The Ravenclaw

Chapter Four

"So, not sitting with your Ravenclaw chums?" Draco asked.

"They talk a lot," Violet said calmly. It was true. "How am I supposed to read with all that rattle going on?"

Draco laughed. "You never stop reading. You're worse than bloody Hermione Granger."

"She's nice," Violet said quietly.

Draco snorted. "To you, maybe. She hates my guts. Nobody ever thinks to give a man a second chance these days."

Violet smiled. "It'll be okay. As long as you start being nicer..."

He sighed, and slumped back in his seat. "I can't help it. I hate Potter and his stupid little gang. Okay, granted, the baby Weaslette is bearable. She is half-nice to us Slytherins. And I don't care for Ravenclaws, you're alright… It's just damn Potter. He makes me want to puke."

"I'm sure the feeling is mutual," Violet replied with forced reassurance. "Just keep out of his way. That way everyone's happy."

"Not as easy as it sounds, Phoenix," Draco said, and Violet forced herself not to flinch at the pet name. Nobody called her Phoenix anymore, because it brought back harsh memories of her father. But when Draco called her Phoenix, she could sometimes remember the times when they used to play as children, flying around on their broomsticks, screaming and yelling and pulling off spectacular manoeuvres...

"You'll do fine," Violet said.

A little later, after they'd been talking a while, Theodore arrived at the door of the compartment. He'd seen Violet not a few weeks back, after a secret meeting at the Leaky Cauldron, but he pulled her into a rough hug when he walked in, saying, "Hey, I missed you, big cuz."

Then he looked down at her, as he'd grown to be at least six foot one or two over the holidays, and said, "Well. Little cuz."

Violet rolled her eyes and he sat down beside her, and then Blaise walked into the compartment as well. He didn't embrace Violet as the others had, but just nodded politely. He was used to the idea of her being in Ravenclaw but he was conservative enough as it was – not exactly a physically expressive guy. He was sarcastic and dry. He teased his friends to death, and they all took it in their stride. It meant he respected you.

He sat beside Draco, and they all talked about how their holidays went. They were casual, and the conversation was friendly. Violet knew they weren't going to mention how many times they'd been cursed by their parents these holidays – Theo's dad and Lucius Malfoy were both Death Eaters, and though Zabini's old man wasn't a Death Eater himself he was a big supporter of the Dark Lord.

Just like Phoenix and Ambrosia Frost.

Violet sighed.

They talked for what seemed to be ages, and then one of Violet's friends walked by, not noticing her friend in the compartment the first time but seeing her the second time she walked back to her carriage. She spotted Violet, who waved at her, and then Emilie stuck her head in the door and asked if she could join in, with a cheeky smile and a raised eyebrow.

Emilie Lefebvre was a small, curvy girl with messy dark brown hair and big, brown eyes and extremely pretty features. Her nose was just the right size, her heart shaped face framed by the long wavy brown hair and her puppy dog eyes were crowned with thick dark eyelashes. She had a sprinkling of freckles on her ochre skin and she was clumsy and hardly ever serious, and laughed at almost everything. She was hilarious.

She knew all about Violet and her deal with Slytherin – she didn't bring it up but she knew how it was. She had been around Violet and her Slytherin friends long enough to know them quite well, and they liked her as well. Who didn't like Emi?

Emi sat down, squirming her way between Violet and Theodore, smiling at him as he shuffled away. Theo was a nervous sort of boy. Emi jumped right into the conversation, and said to Violet, "So, why didn't you come find me? We've had hours on the train!"

"Don't take it personally, Emi," Violet said. "It's not you I'm avoiding, it's everyone else."

Emi laughed. Soon they all settled down again, and before they knew it, it was time to get changed into their robes. It was getting dark outside. The boys excused themselves for a moment, to get changed in their own compartment that they'd left behind, and the girls began to get changed, when there was a knock on the door.

They paused. Had one of the boys left something behind?

"Who is it?" Emilie asked cautiously yet casually.

A voice replied, "It's Fred Weasley. I was just wondering if we could grab out our trunks? We left them in there when – when we left this morning."

Emilie frowned at Violet. "They were in here with you?"

Violet shook her head. "Long story. Tell him we're getting changed."

Emi pulled a face but she did as Violet asked. "Fred, this is Emilie. Emilie Lefebvre. We're getting changed at the moment. Can you come back a little later?"

"We?" was all he asked.

"Violet and me," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Right," said Fred. "We'll be back later then."

Emilie mouthed, 'we?' to Violet, who replied, "They're twins, remember?"

"Oh right."

They finished changing, and then they took a quick stroll down the carriage, and Violet hoped that she could avoid the twins if they went back to get their trunks. Unfortunately, she could see them coming back down the carriage towards them. They'd clearly chosen the wrong way to go – they'd gone up the carriage instead of down. How ridiculous.

Violet tugged on Emi's elbow. "Can we go back? The other way, I mean?"

Emi sighed. "Don't be silly. Just – you know, what's wrong anyway? It can't be that bad. You don't even know them."

"I know enough," Violet hissed, but it was too late to turn back anyway. She looked at the floor as she walked past, as they brushed past each other in the narrow passage way and she only glanced up once. She didn't know which twin was which, but both of them looked at her, not smiling, not saying anything. Her eyes darted away quickly, breaking eye contact.

Why were people always disappointed with her?

She pushed the thought away as they bumped into Draco again. He smiled, but then saw Violet's eyes. Her eyes always gave her away. His smile faded, and he said, "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, smiling to back up her claim. Draco let it go for now, but he knew by the way he touched her arm gently that he wasn't forgetting about it.