Yo! Sorry about the wait. Anyway, a few people have made comments on Dumbledore's behaviour and what he's done so far, but honestly, I think you guys are being a bit hasty here. Maybe things aren't as they seem, you know what I mean? If I gave everything away now, the story would be boring, and who wants that? Regardless, thank you to all readers so far!

Tomorrow. Tomorrow would be the first of September and Violet was finally going to go to Hogwarts. She had already reminded the Matron about it, and had packed up all of her belongings. The only reason she'd even had to was because she'd taken all of her new books out to read through over the past month.

She felt like she had already learned so much and school hadn't even started yet!

When Violet went to bed that night, it was to a rather poor sleep. She had a strange dream about flashing green lights and a flying motorbike, but she forgot about it almost immediately after she woke up in the morning because she was too nervous and excited about leaving.

She double checked everything before she went to breakfast (a slice of buttered toast and a glass of orange juice). While she ate, the Matron, looking strangely pleased and indifferent at once, again confirmed that Violet was leaving today and wasn't going to come back until the end of June.

Violet figured the woman was glad she was going to be able to get rid of the freak for a while. She didn't really mind it as much as she thought she would. It wasn't like she wanted to be here anyway.

At half past ten, Violet set out for King's Cross station. With it being within walking distance for her, she knew it wasn't going to take her very long to get there, and so she didn't need to worry about being late. Really, she could have left fifteen minutes later than she did, but the quicker she got out of the orphanage, the better.

The station was as busy as usual, but Violet made her way over to the barrier and, just as Professor Quirrell had instructed, leaned up against it. A second later she felt the brick wall give away and when she opened her eyes (When had she even closed them?), she found herself staring at a train. A scarlet steam engine, to be precise.

"...Whoa."

The platform was packed with adults and children, and there were cats meowing, and owls hooting, and even a toad or two croaking faintly in the din.

Violet walked forward towards the train, watching people pushing and pulling large, heavy trunks around, trying to get them onto the train and into compartments. She knew the students couldn't use magic here, but why didn't the adults shrink the trunks or make them lighter? It would have saved them all a lot of time and effort. And stubbed toes and smashed fingers.

Shrugging inwardly, Violet tried to find an empty compartment, quickly noticing that quite a few people seemed to be staring at her in confusion.

It took her a moment before she remembered she had a twin sister who actually knew about this world and often came and visited. Since Rose was famous, everyone probably knew what she looked like, and Violet assumed the reason she was being stared at was because she looked like her. Yeah, that made sense.

And was also rather annoying.

Ignoring them, Violet finally managed to find a compartment near the end of the train. She stepped in, shutting the door behind her, and took a seat next to the window. She could still see the platform and wondered if she would be able to catch a glimpse of her sister and relatives. She had to admit, she was curious about them. Who wouldn't be?

Frowning, Violet once again wondered why exactly she had been the one to be left behind in an orphanage.

Yes, she understood Rose was in more danger than her but honestly, if Voldemort did come back, what would stop him from coming after her first? Once she considered that, wasn't she in just as much danger as her sister? Or did it just not matter because Rose was the Girl-Who-Lived and she wasn't?

Violet didn't get to think on this for much longer because the compartment door suddenly slid open, revealing two people, a girl and boy. Both seemed the same age as her, and she figured they were first years like her.

"Excuse me? Do you mind?" said the girl, gesturing at the empty seats.

Violet shook her head. "Go ahead." She was alone in here anyway. She didn't really need the entire compartment to herself, even if she'd prefer it that way.

The two entered, struggling to place their trunks above them before they sat down across her. A slightly awkward silence fell, which had Violet sighing inwardly, figuring she may as well introduce herself-just to be polite. She prided herself on having good manners despite being a 'stupid, filthy orphan'.

"I'm Violet," she said, and the other two looked at her almost gratefully.

"Hermione," said the other girl. She had bushy brown hair and front teeth that looked just a little bit big for her mouth.

"Neville," said the boy rather shyly. He had dark hair as well, and a round face.

After another moment of silence the three began talking about Hogwarts. They spoke of the Houses and the classes, and Violet learned that Neville was a Pureblood, and Hermione a Muggleborn. She told them that she was a Half-Blood, but she had grown up in the Muggle world because she was an orphan, which surprised the other two.

Both seemed to be sorry to hear that, but Violet noticed that Neville had an odd look on his face and was looking at her closer now, like he was thinking hard about something. He didn't say anything though, shaking his head when she asked, and they continued chatting, getting along rather well, which surprised Violet a little because that wasn't something that normally happened with her.

She knew it was usually her own fault too.

Hours passed and the three had bought some snacks from the witch pushing the sweets trolley. Hermione avoided anything with too much sugar, saying it was because her parents were dentists, but Neville explained what certain things were to Violet, who hadn't heard of any of the sweets, and got many of them (probably too many, really). All three were still talking about where they were going, wondering how they were going to be 'Sorted' as people were calling it.

"Gran didn't want to tell me," said Neville with a shrug. "She said I should just wait and see for myself."

"Professor Sprout didn't tell me either," said Hermione with a sigh. Like Violet, a professor had come to explain things to her and her parents. "What about you, Violet?"

Violet opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off before she could even begin when the compartment door suddenly slid open, causing the three occupants to look over at it in surprise.

Standing in the doorway was a platinum haired boy with a pale, pointed face. His grey eyes swept over Neville and Hermione dismissively before landing on Violet. He smirked. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Rose Potter, the Girl-Who-Lived herself."

Hermione and Neville's heads snapped over immediately, both staring at her in shock, obviously having heard of Rose. Violet however merely regarded the well-dressed boy with feigned mild interest.

"I'm sorry, but it seems you have me mistaken for someone else. My name is Violet."

The pale boy's eyes narrowed, and then widened. "Violet Potter," he practically whispered.

Now Neville's eyes widened too as he suddenly realized something. "You're Rose's twin sister!"

Violet sighed softly, a little irritated, but nodded, confirming this statement. "Yes. My name is Violet Potter and apparently, Rose is my twin sister."

Hermione opened her mouth, about to say something. She wasn't able to even get the first syllable out though because the platinum haired boy began to speak at the same time as she'd started.

"Draco Malfoy," he said, offering her his hand.

Violet took it and the two shook. "Nice to meet you."

Releasing her hand, Malfoy inclined his head and left the compartment after hearing someone call for him. The first three were left alone once more.

"I never knew Rose Potter had a twin," said Hermione with a frown. "I don't remember any of the books saying anything about it."

And while Neville stayed oddly quiet, Violet scoffed. "I had no idea either."

Hermione blinked. "You didn't? But you're the twin we're talking about!"

"I know I'm the twin we're talking about," said Violet. And she briefly explained how she had been left at the orphanage. "Professor Quirrell was the one who told me about this world and what I am. He told me about my family too. I didn't know about any of this before that."

"But...why weren't you and your sister put in the same place?" asked Hermione curiously.

Violet shrugged, unwilling and unable to get into the details that she didn't quite yet understand herself.

Silence reigned in the compartment once more and Neville suddenly changed the topic, as if sensing that things were quickly becoming uncomfortably awkward again. Violet was quite pleased with that and joined in on the new conversation, Hermione doing the same a moment later. Once again, things picked up and the journey to Hogwarts continued on in peace…

A few more hours passed before the Hogwarts Express finally came to a stop, the children all dismounting the train and gathering on the darkened, chilly platform of what Hermione said was Hogsmeade village's station.

"Firs' years! Firs' years, over here!"

Violet, along with her future classmates, all followed Hagrid. But even as she did this she still peered around for her sister curiously. She hadn't seen her yet and had expected people would be talking about her. It seemed not.

Her thoughts shattered around her when she got her first glimpse of Hogwarts. There was a huge black lake and across it, a mountain. On top of this was a massive castle with many turrets and the hundreds or perhaps thousands of windows were lit with what must have been torches.

"No more'n four to a boat!"

Violet got into one with Hermione, Neville, and a boy who introduced himself briefly as Dean. The boats began to move on their own, practically gliding across the lake. The castle towered over them as they moved closer to it and no one spoke, the sound of gently lapping water the only thing to be heard.

They docked at a cliff and climbed out, following Hagrid up a passage before coming out onto dewed grass in front of a very big wooden door…

Entering the Great Hall was as much of a shock as seeing Hogwarts from the outside. There were five long tables, four for students-probably for each House, and one for teachers, and these were lined with golden dishes that surely must have been very unnecessarily expensive.

The Hall itself was lit with hundreds, if not thousands of floating candles, and the ceiling looked more like the night sky. Violet had read something about this in one of the books she had gotten. It was bewitched to resemble the sky outside, and she heard Hermione whispering the same thing to whoever she was walking beside even as she thought it.

Stopping in front of the teachers' table, Violet watched as a pointed hat was placed on a stool and in surprise, listened as it sang. In the end she found herself relieved that all she was actually going to have to do was put the hat on. She, Hermione, and Neville had been wondering, and this was going to be far simpler than, well, almost anything else they'd been thinking of, really.

And so, McGonagall pulled out a scroll of parchment and began to read off names, eventually reaching someone Violet actually knew: "Granger, Hermione!"

Hermione rushed over and all but jammed the Sorting Hat onto her head as she sat down on the stool. She looked quite eager, and Violet wondered where she would be placed. Soon enough-

"RAVENCLAW!"

Hermione hurried off and another few names passed before- "Longbottom, Neville!"

Neville stumbled over, trembling noticeably. He was clearly very nervous and the Hat remained silent for a long, awkward moment before finally calling-

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Looking a little relieved, Neville went off and joined his new Housemates.

"Malfoy, Draco!"

Unlike Neville, Malfoy sauntered over to the stool, filled with obvious confidence. He sat down and the Hat had barely even touched his head when it called out-

"SLYTHERIN!"

He continued sauntering, looking rather pleased with himself. Violet had heard him bragging about joining that very House because it was in his blood. Apparently his parents had been in the same House, along with many family members for generations or something like that. Violet had sort of stopped listening after a while.

In any case, Violet's attention was caught when a set of twin girls (Patil Padma and Patil Parvati) were called, and she watched curiously, wondering whether they would be Sorted into the same House. Some red haired boy had been talking about all his brothers and his parents having been in the same one. What would she do if she was placed in the same House as her own sister?

But, and perhaps this was a good thing for her, Padma was put into Ravenclaw and her sister Parvati, into Gryffindor.

Okay, so there was no guarantee she and her sister would be together. And then she realized Professor McGonagall was already at the P's, and Potter was going to be coming very soon.

"Potter, Rose!"

There were some whispers in the Hall which were practically drowned out by cheers, and Violet finally got her first look at her sister.

She and Rose were definitely twins. Like Hagrid had indicated, Rose wore glasses, but they framed her face nicely. Other than that, Rose's hair was shorter, sitting around her shoulders, while Violet's flowed down her back. There didn't seem to be any other obvious differences between them though, at least not at a glance.

Maybe it was the smile on her face, or maybe it was her posture, or maybe it was both of those and more, but somehow, Violet could tell that Rose was happier than she had ever been herself. She'd clearly had a much better life so far, and Violet wasn't sure if that was something she was supposed to be happy about or not.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Grinning, Rose pulled the Hat off her head and headed off to her new House Table where many of her housemates were cheering loudly. How many of them knew of her existence, Violet wondered? She would soon find out.

"Potter, Violet!"

The Hall, which had been fairly loud just a moment ago, fell into silence before the shocked whispers broke out. Violet heard a few of them as she made her way up to the stool. Most were repeating her name in confusion, and seemed astonished that the Girl-Who-Lived had not just a sister, but a twin, which none of them seemed to have known.

Well that was strange. How had Malfoy and Neville known about her, then? Maybe it was a Pureblood thing. Yes, that made some sense, right? After all, her dad had been a Pureblood. Maybe when she and her sister had been born, the news had spread throughout the Pureblood community. That was possible, wasn't it?

Sitting down on the hard stool, the Hat was then placed onto Violet's head, the brim falling over her eyes because it was so large. Unsure of what to expect, Violet nearly jumped when she heard a voice in her ears.

"Oh ho! Another Potter, I see! And vastly different than your sister too. A good mind and talent-and oh, a thirst to prove yourself. How very interesting. Where shall I place you...?"

Violet wondered whether that was something that really mattered. Wherever she was placed, she was determined to prove to everyone that she was not some 'stupid, filthy orphan'. No, she was going to prove them all wrong. She had to.

"Hm hm! Oh, you remind me of another student from many years ago. He had the same mindset as you. Yes, yes I know where to put you now-SLYTHERIN!" The last word was yelled out for everyone to hear.

And as the Hat was pulled off of her head, Violet noticed whispers had once again broken out, this time about Rose Potter's twin being a Snake. Right...

Ignoring them, Violet joined the Slytherins. They didn't outright ignore her, but their greetings were cool for the most part, and many were quick to look away from her.

Curious about this behaviour, Violet returned her attention to the rest of the Sorting, though she kept an eye on her fellow housemates. Would they behave as the other children from Starlight? Would she have to defend herself against them as well?

Once the Sorting ended, the Headmaster-Professor Dumbledore (Violet frowned), got to his feet to say a few strange words, before the feast finally began.

Violet had to make sure her jaw didn't drop when the food appeared. She had never seen so much before, not all at once, and it took her a moment to pull through and pick a few things. Starlight never offered anything like any of these dishes and it was all wonderful.

While she ate, the students around her spoke not to her, but one another. Violet listened regardless, hearing about their blood statuses, the classes they would be taking, the professors, the other Houses, and so on.

Dinner became dessert and after finishing a slice of some delicious treacle tart, Violet glanced up at the Head Table, eyes immediately landing on Professor Quirrell, who was rather hard to miss in that turban of his. He was speaking to the teacher seated next to him-one with dark hair and eyes, and a slightly larger nose than normal, and who was fully dressed in black.

Violet couldn't recall ever having seen him before, but at the same time, she felt as if she knew him. How weird.

With the feast finally finished, the Headmaster once again rose and this time, had a proper speech, most of which was, unsurprisingly, rules.

The Forbidden Forest on the grounds was, as its name suggested, forbidden; magic was not to be used in the corridors; and Quidditch tryouts were to be held in a couple of weeks. Violet only knew a little about the sport-just what Neville had explained.

"And finally," said Dumbledore, looking quite serious now, "the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to anyone who does not wish to die a most painful death."

Some of the students in the hall laughed, but Violet frowned. Why mention it then? Children were curious, and by telling them that they couldn't go there, some would only want to go all the more. If no one mentioned it, then no one would know, and since magic could just be used to block the area off, no one would be able to get through anyway.

Violet just couldn't see the sense in bringing it up at all. By drawing attention to it, it was almost like Dumbledore wanted someone to go there and, well, why would that be?

It was only a few minutes later when they were all dismissed and Violet, along with her fellow new Slytherins, followed their House's 'Prefects' as they were called, down into the dungeons.

Oh, what a lovely place to live for the next seven years. Truly, Violet could think of nowhere better. It seemed the numerous towers were just for show.

Heading down a corridor, they came to a stop in front of a wall and Violet made sure to glance around and make note of anything peculiar so she wouldn't end up getting lost.

At this point one of the Prefects, the girl, turned to them, informing them that the entrance to their Common Room was behind the wall and to get in, they would need a password-which she then recited.

Stepping inside, Violet was taken aback by the sight, perhaps more than she should have been.

It was dark, which was to be expected, seeing as they were underground, and not as damp as she'd been thinking it would be. The entire massive room was tinged green due to the greenish lamps, giving the space a rather eerie looking glow. This also seemed to be because they were apparently partially under the lake.

Magic was strange.

There were many low backed chairs and leather sofas, all in dark green or black, and dark wood cupboards which must have had some something or another stored in them. There were some skulls around too which, despite being rather strange, seemed oddly fitting. There were also tapestries decorated with those who must have been living in medieval times. The atmosphere was grand, but cold.

Violet...didn't hate it, but she couldn't help but think that the entire thing was rather, well, dramatic.

Mister and Miss Prefect allowed them the chance to look around, before explaining that their dorm rooms were off in the back-left for the boys, and right for girls. As they had the entire dungeons to themselves, students had their own rooms, which could only be opened by their owners, Head of House, Deputy Headmistress, Headmaster, or anyone they themselves gave permission to. Salazar Slytherin, their House's creator, enjoyed his privacy and this was only demonstrated here.

"The password to enter our common room changes every fortnight," said Mister Prefect, "so ensure you pay attention to the noticeboard." He looked up, past them, and then inclined his head. "Professor Snape will have a few words with you all now." And he stepped back out of the way.

Violet looked round and saw the black clad professor from the Head Table approach. He stopped only once he was standing before them all, onyx eyes sweeping over them, unimpressed.

"I am Professor Severus Snape," he said, his voice low. "I am the Head of Slytherin House and the Potions Master."

He went on to say that as Slytherins they needed to prepare themselves to be treated harshly by the other three Houses. That Snakes had a cruel reputation around them, and that they were going to have no real choice but to deal with it as well as they could.

"You may retaliate, within reason, against those harming you, though if you choose to do so, then do not get caught. I will be lenient with you around other Houses however, but rest assured, I will punish you the way I see fit later on."

The man's gaze swept over them again and Violet noticed that his eyes lingered on her for a bit longer than they did on anyone else. Though his expression remained blank, there was an odd look in his eyes that she was unable to recognize. He looked away before she could determine what it was though.

"Regardless of any...personal conflicts you may have with one another, I expect you all to remain banded together while around those not of our House."

Why he glanced back at her when he said that, Violet didn't know, but she listened anyway, nodding along with the others. The professor didn't look like one you would want to get on the wrong side of. He finished talking after a few more moments and after inclining his head, left them alone.

Mister and Miss Prefect took over again, splitting them off into boys and girls and then leading them in opposite directions. Violet and the four other girls were then told that the rooms they chose would remain theirs until they graduated, and then allowed them to pick which one they wanted.

They were standing in a short hallway that had six doors-three on each wall. Pansy Parkinson chose the nearest room, and then two others, Daphne Greengrass and Tracy Davis, took the ones next to and across hers. Millicent Bullstrode chose the room next to Greengrass, so Violet took the one next to Davis.

Parkinson, Greengrass, and Bullstrode had the rooms on the right wall, and Davis and Violet had the ones on the left, with the room on Violet's other side remaining vacant.

Miss Prefect informed them that once they stepped through the doorway, the privacy spells would activate and they would have to invite friends in for them to actually be able to enter. Their rooms were not protected by passwords, so they had to be careful of who they allowed inside their space. She then followed up with when meals were, and a couple of other things they were required to know.

Nodding to show they understood, Miss Prefect returned the gesture before walking off and leaving them be. The other girls entered their rooms, so Violet turned to do the same.

The door was a dark wood with a doorknob shaped like a snake's head. This wasn't the first snake she had seen either. In fact, that seemed to be a theme for Slytherins, or so she assumed, after having noted many of them throughout the common room, and even on the crests on the robes of all of the non first year Slytherins.

Mentally shrugging, Violet turned the knob, opened the door, and stepped through, shutting it behind her.

The room was a good size-not very big, but larger than her room back in the orphanage. Green and silver seemed to be the colour scheme, but she rather liked it, so she doubted she would need to change it-however one might do that.

There was a large bed, a desk with a chair, a wardrobe, and two arm chairs by a small table. All of these were made of a dark wood-Violet didn't know what exactly, and dark fabric. A door at the other end of the room led to a bathroom that followed the colour pattern, though it was on the smaller side.

Pleased, Violet pulled out her trunk and set it on the floor, tapping it once. It enlarged back to its original size and she knelt down next to it, beginning to unpack her belongings and put them in their new places. She didn't have much, so it didn't take very long, and she worked mostly on auto-pilot, thinking about what she had seen of her sister.

As she had been making her way over to Slytherin Table, Violet had managed to catch another glimpse of Rose and it didn't seem like she had looked too pleased to see Violet. She didn't want to judge her twin too quickly or anything, seeing as she knew next to nothing about her, but that look hadn't been a good start at all.

Once the students had mostly retreated into their rooms, Severus returned into his own, settling down in an armchair with a drink in hand. He probably dreaded the beginning of the school term as much as the students did, he thought wryly.

Sipping his drink, Severus frowned. The Potter twins, eh? He'd forgotten that they would be arriving at Hogwarts this year until Albus had brought it up, but the events of the Sorting had surprised him somewhat.

Rose Potter being Sorted into Gryffindor wasn't strange-it had been inevitable, really. But Violet Potter? In Slytherin? Yes, that was quite the surprise. Any Potter in Slytherin was surprising. Severus nearly smiled. James Potter was surely rolling in his grave right now.

His amusement faded. It was...odd how few seemed to know about Violet. He'd seen and heard a great deal of surprise when her name had been called earlier. None of those same people had been surprised to see Rose.

Severus had seen Rose around Diagon Alley numerous times, though he had always kept his distance from her, for obvious reasons. Still, he had never once seen Violet. He had actually noticed that some time ago and had asked Albus about it, but now that he thought back, he had never really been given a real answer for it.

The Slytherins weren't going to care much for Violet being in their House. She was going to have a hard time. They were likely going to feel she was invading their space and in a way, Severus understood, though he didn't entirely agree. He knew how many of those children had grown up, and he knew who many of their parents were-and who those parents had once served and supported.

Albus had asked him to keep an eye on both Potter brats earlier that day. Had he expected something like this would happen? But why? Why would he have thought one of them would end up in Slytherin? And why had one of them been Sorted into Slytherin?

Frown deepening as he thought, Severus barely even tasted his drink.

Tired from the long day Violet, finished unpacking, changed into her pyjamas (which were new, as she hadn't realized she would be getting her own room), brushed her hair and teeth, washed her face, and then settled into bed, marvelling at the feel of the soft mattress and sheets. This was nothing like her hard cot and, oh yes, was definitely going to take some getting used to.

The candle on the bedside table blew out on its own and Violet released a soft sigh, pulling the covers back up and reminding herself of when she would need to head up for breakfast in the morning, hoping she wouldn't sleep in by accident. That would kind of suck for the first day at school.

She was glad Salazar Slytherin had been such a private person, because she wasn't sure if she would have been able to share a room with others. After the orphanage, Violet wanted her space. At least she no longer had to worry about people walking into her room whenever they pleased and stealing all her things when she wasn't there.

It was a little weird to realize, but for the first time, Violet finally felt as if she had a place where she could feel...safe.

And that's it for now. Anyone have a good description of Theodore Nott? I don't care for the cannon one, and he's a fairly important character, and I'm horrible at this stuff, so yeah, I could so use some help with that. Please? Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!