All Alone?
Chapter 10
Well, it's chapter 10! Can you believe it, double digits?!!!! Okay, relax, it's just a fanfiction. Sirius is digging through the cabinets, trying to eat all my favorite foods. He's gotten more and more obnoxious. Well, I think, during the story, we're going to have a long talk. **Ugh. I hate talks with Sirius. He takes everything too... Siriusly? HAHA I crack myself up. It's the opposite. You can't get him to be serious most of the time, but when he is, you could cut the air with a knife. Well, let's go.
Disclaimer: Haven't you gotten the point from the rest of my chapters???!
*** She was behind some kind of curtain, watching bodies falling through constantly. Once they'd hit the ground, they would get up and head for a shimmering wall of water, and disappear forever. Violet tried to touch the surface, but her hand was burned, and she pulled it back with a yelp. But, far below, there was a shadowy figure, lying motionless on some kind of surface. Violet tried to go down and see who it was, but an icy hand gripped her shoulder, causing her to gasp as the cold went through her body.
"Let that one alone. He'll be taken care of soon enough. He has a challenge to overcome and he alone can overcome it. He wasn't destined to die quite yet. If he overcomes the challenge, he will return to where he came from, among those he loves. If he doesn't, he will remain where he is, until he can break free."
When Violet tried to get a closer look at the man's face, the mysterious man disappeared, leaving her without a clue as to who he was. She headed for the figure down at the floor, an inexpressible urge overcoming her. But she was thrown back every time she tried.***
Violet sat bolt upright as her alarm clock headphones awoke her with Godsmack's "Awake". She turned it off, and got up slowly, thinking about the dream. It was a mystery to her. The curtain seemed familiar, but she couldn't understand where the rest fit in. It was probably just another one of the tantalizing nightmares that she'd been forced to go through all summer. She ran a hand over her eyes, and stopped suddenly, examining the hand. A red, blistering burn ran down the length of the palm. She was pretty sure she hadn't done that in Potions the day before. The shimmering water wall ran through her head, and it came to her. This was another obvious plot of Voldemort's to lure her into his clutches. She wouldn't do it. She wasn't going to buy it. She'd already paid for the consequences of her stupidity last summer with Sirius's life, and she wouldn't lose someone else she loved this time.
She slipped on a bikini, a pair of sweatpants cut off at the knee and a tank top, and her trainers, and disappeared under her Invisibility cloak and headed for the school grounds.
Meanwhile, Eric had been woken up all night by dreams of Violet. In one, she walked off a cliff in a shimmering white dress. He called to her and ran for her, but not a sound came out, and he couldn't move. In others, he dreamed about seeing her beaten up by a fat man, while he stood by, powerless to stop it. It hurt to hear her scream as she was thrown into a china cabinet and kicked numerous times. Suddenly, he was jerked awake by something he knew not what it was. He rolled over, and sat up. It was almost five o' clock. He sighed, realizing that it was hopeless to try and get some sleep. Then, something diverted his attention to the window. He squinted and could just barely make out a tiny figure in the distance. He couldn't be certain, but it looked like Violet. No, no, he told himself. It's just because you're thinking about her.
Curiosity got the better of him, and he dug in his nightstand drawer, and pulled out a pair of Omnioculers he'd gotten at a Quidditch game with the U.S. Dragons vs. the Chudley Cannons. He looked through them, and fiddled with a few switches until he made out the figure. It was, indeed, Violet. And she was... taking off her clothes! She pulled off the tank top and sweatpants she was wearing to reveal a string bikini. As his eyes ran up and down her lean, muscular frame, he could only stare in amazement. Not only was she thin, but she had long, muscular legs, hard, just barely defined abs, and toned arms. But, she didn't look like a butch type. She looked as though she had starred in the movie Blue Crush along with the other toned, sexy surfer girls. As his eyes traveled up and down her frame, he noticed just how many scars she had. She had one just above her navel that looked suspiciously like a stab wound. She had old burn wounds, the scar that ran up her arm, and a new burn on her hand.
Suddenly, she dived headfirst into the lake. Eric gaped. It may have only been late September, but the lake was still really freezing already. Violet didn't seem to mind the icy lake, as she swam the length of it. He wondered for her sake whether the rumors about a giant squid were true. However, Violet made it to the other side and back with no encounters with the giant squid, so he assumed the lake was relatively safe. She sprinted back to the spot where she'd stripped, and pulled her clothes back on. She pulled on what Eric recognized as an Invisibility Cloak, and disappeared.
He hurriedly pulled on his clothes, and slipped out the door into the common room. It couldn't have been any later than five a.m. so he assumed all the teacher's and Filch would be asleep. He scaled the castle, trying to find her. He got to the seventh floor, and had paced back and forth, thinking, *damn, I really need to find her and find out what the hell she's doing!*, when all of a sudden, a door had appeared, and he opened it a crack. To his shock, he was now in a gymnasium sort of room, surrounded by tons of punching bags, weights, and other training equipment. And there was Violet, Muggle dueling with a man he'd never seen. And, dude, was she good at it. He'd only seen skills like hers in Jackie Chan and Chuck Norris movies. As well as throwing a perfect punch, she could block just about anything, kick over her head, and much more. She suddenly stopped, and turned towards Eric, a look of astonishment on her pretty face. She was rewarded with a punch to the side of the head. Eric started forward, whipping out his wand, but Violet raised a hand to stop him, and turned to the man, "I need you to go away now."
The man suddenly vanished. Violet turned back to Eric, her hands on her hips. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.
"I was about to ask you the same question." Eric said, staring in wonder.
"Training. Now you." Violet said accusingly.
"Following you." he said bluntly. "I saw you swimming outside. How can you swim in such cold water?"
"It's not that bad once you get used to it." She said briskly. "Why were you following me? And why aren't you asleep?"
"I couldn't get to sleep, and I looked out the window and saw you, and wondered what the hell you were doing."
"Well, I always get up at four-thirty in the morning to train."
"Who was that man? And how did you get him to go away?"
"He's a replica of my guardian, Remus. I use him for training every morning. And if I told you how I got him to go away, well, I'd have to kill you." she grinned, before pulling on the invisibility cloak, revealing only her head now. "Don't try to find this room again, because chances are, no matter how hard you try, you never will find it." Then, she disappeared out the door, and he could hear her footsteps, and the door opened. Suddenly, she reappeared.
"Filch is patrolling the halls. You'll have to get under with me if you don't want to get caught." She lifted up the cloak to allow him room. Eric hesitantly got under the cloak, pressed up against Violet. He felt very awkward squashed up under the cloak against the most beautiful girl in school. But, he was loving every minute of it. "Now, be quiet, and just go along with me."
They silently went down a mass of corridors and staircases, Violet never once getting lost. Outside the portrait of the Fat Lady, Eric couldn't resist. He "accidentally" grabbed her ass, earning a swift smack on the head for his efforts. "Accident!" he insisted, trying to look innocent.
"Right." Violet said, admitting to herself that he did look cute when he blushed. "I'll take your word for it." She turned to the Fat Lady, and said, "Mandragora."
The portrait swung foreward, and they scrambled in. Violet looked at the clock on the mantle. "Damn, it took us that long to get back here?" It was 6:30. "Well, we may as well get ready ahead of time before the showers get full."
She grinned at him before disappearing into the showers. Eric briefly had a pleasant vision of what he would see if he could only sneak into the girl's bathroom, before looking down, and instantly wrapping his jumper around his waist, looking around nervously. He decided it would be best to just take his shower cold that day. (A/N: Haha I'm sick, I know!)
Meanwhile, Violet had borrowed some of Parvati Patil's shampoo in Enchantress: will give you such shine, he'll be on his knees by noon. She furiously scrubbed it into her hair, before rinsing and dousing her locks in conditioner. Once she'd washed all up, she got out of the shower, dried off, and wrapped a towel around her torso, before hurriedly slipping out the door and heading for the staircase. And guess who chose that particular moment to enter the Common room? Yes. There was Eric, his long, messy hair plastered to his face, and a towel wrapped around his waist, showing off his chest and abs. The two of them gaped at one another for a moment, their eyes traveling up and down like mad. Eric didn't know what to stare at: her face, her chest, or her long legs. Violet's eyes were fixed on Eric's chest. She had to admit he was a bit skinny, but his abs were okay and he had nice arms. Then, she turned and ran up the stairs as fast as she could and dug through her drawers for some clothes to wear. She found a worn, slightly shrunken black System of a Down T-shirt and a pair of dark blue Levis low-riders. Once she'd pulled them on, and tugged self-conciously at them, she put on her Chuck Taylors. She put on a shotbead necklace, her locket, a watch, and the charm bracelet, and started debating whether or not to wear makeup. Suddenly, she felt like an idiot.
"What am I doing?" she asked herself out loud, staring in the mirror. "I'm losing it! And even worse, over some guy!"
"I'd say you are losing it, dear." Her refection said. "It's not very healthy to be talking to yourself, is it?"
She glared at her reflection. "No more unhealthy than taking advice from a mirror."
"Touchy..." her reflection sneered.
Violet rolled her eyes, and flicked her wand at her hair, which started drying immediately. She brushed it for a few minutes. Violet was so blind to her beauty, that she didn't even notice how perfect her hair was after just a few strokes with the brush. All she saw was that her hair was black and not blonde, and was "flat" instead of having "body". After ten years of being told how ugly she was, it was no wonder she was so insecure. For instance, where others saw full lips, she saw them as being too big. Where others saw her six freckles as cute, she saw them as blemishes. She didn't think she was hideous anymore, but she thought she was far from pretty. She had to be one of the most insecure people ever to walk the face of the earth.
After pulling her hair up and fastening it with one of those claw things, leaving tendrils hanging by her face, Violet stared at herself. "Well, I suppose this is as good as it's going to get."
Once she'd headed down the stairs and walked right past Eric, who, for those who care to know, looked quite good in a pair of baggy Dickies and an MxPx concert T-shirt, his loosely curly hair hanging in his face, she climbed out of the portrait hole and entered the Great Hall. Once she'd sat down across from Ron and Hermione, she started eating, her head down.
"Hey, Violet." Ron said. "Look at Malfoy!"
Violet looked up at him. Even though he'd let his blonde hair hang in his face to hide them, the purple zits were visible all over his face now. Not only did he have "SLUT" on his forehead, but they had spread to his cheeks and chin as well. Now he had, "LOSER", "FAG", and "JACKASS" on his face as well. He shot Violet a murderous look, which she returned with her most charming smile.
Eric sat down next to her. "What did I miss?" he said, seeing the grins on everyone's faces.
"Remember yesterday, when Malfoy called me a slut, and I told you I'd take care of him?" she snickered.
"Yeah, what about it?" Eric still looked adorably confused.
"Look over there." She pointed. When he still didn't notice, she grabbed his chin in her hand and steered it over so he was staring directly at Malfoy. When he finally noticed, he burst out laughing. "Good one, Vi!" he congratulated her.
"Well, I--" Without warning, a letter was dropped onto her plate, and Hedwig stood on the table, helping herself to Eric's toast.
"Hey, it's from Remus!" Ron said, grabbing it. Violet snatched it back.
"Give me that! I'd prefer to read it on my own, thanks." She got up and walked out of the Great Hall, slowly opening the letter. She badly wanted to see what he had to say, but was also rather nervous as to how he would reply to her last not-so-nice letter.
Dear Vi, it read,
there's a lot I'd like to talk to you about, but I wouldn't like to talk to you in a letter, or even with the journal. I need to speak to you in person. Can you ensure that you'll be in Hogsmeade on Saturday, the tenth? If you can, let me know, and meet me outside the Three Broomsticks at 9:00 a.m.? Write back as soon as you get this.
Love, Remus
Violet was a bit surprised. She had been expecting him to reprimand her, or at least guilt trip her. Nothing. Just, "Can you ensure me that you'll be in Hogsmeade on Saturday, the tenth?" She folded up the letter and entered the Great Hall. She turned to Hermione.
"When's the next Hogsmeade weekend?"
Hermione looked thoughtful. "The tenth, I think. Yes. The tenth."
"Thanks." Violet pulled out her schedule. Today was Friday the ninth! She didn't have a lot of time. She pulled a wrinkled peice of parchment and a bent quill from her bag and scribbled, "I'll be there. Love, Vi."
She attached the parchment to Hedwig's leg. "Take that back to Remus, girl." She patted the owl's head, before watching her take off.
That day went by slower than any other day in Violet's memory. It didn't help any that she had double History of Magic that day, either. She was excited about seeing Remus, but was growing increasingly nervous about it. What was he going to say? Would he be angry? Hurt? Or would he even care? It got to where she had to borrow a bit of Sleeping Potion from Neville just to get a bit of sleep.
The next morning, she awoke at four thirty again, only to find that she couldn't concentrate on training. She gave up on it after an hour, and simply swam back and forth across the lake until about seven.
She showered, got dressed, and went down to breakfast without anything eventful happening. She didn't even notice that she'd spilled pumpkin juice all over the table.
"Honestly, Violet." Hermione sighed, flicking her wand at the table, and the mess disappeared. "What's wrong with you today?"
"What? Oh, I've just got a lot on my mind."
"Well, maybe that trip to Hogsmeade today will relax you." Hermione said, only making Violet's stomach tighter.
After everyone had left and was heading down the stone path towards Hogsmeade, Eric turned to Violet, fidgeting. "I was wondering, did you want to have a butterbeer with me in the Three Broomsticks." When Violet looked rather nervous still, his face grew hotter. "As friends, you know..." He said hastily.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I can't. I've, er, got plans." she said apologetically.
Eric's heart sank, but he recovered quickly from the shock. "Oh, well, I understand. Is it a guy?"
"Well, I guess you could count him as a guy. Why? Jealous?" Violet raised her eyebrow.
Eric glared at her. "No, of course not! It's just... you could have at least told me you had a date!"
"Yes, Eric. I've got a date, not that it's any of your concern." she rolled her eyes. "With a thirty-six year old man who happens to be my guardian."
Eric now felt like a true idiot. He kicked a tree, which in turn smacked him with a branch. "Why do you have to be so annoying?!"
"Because it's funny." Violet grinned. "Seriously, though, I have to see Remus today. We just need to talk about some things."
"Oh." They were silent for the rest of the way to Hogsmeade. As they grew closer, the knots in her stomach grew tighter. By the time they'd entered the village, Violet thought she was going to throw up.
Finally, she was in front of the Three Broomsticks. She sat down on a bench, and tapped her feet apprehensively. She checked her watch. It was 8:45. Remus, who was often early for appointments, should be there any second. Soon enough, she saw a tall, thin man with golden brown hair flecked with gray heading for her. Indeed, it was Remus. He sat down on the bench beside her.
"Remus, I'm sorry--" she choked out.
He put a hand up to silence her. "Don't. Let me talk first." he shifted on the bench a bit.
"I didn't mean to--" Violet tried to say, but Remus pressed his fingers against her lips.
"Let me finish, please. Then you can say what you want to say." he took a deep breath. "First, I am sorry I sent you that Howler. It wasn't fair of me when, indeed, I didn't know the whole story, and I probably would have done the same in your shoes. But, I still remain firm in saying that you had no right to hit him." Remus took a deep breath. "Violet, something you and Sirius had in common--"
"Please, don't-" she begged, but he continued.
"--was the fact that neither of you had very good self control. Now, you had every right to be angry at this Malfoy kid, but no right whatsoever to hit him. Violet, one thing you are going to have to learn, is that you can't get by with hitting anyone who makes you mad. There's a little tactic that would really help, and that's called: walking away. Yes, Vi. It may be hard at first, but you'll feel a lot better, and you won't get in half as much trouble as you would for hitting someone."
He stopped for a moment before continuing. "Something else that troubled me was what you said about me pretending to be your father."
Violet's eyes lowered. This was the part that she'd been dreading.
"While it did hurt to read that, I'm starting to think that you're right. I really do wish that I was your father, or even that I'd been appointed your godfather. I do want with all my heart to make up for the fact that you don't have a father, and that I can't ever have kids." His voice started to crack, but he cleared his throat and kept on. "I know I'm not your father, Vi. And if I could, I would give my right arm to take on the job. No question about it. It's just... well, you've never known your parents. A-and now that Sirius is gone, I want to be here for you. I really want you to feel like you've got at least one parent. I do love you like you're my own daughter, and I always will."
Violet could feel tears in her eyes, and was doing her best to blink them back, but they spilled over anyway. "Rem, I love you too. I'm sorry for hurting you. I didn't want to, really. I never knew you felt that way. I just..." She broke off, and covered her eyes with her hand, her shoulders shaking. When she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, she leaned in and hugged him, not caring whether or not they were out in public. Besides, there were only a few drunk old men sitting outside the Hog's Head anyway.
Though she'd had quite a few crying fits before, and this certainly wouldn't be her last, it felt good all the same to get the pain off her chest. Remus was, again, managing to comfort her. She'd never felt this close with anyone in her life, not even Sirius. She couldn't believe that after the way she'd treated him, he was the one trying to make her feel better. She closed her eyes and hugged him tighter. After several moments, she regretfully broke away, and wiped at her eyes. Remus dug in his pocket and handed her a thin handkerchief. Violet gladly took it and dabbed at her eyes, feeling like a little foo-foo girl.
"Oh, God, Rem..." she said huskily. "I'm just so sorry. Is there any way I could make it up to you?"
"Well, you could try keeping your temper in check." Remus said lightly. "I would certainly appreciate it if you'd learn to control yourself. Could you promise me that you won't attack people whenever they make you mad?"
"Oh, Rem... I'm sorry, but I can't promise you that." She gazed apologetically at him. "Because I know sometime or another, I will hit Malfoy. The best I can promise you is that I'll try to control myself."
Remus paused. "I suppose that will do. Pinky swear?" He made her pinky swear before hugging her one more time.
So, for the rest of the day, Violet stuck around Remus, having a butterbeer with him, begging him to let her try firewhisky, and pouting when he said, "Over my dead body."
*****All for now... Love the fans!
Chapter 10
Well, it's chapter 10! Can you believe it, double digits?!!!! Okay, relax, it's just a fanfiction. Sirius is digging through the cabinets, trying to eat all my favorite foods. He's gotten more and more obnoxious. Well, I think, during the story, we're going to have a long talk. **Ugh. I hate talks with Sirius. He takes everything too... Siriusly? HAHA I crack myself up. It's the opposite. You can't get him to be serious most of the time, but when he is, you could cut the air with a knife. Well, let's go.
Disclaimer: Haven't you gotten the point from the rest of my chapters???!
*** She was behind some kind of curtain, watching bodies falling through constantly. Once they'd hit the ground, they would get up and head for a shimmering wall of water, and disappear forever. Violet tried to touch the surface, but her hand was burned, and she pulled it back with a yelp. But, far below, there was a shadowy figure, lying motionless on some kind of surface. Violet tried to go down and see who it was, but an icy hand gripped her shoulder, causing her to gasp as the cold went through her body.
"Let that one alone. He'll be taken care of soon enough. He has a challenge to overcome and he alone can overcome it. He wasn't destined to die quite yet. If he overcomes the challenge, he will return to where he came from, among those he loves. If he doesn't, he will remain where he is, until he can break free."
When Violet tried to get a closer look at the man's face, the mysterious man disappeared, leaving her without a clue as to who he was. She headed for the figure down at the floor, an inexpressible urge overcoming her. But she was thrown back every time she tried.***
Violet sat bolt upright as her alarm clock headphones awoke her with Godsmack's "Awake". She turned it off, and got up slowly, thinking about the dream. It was a mystery to her. The curtain seemed familiar, but she couldn't understand where the rest fit in. It was probably just another one of the tantalizing nightmares that she'd been forced to go through all summer. She ran a hand over her eyes, and stopped suddenly, examining the hand. A red, blistering burn ran down the length of the palm. She was pretty sure she hadn't done that in Potions the day before. The shimmering water wall ran through her head, and it came to her. This was another obvious plot of Voldemort's to lure her into his clutches. She wouldn't do it. She wasn't going to buy it. She'd already paid for the consequences of her stupidity last summer with Sirius's life, and she wouldn't lose someone else she loved this time.
She slipped on a bikini, a pair of sweatpants cut off at the knee and a tank top, and her trainers, and disappeared under her Invisibility cloak and headed for the school grounds.
Meanwhile, Eric had been woken up all night by dreams of Violet. In one, she walked off a cliff in a shimmering white dress. He called to her and ran for her, but not a sound came out, and he couldn't move. In others, he dreamed about seeing her beaten up by a fat man, while he stood by, powerless to stop it. It hurt to hear her scream as she was thrown into a china cabinet and kicked numerous times. Suddenly, he was jerked awake by something he knew not what it was. He rolled over, and sat up. It was almost five o' clock. He sighed, realizing that it was hopeless to try and get some sleep. Then, something diverted his attention to the window. He squinted and could just barely make out a tiny figure in the distance. He couldn't be certain, but it looked like Violet. No, no, he told himself. It's just because you're thinking about her.
Curiosity got the better of him, and he dug in his nightstand drawer, and pulled out a pair of Omnioculers he'd gotten at a Quidditch game with the U.S. Dragons vs. the Chudley Cannons. He looked through them, and fiddled with a few switches until he made out the figure. It was, indeed, Violet. And she was... taking off her clothes! She pulled off the tank top and sweatpants she was wearing to reveal a string bikini. As his eyes ran up and down her lean, muscular frame, he could only stare in amazement. Not only was she thin, but she had long, muscular legs, hard, just barely defined abs, and toned arms. But, she didn't look like a butch type. She looked as though she had starred in the movie Blue Crush along with the other toned, sexy surfer girls. As his eyes traveled up and down her frame, he noticed just how many scars she had. She had one just above her navel that looked suspiciously like a stab wound. She had old burn wounds, the scar that ran up her arm, and a new burn on her hand.
Suddenly, she dived headfirst into the lake. Eric gaped. It may have only been late September, but the lake was still really freezing already. Violet didn't seem to mind the icy lake, as she swam the length of it. He wondered for her sake whether the rumors about a giant squid were true. However, Violet made it to the other side and back with no encounters with the giant squid, so he assumed the lake was relatively safe. She sprinted back to the spot where she'd stripped, and pulled her clothes back on. She pulled on what Eric recognized as an Invisibility Cloak, and disappeared.
He hurriedly pulled on his clothes, and slipped out the door into the common room. It couldn't have been any later than five a.m. so he assumed all the teacher's and Filch would be asleep. He scaled the castle, trying to find her. He got to the seventh floor, and had paced back and forth, thinking, *damn, I really need to find her and find out what the hell she's doing!*, when all of a sudden, a door had appeared, and he opened it a crack. To his shock, he was now in a gymnasium sort of room, surrounded by tons of punching bags, weights, and other training equipment. And there was Violet, Muggle dueling with a man he'd never seen. And, dude, was she good at it. He'd only seen skills like hers in Jackie Chan and Chuck Norris movies. As well as throwing a perfect punch, she could block just about anything, kick over her head, and much more. She suddenly stopped, and turned towards Eric, a look of astonishment on her pretty face. She was rewarded with a punch to the side of the head. Eric started forward, whipping out his wand, but Violet raised a hand to stop him, and turned to the man, "I need you to go away now."
The man suddenly vanished. Violet turned back to Eric, her hands on her hips. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.
"I was about to ask you the same question." Eric said, staring in wonder.
"Training. Now you." Violet said accusingly.
"Following you." he said bluntly. "I saw you swimming outside. How can you swim in such cold water?"
"It's not that bad once you get used to it." She said briskly. "Why were you following me? And why aren't you asleep?"
"I couldn't get to sleep, and I looked out the window and saw you, and wondered what the hell you were doing."
"Well, I always get up at four-thirty in the morning to train."
"Who was that man? And how did you get him to go away?"
"He's a replica of my guardian, Remus. I use him for training every morning. And if I told you how I got him to go away, well, I'd have to kill you." she grinned, before pulling on the invisibility cloak, revealing only her head now. "Don't try to find this room again, because chances are, no matter how hard you try, you never will find it." Then, she disappeared out the door, and he could hear her footsteps, and the door opened. Suddenly, she reappeared.
"Filch is patrolling the halls. You'll have to get under with me if you don't want to get caught." She lifted up the cloak to allow him room. Eric hesitantly got under the cloak, pressed up against Violet. He felt very awkward squashed up under the cloak against the most beautiful girl in school. But, he was loving every minute of it. "Now, be quiet, and just go along with me."
They silently went down a mass of corridors and staircases, Violet never once getting lost. Outside the portrait of the Fat Lady, Eric couldn't resist. He "accidentally" grabbed her ass, earning a swift smack on the head for his efforts. "Accident!" he insisted, trying to look innocent.
"Right." Violet said, admitting to herself that he did look cute when he blushed. "I'll take your word for it." She turned to the Fat Lady, and said, "Mandragora."
The portrait swung foreward, and they scrambled in. Violet looked at the clock on the mantle. "Damn, it took us that long to get back here?" It was 6:30. "Well, we may as well get ready ahead of time before the showers get full."
She grinned at him before disappearing into the showers. Eric briefly had a pleasant vision of what he would see if he could only sneak into the girl's bathroom, before looking down, and instantly wrapping his jumper around his waist, looking around nervously. He decided it would be best to just take his shower cold that day. (A/N: Haha I'm sick, I know!)
Meanwhile, Violet had borrowed some of Parvati Patil's shampoo in Enchantress: will give you such shine, he'll be on his knees by noon. She furiously scrubbed it into her hair, before rinsing and dousing her locks in conditioner. Once she'd washed all up, she got out of the shower, dried off, and wrapped a towel around her torso, before hurriedly slipping out the door and heading for the staircase. And guess who chose that particular moment to enter the Common room? Yes. There was Eric, his long, messy hair plastered to his face, and a towel wrapped around his waist, showing off his chest and abs. The two of them gaped at one another for a moment, their eyes traveling up and down like mad. Eric didn't know what to stare at: her face, her chest, or her long legs. Violet's eyes were fixed on Eric's chest. She had to admit he was a bit skinny, but his abs were okay and he had nice arms. Then, she turned and ran up the stairs as fast as she could and dug through her drawers for some clothes to wear. She found a worn, slightly shrunken black System of a Down T-shirt and a pair of dark blue Levis low-riders. Once she'd pulled them on, and tugged self-conciously at them, she put on her Chuck Taylors. She put on a shotbead necklace, her locket, a watch, and the charm bracelet, and started debating whether or not to wear makeup. Suddenly, she felt like an idiot.
"What am I doing?" she asked herself out loud, staring in the mirror. "I'm losing it! And even worse, over some guy!"
"I'd say you are losing it, dear." Her refection said. "It's not very healthy to be talking to yourself, is it?"
She glared at her reflection. "No more unhealthy than taking advice from a mirror."
"Touchy..." her reflection sneered.
Violet rolled her eyes, and flicked her wand at her hair, which started drying immediately. She brushed it for a few minutes. Violet was so blind to her beauty, that she didn't even notice how perfect her hair was after just a few strokes with the brush. All she saw was that her hair was black and not blonde, and was "flat" instead of having "body". After ten years of being told how ugly she was, it was no wonder she was so insecure. For instance, where others saw full lips, she saw them as being too big. Where others saw her six freckles as cute, she saw them as blemishes. She didn't think she was hideous anymore, but she thought she was far from pretty. She had to be one of the most insecure people ever to walk the face of the earth.
After pulling her hair up and fastening it with one of those claw things, leaving tendrils hanging by her face, Violet stared at herself. "Well, I suppose this is as good as it's going to get."
Once she'd headed down the stairs and walked right past Eric, who, for those who care to know, looked quite good in a pair of baggy Dickies and an MxPx concert T-shirt, his loosely curly hair hanging in his face, she climbed out of the portrait hole and entered the Great Hall. Once she'd sat down across from Ron and Hermione, she started eating, her head down.
"Hey, Violet." Ron said. "Look at Malfoy!"
Violet looked up at him. Even though he'd let his blonde hair hang in his face to hide them, the purple zits were visible all over his face now. Not only did he have "SLUT" on his forehead, but they had spread to his cheeks and chin as well. Now he had, "LOSER", "FAG", and "JACKASS" on his face as well. He shot Violet a murderous look, which she returned with her most charming smile.
Eric sat down next to her. "What did I miss?" he said, seeing the grins on everyone's faces.
"Remember yesterday, when Malfoy called me a slut, and I told you I'd take care of him?" she snickered.
"Yeah, what about it?" Eric still looked adorably confused.
"Look over there." She pointed. When he still didn't notice, she grabbed his chin in her hand and steered it over so he was staring directly at Malfoy. When he finally noticed, he burst out laughing. "Good one, Vi!" he congratulated her.
"Well, I--" Without warning, a letter was dropped onto her plate, and Hedwig stood on the table, helping herself to Eric's toast.
"Hey, it's from Remus!" Ron said, grabbing it. Violet snatched it back.
"Give me that! I'd prefer to read it on my own, thanks." She got up and walked out of the Great Hall, slowly opening the letter. She badly wanted to see what he had to say, but was also rather nervous as to how he would reply to her last not-so-nice letter.
Dear Vi, it read,
there's a lot I'd like to talk to you about, but I wouldn't like to talk to you in a letter, or even with the journal. I need to speak to you in person. Can you ensure that you'll be in Hogsmeade on Saturday, the tenth? If you can, let me know, and meet me outside the Three Broomsticks at 9:00 a.m.? Write back as soon as you get this.
Love, Remus
Violet was a bit surprised. She had been expecting him to reprimand her, or at least guilt trip her. Nothing. Just, "Can you ensure me that you'll be in Hogsmeade on Saturday, the tenth?" She folded up the letter and entered the Great Hall. She turned to Hermione.
"When's the next Hogsmeade weekend?"
Hermione looked thoughtful. "The tenth, I think. Yes. The tenth."
"Thanks." Violet pulled out her schedule. Today was Friday the ninth! She didn't have a lot of time. She pulled a wrinkled peice of parchment and a bent quill from her bag and scribbled, "I'll be there. Love, Vi."
She attached the parchment to Hedwig's leg. "Take that back to Remus, girl." She patted the owl's head, before watching her take off.
That day went by slower than any other day in Violet's memory. It didn't help any that she had double History of Magic that day, either. She was excited about seeing Remus, but was growing increasingly nervous about it. What was he going to say? Would he be angry? Hurt? Or would he even care? It got to where she had to borrow a bit of Sleeping Potion from Neville just to get a bit of sleep.
The next morning, she awoke at four thirty again, only to find that she couldn't concentrate on training. She gave up on it after an hour, and simply swam back and forth across the lake until about seven.
She showered, got dressed, and went down to breakfast without anything eventful happening. She didn't even notice that she'd spilled pumpkin juice all over the table.
"Honestly, Violet." Hermione sighed, flicking her wand at the table, and the mess disappeared. "What's wrong with you today?"
"What? Oh, I've just got a lot on my mind."
"Well, maybe that trip to Hogsmeade today will relax you." Hermione said, only making Violet's stomach tighter.
After everyone had left and was heading down the stone path towards Hogsmeade, Eric turned to Violet, fidgeting. "I was wondering, did you want to have a butterbeer with me in the Three Broomsticks." When Violet looked rather nervous still, his face grew hotter. "As friends, you know..." He said hastily.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I can't. I've, er, got plans." she said apologetically.
Eric's heart sank, but he recovered quickly from the shock. "Oh, well, I understand. Is it a guy?"
"Well, I guess you could count him as a guy. Why? Jealous?" Violet raised her eyebrow.
Eric glared at her. "No, of course not! It's just... you could have at least told me you had a date!"
"Yes, Eric. I've got a date, not that it's any of your concern." she rolled her eyes. "With a thirty-six year old man who happens to be my guardian."
Eric now felt like a true idiot. He kicked a tree, which in turn smacked him with a branch. "Why do you have to be so annoying?!"
"Because it's funny." Violet grinned. "Seriously, though, I have to see Remus today. We just need to talk about some things."
"Oh." They were silent for the rest of the way to Hogsmeade. As they grew closer, the knots in her stomach grew tighter. By the time they'd entered the village, Violet thought she was going to throw up.
Finally, she was in front of the Three Broomsticks. She sat down on a bench, and tapped her feet apprehensively. She checked her watch. It was 8:45. Remus, who was often early for appointments, should be there any second. Soon enough, she saw a tall, thin man with golden brown hair flecked with gray heading for her. Indeed, it was Remus. He sat down on the bench beside her.
"Remus, I'm sorry--" she choked out.
He put a hand up to silence her. "Don't. Let me talk first." he shifted on the bench a bit.
"I didn't mean to--" Violet tried to say, but Remus pressed his fingers against her lips.
"Let me finish, please. Then you can say what you want to say." he took a deep breath. "First, I am sorry I sent you that Howler. It wasn't fair of me when, indeed, I didn't know the whole story, and I probably would have done the same in your shoes. But, I still remain firm in saying that you had no right to hit him." Remus took a deep breath. "Violet, something you and Sirius had in common--"
"Please, don't-" she begged, but he continued.
"--was the fact that neither of you had very good self control. Now, you had every right to be angry at this Malfoy kid, but no right whatsoever to hit him. Violet, one thing you are going to have to learn, is that you can't get by with hitting anyone who makes you mad. There's a little tactic that would really help, and that's called: walking away. Yes, Vi. It may be hard at first, but you'll feel a lot better, and you won't get in half as much trouble as you would for hitting someone."
He stopped for a moment before continuing. "Something else that troubled me was what you said about me pretending to be your father."
Violet's eyes lowered. This was the part that she'd been dreading.
"While it did hurt to read that, I'm starting to think that you're right. I really do wish that I was your father, or even that I'd been appointed your godfather. I do want with all my heart to make up for the fact that you don't have a father, and that I can't ever have kids." His voice started to crack, but he cleared his throat and kept on. "I know I'm not your father, Vi. And if I could, I would give my right arm to take on the job. No question about it. It's just... well, you've never known your parents. A-and now that Sirius is gone, I want to be here for you. I really want you to feel like you've got at least one parent. I do love you like you're my own daughter, and I always will."
Violet could feel tears in her eyes, and was doing her best to blink them back, but they spilled over anyway. "Rem, I love you too. I'm sorry for hurting you. I didn't want to, really. I never knew you felt that way. I just..." She broke off, and covered her eyes with her hand, her shoulders shaking. When she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, she leaned in and hugged him, not caring whether or not they were out in public. Besides, there were only a few drunk old men sitting outside the Hog's Head anyway.
Though she'd had quite a few crying fits before, and this certainly wouldn't be her last, it felt good all the same to get the pain off her chest. Remus was, again, managing to comfort her. She'd never felt this close with anyone in her life, not even Sirius. She couldn't believe that after the way she'd treated him, he was the one trying to make her feel better. She closed her eyes and hugged him tighter. After several moments, she regretfully broke away, and wiped at her eyes. Remus dug in his pocket and handed her a thin handkerchief. Violet gladly took it and dabbed at her eyes, feeling like a little foo-foo girl.
"Oh, God, Rem..." she said huskily. "I'm just so sorry. Is there any way I could make it up to you?"
"Well, you could try keeping your temper in check." Remus said lightly. "I would certainly appreciate it if you'd learn to control yourself. Could you promise me that you won't attack people whenever they make you mad?"
"Oh, Rem... I'm sorry, but I can't promise you that." She gazed apologetically at him. "Because I know sometime or another, I will hit Malfoy. The best I can promise you is that I'll try to control myself."
Remus paused. "I suppose that will do. Pinky swear?" He made her pinky swear before hugging her one more time.
So, for the rest of the day, Violet stuck around Remus, having a butterbeer with him, begging him to let her try firewhisky, and pouting when he said, "Over my dead body."
*****All for now... Love the fans!