All Alone?
Chapter 21
A/N: Ah ha! I haven't forgotten this story! I just haven't been up to updating. Well, I've done a couple chapters of my original story, Teen Misfit, which you can check out at Fictionpress.com. Time to begin updating this story! I really don't want to go into detail about the talk in Dumbledore's office, because it's boring, so I'm just going to put it into one sentence.
Oh by the way, if you notice that some parts of the story are a bit strange and mention Harry, it's cuz the story used to be about Violet having a twin brother, namely Harry, then I changed the story to make it so it was just Violet and I missed some parts. Okee-dokee then?
Disclaimer: I own Violet and Eric. The rest is owned by J.K. except for the quote Remus uses, which belongs to Bill Engvall, the best white comedian ever, up there along with Jeff Foxworthy.
After telling Dumbledore everything he'd told Violet and Lupin, Eric went back to the hospital wing with Lupin. Lupin squeezed his shoulder and sat down across from a very annoyed Violet.
"Why didn't you let me come? I'm more involved in this than you are!" Violet snapped.
"Hush for a minute, Vi." Remus said, ignoring her little fits as usual. "You would have been bored anyway. I just wanted to let you know that Dumbledore is in the process of considering what to do about Eric. For the time being, he will remain at Hogwarts. Before summer holidays of course, Dumbledore will decide what to do about this. Now, I've got to go back to the house. You two get some sleep and I'll stop by tomorrow morning." He gave Violet a one-armed hug and headed back toward the fireplace. By the time he'd disappeared in a swirl of green flames, Violet and Eric were staring blankly at the floor, numb from the events of just a couple of hours ago.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Violet quietly asked, staring at the now orange flames.
"How do you tell someone about stuff like that?" Eric finally looked up at her. "You can't exactly bring it up in casual conversation!"
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." Violet said gently, sitting on the bed beside him. She tried to touch his shoulder, but he pulled away. "That was a very stupid question and I apologize."
"And what about you?" Eric snapped. "You weren't exactly honest about everything your uncle did to you, were you?"
"You're right." Violet admitted. "I wasn't. I'm sorry, Eric. But I guess it was the same with me. I mean, how do you tell someone about that? I kept a lot bottled up inside, for too long, Eric. And I've learned from experience that it can mess you up bad--"
"Will you stop that?!" Eric yelled, finally about to snap.
"Stop what?" Violet said, taken aback.
"Stop with that whole 'I'm wise, I've seen it all, learn from my mistakes' bullshit! You're only sixteen, and yeah I know you've gone through a lot, but so have I! Stop acting like you've gone through everything there is to go through. You say you don't like being held up on some damn pedestal, so stop acting like you deserve it!"
"Eric..." Violet prepared to calm him down, like she used to calm down Sirius.
"No!" He yelled. "I'm sick of this shit! I'm sick of people treating me like a fucking baby! I'm sick of people trying to give me advice and use that 'I've seen more than you, so take it from me!' bullshit. I just can't deal with it anymore!" With that, he grabbed the vase beside his bed and threw it as hard as he could across the room. He didn't seem to notice when it shattered into hundreds of pieces on the far side of the room. Instead he crouched down by the bed, lifted it, and flipped it over with strength that neither of them knew he had.
He continued destroying things until Violet took her chance and tackled him to the ground. She held his arms behind his back and sat on his legs, hushing him as he struggled to escape.
"Let me go, damn it!" Eric yelled, struggling unsuccessfully. "Let me go, you bitch! I hate you! I fucking hate you, Violet! Let me go!"
After about fifteen minutes of struggling, he wore himself out and just broke down into tears, bawling. Violet decided that he wasn't going to get up anytime soon, and climbed off of him. She laid down beside him on the floor and pulled him into a very awkward hug. This time, he didn't object, simply burying his face into her neck. It was then that Violet broke down too. Maybe it was the events of a couple hours ago, maybe it was the fact that her past was exposed to Eric, maybe it was the fact that she'd found out that Eric had had it as bad as she did, maybe it was the combined events of the last two weeks. But for whatever reason, she found herself sobbing along with Eric. He finally looked up. "What are you crying about?" He asked shakily.
"Everything..." Violet sniffed. "What's happened over the last couple of weeks, everything that happened over the course of the year, this... It never ends!" she moaned, rolling over on her back.
Eric was quiet. When he finally spoke, he said, "Looks like someone finally gets it." He sighed and flopped down beside her. "Look, Vi. I'm sorry for that. I was just... in so much pain that... I didn't know what to do and the only thing I could think of was to vent on you and I'm sorry."
Violet inhaled slowly and exhaled equally slowly, blowing upwards. "I don't blame you in the slightest, Eric. Firstoff, I've done it before and I understand, and second, you were right about a couple of things. I was treating you like a baby. I tend to do that, I suppose. I guess I have that motherly instinct. I just feel better about myself when I can protect people and take all of their pain on myself. But you were right. I shouldn't have treated you like that and I'm sorry."
Eric kissed her cheek. "How can you do that?"
"Do what?" Violet kissed him back.
"Turn someone's apology into your own."
"One of my many talents." Violet grinned, resting her head on her hand. With her other hand she took Eric's. "So, you sure you're going to be okay?"
After a minute, Eric smiled. "Y'know? Something tells me I will be." With that, he pulled Violet into his arms and kissed her head. Eventually, they fell asleep like that.
Madam Pomfrey walked in on the two of them asleep in each other's arms. She debated waking them up and scolding them, but decided against it, simply walking out, mumbling about raging hormones and inappropriate physical contact with the opposite sex.
Meanwhile, Remus was sitting in the kitchen staring into a cup of now-cold coffee. He sighed and rested his head in his hands. All of the stress going on lately was honestly too much. He probably had a whole new patch of grey in his hair now. He could still feel a whirlwind of emotions. He was still happy that Sirius was back, but that was slowly dwindling as the pain and fear of losing him for good this time settled in. He was still upset over Violet running away and yet relieved and overjoyed that she was back safely. He was upset that Violet had had a boyfriend and didn't bother telling him until just now. And, of course he was disgusted and upset with the fact that anyone could beat on their kid like he or she was nothing to them. It made him sick that someone could take for granted what God had given them when he would have given anything to have had kids, but because of him being a werewolf, every woman he met was afraid of him. Violet was as good as a daughter to him and he loved her more than anything, so it also hurt to know that she was focusing her attention on someone else instead of him. Yeah, he liked Eric and was glad that Violet was with him instead of some asshole who didn't care about her, but it still hurt.. Remus buried his face in his hands and sighed. God, everything was happening so fast. After a minute, he got up, took a sleeping potion and went to bed.
The next morning, Eric woke up first. Violet was lying beside him, her face pressed lightly into his chest. Eric smiled slightly, brushing a stray hair away from her face. God, she was beautiful. He leaned down and kissed her, before easily lifting her and placing her back on her own bed. After a minute, he sighed and with all the strength he could muster, flipped his bed back to the upright position it was supposed to be in. Finally, he threw himself backwards and rested on the bed. Violet was right. He WAS weak. He was well on his way to just going back to sleep when someone came zooming in through the fireplace. He lifted his head enough to see Lupin picking himself up and nursing his head. Underneath his fingers was a nasty bruise. "Ow." Eric said sympathetically. "You okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine..." he muttered. "I'm in the hospital wing. I'll just take a potion." After a minute, he blinked and looked over at Eric with watery eyes. "So, how'd you sleep?"
"Pretty good. Once I laid down, well, actually I don't remember anything after that, so I take it I went right to sleep."
Remus grinned and looked at Violet, who was still out. "Looks like there's no sense in trying to wake her up."
"Yeah." Eric said, his voice trailing off. He took a deep breath. "Look, um, are you mad about me and her?"
"No." Remus said truthfully, almost smiling at the sigh of relief from Eric. "I was kind of upset at first, but mostly that Violet had been hiding it for so long. The way I see it, if Violet's has to be with someone, it may as well be you."
Eric blinked a couple of times, astonished. "Wow. That's gotta be the nicest thing that any girl's father, or guardian, has ever said to me! Normally I get a, 'Stay away from my little girl, punk!' along with being chased around town with a shotgun. Thanks."
"No problem. But," Remus added, with an evil grin.
"Oh no," Eric groaned. "There's always a but."
"If you ever get it into your head that you're going to hurt her," Remus paused for dramatic effect, then quoted Bill Engvall. "Just remember these words: I've got no problem going back to prison."
The look on Eric's face was completely priceless as he sputtered, "Y-you were in prison? For what?"
"Okay," Remus admitted with a sigh, thinking briefly of Sirius. It was something he would have said. "I was never in prison. I just got that from the Blue Collar Comedy Tour movie."
Eric racked his brains, then exclaimed. "Oh yeah! I saw that movie! But you're a wizard. How'd you see it?"
"I went over to a Muggle-born friend's house a while ago and watched it."
"It's an awesome movie. Redneck humor's the best!" Eric grinned. They were well on their way to swapping manly stories when a soft voice murmered, "Er?" (Pronounced Air)
"Oh, hey Vi!" Eric said happily. "How'd you sleep?"
"Great!" She looked around and saw Remus sitting in the armchair and jumped up to hug him. "Hey, Rem!" She pulled away suddenly and pushed his bangs aside. "Ouch. Where'd you get that bruise?"
"Coming out of the fireplace." He winced when her fingers brushed it.
"Madam Pomfrey should be in soon." Violet said, still looking concerned. "She can bring you a potion. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Let him breathe, Vi!" Eric laughed, grabbing her hand and pulling her onto the bed next to him. "She's a natural born mother, eh?"
"Yeah. Just like her mum always was." Remus said, pride glowing in his eyes.
Violet blushed. "Shut up. You know I hate that, Remus."
"All the more reason to do it." Remus grinned.
Violet stood up and said threateningly, "You know what?"
Eric grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Hey, you two! Do I have to crack your heads together?"
"Preferably not," Violet grinned, pointing at Remus. "Not with a head the size of his."
"Okay now that was uncalled for." Remus said, pulling out his wand.
Violet whipped hers out, perhaps a bit more slowly than before, but nevertheless, rather quickly.
"Hey hey hey!" Eric jumped up in the middle of them in an exaggerated attempt at breaking up a fight. "I don't think that the hospital wing is the best environment for a fight, guys."
They sighed in pretend disappointment. "All right." Remus muttered, shoving his wand in his pocket.
"Fun sucker..." Violet muttered and rolled over. "Hey, Rem. Can we train today?"
"We'll see..."
"No, you don't understand. I really need to train today. I can feel my muscles wasting away to nothing. I'm sure even you could beat me." She grinned. She knew he couldn't resist a challenge like that.
"All right. Now you've done it." Remus said. "C'mon. We're going to the Room of Requirement."
"Sweet!" Violet exclaimed, leaping out of bed. "Can Eric come? We could give him some pointers, too."
"I don't see why not." Remus shrugged.
"Go get dressed, Eric!" Violet shoved him toward the door. "Both of you get out. I need to get dressed too."
"Yeah!" Eric yelled before he could stop himself. "Striptease!"
He soon found himself being dragged out of the hospital by Remus, who said, "Don't even think about it, sicko."
They hadn't been gone more than two minutes, when Violet bolted down the hall after them, clothed in her sweatpants and a tank top. She soon caught up with them. Remus was standing outside the portrait hole and Eric was climbing out in a T-shirt and shorts. "Hey you guys!" Violet called, running toward them.
"Hey." They simultaneously replied.
"Get ready to be humiliated, Remus." Violet grinned, then turned toward Eric before Remus could get in a comeback. "Are you into action movies, like Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan movies, and the Matrix?"
"Yeah. I love that stuff!" he said enthusiastically.
Violet looked up at Remus and grinned. "Then you're in for a real treat. C'mon guys, let's go!"
So they were soon after trying to keep up with Violet as she weaved her way up stairs and corridors without the slightest hesitation. By the time they caught up with her, panting and gasping for breath, she had activated the room and was standing by the door, tapping her feet impatiently. "C'mon, Rem!" Violet whined. "Hurry up!"
"Vi, you've got to remember that not all of us are as young as you."
"If you can't even run the length of a couple city blocks, then how are you gonna handle a full on duel? Especially against me."
"Okay, now you've done it!" Remus said with an evil grin, before bowing with a flourish toward the door. "Ladies first."
"Thank you." she said with a smirk, haughtily leading the way.
Eric followed them both, gaping as he went. They were in the same room he'd found Violet training in months before, only it seemed to have disappeared since then. Despite Violet's command, he'd gone looking for it anyway.
"Just sit back and watch the master." Violet said cockily.
"Yeah." Remus put in. "I am the greatest after all- OW!"
For Violet had chosen that particular second to kick him hard in the hamstrings, sending him tumbling to the floor. That did it. He sprang up with the agility of a cat and the fight was on. Eric just sat by, with his mouth flapping wordlessly, as Violet easily ducked Remus's best right hook and let fly with a high kick that he caught in his hand. Violet stood on one foot as Remus, with flashing eyes and a grin, tried to trip her. Then she pulled her best stunt of all. With everything she had, she grabbed Remus's shoulders and kicked up her leg, and sent her knee spinning through the air and connecting with the side of Remus's face. He released her and fell to the ground, shocked. After a few seconds, he jumped up and glared at her. "Now THAT was unfair and you know it."
Violet shrugged. "You never said we had to fight fair. So, what do you say we teach Eric a few things?"
"Fine, if it means you'll stop cheating." Remus muttered.
"I wasn't cheating!" Violet protested, before trying to smack him, and starting up a brief fight that Remus won this time.
"Now, if you'd chill out and accept the fact that I'm better at this sort of thing than you are," Remus said with a smug look on his face. "Maybe we could get around to teaching Eric some things.
"Whatever." she got up and stood in front of Eric. "Okay. Hit me."
"No way! You'll beat my head in!" Eric squawked.
"Grrrrr..." Violet growled and tossed him the thin leather gloves. "Okay. These are charmed so they can't hurt me, but I can feel the force of the punch. C'mon. I'm a big girl. I can take it."
"Swear you won't kill me?" Eric asked, highly skeptical.
"I swear. Now give it your best shot." Violet grinned. "Wuss."
That finally did it. With his eyes dancing, Eric brought his muscular arm back and swung, connecting with Violet's cheekbone, directly under her eye. She staggered back, grabbing her face.
After a minute, she grinned. "Not bad. Not bad at all, Eric. But, you're doing a couple of things wrong. First, hold your fists like this." She took them in her hands and fixed them. "See, the back of your hand has to be perfectly aligned with the back of your wrist. And your fist should be angled so that only your first two knuckles are the ones that strike the target. And when you swing, you throw your whole body into it like this." Without warning, Violet sent Eric flying backwards with a punch that could have knocked Mike Tyson out. Naturally she wore the gloves, but the look on Eric's face as he lay on his back, cradling his jaw was priceless. Violet stepped foreward and seized his hand, pulling him up. "And THAT, my darling, is how you throw a punch. Okay, now try it again."
"Okay, but, you asked for it." POW! This one knocked Violet to the floor and she stared up at him in shock, before grinning. "See?! I knew with a bit of training, you could have some potential. Okay, now try it out on that punching bag for a while. Just let it all out."
And for almost fifteen minutes straight, Eric pounded the punching bag, which kept yelling and cursing at him to stop. When he finally did stop, the bag snapped, "I suppose she's taught you a few things, did she?"
At this Violet burst out laughing. "Yes, she has! Come over here and I'll teach you how to block. Now try to punch me again."
"I have a bad feeling about this."
"Just do it!" Violet said, exasperated. "Do you want to learn or not?"
"All right!" he sighed and swung. This time she easily blocked him.
"Try again." This time, she caught his fist in her left hand. After a few more swings, she demonstrated more blocks, while Remus watched on as she patiently taught him.
Remus couldn't help but feel the same bit of pride as he watched Violet explain the basics and demonstrate everything, eventually forcing him to use the same blocking techniques when she swung at him. "That wasn't fair!" Eric yelled.
"You blocked it, didn't you?" Violet yelled back.
"Yeah, but-"
"I hate to interrupt, but," Remus pointed to his watch. "You two have to get back to the hospital wing now. Madam Pomfrey will have my head if you two aren't there when she checks up on you."
Violet sighed. "Oh, but I was having such fun! Oh, well, I'll teach him some more tomorrow. C'mon, I guess we'd better get back to the hospital."
So, fifteen minutes later, they were back in their beds right before Madam Pomfrey checked up on them. She fretted that they were both hot and flushed so she forced them to take a Pepper-Up potion each.
Remus sighed and stood up. "I guess I'd better get back to the house. I've got paperwork for the trial and all. I'm going to trust you two alone while I'm gone, okay? Eric, remember what I said about kissing or hugging, right?"
Eric swallowed and nodded.
"Just making sure. And, Violet, I will see you later." he wrapped her in a tight hug and clapped Eric's shoulder.
"Bye, Rem." Violet said wistfully as he disappeared through the fireplace.
Sorry the endings so dumb, but otherwise I'd have never gotten this chapter finished. After over five months, I've finally updated! Review please
Chapter 21
A/N: Ah ha! I haven't forgotten this story! I just haven't been up to updating. Well, I've done a couple chapters of my original story, Teen Misfit, which you can check out at Fictionpress.com. Time to begin updating this story! I really don't want to go into detail about the talk in Dumbledore's office, because it's boring, so I'm just going to put it into one sentence.
Oh by the way, if you notice that some parts of the story are a bit strange and mention Harry, it's cuz the story used to be about Violet having a twin brother, namely Harry, then I changed the story to make it so it was just Violet and I missed some parts. Okee-dokee then?
Disclaimer: I own Violet and Eric. The rest is owned by J.K. except for the quote Remus uses, which belongs to Bill Engvall, the best white comedian ever, up there along with Jeff Foxworthy.
After telling Dumbledore everything he'd told Violet and Lupin, Eric went back to the hospital wing with Lupin. Lupin squeezed his shoulder and sat down across from a very annoyed Violet.
"Why didn't you let me come? I'm more involved in this than you are!" Violet snapped.
"Hush for a minute, Vi." Remus said, ignoring her little fits as usual. "You would have been bored anyway. I just wanted to let you know that Dumbledore is in the process of considering what to do about Eric. For the time being, he will remain at Hogwarts. Before summer holidays of course, Dumbledore will decide what to do about this. Now, I've got to go back to the house. You two get some sleep and I'll stop by tomorrow morning." He gave Violet a one-armed hug and headed back toward the fireplace. By the time he'd disappeared in a swirl of green flames, Violet and Eric were staring blankly at the floor, numb from the events of just a couple of hours ago.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Violet quietly asked, staring at the now orange flames.
"How do you tell someone about stuff like that?" Eric finally looked up at her. "You can't exactly bring it up in casual conversation!"
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." Violet said gently, sitting on the bed beside him. She tried to touch his shoulder, but he pulled away. "That was a very stupid question and I apologize."
"And what about you?" Eric snapped. "You weren't exactly honest about everything your uncle did to you, were you?"
"You're right." Violet admitted. "I wasn't. I'm sorry, Eric. But I guess it was the same with me. I mean, how do you tell someone about that? I kept a lot bottled up inside, for too long, Eric. And I've learned from experience that it can mess you up bad--"
"Will you stop that?!" Eric yelled, finally about to snap.
"Stop what?" Violet said, taken aback.
"Stop with that whole 'I'm wise, I've seen it all, learn from my mistakes' bullshit! You're only sixteen, and yeah I know you've gone through a lot, but so have I! Stop acting like you've gone through everything there is to go through. You say you don't like being held up on some damn pedestal, so stop acting like you deserve it!"
"Eric..." Violet prepared to calm him down, like she used to calm down Sirius.
"No!" He yelled. "I'm sick of this shit! I'm sick of people treating me like a fucking baby! I'm sick of people trying to give me advice and use that 'I've seen more than you, so take it from me!' bullshit. I just can't deal with it anymore!" With that, he grabbed the vase beside his bed and threw it as hard as he could across the room. He didn't seem to notice when it shattered into hundreds of pieces on the far side of the room. Instead he crouched down by the bed, lifted it, and flipped it over with strength that neither of them knew he had.
He continued destroying things until Violet took her chance and tackled him to the ground. She held his arms behind his back and sat on his legs, hushing him as he struggled to escape.
"Let me go, damn it!" Eric yelled, struggling unsuccessfully. "Let me go, you bitch! I hate you! I fucking hate you, Violet! Let me go!"
After about fifteen minutes of struggling, he wore himself out and just broke down into tears, bawling. Violet decided that he wasn't going to get up anytime soon, and climbed off of him. She laid down beside him on the floor and pulled him into a very awkward hug. This time, he didn't object, simply burying his face into her neck. It was then that Violet broke down too. Maybe it was the events of a couple hours ago, maybe it was the fact that her past was exposed to Eric, maybe it was the fact that she'd found out that Eric had had it as bad as she did, maybe it was the combined events of the last two weeks. But for whatever reason, she found herself sobbing along with Eric. He finally looked up. "What are you crying about?" He asked shakily.
"Everything..." Violet sniffed. "What's happened over the last couple of weeks, everything that happened over the course of the year, this... It never ends!" she moaned, rolling over on her back.
Eric was quiet. When he finally spoke, he said, "Looks like someone finally gets it." He sighed and flopped down beside her. "Look, Vi. I'm sorry for that. I was just... in so much pain that... I didn't know what to do and the only thing I could think of was to vent on you and I'm sorry."
Violet inhaled slowly and exhaled equally slowly, blowing upwards. "I don't blame you in the slightest, Eric. Firstoff, I've done it before and I understand, and second, you were right about a couple of things. I was treating you like a baby. I tend to do that, I suppose. I guess I have that motherly instinct. I just feel better about myself when I can protect people and take all of their pain on myself. But you were right. I shouldn't have treated you like that and I'm sorry."
Eric kissed her cheek. "How can you do that?"
"Do what?" Violet kissed him back.
"Turn someone's apology into your own."
"One of my many talents." Violet grinned, resting her head on her hand. With her other hand she took Eric's. "So, you sure you're going to be okay?"
After a minute, Eric smiled. "Y'know? Something tells me I will be." With that, he pulled Violet into his arms and kissed her head. Eventually, they fell asleep like that.
Madam Pomfrey walked in on the two of them asleep in each other's arms. She debated waking them up and scolding them, but decided against it, simply walking out, mumbling about raging hormones and inappropriate physical contact with the opposite sex.
Meanwhile, Remus was sitting in the kitchen staring into a cup of now-cold coffee. He sighed and rested his head in his hands. All of the stress going on lately was honestly too much. He probably had a whole new patch of grey in his hair now. He could still feel a whirlwind of emotions. He was still happy that Sirius was back, but that was slowly dwindling as the pain and fear of losing him for good this time settled in. He was still upset over Violet running away and yet relieved and overjoyed that she was back safely. He was upset that Violet had had a boyfriend and didn't bother telling him until just now. And, of course he was disgusted and upset with the fact that anyone could beat on their kid like he or she was nothing to them. It made him sick that someone could take for granted what God had given them when he would have given anything to have had kids, but because of him being a werewolf, every woman he met was afraid of him. Violet was as good as a daughter to him and he loved her more than anything, so it also hurt to know that she was focusing her attention on someone else instead of him. Yeah, he liked Eric and was glad that Violet was with him instead of some asshole who didn't care about her, but it still hurt.. Remus buried his face in his hands and sighed. God, everything was happening so fast. After a minute, he got up, took a sleeping potion and went to bed.
The next morning, Eric woke up first. Violet was lying beside him, her face pressed lightly into his chest. Eric smiled slightly, brushing a stray hair away from her face. God, she was beautiful. He leaned down and kissed her, before easily lifting her and placing her back on her own bed. After a minute, he sighed and with all the strength he could muster, flipped his bed back to the upright position it was supposed to be in. Finally, he threw himself backwards and rested on the bed. Violet was right. He WAS weak. He was well on his way to just going back to sleep when someone came zooming in through the fireplace. He lifted his head enough to see Lupin picking himself up and nursing his head. Underneath his fingers was a nasty bruise. "Ow." Eric said sympathetically. "You okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine..." he muttered. "I'm in the hospital wing. I'll just take a potion." After a minute, he blinked and looked over at Eric with watery eyes. "So, how'd you sleep?"
"Pretty good. Once I laid down, well, actually I don't remember anything after that, so I take it I went right to sleep."
Remus grinned and looked at Violet, who was still out. "Looks like there's no sense in trying to wake her up."
"Yeah." Eric said, his voice trailing off. He took a deep breath. "Look, um, are you mad about me and her?"
"No." Remus said truthfully, almost smiling at the sigh of relief from Eric. "I was kind of upset at first, but mostly that Violet had been hiding it for so long. The way I see it, if Violet's has to be with someone, it may as well be you."
Eric blinked a couple of times, astonished. "Wow. That's gotta be the nicest thing that any girl's father, or guardian, has ever said to me! Normally I get a, 'Stay away from my little girl, punk!' along with being chased around town with a shotgun. Thanks."
"No problem. But," Remus added, with an evil grin.
"Oh no," Eric groaned. "There's always a but."
"If you ever get it into your head that you're going to hurt her," Remus paused for dramatic effect, then quoted Bill Engvall. "Just remember these words: I've got no problem going back to prison."
The look on Eric's face was completely priceless as he sputtered, "Y-you were in prison? For what?"
"Okay," Remus admitted with a sigh, thinking briefly of Sirius. It was something he would have said. "I was never in prison. I just got that from the Blue Collar Comedy Tour movie."
Eric racked his brains, then exclaimed. "Oh yeah! I saw that movie! But you're a wizard. How'd you see it?"
"I went over to a Muggle-born friend's house a while ago and watched it."
"It's an awesome movie. Redneck humor's the best!" Eric grinned. They were well on their way to swapping manly stories when a soft voice murmered, "Er?" (Pronounced Air)
"Oh, hey Vi!" Eric said happily. "How'd you sleep?"
"Great!" She looked around and saw Remus sitting in the armchair and jumped up to hug him. "Hey, Rem!" She pulled away suddenly and pushed his bangs aside. "Ouch. Where'd you get that bruise?"
"Coming out of the fireplace." He winced when her fingers brushed it.
"Madam Pomfrey should be in soon." Violet said, still looking concerned. "She can bring you a potion. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Let him breathe, Vi!" Eric laughed, grabbing her hand and pulling her onto the bed next to him. "She's a natural born mother, eh?"
"Yeah. Just like her mum always was." Remus said, pride glowing in his eyes.
Violet blushed. "Shut up. You know I hate that, Remus."
"All the more reason to do it." Remus grinned.
Violet stood up and said threateningly, "You know what?"
Eric grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Hey, you two! Do I have to crack your heads together?"
"Preferably not," Violet grinned, pointing at Remus. "Not with a head the size of his."
"Okay now that was uncalled for." Remus said, pulling out his wand.
Violet whipped hers out, perhaps a bit more slowly than before, but nevertheless, rather quickly.
"Hey hey hey!" Eric jumped up in the middle of them in an exaggerated attempt at breaking up a fight. "I don't think that the hospital wing is the best environment for a fight, guys."
They sighed in pretend disappointment. "All right." Remus muttered, shoving his wand in his pocket.
"Fun sucker..." Violet muttered and rolled over. "Hey, Rem. Can we train today?"
"We'll see..."
"No, you don't understand. I really need to train today. I can feel my muscles wasting away to nothing. I'm sure even you could beat me." She grinned. She knew he couldn't resist a challenge like that.
"All right. Now you've done it." Remus said. "C'mon. We're going to the Room of Requirement."
"Sweet!" Violet exclaimed, leaping out of bed. "Can Eric come? We could give him some pointers, too."
"I don't see why not." Remus shrugged.
"Go get dressed, Eric!" Violet shoved him toward the door. "Both of you get out. I need to get dressed too."
"Yeah!" Eric yelled before he could stop himself. "Striptease!"
He soon found himself being dragged out of the hospital by Remus, who said, "Don't even think about it, sicko."
They hadn't been gone more than two minutes, when Violet bolted down the hall after them, clothed in her sweatpants and a tank top. She soon caught up with them. Remus was standing outside the portrait hole and Eric was climbing out in a T-shirt and shorts. "Hey you guys!" Violet called, running toward them.
"Hey." They simultaneously replied.
"Get ready to be humiliated, Remus." Violet grinned, then turned toward Eric before Remus could get in a comeback. "Are you into action movies, like Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan movies, and the Matrix?"
"Yeah. I love that stuff!" he said enthusiastically.
Violet looked up at Remus and grinned. "Then you're in for a real treat. C'mon guys, let's go!"
So they were soon after trying to keep up with Violet as she weaved her way up stairs and corridors without the slightest hesitation. By the time they caught up with her, panting and gasping for breath, she had activated the room and was standing by the door, tapping her feet impatiently. "C'mon, Rem!" Violet whined. "Hurry up!"
"Vi, you've got to remember that not all of us are as young as you."
"If you can't even run the length of a couple city blocks, then how are you gonna handle a full on duel? Especially against me."
"Okay, now you've done it!" Remus said with an evil grin, before bowing with a flourish toward the door. "Ladies first."
"Thank you." she said with a smirk, haughtily leading the way.
Eric followed them both, gaping as he went. They were in the same room he'd found Violet training in months before, only it seemed to have disappeared since then. Despite Violet's command, he'd gone looking for it anyway.
"Just sit back and watch the master." Violet said cockily.
"Yeah." Remus put in. "I am the greatest after all- OW!"
For Violet had chosen that particular second to kick him hard in the hamstrings, sending him tumbling to the floor. That did it. He sprang up with the agility of a cat and the fight was on. Eric just sat by, with his mouth flapping wordlessly, as Violet easily ducked Remus's best right hook and let fly with a high kick that he caught in his hand. Violet stood on one foot as Remus, with flashing eyes and a grin, tried to trip her. Then she pulled her best stunt of all. With everything she had, she grabbed Remus's shoulders and kicked up her leg, and sent her knee spinning through the air and connecting with the side of Remus's face. He released her and fell to the ground, shocked. After a few seconds, he jumped up and glared at her. "Now THAT was unfair and you know it."
Violet shrugged. "You never said we had to fight fair. So, what do you say we teach Eric a few things?"
"Fine, if it means you'll stop cheating." Remus muttered.
"I wasn't cheating!" Violet protested, before trying to smack him, and starting up a brief fight that Remus won this time.
"Now, if you'd chill out and accept the fact that I'm better at this sort of thing than you are," Remus said with a smug look on his face. "Maybe we could get around to teaching Eric some things.
"Whatever." she got up and stood in front of Eric. "Okay. Hit me."
"No way! You'll beat my head in!" Eric squawked.
"Grrrrr..." Violet growled and tossed him the thin leather gloves. "Okay. These are charmed so they can't hurt me, but I can feel the force of the punch. C'mon. I'm a big girl. I can take it."
"Swear you won't kill me?" Eric asked, highly skeptical.
"I swear. Now give it your best shot." Violet grinned. "Wuss."
That finally did it. With his eyes dancing, Eric brought his muscular arm back and swung, connecting with Violet's cheekbone, directly under her eye. She staggered back, grabbing her face.
After a minute, she grinned. "Not bad. Not bad at all, Eric. But, you're doing a couple of things wrong. First, hold your fists like this." She took them in her hands and fixed them. "See, the back of your hand has to be perfectly aligned with the back of your wrist. And your fist should be angled so that only your first two knuckles are the ones that strike the target. And when you swing, you throw your whole body into it like this." Without warning, Violet sent Eric flying backwards with a punch that could have knocked Mike Tyson out. Naturally she wore the gloves, but the look on Eric's face as he lay on his back, cradling his jaw was priceless. Violet stepped foreward and seized his hand, pulling him up. "And THAT, my darling, is how you throw a punch. Okay, now try it again."
"Okay, but, you asked for it." POW! This one knocked Violet to the floor and she stared up at him in shock, before grinning. "See?! I knew with a bit of training, you could have some potential. Okay, now try it out on that punching bag for a while. Just let it all out."
And for almost fifteen minutes straight, Eric pounded the punching bag, which kept yelling and cursing at him to stop. When he finally did stop, the bag snapped, "I suppose she's taught you a few things, did she?"
At this Violet burst out laughing. "Yes, she has! Come over here and I'll teach you how to block. Now try to punch me again."
"I have a bad feeling about this."
"Just do it!" Violet said, exasperated. "Do you want to learn or not?"
"All right!" he sighed and swung. This time she easily blocked him.
"Try again." This time, she caught his fist in her left hand. After a few more swings, she demonstrated more blocks, while Remus watched on as she patiently taught him.
Remus couldn't help but feel the same bit of pride as he watched Violet explain the basics and demonstrate everything, eventually forcing him to use the same blocking techniques when she swung at him. "That wasn't fair!" Eric yelled.
"You blocked it, didn't you?" Violet yelled back.
"Yeah, but-"
"I hate to interrupt, but," Remus pointed to his watch. "You two have to get back to the hospital wing now. Madam Pomfrey will have my head if you two aren't there when she checks up on you."
Violet sighed. "Oh, but I was having such fun! Oh, well, I'll teach him some more tomorrow. C'mon, I guess we'd better get back to the hospital."
So, fifteen minutes later, they were back in their beds right before Madam Pomfrey checked up on them. She fretted that they were both hot and flushed so she forced them to take a Pepper-Up potion each.
Remus sighed and stood up. "I guess I'd better get back to the house. I've got paperwork for the trial and all. I'm going to trust you two alone while I'm gone, okay? Eric, remember what I said about kissing or hugging, right?"
Eric swallowed and nodded.
"Just making sure. And, Violet, I will see you later." he wrapped her in a tight hug and clapped Eric's shoulder.
"Bye, Rem." Violet said wistfully as he disappeared through the fireplace.
Sorry the endings so dumb, but otherwise I'd have never gotten this chapter finished. After over five months, I've finally updated! Review please