Jasmine did go to Mrs. Cole and asked for a new room. They didn't have any available, but at her insistence they allowed her to sleep in the attic with an old worn out mattress as her only bed. She tried to not think about how much the attic looked like a more spacious cupboard. She had to quickly learn the warming charm wandlessly, in order to not freeze to death. When the months become colder she decided to stitch some runs into her blanket, to make a more permanent solution. The delicate work allowed her to remain busy not letting her thoughts roam toward the fight she had with her best friend.
She knew that Violet was going to react badly at being lied to, even if it was for omission, Holly had done something similar when she saw the memory of Dumbledore explaining the fragment of the soul she had. But she hadn't realized how easily she had fallen into the same role the Headmaster had taken for her, hiding information and putting herself in an advantageous position towards someone she claimed to care about, because she thought that she was protecting them. She had needed the time of silent reflection inside her attic to realize it. However, she hadn't thought Violet was going to think that she was scared of her, that she thought of her as some kind of monster. After thinking for a long time, she finally understood that yes up to a certain point she had been preoccupied that Violet was as much of a killer as Tom had been. She had intervened when she was being bullied because on a certain level she was scared of her response. She had first approached her because she didn't want her to live the same life her counterpart had. She knew it wasn't fair to the girl because she hadn't done anything yet. She had been nervous just because another version of her in a completely different world had done bad things.
But that alternative version of her friend had tortured and tried to kill her and her friends multiple times. It wasn't fair to put that against her and she tried not to, but some part of herself was always whispering to be ready, to be worried, to not let her guard down. She always ignored it but it remained there and she hated it, she had promised to never break the trust she had gained and she had done it even before she made that promise. She hadn't thought about how important having a family would be for Violet, she was always so dismissive of others, so independent, so prepared. She had never thought that deep inside she still yearned for a family, and she had never thought of the Gaunts or the Riddles as her family. Jasmine thought that Violet wasn't going to be interested in them, she had only seen glimpses but she knew how horrible the Gaunts of this time was and she doubted that Tom Riddle wanted anything to do with the woman that raped him. Up to a certain point, she didn't want to lift Violet's expectations, to give her hope of a happy family just to crush them later on.
She knew she needed to talk with her, try to explain herself, and try to ask for forgiveness, but she didn't want to push and for the moment each time she saw her, Violet just glared at her. At school, they both worked alone without talking to each other. She hadn't tried to go to the tree where Violet had hidden her snake, wanting to respect what she knew was one of her most sacred places. But she stayed at the same park where they dueled together each day without any wards, just waiting for her while reading a book. She hoped that sooner or later she would come to her or give her any signal that she was ready to accept her apology. She missed her terribly. Without Violet she had to stay alone as the people who had struck a conversation with during those first few weeks didn't want to even be near her anymore, they were just children she knew but it still hurt. The other orphans had started to mock her more openly, no one had tried to get physical yet so she hadn't reacted yet. She just tried to ignore them like she did when Dudley and his minions, or the fickle Hogwarts students. They had done the same and she had survived, she would survive this too.
Jasmine hadn't realized how dependent on Violet she had become until now. They spent almost all their time together and their lessons consumed a good chunk of their free time. She knew that she needed to continue her lessons on magic and maybe start building her mental defenses would be good, but she didn't want to do it without Violet. So she spent most of her time just reading and doing her chores even taking more just to occupy herself, wanting to make the time fly by.
One day, when the weather started to become warm again, the orphanage organized a day trip to the coast. It was a nice way to break out of the monotony that had marked most of her days in the orphanage since the start of her row with Violet. The place was picturesque; it was a campsite with a nearby forest on one side and a cliff on the other. She soon started exploring a path in the forest away from the other orphans. As Holly, the only part of the Horcrux hunt she found enjoyable was camping in the deserted forests all around Britain. Despite the dire situation, taking a walk in the wilderness had always helped her to calm down and to clear her mind when she was frustrated by their lack of progress.
She followed the path through the forest, humming a song from her past life accompanied by the sound of leaves crunching under her boot and the trickling of a nearby creek. It was peaceful in a way that she hadn't truly experienced in months. She stopped thinking and she just let herself enjoy the sounds of the forest in spring. Without even realizing it, she arrived at the edge of the cliff side. The path seemed to descend embracing the cliff towards a nearby cave. Suddenly, she realized where she was, she hadn't noticed before but she recognized this area as the same cave where the locket was hidden. She remembered the first time she was here, the night of Dumbledore's death. She almost felt the raging fiendfyre on her face, devouring an army of inferi while she battled to control it. But she also recalled why this was one of the places Voldemort decided to hide his Horcruxes, this was where he tortured those two orphans on a day trip like this one.
And there she saw two kids walking down the rocky path towards the entrance of the cave. Jasmine's breath hitched, she didn't recognize who they were nor did she remember the name of Voldemort's victims, she knew that her friend wouldn't torture two kids for no reason, but she wouldn't risk it. Without even thinking she started to descend the stairs towards the dark cave. Hoping that she didn't slip up on the wet rock, she descended as fast as she could. They were alone, maybe she could confound the other two orphans into leaving the cave, just for her peace of mind.
She soon arrived at the cave; it was as damp, cold, and dark as in her memories, she also could see a small light further inside the cave. Jasmine lit up a small orb of light in her hand to illuminate the rough terrain. Careful with her footing she walked into the darkness. She entered the underground lake where the Horcrux had been hidden. Suddenly she heard a scream and then a splash followed by laughter. Far from the entrance, she saw an orb of light like hers illuminating two silhouettes, who were standing on a big rock and she heard a cruel laugh. She ran as fast as she could, almost slipping into the cold water a few times. The other light started flickering until the only thing she had to guide her toward the other orphans was the laughter.
When she got close to them the howling died down, then she heard splashing and she saw a pair of arms desperately flopping around. Without hesitation, she used her magic to levitate the drowning person, although her desperate movements made it harder. She gasped when she saw that it was Violet, damped to the bone, coughing water and bleeding from her leg. She put her on the shore and then focused on the two silhouettes, they were the two orphans she had seen before, and then she saw red.
Her light lit up, even more, illuminating the whole lake as she lost control of her magic. She wished for them to hurt for trying to drown her friend while they laughed. What kind of cruel demons were they to do something like that. She barely registered when the two of them started screaming, losing their footing and falling into the cold water. It wasn't until she heard the sound of the splash that she realized what she had just done.
She desperately tried to levitate them, but her magic was agitated like a raging storm making it impossible to focus it. All she could do was levitate random rocks from the shore. She scrambled desperately towards the two drowning orphans trying to reach them from the shore, cursing the fact that she had never learned how to swim. But the lake quickly deepened and she couldn't reach them, she didn't know what to do. They continued to desperately try to keep themselves at float and Jasmine uselessly tried to reach them, to levitate them, to do anything! But she was completely useless with the water up to her neck trying with all her power to reach two bodies. Until the two of them stopped moving at all. Jasmine didn't know what to do, she hopelessly tried once more to levitate them, but her desperation made it impossible to focus enough. They were dead.
She took a pair of shaky steps towards the shore and soon she felt herself start to cry, she had killed them. She had done the exact same thing they did to Violet. She dropped to her knees and started crying in anguish. She lost focus and the slow stream of magic she had been giving to her light stopped and her orb flickered and died down. She was left alone and cold in the darkness of the cave. She didn't know how long she stayed there, with the cold water up to her shoulder and her salty tears mixing with the dark water of the lake.
Jasmine barely registered the sound of splatter until a cold hand rested on her shoulder. Then she felt someone shyly hugging her as if they were afraid she was going to disappear. When she opened her eyes she saw an orb of white light illuminating the cold lake and she saw Violet wet to the bone and trembling slightly while she hugged her.
"It wasn't your fault." she murmured quietly enough that Jasmine barely registered the words. "It wasn't your fault," she repeated with rock solid conviction "you lost control of your magic Jasmine, you didn't want this, it wasn't your fault."
"Magic is all about intent Violet, I wanted to make them hurt, they… they almost let you drown and they did nothing… and I killed them… I killed them, Violet!" she murmured, crying in despair.
Violet picked her up and made her turn her head towards her looking at her with steady black eyes, "You didn't kill them, it was just an accident, you may have wanted to see them hurt but you didn't want to kill them, I'm sure of that. If you could, you would have drowned instead of them, I know." Her voice was firm as steel and she talked with such resolve that it made Jasmine doubt for a moment the ever growing guilt that was eating her from the inside out.
They stood there Jasmine crying in Violet's embrace until finally, darkness claimed her.
Hours later, Mrs. Cole asked them what happened when they arrived completely soaked, Violet with blood on her knee, and hours after they should have reunited with the rest of the group. Violet told her that they were exploring a nearby cave with two more orphans, when they fell into the water and that just the two of them were able to arrive at the shore. They immediately went to search for the other two, soon they found their bodies, Jasmine never learned their names.
Mrs. Cole looked at them with suspicion in her eyes, making Jasmine's breath hitch each time that cold gaze fell towards her. She knew that Mrs. Cole suspected something else happened in that lake, she was lucky that Violet was calm enough to make up a story for them, she was too numb to do anything other than walk. She barely said a word, that night at the orphanage she refused to let go of Violet. Each time she closed her eyes she saw those two kids. Her dreams were plagued with images of them. Oh! They were barely older than her, she dreamt of their hands moving in desperation while trying futilely to remain floating. She tried and tried to reach them only to find Violet there immobile, dead.
She was surprised when the next day she found Violet sleeping with her, hugging her delicately as if she was afraid to break her. They never spoke of what happened in that cave again, but they continued to share their bed Violet's heat protecting her from the darkness.
After that day the two of them started spending time together again. The first few weeks they spent in comfortable silence, only speaking when necessary, Violet knew that Jasmine was too tired, felt too guilty, to teach her anything, they spent their time in the park reading and listening to the sounds of the ever moving London. However, they soon started to talk again to theorize about more complicated transformations and charms, Violet didn't notice when they started but they soon found themselves using their time practicing magic and talking with Euryale. Jasmine looked a little more alive each time they did so. Violet never said it but she was glad that she had her friend with her again, to wake up and see her there with a peaceful look on her face. Jasmine and Euryale had quickly become friends. The sarcastic snake liked to mess with the other girl, and Violet enjoyed seeing the spectacle.
Soon after returning to their room Jasmine created two blankets with runes sewn on them that would allow them to not suffer the cold during winter despite the thin wooden walls. Violet was really annoyed when she discovered that Jasmine had "just forgotten" about that quite useful piece of magic and that she didn't want to teach her runes yet, saying it was too dangerous to do it with the little free time they had. She knew that her schedule was too full right now since Jasmine insisted that they had to start building up their mental defenses before someone from Hogwarts arrived to give them their letters. Nevertheless, Violet was dreaming of the many things she could do with a more permanent form of magic.
Not to say that the other forms of magic were boring, Violet doubted she would ever find any kind of magic boring. However, Occlumency was definitely the worst form of magic she had ever learned. The only way to protect from mental attacks is to be mentally attacked by someone else multiple times to build up defenses. This caused them to frequently share thoughts and memories and Violet was able to see many other snapshots of Jasmine's previous life. She promised herself that when they arrived at Hogwarts she would make Albus Dumbledore pay for how many times he plotted to put Jasmine's life at risk. And she hated how reliving those memories caused Jasmine to start having nightmares of what happened in her past life. She frequently was woken up by screams for Cedric, Sirius, and Susan.
So for both of them, learning Occlumency became a priority just to stop those torture sessions. The first step was clearing their minds from any straight thoughts, as a Legilimens would use those to enter their memories. The way Jasmine had done it in her past life was to take something she knew intimately well and focus on just recreating that image in her head. When Violet discovered that the image she was using was the cupboard where she slept for ten years she almost put Euryale's tree on fire. She refused to let Jasmine continue relieving those memories only to protect herself from a theoretical attack.
However, that left both of them without any idea of what they could use as a focus point for their initial defenses. Finally, it was Euryale who proposed the idea of using the birch tree where they usually hang out the three of them. They spent a whole afternoon just looking at the old crooked trunk, with its long branches full of small leaves that protected them from the sun.
Contrary to Occlumency where she wasn't making any progress, Violet seemed to have a talent for Legilimency, she didn't take long for her to start forcing Jasmine to relive memories from this life, as well as her past one, with just the simplest of thoughts. Soon, she started practicing the subtle art of putting compulsions and modifying memories. She had done similar things before, but as Jasmine put it she had done it with the bluntness of a sledgehammer and they would have been easily breakable by any semi competent wizard or witch.
Slowly but surely the two witches were able to perfect their mental image of their tree. Jasmine seemed especially happy when Violet was able to stop her from seeing her memories for a whole minute, although personally, Violet thought that after months of effort she should be able to do more. Euryale wasn't particularly impressed either, she thought that their little competitions of looking into each other's eyes were just silly.
The months passed by and soon after Violet's tenth birthday, they were able to protect themselves from intrusions from each for at least half an hour. Jasmine thought that this was enough for the moment and at Violet's insistence, she started teaching her Elder Futhark. For the first time in her life, Violet struggled. Jasmine explained to her that the first step to learn to use ancient runes to enchant was to learn the language. Violet had to spend many days practicing the grammar and the pronunciation of Goth words, as it was imperative if she wanted to create her own enchanted objects, without them exploding in her face. And she promised her that she would teach her French so that she "wouldn't make a fool out of herself if she ever went to the continent", the bitter tone seemed to indicate that she too had thought that English was the lingua franca in the magical world too. Jasmine also wanted her to start learning astronomy so that they could do some rituals before school started, but the polluted londonese night sky made it almost impossible.
At last in February, when Jasmine jokingly proclaimed that she was officially sufficiently trained to present herself to Pureblood society as long as they didn't ask her to dance, those classes in French began. It was funny seeing Jasmine struggling to pronounce the words correctly despite the fact that she obviously knew them. The adorable look of frustration she made when she couldn't quite pronounce a word, was really funny for Violet and she laughed out loud a few times. Maybe that is why Jasmine soon insisted that the two of them spent their whole day only speaking in French because according to her it was the easiest way to become fluent in another language.
A few kids sneered and mocked them when they heard the two of them speaking in French but Jasmine ignored them without even staring at them; while Violet gave them her most menacing glare, promising them pain if they tried something. Because despite the fact that Violet tried to not notice, she knew that Jasmine still felt responsible for what happened in that cave. Who knows why she did, if anyone was responsible for what happened there it was her, Jasmine followed and made those kids fall because she hadn't noticed those two kids behind her. Heck she had almost died because of those kids, if it wasn't for Jasmine she didn't know what she would have done. To be truthful she didn't want to think what would have happened.
However, when they both returned from school and found smoke coming from near the trunk of Euryale's tree they first thought nothing of it. It was still quite cold even if the snow had already melted and it wasn't unusual that the other kids started small fires when they played outside. But when Violet got close by and saw that the smoke was coming from a hole, a very familiar hole. She scrambled to conjure water to extinguish the flames.
"Euryale come out." she ordered, her voice was much more firm and steady than what she was actually feeling at the moment. "Euryale, I know you are there, come out."
Ignoring the still hot dirt she put her hand in the hole trying to find her oldest friend. She soon felt her long, it's too hot, body. She carefully picked her up from the hole, not caring about how much it burned her, and put her delicately in the cold soil.
"Euryale move, you are okay now." But the snake remained there, completely still, her green scales scorched and darkened. "Euryale, I told you to move you dumb snake." she demanded her voice trembling in fear.
She didn't notice when Jasmine started hugging her, but when she did she knew what it meant. She is dead, she thought the realization echoing in her mind. Her first friend was the one that heard her when she ranted out against those dumb orphans, the first one that didn't judge her, the first one that understood her. She was dead. Someone had killed her. Someone had murdered her. And she hadn't do anything. She may not have noticed if it wasn't for the somber silence that had begun to encapsulate them, but she heard the muffled laughter of someone trying and failing to laugh without being heard. Her head snapped, throwing Jasmine off balance and she saw a boy a few years older laughing in the distance.
Cold fury embraced her heart, she didn't know who that boy was but he would pay, she would make sure he paid. She closed her fist and she gritted her teeth to the point she was sure they would begin to bleed and she tried to concentrate on the image of her tree, of Euryale's tree, to reign her magic, that was fluctuating with an intensity she hadn't felt in her entire life. She would kill that boy, she would flay him alive and burn him at the stake.
"He will pay" Violet took a moment to realize that it wasn't her who said those words. "He will pay, I will make sure of it, I promise. But for now, just let yourself grieve, let yourself feel." Jasmine said while hugging her once more. She felt her familiar magic enveloping her, it was warm as if it was the blanket of a baby. She felt her anger and fury subside and a deep feeling of longing appear front and center. She remained there, embraced by that warm magic without moving.
When the sun was setting down and the weather became cold enough that they would need to get inside if it wasn't for the warming charms they put on themselves, Jasmine made a hole using her own hands without magic. Gently she lowered the body Euryale and she let her there. Again with her own hands, she slowly put the dirt back on top of it. Then she picked up the biggest rock she found lying around and with a whispered incantation she made it bigger until it was half the size of their tables at school. She engraved some runes on it and then she pronounced another incantation in another language. The runes glowed for a moment with soft green light, before slowly returning to their normal color.
"Do you want to engrave something?" Jasmine softly asked. With a nod, Violet tried to focus her magic to start writing on the rock, but it was still wildly fluctuating so it was much harder than normal. With much shakier writing than what she would have preferred and much slower than what she would have wanted she wrote a few words.
Here lays Euryale,
friend and confident she will forever be in our hearts.
1932-1936
Once again they spent the next few days in comfortable silence. They both knew each other enough to know that they both were silently plotting their revenge. Violet knew that even though Jasmine may have been fighting for the light side during her past life, she could be ruthless when necessary. She had half her mind to take inspiration from the memories she saw of when she captured Bellatrix. She was lucky to have her. When she discovered that the damn kid had his own pet, she was ready to eviscerate it, preferably in front of the stupid boy who thought it was a good idea to kill her first friend. When she proposed her plan to Jasmine she was surprised by her reaction.
"What has that poor bunny done to deserve dying." she asked, she seemed to be genuinely confused.
"He… he did this, he deserves to suffer what I do and more, what other punishment would have been fitting if not this one?" she argued.
"Do you think he sees that bunny the same way you saw her. Do you think he can speak with him and he trusts him the same way you did. If you kill him he wouldn't suffer the same way you did, he may feel a bit sad but not the same way you do." she gently explained while taking her hands. Violet let herself let her arguments sink in and she knew that her friend was right. The bunny didn't deserve it and it was much more worthwhile to make him dream about the death of his pet every night, it allowed her to be more creative.
The kid obviously knew they were aiming for him, and for Violet, and probably for Jasmine too, that was half of the fun. The kid had his group of friends, but they knew better than to antagonize the two of them. It was particularly amusing seeing them pale when they saw that they were for once with the other orphans, seemingly just silently watching them. Violet didn't care if they realized that they were tripping more often than usual or that the branches that kept falling onto them had something to do with the pair of girls that were seemingly just observing them while they played football.
Sadly the boy didn't have the same strength of mind that the Death Eater seemed to have had. Just a few weeks since they began their little psychological battle the kid decided to act. He followed them after dinner, alone of course none of his other friends were stupid enough to follow him. When he caught up with them at the top of the stairs he shouted.
"You pair of freaks! I know that you two are the ones that keep messing with me!" He approached them clearly trying to intimidate them and looked at them with anger and hate clear in his eyes. However, Violet could also see more, she could see the fear that the boy tried desperately and futilely to keep hidden. Jasmine gave her a short nod to indicate that she had already put the silencing charms.
With an inconsequential amount of magic she pushed, the boy stumbled backward and soon started to fall down the stairs. When he stopped he laid down there screaming his lungs out in pain, his arm and leg clearly broken. She looked into his eyes and used her new ability in Legilimency to insert a new memory of him simply falling down the stairs, without any one of them anywhere near him, but she left the real memory there hidden in his subconscious. He wouldn't really remember that it was them but he would have nightmares about it. This would be enough for the moment. Violet left towards their room and she knew that Jasmine was following her right behind.
She was happy to finally start her real vengeance for Euryale, so she was surprised when she saw how pale her friend was. Then she realized what she had just done. How could she have forgotten about the cave? She cursed herself and her lack of thought and hugged her friend fiercely.
"I'm sorry, I made you think of that. I should have waited until you left, I'm so sorry."
A small reassuring smile appeared on the face of her friend "Don't worry I'm fine, I knew you needed this closure." she said while returning her hug. Violet couldn't help but smile at those words, she truly didn't deserve such a good friend. But she didn't deserve to know that her revenge hadn't finished yet.
Someone found the boy on the stairs and he quickly was sent to the hospital, he returned a few days later with both of her arms and leg in casts. The same night he arrived, Violet silently descended the stairs to the room where he was sleeping. She warded the room so that no one would be able to listen and she silenced him with a spell, then she slapped him awake. Violet was delighted when she saw the look of fear he had when he saw who had awakened him. He started to silently scream for help.
"Hello there boy, I think you know why I'm here. You, see you… killed… someone who was very very important to me. You killed her in cold blood, my first friend. You may think that you have already paid your due, but you see you are going to get better. You may forever have a limp but you will for the most part be okay. I can't allow it!" she shrieked before removing the silencing spell and she let her magic loose. The boy started to scream and spasm.
Violet knew that what she was doing was nothing close to what a cruciatus curse could have done but still she felt that her efforts without a wand were more than satisfactory. She knew it was crude and unimaginative but she didn't want to leave any physical marks that could lead Mrs. Cole to her. She had been way too suspicious about their activities and their frequent disappearances; it was better if she didn't stir her more.
The boy was beginning to cry making a really pitiful display. Violet let herself enjoy his pain, he was unable to do anything to stop it, just like Euryale had been. Finally, she stopped the flow of her magic and picked his face forcefully removing the memories of the event but letting him remember it deep down. When she cut the stream of magic the boy fell like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
