Yo! Sorry about the wait. I wrote ninety percent of this chapter over the last few hours, so hopefully it'll be okay. Oh, and thank you to those who gave suggestions for Theo's appearance, and all readers so far.
When Violet woke up the next morning it took her a minute to remember where she was, and once she did, she couldn't help but smile. She wasn't at the orphanage. She was at Hogwarts. It hadn't been a cruel dream.
It was all real.
Sliding out of the comfortable bed, Violet checked the time and then began getting dressed for her first day of classes. But when she opened the door of her wardrobe, she paused in surprise.
Her robes, which had all been plain black, now had what she assumed was Slytherin House's crest on them-she had seen them on the older students. And there were neckties as well, silver and green in colour. How had they appeared like this?
Frowning slightly, a little perturbed, Violet finished getting ready and left her room. It was still fairly early, but the common room already had quite a few students in it, most of them chatting quietly. None of them paid her any attention, so she left silently.
Following the mental markers she had made the evening before, Violet retraced them to the Great Hall and, hiding her anxiousness, stepped inside. Gryffindor Table was all but deserted, a few students littered Hufflepuff Table, Ravenclaw Table was near packed, and Slytherin Table was about half full.
Violet could tell first years were to sit at the end of the table, so she took a seat across a fellow new student-the only other first year there at the moment.
It was a boy the same age as her, of course. He was on the thin and lanky side, as if his body was a bit big for him, but Violet had seen this before at Starlight and figured he would end up being quite tall later on, once he filled out. His hair was a bit longer than Malfoy's, but was sandy blond in colour, and he had blue eyes that reminded her of a clear sky.
Oddly enough, considering how the other Slytherins had treated her the day before, the boy was the first to react to her and though he didn't speak, he nodded his head, as if in greeting.
Violet returned the motion and reached out for the pitcher of milk. It was too far though and she had to stretch, silently cursing her small frame. A huff of laughter had her looking up, and the boy took the pitcher, holding it out for her.
Violet froze for half a second, not at all used to something even as simple as this, before taking it. "Thank you," she said politely. The boy merely inclined his head again and biting back a frown, Violet poured herself some milk.
Setting her plate, Violet began to eat in silence, hearing more people entering the Hall and sitting further down the table. Out of curiosity she glanced back up at the boy across her (What was his name again?) and saw that he was still watching her. But there was no irritation, or anger, or amusement, or malice in his eyes. In fact, he sort of looked as if he was attempting to work out a puzzle.
Violet looked away, curiosity building, and she glanced over when the other first years arrived and took a seat beside her. Parkinson sat down next to her, but just nodded at her curtly. Violet returned the gesture in silence.
She wasn't yet sure why their behaviour was what it was, but she knew she would learn soon enough. She was quite observant, after all, so even if they said nothing, she would still figure it out. At least, she was hoping so.
Throughout breakfast the other children discussed matters between themselves, most of them clearly already familiar with each other. Just as the previous night, they ignored Violet who ate in silence, listening curiously to those nearby. It was a wonder what one could learn when others believed you couldn't hear or understand them.
Unfortunately, nothing in their conversations was particularly interesting. They were mainly talking about what classes they might have today, and so on in that fashion. They didn't bring up anything she wasn't going to learn herself in the coming days, if not within the next few minutes.
And sure enough, Professor Snape soon approached their table, beginning to hand out their schedules without a word. Violet accepted her own with a simple "thank you", which got her an odd look from the man. But he moved on quickly, preventing her from putting much thought into it.
Frowning slightly at this, Violet shrugged it off inwardly before examining her timetable. She only had two classes today: Herbology and History of Magic-both in the morning. She would be free for the rest of the day. Well, that didn't sound so bad.
The main problem would be finding the classrooms. Hogwarts was a massive castle and her grounds were just as large. Violet didn't want to be late, but honestly, who knew how long it would take her to find where she needed to go?
When she looked up from her schedule she noticed the other students were beginning to leave the hall, no doubt heading to their first class. With a soft sigh, Violet decided she ought to do the same before she ended up being late and lost points or something.
Putting her timetable into her bag, Violet got to her feet and swung the bag over her shoulder, leaving the Great Hall. Having heard the others say Herbology was taking place in the greenhouses outside, she walked out of the nearby front doors, before pausing.
Where exactly were these greenhouses? Why hadn't the professors bothered telling them? Surely first years at least deserved a map or something?
"This way."
Starting slightly, Violet looked over only to find that same sandy haired, blue eyed boy from before. "Sorry?"
"The greenhouses," he said. "They're this way. Come on."
Nodding, Violet followed before falling into step beside him. Both were silent for a moment as they walked, as if neither was sure of what to say. But then the boy stopped suddenly, and she did the same.
"Theodore Nott," he said somewhat awkwardly, offering a hand.
The girl accepted it with a small smile. "Violet Potter."
And with that, the tension was broken and the two continued on their way, a new friendship in the making.
The greenhouse they had class in was large and damp with humidity, but the plants there more than made up for it. Violet had never seen them before, hadn't even heard of them, and was fascinated.
The Hufflepuffs, who they had the lesson with, were somewhat frightened of the Slytherins, likely because they had heard of how cruel the Slytherins were. But Neville, who Violet had met on the train, didn't seem scared of her at all. In fact, he greeted her with a smile and shy "hello", and offered to explain what she didn't understand. It seemed Herbology came to him naturally.
Professor Sprout was their teacher and as the Head of Hufflepuff House she was, naturally, slightly biased, but not obviously so. It appeared she was more concerned in ensuring no fights broke out between the two Houses. There were a few jeers from the Slytherins but other than that, everyone remained well behaved enough…
After Herbology, Violet said goodbye to Neville and she, along with the other Slytherins, made their way to History of Magic, which they had with the Ravenclaws. Violet was quite shocked when she realized their professor was a ghost, and wondered how that even made any sense.
Theodore, who had learned of some things from his father, explained to her that Professor Binns had fallen asleep one day, died, and then gone on to continue his normal life as a ghost. When Violet had asked him whether it was even legal for a ghost to teach a class, the boy had simply shrugged his shoulders and said he had no idea.
And while having a ghost for a teacher would have been pretty interesting in any other situation, Binns only succeeded in making the lesson as boring as watching paint dry, his voice a monotone with zero pitch or enthusiasm. He simply droned on and on and never answered questions, because it seemed he didn't even notice they were there in the room with him. And even when he did, he seemed to think they were students from many decades ago, which was kind of weird.
Violet, who was normally very attentive in school, had a difficult time keeping herself awake in his class and saw more than one Slytherin begin to nod off. She certainly couldn't blame them. The Ravenclaws almost seemed to be immune though, and sat there taking notes for the entire lesson, which was a little amusing.
Hermione, who Violet had also met on the train, shot her a reproachful look when she saw her attention fading, but Violet just smiled and tried her best to focus. She knew even after just one class that History of Magic was something she was probably going to have to learn on her own through reading textbooks.
The next morning the Slytherins had Herbology again, which went practically the same as the day before. Violet was a sort of buffer between the two Houses, literally, because she had situated herself between Neville and Theodore, and spoke with both, despite the sneers she earned from others.
Having grown up at Starlight, sneering did nothing to affect her. She found it to be rather childish, actually, especially when done by someone who didn't even know how to sneer. And boy did these kids not know how to sneer…
The Slytherins had Defence Against the Dark Arts after that, again with the Ravenclaws and this, Violet was quite curious about. Many of her housemates didn't seem to care much for the class, laughing at others who did. It seemed they were all for the Dark Arts themselves, and found the defence part of it to be incredibly comical.
After the first lesson, Violet could only think that the entire thing had been a joke. She had spoken to Professor Quirrell before but he was just...so different here than he'd been when she had first met him. Some of her classmates had mocked his stutter, or that the entire classroom smelled of garlic, but that wasn't what had bothered her.
Students had asked questions that he hadn't been able to answer and it almost seemed as if he was frightened of his own topics, which didn't make any sense at all. Why teach it if you're scared of it? Violet just didn't understand why the professor had changed so much in just a month's time.
Wednesday morning was Herbology again and after that, Astronomy, though as the second class wasn't to take place until midnight, the Slytherin first years had nearly the entire day free, which was nice.
Violet chose to spend hers in the massive library doing the homework they had gotten over the last couple of days, most of which were essays. There was some research to be done but most of the answers were in their textbooks. In fact, the hardest thing for her was trying to write with a quill.
She had only ever used pencils and pens before, and while she normally had very good penmanship, her first few results with the quill ended up looking worse than chicken scratch. Huffing, she set down her parchment.
"Er-what's that even supposed to say?"
Violet glanced up at Theodore, who was seated with her at the table, working on one of his own essays. "I don't even remember."
Theodore blinked and then laughed, blue eyes shining. "Here, let me show you how to use that..."
Violet was more than slightly relieved when, after a good hour, she was able to write at least legibly. It wasn't the best, and she wasn't particularly happy with it, but it was certainly better than before.
"You'll get better," Theodore assured her. "It just takes some practice."
Violet nodded, brushing her fringe out of her eyes. "Yeah, thank you." She frowned slightly. "I wonder why students aren't taught to use quills?"
"Sorry?"
Violet looked over at him. "Purebloods and most Half-bloods probably have no issues but Muggleborns and people like myself, who have grown up in the Muggle world, we don't use quills. It's already strange enough to be here, but telling us we have to use these," she raised the feathered writing utensil, "instead of pens or pencils makes something as simple as writing our names harder than anything."
Theodore frowned now too. "You know," he said slowly, "now that I think about it, I've heard other Muggleborns say the same thing over the last couple of days. I kept thinking that they were just exaggerating, but they really aren't, huh?" He leaned back in his seat. "It is kind of weird now that I think about it. I remember father telling me to make sure my handwriting is perfect because some professors dock points if it's bad."
Violet sighed, looking down at her Herbology essay. "It's almost like they just don't care about people coming from the Muggle world," she muttered, half to herself.
Theodore just shrugged, having nothing he could really say to that, and the two went back to work…
By midnight the Slytherin and Hufflepuff first years were up on the Astronomy Tower for their final class of the day. At first, Violet was in awe of the view. Living in London, surrounded by all that artificial light, she'd never had the chance to see so many stars, and having a clear view like this was utterly breathtaking.
And then when class, taught by Professor Sinistra, actually began, her enthusiasm couldn't help but fade a little as she realized how far behind the wizarding world was in discoveries when compared to the Muggle world. Some of the information given to them, even in just this first class, was old and wrong, and Violet bit her tongue to keep silent. Hopefully this would change in future classes.
Charms with the Ravenclaws second period the next morning (which, considering they'd had Astronomy late last night, certainly wasn't the smartest decision made by the adults, but it wasn't the only stupid one by a mile) was taught by Professor Flitwick, the Head of Ravenclaw House. He was a tiny man who was eager and excitable, and squeaked when he reached Violet's name before sending her a welcoming smile.
Class began with a lecture on what they would be learning throughout the year, before they practised wand movements. It was simple and complex at once, and Violet thought it seemed like a fun and interesting class…
Transfiguration, again with the Ravenclaws, was next, and this was taught by Professor McGonagall, who was the Head of Gryffindor House. She was strict, clever, and didn't seem to like the Slytherins very much. Violet had quickly realized that Slytherins and Gryffindors didn't get along very well at all, so she wasn't all that surprised.
McGonagall started her class with a lecture as well, before having them take notes. Violet struggled slightly with this. She normally had no problems with note taking, but it was hard to write quickly with a quill. She hoped Theodore was right when he said she'd get used to it.
After finishing up their notes, the professor demonstrated how to turn a match into a needle, before setting them to work. Draco Malfoy voiced how doing this was beneath him, but had an eager glint in his eye regardless. Violet bit back a smile when she saw this, exchanged an amused glance with Theodore, who'd noticed the same, and the two focused on what they needed to do.
It was a lot harder than McGonagall made it look, Violet quickly realized. Hermione was the very first in the class to get hers, earning her five points for her House. Only Theodore managed to transfigure the match properly on his first try in their own House, and he looked quite shocked about it too, obviously not having expected it to work so quickly.
Curious and eager for the same result, Violet turned her attention back to her own match and tried, only to fail. She frowned and tried again, failing once more. Then she tried to focus on actually seeing the match turn into a needle and tried once more. This time she succeeded, and bit back a grin.
Some of the students, the Slytherins in particular, shot her glares when they saw, but she ignored them, too pleased with herself at the moment.
"Well done, Miss Potter." Professor McGonagall wasn't smiling at her, but her eyes had softened ever so slightly.
Violet could have sworn she saw sadness in them for a brief second, but it was gone so fast she was sure she'd simply imagined it. After all, what reason would the Head of the Lions have to be sad for a Snake?
Violet was happy when she woke Friday morning because the weekend was finally in sight. As eager as she was to learn, she was beyond exhausted. This first week had completely tired her out. The new schedule and workload was certainly going to take some getting used to, that was for sure.
They only had one class that day too, which definitely helped matters. Too bad it was going to be a double lesson. Still, it was a new class, one they hadn't had yet, so Violet was interested to find out what there was to learn.
So, later that morning, Violet and Theodore, along with their housemates, found themselves standing outside the dungeon Potion classroom.
The Gryffindors, who they had the class with, arrived soon after and Violet hid her surprise when Rose and the tall red haired boy next to her approached her, pushing through a few others to do so.
If Violet had thought that she and her sister would manage to get along, she was swiftly proven wrong. Though it wasn't all too surprising, since she had witnessed what Rose had done over the week, and some of the professors had mentioned a few things to her as well.
Stopping in front of her, Rose looked her up and down before locking eyes. "Still alive, huh? Still living in that gross orphanage?" She smirked along with the redhead. "It's so unfortunate that you weren't important enough to stay with family." She tapped her finger on her lips. "But you know, you owe me, Violet. If I hadn't been there that night when Voldemort attacked-"
Many gasped in shock at the sound of the Dark Lord's name.
"-you would have died," Rose continued, ignoring the others around them. She sighed now, the expression on her face one of feigned sadness. "I'm sure our parents are disappointed in you though. They were Gryffindors you know, and now you're a filthy Snake instead of a proud Lion like the rest of us."
There were indignant sounds from the Slytherins, most of who seemed like they were close to pulling out their wands, more to defend themselves from the insult rather than her.
Violet didn't bother paying them any attention. She didn't care much if they felt insulted, but she wasn't going to just stand there and be insulted herself.
Holding herself up straight, she fixed Rose with a cold gaze. "I'd rather live in an orphanage than with whoever taught you those appalling manners," she said calmly. "Oh, and thank you so very much for saving my life," she added rather sarcastically. "However, in my view, I seem to be showing more respect to our parents by being not just a good student, but a decent human being, which seems to be more than you can say. After all, despite being aware that I existed, it appears now that you've never once bothered even claiming you wanted to see or meet me."
Rose just scoffed. "Why bother?"
Violet raised a brow, hiding the jolt of hurt she felt at the words. "I think I've proved my point. And anyway, neither of us will ever really know what our parents would think, because they're dead and no amount of showboating is going to bring them back."
Rose glared at her, prompting her friend to pull out his wand, thrusting it right into Violet's face, the tip touching her cheek. "You have no idea who you're dealing with here, do you?" he questioned with a surprisingly vicious snarl. He was clearly very protective of Rose and, no doubt, had been friends with her for longer than just this past week. His anger was almost interesting, actually.
Violet's brow rose further and she was about to retort when the classroom door swung open suddenly.
"Weasley! Twenty points from Gryffindor. Put that away." Professor Snape stood over them, glowering dangerously.
Ron Weasley lowered his wand, still glaring, and muttered mutinously before he and Rose shoved past Violet to get into the classroom. Theodore caught Violet and helped her catch her balance as the other Gryffindors entered the classroom as well.
"Are you okay?" he asked her quietly.
Rubbing her arm, Violet nodded. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you. I...was expecting a confrontation, to be honest. I just didn't think it would go like that."
She sighed softly and followed the Slytherins inside, masking her expression. She would deal with all this later, once she was alone. She was just relieved that this was the only class they had with Gryffindors. The less she was around Rose, the better, it seemed. If they had more classes together, she'd never be able to focus, she knew.
Actually, now that she thought about it, she wasn't going to be surprised if things like this were the reason why Gryffindors and Slytherins didn't have more classes together. There was a lot of conflict between the two Houses, so it seemed like keeping them as separated as possible was the best way of preventing these sorts of issues.
Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Violet looked around the dungeon classroom curiously. The room was dark and gloomy, but bright enough that they would still be able to see what they were doing without straining their eyes. Of course, as her common room was also down in the dungeons, the sight wasn't all that different.
Violet just wasn't used to seeing pickled animals in jars all along the wall. That was a bit weird.
Once everyone was seated, the Slytherins near the front and the Gryffindors in the back, Snape called their names while checking the register, pausing once he reached Rose's name. Mockingly, he called her a celebrity (Why try to antagonize her like that?), before moving on to Violet's name.
When their gazes met, Violet fought not to look away. Snape's eyes were black and cold, and looking into them was a little unnerving.
Luckily, he continued and lectured them about his class, speaking in barely more than a whisper. Violet's attention was caught immediately and she listened raptly to each word.
"Potter!" called Snape suddenly, causing more than one person to jump in surprise.
"Yes, sir?"
"Yes, Professor?"
The two simultaneous responses seemed to confuse Snape for barely a second before he clarified, nodding at Rose. "You. What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
Rose looked more than a little confused, and claimed she didn't know.
Snape sneered and oh yes, he certainly knew how to sneer properly. "Let us try again, Potter. Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"
Again, Rose had no answer, and was beginning to flush slightly, evidently embarrassed, especially since all the Slytherins save for Violet were snickering and shaking with silent laughter.
"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming to school, eh? Let us try once more, then. What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
"I don't know," said Rose quietly, cheeks red now, as she avoided everyone's gaze.
The Slytherins laughed and Snape straightened up to his full height. "Is that so? Then shall we see if your sister can do any better?" He turned his attention to Violet, who blinked.
Trying not to cringe at the sudden attention focused on her, she asked, "May I hear the questions again?"
The professor complied and repeated the first of the three.
Violet thought for a second, trying to recall what had been written in the textbook she had read last month. "Asphodel and wormwood make the Draught of Living Death. It's...a sleeping potion, I think."
"Correct." He then repeated the second question he had asked.
This one Violet didn't have to think about. She remembered it because it had just seemed so strange to her. "You would get a bezoar from the stomach of a goat."
"Correct again. At least one Potter takes her education seriously." He then posed the final question once more.
Violet had to think about that one for a moment. She was sure she knew the answer, but she wasn't positive, and replied hesitantly. "There...isn't a difference between them, right? I think they're the same plant."
"Correct once more. The plant is also known as aconite, for reference. Very good Miss Potter. Five points to Slytherin."
The Snakes cheered, Rose glared, and Violet smirked…
The class took notes on the three questions the twins had been asked, before they were instructed to brew a potion that cured boils. Since they were partnered up to do so, it really wasn't all that hard, though Ron and Rose seemed to be having some trouble. Violet had no idea how. The potion was really simple and the instructions, written in both their textbooks and on the board, were easy to understand and follow.
The lesson ended without incident though, and everyone split up for the day. After dropping their bags in their rooms, Violet and Theodore went for a walk in the grounds later that afternoon.
As they walked, they spotted Rose and Ron making their ways over to a hut further along the grounds-Hagrid's home, apparently.
"Earlier, you and your sister both said you don't live together?" Theodore asked curiously.
Violet hesitated but nodded, figuring there was no point in denying it or anything. Everyone was already talking about it anyway. "I've been told that after our parents were killed by Voldemort," (Theodore sucked in a sharp breath), "Rose was given to our mother's sister and her family, while I was left on the doorsteps of an orphanage."
"Did he say why you were split up like that?"
Violet sighed deeply and shook her head. "Quirrell said Dumbledore thinks Voldemort is going to come back and go after Rose, which means she's in more danger than me, but that's it."
There was a pause before Theodore spoke again. "But...aren't you in just as much danger? You're her twin, aren't you?" Violet could all but hear the frown in his voice. "Will he just...not attack you or something?"
"That's what I thought too," said Violet with a half shrug. "But the Headmaster doesn't seem to believe the same."
There was another silence as the two walked closer to the lake.
"Oh, hey, did you hear that someone broke into Gringotts?" said Theodore suddenly.
Violet blinked. "Really? What happened?" she asked curiously, remembering the warning etched onto the inside doors.
"Nothing-they weren't caught. The paper said the vault the person got into had been emptied earlier that day, so they didn't manage to get anything either."
"Huh, that's pretty weird. When was this?"
"Back on the thirty first of July," said Theodore. "They said it must have been a Dark wizard or witch. Apparently it couldn't have been anyone else."
Violet blinked again. "I was there that day," she said almost absently. Hagrid had emptied a vault that day as well. She wondered what the chances were that the same vault had been targeted, especially considering how secretive Hagrid had been about it.
The two fell silent once more.
"Does it feel strange to be around so much magic all the time?"
And that prompted another discussion, this one far more cheerful than the last...
After returning to her room for the night, Violet finally allowed herself to think about her earlier confrontation with Rose. If she was being honest with herself, she had sort of hoped that she and her sister would manage to get along and create a proper relationship. Unfortunately, that encounter had proved that that was going to be impossible.
Violet wondered if it was sad that she really would rather continue to live at Starlight than with Rose and her family. If she was behaving like that, she could only wonder what her aunt, uncle, and cousin were like.
Was Rose just an exception? Was she just the spoiled member of the family because of her 'fame'? Or was their cousin like that too? Violet wasn't sure she wanted to find out, not that she even would.
Her thoughts wandered to their classes. While Snape had been the most obvious about it, he certainly hadn't been the only professor to mention that Rose wasn't the best student. McGonagall had also mentioned that it had taken Rose far longer to properly transfigure her match into a needle, and even Sprout had suggested that Rose had had problems in her class, though Violet couldn't imagine what they could have been, considering all they'd been doing was planting seeds into dirt.
Still, part of her was feeling kind of smug about it. Maybe Violet didn't have any family, but at least she was smart. And at least she'd made a friend who was a human being with manners, unlike Rose's redhead, who didn't even know to close his mouth when he chewed his food. That made Violet feel smug too.
Still, Ron's anger towards Violet for her words to Rose really was very interesting. He was so defensive. It seemed obvious that he and Rose hadn't just met over this past week. They'd known each other for a while now, probably a few years. Violet supposed that wasn't all that surprising. Rose had made it pretty clear that she'd known about the magical world for ages now.
Sliding into bed a little later, Violet was just glad it was the weekend. Classes aside, Hogwarts was just such a bizarre place. With it being so massive, it was so hard to find anything and that was made even more difficult by the fact that practically everything moved around nearly all the time-even the people in the paintings! That had been quite the shock the first time she had seen it.
Despite the many questions she had, Violet was definitely enjoying her time at Hogwarts.
And that's it for now. I've suddenly ended up with another cold, so forgive any mistakes I may have missed while editing. Not sure when the next chapter will be up, mainly because I'm not sure how flying lessons should go since Neville won't be there. Any ideas? Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!