Violet In Distress [HARRY POTTER UNIVERSE]

After getting the callback from the Chudley Cannons, Ash, the eldest, decided to move out of his family's home and find a new place to stay in Chudleigh- the team's hometown. It'd be easy for him to attend practice that way. Although they were sad to see him pack his stuff up, and leave his room empty, it was certainly what was best for him. He had already graduated from Hogwarts so he did not have to worry about that anymore. Plus, it would make for a great excuse to get out of town and visit him every now and then. He and his girlfriend, Marianne, found a nice deserted cottage deep in the woods, where they had their own little privacy but were still near the town itself. The woods were spacious and much more open than Violet would've imagined for a town that small. The cottage itself was not very big, but it sure was cozy; the outside was made out of white brick walls, accompanied by a small front porch that had a nice view of the pond nearby. She could not deny that part of her was a bit envious of them for having their own place now. Although she loved her family very much, living in a household where everyone but her could do magic so well would often feel overwhelming, and now the person that she was closest to was leaving. Nonetheless, she was still happy for them. Violet's mom, her sister, Rose, and Marianne were in the kitchen drinking tea and probably chatting about the couple's "next step", because her mom never missed an opportunity to mention the idea of marriage (although Ash had made it very clear, many times before, that they did not intend to marry, yet). Ash and their dad were in the living room; although there was not much to admire from the interior of the cottage, yet, their dad made sure that the TV was set up, at least. Meanwhile, Violet was outside, exploring around the woods but being careful not to stray too far from the cottage. The surroundings were so beautiful that they mesmerized her. It was mostly green scenery, which some people might've found uninteresting, but there was just something about the sun lighting up a path for her to follow, and the tree leaves waving softly with the wind that made her feel at ease. When Violet finally decided to stop walking, she found a large tree and sat down with her back pressed against it. She took out her wand from her back pocket, twisting it under her fingers and examining it like it was the very first time she was seeing it. She laughed bitterly. Why do I even have this? A slight, rapid movement from the corner of her eye quickly caught her attention. At first, she thought that maybe it was just her imagination -she saw nothing out of the ordinary when she turned her head. But when she faced the front, again, she thought she heard a sound, similar to that of when someone stepped on a few branches. The thing was that there was no one else with her. Violet slowly peeked her head through one side of the tree, just to make sure that she really was alone. Another thought was that maybe Ash was trying to pull a prank on her; it certainly wouldn't be the first time. Rolling her eyes, she loudly said, "You should be a bit more creative than that, Ash." There was no answer. Even if she had already convinced herself that her brother was behind this, she still tried to keep a close eye on anything suspicious. She might've been wrong, after all. And, as a matter of fact, it turned out that she was. Violet knew it as soon as she realized that the movement from earlier came from one of the tree's branches. That was what it looked like, anyway. When she looked at it, she noticed a pair of the smallest brown eyes she had ever seen staring back at her, and she let out a gasp of surprise while standing up in a hurry. The creature hid behind the tree, and that was when Violet realized that it feared her more than she feared it. "Bloody hell," She crouched down once again and smiled in relief. "I've seen you before. You're a Bowtruckle, aren't you?" The creature's tiny head was peaking from the hardwood, its long fingers holding onto it. One could easily mistake them for a pair of twigs. "Hey, It's okay," Violet reassured it with a soft tone. "I won't hurt you. I promise." The Bowtruckle shrunk back a bit more once it noticed that she was slowly trying to move closer. Its eyes seemed to be looking straight at Violet's wand, and she noticed. "Oh, this? You think I'm going to hurt you with this? No, you don't have to worry, I can't do a spell for my life. Want me to show you?" The creature seemed curious, and Violet knew that it understood her, so she pointed the wand at a large rock that was nearby. She cleared her throat before shouting, "Confringo!" The smallest flame came out of the tip of her wand, directly at the rock, but it did nothing once it hit it. Violet turned to the Bowtruckle, who was now looking at her in wonder. "See? I'm harmless." She told it with a chuckle. She ignored the frustration already building up inside her. "Aren't you prohibited to use magic outside of school?" A voice asked from a distance, making her look up with wide eyes. Ash was walking towards her with a calm look on his face, but a small smirk formed on his lips. Violet gave a one-sided shrug. "I doubt that even counts as magic." "Who were you talking to, anyway?" He asked her, chuckling. "Oh, I found this-" but when Violet turned back to look at the creature, she only found an empty spot. She let out a whine. "Aw, man, you scared the Bowtruckle away!" "Did I?" Ash raised an eyebrow and placed a hand on his heart. "Well, I am deeply sorry about that. Anyway, let's go back to the cottage, mom was asking for you." With a sigh, Violet stood up and followed her brother along the same path he had appeared from. It was mostly quiet between them at first, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It gave her a chance to focus on their surroundings yet again. Ash spoke again once the cottage came into sight. "So... your sixth year starts tomorrow, right?" "Yup." "Aren't you excited?" Violet shook her head. "Not for the most part." That made him snap his head towards her direction, but she was too distracted by a squirrel that had suddenly appeared from behind a nearby tree. "Why not?" She made eye contact with him. His eyes were a lighter color than hers; she was always envious of him for having prettier eyes. "Well, you've seen how bad I still am at doing magic." Another silence followed, the front porch almost at their reach. Ash knew that she wasn't as gifted as him or Rose, or their parents, or probably any of their relatives, in that matter. But he had always believed that she had potential. However, he thought it best not to question it any further, so he just sighed. "Okay. I can't blame you, really." "I still don't get how you guys make it look so easy, even after so many years of trying to learn." She said. "I mean, I'm technically a witch, I come from a long line of Purebloods, so it should be in my nature. Why doesn't it feel like that, though?" "Maybe you're just a late bloomer?" he suggested. Voilet scoffed. "Or a Squib, possibly." "You're not a Squib." Ash reassured her confidently. "I'll probably end up using actual magic in my sixties, then." "Well, maybe they can let you enroll at Hogwarts again, and that way you'll finally have the full experience. I'm sure they wouldn't mind a grumpy old student." She laughed while smacking his arm. At this point, however, she wouldn't really mind that. Hogwarts was supposed to be a place where you grew as a wizard and as a person, learn how to control your magic and turn it into something spectacular, as well as learn many other things, and enjoy time with your friends. She couldn't really say that she had achieved all of those so far. "No, but really," he continued after they finally stood in the doorway. "I'm sure everything will get better for you. Yes, it might not seem like it now, but I know that you'll do great things in the future. You are my sister, after all." "Of course." Violet flipped her hair dramatically. Her words and her actions did not match how she felt, though; she was nervous and insecure about her future, but at least she knew that whatever happened her family would be there for her, especially Ash. Even though he was the oldest out of the three siblings, and Violet was the youngest, they had a stronger bond, always. She loved Rose, of course, but sometimes it was harder for her to open up to her because she was the type of person who, for example, would say "I told you so" instead of simply being supportive. That didn't mean that she was a bad sister, but Ash was always a bit more sympathetic, so that made it easier to talk to him. As if being summoned by Violet's own thoughts, her dear sister opened the front door and stood in front of them. She looked comfortable and relaxed in her brown hoodie and jean shorts, much different from the girl who would soon be wearing her Hogwarts robes with a Head Girl badge. "What are you guys doing?" she asked, looking back and forth between her two siblings. "Just relaxing out here." Ash replied, motioning to themselves and their surroundings. "Would you like to join us? You should, after having to listen to mom rambling for hours." She buried her hands in her pockets and hummed as an initial answer. "Yeah, and she's still at it. Right now, she's telling Marianne about her Honeymoon with dad and the time they went skinny dipping in New Orleans. Just letting you know." "s**t," He muttered as Violet's eyes widened. He walked past both of them and ignored their laughter. "I better go save her before she gets too traumatized and leaves me." *** The next morning seemed to come by in the blink of an eye, despite Violet not getting enough sleep the night before. Her stuff was all packed up, she had already bought everything I needed for the new school year, but she still didn't feel ready to go back. Not that she was feeling more relaxed at her own house, where everyone but her could use magic outside of Hogwarts, but at least there she wasn't constantly stressing over which class came next and how much of a fool she would make of herself in front of everyone. As she and Rose hopped on the train and waved goodbye to their parents through a window, she decided that she really had no other choice and that she should just try and focus on the positives. She would see her friends again after not seeing them for almost three whole months, she'd get to eat at the Great Hall and visit Hogsmeade on the weekends, and she would get to see him again... Oh, him. Angel Donahue, Ravenclaw Prefect, same year as her. She had been crushing on him since their third year, when he helped her out with the Hardening Charm in Transfiguration (she barely got it right but it would've been much worse if it hadn’t been for him). Unlike her, he was a natural at casting spells and doing magic, and that was probably the first thing that made her fall so head over heels for him. His good looks were a close second. As soon as the train station was out of sight, Rose left Violet on her own to find her compartment and begin to fulfill her duties as the Ravenclaw Head Girl. She really didn't mind it; even back when Rose didn't have the title, they never shared a compartment. And she was sure that her friends would appear eventually. When she managed to find an empty compartment, she let Glitter, her cat, out of her kennel. She climbed onto Violet's lap and curled into a ball as soon as she sat down, and all she could do without disturbing her sleep was look out the window and admire the outside. The train ride was always nice. "Well, if it isn't my pride and joy." A voice came from the doorway as soon as the door slid open. Violet looked up and, as expected, saw her friend, Tilly, grinning down at her. Her blonde wavy hair cascaded down to her waist and it stood out nicely against the grey sweater that she was currently wearing. She looked as gorgeous as ever without even trying, and Violet was sure glad to see her after so long. "Willow, I found her!" she called out to the hall. Moments later, another figure appeared next to her. A beautiful, dark brown-skinned girl that Violet knew so well. Willow squealed loudly before throwing her arms around her shoulders in a tight hug, making Glitter meow in annoyance and hop out so she could find another spot. "I've missed you!" she cried out loud, squeezing her tighter. "I've missed you too, Wills, but can you let me breathe for a second?" Violet groaned and Willow let her go after a few more seconds. She exhaled. "Merlin..." Tilly took a seat right on the opposite side of Violet, and Willow quickly followed and sat down next to her. "Well, excuse me for wanting to hug my best friend, whom I haven't seen since June because she couldn't bother to hang out with us this whole summer." "I had a family trip!" Violet defended herself. "And I got you guys some gifts but if you keep talking to me that way you'll get nothing." Willow's eyes widened. "You know what? I'll just let it slide, I forgive you. Now, give me my gift." "After we get to the castle." Violet chuckled while Willow rolled her eyes in impatience. In the meantime, Violet told them all about their trip to Bulgaria and how she wished to go back soon. Her dad had gotten them tickets for the Quidditch World Cup taking place there this year. Her family was generally a big fan of Quidditch, and although she and Rose weren't the biggest fans, even they had the time of their lives there. After she had finished telling them all about it, they told her about how their own summer went. Willow had stayed over at Tilly's various times because Tilly's parents were out most of the time, and they had the house to themselves. Violet thought that would've been nice to be there with them, spending time at the pool during the day and watching movies at night. "Also, Tilly has a boyfriend." Willow blurted out. Tilly's eyes became as big as tennis balls, and so did Violet's. "What?" Tilly seemed to regain her composure in no time and then shrugged like it was nothing. "She's exaggerating. It's just a guy that I met a few months ago." Violet opened her mouth to speak, but Willow beat her to it. "That's absolute rubbish." She turned to Violet. "They were sending each other letters the whole time I stayed over at her house. And for some reason, he goes by the name Sickle." "Sickle?" "It's his nickname, don't ask why." Tilly explained quickly. Violet would be lying if she said she didn't want to know more about this Sickle guy, but something in the way that Tilly was playing with a strand of her hair and fidgeting told her that she didn't want to be questioned about him. And her suspicions seemed to be correct when Tilly suddenly smirked and changed the subject. "And I'm sure that you also have a certain boy in mind." Violet shook her head but couldn't hide the blush creeping up on her cheeks. "Of course she's thinking about Angel." Willow teased. "She always does." "Alright, alright, that's enough." Violet waved them off even though they were still giving each other knowing looks and smirking. Of course, Violet would occasionally think of Angel. Who wouldn't, when he was so cute and smart and talented? But Violet couldn't concentrate on that, could she? Her main focus had to be getting better at practicing magic. Surely she couldn't afford any more distractions thanks to the boy she had been liking for years. Unless, maybe, just maybe, she could gain the courage to ask him to help her out, just like he did before...? Oh, please. Violet almost laughed out loud at herself. She could never build up the courage to do that.