Yo! I'm glad to see you guys liked the previous chapter. The response I got made me super happy. Anyway, this is a dialogue heavy chapter. Thank you to all readers so far!

Ten Years Later

It was the final day of July and right in the middle of summer break. For young Violet Alice Potter, this was just another completely average day where she sat in bed reading The Hobbit-a favourite book of hers.

Violet was ten years old, or perhaps eleven. She actually had no idea when her birthday was, even though she knew what year she had been born in. Since it was half way through the current year, it was entirely possible that her eleventh birthday had already passed.

It was a little unfortunate, but no one really knew for sure because while whoever had left her on the doorstep of Starlight Orphanage had left a note with her full name written on it, they hadn't left any other information at all, and that included her birthday.

While Violet knew she had been here for a long time now, she didn't know anything other than that. The Matron had never been the kindest woman around, but her assistant-the one she'd had a few years back, had been the complete opposite. So though Violet had known not to bother asking the Matron anything, she had gone to the assistant instead.

Violet had asked Lucy how she, Violet, had come to be at the orphanage, and Lucy had told her that she had been found in a basket on the doorstep in the beginning of November back in eighty one. They'd taken her in immediately, but the only identifying information she'd had was the note with her name on it, along with the silver bracelet she'd had on her wrist that said 'Violet' on it.

Violet had been at the orphanage for close to ten years now, and she still had no idea who had left her here or why she had been abandoned at all. Had her parents not wanted her? Or had someone else left her? Someone that wasn't a parent? Violet didn't have that answer, and it seemed no one else around here did either.

Violet may have been an orphan like everyone else here, but even then, she somehow still managed to stand out among the others.

Appearance wise she wasn't all that strange-she was on the shorter side because she didn't tend to get much to eat, her hair was black and long, and her eyes were a nice green that she really liked. The only odd thing when it came to her looks was something that couldn't actually be seen by others. Something that was hidden from view under her clothes.

She had a strange marking on her midsection, to the left of her belly button. It sort of looked like a tattoo, except it obviously wasn't one.

It was through reading The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings that Violet had come across the term 'runes', and after seeing some of the ones in the books, she'd started thinking that it was possible that her marking was one of them too The problem with this was that no one actually used runes now, if they ever even did, so it wasn't like it could actually be a rune.

So if it wasn't that, and it wasn't a tattoo, then what was it? An abnormal birthmark that for whatever weird reason, hadn't shown up until she was almost two years old? That was what the adults had told her, not that that made much sense either.

Personality wise, Violet was a very introverted, intelligent girl and was, unfortunately, picked on relentlessly by the other children, whether they were fellow orphans from Starlight or classmates from school.

She kept to herself for the most part, preferring to spend her time reading and focusing on her schoolwork. Running around outside and getting all dirty wasn't how she liked passing her days and like most children, the others thought that to be very weird.

Violet's behaviour however, was far from the only reason she was bullied. No, there was something else. Something more. Something odd.

Violet could do things that no one else could. Things that ranged from making things float, to talking to snakes. And while it was true that Violet didn't understand or even know why she could do all these weird things, she liked how special it made her feel.

She was different.

Everyone else knew that too. They knew she did weird things that they couldn't do, and it scared them. So because of that, they took it all out on her, and they hit her, and stole from her, and mocked her, and made her life miserable. That did end up backfiring on them sometimes though, because Violet also had the tendency to use those creepy...powers on them to hurt them back.

When they told on her and the Matron punished her, Violet acted like it didn't bother her at all. But though the adults never saw it, the children would see something in her eyes-a strange, frightening look that would make them shiver and hurriedly look away.

Violet didn't always want to hurt them back, and she certainly didn't like always hurting them, but nothing else was teaching them and they needed to know that she wasn't about to take this all laying down. The adults didn't help the situation, and generally tended to just make things worse, so she had learned to take it into her own hands. It wasn't like anyone could ever prove anything anyway.

The sound of turning pages was the only thing that could be heard in Violet's room that morning.

It was a little early, so the other children were still sleeping blissfully, pleased they wouldn't have to wake up early to go to school. Violet had actually adjusted her schedule to account for that, savouring the silence while it lasted. Once everyone else woke up, all the loud laughing and screaming would start, and she could never concentrate properly with all of that noise.

Today was supposed to be a perfectly normal day for Violet, where she was planning on finishing her book. But that plan ended up going right out the tiny, dirty window when there was a knock on her door.

Going still for a second, Violet slowly lowered her book, blinking. "Yes?" she called out cautiously, already mentally preparing herself to have to get up and run. No one ever knocked around here.

The door creaked open, a bit of peeling paint falling to the floor, and the Matron stepped in, a strange, goofy looking smile on her face.

"Someone here to see you, Potter," she said, her voice sounding as strange as her smile looked. "A professor from some boarding school you've been registered for." And then she left, gone so quick it was as if she hadn't even been there in the first place.

Violet just stared, confused, watching curiously as a man entered the room. The very first thing that drew her attention to him was the turban he had wrapped around his head-different than the ones she normally saw some men wearing around London. But that was the only thing that seemed odd about him because he was dressed smartly in a nice looking suit.

"G-g-good morning, Miss P-Potter."

A little startled by the stutter, it took Violet a few seconds to remember her manners. "Good morning, sir. Won't you please sit down?" she said, gesturing at the desk chair.

While the man moved the chair to sit, Violet put her book open and face down on her pillow and moved to sit at the edge of her bed, her back straight and her hands folded neatly in her lap.

"T-thank you," said the professor, having taken a seat. "I am P-Professor Quirrell."

When he made no move to shake hands Violet, wondering if it was a religious thing, inclined her head in greeting. "Violet Potter," she said, even though he already seemed to know her name.

He gave her a twitchy looking smile. "A-as the Matron already said, I am a p-p-professor at b-boarding school. Y-you have b-been registered in this school since b-b-birth, and can begin your f-f-first year there i-in September."

Violet frowned slightly. Her parents had registered her in a boarding school and then abandoned her at an orphanage? But if she was going to be left behind, why waste the time (and also possibly a great deal of money) to sign her up for some prestigious school? "What is this school called then, if I may ask?"

"H-Hogwarts School of W-Witchcraft and Wizardry."

There was a pause where all Violet could do was stare in disbelief. He...was joking, right? Was the Matron playing a prank on her or something So caught up in her whirling thoughts, Violet didn't notice the subtle change that occurred in the man sitting before her.

"You are different than the other children around you. You have an ability that they do not." Quirrell leaned forward a little, the tone of his voice intensifying. "You are a witch, Violet Potter, and the ability you have is magic."

Violet froze, her eyes widening, never even noticing that the stutter had vanished. Witch? Magic? But-but how? She took a shaky breath, trying to understand, and looked up at the professor.

"But...that can't be true," she said softly, her hands clenching into fists. "Magic-magic doesn't exist." She wanted to believe it did though. God, she wanted to believe. She wanted a change in her life. She was almost desperate for it.

Quirrell just smiled at her though, and there was something a little different in it now than the twitchy one from before. "Magic is a very real thing, Violet," he said to her, his tone oddly gentle. "Deep inside, you know this is true. I know you do. You have always known you were different, haven't you? You have always known that you were special."

Violet hesitated before nodding slowly, feeling like this wasn't something she should have been admitting, but doing so anyway. "Yes," she said in a whisper.

Quirrell merely nodded, as if saying, 'I thought so', and straightened in his seat, regarding her closely. "You still do not believe me." It was more a statement than it was a question.

Shaking her head, Violet looked at him, her head cocking when she noticed him pull something out from under his sleeve. It was a length of wood. ...Was that supposed to be a magic wand or something?

But Quirrell didn't say anything. He just gave the stick a swish and a flick. At first, Violet didn't notice anything happen at all, and she had only just opened her mouth to ask him what he was doing when her book, which had been resting on her pillow, suddenly started floating in front of her.

Catching the book with his free hand, Quirrell glanced down at the cover, did a double-take, and then smiled slightly. "Ah, The Hobbit. One of my favourites. Have you read it before?"

Eyes wide, and still feeling kind of confused, Violet nodded. "More than once," she said almost absently, taking the book back when it was handed to her. She examined it carefully, fingers passing over it. It looked perfectly normal-there was no way it could have been floating on its own.

But...she could make things float too. She'd even done it to this very book two days ago when she'd started reading it again. It had been on her desk when she'd decided to read it, but she'd been feeling too lazy to get up and get it, so she'd just made it float over to her. Was that really magic though…?

"Still don't believe me?" asked Quirrell, looking more amused than he did annoyed.

Violet shook her head and watched curiously as the man made another weird movement with the stick. A bouquet of roses suddenly burst out of the end, and the roses flew up into the air, turning into petals that slowly fluttered back down. Violet held out her hand, more out of instinct than anything else, letting one of the petals land on her palm.

"Oh." The rose petal caught on fire, but the flame didn't cause her any pain. And it was this, now, that really started solidifying it. "Magic really is real," she all but whispered, finally looking back up.

"Yes, it is." The flaming flower petal vanished along with the other ones. "I'm sorry that I can't give you more time to come to terms with things, but there is more you must know, and I have little time to explain."

Violet blinked, surprised by the sudden serious tone of voice. "What is it?" she said hesitantly, putting her book back down on her pillow so she didn't accidentally ruin it.

"Your family."

"Family?" She didn't have a family. She wouldn't be here if she did.

"Yes." Quirrell paused for a moment, as if contemplating exactly what he should say or how he should say it. "In the wizarding world we have three types of...blood," he said, holding up a hand to silence her when she opened her mouth to question the odd topic change. "The first are Purebloods-those born to parents who are wizards. The second are Half-bloods-those born to one magical and one non magical parent. The third are Muggleborns-those born to magicless parents. A Muggle is a non-magical, just to clarify."

Frowning, Violet nodded, trying to wrap her mind around everything she was hearing, and remember the new words. Where exactly was this going? Was he about to tell her she was a Muggleborn? That her parents hadn't been magical-that they'd been Muggles?

Quirrell just continued. "If a child is born to a Pureblood or a Half-blood and a Muggleborn, then that child is considered a Half-blood, despite having two magical parents. You are one of these, a Half-blood. Your father was a Pureblood, a wizard named James Potter. Your mother was a Muggleborn, a witch named Lily Evans, though she took your father's surname when they married."

James and Lily... Though the names were now on her mind, something else was too. The tense that had been used to speak of her parents.

"Besides your parents, you also have a twin sister-Rose."

Violet's eyes widened in surprise. "A-a twin?" That certainly wasn't something she had expected to hear. Well, she supposed none of this was, really.

Quirrell didn't seem to mind her lack of eloquence. "Yes, however I must first inform you of the Dark Lord before continuing on their topic."

"Dark...Dark Lord?" Violet was familiar with the title-mostly just through The Lord of the Rings, where the Dark Lord Sauron had been a very horrible being. But this-

"There was a wizard who chose a different path than most, and this wizard later became known as the Dark Lord Voldemort."

Violet's frown deepened. "Vol...de...mort? That's...French, isn't it?" The Matron's old assistant, Lucy, had come from France, and had often spoken in her native tongue. She had even taught Violet (among a few others) a little when she had expressed her interest in the language, though the lessons hadn't been overly detailed.

Quirrell raised a brow, perhaps surprised that she had noticed that. "Indeed it is. Most fear to say his name, and prefer to call him You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"...That's just kind of silly."

"It truly is. They are frightened of him, and they have ample reason to be. He was at large for years, and was a true threat. It was impossible to know who to trust."

"So what...what does this have to do with my parents?"

"The Dark Lord began to target them, and on the night of Halloween in eighty one, he arrived at your home and he killed them."

Violet's lips parted, but no sound left her, her breath having caught in her chest, even though finding out her parents were dead wasn't really all that surprising at all.

"While no one knows why, he then turned his wand on your sister and yourself, and cast the same curse he had used on your parents. But the spell somehow rebounded and it ended up hitting him instead."

"Did-" Violet stopped, cleared her throat to make her voice sound less hoarse, then tried again. "Did he die?"

For a brief second an odd expression crossed Quirrell's face. "It is...difficult to say," he said slowly. "Some believe he did, yes, but there are some who think otherwise. Some believe he is biding his time and building his strength-that he may return one day."

"So...my sister and I both survived all of this?" Just as Violet had caught the 'was' when Quirrell had brought up who her parents were, she had also noticed he had used 'have', in reference to her twin.

"Yes, and your sister was marked with a lightning bolt shaped scar on her forehead-a cursed scar, apparently. It seems this means that she was the one to vanquish the Dark Lord, and due to this she is known as the Girl-Who-Lived."

Violet frowned again. "That's a weird title." And it wasn't even accurate either, was it? She had survived too, so what exactly made her sister the Girl-Who-Lived? Not surviving, clearly, because Violet had done that as well, so just the scar?

Quirrell's lips quirked slightly. "Yes, well, the Headmaster-that is to say, Albus Dumbledore, the one who considers himself the leader of the Light, and who is the current Headmaster of Hogwarts, sent your sister to live with relatives. Your mother's older sister and her family, I believe-they are Muggles. And it was he who brought you here to this orphanage. Though your sister is aware of our world and her title, and has been for years."

"But...what?" Violet's frown only deepened even further. "Why? Why did she get to live with relatives? Why do I have to live here?" It wasn't fair at all! And why was it that her sister already knew about this but she herself didn't?

Quirrell sighed softly, shifting in his seat. "I assume it has something to do with how Dumbledore believes the Dark Lord will return someday and target your sister. There are protective spells and wards placed around her house, and Voldemort cannot get to her while she is there. He seems to think that as you are not the Girl-Who-Lived, you need not fear being targeted by him."

"What? That-that's just stupid though! Where's the guarantee in that!?" Violet was fuming, and was having a hard time controlling it. "I don't want to die or anything of course, but what if he kills me just to get to her? What if he doesn't know that me and my sister don't even know each other and tries to kill me anyway!?"

Suddenly realizing what she was doing, Violet quickly reeled her emotions back in, trying not to blush at her uncharacteristic outburst. This wasn't normal for her at all, and she couldn't help but feel rather flustered now.

This ended up earning a light laugh from Quirrell. "Well, I cannot say why no one has told you any of the truth, but that is why I have come here to you today, bearing this information as a present of sorts." He smiled slightly. "Happy birthday."

"...It's my birthday?"

The smile vanished instantly. "You did not know?"

Violet shook her head. "No, the only thing I knew about myself was my full name. That was the only information that was left behind with me."

Quirrell didn't look at all pleased to hear that, but he seemed to decide to change the subject, because he took a folded sheet of parchment out of his pocket and handed it to her.

Violet couldn't help but notice that he was being very careful not to touch her, but she unfolded the parchment and found what looked like a list of supplies she needed for school.

"Do you accept your place at Hogwarts, Violet Potter?"

Violet hesitated for a moment, part of her still feeling like this was all some kind of elaborate joke. Still, there was a much bigger part of her that believed all of it-every single word. If she really did want a change, then this was a risk she had to take.

"Yes."

Quirrell smiled again, pleased. "Good. Now, the items on that list are all things you will require for your first year at Hogwarts-there are seven years in total, and every summer that list will change, depending on the requirements. I also have a key for you."

Curious, Violet accepted the small silver key. What was this for?

"This will get you into your vault at Gringotts-the bank in our world. There you will be able to withdraw money."

"Money? Why do I have money?"

"Ah, I expect your parents set up a trust vault for both yourself and your sister. This is a very common thing magical parents do for their children, especially Purebloods like your father was, as they're typically quite wealthy. You'll have to speak to the goblins if you wish for more information though."

Goblins? "Okay," Violet said with a nod. "Er, where do I buy everything from?"

"Diagon Alley." And as he told her where it was, watching her face curiously, he caught a flicker of emotion. "Would you prefer to go on your own?"

"Would that...be possible?" Violet was so used to doing everything by herself, and thanks to the Matron and her teachers, she wasn't sure she could release that control to adults, no matter who they were. She didn't trust them-couldn't trust them, and even though Professor Quirrell hadn't done anything to earn her distrust, it was something she had been dealing with for years and breaking habits wasn't exactly easy.

"Of course."

A little relieved by that, Violet set the list and key down by her book on her pillow, then folded her hands back in her lap. "Is there anything else you think I need to know?" she asked.

"The Houses."

"Houses?"

"At Hogwarts," said Quirrell, "students are separated into four Houses: Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin."

Violet nodded, mostly just to show that she was still listening.

"When you arrive you, along with the other first years, will be sorted into one of these Houses, and will be a part of said House until you finish your schooling in your seventh year. Each House is represented by different characteristics."

Violet nodded again. "Okay." She paused in thought for a moment. "Will I-" she hesitated, "will I have to come back here?"

"Over the summer, at the very least. Students are permitted to remain at the castle for both the Christmas and Easter breaks, but must leave for the summer break."

"Oh." Violet was disappointed to hear that. She had been hoping that with the place being a boarding school, she would never have to come back to Starlight. Life would be so much better that way. But at the same time, she supposed she understood why staying at the school without ever leaving might not actually be okay. Even if she didn't like it.

Sighing inwardly, she posed another question that was on her mind. "When do I start there?"

Quirrell pulled something else out of his pocket, passing this over too. "Eleven in the morning on the first of September, the train leaves for Hogwarts from platform Nine and Three Quarters at King's Cross station."

Violet blinked. "Platform Nine and-and-pardon?"

Quirrell laughed softly. "Nine and Three Quarters," he repeated, seeming to understand her reaction. And then he instructed her on how exactly she could get onto this platform, along with a couple of other inconsequential things.

When finished, he got to his feet. "I believe that is everything. I suggest you do your school shopping sooner rather than later so that you have time to go through your books before leaving for Hogwarts."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, professor."

Quirrell headed for the door. "Have a g-good day, Miss P-P-Potter."

"You too, sir, thank you."

And with that, Professor Quirrell headed out, leaving Violet alone once more, unable to believe any of this had even just happened.

And that's it for now. Next chapter will have the Diagon visit, though I'm not sure if there'll be anything else. It depends on how long it ends up being, and chapter lengths do vary, and most certainly won't always be up this quickly. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!