Xaden and Violet consistently met up over the course of the next few weeks, practicing his Transfiguration work or just talking. Violet Sorrengail was as easy to talk to as he thought she'd be. She never belittled him for having parents who were rogue Death Eaters. If anything, she showed him sympathy and grace because his parents had renounced Voldemort. And they were killed for it.

Violet also opened a bit to him about her family. Her father had been her best friend until she was eight and he had died. She said there wasn't a day that went by that she didn't think about him. Her mother, Lilith Sorrengail, was hard as hell on her. Expecting the absolute best, and sometimes, that wore Violet down.

She told him about her mother being very sickly when she was pregnant with her, which led to chronic pain. She didn't want his pity – and he wasn't going to give it – but he could give her his sympathy. He knew that he had seen her massaging her joints, and apparently, they gave her the most grief. So, he knew to start looking for signs that she was wearing out or growing tired.

They were sitting on the desks in the Room of Requirement, each absorbed in their own thoughts, when Violet spoke. "Did you renounce Voldemort, too?"

Xaden jerked away from her as if he had been burned. He turned to look at her, surprise etched into his features. "You cannot honestly think I'd support the man who murdered my parents."

"I don't," Violet said quickly, tone turning quiet. "I just know sometimes it's easier to do the safe thing. And show allyship to Voldemort right now might be the safe thing."

"It's the easiest thing," Xaden agreed. "But that doesn't mean it's the right thing. He's a murderer. He kills for fun. The muggles won't stand a chance if he gains the power he wants."

Violet nodded; eyes lost in thought. "I think Harry Potter is doing as much as he can to try and spread the word."

Xaden hummed. He believed that was true, but from what he had heard amongst other Death Eaters' children, the Order of the Phoenix was really trying to rally together as many people who would help as they could. Xaden had to admit, it was an admirable attempt. "Tell me about your siblings?"

Violet looked at him in surprise, and then nodded. "Mira and Brennan are both older than me. Mira is in her seventh year, and Brennan graduated two years ago. He's working at the Ministry now."

Xaden thought about that. The Ministry wasn't the biggest fan of Harry Potter right now. And Fudge had gotten that absolute troll to teach at Hogwarts. Umbridge had earned herself several enemies amongst the school students. No one was particularly happy that they weren't practicing defensive magic. Unless you counted Malfoy and his goons. All three of them had Death Eaters as fathers – and Malfoy's mother was involved, too. Xaden supposed the only good thing he could say was that Bellatrix and her husband were still in Azkaban. Xaden assumed Azkaban chipped away at their sanity, eating what was left to begin with. Which Xaden doubted was very much. "Fudge is doing his damnedest to paint Harry as a raving lunatic."

"That'll come back to haunt him," Violet murmured. He knew she was right. Violet Sorrengail was as intelligent as Hermione Granger. She wasn't naive enough to believe Fudge's lies and what the Ministry was trying to spin. Rita Skeeter had already set the tone of Harry Potter's instability, but Xaden thought he was the most stable out of all of them. And he knew. Had heard whisperings of Voldemort trying to read his thoughts. To see into his mind. And Xaden wondered what Harry was doing to protect that.

"Come on," he said suddenly. "Let's get out of here and go down to the grounds."

Violet looked at him in surprise but followed him, nonetheless. They walked out of the Room of Requirement, watching as the wall slid back into a wall once more, and then they headed out onto the grounds. The castle was quiet at this time of night, and Xaden knew if Filch caught them out of bed, he'd have both of their skins, but he had always had an affinity for doing things he wasn't supposed to. He suspected Violet was the same way. She spoke up only when they crossed the threshold of the castle. "Filch'll kill us if he catches us."

"Ah, don't worry about him," Xaden dismissed. "He's probably busy going after the Weasley twins or something."

Violet laughed, the sound stilted, and he wondered what it would be like for them to feel carefree. They wouldn't feel it anytime soon. They walked down to the Black Lake, sitting down on the edge of the bank. "I think the Weasley twins aren't too bad."

"They're great," Xaden agreed easily. "I just can't tell them that."

"Aren't you tired of living up to the expectations of being in Slytherin?" Violet asked curiously.

"Incredibly so," Xaden sighed. "My house has a horrible reputation, and I hate being a part of it. I don't have any problem with muggleborns or anything that's different from the old prejudices."

"How did the sorting hat sort you into Slytherin? If it could see your true intentions?" Violet asked.

"Not every Slytherin is evil," Xaden reminded her.

Violet looked at him, assessing him, and she eventually lilted her lips upwards. "No, I don't suppose they are."

Xaden felt warm around the ears and looked down, hiding his grin. At least Violet wasn't so narrow-minded to think that all Slytherins were evil. "Malfoy is still a git, though."

Violet snorted. "Definitely a git."

They agreed on that, and Xaden had to say it made him happy. Some girls, like Parkinson, threw themselves at Malfoy's feet. It made him nauseous. Malfoy was a dick. So, he was pleased that Violet didn't seem to be all that impressed with him. They sat in silence for the rest of the evening, each lost in thought about the upcoming events that would surely change the Wizarding world.