All Alone?
Chapter 6
Hey hey hey. I guess I'm updating this story again. I kind of thought that was sad, yet perfect for the story. Maybe you're wondering why Violet didn't try to defend herself. I was thinking something along the lines of her loving Remus so much that she wouldn't hit him for anything in the world (outside of training, anyway). Corny, eh? Ah well, anyway, we've kind of met this darker gothic/punk side of Violet. I don't really know whether that was because it was bringing out the depression within or because she likes the way it looked (I thought it would look hot.) I think she'll probably kick a few more asses before the end of the story, too. I may not be able to update for a while as my stupid ass parental controls will not let me on my own story! As to Siri, he's sleeping, as it's midnight. We've come to an agreement. I can't have any firewhisky, but maybe I can have wine with dinner occasionally. Isn't that sweet? Moony's sitting on the couch, reading as usual. He's an insomniac like myself. Ha ha. Poor Moony... werewolf and insomniac. Ah, well, you gotta love him, eh? As well as my incredibly vivid imagination. Where would I be without it? Probably where I am now, just incredibly boring, eh? (I'm going all English/Canadian with the eh's, eh? LOL. No offense to any English/Canadian chaps out there. I love ya all! After reading all five HP books, you start speaking English/American slang. Ha ha. On with the pain-in-the-ass disclaimer.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you've seen in the Harry Potter books or anything you've seen anywhere else, especially not "Hell Song" by Sum 41. That good enough for ya?
Chappie numero six
Violet got up at 4:30 again, ran extra long and fast for some reason, swam twice what she normally did, and sprinted back. She went to the training room, fully prepared to start training alone. Needless to say, she was shocked to see Remus there, doing pull-ups. "...twenty-one... twenty-two..." he grunted, before seeing Violet and dropping off of the bar.
"What are you doing here, Remus?" Violet said, shocked.
"What do you mean?" he looked confused. "Don't we normally have training sessions at 6:00?"
"Yes, I just... didn't expect you to be here." When he still looked confused, she elaborated. "I thought... after yesterday, that is, that you'd stopped teaching me."
"Of course not," he said briskly. "I promised I'd teach you, and I will until I've taught you all I know. I'm not Snape, Vi."
Violet felt heat rising in her face and muttered, "Oh, sorry." She strode past him to the pull-up bar, and started pulling herself up again. She managed to do eight this time. Remus was closely watching. "You're doing better." he complimented, before digging through a bag on the floor, and drawing out two deadly looking daggers. He handed one to Violet and said, "Throwing knives isn't too hard, once you get the hang of it. The hardest part is keeping your balance. Watch me." He lightly picked the knife up by the blade, concentrated hard on a large red and white target Violet hadn't noticed earlier. Suddenly, there was a whistling sound, and the knife was sticking, clear to the handle, right in the middle of the bullseye.
Violet could feel her jaw dropping, and made no move to lift it up. "There's no way I could ever be that good." she said, shocked.
"With some practice, you may just be. Come over here. First thing, you've got to center yourself on the target. Right there, good. Now, you've got to position your feet. Now, you're right handed so you'll want to have your right in front of your left, so you can step forward as you throw." He showed her how to stand. "Good. Now hold the knife this way." He held the knife briefly, before positioning her hands on the blade. "That's it, now concentrate on the target, bring your arm all the way back, good. Now, step forward, and fling the knife!"
Soon enough, the knife was whistling through the air and had hit the target. It was on the outside of the target, but nevertheless, on the target. Remus looked pleased. "That wasn't bad at all for a first time. Let's try again."
The second time, she let the knife slip through her fingers and it bounced off the target. The third time, it stuck to the wall about two feet away from the end of the target. She inhaled and exhaled slowly, determined not to lose control, then tried several more times. Each time, she grew closer to hitting the target. The last time she began to bring her arm back, Remus stopped her. "That's enough knife throwing for now. You won't be able to concentrate anymore. Now, while we've still got time, I'd better get you started on sword fighting."
Violet must have looked extremely apprehensive about the idea of swordfighting, because Remus said reassuringly, "Don't worry. I've bewitched them so that the blade and tip are like rubber, so we can't get hurt." He tossed one to her, and she caught the gold hilt.
He began to show her how to hold the sword, how to jab, how to swing the sword without losing control, and whatever else. Then, they began amateur dueling. (A/N: Won't go into detail about this because I don't know anything about swordfighting!) Violet dropped her sword a couple of times, but once her sword caught on Remus's and she twisted it out of his grasp. The look of astonishment on his face was priceless.
"That was excellent for your first try, Violet." he grinned, putting the swords away. "I dropped my sword far more than that when I was learning. Perhaps tomorrow we can try archery."
"Just what are you planning to teach me?" Violet said skeptically.
"Everything I know. Once you move in with me, we'll be able to use wands."
"So then, you've already got a place?" she said, hope rising into her heart.
"Of course!" he smiled, zipping the bag. "I've had it for quite some time. It's rather small, but surprisingly nice, seeing as how I haven't been able to keep a job for over a year." Violet sensed his voice hardening with bitterness.
"Well, maybe this job will be different," she put in helpfully.
"Maybe..."he said, still looking bitter. Violet decided to change the subject.
"Well, I'm going to shower and change, so I suppose I'll see you at breakfast." She hurried out of the room.
After showering and changing, she hurried back to the kitchen. When she walked into the room, everyone's jaw dropped.
"What in the hell are you wearing?" Fred gasped, disregarding the fact that his mother was right there.
"Clothes. It's all the rage nowadays." Violet faked a Parvati Patil look, trying not to blush. In fact, she was wearing camouflage pants that fit snugly around her very skinny waist thanks to some tailoring, but each leg resembled a tent; a tight black tank top, her combat boots, a necklace with a skull and crossbones on it, the deadly looking spikes on her wrists, a skull ring, at least half a dozen earrings, and the chain wallet. Her jet black hair was pulled into a high, loose bun and tied with a piece of black ribbon. Her fingernails were black.
"I was going for a tent." Fred gaped, plucking at her UFO pants. "Where'd you get all this stuff?"
"A store called Hot Topic." she said, grinning at the Weasley's expressions.
Finally, Mr. Weasley spoke. "About those exploding lightbulbs, Molly..."
As Violet sat down, Ron muttered, "What's with the hardware, Vi?"
"Oh, nothing," she shrugged, digging into her breakfast. "I just felt like trying something new. Who knows, maybe everyone will be too scared to mess with me this year."
"What about the uniform?" Ron pointed out. "You've got to wear that."
"Simple." Violet said matter-of-factly, horrified at how much she sounded like Hermione. "I'll wear the robes but not the skirt and blouse."
"Whatever stirs your cauldron." Ron muttered, turning back to his breakfast.
Remus sat down, and Violet braced herself for gapes and teasing about the way she was dressed, but all he did was cock his eyebrows and snicker. "Oh, shut up..." she made to pluck him on the head, but he easily ducked. She instead stuck her tounge out at his back as he turned away to talk to Mr. Weasley.
Violet ate her huge breakfast as normal and headed for the backyard, when Remus stopped her, tugging on her arm, narrowly missing the sharp spikes on her bracelets. "Go weigh yourself."
She rolled her eyes, and dragged herself up the stairs to the bathroom. Less than five minutes later, she ran down the stairs so fast, she slid on the rug and nearly killed herself. "YES!" She screeched, throwing her arms around the first person she came across, which happened to be Ron, who turned a bit red, either from embarrassment or from lack of air.
Remus pulled her off of Ron, and anxiously asked her, "Well?!"
"I gained TWENTY POUNDS!" she said, overjoyed, hugging Remus, who winced as the spiky bracelets scraped his back. Otherwise, he paid no attention.
"Oh, Vi. That's fantastic!" he laughed as she hugged Mrs. Weasley. "And it's all thanks to you, Molly! I knew with your help, we could fatten her up." He considered that. "Well, I wouldn't say 'fatten', more like 'normalize'."
"Finally!" Violet said, the smile pasted to her face. "I can stop eating three helpings in every meal and snack." Molly blushed as she had been the one who insisted on it. She told herself that it was for her own good, as she was severely underweight for her age and height. At the beginning of the summer, Violet had been five feet, two inches, and eighty-five pounds. Now, she was five feet, four inches and one hundred and six pounds, a more normal weight for her height.
It had been immensely difficult, Violet thought. She was naturally very skinny and whether or not that had to do with the fact that she hadn't had a decent meal until she came to Hogwarts or not was a mystery to her. She ate as much as she could to gain weight, but her working out had at first caused her to lose weight, but as she built muscle, she gained weight a lot faster. Until then, she had to struggle to keep her weight the same.
Remus interrupted her thoughts. "I was wondering, would you like to move into my house today?" He said, looking apprehensive.
This added to her joy. "Yes! Yes! YES! But wait..." It dawned on her. "What about the court hearing?"
"I already took care of that. I knew you really wouldn't like to attend another hearing."
"Oh thank you! THANK YOU! When do we leave?"
"Hold on." he rummaged through his robes, and pulling out his wand, said, "Accio trunk! Accio Firebolt!" As they zoomed down the stairs and landed softly in front of Remus, he said, "You'll have to take care of the rest."
Violet hurriedly gathered her new clothes and books, and shoved them into her trunk.
Remus said, "Go to the fireplace and before you toss the Floo Powder, yell, 'Moony's Pad!' I'll be with you shortly."
He left Violet to gape at his back, before realizing she'd been standing there for thirty seconds already, and gripping her trunk and tossing the Floo Powder in the fireplace, before yelling, "Moony's Pad!"
Soon enough, she shot out of a fireplace, careening across the room, and smashing into the kitchen table, taking off one of it's legs. "Damn it..." she muttered. "I hope Remus can fix that."
She pulled her trunk out from a cabinet, which now had a huge hole in it, due to obvious reasons. Not wanting to be rude, and barge through the whole house, she sat gingerly on one of the chairs, then realized how ironic it was for someone who had just destroyed someone else's kitchen to not want to be rude.
After several minutes, Remus Apparated with a crack, nearly scaring the camouflage off of Violet's pants. He raised his eyebrows. "Well, I'm impressed, Violet." He eyed the kitchen. "You've been here five minutes, and already you've destroyed the kitchen."
Violet felt her face turning a deep red. "I can fix that." she volunteered weakly.
"No need." He flicked his wand and the table and cabinets repaired themselves. "Well, I guess I'll show you to your room. Locomotor Trunk!" The trunk raised itself five feet in the air, and he led it down the hall, and into a room. Violet noticed that Remus had most likely ensured that her room was the largest room in the house. The walls were dark blue with stars arranged into constellations. Violet looked for the one star that she spent hours staring at through her window nowadays, and saw it, labeled clearly, "Sirius". There was a silvery, realistic moon that changed with the phases of the real moon. Right now, it was labeled, "Waxing Crescent", meaning it was almost a month until the full moon. The curtains were a dark blue, and her bed was of dark mohagony and the bedspread matched her curtains. When she looked at her ceiling, which reflected the night sky, even though outside it was broad daylight. The carpet was a deep blue. Her old guitar and keyboard were propped against the wall, and there was an ordinary Muggle stereo that ran on magic, not electricity.
"Wow." Violet managed. "How did you know I love--"
"I have connections." he said with a grin. "I knew your first choice would have been black, but I wasn't about paint your room black. So, obviously, I opted for the star motif."
"Thank you so much." she stared around the room in shock, before turning to Remus with the hugest grin on her face. "I LOVE IT!"
"Glad you do." Remus pulled her hair out of its bun with a mischievous grin and Violet exclaimed, "Hey!" as her hair tumbled down her back. She growled. "Remus!" as he strolled back down the hall towards the kitchen, laughing. She shook her head, and started putting away everything in her trunk. As she pulled out her CD's, she leafed through them. AFI, Kittie, Metallica, MxPx, System of a Down, Aerosmith, Ozzy... she stopped when she came across Sum 41's "Does this look infected?" She hesitated before putting it in the stereo and flipping it to "Hell Song". Immediately, the guitars came on, and she started singing along with the song, feeling every word of it.
"Everybody's got their problems
Everybody says the same things to you
It's just a matter how you solve them
And knowing how to change the things you've been through
I feel I've come to realize
How fast life can be compromised
Step back to see what's going on
I can't beleive this happened to you
This happened to you
It's just a problem that I'm faced with am I
Not the only one who hates to stand by
Complications that are first in this line
With all these pictures running through my mind
Knowing endless consequences
I feel so useless in this
Can't back, stand back, can't ask
For me I can't believe" She started banging her head, and playing air guitar as she belted out the chorus.
"Part of me, won't agree
Cause I don't know if this for sure
Suddenly, suddenly
I don't feel so insecure
Part of me, won't agree
Cause I don't know if this for sure
Suddenly, suddenly
I don't feel so insecure
Any--"
She stopped all of a sudden, as she became aware of someone standing at the door, watching her. It was Remus. "Er..." she said lamely, before quickly shutting off the stereo and walking past him to the bathroom, locking herself in. She stared at herself in the mirror, her normally pale face a brilliant red. She'd been embarrassed, but never this humiliated. She couldn't believed he'd walked in on her thrashing around the room like she was in a trance. He'd walked in on her singing her song before, but that was different...
She must have stayed in there for a while, because soon Remus was pounding on the door. "Vi? Are you okay?" Remus shouted.
"I'm fine."
"Well, get out here then. Dumbledore needs to talk to you!"
She pressed a hand against her forehead, and not surprisingly, felt her scar prickle. She sighed, then dragged herself down the hall and to the kitchen table. Professor Dumbledore surveyed her over the half-moon glasses. "I'm just here to discuss the schedule of your training. You will resume Muggle dueling as usual, from 6:30 in the morning until 8:00. After lunch, that is to say at 1:00 p.m. , you will be authorized to start up magical dueling until 3:30, as Remus has to leave for work. Directly after, Professor McGonagall will begin training you on becoming an Animagus until 6:00, when Remus will return."
Violet stared at him. "Uh, sir?" she said, her mouth hanging out a bit. "When am I supposed to breathe?"
Dumbledore smiled slightly, but didn't answer. "Well, I must be going. I just dropped by to give Violet the news. I've got a lot to be doing at Hogwarts. Goodbye for now." He Disapparated without another word.
Violet looked up at Remus, then quickly turned away when he spoke.
"What's wrong, vi?" he looked confused, as men normally look when they're trying to interpret girls. "Why do you keep looking away?"
"You know why." she said, staring at the counter.
"Actually, I don't. Or why would I be asking?" He said, looking frustrated now.
"I can't believe you don't know." When he pleaded to her with his eyes, she rolled her eyes. "It's about me jumping around my room like a maniac, singing."
"Oh..." he said, understanding. "Why didn't you say so in the first place? And why would you be upset about that?"
"Not upset. Embarrassed. If I'd seen you thrashing around your room you'd be embarrassed."
"I guess it would. It would probably look a bit rediculous. But, you didn't look rediculous. It was entertaining, I must admit. But not rediculous."
"Oh, well," she sighed. "It's all right. I don't see why I got so worked up about it."
"Ah, well... Lunch!" he said briskly. "We'll have to go to Molly's because there's nothing here." He opened the refrigerator, then closed it, making a disgusted face. "Except perhaps for some macaroni dated back to 1200 B.C."
Violet laughed at his imagination. "I could fix dinner if you like."
"No. Let's just get to Molly's house. I've grown used to eating at her house."
"What, don't trust my cooking?" Violet laughed.
"It's not that. There's nothing here to make."
"Ah, good point." She stood up and headed for the fireplace. "You'll meet me there, I suppose?"
"Yes. I'll probably be there before you will." He said.
"Okay." She grabbed the Floo Powder, yelled, "The Burrow!" and came zooming out across the Weasley's kitchen. Remus was sitting at the table.
"About time." he said cheekily, as she flicked soot at him, brushed off, washed her hands, and took a seat beside him. Again, she ate like a pig, wolfing down her meal of chicken, boiled potatoes, and dumplings. Finally, she pushed out her chair, and said, "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. Poor Remus can't cook to save his life." she said, using her imagination to play along with Remus.
Remus reached out to playfully smack her, and she blocked it, and in turn smacked him on the side of his head. "You're getting good." He reached out and smacked her lightly, before she had time to block it. This waged into an all out smacking war, neither winning or losing. Violet proved to be the same skill level as Remus, at least in the blocking and hitting. Mrs. Weasley stared in awe at them. Once they'd grown tired of that game, she said, "How did you get so good at that?"
Violet hesitated, then shrugged. "Quidditch reflexes, I suppose."
Remus sighed in quiet relief. Violet was pretty good with the bull-shitting, thankfully. "Well, Molly." He said, clapping Violet on the shoulder. "We'd best get going, as I've got to get some food for dinner and for breakfast tomorrow." He turned to Violet again. "You'll be all right at the house while I'm gone right?"
"Of course I will."
"Okay, then. I suppose I'll see you in around a half hour." Once he'd Disapparated, Violet did the usual routine, and shot out across Remus's kitchen, managing not to destroy it this time. She brushed herself off, and abandoning the idea of being polite, started going through cabinets. Remus had been telling the truth; there wasn't a bit of food except for the moldy macaroni, which Violet threw away.
She headed for the living room and noticed a worn book with the words, "Marauders Scrapbook" on it. Curiosity got the better of her and she sat down on the couch, flipping through it.
On the first page were pictures of the four Marauders. Peter aka Wormtail was edging away in fear as James and Sirius aka Prongs and Padfoot wrestled around the picture, breaking things. Remus (Moony) was, of course trying to get them to stop roughhousing, before James got him in a headlock, and Sirius started mussing his hair, making him look like a brown haired James. After a moment of staring fondly at this page, she flipped to the next page, which had more pictures. One of Sirius dumping a bucket of Stinksap on Snape, Violet's least favorite professor at Hogwarts, while Remus shook his head disapprovingly. Another depicted Snape with his hair curly and pink, screaming curses at them, while struggling to take off a frilly dress. Most of the pictures showed Snape the victim of some prank. Violet at first, began to feel sorry for him, but then remembered that Snape had stopped teaching her Occlumency, which ultimately resulted in Sirius's death. "He deserved every prank..." she muttered, hatred coursing through her veins.
The next page was a list of the great Marauder inventions and a copy of the Marauders Map in mint condition. She kept looking until she heard a crack, then hurriedly put the book where she'd found it. She went back in the kitchen, and bent down to help Remus with the groceries.
"It's okay, Vi. I've got it." he flicked his wand at the food and it all put itself away.
The rest of the day was presumably quiet, Remus letting Violet rest in her room for the remainder of the day. Aside from eating, she didn't leave her room. She laid on the bed all day, listening to rock music and playing with the platinum locket she'd had around her neck since before she could remember. It had been silver at one time, but after Violet had tried to kill Remus with it at the end of her third year, she'd transfigured it to platinum for his safety. She'd never been able to open it until the Christmas of her fourth year, when Sirius gave Harry the knife which would open any lock. She opened it now, and stared at the picture of her parents holding Harry and her, and the picture of her father, Remus, Peter, and Sirius. Looking at that picture made her sad to think just how happy they were then, and look where they were now: two murdered, one a Death Eater, and one left all alone with not a single childhood friend to turn to. She felt tears clouding her vision, and closed her locket with a snap and buried her self in the blankets, staring at the starry ceiling.
Some time later, while she was still wide awake, she heard her door creak open, and a soft, yet slightly hoarse voice spoke up, "Are you okay, Violet?"
"Yes." she said a little too quickly to be plausible.
"You sure?" he said, not buying it for a second.
"Yes. I'm fine. I'm just tired. I need to get to sleep is all." She said, feeling guilty about lying to him again.
Thankfully, he let it go. "Well, just remember. Be at that training room next door to your room at 6:30 as usual."
"Okay." Violet said. "Good night."
"Good night." Remus said at last, closing the door.
Violet sighed in relief and turned on her Evanescence CD, listening to it until she drifted off to sleep.
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well that's it for now. Sirius says I have to get off the computer now. Bye guys.
Chapter 6
Hey hey hey. I guess I'm updating this story again. I kind of thought that was sad, yet perfect for the story. Maybe you're wondering why Violet didn't try to defend herself. I was thinking something along the lines of her loving Remus so much that she wouldn't hit him for anything in the world (outside of training, anyway). Corny, eh? Ah well, anyway, we've kind of met this darker gothic/punk side of Violet. I don't really know whether that was because it was bringing out the depression within or because she likes the way it looked (I thought it would look hot.) I think she'll probably kick a few more asses before the end of the story, too. I may not be able to update for a while as my stupid ass parental controls will not let me on my own story! As to Siri, he's sleeping, as it's midnight. We've come to an agreement. I can't have any firewhisky, but maybe I can have wine with dinner occasionally. Isn't that sweet? Moony's sitting on the couch, reading as usual. He's an insomniac like myself. Ha ha. Poor Moony... werewolf and insomniac. Ah, well, you gotta love him, eh? As well as my incredibly vivid imagination. Where would I be without it? Probably where I am now, just incredibly boring, eh? (I'm going all English/Canadian with the eh's, eh? LOL. No offense to any English/Canadian chaps out there. I love ya all! After reading all five HP books, you start speaking English/American slang. Ha ha. On with the pain-in-the-ass disclaimer.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you've seen in the Harry Potter books or anything you've seen anywhere else, especially not "Hell Song" by Sum 41. That good enough for ya?
Chappie numero six
Violet got up at 4:30 again, ran extra long and fast for some reason, swam twice what she normally did, and sprinted back. She went to the training room, fully prepared to start training alone. Needless to say, she was shocked to see Remus there, doing pull-ups. "...twenty-one... twenty-two..." he grunted, before seeing Violet and dropping off of the bar.
"What are you doing here, Remus?" Violet said, shocked.
"What do you mean?" he looked confused. "Don't we normally have training sessions at 6:00?"
"Yes, I just... didn't expect you to be here." When he still looked confused, she elaborated. "I thought... after yesterday, that is, that you'd stopped teaching me."
"Of course not," he said briskly. "I promised I'd teach you, and I will until I've taught you all I know. I'm not Snape, Vi."
Violet felt heat rising in her face and muttered, "Oh, sorry." She strode past him to the pull-up bar, and started pulling herself up again. She managed to do eight this time. Remus was closely watching. "You're doing better." he complimented, before digging through a bag on the floor, and drawing out two deadly looking daggers. He handed one to Violet and said, "Throwing knives isn't too hard, once you get the hang of it. The hardest part is keeping your balance. Watch me." He lightly picked the knife up by the blade, concentrated hard on a large red and white target Violet hadn't noticed earlier. Suddenly, there was a whistling sound, and the knife was sticking, clear to the handle, right in the middle of the bullseye.
Violet could feel her jaw dropping, and made no move to lift it up. "There's no way I could ever be that good." she said, shocked.
"With some practice, you may just be. Come over here. First thing, you've got to center yourself on the target. Right there, good. Now, you've got to position your feet. Now, you're right handed so you'll want to have your right in front of your left, so you can step forward as you throw." He showed her how to stand. "Good. Now hold the knife this way." He held the knife briefly, before positioning her hands on the blade. "That's it, now concentrate on the target, bring your arm all the way back, good. Now, step forward, and fling the knife!"
Soon enough, the knife was whistling through the air and had hit the target. It was on the outside of the target, but nevertheless, on the target. Remus looked pleased. "That wasn't bad at all for a first time. Let's try again."
The second time, she let the knife slip through her fingers and it bounced off the target. The third time, it stuck to the wall about two feet away from the end of the target. She inhaled and exhaled slowly, determined not to lose control, then tried several more times. Each time, she grew closer to hitting the target. The last time she began to bring her arm back, Remus stopped her. "That's enough knife throwing for now. You won't be able to concentrate anymore. Now, while we've still got time, I'd better get you started on sword fighting."
Violet must have looked extremely apprehensive about the idea of swordfighting, because Remus said reassuringly, "Don't worry. I've bewitched them so that the blade and tip are like rubber, so we can't get hurt." He tossed one to her, and she caught the gold hilt.
He began to show her how to hold the sword, how to jab, how to swing the sword without losing control, and whatever else. Then, they began amateur dueling. (A/N: Won't go into detail about this because I don't know anything about swordfighting!) Violet dropped her sword a couple of times, but once her sword caught on Remus's and she twisted it out of his grasp. The look of astonishment on his face was priceless.
"That was excellent for your first try, Violet." he grinned, putting the swords away. "I dropped my sword far more than that when I was learning. Perhaps tomorrow we can try archery."
"Just what are you planning to teach me?" Violet said skeptically.
"Everything I know. Once you move in with me, we'll be able to use wands."
"So then, you've already got a place?" she said, hope rising into her heart.
"Of course!" he smiled, zipping the bag. "I've had it for quite some time. It's rather small, but surprisingly nice, seeing as how I haven't been able to keep a job for over a year." Violet sensed his voice hardening with bitterness.
"Well, maybe this job will be different," she put in helpfully.
"Maybe..."he said, still looking bitter. Violet decided to change the subject.
"Well, I'm going to shower and change, so I suppose I'll see you at breakfast." She hurried out of the room.
After showering and changing, she hurried back to the kitchen. When she walked into the room, everyone's jaw dropped.
"What in the hell are you wearing?" Fred gasped, disregarding the fact that his mother was right there.
"Clothes. It's all the rage nowadays." Violet faked a Parvati Patil look, trying not to blush. In fact, she was wearing camouflage pants that fit snugly around her very skinny waist thanks to some tailoring, but each leg resembled a tent; a tight black tank top, her combat boots, a necklace with a skull and crossbones on it, the deadly looking spikes on her wrists, a skull ring, at least half a dozen earrings, and the chain wallet. Her jet black hair was pulled into a high, loose bun and tied with a piece of black ribbon. Her fingernails were black.
"I was going for a tent." Fred gaped, plucking at her UFO pants. "Where'd you get all this stuff?"
"A store called Hot Topic." she said, grinning at the Weasley's expressions.
Finally, Mr. Weasley spoke. "About those exploding lightbulbs, Molly..."
As Violet sat down, Ron muttered, "What's with the hardware, Vi?"
"Oh, nothing," she shrugged, digging into her breakfast. "I just felt like trying something new. Who knows, maybe everyone will be too scared to mess with me this year."
"What about the uniform?" Ron pointed out. "You've got to wear that."
"Simple." Violet said matter-of-factly, horrified at how much she sounded like Hermione. "I'll wear the robes but not the skirt and blouse."
"Whatever stirs your cauldron." Ron muttered, turning back to his breakfast.
Remus sat down, and Violet braced herself for gapes and teasing about the way she was dressed, but all he did was cock his eyebrows and snicker. "Oh, shut up..." she made to pluck him on the head, but he easily ducked. She instead stuck her tounge out at his back as he turned away to talk to Mr. Weasley.
Violet ate her huge breakfast as normal and headed for the backyard, when Remus stopped her, tugging on her arm, narrowly missing the sharp spikes on her bracelets. "Go weigh yourself."
She rolled her eyes, and dragged herself up the stairs to the bathroom. Less than five minutes later, she ran down the stairs so fast, she slid on the rug and nearly killed herself. "YES!" She screeched, throwing her arms around the first person she came across, which happened to be Ron, who turned a bit red, either from embarrassment or from lack of air.
Remus pulled her off of Ron, and anxiously asked her, "Well?!"
"I gained TWENTY POUNDS!" she said, overjoyed, hugging Remus, who winced as the spiky bracelets scraped his back. Otherwise, he paid no attention.
"Oh, Vi. That's fantastic!" he laughed as she hugged Mrs. Weasley. "And it's all thanks to you, Molly! I knew with your help, we could fatten her up." He considered that. "Well, I wouldn't say 'fatten', more like 'normalize'."
"Finally!" Violet said, the smile pasted to her face. "I can stop eating three helpings in every meal and snack." Molly blushed as she had been the one who insisted on it. She told herself that it was for her own good, as she was severely underweight for her age and height. At the beginning of the summer, Violet had been five feet, two inches, and eighty-five pounds. Now, she was five feet, four inches and one hundred and six pounds, a more normal weight for her height.
It had been immensely difficult, Violet thought. She was naturally very skinny and whether or not that had to do with the fact that she hadn't had a decent meal until she came to Hogwarts or not was a mystery to her. She ate as much as she could to gain weight, but her working out had at first caused her to lose weight, but as she built muscle, she gained weight a lot faster. Until then, she had to struggle to keep her weight the same.
Remus interrupted her thoughts. "I was wondering, would you like to move into my house today?" He said, looking apprehensive.
This added to her joy. "Yes! Yes! YES! But wait..." It dawned on her. "What about the court hearing?"
"I already took care of that. I knew you really wouldn't like to attend another hearing."
"Oh thank you! THANK YOU! When do we leave?"
"Hold on." he rummaged through his robes, and pulling out his wand, said, "Accio trunk! Accio Firebolt!" As they zoomed down the stairs and landed softly in front of Remus, he said, "You'll have to take care of the rest."
Violet hurriedly gathered her new clothes and books, and shoved them into her trunk.
Remus said, "Go to the fireplace and before you toss the Floo Powder, yell, 'Moony's Pad!' I'll be with you shortly."
He left Violet to gape at his back, before realizing she'd been standing there for thirty seconds already, and gripping her trunk and tossing the Floo Powder in the fireplace, before yelling, "Moony's Pad!"
Soon enough, she shot out of a fireplace, careening across the room, and smashing into the kitchen table, taking off one of it's legs. "Damn it..." she muttered. "I hope Remus can fix that."
She pulled her trunk out from a cabinet, which now had a huge hole in it, due to obvious reasons. Not wanting to be rude, and barge through the whole house, she sat gingerly on one of the chairs, then realized how ironic it was for someone who had just destroyed someone else's kitchen to not want to be rude.
After several minutes, Remus Apparated with a crack, nearly scaring the camouflage off of Violet's pants. He raised his eyebrows. "Well, I'm impressed, Violet." He eyed the kitchen. "You've been here five minutes, and already you've destroyed the kitchen."
Violet felt her face turning a deep red. "I can fix that." she volunteered weakly.
"No need." He flicked his wand and the table and cabinets repaired themselves. "Well, I guess I'll show you to your room. Locomotor Trunk!" The trunk raised itself five feet in the air, and he led it down the hall, and into a room. Violet noticed that Remus had most likely ensured that her room was the largest room in the house. The walls were dark blue with stars arranged into constellations. Violet looked for the one star that she spent hours staring at through her window nowadays, and saw it, labeled clearly, "Sirius". There was a silvery, realistic moon that changed with the phases of the real moon. Right now, it was labeled, "Waxing Crescent", meaning it was almost a month until the full moon. The curtains were a dark blue, and her bed was of dark mohagony and the bedspread matched her curtains. When she looked at her ceiling, which reflected the night sky, even though outside it was broad daylight. The carpet was a deep blue. Her old guitar and keyboard were propped against the wall, and there was an ordinary Muggle stereo that ran on magic, not electricity.
"Wow." Violet managed. "How did you know I love--"
"I have connections." he said with a grin. "I knew your first choice would have been black, but I wasn't about paint your room black. So, obviously, I opted for the star motif."
"Thank you so much." she stared around the room in shock, before turning to Remus with the hugest grin on her face. "I LOVE IT!"
"Glad you do." Remus pulled her hair out of its bun with a mischievous grin and Violet exclaimed, "Hey!" as her hair tumbled down her back. She growled. "Remus!" as he strolled back down the hall towards the kitchen, laughing. She shook her head, and started putting away everything in her trunk. As she pulled out her CD's, she leafed through them. AFI, Kittie, Metallica, MxPx, System of a Down, Aerosmith, Ozzy... she stopped when she came across Sum 41's "Does this look infected?" She hesitated before putting it in the stereo and flipping it to "Hell Song". Immediately, the guitars came on, and she started singing along with the song, feeling every word of it.
"Everybody's got their problems
Everybody says the same things to you
It's just a matter how you solve them
And knowing how to change the things you've been through
I feel I've come to realize
How fast life can be compromised
Step back to see what's going on
I can't beleive this happened to you
This happened to you
It's just a problem that I'm faced with am I
Not the only one who hates to stand by
Complications that are first in this line
With all these pictures running through my mind
Knowing endless consequences
I feel so useless in this
Can't back, stand back, can't ask
For me I can't believe" She started banging her head, and playing air guitar as she belted out the chorus.
"Part of me, won't agree
Cause I don't know if this for sure
Suddenly, suddenly
I don't feel so insecure
Part of me, won't agree
Cause I don't know if this for sure
Suddenly, suddenly
I don't feel so insecure
Any--"
She stopped all of a sudden, as she became aware of someone standing at the door, watching her. It was Remus. "Er..." she said lamely, before quickly shutting off the stereo and walking past him to the bathroom, locking herself in. She stared at herself in the mirror, her normally pale face a brilliant red. She'd been embarrassed, but never this humiliated. She couldn't believed he'd walked in on her thrashing around the room like she was in a trance. He'd walked in on her singing her song before, but that was different...
She must have stayed in there for a while, because soon Remus was pounding on the door. "Vi? Are you okay?" Remus shouted.
"I'm fine."
"Well, get out here then. Dumbledore needs to talk to you!"
She pressed a hand against her forehead, and not surprisingly, felt her scar prickle. She sighed, then dragged herself down the hall and to the kitchen table. Professor Dumbledore surveyed her over the half-moon glasses. "I'm just here to discuss the schedule of your training. You will resume Muggle dueling as usual, from 6:30 in the morning until 8:00. After lunch, that is to say at 1:00 p.m. , you will be authorized to start up magical dueling until 3:30, as Remus has to leave for work. Directly after, Professor McGonagall will begin training you on becoming an Animagus until 6:00, when Remus will return."
Violet stared at him. "Uh, sir?" she said, her mouth hanging out a bit. "When am I supposed to breathe?"
Dumbledore smiled slightly, but didn't answer. "Well, I must be going. I just dropped by to give Violet the news. I've got a lot to be doing at Hogwarts. Goodbye for now." He Disapparated without another word.
Violet looked up at Remus, then quickly turned away when he spoke.
"What's wrong, vi?" he looked confused, as men normally look when they're trying to interpret girls. "Why do you keep looking away?"
"You know why." she said, staring at the counter.
"Actually, I don't. Or why would I be asking?" He said, looking frustrated now.
"I can't believe you don't know." When he pleaded to her with his eyes, she rolled her eyes. "It's about me jumping around my room like a maniac, singing."
"Oh..." he said, understanding. "Why didn't you say so in the first place? And why would you be upset about that?"
"Not upset. Embarrassed. If I'd seen you thrashing around your room you'd be embarrassed."
"I guess it would. It would probably look a bit rediculous. But, you didn't look rediculous. It was entertaining, I must admit. But not rediculous."
"Oh, well," she sighed. "It's all right. I don't see why I got so worked up about it."
"Ah, well... Lunch!" he said briskly. "We'll have to go to Molly's because there's nothing here." He opened the refrigerator, then closed it, making a disgusted face. "Except perhaps for some macaroni dated back to 1200 B.C."
Violet laughed at his imagination. "I could fix dinner if you like."
"No. Let's just get to Molly's house. I've grown used to eating at her house."
"What, don't trust my cooking?" Violet laughed.
"It's not that. There's nothing here to make."
"Ah, good point." She stood up and headed for the fireplace. "You'll meet me there, I suppose?"
"Yes. I'll probably be there before you will." He said.
"Okay." She grabbed the Floo Powder, yelled, "The Burrow!" and came zooming out across the Weasley's kitchen. Remus was sitting at the table.
"About time." he said cheekily, as she flicked soot at him, brushed off, washed her hands, and took a seat beside him. Again, she ate like a pig, wolfing down her meal of chicken, boiled potatoes, and dumplings. Finally, she pushed out her chair, and said, "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. Poor Remus can't cook to save his life." she said, using her imagination to play along with Remus.
Remus reached out to playfully smack her, and she blocked it, and in turn smacked him on the side of his head. "You're getting good." He reached out and smacked her lightly, before she had time to block it. This waged into an all out smacking war, neither winning or losing. Violet proved to be the same skill level as Remus, at least in the blocking and hitting. Mrs. Weasley stared in awe at them. Once they'd grown tired of that game, she said, "How did you get so good at that?"
Violet hesitated, then shrugged. "Quidditch reflexes, I suppose."
Remus sighed in quiet relief. Violet was pretty good with the bull-shitting, thankfully. "Well, Molly." He said, clapping Violet on the shoulder. "We'd best get going, as I've got to get some food for dinner and for breakfast tomorrow." He turned to Violet again. "You'll be all right at the house while I'm gone right?"
"Of course I will."
"Okay, then. I suppose I'll see you in around a half hour." Once he'd Disapparated, Violet did the usual routine, and shot out across Remus's kitchen, managing not to destroy it this time. She brushed herself off, and abandoning the idea of being polite, started going through cabinets. Remus had been telling the truth; there wasn't a bit of food except for the moldy macaroni, which Violet threw away.
She headed for the living room and noticed a worn book with the words, "Marauders Scrapbook" on it. Curiosity got the better of her and she sat down on the couch, flipping through it.
On the first page were pictures of the four Marauders. Peter aka Wormtail was edging away in fear as James and Sirius aka Prongs and Padfoot wrestled around the picture, breaking things. Remus (Moony) was, of course trying to get them to stop roughhousing, before James got him in a headlock, and Sirius started mussing his hair, making him look like a brown haired James. After a moment of staring fondly at this page, she flipped to the next page, which had more pictures. One of Sirius dumping a bucket of Stinksap on Snape, Violet's least favorite professor at Hogwarts, while Remus shook his head disapprovingly. Another depicted Snape with his hair curly and pink, screaming curses at them, while struggling to take off a frilly dress. Most of the pictures showed Snape the victim of some prank. Violet at first, began to feel sorry for him, but then remembered that Snape had stopped teaching her Occlumency, which ultimately resulted in Sirius's death. "He deserved every prank..." she muttered, hatred coursing through her veins.
The next page was a list of the great Marauder inventions and a copy of the Marauders Map in mint condition. She kept looking until she heard a crack, then hurriedly put the book where she'd found it. She went back in the kitchen, and bent down to help Remus with the groceries.
"It's okay, Vi. I've got it." he flicked his wand at the food and it all put itself away.
The rest of the day was presumably quiet, Remus letting Violet rest in her room for the remainder of the day. Aside from eating, she didn't leave her room. She laid on the bed all day, listening to rock music and playing with the platinum locket she'd had around her neck since before she could remember. It had been silver at one time, but after Violet had tried to kill Remus with it at the end of her third year, she'd transfigured it to platinum for his safety. She'd never been able to open it until the Christmas of her fourth year, when Sirius gave Harry the knife which would open any lock. She opened it now, and stared at the picture of her parents holding Harry and her, and the picture of her father, Remus, Peter, and Sirius. Looking at that picture made her sad to think just how happy they were then, and look where they were now: two murdered, one a Death Eater, and one left all alone with not a single childhood friend to turn to. She felt tears clouding her vision, and closed her locket with a snap and buried her self in the blankets, staring at the starry ceiling.
Some time later, while she was still wide awake, she heard her door creak open, and a soft, yet slightly hoarse voice spoke up, "Are you okay, Violet?"
"Yes." she said a little too quickly to be plausible.
"You sure?" he said, not buying it for a second.
"Yes. I'm fine. I'm just tired. I need to get to sleep is all." She said, feeling guilty about lying to him again.
Thankfully, he let it go. "Well, just remember. Be at that training room next door to your room at 6:30 as usual."
"Okay." Violet said. "Good night."
"Good night." Remus said at last, closing the door.
Violet sighed in relief and turned on her Evanescence CD, listening to it until she drifted off to sleep.
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well that's it for now. Sirius says I have to get off the computer now. Bye guys.