AN: Decided to give you guys an update before i lost most of the weekend. This is a bit shorter than my usual chapter length, but still well over 6k words for you guys. This will be just some filler to get us moving into Summer and there will be another chapter covering Summer following this one. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Don't own anything, Rowling won't let me.
It was June 13th, and today would be my last Occlumency lesson before break started. Unfortunately, the train ride home was next Saturday, so my first lesson of summer would have to be delayed until the next day. Cyrus was waiting for me when I stepped out of the floo.
"Hello, Harry." Cyrus welcomed me, shaking my hand. "I trust everything is well? I have heard some serious rumors have been floating out of Hogwarts this past week."
"I am not sure what you have heard." I told him with a light smile. "However, I will say the last week and a half have been most interesting."
"I can imagine." Cyrus smiled. "I had hoped today we could use our lesson to talk in lieu of our normal procedure?"
I knew that this conversation had been coming for a while. Cyrus seemed like a good man, and I doubted he would let me return to the Dursley's after what he had seen without at least asking me about it. "Sure, lead the way." I told him with a small smile, following him to the sitting room.
"Anything to drink, Harry?" he asked after calling for Twink, his house elf.
"Butterbeer would be fine, thanks." I told him, sitting myself down in the chair opposite of his. "So…what would you like to talk about?"
Cyrus took the drinks from Twink, handing me my Butterbeer. "As you know, I have seen quite a bit about your past and who you are…both inside and out. I had hoped you wouldn't mind discussing some of the more…disturbing things to ease a man's worry."
"Well, I can't say that I haven't been expecting this conversation." I told him, taking a sip from my drink. "Seeing as you are under a vow to keep my secrets, not that I don't trust you of course but you understand my position, I am willing to discuss your concerns. Mind you, there are some things I will be unwilling to speak about."
Cyrus had been nodding his head along. "I understand, and thank you for trusting me this much. I should probably start with my concerns before my curiosity. I have seen enough of your memories to know that your…home life…isn't the best of situations. I have talked it over with Astrid, and we would like to invite you to stay here for the summer."
I took a moment to gather a response. It wasn't that I was really considering declining, but I still had to take everything into consideration, such as the book sitting under the loose floorboard at Number 4. I would at the very least need to return to retrieve it.
"I have some things I need to do during the break that requires me to leave. I also know that your wards are strong enough to interrupt the Trace from reporting to the Ministry. Is there going to be any problems with me practicing my magic over the summer? I would even be willing to teach Daphne a few things."
Cyrus sat and pondered for a moment. "You would be free to come and go as you please, within reason of course. You are also free to use magic. I do ask you be careful on both accounts. Now, while your…relatives…may not have held the same beliefs as me apparently, my family is very important to me, and my only rule is that you not do anything to endanger them."
"Of course, thank you for hospitality. However, there are some things I need to retrieve from the Dursley's. Would Sunday be acceptable?"
"Of course Harry. You are free to take all the time you need." Cyrus smiled excitedly. "Now that we have that out of the way. There is something…or rather someone…that has had me most curious for quite some time now. I was hoping you could quench my curiosity?"
I slowly took another sip from my drink and nodded my head. "Violet…that's her name. She says hello by the way." I told him, knowing he had only ever heard me refer to her by her nickname.
"It is almost unreal." Cyrus said in awe. "I have never heard of a case where there were two minds in one body. Who picked her name?"
"I did. I was only five at the time." I told him with a small chuckle. "By that age, I was already forced to do the gardening and the violets were always my favorite. Of course, I think I could have called her almost anything and she would have been happy."
"Fascinating. So what is it like having someone else in your head? What's she like?" he asked, sounding almost as if he was a kid in a candy story. I had gathered over the last half year that he was quite the academic.
"It's…she's amazing. Life growing up with my relatives was never easy, but she was always the one who helped me through it. She would always cheer me up whenever I was sad, lonely, or scared." I smiled wistfully, remembering all that she had done for me. "She is smart, has a quick tongue, funny as hell, and there isn't anything I wouldn't do for her."
"I take it she is why you are going through all of this?" he asked. "The lessons with me, the book, and all of the planning and secrecy?"
"Of course. I look at the world…both Muggle and magical, and all I see is wasted potential. People have the ability to accomplish truly amazing things in this world, magicals especially, yet they throw it away, choosing to follow the path of mediocrity simply because that is all that is expected from them. Violet is none of those things. She is brilliant, dedicated, and could do amazing things if only she had a body…she is as deserving, if not more, than anyone to have a body, and I am going to make sure she gets one. It is the very least I can do for her after all she has done for me."
'You really think all of those things about me Harry?' Violet asked, her voice coarse as if she would be crying if she could.
'Of course I do.' I told her. 'You have done so much more for me than I could ever deserve, and I would give anything, my own life included, just to see you happy.'
'I love you Harry.'
'And I love you, Vi. More than anything, and one day you will have a body and I will prove it…even if it takes me a hundred years.' I told her, letting my love for her flow freely through my mind.
"You are right of course." Cyrus sighed, drawing me from my own private conversation. "I'll admit, I am not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to Muggles. But I do know that in the last couple of decades, they have made many great accomplishments when compared to the magical world. Our world seems content to just sit back and relax in a world and time that has long since passed its greatness."
I was glad that Cyrus understood what I was talking about. Muggles were naturally inferior to wizards, there was just no way around it. They will never be able to have the potential that magic gives us. We can accomplish so much with magic that they just would never be able to do like instantaneous travel, conjuration and transfiguration, space expansion…and yet the wizarding world wastes it.
Magic gave them the ability to live a comfortable and lazy life hundreds of years ago, and then they became happy and complacent with what they had. The majority no longer cared to keep bettering themselves and the world. Very few new spells or inventions were created in the last two hundred years compared to the millennium before that. The wizards took that natural superiority they had over the Muggles and just threw it away. Other than a small percentage, wizards today aren't any better than those they consider themselves to be above.
"Perhaps someday someone will come along and revolutionize the wizarding world. From what I have read, it sounds as if that was Voldemort's goal...of course he was taking it in the wrong direction." I told him, shedding light on some of my realizations. "I never knew any decent Muggles growing up. I wasn't allowed to go anywhere and my relatives made sure to quickly poison the neighborhood against me...however, even though I do not like them, even I know it would be foolish to confront them in open warfare. The Muggles developed technology to destroy an entire city within seconds, and that was almost fifty years ago."
Cyrus's eyes went wide hearing that Muggle's had that kind of technology. "An entire city?" he asked.
"In the blink of an eye." I frowned. "It really makes you wonder doesn't it? They are naturally handicapped without magic, and yet they have created so much more than wizards can imagine. Just think where we could be as a society if we hadn't grown lazy."
"You said the wizarding world needed a leader..." Cyrus began carefully. "Are you planning for it to be you?"
I couldn't help but snort. "Not hardly! There is very little in the wizarding world that I care for, and unlike Voldemort, I have no desire to rule it. Being abandoned to muggles doesn't help build much of an attachment with the magical world, especially when its ineptitude is thrown into your face right out of the gates...No, for me this world is merely a bridge that leads me to Violet. After that, I think I will just buy some private island somewhere secluded and live a happy carefree life, raising a family. That is all I really want from life."
'If that is what you want, Harry, then that is what we will do.' Violet smiled. 'As long as you are happy, then I will be too.'
'I'll be happy just as long as you are there with me, you know that.' I told her, making her smile even more.
"That is a very adult answer." Cyrus mused.
"Yeah, well you can thank the Dursley's for that." I chuckled. "One thing they made sure of very quickly was that I knew I didn't have time for a childhood. It was either harden myself and grow up fast, or turn into a beat puppy that has no free will or dreams to call its own...two things I refuse to give up easily."
"Well, I wish you all the luck fulfilling your dreams." Cyrus toasted me. "However, I must extend a word of caution...Sometimes, the most beautiful paradise is only accessible by the most dangerous of roads. Many fall victim to those that hide along the roadside...I hope you do not end up as one of them."
"Thank you Cyrus." I told him honestly. "You truly are a good man, something I admit I haven't met many of in my life."
"You're welcome, Harry, and thank you." Cyrus toasted me as I stood up to make my way back to Hogwarts. "Please pass along my regards to my daughter if you could."
I nodded before making my way back to Hogwarts to start the countdown for summer break.
The last week of school ended up passing by rather quickly. Those not taking their O.W.L.'s or N.E.W.T.'s had received their exam scores the day before leaving. I had scored O's in all of my subjects that actually used magic, and an EE in Potions, Herbology, Astronomy, and History, although my grade for Potions probably should have been an O, my potion was perfect after all. I ended up finishing second in my class behind Granger, merely for the fact that she actually seemed to give a damn about Herbology, Astronomy, and History...me not so much. I still managed an EE in those subjects without even really trying, and I am sure I could have easily gotten O's if I wanted to...I just didn't want to.
Finally, it was time for the train ride back to London. I was only going to be staying the one night at the Dursley's. Cyrus had told me how to catch the Knight Bus, I would take it from there to The Leaky Cauldron and floo to Greengrass Manor.
I ended up sharing a compartment with Daphne, Tracey, and Wayne. I was actually shocked at how well Tracey and Wayne were getting along. Granted, Tracey was only technically a half-blood, but a Slytherin and a Muggleborn being friendly was rather rare.
"So father says you will be staying with us for the summer?" Daphne asked as the train pulled away from the station.
"I have something to take care of back at my relatives, but I will be there tomorrow." I told her, drawing Wayne's interest in the conversation.
"Why are you stay there all summer? No offense of course." he added towards Daphne.
"My relatives and I came to the agreement years ago that neither of us particularly enjoyed being in the company of the other." I answered him, my mind half in an Ancient Runes text, the other half in the conversation. "I would almost rather spend the holidays ironing out Dumbledore's atrocious wardrobe then be around their stink. It is amazing how hard it seems to be for people their size to wash themselves properly." I told him, speaking of Vernon and Dudley. They both spent plenty of time in the shower, but never seemed to really get clean. I assume they just can't reach a few places.
"Yeah, Justin doesn't particularly enjoy spending time with his family either since they found out he was a wizard." Wayne added knowingly. "He comes from a well off family and they had big plans for him apparently. He was even down for Eton, then Hogwarts comes along and ruins his parents 'big plan' for his future."
"I'm just glad that Daphne and I have the chance to choose our future." Tracey added. "It wasn't that long ago that the woman of our society pretty much did what the males told them to do and that was the end of it...Of course, there is still a small portion of the world that still is that way."
"Purebloods." Daphne acknowledged, wrinkling her nose up in disgust. "It's such a shame...there was a time when being a Pureblood was something to be proud of. Now it is just a bunch of bigot's that are still trying to cling onto the idea that they are superior."
"I don't see how blood could have ever made anyone more superior than someone else." Wayne piped up.
"It isn't so much the blood that makes them better than everyone." I told him, closing my book for now. "It is getting the chance to actually be raised in this world, versus being brand new when you get your letter. Some wizarding families go back thousands of years, and those families have libraries with knowledge dating back to their beginnings in some cases. Pureblood children, and even a lot of half-bloods, who are raised in the wizarding world are trained in these Histories.
While you and I were off in Primary learning about wars, politics, and the history of the Muggle world, people like Malfoy are being tutored in the same things in the wizarding world. So while someone like us that is new to the world doesn't even know what the Knight Bus is, Malfoy and others already have a firm understanding of the wizarding world."
Wayne seemed to understand what I was saying, but had a confused look at the same time. Finally, he asked, "Uhh...what is the Knight Bus?"
I couldn't help but chuckle along while Daphne and Tracey laughed at him confirming my point.
"It's a magical bus that can take you almost anywhere." Tracey answered him.
"It's like the bus system we have in the Muggle world...just faster and more uncomfortable from what Cyrus tells me."
The rest of the train ride to London finished in much the same way as the beginning. The four of us talked and just relaxed. There was maybe an hour left before the door to our compartment opened up, revealing the fake boy-savior himself, Granger, and Weasley.
"It is terribly rude to just barge in without knocking." I glared at the three. "You would think that between the three of you, at least one of you might have received some sort of training on how to show people some respect."
"We don't need to show you anything!" Longbottom growled out. "We just wanted to remind you that we are watching you. I know you were up to something down in that chamber, regardless of what you told Dumbledore!"
"What I know..." I began heatedly. "Is that I saved you from trying your luck with the Killing Curse. I wonder...would magic consider me to have stopped Voldemort from killing you, thus creating a life debt?" I knew that a life debt likely hadn't formed as I really wasn't trying to save Longbottom at all. It was just an opening that I needed to save myself and I took it. It was just lucky for Longbottom that he benefited from it as well.
"Anyone who hangs around with filthy snakes wouldn't save anybody's life. You obviously had your own selfish reasons for killing Quirrell!" Weasley said heatedly, glaring at the two Slytherin girls, who were glaring back equally as hard.
"They may be in Slytherin Weasley, but at least my friends have a chance at a future." I smirked at him.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Granger asked angrily.
"You mean they haven't told you?" I chuckled at her. "Two Pureblood's as best friends and they don't even tell you what to expect. Very well, I will tell you myself, Granger. You...are a Muggleborn woman. As far as people like the Malfoy's are concerned, the same sphere of people who basically run the wizarding world, you are just above a Muggle and right around Squib in their eyes. You can score all of the O's you want, but pretty much the only way you are going to get a job that isn't the lowest entry level the Ministry has, you will need to marry one of these two beside you."
"Which really only leaves Weasley, as poor Longbottom seems to have drawn the ire of a not-quite-so-dead Dark Lord...He undoubtedly has a short predicted life span. I here the Weasley family are firm believers of the woman being a stay at home baby machine, so I wish you luck with that Granger."
"You think you are so clever don't you?" Longbottom snarled. "You will slip up eventually, and I'll be there to make sure your exposed when you do!"
"Well, perhaps you should take some of the time you are wasting on me and actually apply it to your studies." I grinned at them. Longbottom had finished just outside of the top ten in his year, but Weasley had been towards the bottom, barely passing the majority of his classes. "I daresay, Weasley here can't afford to lose out on anytime at all. He is about to be passed by Crabbe and Goyle of all people...it really is sad."
Tracey and Daphne were laughing at Weasley as his face burned red, Wayne chuckled along with them.
"You're just jealous that you couldn't beat Hermione!" Ron yelled at us.
"Oh I did, at least in everything that counted." I laughed at the trio. "She only managed to actually do better than me in History, Astronomy, and Herbology...all of which are of no use to me in the long run...Much like this conversation as a matter of fact, so scram!" I shut and locked the door in their faces, placing a Runic locking sequence on it. I figured Granger would know how to counter any locking spells I knew, but I doubted she knew anything about Runes yet.
Finally, the train was slowing down and we all changed out of our robes, and into a more casual attire. I said my goodbyes to Wayne, Tracey, and Daphne; telling the latter I would see her tomorrow, and made my way towards the barrier that divided our two worlds.
"Boy!" Vernon greeted me gruffly. "We ain't got all day to be sitting around waiting on you. Hurry and get in the car or you arse can walk home for all I care!"
"It must have been such hard work walking from your chair to the car, Uncle." I glared at him. It was easy to see that he was still weary of magic. Thankfully, the notice for underage magic was sent home with the students and not mailed to their guardians...so the Dursley's were unaware of the restrictions...I was planning on keeping it that way too.
'It's almost a shame we won't be staying for the summer.' Violet grinned. 'We could have had so much fun with them!'
'That would be unfair, Vi.' I chided her jokingly. 'You wouldn't steal candy from a baby just because it was easy would you?'
Violet broke out laughing.
The ride from London to Surrey was rather boring. Vernon kept stealing glances in the rear-view mirror. It was obvious he was unhappy with his current situation if the rapidly changing colors of his face were anything to go by. I had been hoping for years that he would just hurry and give himself a heart attack, but I just hadn't been lucky enough for that yet.
When we pulled into the driveway of Number 4, Vernon turned in his seat to address me. "Now you listen here boy! I don't want to hear, see, or even smell you doing any of your funny business in my home, or you will find yourself out on the streets with the other riffraff and hooligans. Am I being clear enough for you boy?"
Vernon's beady eyes narrowed at me when I snorted at him. "Empty threat. I will be leaving tomorrow for the summer anyhow, Vernon. I would suggest you stay out of my way and we will not have any problems. Am I being clear enough for you...Uncle?"
Vernon growled and shut off the car, hurrying inside of the house without even glancing back towards me.
'I am going to love the day we can finally get even with those three.' Violet said, nodding in the direction of the house.
'I know you are.' I laughed at her. 'I've seen the mental calendar you have been keeping that is counting down the days.'
'Yep.' she smiled. 'Only 771 days left on the calendar to go!'
'I'm not even going to ask where you got that number from.' I chuckled at her, while dragging my trunk towards the house. I couldn't wait until I started practicing some Rituals. I would need the practice before I even dreamed of attempting anything hard, like giving Violet a body, and I had read about some light gray rituals that would give slight boosts to enhance the human body. I would start small and work my way up until I knew I could do advanced rituals without screwing up.
I heaved my trunk up the stairs to the first floor, not even acknowledging my aunt or cousin as I passed by them, and made my way into my bedroom. As soon as the door to my room closed, I rushed over to my bed and checked to make sure the book was still under the loose floorboard. I let out a small sigh of relief when I pulled it up and out of the floor.
I opened up my trunk and fished out the shrunken Mirror of Erised, which I had wrapped up in more cloth and cushioning charms than I knew what to do with, and slowly put it and the book back into the floor, placing the loose floorboard back over top of it. I didn't trust Vernon enough to not try to sneak into my room in the middle of the night and try to confiscate or even burn all of my stuff, so I wasn't going to take any chances with those two items. I stowed my wand underneath my pillow, just in case, and I settled in for the night. Tomorrow I would leave from the Dursley's...hopefully for good.
'Well, at least until it's time to get even with them.' Violet reminded me.
'Yeah, yeah...Don't worry. I won't deny you your fun, you know that.' I mumbled to her sleepily.
'I know, I was just double checking is all.' she smiled before she too started to unwind for the night.
That next morning I was packed and ready to go as soon as the sun rose in the sky. I was in a hurry to be able to leave the place I had called Hell for so long. As much as I hoped to never have to see the Dursley's again, I knew that they should be even more hopeful that they never saw me again. Me in particular, I just never wanted to see them again…Violet, however, had no intentions of letting them off the hook for what they put me through as a child.
Once I knew that the Greengrasses would be awake, I tugged my trunk behind me and made my way out of the house, not even bothering to spare Petunia the glare that Violet was directing at her. Checking to make sure nobody was outside, just in case, I raised my wand hand and moments later there was the sound of tires sliding against pavement as a large, purple triple-decker bus stopped in front of me.
I paid the conductor of the bus and a few seconds later I was on my way towards London. The ride was much as Cyrus had told me…about as pleasant as sitting through ten straight hours with Snape. I would be learning different modes of Transportation as soon as I was able. Sending a final glare towards the bus as I got off of it, I made my way towards the entrance to The Leaky Cauldron.
The old pub was thankfully almost empty as I made my way inside. I knew that once I was inside the wards of the pub, there would be no way for the ministry to track my with the Trace, so I quickly shrunk my trunk and pocketed it. Quickly, I made my way over towards the fireplace and tossed in a pinch of Floo Powder. Stepping in I softly called out, "Greengrass Manor", and was whisked away from the old pub.
I only slightly staggered as I stepped out of the Floo, and was greeted by a house elf.
"I is twink, can I be's helping you's Mister Harry, sir?" the little house elf asked.
"Hello Twink." I greeted the elf, earning a large smile. "Can you inform Cyrus of my arrival?"
"Of course, Mister Harry, sir. Twink be's doing so right away." With a small pop the elf was gone. Waiting for Cyrus to arrive, I took a moment to once again enjoy my surroundings. I had been here nearly two dozen times already, but I hadn't really just tried to enjoy the place. Portraits of past and present members of the family lined the walls, each with their own history to tell. A marble bust or two of the most prominent past members displayed on pedestals around the room. Overall, the room screamed 'We have wealth' but in an understated way that made you think they weren't trying to rub your face in it.
"Harry!" Cyrus greeted as he entered the Entrance Hall. "I'm glad you could make it."
"You almost sounded surprised, Cyrus." I chuckled at him. "You didn't honestly think I would prefer their company over yours did you?"
Cyrus frowned for a split second at the mention of the Dursley's but it passed, being quickly replaced with his smile. "No, no, of course not. Just glad you made it safely. Come, now that summer is upon us, my wife and youngest are no longer busy, and I would like for you to meet them."
"Of course, sir." I told him, following him out of the room. "I look forward to finally meeting them."
"Daphne has mentioned you a couple times already since she arrived yesterday." Cyrus joked as he led me to the family sitting room. "It would seem she prefers your company to most of those in her own house."
"As much grief as I catch from my house for being off on my own so much, I am surprised she has not bit my head off." I joked.
"Only because I am sure it would taste horrible." A voice spoke from the door. I turned to see Daphne entering with two other people behind her. She had a joking smile on her face, and her blonde hair was done up in pigtails, catching me off guard as I had only ever seen her straight haired at school.
"Daph! You wound me with your words." I fake pouted.
"If you don't start spending more time with your friends then I might wound you with more than just words!" she threatened as a small cough came from behind her.
I looked over her shoulder and saw an older version of her standing there, just with different eyes. Astrid, if I remembered correctly, was average height with long blonde hair. She had an hour-glass figure with a Goldilocks chest…just right in my opinion. The only real difference was the sea green eyes in contrast to Daphne's ice blue ones.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you Mr. Potter, I am Astrid Greengrass" she said as I gave her knuckles a small kiss, knowing some of the older generations still considered it customary.
"Please, call me Harry. I have heard much about you and it is a pleasure to finally meet you." I told her before giving her a small grin. "I must say, if this is what I can expect Daphne to look like when she is older, then poor Cyrus will need to hire someone to follow her to school just to beat me and the other boys away."
Astrid smiled widely as Daphne blushed hard. Cyrus was chuckling in the background as Daphne's younger sister spoke up. "So are you Daphne's boyfriend then?" she asked, causing the two parents to laugh as Daphne's face grew even redder. I couldn't tell if it was from anger or embarrassment.
"Why does she write home about me very often?" I smiled at the young girl who was the reverse of her sister. She had Cyrus's dark hair and her mother's sea green eyes. I sneaked a quick glance at Daphne who was glaring at the pair of us.
"Not home." The younger girl said suspiciously before she grinned at me. "But from what I read in her diary last night, she writes about you plenty in there!"
"Astoria!" her mother chastised as Daphne started to chase her from the room, screaming threats of murder.
'Seems like she will be trouble for Hogwarts professors in a few years.' Violet laughed.
'I just hope she doesn't become friends with the Weasley twins.' I prayed. 'Those two are enough trouble without any extra help.'
'So…you think she was telling the truth about that diary?' Violet smirked mischievously.
'If she is, I won't pick on her for it.' I answered her. 'I am sure her diary is her version of you. I am sure she will already be terrified that her sister shouted that out.'
'But as her friend it is your duty to tease her for it.' she laughed.
'True, but as I don't have but a few friends, I would rather not piss her off.' I chuckled. 'Well…at least not too much.'
"Those two will be at it for a while." Astrid smiled at me. "How about we go for a walk around the grounds and get to know each other while Cyrus takes care of some business at the Ministry?"
"It would be my pleasure." I told her, turning to Cyrus to make sure he was ok with it.
"Just don't be trying to steal my wife, Potter." He joked.
"Of course, Cyrus." I grinned. "I am sure the line for that is too long for me to even have a chance."
Astrid started laughing at the worried look on her husband's face before she looped her arm with mine and started to lead me out towards the grounds. Like the manor, the grounds were beautiful. There was a large expanse of open grass which was surrounded by trees on every side. There was a large lake to the far south of the property which looked like it would be fun to swim in during the summer months.
"So how did you and Daphne become friends?" Astrid asked as she led me around the property.
"We shared a compartment together on the train to school." I told her. "She and Tracey were my first and only friends that I made at Hogwarts, other than my roommate Wayne."
"As her friend, I hope you won't pick on her too bad for what Astoria shouted out today?" she smiled.
"Not too bad, no." I grinned. "I have never been one to have a bunch of friends growing up, and the few I do have now I would hate to treat poorly." I told her. "Daphne has been very helpful to me this past year, and I have come to value her friendship too much to treat her poorly."
"I am glad to hear that." She smiled. "A woman's diary is a place where her thoughts should be safe…Astoria will one day figure that out."
"And I am sure Daphne will show her the error of her ways when she does." I laughed, knowing that Daphne would get even with her sister eventually. She was a fiery one who would always get even if you messed with her.
"She can be a very passionate girl." Astrid agreed. "When she isn't hiding it. Sometimes I wish our society allowed for more a woman to be more open and free, instead of playing the proper Pureblood witch all of the time."
"Yes she is." I laughed. "I can only imagine the pain the boys of Hogwarts will endure when she starts to get older. Sadly, the men in our society will never relinquish its control over our society. I believe they are more afraid than anything. There is a Muggle saying that says 'Behind every great man, there is a great woman'."
"Sounds like the Muggles aren't as savage as most purebloods would lead you to believe." She chuckled, leading me back in the direction of the manor.
I knew that the Muggles were at least close to correct with that saying. If I hadn't had Violet behind me, helping me through the years, there would be no telling where I would be by now. For all I knew I would be some scrawny, malnourished kid that was afraid to even be touched. I would probably have latched onto the first person who came my way and offered me a friendly hand, never branching out. I would have been content with life, never trying to better myself, relying on luck and others to help me through life. To top it off, I would have probably never really dated anyone and married my best friend's sister or something…creepy.
'Sounds like a shitty existence.' Violet grinned. 'Looks like you owe me big time for saving you from such mediocrity.'
'Thank you, great and powerful mistress!' I deadpanned. 'Maybe I could get you a baby dragon in repayment?'
'Oooooh, will you please?' she cooed. She still went on about the bloody thing from time to time.
'Not bloody likely! My luck the thing would eat me for just looking at you!'
'Then you must have been looking at me wrong.' She reasoned. 'My dragon would be protective of anyone staring at my body in a lusty way.'
'I guess I will just have to train myself to stop thinking of you as beautiful then…wouldn't want to get eaten you know.' I teased her.
'You better not, Harry James Potter!' she threatened. 'The moment you do I will tell everyone you secretly are in love with Dumbledore!'
'Vi, that was just plain insulting.' I pouted. 'You couldn't at least pick someone less…old and creepy? Besides, you know you will always be beautiful to me anyhow.'
'I know!' she smiled. 'And you know I would train my future dragon to make an exception for you. Only you though, nobody else is allowed to stare at me like I'm a piece of meat.'
'You got that right…' I mumbled. '...Rip their bloody eyes out.'
"It was a pleasure getting to talk to you, Harry." Astrid said as we entered the manor again.
"Likewise, Mrs. Greengrass." I replied.
"None of that Mrs. Greengrass nonsense." She chided me. "You can call me Astrid, I promise I won't bite." She finished with a laugh.
"Thank you." I gave her a slight bow of the head. "Perhaps I will go make sure Daphne hasn't earned a stay in Azkaban from killing her sister and perhaps even get some homework done."
"Just make sure you are all down in a couple hours for lunch, dear." Astrid replied to me before I made my way up the stairs, following the high pitched squeals and shouts…Yep, this would be a much better summer than the years before.
AN: Just a reminder, I will be away and out of town from Friday until Monday night so my next chapter will be sometime early next week. As always, any comments, questions, or concerns feel free to PM me. Reviews are of course welcomed and enjoyed!
