be ill too. But he's fine. I bumped into him before." Sirius's back straightened subconsciously.

"You've already seen him." Lily nodded.

"He's just as worried as we are. The two of them are pretty close." Lily explained with a small smile. She knew the rumours about Violet and Sirius were a lie. She knew her sister too well for that.

"Lily, there's something we need to tell you." Sirius began and the three of them told her their plan for the year, or three years depending. Lily listened in shock and found it hard to believe them. However, she knew her sister's magic was not very good and she would need all the help she could get.

"I'm one of the top students in our year for both practical and theoretical uses of magic. If they start anything with me, they will regret it." Lily told them. No one messed with her sister and got away with it. Though the way Violet's temper was, very few were brave enough to go up against her. Just as Violet had protected Lily from the bullies in their area, now Lily would protect her sister from the bullies at school. Her magic was stronger and her spells flawless. They would regret ever messing with the Evans twins.

After their explanation, Lily excused herself and went to bed. The dorm room seemed empty without Violet close by. She could hear the deep breaths of Molly and Sybil in the other beds. Lily tried to relax and fall asleep but sleep was a long time in coming.

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After class was over the next day, Sirius raced up to the infirmary taking all the secret passages he knew that would get him there faster. He arrived at the infirmary in next to no time, walked straight over to Violet's bed, sat down on the chair, and looked at her. She was still pale but did not look tired any more or as sickly as she did. She looked back at him. Her green eyes sparkling slightly.

"Hello." He said.

"Hi." She replied.

"You gave us all a bloody scare you know." He told her calmly. She smiled slightly at him.

"I thought I would. Great way to start the year isn't it?" she asked and coughed slightly as she spoke.

"Are you okay? Can I get you anything?" Sirius asked quickly. Violet shook her head at him. "Lily went off on one last night when she got back to Gryffindor Tower you know. Kept complaining that this is 'our most important time of year', next to the exams of course. But I never pointed this out to her last night. It was the first time she had spoken to us all day. Oh, we also filled her in on the plan. She's fine with it."

"I'm sorry about that. I really am." Violet paused. "I thought she would be. Anything to make us even." Sirius smiled broadly at her: a smile that she had never seen him give anyone else. It made her smile back.

"It isn't food poisoning that I've got. I've had that before and it didn't make me feel like this." She told him. The smile vanished from Sirius's face.

"Lily pretty much said the same thing last night." He told her. "You know you do have her smarts." She groaned and shook her head.

"Shut up." She told him, smiling. He smiled back at her, the same smile from just moments before. She felt something inside her stir. That smile made her feel like she was the only person in the world.

A little while later Lily entered the doorway of the infirmary and saw Sirius sat with his back to the door and talking to Violet. Violet was now sat up in bed and the two were playing cards and laughing together. Occasionally Violet would cough but it would pass quickly enough. Lily stood watching them from the doorway for some time and smiled to herself. Sirius was definitely a good thing for Violet when it was just the two of them but add anyone else into it and he got her in trouble, on detentions, out of the tower after hours, all sorts of things. James was no better. Lily left soon after and returned to her third home in the library, leaving the two to their fun and games. She really liked seeing her sister happy, even if it was with him.