Violet didn't say goodbye to her mother.
The teenagers were to be escorted by Moody, Tonks, Kingsley, and Arthur to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, mostly as a safety precaution. It meant that Violet had to say goodbye to Genevive, Thomas, and Lupin in the morning before leaving.
It didn't matter to her that Genevive was waiting patiently for Violet to come to her; the girl didn't acknowledge her at all. She ignored her mother completely. It did not go unnoticed by Thomas, Lupin, or Mrs Weasley, for that matter. In fact, it was rather awkward when Violet opted to very obviously say goodbye to the redheaded woman and give her a long embrace.
Harry had been lingering just by the front door, waiting for Violet, and even he could feel the awkwardness of the whole situation, and didn't say a word about it until they were far enough away from the house that she wouldn't bite his head off.
"Will you ever forgive her?" he asked carefully.
Violet shrugged. "Who knows?"
Before he could say anything else, a black dog came running up to their heels, yapping away excitedly. Padfoot reached up and licked Harry's hand, before giving Violet the same treatment, falling into step beside them on their walk to King's Cross.
"Can we sit alone for a little bit? Once we're on the train?" Violet asked Harry quietly.
"Yeah, sure."
They didn't say much else to each other for the rest of the walk, although every now and then Violet's hand twitched as if she wanted to take Harry's.
By the time they reached the station, Padfoot ran into an empty waiting room with Harry going after him. Moody wasn't too impressed, but their group stopped and hovered until the pair of them came back out again. Violet eyed Harry oddly, but he patted the pocket on his hoodie, and gave her a look as if to say he'd explain in a bit.
Harry and Violet had a compartment to themselves for the first half an hour of the journey back to Hogwarts, thankfully, as Hermione and Ron had to go sit with the other Prefects. It was hard to shake off Ginny and the twins, but they managed it - only just.
"What did Sirius want?" Violet asked, once the Hogwarts Express had set off.
"To show me this," Harry replied, pulling a battered photo out of his pocket and handing it across to her. "It's the original Order of the Phoenix."
Violet stared down at the picture, a curious look on her face. "Goodness. Our parents were so young, weren't they?"
"They were all nineteen in that photo," Harry said. " Except your dad. He would have been…?"
"Twenty one," she said. "You remembered he was older?"
"Course I did."
She gave him back the photo, her lips drawing into a thin line. "Strange to think they were barely adults when it all kicked off the first time. We're just barely teenagers."
"Don't," he sighed, folding up the photo. "I don't wanna think about it - youth. Being young while all this is going on. It just reminds me how unfair it is."
"Yes… yes, it is unfair, isn't it?" Violet slumped back in her seat and stared out the window. "How did you sleep last night?"
The previous night was one of the few nights they hadn't stayed up late together in Violet's room. It seemed more sensible, considering it was the last night before heading back to school.
"Badly. You?"
"Same. It was about Cedric again."
"Yeah, I er - I dreamt something similar. And just about Voldemort in general. You know, it feels nice to talk about this with you. I don't know if Ron and Hermione would… you know…"
Violet shot him a sad smile and nodded, reaching over and patting him on the knee.
It was silent between them for some time, as they both became distracted by thoughts of their other two friends.
Violet was obviously ashamed of herself for losing the chance to even become Prefect, and Harry was still annoyed. She didn't know how to broach the subject with him - if she should broach the subject with him, but Violet could sense a vexation in Harry that she hadn't quite known before. She couldn't help but steal worried glances at him, and he could feel it. The tautness of his jaw was a dead giveaway that he knew Violet was watching him.
"Stop it," Harry grumbled at her, and she sighed. That was when he softened. "Sorry. I'm fine about it, though, really."
"You're about as fine as me about all of this," she said gently, moving to sit next to him. "I sometimes wonder if I would have gotten Prefect if I hadn't come to Privet Drive that night… but there's a chance it could have always been Hermione."
"It could have always been Hermione, but…"
"But it might have always been Ron," Violet said. "I know. Even I thought that decision was… strange."
He turned to face her properly. "Am I bad? Am I bad for questioning that? For thinking that I'm better than Ron in some kind of way?"
"I wouldn't say bad…" Violet was treading carefully. "Maybe selfish."
He frowned, but gestured for her to carry on.
"Me, you, and Hermione are all only children. No siblings to compete with. I - I know the Dursleys don't care much for your achievements, but you still have to consider that as Ron's best friend, you do have an appeal to his mum. She adores you like a son, so in a way, you're just another sibling for Ron to compete with." She paused for a moment. "Let him have this one, Harry. Don't get me wrong, you are far more model Prefect material than Ron, but let him take this win."
Harry considered her words for a few moments, eventually nodding and relaxing back in his seat. "Less attention on me, I guess."
She beamed at him, and stood up to go grab her bag off the rack above where she'd been previously sitting. As she went on her tiptoes and stretched up for her belongings, Violet's shirt lifted a little, exposing her midriff.
"And I can pay more attention to you if I'm not distracted by being a Prefect," he said, going red in the cheeks as he stared at that strip of lightly tanned skin.
Violet threw Tess of d'Urbervilles over her shoulder at him, and was blushing furiously as she set back down on her feet and turned around. The book had hit him right in the face and knocked his glasses to the floor.
She clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh, god, I'm sorry!" she squeaked, hurriedly dropped to the ground, picking up Harry's glasses and handing them back to him. There was a mark in the middle of his forehead right next to his scar, and his eyes were watering.
"Remind me not to try flirting with you again…" he muttered, putting his glasses back on and rubbing the sore spot on his head as Violet retrieved her book - which had bounced over to the door, where Ginny, Neville (with a strange looking plant), and a blonde haired girl had just approached.
"What the hell have you two been up to?" Ginny asked, trying not to laugh at the look on Harry's face. Violet scurried back to sitting opposite Harry.
"Oh, you know, Violet threw a book at me," he said, scowling at his friend - girlfriend.
"Mind if we join? Prefects are halfway through rounds and Malfoy was… well, being Malfoy."
"Go for it," Harry said, and the three of them walked in. The blonde haired girl was curious; she was reading a magazine upside down, and she appeared to have a faraway look on her face. Ginny and Neville sat on Harry's side of the compartment, while the newcomer sat on Violet's side.
"Sorry - this is Luna Lovegood. She's a Ravenclaw in my year," Ginny quickly introduced. "Luna, this is Harry Potter, and Violet Merryworth-"
"Oh yes, I know who Harry Potter is," the girl said in a dreamy voice behind her magazine. Violet tilted her head to the side to see it was labelled The Quibbler. "And Violet… I heard you went to the Yule Ball with Harry."
Violet snapped out of her intrigue of the Quibbler. "I - er - yes. I did. I didn't think many people read the Quibbler?"
"My father writes it," Luna said.
"Oh! I see. Lovely…"
"Would you like a copy?" Luna finally peered over the top of the magazine towards Violet. "I can have one mailed to you."
"Erm…" Violet made eye contact with Ginny very briefly, who seemed to be silently urging her to accept the offer. "Sure. Thank you, Luna."
Satisfied, the girl went back behind her magazine.
"How was your summer Neville?" Harry then asked, turning the subject away from the peculiar magazine. "And what is that?" He was referencing the odd, cactus-like plant that the boy had; a plant that was beginning to squirm a little.
"My summer was alright! My uncle sent me this - it's a Mimbulus Mimbletonia, thought it might be helpful for Herbology this year. It's got loads of useful properties… like this defence mechanism, hang on-"
All he had to do was lightly touch a certain point of the plant, and it exploded a rather horrific, green gunk over them all. Ginny managed to throw her arms up in front of her face in time, as Violet and Luna did so with their respective book and magazine. Harry wasn't quite so lucky and received a faceful of it along with Neville.
It didn't help that it absolutely reeked.
"Stinksap!" Violet cried out, pulling her wand out of the pocket of her jacket. Before she could even cast the Scouring Charm, there was a tap at the door.
Cho Chang. Looking uncertain as ever, particularly about what she had just walked in on.
"Hi - hi Harry…" her Scottish voice drifted over. "I… I take it this is a bad time?"
"Little - little bit," he said, wiping his mouth.
"Maybe I'll catch you at Hogsmeade Station?" she suggested shyly.
"Sure. Why not?" he said uneasily, taking off his glasses and shaking off the Stinksap as best as he could, all the while looking at Violet.
"I'll catch you later," she said, before disappearing off down the train.
Violet let out a little laugh. "Someone has a crush on you."
"Wouldn't be the first, and certainly not the last," he retorted, annoyed she'd blatantly pointed it out.
"Scourgify!" Violet opted to ignore his tone and waved her wand over the group, and it were as if the Stinksap hadn't erupted from Neville's plant in the first place.
"Cheers…" Harry muttered, putting his glasses back on.
"Sorry - I didn't realise it would do that," Nevillie said sheepishly. "Anyway, how were your summers? Violet, I heard you nearly got expelled?"
"Did you now?" she replied, exasperated, seeing Ginny begin to go red out of the corner of her eye.
"Why did you nearly get expelled?" Luna asked, curious.
Violet didn't say a single word. She stared down at her lap, a wry smile coming to her face. She knew in her heart that Ginny hadn't meant anything malicious by mentioning it in what must have been an offhand way to Neville and Luna before heading into the compartment, but it still stung. That was her story and hers alone to tell. It was information only she would choose to disclose - it wasn't something for anyone to take away from her.
"She saved my cousin's life," Harry said. He was proud of her, that much she could tell, but for some reason it brought tears to her eyes. Yes, she may have saved Dudley's life, but what had it cost her? Her relationship with her mother and half of her summer? "With a Patronus," he added.
Violet sighed deeply. "I don't want to talk about this - I thought that was... clearly not."
"We don't mean any harm by it-"
"That doesn't matter. I'd rather not have this spreading around the school," Violet cut Ginny off, standing up, leaving her book on the seat, and heading to the door. "I'll be back in a bit."
She needed air - or at least, what she could get while on a train.
After stepping out of the compartment, she started to head towards the back end of the train. She knew that the Prefects sat up front and she didn't fancy a run in with Ron or Hermione right, not when she needed space. A little walk away from the group of them for a good five or ten minutes - she'd be right as rain.
Being so alone that summer had made her forget what it was like to be with groups of people constantly; she'd only had a small taste of that towards the end of August, and if the incident in the carriage proved anything, it was that gossip always prevailed. Even unintentionally.
"Violet - Violet!" Harry was calling after her. She didn't turn around and kept walking until reaching the end of the carriage they were in. She stepped out of sight of the doorway leading into the next carriage, tucked away into a little corner.
She folded her arms stubbornly, and noticed he was holding something behind his back. "I needed some breathing room for a moment, you didn't need to come after me."
"No - I know, but - I - I didn't mean to… when you said about Cho having a crush on me. I didn't mean to get so annoyed."
Her eyelids fluttered in a surprised blink. "Oh. Well, I wasn't jealous or anything, in case you were wondering."
"I wasn't - you never seemed like the type anyway."
"You say that," Violet cleared her throat. "Remember last year on the train when you had a run in with Cho?"
Harry chuckled. "Ah. Well, that was… different."
"I suppose so." There was a momentary lull. "I don't want to talk about what happened this summer. With anyone. Again. I'm glad I saved Dudley's life, Harry, I really am, but there was such a cost to that." As she thought about Genevive, tears welled up and spilled over her cheeks; cheeks that promptly turned pink when she hastily wiped them clean.
"You're away from her now. Can be for as long as you want if you stay at Hogwarts for Christmas. If you stay for Christmas, I'll stay with you as well."
She shook her head. "What about Sirius? Why don't you and I just go… stay with Sirius over Christmas? I'm sure he'll appreciate the company. Besides, he likes me. I think he'd be happy about us two," she said that last part at a whisper.
"Sounds like a plan. Are you going to come back?"
"Not yet," she said with the shake of her head. "I know Ginny didn't mean anything by it-"
Harry presented what he had been holding behind his back: her book. The sudden gesture made Violet lose track of her sentence. "You knew I wasn't going to come back with you."
"Come back whenever you like," he told her, forcing the book into her palms. "Hex Malfoy if he passes by and tries it."
"Not a good idea, mate," came the voice of Ron as he stepped into the carriage with Hermione behind him. "He's a Prefect."
Violet rolled her eyes. "Lovely. The year is off to a tremendous start. What were you two doing down this end anyway?"
"Rounds," Hermione said. "We were just coming back to look for your compartment. Is… everything okay?"
Violet nodded fervently. "I just needed some air. I'll be back in a little bit. Go head. I'll be fine."
She offered her three friends a shaky smile, and after a few moments contemplation, left her in that little corner of the carriage. Sighing in relief, Violet fell back against the wall and slid down onto the floor, flicking her book open once she was settled comfortably.
She felt like she could breathe again. Even though something at the back of her mind told her to worry about what they could possibly be talking about in the compartment while she was gone, it wasn't enough of a concern to distract her from reading, curled up in that tiny spot. Violet could feel her whole body loosening up, relaxing. A calm filling her as she devoured word after word, page after page; she would have been completely at ease were it not for hearing Malfoy's approaching voice to her right.
She jumped up. Started making her way back to the compartment. Violet wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it wasn't enough. Of course Malfoy had to disturb it.
"Ooohh, Merryworth's on her own," he called up the narrow corridor after her.
She kept walking and picked up her pace a little.
"Pathetic," goaded Pansy Parkinson's voice. "Those friends of hers didn't even want to keep her around…"
A sudden, painful tug on her long braid had Violet yelping and coming to a stop. She tried batting at whoever of the two had hold of her.
"Don't even bother," Malfoy's voice was in her ear, and he'd managed to grab hold of both of her arms and pin them behind her back. She dropped her book. "I'm surprised you even were allowed to come back. Father told me all about how you were on trial - he was speaking with the Minister when you were on your way in."
She felt the colour drain from her face, and she struggled against him. Renewed tears slipped down her cheeks. This was possibly her worst nightmare - of course Malfoy would have found out about this through his father… his Death Eater father.
"I'll keep that little secret of yours - I won't spoil your good girl image… just stay out of my way along with Potter, the blood traitor, and the Mudblood and I won't let it slip you nearly got yourself expelled-"
"Oi!" Fred Weasley had poked his head out into the corridor.
They had stopped near enough to his compartment that he had just been able to see what was going on.
"Leave her, Malfoy," he said.
The Slytherin boy let go of Violet, and kicked her book further down the carriage, giving her a shove in its direction for good measure. She stumbled down to all fours, and picked up her book before hurrying to stand up again. Fred had fully stepped into the corridor, watching as Malfoy and Pansy retreated back the way they came, clearly thinking it wasn't worth the argument.
"You alright?" Fred asked her quietly.
Violet nodded quickly, before automatically going to undo her hair and shake it out. She pocketed the band.
"You won't say anything, will you?" she asked in return.
"About this?" Fred didn't seem too convinced by that idea.
"No - no about what happened with me this summer. Malfoy - Malfoy knows. And he knows it's something I'm not proud of…" she sniffed, trying to hold back the tears but to no avail. She started crying far more openly.
Fred was dumbfounded at first, but shaking himself out of his initially shocked stupor, he put an arm around Violet whilst George came out to see what the fuss was all about.
"It's okay little lady," George said. "The boys have got you now. Where are your lot sitting?"
"Just - just a few more compartments up that way."
"We'll walk you back," Fred said. Violet didn't argue as they followed her back to her friends.
The moment she appeared in the doorway shaken up and crying, the six occupants stopped mid conversation. Harry rose from his seat immediately as Violet stepped in, his brow knotted while taking in her current appearance, while the twins hovered at the doorway.
"What happened?" he asked. Neville immediately moved to sit where she'd previously been, opening up the gap for her to sit with Harry.
"Malfoy," the twins said together.
"He knows about… the incident, shall we say?" Fred then said.
"How? How would he know?" Hermione was shocked to say the least.
"His - his dad saw me on my way into the Ministry…" Violet murmured, giving her book back to Harry. He was confused by that, but put his free arm around her as they sat back down. She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Thank you," she called over to the twins, who gave curt nods before leaving.
"Did - did he do anything?" Harry queried.
"He… pulled on my hair. He pulled on my braid."
Violet took the hair band from her pocket, and slipped it into the one in his hoodie. "You said you should keep them on you. I don't think I want this one anymore anyway…"
Anyone could have heard a pin drop.
"Your hair looks so pretty in a braid though," Luna said to her. "But it looks equally nice down too. You're lucky to have lovely, long, black hair."
Violet couldn't say anything in response, and merely hid her face in Harry's shoulder as much as she possibly could without making either one of them uncomfortable.
Conversation was hard to start up after that.
