Yo! To the person who asked why I always seem to name Fem!Harry 'Violet', I don't have a particular reason, really. I always liked the name, it's a flower, so it fits with 'Lily', and the only other 'Violet' I've read about is 'Violet Baudelaire', and she's epic. *Shrugs* Thank you to all readers so far!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters...
On the evening of September first, Marvolo found himself seated at the Staff Table at Hogwarts, ordering Severus to wait until later before he started drinking, just like he had to do every year on this day.
Today was the day the students arrived at the castle, which was certainly bad enough in Severus' eyes, but made worse this year because of a certain child who would be beginning.
"You never went to school with James Potter," Severus stated in irritation. "You did not even have to teach him. I have no doubt the brat will be just like him. Spoiled, condescending, and an idiotic Gryffindor through and through."
Marvolo fought not to roll his eyes. The Potions Master had been muttering about this all week. "What makes you believe the child will not be like her mother?" Lily Evans-Potter had been quite kind, after all. He hadn't had much to do with her, as he had begun teaching at Hogwarts the year after Severus had graduated, but even he knew that much.
"Potter's genes were the dominant ones," was the firm answer he received. Severus had no doubt that the genes Lily had inherited were recessive. Just look at what she had for a sister!
Luckily, or unluckily for some, the students finally arrived and began piling into the Hall, taking their seats at their House Tables while they waited for the first years to arrive, chattering loudly.
It wasn't long before McGonagall left the room, only to have Hagrid enter 'subtly' a few minutes later. And finally, just as the noise reached fever pitch, the woman returned, leading a line of small children.
Marvolo examined them all closely. He spotted Draco first, the boy appearing as cocky as always. He noticed a tall, red haired, freckled faced boy as well, and nearly groaned.
"Another Weasley!?" Severus hissed.
Marvolo was just as incredulous. How many of them were there!? He had taught both Bill and Charlie, those two having graduated. Percy was still here, in his fifth year, and a Prefect now too. And then there were those two. The twin menaces, only in their third year now. What was this new one going to be like?
The crimson eyed man continued his examination. He noticed a bushy, brown haired girl murmuring under her breath, and a very pale, very nervous looking dark haired, round faced boy. He recognized a few of the other children as well, those born to his Death Eaters.
And then his gaze landed on a girl. She was positively tiny, easily the smallest out of all the first years-perhaps the smallest student in the castle right now. Her hair was long, as dark as midnight, but her large, doe like eyes were a vivid green that looked strangely familiar, though they were hidden behind a pair of large, round glasses.
He didn't have time to think longer. The Sorting Hat finished the song he hadn't heard a word of, and McGonagall unrolled a sheet of parchment and began calling names.
He watched as the children were Sorted, applauding politely for each one, and aware of, but not partaking in any of the bets his fellow staff members were in the middle of-a yearly ritual, on their part.
"Granger, Hermione!"
The bushy haired girl, still muttering to herself, hurried forward and all but jammed the Sorting Hat onto her head, clearly very eager.
Granger? Muggleborn, he settled on, the surname sounding unfamiliar to him.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the Hat shouted out a minute later.
The new Weasley looked quite disappointed, Marvolo noted. Perhaps they'd had an encounter on the train, that hadn't ended particularly well, though he hadn't heard of any conflict save Jordan's tarantula getting loose.
"Longbottom, Neville!"
Marvolo blinked slowly, watching the extremely nervous boy stumble forward, a small frown on his face. This was the child whose parents had been driven to insanity thanks to some of his more foolish Death Eaters. He wondered if the boy's mind had at all been affected by the head injury he had sustained that night.
The Hat remained silent for a very long, awkward moment, before finally shouting- "GRYFFINDOR!"
Neville scurried off, and Marvolo continued to watch as eventually, Severus' godson was called forward.
"Malfoy, Draco!"
Draco sauntered over, and the Hat had just barely touched his perfect blond hair, when-
"SLYTHERIN!"
Smirking, the boy headed off, and Marvolo was sure he was the only one who was able to see the pride in Severus' eyes.
A few more names, and then-
"Potter, Violet!"
Whispers broke out in the hall, and Marvolo froze. It wasn't the girl's surname that had caught him off guard. It was her given one. Violet.
He watched closely, surprised when the tiny green eyed girl was the one to step forward. No wonder she had looked familiar to him. He had been there that Halloween night, after her parents had died, but before she had been struck with the Killing Curse, and he knew she was the only one who had ever survived it.
She sat down on the stool, her knees shaking, the Sorting Hat falling down past her eyes. He refused to look away for even a second, though he certainly wasn't the only one.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity- "GRYFFINDOR!"
In what almost seemed to be relief, Violet removed the Hat and joined Gryffindor Table, which Ron Weasley ended up joining a few moments later as well.
As soon as the Sorting was finished, the Welcoming Feast began, but even as he ate, Marvolo couldn't stop his gaze from returning to Gryffindor Table every few moments.
What were the odds that Violet Potter was his soulmate?
Marvolo wasn't the only one thinking about their soulmate. Violet soon found herself thinking of her own too.
When Hagrid had come to her on her eleventh birthday and told her she was a witch, Violet had been beyond shocked. She had grown up being told magic didn't exist, and the Dursleys hated the very idea so much, the the word 'magic' was considered worse than a curse word, always referred to as the 'm-word'. Now, Violet finally understood why.
She had gone to Diagon Alley with Hagrid, done all her shopping, gotten her (very awesome wand that was apparently linked to the Dark Lord, which made it still awesome but kind of iffy at the same time), and finally learned the truth about her parents.
As it turned out, they hadn't died in a car crash after all. Instead, they had been murdered.
She had been told that while the Dark Lord supposedly hadn't been behind it himself, and had even punished the guilty party by allowing them to go to prison, some of his followers had decided to try to please him by attacking certain families that had been against his ways. Like her own.
They had killed her parents before apparently trying to do the same to her, but somehow the spell had reflected or rebounded off her, leaving her as the only person in existence to have lived after being hit with the Killing Curse. The lightning bolt shaped scar on her forehead was proof of that, she had been told. And because of that, people now believed her to be fated to defeat the Dark Lord, calling her the Girl-Who-Lived, and even their Saviour.
When Violet had asked where this Dark Lord now was, she had certainly been surprised to hear the answer.
"Well he's a professor at Hogwarts, o' course!"
...The Dark Lord who people thought she was supposed to defeat was someone who was supposed to teach her? What was he going to do? Teach her how to defeat him?
Violet didn't understand this world at all...
Still, she had boarded the Hogwarts Express (with some help), and became friends with Ron, both of them enjoying chatting together.
The Sorting had been another experience altogether. The Hat had told her she would do well in Slytherin, but after hearing everything Hagrid and Ron had said, and witnessing Malfoy's condescending attitude, she found herself practically begging to be put elsewhere. When the Hat settled on Gryffindor, she didn't bother questioning it, just pleased she wasn't going to have to deal with Malfoy. Something also told her that the crowd reaction wasn't going to have been a very good one if she had ended up in Slytherin.
But it was over and done with now, and she eagerly took in the sight of more food she had ever seen before in her life, and ate more in this one meal than she usually got in two or three days, even though it made her feel kind of sick.
While she ate, her gaze curiously passed over the adults at the Head Table, and Percy, one of Ron's older brothers, seemed to be pleased to inform her of who everyone was and what they taught or did.
"-and that's Professor Filius Flitwick," he was in the middle of saying. "He's the Head of Ravenclaw House, and teaches Charms. And next to him is Professor Pomona Sprout. She's Head of Hufflepuff House, and teaches Herbology. You've already met Professor McGonagall-Head of our House. She teaches Transfiguration. And that's the Headmaster next to her-Albus Dumbledore. Beside him is Professor Severus Snape. He's Head of Slytherin House, and teaches Potions." He paused here, his lips pursing slightly.
Violet and Hermione, who had both been listening to him, exchanged a confused glance. "Percy?"
Percy readjusted his Prefect badge, cleared his throat, then said, "Next to Professor Snape is You-Know-Who."
The girls both frowned. "Who?"
"Ah, you know, the ah, Dark Lord?"
Hermione's eyes widened in understanding. "The Dark Lord is a teacher? What does he teach? What do we call him? Will he-"
"He teaches Defence Against the Dark Arts," Percy interrupted, "though he often goes beyond that. And you'll be calling him Professor Slytherin. He goes by Marvolo Slytherin, though I've heard that isn't his birth name."
Violet froze. Marvolo? She only knew one person by that name, and it certainly wasn't a name she had ever heard before either. Her gaze passed over the pale skinned, dark haired, red eyed man who was busy talking to Snape.
What were the odds that Marvolo Slytherin was her soulmate?
Wow, this chapter's positively giant compared to the others. Don't get used to it. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!