Chapter Five – The Journey From Platform Nine and Three-Quarters
Violet was ecstatic when she got back to Privet Drive, which was a state that she was rarely in, and something that the Dursleys really didn't approve of. However, as she was quite delighted to see, though they greatly disapproved of her abnormality and happiness, the Dursleys were frightened of her, now that she knew she was a witch.
Violet's first order of business on returning to Privet Drive was to draw her new wand threatening and point it at the Dursleys, insisting that she receive better treatment from now on. Delightfully, even though Violet didn't know any spells yet, a few golden sparks fell from her wand when she squeezed it. Although the sparks were completely harmless, they frightened Dudley to the point of wetting his pants.
Terrified that Violet would blast them to pieces if they mistreated her too terribly anymore, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia decided to attempt to make amends and allowed Violet to move out of the cupboard under the stairs and into Dudley's second bedroom. Pleased with all the new space, Violet proceeded to arrange the room more to her liking, which of course involved getting rid of all of Dudley's old stuff, which Violet happily chucked out of the window. Uncle Vernon really wasn't happy to find Dudley's broken air rifle, broken television set, empty bird cage, and various other things Violet didn't want that didn't belong to her scattered out on the front lawn. Violet, however, managed to avoid punishment by locking herself in the room, so that Uncle Vernon had to yell at her through the door, and after almost an hour and a half of attempting to get inside the room, he gave up and yelled at Aunt Petunia to fetch him a glass of brandy.
After Violet had redone her new room, she proceeded to look through all of her new spellbooks. She chose to name her snowy owl Hedwig, and was happy to reward Hedwig with any treat she could steal from the kitchen when Hedwig flew out at night and left some owl droppings on the hood of Uncle Vernon's company car.
Violet eagerly read her school books from cover to cover, drinking in as much information about the magical world as she could, trying to learn everything possible before starting school. Also, too eager to wait until term started to start performing real magic, Violet began experimenting on her own with some simple spells out of The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk, A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch, and The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble.
The easiest spell seemed to be the Lumos Charm. Violet happily lit and extinguished, then lit again the tip of her wand, muttering nonstop, "Lumos, Nox, Lumos, Nox, Lumos, Nox-" until Hedwig began hooting loudly in annoyance. Violet merely winked at the owl, and realized she would never have to find batteries for a flashlight again.
Her other books were just as interesting as the spellbooks. She poured eagerly over A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot, fascinated by the wizarding history, and she tried to remember everything she possibly could from One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore and Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger. And after skimming through Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, and perusing Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling, she read all of her new books over again.
About a week before Violet was supposed to start term, she began worrying about how she was supposed to get to Hogwarts. Her train ticket for the Hogwarts Express told her to leave from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock, and although she had never been to King's Cross Station before, she thought that this was a little odd for a platform number. She also had no idea how she was supposed to get to London. She sighed, and supposed she could use her wand to threaten the Dursleys again...
So Violet went downstairs and entered the living room where her aunt, uncle, and cousin were sitting watching television. She cleared her throat to announce her presence, and Dudley leapt up and ran screaming from the room.
"Oi, Uncle Vernon," Violet said coolly.
Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening.
"Listen, I need to be at King's Cross on September 1st to get to Hogwarts. I need to be on the train by eleven."
Uncle Vernon grunted again.
"Is it possible that you would give me a lift? Please, Uncle Vernon?" Violet asked, her tone turning suddenly sweet.
Uncle Vernon didn't answer. Violet drew her wand and tapped it apparently absentmindedly against the side of her leg. She saw her uncle's head turn slightly, and knew that although he wasn't looking directly at her, he knew she had drawn her wand. A little more time passed, then Uncle Vernon turned his head back to the television and grunted a third time. Violet took this as a 'yes', and thanked him.
He finally spoke as Violet turned to head back upstairs.
"It's surprising that wizards would ride a train to school. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?"
Violet shrugged and replied, "Dunno. I haven't got a magic carpet."
"You bloody well better not. Where is this school, anyway?"
"I don't know. I've never been there."
Uncle Vernon turned to face her fully this time, and his eyes were narrowed. "You better talk nice to me, girly, or you won't be getting a ride anywhere!"
Violet apologized at once. However, she still hadn't pocketed her wand, and as she headed back up the stairs, she was pleased to see her uncle glancing wearily at it.
She bounced into her room, a new spring in her step, and hummed as she packed her school trunk.
The morning of September the 1st, Violet awoke bright and early, eager to head off to magic school. She dressed not in her overlarge hand-me-downs, but in her new uniform black school robes, and fastened the silver fastening of her new black cloak at her throat. She slipped her wand into her robes pocket and shoved the trunk full of all her new school things down the stairs and stood waiting with it at the front door, Hedwig inside her cage sitting on top.
When Uncle Vernon finally entered the living room, wearing his coat and clutching his car keys, he took one look at his niece and barked that she "ruddy well wasn't going out in public dressed like some batty freak". He was immediately silenced when Violet drew her wand and used the Lumos Charm. Of course, the wand tip igniting did nothing to hurt Uncle Vernon, but it scared him all the same. He dragged Violet's trunk out and loaded it into the trunk of the car without another word. Violet buckled Hedwig's cage into the backseat, then sat in the front herself. Uncle Vernon started the engine and they were off to London.
Once arriving at King's Cross, Uncle Vernon loaded Violet's school trunk and Hedwig's cage onto a trolley, bid Violet farewell, and left her there just inside the station. Violet happily pushed the trolley toward platforms nine and ten, and her spirits dropped. How on earth was she supposed to get onto platform nine and three-quarters? She couldn't see it anywhere!
She suddenly became very conscious of the fact that Muggles all around her were staring at her, dressed oddly as she was. She couldn't blame them; nobody else was wearing a cloak...
Then it came to her: surely someone like her, who was heading to Hogwarts, would be dressed just as strangely as herself? She stood on her toes and craned her neck, trying to look for another cloaked witch or wizard, but saw no one out of the ordinary. Desperate, and a little bit panicky now, she wheeled her trunk around and pushed it over to the area between platforms nine and ten. Platform nine and three-quarters had to be somewhere in between...
Remembering how Hagrid had opened the entrance into Diagon Alley, inspiration struck Violet, and, grinning, she drew her wand and approached the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Tentatively, she tapped the metal barrier with the tip of her wand... and the wand went right through!
Excited, Violet pressed her whole hand against the barrier, and waved it through as if the metal wasn't even there! She placed her wand back inside her robes, went and grabbed the trolley with her trunk and owl on it, rolled it around to face the barrier between platforms nine and ten, took a deep breath, and started running full blast at it...
...And when Violet almost reached the barrier, her grin faded, and her sense caught up with her; this was so stupid! She had to have imagined the barrier not being solid. What was she doing? She was going to slam right into it and probably end up getting hurt! But, unfortunately, she was going too fast to stop before she reached the barrier. She began to slow down, but she was going to hit the metal head on anyway. She closed her eyes and grimaced, preparing for impact...
...But there was no impact! She sailed right through the barrier and kept going until she came to a stop. Panting slightly, Violet opened her eyes.
A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock. Violet looked behind her and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it. She began to grin from ear to ear. She had done it! And all on her own!
Still panting slightly from her excitement and her run through the barrier, Violet leaned against her trunk and stared at the wrought-iron archway. After just a little while, more people started coming through, and Violet noted that they were not wearing wizards' robes. She realized suddenly that she was probably supposed to enter the platform incognito, dressed as a Muggle, instead of advertising herself in her witch's robes. She wished this had occurred to her before she left Privet Drive; she hadn't brought any Muggle clothing with her except pajamas. Oh, well. Too late to turn back now.
She watched this new family that had come through the barrier with mild interest. There were six of them, a short, plump woman, with four red-headed boys, two of them identical twins, and a very small red-headed daughter that was obviously the youngest of the five children of varying heights.
The boys Violet had never seen before, but the woman and her daughter looked familiar… It took Violet a moment to realize that she and Hagrid had passed them in Diagon Alley; the little girl had been screaming about wanting a cauldron, and wanting to go to Hogwarts….
The mother was wiping the youngest boy's nose, and he was protesting. The twins were laughing at him as the eldest red-haired boy left with his trunk and owl. He wasn't gone too long when he returned in his new Hogwarts robes, a badge shining on his chest. His twin brothers were now teasing him. Violet caught a few words; apparently the eldest boy, named Percy, was a prefect.
Suddenly one of the twins looked over at Violet. He nudged his identical brother, and now both red haired twins were looking at her. Violet felt her face go red and turned away. She began looking for an empty compartment in the train. She found one near the end, but discovered that she could barely lift even one end of her trunk, let alone get the whole thing up into the luggage rack.
She leaned against the trunk, panting slightly, then jumped when a voice behind her said, "Want a hand?" She turned to see who it was. The twins had apparently followed her.
"Er- sure, thanks," Violet replied, and the twins helped her load her luggage into the compartment. When her trunk was at last tucked away, the twins stayed for a moment, panting from the effort of moving Violet's trunk. Violet, who ended up putting forth no effort herself, leaned against the door to the compartment and smiled at them, flipping her hair a little bit.
"I really appreciate you helping me," she said. "My name's Violet, who're you?"
"I'm Fred Weasley," said Fred Weasley, "and this is my brother-"
"George," George finished for his twin, and he and his brother shook Violet's hands. "What's your surname?" George asked.
Violet hesitated. "Potter."
The twins gaped at her.
"Are you really?" said Fred.
Violet half smiled, and brushed her bangs back to reveal the lightning scar. The twins stared. She went a little pink again and let her hair fall. She wished they would stop gawking now.
She was rescued from the awkward moment when the Weasley twins' mother called for them. They turned to jump out of the compartment, turned back to look at Violet again, and then headed off as their mother called again.
"It was nice meeting you!" Violet called after them, then closed the compartment door and watched the family out the window for a moment before turning her attention to Hedwig, whose cage sat on the seat next to Violet. Violet stuck her fingers through the bars of the cage and allowed Hedwig to nip playfully at her.
So involved with her new pet, Violet didn't even notice the train begin motion.
Suddenly the door to the compartment slid open. The twins' younger brother peered in.
"Mind if I sit in here?" he asked, his face going slightly pink. "Everywhere else is full..."
"Sure," Violet said, and removed her feet from the seat opposite her.
"Thanks," said the Weasley boy, and he sat down nervously, avoiding Violet's eyes. Violet peered at him. He was tall and gangly, and he had a black spot on his nose. He also had a lot of freckles, and, as Violet noticed most prominently, light blue eyes.
"Hey, Ron."
The twins were back.
"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train- Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."
"Right," mumbled Ron.
"Violet," said Fred, "did ickle Ronniekins introduce himself?"
"I bet he didn't," said George, "hasn't got the nerve to talk to any girl, let alone Violet Potter."
"Yeah," said Fred, "probably not... well, this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."
"Bye," said Violet and Ron, and the twins left the compartment.
Violet returned her attention to Ron. His ears were very pink now; his brothers had clearly embarrassed him. Violet smiled.
"Are all of your family magical?" she asked. Ron looked up, somewhat nervously.
"Er...er- yes- yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him." Ron was facing Violet, and looking in her general direction, but still avoided her eyes.
Violet raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you make eye contact with me? Are you afraid? ...Ron?"
Ron raised his own eyebrows and blue eyes met green for the first time. He turned slightly pink again and looked away, then hesitated, and looked back. Violet smiled encouragingly.
"So- so you're really... you're really Violet Potter?" Ron asked eagerly.
Violet nodded.
Ron stared. A complete turn around from a moment ago, Violet thought.
"Oh- well, I thought it might be one of Fred and Georges jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got- you know..."
He hesitated, then pointed at Violet's forehead.
Violet cocked her head, then pulled back her bangs to reveal the lightning scar.
Ron's eyes widened a bit. "So that's where You-Know-Who-?"
Violet let her bangs fall again and stared at Ron. Whoever You-Know-Who was, she didn't know. She thought for a moment, and then remembered Ollivander back in Diagon Alley:
"It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother- why, its brother gave you that scar.
Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember...I think we must expect great things from you, Miss Potter...After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things-- terrible, yes, but great."
Violet wondered why she hadn't asked Hagrid who You-Know-Who was…it seemed like he had mentioned him…. Then she remembered that she probably would have, if it hadn't been for the distraction that Ron's little sister had caused. Right after Mrs. Weasley had gone by chasing after her daughter, Violet and Hagrid had arrived at the Owl Emporium….
Ron seemed to misinterpret Violet's thoughtfulness for offense, and apologized, looking very awkward as he did so. Violet shook her head and said, "It's alright. It's just- who is You-Know-Who?"
Ron gasped. "You- you, of all people- have never heard of- of You-Know-Who?"
Violet shrugged. "Well, I've sort of heard of him..." And she told him about her encounter with Ollivander.
Ron was wide-eyed. "I can't believe you don't even know about You-Know-Who! After- after he-" Ron stopped talking suddenly, and looked down at the floor of the train. Violet cocked her head at him and raised her eyebrow again.
"After he what?" she inquired.
"Well- well- they say he- you're famous- you- he couldn't kill you!" Ron blurted.
Violet stared. Then she said quietly, "So...that's it, is it?"
Ron was looking really awkward now. He shivered and wouldn't look at her or say anything to her for quite a while. During this time of silence, Violet was deep in thought once more...
If You-Know-Who, or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or whatever, tried to kill me...that must be what the scar is from, from when he tried to take my life! She shuddered. And...he must have killed...my parents... Violet's entire body went numb, as if there was ice pressed up against every inch of her. Oh...oh, I wish I had asked Hagrid about all of this- that's it! I can talk to Hagrid about it when I get to Hogwarts!
After thinking about different things, Violet decided she wanted to strike up a conversation with Ron again.
"It must be pretty cool, having three wizard brothers," said Violet, enviously. "All I've got is a fat, lazy Muggle cousin named Dudley. He's a real pig." Ron finally looked at her again, and his mouth twitched in nervous amusement.
"Having a Muggle isn't so bad," he said. "There's nothing to live up to there."
"What do you mean?" Violet asked.
"Well, to start, I've got five wizard brothers, not three." Suddenly he looked sort of gloomy.
"So you're family has a reputation that you need to uphold?"
"Well, yeah, sort of… I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts, after all. Bill and Charlie have left already- Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do just as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."
At this point Ron produced a fat, grey rat from inside his jacket. It looked very pathetic, just lying there in his hand, fast asleep. Violet began to giggle.
Ears pink again, clearly embarrassed once more, Ron abruptly quit speaking and turned to stare out the window. Violet's mouth twitched.
"You don't like talking much, do you?" she teased.
Ron looked at her again in surprise. "Well- I, um...well..." he stammered.
"I'm sorry I laughed," Violet said seriously. "But," she smiled, "he is quite pathetic looking, isn't he? What's his name?"
"Scabbers," Ron muttered.
He was spared having to say anything more when a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"
Ron muttered something about sandwiches, but Violet, who hadn't had any breakfast, leapt to her feet and swept out into the corridor.
A few moments later Ron stared as Violet came back in with her arms full of Pumpkin Pasties, Licorice Wands, Acid Pops, Ice Mice, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Cauldron Cakes, Chocolate Frogs, and a number of other interesting wizarding candies.
"Hungry, are you?" asked Ron.
"Starving," replied Violet, her mouth already full of Cauldron Cake.
Ron was staring forlornly at his sandwiches. "She always forgets that I don't like corned beef."
Violet tossed him a Pumpkin Pasty and a Licorice Wand. "Go on," she said cheerfully, tearing open a package of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum and stuffing all of the gum into her mouth at once.
Soon the sandwiches lay forgotten as Violet and Ron had a great time eating through all of Violet's pasties, cakes, and candies.
"What are these?" Violet asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They're not really frogs, are they?" She sincerely hoped they weren't.
"No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa."
"What?"
"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know- Chocolate Frogs have cards inside them, you know, to collect- famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."
Violet unwrapped the Chocolate Frog, examined it for a second, and then stuck it into her mouth and chewed carefully. After swallowing she suddenly felt thirsty and wished that the food trolley had served some sort of wizarding beverage to go with all of the wizarding food. She then tentatively picked up the card to examine it. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore. The name was familiar to her, and then she remembered her Hogwarts letter: Albus Dumbledore was the headmaster!
"So this is Dumbledore!" said Violet.
"Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron. "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa- thanks-"
Violet turned over her card and read:
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
Currently Headmaster of Hogwarts
Considered by many to be the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the Dark Wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.
Violet turned the card back over and saw that Dumbledore's face had disappeared. She blinked. After a moment Dumbledore just sidled back onto the card and winked. Violet stared for a moment, then grinned and winked back.
Violet and Ron continued on with the Chocolate Frogs, stuffing their faces and looking at the cards. Ron would just glance at the card to see if it was Agrippa or Ptolemy, ("No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her..."), and chuck the card at Violet so that she could start her own collection. Soon she had Dumbledore, Merlin, Morgana, Cliodna, Hengist of Woodcroft, Circe, Paracelsus, Alberic Grunnion, and Bertie Bott.
After a little while longer, Violet tore open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. She glanced at her Bertie Bott Chocolate Frog card again. "So this is the bloke that invented the beans," she said as she nibbled on the end of a Licorice Wand.
Ron nodded. "You want to be careful with those," he warned her. "When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor-"
But Violet had already picked up a suspiciously bluish bean and eaten it. "Mmm, blueberry!"
Ron sighed and picked up a green bean, examined it, then nibbled off the end. "Bleaaargh- sprouts!"
They had a nice time eating the beans. Violet got toast, coconut, watermelon, strawberry, baked bean, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, dirt, pepper, and earwax. She found that dirt really didn't taste that bad.
After another while passed there was a knock on the door and a round-faced boy came in. Tearfully, he asked, "Sorry, but have you seen a toad at all?"
They shook their heads and he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"
"Hm. Too bad," said Violet indifferently, devouring another Licorice Wand.
The boy looked at her for a while. She looked back at him after she'd finished her Licorice Wand. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it and merely raised her eyebrows. The round-set boy looked on the verge of speech, but then a touch of colour leaked into his round cheeks and he hurried away.
Ron stood up and closed the compartment door. Scabbers the rat fell from his lap when he rose from his seat, but didn't wake up. Ron glanced down at him and said in disgust, "He might've died and you wouldn't know the difference. I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. Watch..."
He rummaged around in his trunk for a while and finally produced an old, chipped wand with something white glinting at the end.
"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out," he said. "Anyway-"
The compartment door slid open again. A girl stood there, dressed already in her new Hogwarts robes, the toadless, round-faced boy that they had just seen standing next to her.
"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," the girl said bossily. She had lots of bushy brown hair, brown eyes, and rather large front teeth.
"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron.
"Seriously," Violet agreed, "we haven't seen the dang toad. Now leave us in peace." She bit into another Cauldron Cake.
But the buck-toothed, bushy-haired girl wasn't paying any attention to her. She had spotted the wand in Ron's hand.
"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it then."
And she sat down next to Violet, who raised her eyebrows and glared at the girl.
Ron stared at her for a second, then cleared his throat.
"Er- alright, then...
Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow!"
He waved his wand dramatically. Nothing happened. Scabbers, still asleep, never knew anything had even happened.
The bossy girl that had invaded their compartment raised her eyebrows now, and said, very fast, "Are you sure that's a real spell? Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells for practice, and it's all worked for me-"
"Really!" interrupted Violet, liking the girl for the first time. "Me too! I really like that Lumos Charm-"
"Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course," the girl continued, as if Violet hadn't spoken. Violet immediately began to go back on her first positive feeling toward this bushy-haired, bossy girl.
"It's the best school of witchcraft in the world," the girl went on, "and I've learned all our course books by heart, of course- I just hope it's enough- I'm Hermione Granger, by the way. Who are you?"
Violet, eyebrows raised once again, glanced at Ron, who looked somewhat astonished. She actually felt good when she realized, from Ron's expression, that he certainly hadn't learned the course books by heart. Violet hadn't by heart, exactly, but she had tried to remember everything that she could. Feeling suddenly fond of the girl again, she turned to her and said, "He's Ron Weasley, and I'm Violet Potter!" and shook Hermione's hand.
"Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course- I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical Theory and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."
"Am I, really?" Violet exclaimed, excitedly. "Mind if I borrow those books sometime? I'd like very much to read about myself!"
"Certainly," replied Hermione. "But I'm surprised you didn't know already. I'd have tried to find out everything I could if it was me. Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it! But I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad...Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad." She looked at Ron. "You might want to change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."
And Hermione and Neville left.
"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron.
"Really? I rather liked her, that Hermione girl. What house are you brothers in?" inquired Violet.
"Gryffindor," said Ron.
"Oh, dear," said Violet. "That's the house Hermione said she wants to be in." She grinned.
Ron groaned. "You're right, I hope we're not stuck with her...you actually liked her?"
Violet shrugged. "She was raised by Muggles, I was raised by Muggles. She didn't know she was a witch until she got her Hogwarts letter, and neither did I. And apparently she likes reading, like me. So I'd say Hermione and I have a lot in common."
Ron rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
Violet smiled. "I hope we're all in Gryffindor."
Ron sat down again. "Yeah, I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be that bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."
Violet tilted her head. "Not too fond of Slytherin?"
Ron shook his head. "That's the house You-Know-Who was in!"
Violet, taken aback, gasped, "He went to Hogwarts?"
"Of course he did, everyone in Britain goes to Hogwarts!" Ron shook his head at Violet in disbelief.
"So...Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin..." Violet was counting off Hogwarts houses, trying to remember them all. "What other houses are there?"
"Just Hufflepuff."
"Ah. So there are only four?"
"Of course! How many did you think there were, fifty?"
Violet narrowed her eyes, then shrugged. "How do I know, I've never heard of any Hogwarts houses before today, have I?"
She began digging through her candy again. She sighed; she was running low on Chocolate Frogs.
"What do your eldest brothers, Bill and Charlie, do now that they've left Hogwarts?" Violet asked, her mouth full of Chocolate Frog and Pumpkin Pasty at the same time.
"Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts."
"Cool," said Violet. "What does Charlie do with the dragons?" She was eager for yet more information about the magical world.
"I dunno, studies them, takes care of them, I really don't, I've never been to Romania," said Ron.
"What does Bill do for Gringotts?"
"He's a curse-breaker," said Ron. "Hey, did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles- someone tried to rob a high-security vault."
Violet stared.
"Really? What happened to them?"
"Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it."
Violet furrowed her brow slightly. "What's You-Know-Who's name?"
"I don't want to say it!" cried Ron, aghast.
Violet shrugged and continued eating.
"What's your Quidditch team?" asked Ron.
"I don't know any," said Violet. "I've never seen a game of Quidditch."
"What! Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world-" and Ron was off, explaining the seven players, the four balls, the goal hoops, describing famous games he'd been to with his family, and the different kinds of broomsticks. Violet sat attentively, taking less bites out of her food, drinking this all in. Ron was just telling her about all the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open again.
Three boys entered, two very large, stupid looking ones, and, in between them, the pale, blonde by, Draco, whom Violet had met at Gringotts.
"Hello, Draco," Violet said cheerfully. She gave him a small smile.
Draco was looking at Violet with, if possible, even more interest than he had in Diagon Alley.
"Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Violet Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"
"That's right," said Violet, and her smile faded as her eyes lingered on the larger boys that had accompanied Draco into the compartment. They were both very thickset and looked extremely mean. Violet was suddenly reminded of Dudley.
"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said Draco, seeing where Violet was looking. "They're my…friends."
"Hmm. They look more like body guards," Violet said conversationally,
Ron gave a cough that Violet knew contained a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him.
"Think my friends are funny, do you?" Draco snapped, looking Ron up and down. Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles.
"No need to ask who you are… Red hair, freckles…you must be a Weasley."
He turned back to Violet and lifted his pointed chin haughtily. Violet hid a smirk. He seemed to be trying to impress her.
"You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Violet- er- Potter- er-" He seemed to not know what to call her.
Violet raised her eyebrow again. "You may address me as Violet, thanks."
"Very well, Violet, then. Well, Violet, you don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."
He held out his hand. Violet merely looked at it. He moved his arm slightly, to indicate that he was waiting for Violet to shake his hand, but still she did not grab it.
"Please shake my hand," Draco said, sounding slightly annoyed and impatient now.
Violet blinked.
Irritated, Draco lowered his hand. "Fine," he said, "have it your way." He turned to leave.
"Wait," said Violet. Draco turned back eagerly to face her.
"Yes?" he said. He couldn't hide the excitement in his tone.
"I think I can find out who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," said Violet coolly.
A pink tinge immediately crept onto Draco Malfoy's cheeks, and his face fell slightly.
"I'd be careful if I were you, Violet," he said slowly and deliberately. "Unless you're a bit politer, you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. And if you hang around with riffraff like him-" he nodded at Ron.
Violet and Ron stood up.
"Say that again," said Ron.
"How dare you speak about my parents!" cried Violet, tossing her hair. She blinked. "And what makes you think you're so polite!" she snapped, then as an afterthought, "and what's He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's name, by the way?"
Malfoy stared at her for a second, his gray eyes wide, and he gaped. Then he pulled himself together. "I'm not saying the Dark Lord's name, how can you not know? You're Violet Potter!" He turned to Ron and, composure regained, said coolly, in a completely different tone then when he was just speaking to Violet, "What are you going to do, fight us?"
Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles and grinned stupidly. Violet drew her wand and let off some sparks as Goyle reached for a Chocolate Frog. He let out a yell and held up his hand; Scabbers the rat was dangling from his finger. Crabbe and Malfoy backed away, and Goyle howled and swung Scabbers round and round until he let go and hit the window. All three of them disappeared at once. A second later Hermione Granger walked in.
"What has been going on?" she asked.
Ron picked up Scabbers by the tail.
"I think he's been knocked out," he told Violet. Then he looked at the rat more closely. "No- I don't believe it- he's gone back to sleep."
And so he had.
"You've met that Draco guy before?"
Violet told Ron and Hermione about how she met Draco Malfoy at Gringotts.
"I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"
"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"
"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Do you mind leaving while I change?" He glanced at Violet. "Er- both of you?"
"All right- I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione pompously. She sniffed. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?" She glanced at Violet, who shrugged at Ron, and then followed Hermione out of the compartment.
The train seemed to be slowing down.
"I see what you meant about people behaving childishly," Violet remarked, stepping aside a girl with long, black, plaited hair ran past her screaming, "Give it back, Padma, ooh, give it back!"
"Yes," said Hermione haughtily. "They are very childish, aren't they?"
"Incredibly juvenile," Violet concurred, and followed Hermione down the corridor.
"Would you like to borrow those books now?" asked Hermione.
"Sure," Violet replied. "By the way, surely you've read it in one of your books...what's You-Know-Who's name?"
Hermione froze, half-way done opening the door to another compartment. "You don't know?"
"Nope."
Hermione sighed. "Very well. I hate to say it, I really do, but...you have a right to know, haven't you?" She took a deep, steadying breath. "His name is- V-Vol-" She stopped, breathed again. "V-Voldemort. Now, please don't make me say it again."
"All right," said Violet. "Hmm. Voldemort. Thanks, Hermione!"
Hermione shuddered as Violet repeated the name. "You're- you're welcome."
She led Violet into her compartment and began digging into her own school trunk.
"All right...I'll lend you Modern Magical Theory, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century... and, let's see... would you like to borrow Hogwarts, A History as well?"
"Certainly!" said Violet, thirsty for more knowledge. "Thank you very much!"
As Hermione loaded the books into Violet's arms, a voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."
Violet bid Hermione farewell, hurried back to Ron's compartment, and hastily shoved Hermione's books into her own school trunk. She glanced at Ron. He was wearing his Hogwarts robes now. They were a little short for him; his sneakers were visible. He looked very, very pale. Violet bid Hedwig goodbye, and she and Ron headed out into the corridor and joined the throng, the rest of their sweets stuffed into the pockets of their robes.
The train slowed and finally stopped. Violet and Ron moved with the crowd and eventually got off. Violet stood on her toes for a second, looking for Hermione. She shivered in the cold night air and pulled her cloak more tightly around herself. Her stomach lurched, then filled with excitement as she heard a familiar voice calling over the wind: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Violet?"
A lamp came bobbing into view over the heads of the students, and Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over at Violet. Violet beamed back.
"C'mon, follow me- any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"
Slipping and stumbling, forty some Hogwarts robed first years stumbled after Hagrid. Violet grinned in the darkness, and glanced eagerly around at the thick trees on either side of them. They went up a steep, narrow path as Neville, the toadless boy, began to sniff a couple of times.
"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," called Hagrid, "jus' round this bend here."
There was a loud "Oooooh!"
The path had ended. They were standing at the edge of a great black lake, and perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its many windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.
"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called. He pointed to a little fleet of boats sitting in the water. Violet and Ron got into a boat with Neville and Hermione.
"There you are! I was looking for you," Violet said to Hermione. Hermione smiled.
"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid. "Right then- FORWARD!"
And the fleet of boats began moving across the black water of the lake. The water was as smooth as glass. Violet pulled up her sleeve, leaned over the side of her boat, and stuck her hand in. She withdrew it immediately; the lake water was very cold.
She leaned back then and stared with everyone else at the castle they were sailing toward. They were almost to the cliff on which it stood now.
"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid. Violet, Ron, Hermione, and Neville ducked, along with all of their fellow first years. The boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They sailed down a dark tunnel that ended at a sort of underground harbor where they all scrambled out onto rocks and pebbles.
"Oy, you there? Is this your toad?" asked Hagrid.
"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, and he ran toward Hagrid with outstretched hands.
They followed Hagrid up a passageway in the rock and came out on smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.
They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front doors.
"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"
Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.