AN: Violet PoV. I can see all of you screaming finally, lmao.
Time: When Violet is Thirteen
The oldest Potter child, elder sister to the girl who lived, hugged said ten-year-old celebrity, patting her head comfortingly, as Rose smiled shyly, her cheeks tinged pink at all the attention she was getting, both from her sister and the random crowds, awestruck to see the Girl who Lived amongst them.
The station was bustling, packed to the brim with parents and teenagers and indignant pets, a veritable labyrinth of faces and items on the other side of the wall that separated the magical from the mundane, the magical wall of Platform Nine and Three Quarters.
On one end, there were the constant green flames of fireplaces connected to the Floo network, with busy wizards and witches constantly entering and leaving the platform, and on the other end, like some mysterious beast straight from the pages of 'Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them' by the prominent, late magizoologist, Newt Scamander. A Hogwarts first-year textbook, Rose had poured over the pages of the thick book as soon as they had returned from Diagon Alley with all the materials that Violet would require to start the school year, including her shiny, flexible unicorn feather wand, with Rowan wood.
Yeah, Rose was kind of a bookworm, something which she apparently shared with her estranged brother. However, no matter how great her love for books was, her love for the tales of her brother her beautiful Mother recollected, would always be greater. Listening to stories of their brother was Rose's favourite pastime, as she remembered next to nothing about him.
All she remembered were a green flash of light, and her brother jumping between her and Voldemort.
And the words, 'Avada Kedavra'.
The words, two words that had torn apart their entire family, should have made Rose feel disgusted and nauseous, more so thanks to the painful throbbing in her head she felt every time she thought of the killing curse, but, frighteningly, all she ever managed was an excited thrill down her spine, that made her heart beat faster.
She made sure to hide everything from everyone save her sister, the only person in the entire world who understood her.
Shaking herself free of those morose thoughts, the Girl Who Lived looked up towards her cool, badass older sister, who was going over the checklist Mom had made one last time before leaving for Hogwarts.
"You will send letters, right?" Rose asked, her glistening hazel eyes slightly teary as her pink lower lip trembled at the thought of being away from Violet for so long, all alone at the big Potter mansion, with only her mother for company, as her father went out to work at the Ministry. Even her mother was busy with the new spellcrafting project she had taken up, meaning that she was, for all intents and purposes, alone.
"Yeah, sweetheart. Everyday." Violet pressed a wet kiss to the short girl's forehead, making her break out in a smile as she lifted her glasses, wiping her tears away in her oversized t-shirt.
"Great!" She cheered, her lips breaking out in a bright smile despite her crippling shyness, years of being gawked at for the little scar on her forehead, having its impact on her.
Violet lowered herself slightly, wrapping her only -for now- sibling in a tight hug, before quickly whispering in her ear, "If you have any trouble with your scar or you-know-what, shoot me a quick letter." She warned, referring to Rose's closet fascination with the Dark Arts.
After a moment, she nodded hesitantly.
Seeing their daughters whispering amongst themselves, likely a childish secret to be kept from their parents, had Lily and James look at each other fondly, before they joined the other two in a warm family hug, the only thing missing from the picture being their only son. Everyone in the extended family could picture it, Harry smiling and laughing with his sisters, dressed in the grey unsorted Hogwarts robes.
Lily wiped a tear from her eyes at the thought. Her son would probably make an excellent, cunning Slytherin, enough to make Sirius cackle as he high fived his godson for giving James the prank of his life, by getting sorted into Slytherin.
"Harry will join me next year, right?" Violet could not help the words tumbling from her mouth, looking up at her parents' smiling faces.
James laughed, patting her head. "Yeah, quit worrying about your brother, Violet. He will be alright. I'll just go to St. Mungo's to get an expert, then I and Sirius am gonna go pick him up from the Dursleys. Your brother is gonna be with you by next year! Bloody hell, you will see him when you come for Christmas, right?!"
The elbow in the ribs courtesy of Lily's disapproval of his language, was so worth the thought of reuniting his family, in the Head Auror's opinion.
"Yeah, he will stay with me this year, then he will go with you to Hogwarts next year, and then, we all will go to Hogwarts together!" Rose cheered, making James laugh as he ruffled her hair playfully.
"Yes, Violet, I'll make sure to tell your brother to write to you the moment he gets home, does that sound good?" Lily spoke softly, smiling at her eldest daughter.
"Yes!" Violet nodded eagerly, making her raven locks bounce, her emerald eyes gleaming with happiness as she smiled.
"I know what you are talking about~" Sirius butted in, comically and quite literally sticking his neck in their conversation, his face level with Violet's, and making her laugh at his awkward position.
The nearby crowds, who were definitely not staring at the Potter and Black families, laughed too, at the distinguished Auror's antics, his childish nature as well known as his exploits in law enforcement.
"You will never be his favourite, Violet!" The Black heir announced dramatically, pumping his fist in the air with a determined fire burning in his eyes. "And that's because-"
"It will be me!" Rose cut in, jumping up and down to make herself be heard.
Sirius sweatdropped at the sudden interruption. "You know it's me, so quit acting like he will like either of you ahead of me, alright?"
Sirius poked Rose childishly in the cheek, making her scowl.
She opened her mouth to retort, but was cut off by her other, more level headed Uncle's soft voice. "Violet, Lyra has already boarded the train, going to look for her other friends. I think you should go, too. All the compartments would be taken if you are too late."
"Alright, thank you, Uncle Moony!" Violet rushed to hug her parents and Uncles, kissing her younger sister on the cheek once more before she rushed to the wondrous scarlet, gold and black train, that stood at the station patiently, like a resigned beast of burden, puffing enormous clouds of white steam.
"Bye, Violet!" Her parents called out behind her, making her glance back briefly, waving back towards them, or more specifically, towards her younger sister, before she entered the train.
The train was no different than the platform, rather, if anything, it was by far more chaotic. She could see Percy Weasley loudly preach about the Hogwarts rules to a group of disinterested teens, making the thirteen-year-old giggle slightly at how idiotic his pompous ass looked, before he was promptly, and thankfully, shut up by the eldest Weasley son, William, twisting his ear in a good imitation of the Weasley matriarch.
Right, Percy would be starting Hogwarts, too, that year.
The thought made her face sour, as she watched the siblings bicker, joined by the third one, Charlie. They did not deserve to be here, not when Harry wasn't.
Turning her heel on them, she walked deeper into the train, ignoring the looks curious people shot her or the whispers that followed her retreating back, outlandish rumours and stories already taking root about the mysterious sister of the Girl who Lived.
No, she was looking for someone specific.
The train whistled, giving a small lurch before it slowly began to move away from the station, shaking and rumbling slightly.
Violet sighed as she peered into the half-filled compartment through the glass window, before knocking politely on the door.
No response.
"Lyra, if you don't open up, I'll shove your wand up your-"
"Yeah, yeah, no need to get your panties in a twist, baby girl. You could have just come in, the door was unlocked."
The door swung open to reveal three thirteen-year-old girls, all insanely beautiful, making Violet frown internally as she reinforced her Occlumency shields in an attempt to not look too self-conscious.
Lyra was identified as the one by the window, as she had her wand raised, lazily locking the door behind her and casting a few basic privacy charms to ensure they weren't disturbed for the rest of the journey to Hogwarts. She was wearing a black, off shoulders t-shirt that revealed her pale, creamy shoulders, with a silver-studded black leather belt and jeans. Her raven hair was let down as she leaned lazily against the window.
"So, what's cooking doc?" Lyra asked, making Violet sigh as she let go of her forced, bright smile, that made her cheeks hurt as she was forced to act nice to people as the Potter heiress. She slumped in her seat, sighing in relief as she softly massaged her aching cheeks. She would rather bash some heads and cuss at people.
"Nothing new. Still, no news of Harry, though Dad says that he and Uncle Siri will go to get him by next week. He's supposed to send us a letter when he gets home." Violet grumbled, looking at her with half-lidded eyes, as she tried to ignore the growing pit of anxiety sitting in her stomach that something would go wrong.
She watched as Lyra's face soured, too, before she looked out of the window, watching the trees zoom by, lost for a moment in her morose state.
"Who?" The other two inhabitants of the compartment, despite being long time friends of Lyra, and by extension, Violet, were not privy to the information about her missing twin.
The one who had spoken was the outgoing, boisterous Tracey, who reminded Violet much of herself when she had been younger. If only she had still had her brother, perhaps she would not have grown so quiet.
The beautiful brunette was wearing a beanie and a simple, olive green shirt, the white end of a lollipop sticking out of the corner of her mouth, her full pink lips glistening. Her warm, brown eyes stared at Violet inquisitively, though not being as familiar and friendly with her as she was with the Black daughter.
If Violet was jealous of her perfectly tanned caramel skin, she did not give any indication.
She also knew that Daphne was listening in on their conversation, too, never one to pass up on seemingly interesting and possibly useful information. Whatever had the Lord Greengrass hammered into his Heiress?
She turned her gaze to look blankly at the blonde, her eyes following the movement of her icy blue eyes as they scoured the text she was reading, her face buried in her book as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. Her straight, icy blonde hair gleamed in the sunlight, her blue dress catching the light and sparkling like it was made out of diamonds.
"You're holding the book upside down, Daphne." Lyra's voice cut in, as she looked back at her with a lazy smile playing on her lips, her grey half-lidded eyes shining with the barest hint of mirth and making the prim and proper pureblood girl jump in her seat, indignantly crying out, "No, I'm not!"
"I know, you were just overdoing it a bit there." Tracey laughed at her friend's expense as she lifted her feet onto the opposite seat, her black boots nicely complimenting her dark blue skinny jeans.
Daphne had the decency to blush, her blood rushing to colour her pale, porcelain skin pink.
The two had the awareness not to poke any further into what was obviously sensitive family business, judging by the forlorn, hopeless look that had flitted across Lyra's face for a brief moment, before it was replaced by her normal, bored look.
"Alright then", Tracey clapped her hands, trying to lift the mood in the room. "Anyone wants candies? Lollipops? Chocolates?"
"What are you, the cart lady?" Violet poked fun at her, making the girl give an indignant, 'Hey!', as all of them laughed.
This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, Violet could feel it.
It was two weeks later that Violet and Lyra were called to the Headmaster's office, two weeks of sheer agony of not knowing what had become of their brother, no sign from her parents nor Lyra's parents, nor Headmaster Dumbledore. Well, Violet supposed that he couldn't openly show his familial relationship with her, that would be blatant favouritism, but she was not in the right state of mind right then.
"Chocolate nougat bars." Lyra intoned on their behalf, speaking before the gargoyle could say anything sarcastic, noting in some distant corner of her mind that it had been Harry's favourite sweet. What... message was Dumbledore trying to send?
The two sisters climbed the stairs in silence, stumbling across Dumbledore on the way up. He was coming down, away from his office.
"Oh, Violet, Lyra, you're here." The usage of their names was noted, something he wouldn't have done normally, the two girls catching a glimpse of... something, in his voice. They watched how he waved his hand in a dismissive manner, probably casting some wandless cleaning charms, to hide the glistening tears in his beard.
Shit.
"Your parents are in my office, waiting for you. The door is open, I... I think that you should have this discussion alone with your parents." He tried to smile at them, but all he could manage was an upward twitch of his lips.
"It's about my brother, isn't it? Something went wrong." Violet asked, trying to keep the hostility out of her voice. It wasn't fair to him.
Dumbledore seemed surprised for a moment at her quick deduction, which, Violet surmised, was an effect of the shock cloying his mind.
"N- yes, yes. Something has gone horribly wrong. There is no easier way to put it." He looked away for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, before he nodded in despair, his smile a bit strained. He raised his hand to probably pat her like he usually did, but stopped, withdrawing his hand midway.
Violet was thankful for that, as she watched Dumbledore leave wordlessly, his horrendous robes for once, seeming lacklustre, as he stumbled and trudged ahead heavily, struggling to place one foot before the other in tiredness, walking with a slight slouch, like all of his some two hundred years had finally caught up with him.
She looked back at Lyra, who had stayed silent during the exchange, gulping slightly as she held her grey-eyed gaze, holding a silent conversation with her sister in all but blood. Their raven hair almost matched with each other, only cementing their closeness.
Unbidden, Lyra pulled her into a hug, though Violet did not resist. No, they needed this. The comfort.
She couldn't help but smile as she breathed in her fragrance, a sweet smell of flowers and her natural, feminine fragrance.
"Whatever it is, we will be okay, right?" Lyra asked her, holding her hand when she finally broke the intimate contact.
Violet's eyes drifted to their joined hands, before she returned her eyes back to her face, nodding.
"Yeah, it's what Harry would want. Whatever it is, we will face it. Together, right?" Her voice was weak.
"Yeah. Together."
Looking back at the foreboding wooden door at the top of the staircase with growing dread in her stomach, Violet forced herself to move her feet, feeling Lyra drop into step beside her.
She reflected on her life at Hogwarts, it had been good so far. Yes, life was good.
What would it have been like if her brother had been there? Would it have been better? Definitely.
But... she asked herself if he really was her brother anymore. By blood, maybe. But would she really look at him and say that yes, that is my brother.
He was a distant memory nowadays, the image of a small, sickly boy whose smile lit up the room, a four-year-old boy who was brave enough to take a killing curse to the face.
But now, that four-year-old boy was thirteen, entering adolescence. Could she really say that he was her brother?
No, however deep blood ran, relationships were forged through experience. So, no. He was no longer her brother, she couldn't say that in good conscience. If he did return, he would be a stranger. Perhaps he would grow to be a good friend, but he would take a long time to be a brother.
She stared at the door, her feet coming to a rest as she tried to calm her racing heart, fearing what was to come.
Nervously, she tried to smoothen out her crumpled, red and gold Gryffindor robes, trying to remember the faces of her friends to ground her through whatever was coming.
Lyra's bored look, Daphne's sarcastic smile, Tracey's aggressive scowl that turned to a cheery smile in private, the silver Slytherin trio to counter their golden Gryffindor trio of herself and her new Gryffindor friends, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet, who were going to try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team with her this weekend.
She looked to Lyra, giving her hand a small squeeze, which she returned, shooting a small smile towards her, which Violet returned despite the discomfort. Her Slytherin robes contrasted beautifully with her own Gryffindor robes.
Gulping nervously as she stared back at the daunting door, Violet raised a fist, reinforcing her Occlumency shields as she knocked on the door, out of ordinary politeness, before allowing herself in.
Dumbledore's office never failed to surprise her, though, admittedly, she had been here fairly few times. All the mysterious silver instruments huffing and puffing, the snoring portraits and the bright, majestic phoenix perched on its stand. It seemed like it had been reborn recently, judging by its small size and scarce feathers.
Violet sometimes wondered if Dumbledore was the magical world's equivalent to a nuclear physicist.
Shaking herself out of those thoughts, her feet carried her to Uncle Siri and Dad, both of whom were sitting in chairs opposite the Headmaster's desk, just staring off into space as if nothing was real, trying to suppress the panic bubbling up her throat, making her feel light-headed and nauseous as she stared at the two listless Aurors.
"Dad? What... what happened?" It was Lyra's words that broke them out of whatever stupor they were in.
The two looked up at them, opening their mouths to speak in a single synchronised motion, before snapping shut, before trying again, but to little avail.
Their voice failed them, making the two men look dumbly at the two first years.
Violet looked at Lyra, who returned her look with growing frustration visible in her eyes, trying to blink away the tears that threatened to spill.
"Dad?" She choked out.
"If you don't want to tell us what's going on, that's fine and dandy by me. I guess I'll just go and do my Transfiguration homework, then." Lyra added sarcastically.
"W-wait, Lyra." Sirius reached out with his hand, before shrinking away as if struck, his own mind fighting his every move.
James was quiet for a moment longer, before taking a deep breath, reverting to his Head Auror persona that had kept him alive for so long, keeping emotions separate from reason.
"Seven years ago." He started in a monotone, "The Dursleys were the first victims of a serial killer, who has gone on to rack up more than 200 confirmed, and Merlin knows how many unconfirmed kills in these seven years. The police call him Body Stealer, because he never leaves behind any evidence or body, just... vanishes into thin air. Nobody knows what he does with them, whether he kidnaps them or murders them and disposes of the body, or if he is part of some larger scheme."
"James! They are kids!" Sirius hissed, bringing the Potter head back to Earth, and making him break off in the middle of his grim speech, reminding himself not to give all the details like he usually would. This was not a murder case he was trying to solve, he was telling his daughter and niece about the fate of their missing brother.
"Long story short, Harry is missing. The Dursleys were murdered brutally, but he is unaccounted for. He might have been kidnapped and held hostage, or he might have managed to slip away." Despite all the gruesome details he was revealing, James had enough presence of mind not to reveal the darker possibilities. Harry was probably dead, in cases like this, there was a more than 98% chance of him already being dead.
But what he said was, "He's out there somewhere, we just don't know where."
Although, judging by the horrified expressions on their faces, their smarts had come to bite in the ass as the two smart first years inevitably, almost effortlessly figured out what was unsaid, not at all helped by the brief history of the case the Head Auror had so thoughtlessly provided.
"He can't be dead!" Lyra could not contain her tumultuous emotions anymore, screeching at the two Aurors, "Aren't you some big shot investigators?! Do something! Anything! Can't you even find out a thirteen-year-old child, who went missing at seven?! What sort of training did you pass? Did you sleep with your teacher to get your license, fucktards?!"
The Black daughter screamed at the two, making them shrink in their seats with every word that left her mouth, unable to refute her words. There was a thud as Violet collapsed to the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks, unchecked, just sitting there, staring at the floor of Dumbledore's office at the massive bombshell dropped on her.
"Can't you check the Hogwarts register to check his location?! If he is even alive?!" Lyra screamed herself hoarse.
James shook his head no. The Hogwarts register used the student's magic to track them, ever since Harry's core had been damaged, he had no magic of his own to boast of, so he couldn't be tracked.
"Then can't we use the Black or Potter family tree to see if he's at least alive?" Lyra pleaded with her father, her voice growing weak with every word that she spoke, tears glistening in her eyes as the dam threatened to break.
So many years. Nine years. They had been away from him for more than nine fucking years.
Sirius shook his head, his long black hair swaying as he stared at the floor despondently. "No... the Black family tree doesn't show whether members are alive or dead. The Potters don't have a family tree."
"Fuck. Fuck." Lyra muttered, covering her eyes with her hand as she sniffed. Why was she even crying?
Harry had left when she had been four. Why was the Black daughter so emotionally distraught at the news that someone who was a childhood friend at best, was missing?
Was it pain for Violet? Or was it the disappointment welling up inside her after being led in a wild goose chase that made her react so strongly?
She caught her Dad whispering in a distant voice, giving her a one-armed hug full of familiar warmth, as tears prickled her eyes, finally escaping her indomitable walls to stream down her cheeks, flushed pink in anger, at herself, at Harry, at the world.
Lyra choked back a sob as she let herself be guided to the fireplace, watching as it burst into emerald flames as James stepped into it with Violet. She tried to resist, to deny her father's help and show that no, she was a grown girl, but she couldn't bring herself to do anything.
"Come on, let's spend the week together at home. I've already spoken with Dumbledore about it, he said it's fine." Sirius whispered to her in a strained voice as he reached out for the Floo powder resting on the fireplace mantle.
Violet was aware of Lyra and Uncle Siri stepping through behind them, but she couldn't bring herself to care as she pushed her Dad away, dodging her Mum's outstretched arms, not in the mood for babying.
Her feet carried her to her bedroom, traversing the well-worn path almost on autopilot, everything seeming like a distant fever dream that she neither felt nor saw in her numb state.
Her door opened, slamming shut behind her as she stumbled into her familiar room, enjoying the familiar comfort of the confines of its four walls.
She did not even bother to take her Hogwarts robes off, just crashing into her bed, relishing in the soft mattress. If Harry was indeed alive, did he sleep on such soft mattresses?
Probably not. He would be in a hard cot in some orphanage or if he was unlucky, on the cold concrete out on the streets. If he was really lucky, then he might have got a good foster home.
The door creaked open, timid and shy steps ghosting across her floor and making her look up at Rose, staring at her with worry. Dried tear tracks visible on her cheeks.
Violet probably looked the same way.
"Did you hear about Harry?" Her voice was hoarse, making Rose nod.
"The nightmares. They are worse than ever. Harry is not there to protect me this time, the... the Killing curse..." She sniffed, her voice breaking. Being the Girl Who Lived came with a curse.
Violet did not respond verbally, just rolling over, thankful for the wide bed. After Harry had left, James had let go, probably spoiling their daughters a bit to make up for the pain of his loss. It was only the constant reminder of the price they had paid for getting spoilt that prevented the Potter daughters from ending up like the Malfoys' children.
Rose climbed into bed, snuggling into her elder sister's side as she had so often done, spending all those nights where she couldn't sleep cuddling with her, waiting for sleep to finally claim her tired body.
Violet wandlessly summoned her wand to her hand, switching her Hogwarts robes for her pyjamas, before she turned to the side, allowing Rose to hug her from behind, sighing in relief at the warmth that she exuded, relishing in the feeling of comfort that always accompanied cuddling with her younger sister.
The door creaked open a second time, flooding the dark room with accursed light, making Violet grumble under her breath as she looked up at the offending person, squinting to make out their features despite the light.
She didn't have to, apparently, as the door shut quietly behind her, before soft footsteps carried the person to her bed.
Violet groaned, rolling over again, allowing Lyra to slip underneath the sheets beside her, hugging her from the other side as she buried her face in her hair, sobbing quietly.
"Hey, Lyra." Rose greeted from the other side, in a miserable tone, but was ignored.
"Violet, what are we going to do?" The Black daughter whispered, before she got her face out of Violet's raven hair, staring at her emerald with glistening grey eyes. "Harry..."
Violet shushed her quietly, sniffing as she tried to hold in all the overwhelming emotions surging at her Occlumency walls, battering against them like the ocean rams against a rocky shore.
"There's nothing we can do now, Lyra. He's out there somewhere, I know it. Surviving on his own. The Harry I know wouldn't die so easily. He's a stubborn bastard." She muttered, making Lyra laugh.
"Violet, Rose is here." She warned about her vulgar language.
"Fuck Rose. Not literally, of course, no offence Rose, you are cute and all, but I'm into neither incest nor paedophilia." Violet tried to lighten the mood, making the other two girls giggle quietly, something reflected in her own smile.
"Everything will be okay in the end, trust me." She whispered, closing her eyes as she tried to fall asleep, enjoying the feeling of the two girls pressed on either side of her. She really was a cuddle monster.
Yes, everything will be okay.
But until then, the only thing she could do was to live up to Harry's high expectations.
Become strong.
Like a predator.
AN: Thoughts? Some insight into Violet's psyche. Lyra got some more screentime. She will have a chapter to herself in the future, don't worry. Rose... is a complex character. What do you think about her obsession with the Dark Arts, and what can Harry do about it? Probably a lot, really, because next chapter-
Harry returns to the magical world! Just not in the way you would expect.
Keep calm and headbang!