It had been a few days since Evangeline arrival, and one day, Neville and his gran had left to do a bit of shopping. Evangeline took the time to snoop around Neville's room. At first glance, the room was like any other teenaged boy going to Hogwarts – propaganda for his house, posters of Quidditch teams, bands, and his school trunk packed at the foot of his bed.
Evangeline's eyebrow raised – there had to be something interesting in his room. She looked at the trunk, then to the bedside table. His dresser drawers? Still no.
Her eyes flickered back to the bedside table and she dashed across the room to it. She knelt by the side and pulled the drawer out. She pulled out a small notebook and flipped through it. Just stuff on plants. The book found itself being thrown over her shoulder and landing on the floor.
Next came a stack of papers. She sat back on her heels and started digging through them. It was an entire correspondence between him and that Weasley girl.
As she was scanning the last from Neville, a paragraph caught her eye.
But then what did the Yule Ball mean? Why did you go with me if you didn't plan for it to mean anything? Please, Ginny, consider just one date.
Evangeline gagged and felt the urge to tear apart the letter. But then Neville would know she was there. This couldn't be done. So she read Ginny's response. It was short.
The only reason I went with you was because no one else would go with you. I doubt even one of the Willow twins would have gone with you. You're sad and rather pathetic. You can't do anything – you love your plants more than people.
The bitch!
And furthermore, I just used you to be able to go to the ball.
Do not ask me out ever again.
"Dang," said Evangeline, stretching out the word. "That's harsh."
She heard the door downstairs and rushed to put everything back in order. She scrambled out of the room as fast as her body would let her, and pretended to walk from the bathroom to her room. She laid down on the bed just as Neville was coming upstairs.
"So, can you tell me exactly what happened now?" he asked, coming into the room.
"I suppose," said Evangeline.
"Well?"
"We were running away from Severus, you see," Evangeline began. "We were – disagreeing, and Violet wanted to run. I wasn't going to let her leave on her own, so I went with her. She went crazy in the woods. She was seeing something. Remember Trelawney saying she was a Seer? Full force. And she stopped suddenly and pulled me into a hug and said 'be strong' just as this strange wind pulled as apart. It was a magical storm, and I woke up in the woods, totally beat up. My owl can't find her to give her my letters, and I don't know what to do about the one's I keep getting from Severus."
"You should at least tell him you're okay," said Neville. "He's probably worried sick."
"Yeah. I should!"
Evangeline reached for parchment, and Neville handed her ink and a quill. She wrote the two words and signed her name at the bottom. She rolled it up and tied it with a piece of yarn. She handed it to her owl, and it took off. The owl flew from the room, out the window.
"Are you sure about this?" Michael asked as Violet started limping from the room. She hadn't been out of bed except to go to the bathroom – but that was with Mrs. Corner's help.
"Yes," said Violet, looking out the window. Both cars were gone from the driveway. Perfect. "You will teach me to ride."
"I really don't think you should," he said, grabbing her arms as she started to fall.
Violet glared at him. She moved around behind him and climbed on his back.
"Down, my steed!" she cried.
"What?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at her.
Violet had her arms wrapped around his neck, her legs locked around his waist.
"Just walk," she said, sighing and placing her head on top of his. She could get used to this.
"Fine," he muttered and started down the stairs. Violet held on, giggling to herself. This was great. Until they reached the bottom, when her head smacked the ceiling.
"Dammit!" she shouted, pressing her hand to her forehead. "This is your fault!"
"Mine?" he asked, lowering her onto the landing and bending over to make sure she wasn't bleeding.
If he would just lean in closer . . .
The door opened as they were in this position, and Mrs. Corner squealed and clapped.
"Grandbabies!" she cried.
"Mom!" he whined, jerking away from Violet, his face turning the color of a tomato.
Violet looked away, scratching the back of her head.
"Your forehead's bleeding dear," she said. "Are you alright?"
"Eh?' Violet lifted her hand and when she pulled it away – blood. "You wanna just fix that real quick?"
"Oh, alright," said Mrs. Corner and pulled her wand out. She waved it and the cut healed itself.
"Thank you," said Violet sweetly.
"Now, what were you two doing down here?" said Mrs. Corner, placing her hands on her hips.
"I was gonna teach her to ride a dirt bike," Michael said quietly.
"Michael!" she cried, smacking the back of his head. "In her condition? You idiot boy!"
"Yeah, Michael," said Violet, playing along. "I could have gotten hurt!"
He glared at her, rubbing the back of his head.
"Have fun getting upstairs," he said, walking out the front door.
"Asshole!" Violet shouted after him.
"Violet!"
Smack.
"Ow!"
"A very gentle cast," said Neville softly, demonstrating. "And we're supposed to be very, very quiet."
"Like this?" Evangeline asked, rather too loud.
"We're fishing!" Neville said in a harsh whisper. "Shush!"
"Meh," muttered Evangeline, sticking her tongue out. She did as she was shown, and reeled in ever so slowly.
Then –
"Hey, I got a bite!" Evangeline cried, causing Neville to lose his fish. She reeled hers in after a few minutes of battle and held up a good-sized fish. "How's that?"
"Really, really good," said Neville, pulling a string through its mouth, and connecting it to the chain. He let the fish swim into the water until they had more to tie down.
As the crickets chirped around them, and the light wind brushed their skin, Evangeline couldn't help but think of how nice it would be to be on a tiny row boat, and have Neville row them around. Just the two of them…
She sighed contently and cast her line. She and Neville spoke softly, and only occasionally. Before leaving, they had pulled in another three fish. They were eating well tonight. Neville offered to show her how to skin them, but Evangeline flinched at the idea.
So they walked back home with four fish in Neville's bag. Four very smelly fish.
"Y'know, the woods are really pretty at sunset," said Evangeline, debating reaching for his hand.
"Yeah, they are," he said. He looked at Evangeline and smiled gently.
She smiled back, and he took her hand in his. He leaned forward, and she leaned towards him.
"Neville!" came a sharp crying ahead of them.
The two jerked apart and blushed deep red.
"Neville – in the house. And you, young lady, don't touch my grandson," she snapped at them.
Evangeline's shoulder slumped and she sulked for the rest of the evening. His gran didn't let them eat together or even see each other for a week.
"Orion!" cried Violet, pointing up at the stars. "See, right there. Those three are his belt – and those are his sword!"
"Oh, I see," said Michael, leaning back on the roof.
They had been up here since the sun set and Violet was on her back, pointing out everything. She knew so much about these balls of fire in the sky. Michael was sitting, his legs crossed.
"And that's Cancer," said Violet.
"Let's find one no one else has named," Michael said, lying down next to her. His hand rested just next to hers, their pinkies brushing.
"Good luck with that," said Violet, turning her face away from his so he wouldn't see her blush.
"What about that?" Michael asked, pointing out a shape in the sky.
Violet turned and looked.
"Already found," she said, thankful for the darkness. She raised her hand and pointed to one star and then another, the lines forming a rose. "There."
"I guess that's ours, now," he said. Violet looked at him, but he had sat up.
His owl landed next to them and he grinned.
"Hey, got any light?" he asked.
She pulled out the mini-flashlight in her pocket and handed it to him. He shown it on the envelope.
"Yes!" he cried.
"What?" Violet asked, sitting up on her elbows.
"Oh, Ginny wrote me back."
Violet nodded and moved to the other side of the roof. She bit her lip, looking up at the stupid rose in the sky.
Like that meant anything.
She lowered her head onto her kneecaps and tried not to cry. Maybe this stupid romance wasn't supposed to happen. First Cho, then Ginny. Was he just doing this to piss her off?
"Are you guys dating?" Violet called over her shoulder.
"Not yet," he said. "But we will soon."
The first tear fell from her eye, and then another and another.
Stupid boys.
"Are you okay?" he asked, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"I miss Evangeline," she said. It wasn't what she was thinking, but it was true. "And my cat. And I think I miss Severus."
No one allowed her to leave to find Evangeline, and the Corner's owl never found Evangeline. She didn't receive letters from Severus, and assumed he didn't care.
Michael put his arms around her, and Violet bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.
"We'll see them when we go to Hogwarts."
"Mine's higher!" Evangeline cried. "I win!"
"No way!" said Neville. "That's not fair!"
"Yours got caught in a tree," said Evangeline. "I think it's fair I won."
"But-but – not everything's a competition," he countered.
"Fine," said Evangeline, giggling. She pulled her kite in and switched it for one shaped like a butterfly. She got a running start, and the wind pushed it into the air.
Neville climbed the tree his kite was in and dislodged it from the branch, ripping the paper.
"That's too bad," said Evangeline upon seeing it.
Neville sighed and grabbed the one she had been using – colorful box kite. He threw it into the air, and the wind sent it plummeting down to the earth.
"You're having really bad luck," Evangeline said, giggling.
Neville looked at her, and gave a half-smile. He started running with the kite and tossed it into the air with the first gust of strong wind. It flew upwards, into the sky, as Neville released more string.
Evangeline's was still climbing high as Neville came to stand next to her.
"What's that?" Evangeline asked, pointing to a little black dot zipping around in the sky. It turned, and began to dive bomb them.
The two dashed away, and a black owl landed directly on a mouse they didn't know was there.
"Aww!" Evangeline said. Then she noticed the two letters it had in its beak. "Those are from Hogwarts!"
Neville took the letters, and the owl flew away with its prey. He handed one to Evangeline, and they pulled their kites in.
Evangeline ripped hers open as soon as she had shoved the kites into Neville's arms. Her supply and book list were located inside as well as a letter from Snape. She tossed his letter over her shoulder and tucked the supply list into her pocket.
"Oh my, God, they're here!" Violet shouted as an owl flew into the window. She took the letters from its beak and gave it part of her lunch. She tossed Michael's letter at him from across the table and ripped hers open. "Oh, look, Severus wrote me."
She ripped his letter up and looked over her supply list.
"Can we go shopping?" she asked, turning to Mrs. Corner. "Please?"
"Tomorrow, dear, tomorrow," she said.
Violet sighed and picked her sandwich up again.
Tomorrow.
She was up early the next morning, bouncing as she walked down the hall to shower. Violet was hoping to see Evangeline – and maybe even Severus. Maybe.
Se showered quickly and was drying her hair as someone knocked on the door.
"Almost done!" she called.
"Mom wanted me to tell you we're ready," he said.
Violet dropped the towel in the laundry basket and pulled her shorts on before dashing out the door and bumping into Michael.
"C'mon!" she said, dragging him down the hall. "C'mon, c'mon!"
"You're so impatient," he said, laughing.
She glared over her shoulder as she ran down the stairs. She skidded to a stop in front of Mrs. Corner before sighing and running back upstairs. For some reason, shoes were mandatory. She yanked her Converse on, messily tying the laces and grabbing her key to the vault and her school bag. She had two shopping lists to complete.
She flew down the stairs again to see the two Corners waiting patiently.
"You really shouldn't run," said Michael.
Violet shrugged.
"Can we go now? Please, please, please?"
Mrs. Corner laughed and nodded. She picked up a jar of floo powder and Violet grabbed her handful, jumping into the fireplace.
"Diagon Alley!" she shouted.
She was sucked into the network, and her body twisted in all directions. Soon, however, she was deposited in Diagon Alley and waited until Mrs. Corner and Michael arrived.
"Let's go!" she said, grabbing Michael's hand and dragging him towards the bank. She had a feeling.
"Gran," complained Neville as she stopped for the hundredth time to look at a cauldron.
"Shush, boy," she said, slapping his hand.
Neville grimaced, and Evangeline slowly began walking away.
"Where are you going?" Neville called as soon as she turned her back.
"To Gringotts," she said, pulling her key out. "I don't have any money on me. We didn't grab much when we left."
"Oh," said Neville. "Gran, we're going to Gringotts."
"Yes, yes," she said, waving her hand impatiently at them.
Evangeline and Neville walked off towards the bank, Evangeline skipping slightly. As they neared, a flash of green caught her eye.
"Violet?" she called hopefully.
But it was just someone who had dyed their hair. She sighed and looked around. As her back turned from Gringotts, she felt a body collide with hers.
"I found you!" she heard a girl scream.
Evangeline twisted in the grasp and found Violet squeezing the life out of her. She threw her arms around her sister and let out a happy cry.
Violet pushed away after a second and surveyed her twin.
"Hmm, you seem to be in good shape," she said. Her head snapped towards Neville as he shifted. "You did care for my twin, didn't you? Because if you didn't-"
"Oh, leave him alone," said Evangeline, elbowing her ribs. "They called a mediwitch for me."
Violet turned on her heel.
"And you let your husband operate? C'mon I could have healed in a few hours!" Violet snapped at the two behind her.
Evangeline saw Michael and a woman who resembled him. Must be his mother.
"Vi," said Evangeline, tugging at her sleeve.
Violet turned and Evangeline pointed across the street.
"Severus!" the twins shouted together.
The man spun and looked at them, grinning.
"Remind me to tell him never to do that again," Violet said to Evangeline.
"Deal," she said.
Snape ran across the street and swept both into his arms. Violet shrugged and hugged him back, as Evangeline smiled and did the same.
"Where the hell did you guys go?" he asked, looking at both.
Violet was still marked up from her 'natural healing' process and her shorts showed the stitched wound on her leg. Evangeline looked perfectly fine.
Violet shrugged. Evangeline looked off in the distance.
"Over dinner," said Violet. "In the meantime – I want to find my school stuff. So, let's go shopping!"
"I've never heard you so enthusiastic about shopping," Evangeline teased as their group walked towards the book store.
Violet snuck away at one point and dashed down to Knockturn Alley. She ran into the apothecary and looked at the man running the place.
"Look, I need poison," she said. "And no ordinary poison."
The man gave her a twisted grin, the scars on his face stretching across his skin. One of his eyes was covered by a patch, and the other was black as night.
"And why would ya need poison?" he asked.
"I'm making a potion," she snapped. "I need viper poison. Now."
"I don't think I'll be selling it to a pretty thang such as yerself," he said.
She pulled a large stack of galleons from her pocket.
"Would this change your mind?" she asked, placing ten on the counter.
The other customers in the shop turning to look at her. What kind of kid carried that much money on them? And did she have more?
"Maybe," he said.
Violet slapped three more on top.
"Look, give me the poison," she hissed. Leaning forward, she added, "and I won't kill you."
He laughed and Violet's eye flashed red. The fingers on her hands turned to claws. She jumped onto the counter and her fist locked around his throat. The claws pressed into his skin, blood falling.
"I want the most you have," she demanded.
The man nodded and she released him. He jogged across the store and pulled out ten vials of the poison. He handed it to Violet and she slipped them into the bag she had thrown over her shoulder.
She turned to leave, but she stopped at the door and turned around. She walked back to the counter, one set of claws turning to fingers. She picked up all but two of the coins and smiled.
"Thank you," she said, and left the store, returning to her normal appearance.
Severus'll thank me later.
She met up with everyone at the Leaky Cauldron as promised and passed off a lie about finding a new telescope that folded into her bag. She hated how easy it was to lie to them.
As they sat for lunch, Mrs. Corner and Michael left and Neville went to find his gran, leaving the twins and Snape.
"Now what were you really doing?" he asked.
"Trying to find a telescope to fold into my bag," she said. "I've taken quite a liking to the stars, you know."
He raised one eyebrow but said nothing else.
They finished their shopping, and Snape took them to the Corners' and Longbottoms' to get their things. He grabbed them by the back of their shirts roughly and returned them to his manor. He waved his wand, mumbling a spell under his breath.
"What, lock us in?" Evangeline asked.
He smirked and Violet lifted the window, and tried to stick her hand out. A nasty jolt of electricity travelled up her arm.
"Bastard!" she shouted.
"Tell me everything from the night you disappeared," he instructed and led them to the kitchen. He pulled out a bottle of fire whiskey and poured himself a glass. Violet reached for the bottle, and he smacked her hand. "And no, you won't be having any."
"Rude," she said, rubbing the back of her hand.
"Well," said Evangeline and began the story.
She told him what happened when she arrived at Neville's and then let Violet tell her side of the story.
"I almost got run over," she snorted and continued. She threw her right leg on the table and pointed at the wound. "It's gonna scar, too!"
"Of course," said Snape.
They told him vague details of all that occurred while they were staying with their friends. Violet left out all the Ginny-related nonsense, and Evangeline left out their walk in the woods and the rejection letter from Ginny.
Snape had drunk half the bottle by the time they were finished.
"Yay, he's drunk again!" Evangeline cheered as he hiccupped and giggled randomly.
"Dude, men really shouldn't giggle," Violet said and grabbed the bottle from Snape. She took a sip and choked. "Remind me why I wanted to try this crap?"
Evangeline shrugged. "Maybe it's an acquired taste."
"Probably," Violet agreed and put the stopper in the bottle. She placed it on the counter as Snape passed out, hitting the table with a thud. She and Evangeline took one arm each for Severus, dragging him up the stairs.
"He's gonna have the worst headache ever tomorrow," said Violet, laughing.
"Totally," agreed Evangeline.
Violet kicked his door open and they dragged him onto the bed. Violet pulled the covers up to his chin, and they walked back to their room, tossing their things in a pile on the floor. Violet, however, didn't toss her school bag. She pulled the ten vials out and showed them to Evangeline.
"Viper poison," she said. "That's what I was really getting."
"I figured you were trying to get stuff for the potion," Evangeline said, pulling her shoes off. "Dibs on the shower."
"'Kay," Violet said and locked the vials into their desk drawer. She took the key and threaded it on a chain, and put it in a drawer on her bedside table. She changed and sat on her bed until Evangeline came back.
"Did you guys do anything other than what you told Sev?" Evangeline asked.
Violet nodded and told her everything. Evangeline took her turn, and both sighed.
"Damn Ginny," Violet said, shaking her head. "Such a player."
"She is," agreed Evangeline. "So what are you gonna do?"
"Break them up, of course," said Violet, a dark laugh following. "He will be mine!"