Chapter 15
Harry lay on his back on his bed in Ron's room in the early morning. His mind dwelled on the day of their Quidditch game, and Hermione.
Could it be possible that she might like me too? Naw, it can't be, she's only being nice.I just didn't know what to say to Fred and George after the Quidditch game. I really have to find out what Hermione thinks about all this.I mean, she probably just kept quiet after the game because she didn't want to make a scene. She couldn't possibly like me, could she? I wonder.Harry thought.
Harry began to drift off to sleep.
* * *
Voldemort was at his usual place by the fire, thinking about his plan to finally come back to power and to squash that meddlesome Potter. Wormtail watched him fearfully from a corner in the room. He saw a murderous look and a sneer cross Voldemort's face. He cowered as much into the corner as he could, as if in an attempt to make himself inconspicuous. Voldemort saw this and laughed coldly.
"You are as cowardly as you are stupid. But, as you are my only messenger to the outside world, Wormtail, you will not be Nagini's food yet." Voldemort said.
Nagini stirred and hissed at being mentioned.
"Be still, Nagini. Your time will come, as will mine. Everything is falling into place. All we are missing is the key. Now, everything is in the hands of our dear Lucius' son, Draco Malfoy." Said Voldemort.
* * *
"Come on Harry! Wake up! I'm not letting you sleep late today!" Ron shouted while throwing his pillow at Harry.
"Wha - ?" Harry said groggily.
Harry noticed he, himself, was all sweaty and shaking slightly.
"Good, you're up. Now I want to know what's happening with you and Hermione. I mean, are you guys.together?" Ron continued excitedly, not noticing that Harry was slightly shaken.
"I.I'm not really sure." Harry replied, giving Ron a half hearted smile.
"You guys have to be! Especially after -" Ron suddenly broke off, finally seeing Harry's uneasiness, "Harry? Is there something wrong?"
"I think I saw Voldemort again." Said Harry, shaking a bit from the memory.
"What did you see?!" Ron said, starting to panic.
But Harry refused to tell him anything.
"I want to tell Hermione and Violet too, so I'll tell all of you together. Let's see if we can get them in here without drawing much attention. If your mum gets wind of this, she'll start fussing over me." Harry said.
"Well, they're most likely in Ginny's room right now. If I get them, Ginny will want to come too." Said Ron.
"That's fine. Just get them now, okay?" said Harry, desperate to tell them all.
Ron left his room, and was back in a few minutes with Hermione, Violet and Ginny.
"What did you want to tell us, Harry?" Hermione asked with concern.
Harry got right to the point.
"I saw Voldemort talking to Wormtail. He mentioned something about a key. From the way he was talking, I think the thing the key goes to could bring him back to power.or even worse, give him more than he had before." Harry said tonelessly, his mind numb with fear.
"No!" cried Violet.
"It can't be!" cried Ginny
"And that's not all." Continued Harry, "Voledmort mentioned that the person who everything depended on would be Draco Malfoy."
Harry noticed that Violet's eyes widened in surprise. Then he saw Ginny give Violet a knowing look. He had no idea what this was about, but he did not think about it because he had more pressing matters at hand.
Harry spoke again, this time lowering his voice to a whisper, "I think we need to tell Sirius about this. But, what do you think this object is? What does it do?"
"Harry, I don't know what it does, but I'm pretty sure what Voldemort is looking for the key to the Zyorious Scepter! Why else would Sirius tell my parents to send me to Hogwarts with Dumbledore? I think the most pressing questions we have now are what exactly is the key, and who has it?" said Violet.
"We also have to find out how Malfoy is involved in all of this. Oh, I've been waiting for something to pin on that guy to get him expelled!" Ron said, pounding his fist into his hand, imagining he was crushing Draco.
"Now Ron, as much as I'd like to see Malfoy expelled, we've actually got to find more proof of this. We know and trust Harry ourselves, but not everyone will," said Hermione sensibly, "It's not exactly a secret that Harry and Draco aren't fond of each other. Anyone who doesn't know Harry well would think he's just making it up to get Malfoy in trouble. We need some physical proof, or a confession from Malfoy."
Everyone nodded in agreement, though Violet did reluctantly. Ginny seemed to be the only one in the group who realized the line of conversation of Draco getting expelled was annoying Violet slightly. Although Violet wanted to get to the bottom of this as much as anyone else, she did not want Draco to get in trouble in the process. That is, if he was innocent of any wrong doing.
"Well, we all probably shouldn't hang around in here, because everyone else is going to get suspicious. After breakfast, I'll write the letter to Sirius. Let's change and get breakfast over with quickly so I can get started." Harry said.
They all agreed and the girls left back to Ginny's room.
I've got to ask Draco this myself. But how? If I ask him in a letter, he'd want to know how I got to know so fast. Then I'd have to tell him about Harry's visions, the Scepter, and about Sirius. Draco might have changed but I really doubt his family has. Who knows how he might react to the information, and worst yet, what if someone squeezes the information out of him somehow? Then a lot of us are going to be in big trouble. But I trust him. There's only one way I'm going to find out.I have to wait until school starts and ask him in person. Violet thought.
"What are you thinking about, Violet?" Hermione said, noticing the thoughtful expression on her face.
"We really need to find out what the Scepter does, what the key is, and who has it. If it is as Harry says, we're going to be in a lot of trouble if we don't find it first. As soon as we get back to Hogwarts, you have to start looking for the Scepter in the library again." Violet said, not wanting to say what she was really thinking about.
"Well, I'm sure Sirius can help us. You told me that it had been in his and your dad's family for year. He'd definitely be able to answer most of our questions." Said Hermione, "You know, let's finish getting dressed and everything so Harry can write that letter. The sooner he does, the better."
Hermione finished first and told Ginny and Violet she would meet them downstairs.
Ginny looked at Violet and said, "I was right about Draco. I knew he was just pretending."
"Look, Ginny. I'm not going to jump to conclusions. I'll just ask him when we go back to school." Said Violet, getting defensive, but still not knowing what to think.
"How do you know he won't lie to you then? How do you know he wasn't lying to you all along?" said Ginny.
Violet, determined not to judge Draco just yet said, "I just do. I can feel it."
Ginny knew she wasn't going to convince Violet of anything different right now, so she just said, "Okay then.let's just get down to breakfast."
* * *
It was now Christmas Eve, and everyone in the Weasely household was in high spirits. The Weasely household was also extra full since Bill and Charlie had finally gotten off work and joined them. Everyone had put their presents for each other under the tree and were now relaxing and talking after a large Christmas Eve dinner. Violet, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were talking about their upcoming Quidditch game with Slytherin when school started up again, when Violet glanced out of a window and noticed a strange owl she'd never seen before on the sill. It was looking straight at her.
That has to be from Draco! he replied to my last letter so quickly.thought Violet, Now I've got the chance to see if anything strange is going on with him.maybe he wrote something about it.but I've got to get to that letter without anyone else seeing me!
"I.have to go to the bathroom." Violet said, hurrying away before anyone could say anything.
The group looked at her questioningly, but continued talking. Violet ran up the stairs to Ginny's room, hoping the owl was smart enough to follow her up. She finally got to the room and looked to the window. It was already there waiting for her. She quickly opened the window and let it inside. When she removed the letter and small parcel from its legs, it gave her a noble kind of hoot and flew off. She decided to open the parcel first. Under the paper she found a small black velvet box.
This looks like a jewelry box! Thought Violet.
And sure enough, it was. Inside the box was a tiny rose made of gold and ruby hung on a delicate gold chain.
It's beautiful! Violet thought as she put it on and slipped it under her clothes.
Then Violet sat down at Ginny's desk, opened the letter, and began to read.
Dear Violet,
I hope you like this little gift. Though it hardly matches your
beauty, I think it complements you nicely. I can hardly wait to see
it on you when we get back to Hogwarts. I sincerely hope that you're
having a better Christmas holiday than I am, because nothing has
changed since my last letter. In fact, things have actually found a
way to get worse. My mother and father have been having a lot of
Death Eaters over lately, and.I just wish you were here to help me
make the right decisions.nobody has made me feel the way that you've
made me feel.I never fathomed it to be possible, but I think I'm in
love with you.I would never be able to live with myself knowing I lost
you to that good for nothing Weasely. Please don't make that
nightmare of mine come true.
Love,
Draco
Violet folded up the letter, laid it on the desk, and smiled. In spite of the comment about Ron which annoyed her, it was a very sweet letter, for Draco.
Well, maybe I can make Draco like Ron eventually.I mean, Ron really isn't such a bad guy.Violet thought.
But instantly she regretted that thought. It reminded her of how torn she felt between the two, and how knowing this must make Draco feel. She decided to put this out of her head for now. She wanted to enjoy her Christmas. She read the letter again and caught something she had missed the first time.
.make the right decisions? What does Draco mean by that? I think he was about to tell me something important! Why did he stop? Violet thought curiously.
She examined the letter again, and noticed that the letter was written hurriedly after that very sentence.
I bet he started writing it, but then was afraid he'd get in trouble if the wrong person got this letter.I'm sure that's it! And I bet he wanted to finish this quickly because he didn't want anyone else to see him writing letters to me because they'd want to know who I was, and that would really get Draco in a lot of trouble with his parents.She thought.
Violet sat there so long pondering what Draco might have wanted to tell her, that she forgot everyone that she had left downstairs.
"Violet! What is taking you so long?"
Violet jumped when she heard Ron's voice coming from the stairs. Suddenly he was in front of Ginny's room.
"There you are! Everyone was wondering where you went of to." Ron said.
"Oh, I just was reading a letter from my friends in America." Violet said, shoving the letter in a drawer in Ginny's desk.
This struck Ron as odd, but he decided that he'd ask her about it later.
"We're all about to go to bed, but I decided to look for you so that we could get a few minutes by ourselves." Ron said, shyly.
Violet smiled, noticing how cute his awkwardness made him look. Then Ron stepped forward and took her hands in his.
"You really are an amazing girl, you know that Violet? I never thought I'd find a girl like you.funny, smart, and the fact that you like the Chudley Cannons!! I mean, it just doesn't get better than that." Ron said, smiling.
Violet just smiled back. Then Ron let go of one of her hands, tilted her chin up slightly, and kissed her. Ron had definitely gained more confidence since their last kiss, but he still was having trouble measuring up with Draco. Violet immediately pushed the thought out of her mind.
Ron's such a great guy.I don't know how I can compare him to Draco while he's kissing me.thought Violet, disappointed in herself.
But she just couldn't stop herself. Before she had a chance to think further on the subject, Ron pulled away and hugged her. He held her until they began to hear the others coming up the stairs.
Ron touched her cheek and said, "Merry Christmas, Violet."
Then he left just before Hermione and Ginny entered.
Before the others could ask her what had happened with Ron, Violet said, "Let's just go to bed."
As Violet got under her covers, Ginny and Hermione exchanged a look of puzzlement before following in suit.
* * *
"Draco, come in." Lucius Malfoy said, calling Draco into his study.
Draco walked in and found his father waiting for him at his desk.
"I am so proud that Lord Voldemort has finally taken you into his service. You have the chance to prove your and your family's worth to the Dark Lord." Lucius said.
That's not true.Draco thought, he's just glad he doesn't have to do any of the dirty work. Lucius opened a drawer in his desk and took out a picture.
"This girl is of interest to us. She has something that Lord Voldemort wants. A certain necklace." Lucius said, not wanting to give Draco too much information unnecessarily, "Find out all the places she goes and find the best time to get the necklace undetected."
Draco looked at the picture and recognized her right away.
That's Sophia McArthur! That dragon claw necklace of hers must be the necklace that father is talking about.I remember seeing father give it to her mother in Knockturn Alley, and she was there in the store.I wonder why Voldemort would need something like that? Draco thought.
"Now I have other business to attend to. Do not fail the Dark Lord, Draco." Lucius said.
"Yes, father." Draco said.
Lucius then just left Draco alone in the study.
What am I going to do now?!? Draco thought.
* * *
"Now make sure you have everything! We have no time to come back!
We're late as it is!" Mrs. Weasely told her children, Harry, Hermione,
and Violet as they finally packed all of their things to go back to
Hogwarts after Winter Break.
Unconsciously, Violet checked if she was wearing the necklace that Draco
had given her. She wore it all the time, but always under her clothes so
no one would see it. Mr. Weasely had to go to work, so he could not come
with them to drop themthe station. After Mrs. Weasely checked for the
tenth time that nothing was forgotten, everyone got into the ministry
cars that were waiting to take them all to King's Cross. When they all
got to the station, and successfully got on Platform 9 ¾, the final
whistle of the Hogwarts Express was about to blow.
"Okay, everyone.study hard, and I especially want you lot to stay out
of trouble!" Mrs. Weasely said, speaking specifically to Fred and George
for the last part of her sentence.
"Don't worry mum. We'll try." said Fred, with mock sincerity.
"But don't get your hopes up, this doesn't promise anything!" said
George, with a smirk.
Mrs. Weasely made a face at this comment, but she smiled when her eyes
fell on Violet.
"Oh, it was every so nice of you to stay with us this time, dear. Mr.
Weasely and I would like very much if you'd come visit us again. We
think Ron has made an excellent choice. You're welcome to our house at
any time."
Ron and Violet blushed while Ron also made a protest to Mrs. Weasely that
was unheard in her bustle to make sure everyone else was okay and ready
to go. The final whistle of the train blew, and everyone hurried to get
themselves along with their trunks on.
As the train began to pull away, Mrs. Weasely waved and yelled,
"Please write once in a while! Bye!!"
Once the train had completely left the station, Fred and George went to
go find Lee, while Harry, Hermione, Ron, Violet, and Ginny went to find
their own cabin. Since they had all gotten to the station so late, they
could only find one empty cabin near the back. After they all sat down
and made themselves comfortable, there was a brown owl knocking on the
outside of their cabin window. Harry hurriedly opened the window and let
the owl in. He took the letter off of the owl's leg, and it immediately
flew off. He opened the letter and found that it was from Sirius. He
read it out loud to everyone.
Dear Harry,
I have finally found a chance when I can come down to visit
all of you. Just tell me the date of your next Hogsmede visit in
your reply, and we will meet at the place we always do. I have so
much news to tell you all about a certain mysterious object, and I am
really looking forward to seeing all of you again. And please bring as
much food as you can. Although Moony and I have not been starving, it's
been a long time since I've had a square meal.
Sirius
"The mysterious object he's talking about must be the Scepter! I have
to tell him all about the visions I've had. It would be nice if we can
tell him exactly how the Malfoys are involved in all of this.especially
Draco. We've got to find a way to get some information out of him. But
it's not like he'd freely talk to Ron, or Hermione, or me. Is there some
other way?" Harry said.
"Don't even look at me! I am not making anymore Polyjuice Potion!"
Hermione said, mostly in jest.
"I'll do it." Violet said, surprising everyone except for Ginny, "I
think he'd more easily talk to me because he wouldn't want more trouble
after the truth telling spell."
"Are you sure about this?! This is Malfoy we're talking about. You
know, some of the biggest scum on earth!? I don't put it passed him to
hold grudges and pull something." said Ron.
"I'll be fine, Ron." said Violet, a little more coldly than she had
intended.
"Oh. Okay." Ron said, hurt, and not understanding why she was so
annoyed.
"Well, Violet, if you're sure about this, try to find an opportunity
to confront him before our next Hogsmede visit." said Harry.
Suddenly, everyone felt the train slowing down and stopping. There was a
rush as all on the train hurried to pick up their trunks and get out.
Harry finally returned to his home away from home. He smiled as he
stepped out of the train and into the night.
* * *
Harry lay on his back on his bed in Ron's room in the early morning. His mind dwelled on the day of their Quidditch game, and Hermione.
Could it be possible that she might like me too? Naw, it can't be, she's only being nice.I just didn't know what to say to Fred and George after the Quidditch game. I really have to find out what Hermione thinks about all this.I mean, she probably just kept quiet after the game because she didn't want to make a scene. She couldn't possibly like me, could she? I wonder.Harry thought.
Harry began to drift off to sleep.
* * *
Voldemort was at his usual place by the fire, thinking about his plan to finally come back to power and to squash that meddlesome Potter. Wormtail watched him fearfully from a corner in the room. He saw a murderous look and a sneer cross Voldemort's face. He cowered as much into the corner as he could, as if in an attempt to make himself inconspicuous. Voldemort saw this and laughed coldly.
"You are as cowardly as you are stupid. But, as you are my only messenger to the outside world, Wormtail, you will not be Nagini's food yet." Voldemort said.
Nagini stirred and hissed at being mentioned.
"Be still, Nagini. Your time will come, as will mine. Everything is falling into place. All we are missing is the key. Now, everything is in the hands of our dear Lucius' son, Draco Malfoy." Said Voldemort.
* * *
"Come on Harry! Wake up! I'm not letting you sleep late today!" Ron shouted while throwing his pillow at Harry.
"Wha - ?" Harry said groggily.
Harry noticed he, himself, was all sweaty and shaking slightly.
"Good, you're up. Now I want to know what's happening with you and Hermione. I mean, are you guys.together?" Ron continued excitedly, not noticing that Harry was slightly shaken.
"I.I'm not really sure." Harry replied, giving Ron a half hearted smile.
"You guys have to be! Especially after -" Ron suddenly broke off, finally seeing Harry's uneasiness, "Harry? Is there something wrong?"
"I think I saw Voldemort again." Said Harry, shaking a bit from the memory.
"What did you see?!" Ron said, starting to panic.
But Harry refused to tell him anything.
"I want to tell Hermione and Violet too, so I'll tell all of you together. Let's see if we can get them in here without drawing much attention. If your mum gets wind of this, she'll start fussing over me." Harry said.
"Well, they're most likely in Ginny's room right now. If I get them, Ginny will want to come too." Said Ron.
"That's fine. Just get them now, okay?" said Harry, desperate to tell them all.
Ron left his room, and was back in a few minutes with Hermione, Violet and Ginny.
"What did you want to tell us, Harry?" Hermione asked with concern.
Harry got right to the point.
"I saw Voldemort talking to Wormtail. He mentioned something about a key. From the way he was talking, I think the thing the key goes to could bring him back to power.or even worse, give him more than he had before." Harry said tonelessly, his mind numb with fear.
"No!" cried Violet.
"It can't be!" cried Ginny
"And that's not all." Continued Harry, "Voledmort mentioned that the person who everything depended on would be Draco Malfoy."
Harry noticed that Violet's eyes widened in surprise. Then he saw Ginny give Violet a knowing look. He had no idea what this was about, but he did not think about it because he had more pressing matters at hand.
Harry spoke again, this time lowering his voice to a whisper, "I think we need to tell Sirius about this. But, what do you think this object is? What does it do?"
"Harry, I don't know what it does, but I'm pretty sure what Voldemort is looking for the key to the Zyorious Scepter! Why else would Sirius tell my parents to send me to Hogwarts with Dumbledore? I think the most pressing questions we have now are what exactly is the key, and who has it?" said Violet.
"We also have to find out how Malfoy is involved in all of this. Oh, I've been waiting for something to pin on that guy to get him expelled!" Ron said, pounding his fist into his hand, imagining he was crushing Draco.
"Now Ron, as much as I'd like to see Malfoy expelled, we've actually got to find more proof of this. We know and trust Harry ourselves, but not everyone will," said Hermione sensibly, "It's not exactly a secret that Harry and Draco aren't fond of each other. Anyone who doesn't know Harry well would think he's just making it up to get Malfoy in trouble. We need some physical proof, or a confession from Malfoy."
Everyone nodded in agreement, though Violet did reluctantly. Ginny seemed to be the only one in the group who realized the line of conversation of Draco getting expelled was annoying Violet slightly. Although Violet wanted to get to the bottom of this as much as anyone else, she did not want Draco to get in trouble in the process. That is, if he was innocent of any wrong doing.
"Well, we all probably shouldn't hang around in here, because everyone else is going to get suspicious. After breakfast, I'll write the letter to Sirius. Let's change and get breakfast over with quickly so I can get started." Harry said.
They all agreed and the girls left back to Ginny's room.
I've got to ask Draco this myself. But how? If I ask him in a letter, he'd want to know how I got to know so fast. Then I'd have to tell him about Harry's visions, the Scepter, and about Sirius. Draco might have changed but I really doubt his family has. Who knows how he might react to the information, and worst yet, what if someone squeezes the information out of him somehow? Then a lot of us are going to be in big trouble. But I trust him. There's only one way I'm going to find out.I have to wait until school starts and ask him in person. Violet thought.
"What are you thinking about, Violet?" Hermione said, noticing the thoughtful expression on her face.
"We really need to find out what the Scepter does, what the key is, and who has it. If it is as Harry says, we're going to be in a lot of trouble if we don't find it first. As soon as we get back to Hogwarts, you have to start looking for the Scepter in the library again." Violet said, not wanting to say what she was really thinking about.
"Well, I'm sure Sirius can help us. You told me that it had been in his and your dad's family for year. He'd definitely be able to answer most of our questions." Said Hermione, "You know, let's finish getting dressed and everything so Harry can write that letter. The sooner he does, the better."
Hermione finished first and told Ginny and Violet she would meet them downstairs.
Ginny looked at Violet and said, "I was right about Draco. I knew he was just pretending."
"Look, Ginny. I'm not going to jump to conclusions. I'll just ask him when we go back to school." Said Violet, getting defensive, but still not knowing what to think.
"How do you know he won't lie to you then? How do you know he wasn't lying to you all along?" said Ginny.
Violet, determined not to judge Draco just yet said, "I just do. I can feel it."
Ginny knew she wasn't going to convince Violet of anything different right now, so she just said, "Okay then.let's just get down to breakfast."
* * *
It was now Christmas Eve, and everyone in the Weasely household was in high spirits. The Weasely household was also extra full since Bill and Charlie had finally gotten off work and joined them. Everyone had put their presents for each other under the tree and were now relaxing and talking after a large Christmas Eve dinner. Violet, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were talking about their upcoming Quidditch game with Slytherin when school started up again, when Violet glanced out of a window and noticed a strange owl she'd never seen before on the sill. It was looking straight at her.
That has to be from Draco! he replied to my last letter so quickly.thought Violet, Now I've got the chance to see if anything strange is going on with him.maybe he wrote something about it.but I've got to get to that letter without anyone else seeing me!
"I.have to go to the bathroom." Violet said, hurrying away before anyone could say anything.
The group looked at her questioningly, but continued talking. Violet ran up the stairs to Ginny's room, hoping the owl was smart enough to follow her up. She finally got to the room and looked to the window. It was already there waiting for her. She quickly opened the window and let it inside. When she removed the letter and small parcel from its legs, it gave her a noble kind of hoot and flew off. She decided to open the parcel first. Under the paper she found a small black velvet box.
This looks like a jewelry box! Thought Violet.
And sure enough, it was. Inside the box was a tiny rose made of gold and ruby hung on a delicate gold chain.
It's beautiful! Violet thought as she put it on and slipped it under her clothes.
Then Violet sat down at Ginny's desk, opened the letter, and began to read.
Dear Violet,
I hope you like this little gift. Though it hardly matches your
beauty, I think it complements you nicely. I can hardly wait to see
it on you when we get back to Hogwarts. I sincerely hope that you're
having a better Christmas holiday than I am, because nothing has
changed since my last letter. In fact, things have actually found a
way to get worse. My mother and father have been having a lot of
Death Eaters over lately, and.I just wish you were here to help me
make the right decisions.nobody has made me feel the way that you've
made me feel.I never fathomed it to be possible, but I think I'm in
love with you.I would never be able to live with myself knowing I lost
you to that good for nothing Weasely. Please don't make that
nightmare of mine come true.
Love,
Draco
Violet folded up the letter, laid it on the desk, and smiled. In spite of the comment about Ron which annoyed her, it was a very sweet letter, for Draco.
Well, maybe I can make Draco like Ron eventually.I mean, Ron really isn't such a bad guy.Violet thought.
But instantly she regretted that thought. It reminded her of how torn she felt between the two, and how knowing this must make Draco feel. She decided to put this out of her head for now. She wanted to enjoy her Christmas. She read the letter again and caught something she had missed the first time.
.make the right decisions? What does Draco mean by that? I think he was about to tell me something important! Why did he stop? Violet thought curiously.
She examined the letter again, and noticed that the letter was written hurriedly after that very sentence.
I bet he started writing it, but then was afraid he'd get in trouble if the wrong person got this letter.I'm sure that's it! And I bet he wanted to finish this quickly because he didn't want anyone else to see him writing letters to me because they'd want to know who I was, and that would really get Draco in a lot of trouble with his parents.She thought.
Violet sat there so long pondering what Draco might have wanted to tell her, that she forgot everyone that she had left downstairs.
"Violet! What is taking you so long?"
Violet jumped when she heard Ron's voice coming from the stairs. Suddenly he was in front of Ginny's room.
"There you are! Everyone was wondering where you went of to." Ron said.
"Oh, I just was reading a letter from my friends in America." Violet said, shoving the letter in a drawer in Ginny's desk.
This struck Ron as odd, but he decided that he'd ask her about it later.
"We're all about to go to bed, but I decided to look for you so that we could get a few minutes by ourselves." Ron said, shyly.
Violet smiled, noticing how cute his awkwardness made him look. Then Ron stepped forward and took her hands in his.
"You really are an amazing girl, you know that Violet? I never thought I'd find a girl like you.funny, smart, and the fact that you like the Chudley Cannons!! I mean, it just doesn't get better than that." Ron said, smiling.
Violet just smiled back. Then Ron let go of one of her hands, tilted her chin up slightly, and kissed her. Ron had definitely gained more confidence since their last kiss, but he still was having trouble measuring up with Draco. Violet immediately pushed the thought out of her mind.
Ron's such a great guy.I don't know how I can compare him to Draco while he's kissing me.thought Violet, disappointed in herself.
But she just couldn't stop herself. Before she had a chance to think further on the subject, Ron pulled away and hugged her. He held her until they began to hear the others coming up the stairs.
Ron touched her cheek and said, "Merry Christmas, Violet."
Then he left just before Hermione and Ginny entered.
Before the others could ask her what had happened with Ron, Violet said, "Let's just go to bed."
As Violet got under her covers, Ginny and Hermione exchanged a look of puzzlement before following in suit.
* * *
"Draco, come in." Lucius Malfoy said, calling Draco into his study.
Draco walked in and found his father waiting for him at his desk.
"I am so proud that Lord Voldemort has finally taken you into his service. You have the chance to prove your and your family's worth to the Dark Lord." Lucius said.
That's not true.Draco thought, he's just glad he doesn't have to do any of the dirty work. Lucius opened a drawer in his desk and took out a picture.
"This girl is of interest to us. She has something that Lord Voldemort wants. A certain necklace." Lucius said, not wanting to give Draco too much information unnecessarily, "Find out all the places she goes and find the best time to get the necklace undetected."
Draco looked at the picture and recognized her right away.
That's Sophia McArthur! That dragon claw necklace of hers must be the necklace that father is talking about.I remember seeing father give it to her mother in Knockturn Alley, and she was there in the store.I wonder why Voldemort would need something like that? Draco thought.
"Now I have other business to attend to. Do not fail the Dark Lord, Draco." Lucius said.
"Yes, father." Draco said.
Lucius then just left Draco alone in the study.
What am I going to do now?!? Draco thought.
* * *
"Now make sure you have everything! We have no time to come back!
We're late as it is!" Mrs. Weasely told her children, Harry, Hermione,
and Violet as they finally packed all of their things to go back to
Hogwarts after Winter Break.
Unconsciously, Violet checked if she was wearing the necklace that Draco
had given her. She wore it all the time, but always under her clothes so
no one would see it. Mr. Weasely had to go to work, so he could not come
with them to drop themthe station. After Mrs. Weasely checked for the
tenth time that nothing was forgotten, everyone got into the ministry
cars that were waiting to take them all to King's Cross. When they all
got to the station, and successfully got on Platform 9 ¾, the final
whistle of the Hogwarts Express was about to blow.
"Okay, everyone.study hard, and I especially want you lot to stay out
of trouble!" Mrs. Weasely said, speaking specifically to Fred and George
for the last part of her sentence.
"Don't worry mum. We'll try." said Fred, with mock sincerity.
"But don't get your hopes up, this doesn't promise anything!" said
George, with a smirk.
Mrs. Weasely made a face at this comment, but she smiled when her eyes
fell on Violet.
"Oh, it was every so nice of you to stay with us this time, dear. Mr.
Weasely and I would like very much if you'd come visit us again. We
think Ron has made an excellent choice. You're welcome to our house at
any time."
Ron and Violet blushed while Ron also made a protest to Mrs. Weasely that
was unheard in her bustle to make sure everyone else was okay and ready
to go. The final whistle of the train blew, and everyone hurried to get
themselves along with their trunks on.
As the train began to pull away, Mrs. Weasely waved and yelled,
"Please write once in a while! Bye!!"
Once the train had completely left the station, Fred and George went to
go find Lee, while Harry, Hermione, Ron, Violet, and Ginny went to find
their own cabin. Since they had all gotten to the station so late, they
could only find one empty cabin near the back. After they all sat down
and made themselves comfortable, there was a brown owl knocking on the
outside of their cabin window. Harry hurriedly opened the window and let
the owl in. He took the letter off of the owl's leg, and it immediately
flew off. He opened the letter and found that it was from Sirius. He
read it out loud to everyone.
Dear Harry,
I have finally found a chance when I can come down to visit
all of you. Just tell me the date of your next Hogsmede visit in
your reply, and we will meet at the place we always do. I have so
much news to tell you all about a certain mysterious object, and I am
really looking forward to seeing all of you again. And please bring as
much food as you can. Although Moony and I have not been starving, it's
been a long time since I've had a square meal.
Sirius
"The mysterious object he's talking about must be the Scepter! I have
to tell him all about the visions I've had. It would be nice if we can
tell him exactly how the Malfoys are involved in all of this.especially
Draco. We've got to find a way to get some information out of him. But
it's not like he'd freely talk to Ron, or Hermione, or me. Is there some
other way?" Harry said.
"Don't even look at me! I am not making anymore Polyjuice Potion!"
Hermione said, mostly in jest.
"I'll do it." Violet said, surprising everyone except for Ginny, "I
think he'd more easily talk to me because he wouldn't want more trouble
after the truth telling spell."
"Are you sure about this?! This is Malfoy we're talking about. You
know, some of the biggest scum on earth!? I don't put it passed him to
hold grudges and pull something." said Ron.
"I'll be fine, Ron." said Violet, a little more coldly than she had
intended.
"Oh. Okay." Ron said, hurt, and not understanding why she was so
annoyed.
"Well, Violet, if you're sure about this, try to find an opportunity
to confront him before our next Hogsmede visit." said Harry.
Suddenly, everyone felt the train slowing down and stopping. There was a
rush as all on the train hurried to pick up their trunks and get out.
Harry finally returned to his home away from home. He smiled as he
stepped out of the train and into the night.
* * *