Chapter 3

Violet was thankful for her brothers quick thinking as they got through the magical doorway to Platform 9 's thanks to the large ginger haired family. Harry and Violet made their way to the train searching for an empty compartment as they walked. Eventually they found one and tried to lift Harry's trunk up the steps to the train. They barely managed to lift the trunk a few inches off the cart, and were struggling under the weight of it towards the stairs of the train when a hand took hold of the handle Violet was holding.

With a start she looked up to see one of the twins who had been with the ginger family. "Lemme help with that." The boy said taking the weight of the trunk easily as his brother took Harry's side. Harry and Violet stepped back with only half-hearted protests and allowed the twins to move the trunk into the empty compartment.

They came back for Violet's trunk a moment later leaving Violet and Harry to follow them into the compartment carrying their owl cages. "Thank you." They both said in unison gratefully as the twins loaded the trunk in the storage rack of the compartment. She watched curiously as a student nearby waved to the boys who waved back enthusiastically both yelling out a greeting to the boy as he passed the doorway. Friendly then, she thought to herself. She considered them again as they seemed to be considering herself and her brother. They were both tall and thin with decent looks and bright red hair and so similar in looks that she imagined it would be easy to mix them up.

As Harry brushed his hair out of his eyes one of the boys' attentions snapped to his forehead. "Are you-?" The first twin asked clearly intrigued. His eyes flicked to Violet then back to Harry's forehead.

"He is." The second twin agreed. "Aren't you?" He looked between Harry and Voilet, looking distinctly confused.

"What?" Harry asked not following. He glanced towards Violet who shook her head, also confused.

"Harry Potter." The twins replied in unison.

"Oh… that." Harry murmured quietly then said louder for them to hear. "Yeah. That's me."

"Then you are Violet." The second twin said with an air of confusion still. Violet just nodded. "You two look nothing alike."

His brother hit him on the shoulder, but Violet snorted "Never heard of fraternal twins? We don't all look like clones of each other."

The two grinned at her cheek. "Of course I have. I've just never seen any before."

"We get that a lot." Harry said kindly giving his sister a look that clearly said, 'Shut up'.

Before the twins could respond the woman, who must be their mother yelled from the platform "Fred! George!" They grinned to the Potters before leaving the compartment heading toward their mother and younger sister.

Harry and Voilet shared one small glance at each other before both rushing to the window curious about the twins and the family. They watched as the twins got to their mother who was attempting to clean the younger boy's face with a handkerchief. The young boy wiggled out of his mother's grasp distinctly red in the face as he said "Mum, stop it."

One of the twins mocked the young boy in a teasingly sibling way catching the younger boy in a headlock. The boy fought back, and their mother yelled "Boys stop goofing off. Where is Percy?"

"He's coming." The other twin pointed to an older boy also with fiery red hair who was walking towards the group. The two-fighting straightened up as he came up to them. The first word that came to Violet's mind to describe the older boy of this family was proud. The way he held himself- Straight as an arrow with his head held high- and the slight smug expression on his face said that he was proud of something. Violet wondered what it was that made him so, but her question was quickly answered as he said "I cannot stay long, Mother. I have a seat up front with the Perfect's." he touched the pin on his chest of a gold P almost absentmindedly as he spoke.

One of the twins teased him about the badge and it was clear to her that the twins were the troublemakers of the family. "Why does he get new robes Mum?" one complained.

"Because he's a Perfect." She responded then gave the proud boy a hug seemingly equally proud of her son as she sent him off wishing him a good year. She turned to the twins and said, "Now you two." Her finger pointed to both twins. "Behave this year."

She lectured, continuing on until one of the twins changed the subject by saying "Guess who that boy and girl from earlier were?"

Both Violet and Harry ducked down under the window as they heard this not wanting to get caught watching the family. They sat under the window listening as the twins excitedly told the woman about them and the young girl begged to see them again.

"I wonder if they remember his face." One of the twins said and Violet looked at her brother as he winced at the question. Violet took his hand and gave it a squeeze. She hadn't asked him herself even though she knew she remembered a laugh, a scream she could only figure was her mother's then ringing silence. The memory was foggy and distant and not one she liked to dwell on. She wondered what Harry remembered but a part of her wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"I'll tell them off if they dare to ask." Violet whispered to him, making him laugh.

"It's okay sis. I bet were going to get that reaction a lot."

She grumbled but didn't argue further and after a few more moments of listening to the family saying goodbye they got off the floor and sat on opposite seats in the compartment. Violet looked out the window as the train began to move, the people on the platform growing smaller and smaller until they completely disappeared. Her attention snapped to the door as it opened revealing the youngest boy from the family. "Do you mind? Everywhere else is full."

Harry gestured for the boy to come in waving to the seat beside him. The boy gratefully took the seat. Violet caught his look between the two of them but before he could say anything the twins opened the door and threw themselves down on either side of Violet. They both grinned at her as she glanced from one to the other a bit exasperated at their sudden presence and closeness as she had been enjoying having the seat to herself and now was squished between them.

"Hey Ron." The twin to her left said to the boy beside Harry. "Did we introduce ourselves earlier?"

"I don't think we did." The one to her right said holding out a hand to Violet. "I'm Fred Weasley." He said, taking her hand and giving it a quick shake.

"I'm George." The one to her left swatted his brother's hand away from Violets before gesturing to Ron. "That's our brother Ron" Fred shook Harry's hand as George rolled his eyes at him.

Violet inclined her head to Ron but found her attention pulled back to Fred as he said. "We're going down to the middle of the train. Lee Jordan has a giant tarantula."

"We just wanted to say a proper hello first." George said and the twins stood up.

"How Giant?" Violet asked curiously as they moved towards the door.

Fred and George turned back to look at her with smiles on their faces that left her feeling slightly unsettled. "Wanna come see it?"

Violet tilted her head slightly as she tried to gage their new excitement, but they seemed relatively harmless. She looked at her brother, but he just shrugged. "Go ahead. You know where to find me."

"You're willing to miss this, Harry? Giant tarantulas are not easy to come by." George tried to entice her brother.

Harry only laughed "I'm good. Violet's the social butterfly of the two of us. I'm happy to stay here with Ron."

"Very well." Fred held the door for Violet, and she followed them out of the compartment after one last glance at Harry who silently encouraged her to go.

As the three of them neared the center of the train George called over his shoulder "Not scared of spiders, are you?"

"Not at all."

"Good." He said as he found the compartment he was looking for and slid it open letting Fred enter then usuring her inside before entering and closing the door behind him. Violet found herself standing in a very crowded and loud compartment. It seemed that many people were interested in this giant tarantula. She couldn't even see anything past the mass of people crowded around something a few feet ahead of her.

"Oi! Lee!" Fred yelled and pushed his way into the crowd.

George stayed with Violet, and she heard an unfamiliar voice call out over the crowd. "Okay. Okay. That's enough. Let's take a break!"

People groaned but slowly they began pushing their way out of the compartment, making George grab Violet's elbow to keep her from being pushed out of the door. As the crowd thinned, she saw Fred sitting beside a boy around their age with a lot of curly black hair. The boy, who must have been Lee, was holding a large box and talking to Fred. George pushed Violet gently towards the empty seats across from Lee and Fred.

"Who's this?" Lee asked, holding the box a bit closer to himself as his attention fell to Violet.

"This is our new friend Violet Potter." George said casually as he peaked into the box in Lee's lap.

Violet closed her eyes frustrated at the use of her last name as Lee's attention snapped to her, now more interested in her than he had been before. "Are you really?"

Violet took a deep breath to calm herself as she looked at Lee, putting a smile on her face that she didn't really feel. It was going to be annoying to be a Potter in this school, she could already tell. Famous for living… for being Harry's sister…for her parents' deaths. "Yes I am."

"Wow. That's cool." Lee murmured almost to himself. Fred, however, gave her a strangely understanding look. Violet looked back to Lee feeling the curiosity in Lees eyes was better than the pity in Freds.

George asked, still looking in the box. "Do you remember it? You know who…" Violet tensed as Lee looked even more curious and Fred looked to her almost hesitantly. George yelped in pain and sat up straighter glaring at Fred who was slightly shaking his head with wide eyes clearly trying to silently tell his brother to be quiet.

"Oi! Why did you kick me?" George hissed at his brother through clenched teeth. Fred just shook his head at George.

"Bits and pieces." Violet offered. "I remember my mother screaming. Cold laughter and then silence. Ringing silence…" Her voice sounded a bit hollow even to her own ears. She found the memories she pushed down coming to the surface, but she pushed them back down. She would not break down now. So, she looked at the others in the room instead, forcing herself to analyze the boys in front of her rather than herself.

The room was silent as they all stared at her. They likely hadn't expected her to answer from how they were avoiding making eye contact now. They seemed unsettled by her memories and Goerge looked a bit guilty as he gulped beginning to say "I…"

"Don't go asking Harry." Violet interrupted before he could apologize for asking. "Remembering your parent's death isn't something you should be force to do on command."

Fred was the one to speak. "Fair enough. We won't ask him."

Violet looked at the box in Lee's lap desperate for a change of topic. "Can I see it?" in a tone that was just a little bit too enthusiastic.

The rest of the train ride she stayed with the twins and Lee. They chatted and were often interrupted by others who wanted to see the tarantula. She was introduced to so many people that she thought she had to have met the entire school at that point though when she joked about this thought to Fred he merely laughed and told her that they hadn't even seen half of the students.

The train ride flew by and as an announcement came over the loudspeakers telling students to get changed into their wizarding robes, she stood with a wave to everyone in the room excusing herself to go find her brother.

George followed her out and walked with her. "Can't let our guest go alone." He tried to reason but he looked like he wanted to say something to her, so she let him walk towards the back of the train with her. "I'm sorry. It was rude to ask." He blurted out after they had passed a few doors.

Violet glanced sideways at him and was surprised to see that he truly looked sorry. His head bowed slightly to stare at his hands as he fidgeted. "Its okay. I'm not upset. Just leave my brother alone about it."

"I will. You look out for him, don't you?"

With a shrug she said, "He's, my brother."

George just nodded "We will look out for you both too. We watch out for our friends." He gave her a light shove as they slowed down to her stop. She laughed unsure what to say. The blinds were pulled down over the windows, so she knocked, not wanting to surprise potentially changing boys by throwing the door open. "One moment!" Harry called.

"You know… You and Fred… you're okay for obvious troublemakers."

"Who said we are troublemakers?" George asked as the door opened. "Hi Harry. Just bringing your sister back."

Harry nodded. "You should get changed Voilet." He and Ron were already dressed in their robes and both still standing.

Violet nodded to her brother then turned back to her new friend with a knowing grin. "I don't believe most students tell their sisters they will send a toilet seat home."

George just laughed and waved goodbye to them all.

"Did you have fun?" Harry asked genuinely curious. He knew she was the social one of them and hadn't been surprised when she hadn't come back.

"So much. The tarantula was indeed huge, and I met a bunch of other students." She saw Rons face pale a bit, but he turned back to his trunk to close it. "Your brothers seem cool." She tried.

Ron turned back to her after his trunk was closed. "Yeah, they're well liked. Pranksters, but they get on with most students."

"You get changed then you can tell us all about your trip to the middle of the train. We too had an eventful ride." He patted Violet on the shoulder before the two left her to get changed, the blinds banging against the glass as the door closed leaving her alone for the first time in hours. She pushed down the memories of that haunting night as it threatened to overwhelm her solitary moment and dug into her trunk for her robes. It would not do any good to break down here and now over the past. She had pushed it down well when George had asked, and she would continue to push the thoughts away. She had a feeling that if she broke every time that night was mentioned she would spend a good portion of the year broken.

Violet finished dressing and pulled the door open for the boys to come back in as the train began to slow down. As they sat down an announcement came over the loudspeaker "We will arrive in five minutes. Please leave your trunks and any other baggage including animals safely stored in their carriers. These items will be taken to your dorms separately."

The three spent the remainder of the ride talking about the giant Tarantula while Ron looked distinctly uneasy and Violet's experience meeting all the students which Ron seemed to try to push the conversation to. Before the conversation could turn to Harry's and Ron's experience the train came to a stop and they joined the crowds of students trying to get off.

The three of them made their way towards Hagrid, who greeted them warmly and after a few moments led a large group of nervous looking young students away from the crowd and towards several boats docked on the shore. Soon they were drifting purposely in boats and for the first time they got to see the castle. It was magical. That was all Violet could think for a moment as she first laid eyes on it. Large and impressive, with so many windows she couldn't even count many of which glowed warmly. Violet thought to herself I could get used to this. It was so much more than she could ever have dreamed of.

Violet wasn't a nervous person by nature but to be standing in front of the whole school waiting for her turn to be sorted left her feeling distinctly nervous. As she stared at the room full of older students the only thing, she could think about was her very sweaty palms. She nervously dried her hands on her robes dreading when the attention of these students would be on her sitting in that chair.

She wondered as "Perks, Sally-Anne" was called to the stool why they sorted people in front of everyone. Surely this was something best done in private.

As Sally-Anne handed the hat back to McGonagall the professor looked back to the list and after a moment's pause, she read. "Potter, Harry."

The room went absolutely silent as the eyes of every student and professor looked to the first years all searching for the boy who lived. Harry caught Violet's eye from her right and gave her a nervous smile that looked more like a grimace before stepping towards the stool. The whole room watched as he took the seat.

Violet watched as her brother's head was engulfed in the hat as it was placed on him. Curious, she glanced away at the rest of the room and wished she hadn't. Every… single… person in the room was watching Harry with a sort of fascination, many of them even leaning forward in anticipation to hear what the hat would say. Her stomach seemed to be doing cartwheels as she forced herself to look back to her brother.

Going second in this was worse than going first, she decided. She would know even without being able to see it that everyone was staring at her likely with equally rapt attention waiting to hear what house she would be in.

The hat yelled "Gryffindor" after a long time on Harry's head and her brother pulled the hat off looking relieved. He grinned to Violet as he gave McGonagall the hat then turned to join the loudly cheering table. Fred and George were yelling "We got a Potter!" repeatedly over the shouts of the table and Harry got many pats on the back as he made his way to the empty seats for the first years.

It took a moment before Professor McGonagall could speak again. When the crowed quieted enough for her to say "Potter, Violet." the room went silent again unnaturally quick. She found herself getting slightly annoyed at the whole ceremony. Being second sucked, she thought to herself as she sat on the stool. A small bit of her was glad when the hat fell over her eyes, and she couldn't see all the curious eyes though she knew they were all out there behind the dark brown fabric that now covered her vision.

"Oh, just as difficult as your brother." A voice said into her mind making her jump a bit on the stool. "Interesting though…" The voice drawled on contently slow as it spoke to her mind. "You do not have the same moral dilemmas as your brother does. You dear are more willing to do what needs to be done." A memory flashed in her mind of her standing over Dudley as he held his slightly red cheek and cried. She was threatening to beat him up again if he hurt Harry anymore.

"I was protecting Harry." She thought back defensively. She wasn't a bully, but she would throw a punch or a slap to defend her brother. Another memory flashed before her of herself standing up to one of the other students who had tried to bully Harry. Then another of her scheming to get one of the bullies expelled by making him get caught bullying a new student. "They were bullies and deserved what they got. I was just protecting my brother." She thought to the hat.

"Yes, you are very brave indeed and perhaps you would make a good Gryffindor. Like your brother however… Slytherin would lead you to greatness in your own right. You would be out of your brother's shadow as well. Perhaps…" The hat seemed to be thinking. Violet on the other hand found herself unable to think. "Yes, I almost put your brother here too, but I think you are more suited. Perhaps you will be the one who can change the tides in the coming years." With that the hat called out to the great hall. "Slytherin!"

Authors Note: Did you guess the right house?

Thank you for reading!