Disclaimer: I (obviously) do not own any rights of the Harry Potter Franchise.

Chapter 25: What Now

The money she had managed to grab on her way out only managed to get Violet to the outskirts of London. Still, the more distance she could put between herself and Vernon, the better. Violet nervously ran her fingers through her tangled hair as she stepped off the empty train and began to make her way farther into London. It was a late Saturday night so the platform was slightly busy with intoxicated passengers trying to get home before the train's shut down. If she was honest with herself she didn't have a plan on what to do next. The only certainty was that she just had to keep moving.

The Ministry of Magic must have been aware of all the magic she had used in the past two days, especially given the fact that she had sent a muggle to the hospital. She sighed as she realized that she would probably never step foot in Hogwarts again. Her friends, the tranquility of the Ravenclaw common room, lounging in her favorite courtyard, quidditch, all of it began to disappear before her eyes. She shook her head to try and clear her mind from focusing on what she may have lost by fighting back. Violet wouldn't regret what she had done, no matter the consequences. Unfortunately her resolve didn't do much to calm her anxiousness at trying come up with some form of plan. What was to become of her?

There was more than enough gold in the Potter vaults for her to survive on as long as she was able to claim it before the Ministry noticed she was missing from the Dursley's. She knew that gold would be able to loosen even the strictest of Ministry laws if she went about it in the right way. From Gringotts she could get to her belongings that she had put in storage at the beginning of the summer and maybe rent a room somewhere in Diagon Alley. Maybe she'd be able to hire a tutor or some form of instructor to make sure she wouldn't miss out too much from not being able to return to Hogwarts. She bit her lip and tried to ignore the ever increasing panic at the thought of never seeing Hogwarts again.

As soon as Violet reached the open air of the street after exiting the train station she began to feel slightly more optimistic. She took a deep breath before beginning to walk as fast as she could, without raising suspicion, away from the station. A weak plan and a vague inclination of what to do next was better than nothing, she reminded herself as she began to weave between the crowded streets. She clutched her offensively pink bag closer to her body to try and disguise the oversized rags she was wearing. In the dim streetlights it could pass as a baggy dress so long as no one looked too closely. The last thing she needed was the muggle authorities interfering and trying to bring her back to the Dursleys. She walked for blocks and blocks while trying to maintain a cool disinterested expression on her face. The constant stream of what ifs that flew to the forefront of her thoughts as she walked along the streets more than enough to distract her from actually observing the city around her. Violet couldn't shake the surreal feeling that seemed to consume her. So much had happened over the past two days, that none of it really felt real. She'd sent someone to the hospital, fought back against Vernon, and significantly damaged the Dursley's house. If it wasn't for the constant pain coursing through her body she would have believed it all to be a dream.

The streets became increasingly empty the longer that she walked. The far off sound of a siren or loud beep of a car horn grew fewer and farther between the darker the sky became. The neon glow of convenient store signs her only company the longer she walked through the city. It must have been around midnight when she finally slowed her steps to give her aching feet a short reprieve. She could feel the welts on her back protesting every time she slightly turned her torso as the raw skin was continuously reopened. The stinging pain was a constant reminder of what had almost occurred that night and a reaffirmation that all of this was real and happening. Her right eye was slightly swollen from Vernon's punches and she was sure that the bruises from his fingers around her throat were already forming. She could still taste the blood in her mouth. Violet moved her long dark hair over her shoulders to slightly cover her neck. It would be too difficult to explain those bruises away to anyone who noticed. Diagon Alley had to be close by now. She was too exhausted for it not to be.

Violet looked around the street she was on to try and determine where exactly she was. There were pubs and restaurants full of loud and enthusiastic patrons on either side of the long winding street. The sounds of drunken revelry rang out from inside each of the buildings as she walked past them. 'Well, at least someone's having fun," she bitterly thought as boisterous laughter and clinking glasses echoed out onto the empty street. What she wouldn't give to just be able to sit for a moment and rest her throbbing feet. The cheap sneakers she was wearing were tattered and dirty and if anything had made her journey more difficult tonight. If it wasn't for all the broken glass and trash on the sidewalks she probably would have just gone barefoot. Still, she had to keep moving. Violet knew that the Ministry, Vernon, or the muggle authorities would be looking for her sooner rather than later. No, if she stopped they would find her and that simply could not be allowed to happen.

She squinted as she noticed the silhouette of a man leaning against one of the buildings farther down the street. At least, she thought he was a man. It was hard to tell from this far away. The streetlights were dim as the moisture from the warm night cast the street in a thin layer of fog. Much of the light the lamps normally offered was blocked out from the thick and heavy fog. The man's head was raised towards the sky. He was looking up at the starless night seemingly oblivious to all the noise and activity around him. Even the weak glow of the streetlights seemed to avoid him leaving him perfectly encased in darkness.

As she neared him Violet could begin to make out his features. He was rather unremarkable. He looked as if he might had been generally handsome in his youth, but age and apathy had warped whatever handsomeness he had into a rather average banal display of a man. His thinning and short cut black hair had been combed over to try and hide that he was balding. His nose seemed far too large for his narrow face and only served to highlight the smallness of his eyes and thinness of his lips. He also had a round stomach, which not even the fine clothes he was wearing could completely hide. When she finally reached him Violet noticed that he was standing outside the nicest bar on the street if the tinted windows and security guard at the front door were anything to go by.

"Excuse me, Sir. Could you tell me what street we're on?" Violet asked as she shouldered her bag to the front of her body to try and hide her clothing. Compared to the rich fabric of the suit the man was wearing, she might as well have been dressed in garbage.

He sighed and reluctantly cast his small eyes off the sky and turned to look down at her. Violet did not miss the look of surprise that quickly flashed through his eyes as they met hers. 'That's weird,' she thought. Most people would have looked surprised at her clothing but not at her face. It was much too dark on the street to see her bruises so she knew it couldn't have been from that. It wasn't even that unusual for her to be on the street at this hour. She had passed several different groups of teenagers as she walked through the city that night. Her hair was somewhat of a mess so she supposed it could have been that.

"Running away from home, are you?"

Violet's eyes widened and she took half a step back as she heard his voice. It was that voice. The voice that she could never seem to get out of her head since she heard it at Flourish and Blotts two years ago. She had continuously pestered Draco to tell her the names of all the people his father worked with, but all he ever gave her was laughter and a reminder that his father worked with nearly every person in the Ministry of Magic at one time or another. She'd thought of combing the ministry database but that seemed a little bit obsessive for someone who she never expected to see again.

"Are you stalking me?" She hissed while casting a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure that no one was going to jump out of the fog and grab her. She might have escaped the Dursley's but she knew it would take years for her to ever really feel safe. The hard truth of the matter was that Vernon would never stop looking for her. She would need to always be on her guard to prepare for the inevitable moment when she would need to face her abuser again. Having a conversation with this man wasn't exactly helping her feel all that safe and secure at the moment. Fate must have had a really twisted sense of humor.

He gave a light chuckle. "I'm fairly certain that I was here first. It was you who approached me, after all. I have to wonder what you're doing here, though. You don't exactly seem like the type to visit this part of town...bit young."

The exhaustion was beginning to eat away at Violet's reign on her temper. She had been through hell that night and the last thing she needed was to be teased by a stranger, well sort of stranger. Who did he think he was anyway? She eyed him critically as she looked over his form again. His light brown eyes were alight with amusement which made the narrow face slightly more handsome but he still looked so plain and boring. Violet guessed he was in his mid-forties due to the thin balding hair and slightly forming wrinkles around his eyes. He reminded her of one of Vernon's coworkers who only talked about playing golf and his investments. A small part of her couldn't help but feel that the allure and raw power of his voice didn't match his appearance at all.

The man leaned his head back slightly and began to inspect his nails as if waiting for her to finish her examination of him. "You look disappointed," he said in a bored tone while he continued to disinterestedly look at his hands under the pale lamplight.

Violet felt a small blush begin to rise to her cheeks. "I….um, no…" She mumbled quickly while brushing a tangled strand of hair behind her ear. She didn't think this night could possibly get any worse as her blush continued to grow until it matched the pink of Petunia's beach bag.

"Sorry, it's just I...thought you looked different than you do. Not that you look bad or anything...well it's not like I thought you were going to look great either. Hadn't thought at all about your looks, in fact! I didn't really have an opinion one way or the other on them. Er- I mean, you just look different than you know...what I thought," she said in a quick rush as she began to feel like more of a fool with each word. Yup, this was officially the worst night of her life.

She was fairly certain that what she had said could be taken in a multitude of wrong ways. She cast a quick glance at the man to see if she had offended him but surprisingly found his eyes alight with even more amusement as the corners of his thin mouth began to twitch.

"I'll let you in on a little secret, Violet." A shiver went down her spine as he said her name.

He leaned down towards her. Her breathing slowed until she felt like she was holding her breath. The sounds of the city with all its drunken revelry faded away as his face neared towards hers. "It's a glamour," he whispered before straightening back up completely unaffected.

She stared up dumbfounded at him for a moment before she understood and processed what he had said. "Oh...why?" she asked while trying to regain some of her composure. Casting a small glamour charm a part of your body was relatively easy but it took considerable power to keep one so effectively on your whole body for more than a few minutes at a time. She drew her bag even closer to her body to try and create some kind of distance between herself and him.

"You can't see any benefit to being able to move through the world relatively unseen? People see this," he gestured to his face and body, "and they feel completely at ease, either content to ignore or confide in me. They see a man past his prime, who indulges in too much food and drink. A harmless passer-by. They immediately feel better about their own appearances by comparison. Maybe even feel pity for the aged and painfully plain man who stands before them. Vanity and pride are all too easy to exploit in others, especially with an appearance like this. Never show the world you true face."

"That sounds pretty cynical," she said as she toyed with the straps on the over-sized bags.

"And that sounds fairly naive. It's the truth and a lesson you best learn now before you place your trust in the wrong person. What a deadly mistake that could be. There's also the practicality that comes from wearing a mask such as this. I'm sure it would have made your journey tonight far less stressful. I can't imagine running away from home was easy."

Violet glared at the man and looked down the street beyond him. He was the last person who she needed to justify or explain her decisions to. "I'm not running away. It wasn't my home-"

Before she could continue, the metal door to the bar slammed open followed by a series of drunken giggles. Violet jumped as she turned to see a beautiful honey blonde haired woman in an absurdly small and tight red dress.

"Marvy, are you coming back in? I'm getting lonely all by myself," she whined in exaggeration as she stared at him with simpering eyes and a mock pout. Violet felt a stab of irritation at the interruption. The woman reminded her far too much of a grown up Pansy Parkinson.

"In a moment. I'm sure you'll be able to find something to entertain yourself with in the meantime," the man responded as he sent the woman a charming smile. She giggled in response and closed the door with another loud bang that severely grated on Violet's nerves.

Violet wasn't sure why but now she was in an even worse mood. She tapped her foot and turned her glare from the now closed door to him before she huffed out an aggravated sigh. "Well, Marvy, I can see that you're obviously very busy, so I'll just let you get on with whatever it is you do. Have a great night!" she snapped and began to try and walk past him. The soreness in her feet made her steps slower than she would have liked.

He held out his arm in front of her, effectively blocking her path. "Wait," he said. A look of confusion passed between his features as if he was unused to saying the word. "Where are you going?"

"Gringotts," she responded in the firmest tone she could muster. Violet thought about slapping his arm away but decided it against it.

"In the middle of the night? Diagon Alley is at least ten miles away. You can't really be serious." he said as he moved to stand in front of her.

"I am absolutely serious and now if you don't mind I should really be on my way." She expected him to move aside but he stayed planted right where he was, much to her annoyance.

"Gringotts doesn't open until nine, so are you just planning to sleep at the door? I can't imagine the goblins would be pleased to find you camped outside. They're such territorial little beasts."

"Well…if its ten miles away then I should get there right when they open." She raised her chin in defiance. She'd fought Vernon and she would fight this man too if he tried to take her back to the Dursleys or alert the Ministry.

"And from Gringotts? I don't believe too many pubs are in the habit of renting rooms to runaways," he said as he remained in front of her. "The most likely outcome being the owner sending word to the Ministry immediately."

"I…" the exhaustion was beginning to wear her down as he continued to poke holes in her weak plan. The righteous anger in her was slowly dissolving after the day's earlier events as her broken body and soul just longed for rest.

"I don't know, okay? I don't know where to go. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing or going to do….I just can't go back there, never again. Just let me go...please. I'm good at managing on my own. I always have been. Please…I just can't go back." She finished in a whisper while looking him straight in the eyes silently begging him to understand her.

Their gazes stayed locked for a moment as she allowed some of the pain and fear that had been plaguing her for the past thirteen years to finally show. After denying, rationalizing, and hiding it for so long she needed to show someone. She just needed someone to understand. She took a shaky breath as the reality of what had happened and almost happened to her came crashing down. All that pain and hurt…was real. It was overwhelming but she couldn't hide it away anymore. She couldn't simply tuck it to the back of her mind and pretend that she was fine.

He gave her a slight nod to show that he understood. She searched his eyes for any sign of judgement or disdain but to her surprise she found none. There was also no compassion or sympathy in his gaze but she didn't want any. There was only simple understanding. "How many secrets you must keep," He mused in quiet contemplation.

After a moment he held out his arm for her to take. "Since your plan was a disaster waiting to happen. Let me take you somewhere safe," he said in an authoritative tone that brooked no room for argument. Unfortunately for him, she was immune to that tone.

"Won't your friend miss you?" Violet snapped. She couldn't understand where her anger at the woman was coming from but there seemed to be a lot of it. It must have just been the woman's resemblance to Pansy.

The man gave a soft laugh. "It only takes a moment to apparate. My friend won't even notice I've gone." Violet crossed her arms and raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. He sighed and looked like he wanted to pinch the bridge of his nose. "If I wanted you harmed, believe me, you would know it."

Violet uncrossed her arms but continued to look at him with uncertainty in her eyes. Her aching muscles and throbbing back wanted to believe him but she had just escaped one madman and she wasn't looking to be at the mercy of another. Still, it was not like she had too many options at the moment. The Ministry probably would find her before she even reached Gringotts.

"Do you trust me?" he asked in genuine curiosity.

"No," she said but took his arm anyway. She jumped as a slight shock passed between them. If the man felt it, he showed no sign of it. They apparated with a quiet pop.

The familiar black and white marble of the Malfoy Manor greeted Violet as soon as the apparition was over. She quickly jumped away from him as soon as the world stopped spinning. She dropped her bag in the process. He straightened the lapels on his jacket while he eyed her critically. "Why are you dressed like a house elf?"

Violet mentally cursed her clumsiness and immediately picked up her bag and used it to cover up Dudley's oversized shirt. She glared at the fine fabric of his black suit feeling embarrassed. "Why are house elves dressed in rags?" She hissed back.

Before she could step back the man descended on her and lightly grabbed her chin in his hand. He tilted her head back and Violet watched in fascination as the light brown of his eyes began to darken. "Your eye is swollen," he said gently turning her head to get a better view. She hissed in pain as his hand lightly touched the tender and swollen skin.

The candles in the room flickered as the entire room dropped in temperature. A light coating of frost began to decorate the windows while a thin layer of ice began to bleed out onto the marble of the floor. Using his other hand he gently brushed the rest of her hair back behind her shoulders. "Your neck," he whispered with an icy edge. Violet's eyes widened as she realized he must have seen the bruises left by Vernon's hands.

"M-Marvolo," Lucius greeted as he walked into the foyer with Narcissa following closely behind him with worry clear in her eyes as her gaze darted from Violet to the man. Violet used the distraction to bat his hands away and move closer to the incoming Malfoys. The ice began to slowly retreat from the hall.

"Oh, Violet," Narcissa spoke as she gave the girl an affectionate hug effectively blocking Violet from the man. "We've kept your room ready for you all summer. I'm so glad that you're here." she said while she gently placed an arm around Violet's shoulders and began to usher her from the room. Violet was anxious to get some space between herself and the man as being under his scrutinizing stare left her feeling completely exposed and vulnerable. She could hear the murmur of his voice and Lucius's but couldn't make out anything that was being said as Narcissa led her up the stairs. Before turning the corner Violet quickly glanced back, but found that the man had already apparated from the hall. She didn't know why but she felt disappointed.

Narcissa left Violet in her room as she rushed off to find Lucius. The entire situation felt odd. Before departing Narcissa summoned some of the Malfoy house elves and instructed them to treat Violet like they would a Malfoy. Violet sighed as she threw herself onto the thick sky blue duvet cover. Her aching feet relieved to finally have a chance to rest. She could feel them pulsing in pain after the many miles she had walked that night. She noticed that Narcissa had left a pain-relief and dreamless sleep potion on the black onyx marble table at the foot of the bed. Violet quickly downed both and climbed under the thick duvet cover. All thoughts fled from her mind as she fell into a blissful deep sleep.