The four of them stayed out for the afternoon in a quaint coffee shop in central London just off of Charing Cross Road, where Thomas treated Violet to whatever decadent cake and coffee she wanted. Even though he, Genevive, and Lupin were incredibly proud of Violet, there was a stilted atmosphere as she still barely gave her mother any attention. Genevive eventually took the hit and sat back quietly, sipping on her coffee and only participating in conversation if Thomas or Lupin said something to her that would be of note.
"I feel like I was always bound to get out of it," Violet said.
"How so?" Thomas replied.
"Fudge mentioned a few times that you and mum were respectable. That I had a pristine record - I feel like he knew the entire time that I wasn't lying about what happened. Although…" she frowned, and then leaned forward, talking in a lower voice. "I did have to lie about why I was in Little Whinging. Since - you know - I couldn't exactly mention the Order…"
"What did you say?"
"That you and mum weren't happy with me associating Harry because of what he said about Voldemort," she explained, a guilty look on her face. "It was the only thing I could come up with on the spot."
"You really do take after me…" Genevive muttered. Violet ignored her.
Thomas, on the other hand, was gobsmacked. "Violet, sweetheart, that's-"
"I know. I know," she sighed. "I'm not proud of it either. But whatever worked in the moment, right?"
"Of course," he agreed. "I just - I wouldn't have expected you to-"
"I didn't expect me to either, dad."
The four of them tried not to let it sour the rest of the afternoon.
Taking advantage of where they were, Violet dragged her parents and Lupin to a little side street filled with second hand and vintage bookshops. Thomas parted with some cash when he spotted his daughter eyeing up an old, hardback version of an Oscar Wilde play, and she came out of the shop incredibly happy.
Genevive raised an eyebrow at her husband, and he merely shrugged as they made their way back to number twelve in the early evening.
By the time they'd gotten back to Grimmauld Place, the Hogwarts letters had come through too. Violet was met with a sign in the kitchen congratulating Ron and Hermione on becoming the new Gryffindor Prefects, and her heart sank.
She'd forgotten about that. It wasn't like she'd actively wanted to be Prefect, but… it made her feel odd, and it made her wonder if the entire situation with the hearing had impacted that decision. It was pretty obvious from the look on Harry's face that he was also a little put out by Ron getting Prefect over him. Either way - Violet knew Hermione deserved it, so went up to her friend and congratulated her.
"Well done!" She told her with a hug.
"Thanks!" Hermione was absolutely giddy with joy. "Mum and dad'll be so pleased… it's something they'll understand!"
"You'll have to let me know what they say."
"Of course! And well done to you too, by the way - we all knew you'd get through the hearing just fine. It was self defense after all."
At that point, Mrs Weasley came hurrying over to them. "And that's another thing to be celebrating!" she beamed at Violet before pulling her into a warm embrace. The girl practically melted into it, considering she'd not properly interacted with her own mother for half the summer. This was much needed. "I know it seems odd, but Ron did mention you're not the greatest at speaking in front of large groups…"
Once Violet had pulled back from Mrs Weasley, she glanced over at Ron, whose ears promptly turned red.
"We're considering it an act of bravery," Genevive said from behind her daughter. "And quite rightly too. I'm proud of you, darling."
Violet only gave her a curt nod in response.
"Bill and Arthur will be on their way - they're thrilled to hear that Ron's a Prefect, and I'm sure Bill will be over the moon that everything went smoothly for you," Mrs Weasley patted Violet on the shoulder before heading back over to the stove.
Harry hung back from Violet while she spoke with the rest of the Weasley teenagers about the trial for a few minutes, and only when she was completely free from them did he wander over to her, enveloping her in a warm hug.
"Well done," he whispered in her ear.
"Thanks," she replied, her arms tightening around his waist for a moment. She rested her cheek on his shoulder, almost forgetting that they were with their friends - as soon as the moment had started, it was over. They'd let go of each other. She shrugged out of the blazer. "Oh and um - thanks for saving my outfit with this, by the way."
"Any time," he said, taking the blazer back. The pair of them avoided the looks that Hermione and Ginny threw their way: curious and suspicious. Violet knew that she'd be cornered by Hermione at some point soon, no doubt.
More of the Order started filtering in for dinner - or party, as it were - soon enough Violet found herself conversing with the real Mad-Eye Moody for the first time ever.
"I'm sorry about what happened at our house, Alastor," she said politely.
"No harm done," he grumbled as he sat down at the table while she hovered nearby. "You really do take after your father. Shame he never became an Auror - I reckon he'd be good. And I've heard you have a knack for more advanced spells, the Patronus aside."
Violet gulped, her eyes widening. "I - I suppose I do, yes…"
"Ever considered following in your mother's footsteps?"
She risked a glance across the room where Genevive was chatting idly with Tonks.
"No," she finally said to Moody. "Just because I can be good in combat doesn't mean I want to go down that route."
"But you're clever too."
"So?"
"There's detective work in being an Auror. You'd excel."
She offered him a wry smile.
"And I prefer helping people in other ways-"
"Oh, Mad-Eye," chimed the voice of Bill Weasley - who had clearly just arrived - from behind Violet. "Stop trying to recruit Violet to the Ministry… let her cool off after today."
Violet couldn't keep the grin off her face as he came to rescue like that, and stepped away from Moody. The coolest looking Weasley gave her a quick hug. "Thanks," she said.
"Any time. Do me a favour though…" He pulled something out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her: a slightly battered envelope addressed to her, in elegant, loopy writing. "Send Fleur a damn letter."
Violet's jaw dropped and she went a little white as she took the letter from him. "You - you know Fleur?"
He gestured with his head and they headed to the section of the table where they could grab a Butterbeer each. "I've got a desk job at Gringotts now. Trying to keep my ear to the ground and see what side the goblins are on. She's got a job there too - part time - I think she's trying to learn English…"
"And how did you get onto the topic of... me?"
He shrugged, taking a swig from his bottle. "We were just talking one lunchtime. She'd noticed us two sitting with each other during the third task. Said she'd given you her address and you hadn't written."
She chuckled nervously, starting to comb her fingers through the ends of her hair. "Well, I didn't realise she actually wanted to hear from me. I thought she was just… being nice."
"With the way you were looking at her?" Harry piped up, approaching them. "Please. I think she wanted to know if you were interested."
Bill laughed at that remark. "Either way - just read what she had to write."
"I will, don't worry," Violet told him.
"Are you interested in Fleur?"
Violet had to stop herself from looking at Harry. "No," her voice came out strained. "No, my interest lies elsewhere…"
With how obviously she wasn't looking at the boy, Bill's gaze flickered between the two of them. "Hmm. I guess that'll leave Fleur for me, then…"
"She's yours if you want to ask her out, Bill. I don't think I'll be going for her any time soon."
She caught Harry's smirk out of the corner of her eye, and had to refrain from smiling.
"You won't be completely heartbroken that you can't have her or me?" he then teased.
Violet's cheeks flushed furiously, and she batted Bill on the arm. "Hey! How did you-?"
"It was so obvious, Vi…" Then he leaned towards the pair, speaking quietly. "Speaking of, try not to be so obvious yourselves." He stood back up straight and winked at the pair of them, before sauntering off over to his family.
Violet whipped around to Harry, panic written all over her face. "Are we really that obvious?" she hissed at him.
"Nah. Bill just hasn't seen how we became stupidly close over the past year," Harry said with a shrug. "Anyway, the real test is Hogwarts. Shall we talk about it after this?"
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."
The rest of the evening passed in flurries of conversation that Violet found herself withdrawing from more and more, already finding herself exhausted by the time the food was ready. She picked at what was on her plate, not as enthused as she should have been joining in the toasts for Ron and Hermione on becoming the new Gryffindor Prefects. She caught Harry's eye across the table when that happened: his jaw was set, his smile forced.
As much as she wanted to talk to him about it, she knew that whilst he was clearly angry about the Prefect issue it wasn't the best idea. She filed that away to the back of her mind to ask about on another day, when the wound wasn't so fresh.
She skipped dessert, opting to slip out from everyone and away up to her room.
Despite the fact she'd grown to have a Stockholm Syndrome type of love for the room, it was the only place of solitude for her after getting overwhelmed by the atmosphere downstairs. It didn't matter that it was only half past seven by this point, Violet changed into her pyjamas. It was good to get out of that dress - something of which she only realised that after taking it off had been a little too tight around the chest.
It took about half an hour before the insufferable claustrophobia of being in the room kicked in - no matter if her door was open. It was as if her solitude wasn't a comforting friend anymore, but rather holding her prisoner. For a moment, Violet debated changing back into what she'd been wearing that day to go back downstairs and join everyone, but she remembered the book Lupin had given her.
So she sat at the desk reading, losing herself in the world of Tess, letting her mind drift back to the time that book was written, using the characters as a means of companionship for the time being. They wouldn't drag her into unwanted, fast paced conversation - no, she could read at her own pace. It was much better that way.
Around about nine o'clock, there was a knock on Violet's door. She knew it would be Harry, so called for him to come in. She barely glanced over her shoulder as he shut the door and approached her at the desk; she was finishing up reading the chapter of her book, so he merely perched himself on the desk and waited patiently for her to close the book.
"Tess of d'Urbervilles,'" Harry read out. "What's it about?"
"A lady called Tess - and her life, I suppose," Violet yawned, undoing her hair from the half-up do it was in, and shaking out the long tresses over the back of the chair. "It's quite dark, but Remus gifted it to me - as ever."
"Of course."
Silence.
"Are you alright?" he asked her. "You didn't stay for dessert."
She shrugged. "Too much conversation at once. I needed an out, but…"
"But?"
"I… didn't find as much solitude as I wanted."
"Right…" he said, a little confused, but left it for now. Violet clearly didn't want to elaborate. "So about earlier…" Harry switched subjects.
"Yeah," Violet said, hopping up to join him on the desk. She rested her feet in the chair. "It seems silly, doesn't it? To keep this a secret?"
"Maybe, but we've got other secrets we've kept for far longer."
"This is bigger than that."
"I know, but you don't like it when people talk about you, or stare. Come to think of it, I've been stared at far too much in my lifetime…" He pointed directly at the scar and grinned. "This could be the one thing I have that's just… mine?"
She playfully - and gently - nudged him. "I'm all yours," she giggled. "Seriously, though, I get what you mean. It's easy for me to disappear into the background anyway, so… providing I don't hex anyone at the start of the year, and people don't find out about the whole… running away thing, I should be free from stares."
"Here's hoping Fred and George don't talk too much about your rebellious antics in the Common Room, then."
"Here's hoping," she repeated, softly. Harry took hold of Violet's hand, intertwining his fingers with her own. A sense of calm overtook the girl - the pair of them, really - and she rested her head on his shoulder. "I didn't think I'd feel this comfortable around anyone. Ever."
"Well, I'm glad you are."
"Me too. And I'm glad we're doing this - trying it. I just - I don't want to lose you, Harry. Through all this, the fact you were my first friend will always mean a lot to me. Always."
Her voice was growing tinier and tinier with every passing second, and the boy realised she was tired. His shoulder was apparently that comfortable to her, that she was really relaxed. At peace. Something he realised would be a rarity, and had been a rarity over their tumultuous summer.
"Can I ask you a favour?" he said all of a sudden.
"Yeah?" Violet's eyelids were starting to flutter closed, and she instead looped her arm around Harry's.
"As much as I appreciated what you did for me this summer, please don't do something as stupid as that again."
She didn't say anything for a few seconds. "I thought it was something Gryffindor…"
"No. It was stupid. Something Gryffindor was you telling me to be your boyfriend. And me telling you to be my girlfriend."
She squeezed his upper arm gently.
"Come on," he said. "You've looked out for me enough this summer. My turn. Go to bed."
The pair of them slid off the desk, Harry leading Violet to her bed and pulling aside the covers for her. She climbed into bed, and he practically tucked her in.
"See you in the morning."
She nodded sleepily, but patted the empty space next to her. "Stay."
"Bit obvious, isn't it?"
"As if our friends will suspect anything other than the fact we probably stayed up talking again," she muttered. "And… I don't like being alone up here at the moment."
Harry paused for a moment, his heart sinking as he realised that that was what she had meant about not being able to find solitude. How could he have forgotten - of course she wouldn't - "Yeah. No, I - I get that. I'll stick up here tonight then."
All he did was lie down on top of the covers in the spot next to her, not feeling it appropriate to get under them entirely. That didn't matter to Violet. She fell asleep soundly within a few minutes knowing that Harry was there. He didn't even have a single bad dream that night, either.
So when he was able to, Harry would sneak up to Violet's room for the remainder of the summer holiday, in the short time they had left before heading back to school. He found she was right - it was easy enough to play it off as the pair of them staying up late and talking as they normally would.
It seemed like this would be the most straightforward secret for the pair of them to keep.
And that's the end of the summer chapters! Hope you all enjoyed that arc. Chapters may be a bit slower. Work is gonna be super crazy for me until December, so I'll try my best to update as frequently as I can!
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-OL.
