Chapter 10
Victiore leads the entire Ravenclaw house up what felt like a million stairs, all of the first years were ahead as the prefects explained their house. Victiore did most of the talking while the other prefect, a quiet seventh year boy with sunken tired looking eyes and black slicked back hair, only followed behind her like the rest.
"Now Ravenclaw tower can only be opened by answering a riddle, because we all know you're tired from the train ride so we've opted to make this week's riddle a touch easier than usual." The blonde girl speaks quickly, looking completely ecstatic almost bouncing up the spiral staircase.
"Wait, they change weekly?" Violet recognizes Nettle's voice and realizes she's standing right next to her new acquaintance, Violet almost jumps out of her skin. Suddenly the boy speaks, his voice drawls and it shows on his face how completely exhausted he is.
"Sometimes more than every week we don't need people sneaking in and trashing the place some people here can be…" He's cut off by Victiore when they finally reach the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room.
"You lot can ignore Fergus, he's a touch on the paranoid side of things." She laughs nervously and the boy rolls his eyes.
"If you call me Fergus, they will call me Fergus." He mumbles softly, Victiore almost scoffs at him.
"Yes but Sean is so boring I like Fergus." she states and in return Fergus glares at her, as they argue quietly Violet notices there is no doorknob on the large wooden door to what is supposed to be the Ravenclaw common room. Instead there is a quaint knocker in the shape of an eagle.
"There's no knob?" Violet asks out loud grabbing the prefect's attention, Victiore turns to her even while Fergus was still ranting at her.
"You shouldn't even be a prefect, you're a fourteen year old sixth year!" In response the blonde elbows him so he'll get back on track.
"Right! Very good observation Violet, we use the knocker and the eagle is what asks the riddle but before I forget.'' She turns back to Fergus and pushes him again.
"Fifteen! My birthday was in may you git!." Fergus can't help shoving her back slightly. They start arguing again, Violet is unsure what to do next but Nettle cuts between the two grabbing the knocker and waiting to hear the riddle. The knocker comes to life, it coughs softly clearing its throat as dust spilling from its mouth. The eagle looks at Nettle who stairs back expectantly, after a moment an unexpectedly deep voice comes from the small Knocker asking the riddle.
"I talk, have a head, but never weep, Have a bed but never sleep, what am I?" Nettle furrows her brows at the riddle taking a moment to think when suddenly Violet feels a weight on her shoulders, someone had jumped onto her using her for extra height as they hopped excitedly into the air. The culprit became obvious once they spoke,
"OH! OH! I got it, I know this one!" Lysander yells before moving past Violet, patting her shoulder before rushing to the door.
"It's Headmistress Mcgonagall! She's a beast I've heard she never sleeps but instead roams the halls looking for students with invisibility cloaks!." The entire Ravenclaw house is silent, even the knocker seems surprised before speaking again.
"Um… no" it responds quietly, everyone starts thinking again and Lysander moves back behind Violet. She feels something land on her shoulder and realizes it's his head, this action surprises her, were they close now? Did she not realize she had friends? She speaks up trying to solve the riddle herself after an answer occurs to her.
"Is it a bed frame? Has a head but… has a bed but…" the door speaks again, a more professional and booming sound.
"This answer is incorrect." before anyone else can guess Fergus moves away from Victiore
"Ok we don't want to be here all night, does everyone understand the failsafe method of our door password?" The group collectively nods but before Fergus can answer the riddle Victiore moves past him and smiles at the knocker.
"The answer is a river" Fergus frowns at her huffing softly, his eyes narrowing in a glare when the door accepts Victiore's answer and she turns her smiling face from the door to him.
"Just because you skipped a year doesn't mean you need to be a showoff." He grumbles to her as the door opens, she gives him a sassy come back and their fighting starts up again while everyone else files into the ravenclaw common room. Violet thought the night sky in the dining hall was impressive, but the royal blue carpet reflecting stars onto the ceiling was a sight to behold as well. Blue and bronze silks hung from the walls, some encrusted with the symbol of Ravenclaw. The room was circular with large windows reaching the ceiling, and a roaring fireplace in the center. As Violet looks around she sees marble statues smiling and greeting the new first years, she walks to one of the largest ones. A woman whose head almost touches the ceiling, her long hair is held back with a headdress jeweled with what looks like sapphires. She smiles down at Violet who can't help but gawk at the woman. An arm is slung over Violet's shoulders and she looks up to see Victiore also peering at the large marble woman above them,
"Like ten years ago people kept sneaking out of the dorms and almost dying so when Magonigal become Headmistress she put some new security measures in each common room." this worried Violet, she didn't want to get squished by an enchanted marble statue.
"Children should be in bed at this hour." The statue speaks finally, giving Victiore the same look Violet's mother gives her when she's been putting off her homework. Victiore chuckles nervously before bringing Violet with her to a hallway on the left side of the common room.
"Alright guys! Classes start tomorrow so everyone is off to bed." Fergus moves from one of the couches to the hallway on the right side of the common room.
"First year boys follow me! First year girls, go with the prodigy." Victiore sticks her tongue out at Fergus before all of the older girls move past her, the first years gathered around the blonde girl as she gives them all a tired smile.
Violet lay in her bed having immense trouble sleeping that night. She is exhausted from the train ride and all of the food she ate but there was something wrong. She had shared a room her entire life with her older sister, now there are three other girls sleeping peacefully in her room. As she stares at the bunk above her in which Nettle snores loudly, she still feels incredibly alone. Her eyelids are heavy, and she wants to drift off more than anything, but without Petunia's presence it seems truly impossible. Petunia is having just as much trouble at home, the shared room is quiet as she also stares at the now empty bunk above her that used to cradle her baby sister to sleep every night. Violet wonders if Petunia is sleeping in the top bunk at home and Petunia wonders the same thing. Both girls are staring upward, unable to think of anything but the other. Eventually Petunia is fed up and gets out of bed reaching into the top bunk and grabbing Violet's freshly made and washed blankets bringing them into the bottom bunk and wrapping them around each other. She presses them into her chest with a dissatisfied huff, the scent that fills Petunia's nose is her sister's honey scented anti dandruff shampoo. After a few more minutes she finally falls asleep, the uneasy feeling in her chest not quite subsiding. Violet got up as well, too afraid of the statues to go to the common room she instead opened the dorm window, it was unseasonably warm for fall. The wind was still as she looked at the Hogwarts grounds, smelling the fresh air reminded her of gardening with her mother in the summer. She saw someone walking in the distance of the grounds. It looks like a man with bright orange hair seemingly looking for something, he's holding his robes closed as he walks despite the warm weather. Violet remembers one of the teachers in the great hall during the feast having the same colored hair, she assumes it to be the same person.. Eventually Violet can't see the man anymore, she feels more at peace then before and her eyelids eventually start to fall. Violet moves back to her bed after closing the window, her mattress is softer then what she's used to and it causes her to sink slightly. Violet feels like she's laying on a cloud, her mind is only filled with peace as she finally drifts off to sleep.
The next morning Violet woke up to a round faced girl with black curly hair shaking her awake,
"You have to get up, you and your friend are going to miss breakfast." Violet didn't know the girl, but she was already in her robes. After she leaves Nettle steps out of the bathroom trying to fix her tie,
"Lotty, will you help me with this tie?" Nettle asks before looking back at her friend, confusion replaces her groggy expression.
"What are you still doing in bed?" Violet was confused about the nickname for a moment but hops from her bed running to the trunk that held her clothes before running to the bathroom. She scrambles to get her uniform on straight before stepping out of the bathroom and grabbing a brush,
"If we wanna make it for breakfast you're not going to have time for that, what's with you?" Nettle chuckles watching her friend scramble to put the brush down and instead pick up a bobble to tie up her messy hair.
"I didn't sleep well… it was weird without my sister below me." They grab their books before heading down the hall and out the door,
"I slept great! It was so great to not hear Manny's snoring or Bane's sleep talking all night, and it doesn't help that Gilly has been reverse cycling." Violet realized how large Nettle's family was as they walked and talked quickly together.
"Can you imagine, it's like sleeping down the hall from two tug boats." Nettle shakes her head, Violet stifles a snort earning a questioning glance from the girl. She shrugs off the look insisting it was nothing before coming to the great hall entrance, the doors were being blocked by a familiar face staring at them.
"Well if it isn't the little lost bird, I see you've found your way finally." Louis was standing with two other boys, a burly boy with short brown hair and dark eyes framed by square glasses on his left; as well as a familiar looking round-faced boy with blonde hair on his right. Louis smirks before Nettle rolls her eyes walking to the boy on the right side of him.
"You and your friends get out of our way this instant, Bane!" The boy furrows his brows and Violet realizes he looks familiar because his face and hair are similar to Nettle's.
"I'm sorry little girl, I think you have me confused with someone else." Nettle puffs her cheeks out with a huff, her face turning red with anger.
"Mum and Dad said you're not supposed to ignore me at school!" The boy rolls his eyes and Violet ignores their bickering looking up at the other two, all three boys are wearing Gryffindor colors,
"We're just trying to get into the great hall… you can go first if it's easier." Violet offers only to be answered with a scoff,
"I don't eat breakfast because it makes my stomach hurt." Louis shrugs raising his eyes and looking behind Violet down the hall, Nettle stops her arguing with her brother and looks over at Louis,
"Well then why are you standing out here in our way?" she questions her face still red, Louis's eyes narrow slightly calling attention to his fox-like appearance.
"Can you stop asking questions and just leave me-" he's cut off when Bane elbows his ribs, they look up Louis's face flushing slightly. Violet has to turn around to see what he's looking at, two figures are running down the hall and soon Violet feels her own face turn red seeing Teddy run down the hall being dragged by Pepper.
"Why do you always call me by my full name when you're upset? You're not my mother." Pepper is stomping their way with a glare on her face,
"Because it's your first day as a prefect, and you're already late for breakfast!" She huffs before stopping in front of the group of much younger children.
"Fine, then I'll just do the same Pandora Paxton Thomas-Finnigan" Teddy has a smug smile as Pepper crosses her arms surveying them all,
"It doesn't work, my name is too long, what's the hold up here?" Louis sputters for a moment looking up at Pepper.
"It's not my fault your dads hyphenated." Teddy catches a glimpse of Violet out of the corner of his eye turning to face her,
"Well hello, late are we then?" He asks the red faced girl and her friend, Violet swallows hard and Pepper smiles.
"You're one to talk, come on." She shoves her way past the three boys while dragging Teddy, Louis moves away with a dumb expression on his face coupled with a deep blush leaving enough room for Violet and Nettle to get through.