Violet In Distress [HARRY POTTER UNIVERSE]

CHAPTER TWO

Although Violet was feeling anxious about returning to Hogwarts, as soon as they arrived at the castle a familiar wave of warmth engulfed her. No matter how tough it was for her to be a student there, Hogwarts had always been her second home and she couldn't deny that part of her was happy to be back. She had walked through those corridors for years, she knew them well by now, and yet there were probably so many things that she still hadn't discovered about the school. A small smile sneaked its way onto her lips as she looked around the Great Hall. The large room was bright thanks to the many candles floating around on the starry ceiling, and it was filled with chatter and laughter and many familiar faces. And just like any other year, there were also students whom she did not recognize. First years.

The Sorting Ceremony seemed to go by rather quickly; Violet guessed it felt like it because she didn't have to go through it anymore. She couldn't help but feel bad for the new students, though, a lot of them seemed more nervous than excited. It was normal, though. She suddenly remembered the first time she stepped foot in the Great Hall; she thought that she would throw up all over the floor as she waited for her name to be called. She had no expectations as to which House she would be sorted into -both of her siblings had each been sorted into different Houses, after all. However, when she finally got sorted into Hufflepuff, she did not feel surprised; it actually made sense to her. Besides, the two girls that she had met during the train ride had also been sorted into the same House, so she did not mind it. She was certain that they would grow very close to each other and, of course, she was right about that.

Surprisingly, there was a large number of students who got sorted into Hufflepuff this year, probably more than the previous ones. Gryffindor seemed to get a lot of new students, as well, and ironically those were the ones who looked the most nervous. Violet would've loved to go up to all of them and assure them that everything was going to be fine, that they were going to love it there. But instead, she just kept seated and hoped that they already knew that.

Dumbledore gave his usual greeting speech after everyone was sorted into their Houses, and Violet grew more and more anxious with each word that he spoke. It meant that the year was officially starting, that she didn't know what would come out of it, and that worried her deeply. But then again, no one ever did, and that did not mean that things would necessarily go bad. A new year at Hogwarts always meant a new opportunity to get better.

And yet, I never do...

Violet brushed away any negative thoughts as soon as the large amounts of food appeared on our table. Her mouth watered as she quickly helped herself to some roast chicken, mashed potatoes, chips, and vegetables as her initial course. It had been a long trip, after all, and not even the sweets from the Trolley Lady could fill up her stomach. This was one of the few moments where she didn't have to think about her problems, also, where she could just enjoy herself by catching up with friends and eating as much as she wanted. As she ate, her eyes automatically scanned the Ravenclaw table, soon falling on the person that she was looking for. There he was, eating peacefully while chatting with his friends. His hair was sleeked to the side and the combination of that with his neat robes looked so good but, then again, he always did. It was when he smiled, however, that Violet nearly died. It was unfair how beautiful he was and it was sad that she couldn't build up the courage to go up and talk to him. Sure, they had exchanged a few words in the past, but it was nothing out of ordinary. Violet wouldn't say that he was exactly her friend, more like her acquaintance... her beautiful, beautiful acquaintance whom she truly wished would like her just as much as she liked him.

When the feast was over, all of the students started heading to their respective Common Rooms. Violet, Tilly, and Willow were heading towards their own, in the middle of small talk, when suddenly Violet felt someone bumping shoulders with her, hard. The tote bag that she was holding fell from her grasp, spilling some of her things around the stoned floor. The bump did not feel like an accident and, when she looked up to see who it was that did it, it was even clearer to her that the person had all the intentions to do so. A tall girl with black hair and blonde ombre, wearing Slytherin robes, was smirking down maliciously at her. Two other girls, twins Betsy and Lynn, were right behind her, copying the exact same expression. Although it was hard to tell who was who based on their faces only, Violet knew that Betsy was the one with shoulder-length hair. June had forced her to cut it in order to tell them apart without having to squint too much.

Violet was a bit too stunned to talk -although she had no reason to be (it was definitely not the first time she did this)- so Tilly stepped in first. "You should watch where you're going, June, or people might start thinking that you're too dumb to walk on your own."

June ignored her and fake pouted at me. "Aww, did it hurt?" she pressed her index finger against Violet's forehead and pushed.

If there was anything worse than her inability to cast a basic spell, it was having to deal with June Everly. June had always been a bully since their first year; they couldn't escape her since she first found out that Willow was a muggle-born and Tilly stood up to her, something that she was not used to. It wasn't just them, though, she liked to torture many other students. She grew quite fond of torturing Violet, though, because she knew she could barely defend herself. "Why don't you do something about it, then?" June taunted.

"Hey, leave her alone-"

"I wasn't talking to you, mudblood." She spat at Willow. Violet's blood was boiling at this point and it got even worse when June turned back to her with that stupid smirk back on her face. "Go on, Gomez. Hit me. Take out your wand and defend your friends."

June's two little minions giggled, sounding almost exactly like hyenas. "That's enough, June." Tilly warned while reaching out in her pocket.

June raised an eyebrow at her subtle action, but before any of them could do or say anything else, they heard a new voice coming from a distance. "Hey! Slytherin students, go to your Common Room, now!"

It was one of the Slytherin Prefects: Chester Brooks, a boy who was probably shorter than June, but his authoritative tone was enough to make her and the two other girls step back. "I'll go easy on you this time because I know you can't do s**t about it. See you later, Gomez."

With one last grimace at the three of them, June and her two sidekicks brushed past the girls. "f*****g bitch." Tilly muttered under her breath before turning to Violet. "Are you okay?"

She nodded and tried to give Tilly the most convincing smile she could. Deep down, she just wanted to rip June's head off, but she knew better. "I'm fine."

"Willow?"

"Yeah." Willow smiled reassuringly as well, but it was clear that the single insult thrown her way was still affecting her. Understandable -it wasn't easy being a muggle-born when so many people looked down on you as if you were insignificant. And June made it her job to do just that.

Violet wrapped an arm around Willow's shoulders and her smile switched to a more genuine one after a few seconds. "I swear, one day I will slap the s**t out of her. Mark my words." Tilly said.

At that moment, Violet really hoped she kept her promise.

She crouched down in order to gather all of the things that fell out of her bag. Luckily, it wasn't too much of a mess, but she did notice that her favorite lip balm had suffered some damage. "Great," she groaned. "That b***h messed up my lip balm and now I'm really upset."

Tilly and Willow helped her pick up the rest of her stuff. "Here," Willow extended her hand out so that Violet could take the object she was holding. It was a royal blue notebook, decorated with stickers that were perfectly pasted on the cover. Violet was sure that it wasn't hers.

A loud gasp escaped her lips as she finally realized. She quickly snatched it from Willow's hand, who yelped at the sudden action. "This is Rose's planner," Violet told them once she saw their confused stares. "She must've left it in my bag by accident. She can't live without this thing and if she realizes that It's missing she'll probably go insane!"

"So what, are you going to go and give it to her now?" Tilly raised an eyebrow. "It's getting pretty late."

"I still have some time." Violet said. "You guys can go ahead, though, and I'll meet you at the dorm."

Her two friends looked at each other before shrugging. "See you, then."

The walk towards the Ravenclaw Tower felt like forever, despite the fact that Violet already knew the way by heart, but she managed to arrive at the top of the spiral staircase without being caught. It wasn't the first time that she had to go and pay a visit to her sister, although she would always go in the daytime, and Rose would always be waiting for her at the entrance because Violet couldn't just go in...

... Right. She had somehow forgotten about that part.

She mentally face-palmed herself for being so dumb. There was no way for her to let Rose know that she was standing at the Common Room entrance. The most she could do was wait for someone to miraculously come out and do Violet the favor of delivering the notebook, but that would've most likely been impossible. She'd probably have to wait until the next morning in order to hand the planner to Rose; Violet just hoped that she wasn't already pulling her hair out because of it.

With a defeated sigh, Violet turned to hop down the stairs. Going up made her feel dizzy enough but, going down, she almost felt like the stairs were spinning and she thought that she was going to fall through the emptiness. It didn't help that that tower was way too tall for her own good; she thanked Merlin that she wasn't in Ravenclaw, or else, she probably would've been dead by now.

As Violet walked down carefully, humming a tune inside her head in order to distract herself, she realized that someone else was making their way up, and she almost ran up to them and hugged them out of relief. She couldn't see the person's face clearly at first but it was certainly not her sister. However, it was more than enough for her to know that the person was definitely a Ravenclaw.

The person -a boy, she could now make out- recognized her first. "Gomez?"

Violet froze. She knew that voice all too well. Suddenly, when Angel's face became clear and she noticed his confused expression, she thought that maybe falling from where she was standing wouldn't be too bad, after all. "Oh, hi, Angel... Donahue." she waved at him.

Angel took two more steps before finally stopping. They were like ten feet apart from each other but Violet was already starting to feel like she was suffocating. She felt her heartbeat quicken its pace before she could even try to calm herself down. "What are you doing outside?" she asked him before he could do it first.

"Prefect duties." he answered. Violet glanced at the badge perfectly pinned on his robe. Of course, she knew he was a Prefect, she was just asking stupid questions because she didn't know how to deal with the fact that that had been the closest she'd been to him in a long time. "I could ask you the same, though. And here, of all places."

"I, uh..." she looked down at the notebook she was still holding. "Rose accidentally left this in my bag and I know It's very important to her, so I just wanted to return it."

"And you couldn't wait until tomorrow?" Angel quirked an eyebrow.

Violet felt her entire face heating up, so much that she thought steam would start coming out of her ears. "I guess I thought that there wouldn't be a problem in returning it tonight."

He chuckled quietly. It was like music to her ears. "I could give it to her, then."

"Really?" her eyes lit up as she saw him nod. "I would really appreciate that!"

Angel extended his hand in front of her and, with shaky hands, Violet handed him the planner. Their fingers accidentally brushed against each other during the process and his touch felt cold against her warm skin, and it made the knots in her stomach tighten. She really hoped that her hands weren't sweaty, or else she might've just died from the embarrassment. "You should hurry back to your dorm now, or I might have to take House points from you." he told her. His tone was serious, but Violet still noticed the hint of humor in it. She had never heard him joke around before but it was a refreshing change from his usual persona. However, she laughed a little bit too loudly at his words; she had to stop herself before she could scare him away. "I'll be on my way, then."

He nodded, again, as a way of goodbye, proceeding to walk past Violet without saying anything else. She stared at his back shamelessly. He's so cute.

Angel suddenly stopped and turned to her once again. "Did you say something?"

Violet's lips formed a straight line. Did she just think that out loud? "No, I didn't. Goodnight!"

And then she trotted down the stairs faster than she'd ever done.