Yo! Surprised? Ba-bam! New chapter in what?-less than two weeks? And it's bloody long too-for me at any rate. My muse decided to behave, which gives us this. I actually would have put it up last week, but Takeover: Dallas happened, and then Wrestlemania, and yeah... So anyway, just thought I'd mention cause people have brought it up, the first few school years basically follow canon for the most part. It won't be until fourth year that things start to change, and fifth year is when things start diverging more. You'll just have to chill and deal until then. Thank you to all readers so far, and an extra thanks to those who gave ideas for flying lessons!
Not much changed over the next few days. Lessons became a little more complex as they went further into detail, but other than that, Violet mainly attempted to memorize her way around the castle. With everything always moving the way it did, it was something that was far easier said than done.
Summer turned to fall and the air became crisp. And it was on one of these mornings that the first years in the castle learned about their upcoming flying lessons.
Unlike most of her year mates, Violet was more curious than she was excited. Flying on broomsticks was something that was only possible in fiction, so learning how to do just that was quite strange indeed.
She spent all day listening to Draco Malfoy brag about how he'd been flying for years, and she and Theodore, who wasn't all that interested in flying himself, exchanged many exasperated glances throughout the day.
Still, at three that afternoon, Violet and her fellow Slytherins made their way out to the Quidditch pitch where the Gryffindors who they were, unfortunately, having this lesson with, were waiting impatiently.
Violet sighed when her sister turned to her, opening her mouth to no doubt say something irritating. Luckily she didn't get the chance because Madam Hooch, the professor in charge of these lessons, arrived at that moment as well.
They lined up, the Snakes facing the Lions, everyone standing beside a broom that was on the ground to either their left or right, depending on which was their dominant hand. Violet, standing next to Theodore, looked down at the broom she was to use. It didn't look particularly fancy, as she had been expecting.
These things could fly? They didn't even look like they'd do a decent job sweeping let alone actually flying.
As per Hooch's instructions, Violet held her right hand out over the broom and in a clear voice, said, "Up." Much to her surprise, the broomstick jumped straight up into her hand. She blinked, then glanced around to see who else had managed to do the same.
Rose and Malfoy were the only ones holding their brooms, and a few other students got theirs on their second try, Ron and Theodore included.
After being shown how to mount the brooms and grip them properly, they were taught how to kick off from the ground, hover, and then come back down.
Not every student was comfortable doing this though, because while they were in the air, just a foot off the ground, Millicent Bullstrode suddenly shot up into the air like a bullet, releasing a cry of shock before turning and diving straight back down. Going too fast and unused to riding a broom, she didn't manage to pull back enough to land and crashed quite hard with a sickening crunch.
For a moment everyone just stared, and then Madam Hooch rushed over to her, the Slytherins watching in concern and the Gryffindors sniggering. And when Hooch led Bullstrode away to take her to the hospital wing, it was Rose who laughed first, quickly followed by Ron, and then the other members of their House.
Violet wondered whether they would do the same if one of their own had gotten hurt like that.
Unsurprisingly, the Lions locked on to Bullstrode crashing the way she had because of her weight, rather than her lack of skill. How immature. The Snakes all traded annoyed looks, none of them rising to the obvious bait. They were smarter than that. Though Violet couldn't help but wonder why Madam Hooch hadn't sent another professor out to watch over them while she was gone.
No matter what, Slytherins and Gryffindors just didn't get along, and everyone knew that-that was the whole reason why they didn't really have any classes together except for Potions and these flying ones. So then why leave them on their own together like this? It was a stupid move. It was almost as if they were asking for trouble.
Sure enough, just seconds after she'd finished forming this thought, Violet watched Rose smirk and mount her broom, before she kicked off and rose into the air gracefully.
"How about someone who actually has flying in their blood shows you Snakes how it's done?"
Still not taking the bait, they watched Rose ascend higher and Violet frowned, pondering her sister's words. Someone who had flying in their blood? Did that mean their mum or dad had been skilled at this? Rose was a natural clearly, and maybe that was because she already had practice, but what would that mean for Violet? Well, she wasn't about to find out just now.
Unfortunately for Violet, she was about to find out.
"Rose! Look out!" Ron called out suddenly.
Looking up, Violet saw her twin flying off the field and far too close to, what she had heard others say, was a tree called the Whomping Willow-a tree that attacked anything that came too close to it. Unconcerned at first, she watched Rose swerve around the branches teasingly as they reached out for her, ignoring the admiring calls from the other Gryffindors.
Violet sighed and shook her head inwardly. This showboating was going to get Rose killed one day. And it seemed that day was going to be today.
Too busy showing off as she dodged around the branches in front of her, Rose didn't notice the one creeping up at her from behind, this one succeeding in shoving her right off her broom. There were sounds of shock and surprise as Rose clung to her broom and swung her legs in an attempt to get herself back up.
"...I can't believe I'm going to do this," Violet muttered to herself. She grabbed her broom, mounted it, and kicked off. Her eyes widened the moment she was up in the air. "Maybe she was actually onto something with that whole flying being in her blood thing..." she murmured. There was a thrill here, a thrill she had felt when she'd been riding the cart back at Gringotts. She felt so...free.
Somehow, Violet knew exactly what to do. She shot forward, distracting the Whomping Willow, and then came to hover beside her sister. "Get on."
"I don't need your help!"
Violet tried not to roll her eyes. "Shall I just leave you here to get killed by the tree, then?" she asked sarcastically, eyeing the creeping branches cautiously. If Rose didn't get on soon, she really was going to leave her up here. "That would be a pretty interesting story, wouldn't it? The Girl-Who-Lived, vanquishes the Dark Lord Voldemort only to be killed by a moving tree."
Rose muttered mutinously, but got onto Violet's broom behind her, her own flying away, distracting the tree further and allowing Violet to carefully descend. The moment they touched the ground, Rose shoved her sister away as she got off the broomstick, still grumbling to herself.
Violet did roll her eyes this time, and half wondered why she had even bothered. If Rose was really supposed to be their saviour, then they were all doomed.
"Are you alright?"
Violet shouldered the broom and looked over at Theodore, who actually seemed a little concerned. "I'm fine, thank you," she said with a small smile. "Although, next time I try to save my sister's life, do me a favour and punch me."
Theodore blinked and then began to laugh. "If you say so."
"POTTER!" Madam Hooch was back and she didn't look very happy at all.
"Well hell," muttered Violet. "This doesn't sound good."
"No, no it doesn't," said Theodore in agreement.
Ten minutes later, both Violet and Rose were standing in the office of Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Madam Hooch had brought them here, explained what she had seen (which hadn't been much at all), and then left to return to the others.
All Violet could think about though was how that had been the second time Hooch had left a class of first years alone. Even though the first time had led to this incident to begin with.
What a responsible teacher.
Dumbledore, seated behind his desk, folded his gnarled hands under his chin and peered at the girls from beneath his half-moon spectacles. "I was not expecting to see either of you in here so early in the school term."
...Did that mean he was expecting to see them in here later in the year? That was what he was making it sound like. But why?
"Now," he said in a grandfatherly sounding tone, placating and chiding at once, "what happened outside, dear children?"
Violet refrained from raising a brow at the way the Headmaster had referred to them, and listened as Rose quickly told a rather embellished version of what had taken place, where she-Rose, came out looking as if she had done absolutely nothing wrong. In fact, according to her, she had saved Violet. As those who had actually witnessed the events weren't here, Violet was the only one who could defend herself, and once her sister was finished speaking, she recounted the truth of what had happened.
The Headmaster continued staring at her as she spoke, his eyes locked with hers. He had done the same thing with Rose as well, and Violet wondered if it had made her sister feel just as uncomfortable as it was making her feel.
Dumbledore remained silent for a long moment once the twins had finished speaking, and then adopted a rather disappointed expression. He tutted softly. "I was hoping you both would tell the truth, though it seems one of you has decided not to do so."
It was difficult to tell who he assumed was lying, but with the way his eyes lingered on her, Violet was sure he thought it was her. Was this because her sister was the Girl-Who-Lived? That didn't make any sense though. The truth was the truth and a lie was a lie-it didn't matter what titles they held, it wouldn't change truths or lies.
"Regardless of how exactly it occurred," said Dumbledore, "you have both broken the rules set in place for your own protection and so, you will both be serving detention this evening."
Rose began to protest but was cut off quickly when the old man held up a hand to silence her.
"I am sorry," he said, "but you could have hurt yourselves severely."
Yeah, only because the professor he hired left them all alone, allowing Rose to be an idiot. Despite her thoughts, Violet kept silent. She understood where the Headmaster was coming from, but hid her displeasure. Accepting of it or not, detention was never a good thing.
"Your Heads of House will notify you during dinner time in regards to your detention."
The twins nodded in unison.
"Very good. Rose, I would like to have a word with you. Violet, you may leave."
Violet inclined her head. "Yes, sir." And, curious about what he wanted to speak to her sister about, Violet left the round office, biting back a frown.
She was unaware that Rose was not about to be punished at all but rather, rewarded, in a sense. A reward her-Rose's Head of House had suggested herself.
It wasn't until later that evening that Violet began to hear the rumours. Apparently, Rose had been placed on Gryffindor's Quidditch team as their Seeker. But that couldn't be possible, could it? First years weren't even allowed to have their own brooms, let alone be on the team, right?
"Potter."
Violet blinked and then looked up, finding Slytherin's Mister Prefect standing behind her. "Yes?" she asked politely, unable to recall his name.
"Professor Snape wishes for me to inform you that your detention is to take place at eight this evening in the potions classroom. Don't be late."
Violet glanced at the Staff Table, noted their Head of House wasn't there, and inclined her head. "Of course. Thank you."
Mister Prefect returned the nod stiffly, and then returned to his seat further down the table.
"You shouldn't even be getting detention," said Theodore from across her. "It wasn't like it was your fault."
Aware Malfoy, who was seated next to her, was listening, Violet shrugged. "All the older Slytherins always say Dumbledore isn't fair to any of us, right? I guess being the estranged twin sister of the Girl-Who-Lived doesn't change that at all."
"Well, at least she has a detention too."
Violet wasn't able to bite back a scoff. "If those rumours about her now being on their Quidditch team are true, then I don't think detention will matter. You can't both discipline and reward someone for breaking rules. It doesn't make sense!"
Theodore sighed. "Fair point."
At eight on the dot, Violet knocked on the door of the potions classroom in the castle dungeons.
"Enter."
The cold voice had a shiver dancing down her spine, but Violet pushed the unease back and opened the door before stepping through. It fell shut behind her before she could close it on her own and she turned to look across the room.
"Good evening, Miss Potter."
Violet cautiously walked over to the large wooden desk at the front of the room. "Good evening, Professor," she said, noting Rose was in here as well. Odd. She had expected her sister to serve her detention with McGonagall. It was also surprising that she had made it on time. She seemed to be the type of person who wouldn't care about that sort of thing.
Or maybe she was just scared of what Snape would have done to her if she had turned up late.
Again, an odd look crossed over the man's face but just like before, it passed over so quickly that Violet couldn't really be sure it had been there at all. He looked at her in silence for a long, unnerving moment, before finally speaking once more.
"You will both be cleaning cauldrons," he said, "without magic."
Violet nodded, even as Rose groaned. "Yes, sir," they replied together.
How hard could it be? Violet was used to cleaning. She did so all the time back at the orphanage. The Matron punished them harshly if they didn't keep things clean or do their 'chores.' Violet, being the 'freak' had a few more frequent ones than the others, but they really weren't all that hard anymore, they hadn't been for years, in fact.
Snape flicked his hand over to her left and Violet glanced over, finding two stacks of cauldrons next to the sinks they used to wash their hands after brewing.
Understanding what he wasn't saying, Violet made her way over to the one in the corner, Rose following behind her to get to the one next to it.
Ignoring her, Violet removed her robe and set it over a nearby table, before tying her long hair back with the hair tie she kept around her wrist, and rolling her long sleeves back to get them out of the way. She was glad she had changed out of her uniform before coming, because her necktie would definitely have gotten in the way.
Once prepared, Violet turned the tap so water began to flow in the sink, heaved up one of the cauldrons, grabbed the strong looking sponge and the soap, and began to clean.
It didn't take Violet long to fall into a comfortable rhythm, and though she felt her professor's eyes on her more than once, it was easy to ignore because the Matron often did the exact same thing.
Violet cleaned cauldron after cauldron, completely forgetting where she was, and feeling like she was back at Starlight. She and Rose didn't exchange a single word the entire time and worked on their own. Moving efficiently, it really didn't take Violet all that long to finish her own half of the work.
Rinsing the soap off the final cauldron, Violet set it down with the others and then washed her hands before turning the tap off, drying her hands, and then stepping back. She turned around and found that Snape was still seated behind his desk. It looked as if he was marking homework or something of that sort. Rose still had at least seven cauldrons left to go.
Violet cleared her throat to get the man's attention. "I've finished, sir."
Snape's head snapped up and his eyes narrowed. Saying nothing, he got to his feet and approached her to check each cauldron. Then he stared down at her with what almost appeared to be a look of disbelief in his eyes.
"Very good, Potter," he said after a moment. "You will wait until your sister finishes before you leave."
Blinking in surprise at the praise, something she wasn't used to receiving, Violet nodded. "Yes sir." She grabbed her robe, pulled it back on, and then sat down to wait.
Eventually, Rose finally finished and Snape inspected her cauldrons as well. "Acceptable," he deemed. "You are dismissed."
Rose left with haste, leaving her twin and the Potions Master alone in the dungeon room. As she hadn't been dismissed herself, Violet remained where she was, filled with curiosity. Why was she still in here?
"Tell me something, Potter." Snape was staring at her, expressionless, though Violet was sure she spotted confusion in his dark eyes. "You and your sister are twins and yet, it's clear you dislike one another. How you manage to live together when it seems you two don't even speak? Why is that?"
Baffled, Violet blinked again. "Um, sir, Rose and I don't live together," she said while trying not to frown. "We haven't since our parents died."
"You-you do not-?"
Slowly, Violet shook her head. "I live in an orphanage in London," she told him, curious about his reaction. "I didn't even know magic existed until Professor Quirrell came to tell me on my eleventh birthday, which I also hadn't known of. This was also when he told me about my mum and dad, and about Rose. He said the Headmaster left her with relatives, and left me at the orphanage."
She shrugged slightly. "Rose and I spoke for the first time before our first potions lesson." Then she frowned slightly. "I think earlier today during flying lessons was the second time we even talked to each other."
Snape actually looked genuinely shocked for a moment, and Violet realized he must not have known about any of this, which was pretty strange. Surely Dumbledore would have told all of the professors? It was almost as if he was realizing just why she and her sister were so different, despite being twins. She had no idea he was already planning a confrontation with the twinkling old man.
"What is the name of this orphanage you reside in?" Snape asked suddenly.
"Starlight," said Violet promptly. "Starlight Orphanage."
"And you have always been there?"
"Yes, sir."
"I see..." There was a brief pause where Snape regarded her closely, before speaking again. "You may return to the common room."
Violet nodded. "Thank you." Still feeling confused by the odd expressions in the professor's eyes, she swiftly left the classroom, returning to her common room for the night, leaving the professor alone with his tumultuous thoughts.
Violet had barely made it three steps inside when Theodore approached her. "Hey," she greeted, assuming he had come to ask about her detention.
"Malfoy challenged your sister to a duel."
Violet paused in place, Theodore's words actually taking a moment to register in her mind. "A-a duel? Wait, sorry, what?"
"Apparently, Malfoy approached your sister after dinner, after hearing all those rumours about her being on the Gryffindor Quidditch team," Theodore began anew.
Violet nodded, signalling she understood this part.
"He challenged her to a duel later tonight, with Weasley as her second."
"Second?"
Realizing she wouldn't know how these things worked, Theodore explained how wizards duelled. "They're supposed to meet at midnight in the Trophy Room," he finished.
Violet glanced over to where Draco Malfoy was seated with his friends. He looked quite smug, more so than usual, which was certainly saying something. "Any chance he's just using the duel as bait to get her and Ron in trouble?" she asked.
Theodore nodded. "That's what I thought too. Sounds like something Draco would do."
Violet ran her fingers through her hair. "Well, I don't think I can put it past Rose to be an idiot and fall for it," she said slowly. Then she shrugged. "If she does, then it's her problem." She looked up. "By the way, for our transfiguration essay, there was this one part I didn't understand."
"Which part?"
"You never mentioned you placed Violet Potter in an orphanage, Albus."
"Ah, I was wondering when you would find out about that."
Severus' brow furrowed. "I don't believe this is something to be so relaxed about."
"Isn't it?"
"Why did you split them up, Albus?"
"Petunia and Vernon were only able to take in one of them," said Albus calmly. He sipped his tea. "They have a child of their own, and we can't ask them to disrupt their own lives for this. It is simply better for Rose to be there with them."
"Then why not send the other to someone else?" asked Severus, struggling to understand the logic behind the decision. "A number of families would have been both willing and pleased to take her in."
Albus shook his head though, and set down his teacup. "We can't ask anyone else to do something like that. It's far too much to trouble another family with." He smiled slightly, almost teasingly. "I didn't expect you to care so much about Violet."
Severus scowled. "I don't. I was simply asking. It is an odd decision."
"Well you have nothing to concern yourself over, Severus. Violet will be safe at the orphanage. I was sure to place protective wards around the property.
Catching the dismissal, Severus left the office feeling just as confused as when he had entered. The discussion had gone in circles and he wasn't even surprised by it. Most conversations with Albus were like that.
None of his questions had been answered.
Rose and Ron were both seated at Gryffindor Table the next morning, though they looked quite tired. Violet raised a brow when she saw them and immediately knew they had actually fallen for Malfoy's bait. How stupid.
It wasn't until later that afternoon that she saw them again. The two were standing in an alcove, speaking quietly but unaware Violet was nearby and able to hear each word.
They were discussing what had taken place the night before, though were under the impression that Malfoy had "chickened out" instead of never having planned on showing up in the first place.
Uninterested, Violet was about to continue walking when they suddenly brought up encountering a giant three headed dog. She frowned, listening to them debate on what was hidden under the trap door beneath the beast's feet-paws-whatever.
Violet went on her way, hiding curiosity. So it seemed that that forbidden corridor on the third floor was hiding a Cerberus. Well, that was what she was going to be calling it, at least. But the dog was just a guard, protecting something that was being kept underneath it. What though?
She recalled meeting Hagrid at Gringotts on her birthday, and remembered the small, brown paper covered something that he had deemed to be very important. When he had left her, he had mentioned that Hogwarts was the only place as safe, or safer even than the bank, and he was supposed to return to the castle to give the Headmaster whatever he had retrieved.
What were the odds that this massive dog was guarding that very same package...?
Violet was curious. Very curious. And she was very much hating that curiosity. Especially when it led her to the forbidden corridor on the third floor.
After hearing what Rose and Ron had said, Violet couldn't help but wonder if any of it was even true at all. She couldn't say why they would have been talking about something like that if there was no real reason for it.
Maybe they'd been intending for someone to overhear them? Maybe they'd wanted to mess with someone and get them curious enough to check things out only to get in trouble?
Violet wasn't sure, but she supposed she was about to find out.
Glancing around to make sure no one was around, Violet reached the door and tried the handle. It was locked, but that didn't really surprise her. What did surprise her was when the unlocking charm was all she needed to, well, unlock it.
Taking a breath and once more making sure no one was around, Violet pushed the door open a crack and peeked inside. And yep, looked like Rose and Ron were telling the truth after all.
Laying on the floor, fortunately fast asleep, was an utterly massive three headed dog. And just barely visible underneath it was what looked like a trap door.
Quietly, Violet closed the door and heard it lock on its own. Glancing around again, she quickly hurried away and once she was back in the safety and privacy of her room, finally allowed herself to think.
There was more than one odd thing going on here.
That corridor was supposed to be forbidden, but she had managed to go there just fine, and she had even been there for a few minutes without anyone coming to stop her. There was actually a Cerberus in the castle-never mind that they even actually existed in the first place (or whatever they were actually called), and it was hidden by a door that was just...locked? The unlocking charm was learned very early on, which meant pretty much anyone would be able to open that door and get mauled by the beast inside. There was the trap door too, and Violet figured her earlier deductions were probably right about what was hidden under it.
Hagrid had made it seem like that little parcel was very important, but was it really? Putting it under the trap door and guarding that door with a Cerberus said it was important, but putting that Cerberus in an easily unlockable room and seemingly putting no alarm or notification spells on that room or corridor kind of made it seem like it wasn't important.
So which was it?
When Violet woke on the thirty first of October, she felt strangely...sad and she had no idea why. She worked on auto-pilot while taking notes in Transfiguration, trying to figure out why she felt this way, but it wasn't until near the end of the lesson that she finally understood.
Today was Halloween. Today was the anniversary of her parents' deaths. Today was the day they had sacrificed themselves for her and her sister. And no one else seemed to care that their deaths were what had brought them the peace they currently had.
Violet had no choice but to pull herself out of her confused thoughts during Charms, because they were learning something new-the levitation charm.
As always, Hermione was the very first to accomplish it, quickly followed by Theodore. Violet, who was seated between them, felt slightly dejected when her own feather-which they were attempting to make float, did nothing but twitch in place.
"Your flick has to be sharper," said Hermione suddenly.
Violet glanced over. "Sharper?"
"Like this." Hermione demonstrated.
Understanding what she was doing wrong, Violet tried once more, mimicking the other girl, and watched as her feather rose into the air gracefully. This charm, she realized, must have been the same one Professor Quirrell had used on her book when he'd been showing her that magic existed. That also meant this was the spell she'd been using at the orphanage without realizing it. Interesting.
"Thank you, Hermione."
"You're welcome." There was a pause. "Hey, Violet? Do you mind if I ask you something?"
The soft caution in her voice had Violet looking over again. "What is it?" she said curiously.
"Is-is everything okay?" said Hermione hesitantly. "You seem a little...off today." She sounded as if she was carefully picking each word.
Violet blinked, and then sighed softly. "My parents were killed on Halloween, Hermione."
Hermione froze, and then her gaze softened. "I'm so sorry, Violet," she whispered. "It must be so hard for you, listening to everyone cheerfully chatter on about the feast taking place later when you-" she broke off, as if unsure how to complete the sentence.
"When for the first time, you have the chance to mourn for them."
Both girls looked round at Theodore, realizing he had heard them, and Violet nodded slowly. Mourning? Was that why she was feeling like this? Perhaps it was. She'd never mourned before, and had no idea what it was supposed to feel like. But maybe that was why Theodore did. He had lost his mother a long time ago too.
Hesitantly, Hermione reached out and set a hand on Violet's arm. "I'm-I'm here for you, you know," she said gently. "If you ever need to talk or something. I can't say I know how it feels to lose a parent, let alone both, but..." she broke off again, looking slightly hesitant again. Maybe because she wasn't sure how Violet would respond, being a Slytherin and all.
"I appreciate that, Hermione." The two shared a cautious, awkward smile, before returning to work.
And with that, Violet was unaware she had just formed a second, growing friendship...
Despite her current feelings, Violet was shocked when she walked into the Great Hall that evening. It had been decorated specially for the feast with hundreds of bats and jack o' lanterns, casting eerie, flickering candlelight.
Violet settled down at Slytherin Table with Theodore, watching in concealed awe as the feast appeared on the golden dishes. Violet chatted and ate with her friend, even though she was still feeling a little off, and had only just begun to enjoy herself when Professor Quirrell suddenly ran into the Hall, looking panicked and terrified.
He ran straight to the Head Table and then- "Troll in the dungeon! Thought you ought to know..." And then he collapsed, unconscious.
What a brave Defence Against the Dark Arts professor they had.
For a moment there was silence as everyone looked at one another, down at Quirrell, and back up. And then chaos broke out.
Students jumped to their feet, the majority of them screaming, and it took a moment for the Headmaster to restore calm before ordering Prefects to lead everyone back to their common rooms.
Mister and Miss Prefect called for all Slytherins, and Violet glanced around the Hall as she followed them out, spotting both Hermione and Neville doing the same with their own House members. At least they were safe.
It wasn't until the Slytherins had reached the entrance to the dungeons that they all stopped in place, realizing something. Their common room was down there, but...wasn't that troll supposed to be there too? They weren't sure what to do.
"Shouldn't we just go back to the Great Hall?"
Though Violet had been speaking to Theodore, the others nearby turned, some glaring, some sneering, everyone staring. She tried not to cringe back when she noticed this and automatically straightened in place.
"Back to the Great Hall?" echoed Mister Prefect, staring at her intently.
Violet fought not to shrug and nodded once. "Wouldn't it be better than risking an encounter with a troll? We can't be blamed for not following the Headmaster's rules, since he was the one who forgot just where our dorms are in the first place."
Many of the students began to murmur and though she wasn't able to hear what they were saying, it sounded like they were agreeing with her.
"Very well," said Miss Prefect after a long moment.
"But-"
Miss Prefect shook her head, cutting off Mister Prefect before he could say anything more. "She's right," she said. "If the troll is in the dungeons, then we can't go down there. Staying in the corridors is out of the question as well. The Great Hall is an enclosed space that's far away enough from the dungeons if the troll gets out, and should be safe."
These words seemed to finally draw everyone's attention away from Violet. The Snakes all turned to look at their House Prefects, who began leading them all back to where they had just come from…
The Slytherins all filed into the Great Hall and stood wherever they were, absently chatting with one another as they waited for some sort of all clear.
Choosing to voice her curiosity, Violet turned to Theodore. "How often do trolls wander into Hogwarts?" she asked quietly so her words didn't carry over to others.
Theodore turned to her, looking as baffled as she felt. "Never, from what I've heard. They're really dim," he said, "and besides, there are protective wards and stuff around the castle to stop things like this from happening."
"Wards?" Violet echoed, falling into thought. "So, that means someone had to have brought it here on purpose then, right?"
Theodore seemed surprised by the idea, but then he frowned, thinking it through himself. "I guess so, yeah. I wonder who it was."
"Probably a professor," Violet replied absently, even though the question had sounded rather rhetorical. "Maybe a seventh year. I'm more curious about why they did it though."
"A Halloween prank gone wrong? Those Weasley twins are always messing around, aren't they?"
Violet nodded. "That's true, but I doubt it was them. I don't think anyone younger than a sixth year could have done it-and even that's probably stretching it, and they're what, third years? Plus, I caught a glimpse of them earlier and it didn't seem like they knew what was going on."
Theodore's frown deepened. "Why would anyone let a troll into the castle though? Especially if it wasn't for fun?"
"I don't know..." Violet wasn't sure why, but she was getting the feeling there was a deeper reasoning behind this entire thing.
Voldemort was incredibly annoyed right now. Quirrell was beyond useless. The second he got a body of his own, he was going to kill him. It couldn't possibly be that hard to get to the damned Stone.
It was unfortunate that he didn't have the strength to possess Quirrell long enough to deal with it himself, or else the deed would have long since been done.
The most recent failure meant he was going to have to wait for some time for everyone and everything to calm back down before trying it again. The old man was surely keeping a closer watch on things now.
Why had anyone ever thought Quirrell was useful for anything? The evidence clearly proved the opposite.
On a cold, bright morning in November, Hogwarts had their first Quidditch match of the season: Slytherin versus Gryffindor. Violet headed out to the stands with everyone else, Theodore by her side, she more interested than he, as she had never seen this sport before.
She settled down between him and Malfoy, curious to see whether those rumours of Rose being on Gryffindor's team were true or not. As it turned out, the rumour mongers had been right on the money, for the Girl-Who-Lived followed her teammates out of the Lion's locker room, a sleek looking broomstick over her shoulder.
"A Nimbus Two Thousand?" Malfoy muttered with a scowl.
"That's the newest broom on the market," said Theodore, noting Violet's confusion. "It's pretty expensive too, from what I've seen."
Violet nodded in understanding and bit back a scowl of her own. At least now she knew what Dumbledore had wanted to talk to Rose about that day. She had no doubt now that it had something to do with this.
If Rose was getting this special treatment solely because of who she was, well, that wasn't very fair, was it? Why was the Headmaster so biased? This didn't make any sense. It defied logic. And really, all it told Violet was that in the Headmaster's opinion, if someone wanted the same things Rose was getting, they had to, what?-defeat a Dark Lord? How fair was that?
Sighing inwardly, Violet decided to push those thoughts aside and focus on what was happening on the field. She was glad she did too because as soon as the game started her attention was caught.
Malfoy, surprisingly, explained the rules while they watched, since she had no idea what was happening. Still, she listened curiously, eyes on the field, absently noting that the Slytherin team had no girls. Rose and those Weasley twins were the only ones on the other team that she knew, though she'd never actually spoken to the latter two before.
Violet wasn't sure if she would ever actually even want to play Quidditch, though she certainly wanted to fly again. It had been so liberating. It had been as if she had left all her cares and worries on the ground. She wanted to feel that again.
Gryffindor was in the lead in the beginning, scoring first as well, and the Slytherins made an effort to block Rose whenever it appeared that she had spotted the Golden Snitch. The Snakes, luckily, managed to score a few times as well, giving their House something to cheer about.
But then, suddenly, Rose's broom bucked hard, nearly unseating her. Then it did it again. And again. Violet watched, unsure of what to feel as her twin's broomstick bucked so hard that it threw her off. Rose, just like during their first flying lesson, clung to the wood tightly as she hung in the air, attempting to swing herself back on.
The other Slytherins were muttering in confusion but they didn't seem particularly concerned. Theodore glanced at Violet, but she didn't look all that worried to him. And she wasn't. Not really. Violet assumed that with how much everyone seemed to care about Rose, one of the professors would go help her.
Surprisingly, no one but the Weasley twins even tried, though every time they tried to get closer to her, Rose's broom would float higher and higher, out of their reach.
"Looks like someone's jinxing the broom," said Theodore suddenly, his eyes locked not on Rose, but her Numbus.
"Brooms don't just do that on their own," said Malfoy, who was clearly listening. His eyes too were on the broom.
Violet frowned but said nothing. Rose was in danger and while part of her was concerned for her twin, there was another part of her that just didn't care. And all of this only served to confuse her.
Before Violet could even begin to work out her conflicting thoughts, Rose managed to pull herself back up onto her broom and headed straight for the ground, only to cough up the Snitch when she landed, earning her House the victory, and leaving the Slytherins booing and jeering...
As Violet lay in bed that night, she thought back to Halloween, thinking not of the troll, but of her family.
That day had been the death anniversary of their parents, and though Violet had only learned of them a handful of months before, she had certainly mourned for them far more than Rose had, even though her sister had already known the truth. Then again, it wasn't like she knew her sister well enough to be able to tell how Rose had been feeling.
Violet had questions-questions about her parents, about Rose, about Hogwarts, about Professors Quirrell and Snape, about that troll, about the three headed dog, and about that mysterious brown package.
She had all these questions, but not a single answer. Not just yet.
Social Links! ...Ahem, so, there should be two more chapters featuring first year before we move on. Dunno when the next chapter'll be up. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!