VIOLET (A Harry Potter Universe Fanfiction)

1.

"Then you'll have a very nice garden."

"And I'll put you in charge of it," she said darkly.

Marlowe looped his arm around her waist and pulled her back into his side.

Caiti turned and hugged him so tight it was hard to breathe, but he didn't care.

"You'll come up with something," he said.

"Let's talk about something else," said Caiti, letting go of him. They started walking again.

"Okay," said Marlowe. "How about the fact that I'm really, really happy you're home."

"For good," said Caiti quietly. There was a smile in her voice.

"Thank god."

—-

They walked for a long time, laughing about stupid things, but eventually, they found their way back to the house. Marlowe saw Caiti's gaze slide towards the little shed out back that his dad had converted into a tiny living room for him to spend the full moon nights. He tried to pretend not to notice her looking at it, but his heart rate picked up.

"What do you do those nights?" she said. "Can you sleep at all?"

Marlowe swallowed. "Sometimes."

"Don't you get bored?"

"I don't really think about it like that. I just... I try to get through it."

"Can I see?"

"See what?"

"Inside." She was still looking at the shed.

"No," said Marlowe immediately. "Definitely not."

"Why?"

"Because I don't go in there when I don't have to. It's not like... it's not exactly full of my favorite memories."

"Just for a second," she said. She took a step towards it, but Marlowe pulled on her hand to stop her.

"Caiti, don't."

To her credit, she didn't walk any further. She turned back and looked at him.

"Why do you care?" he asked. "It's nothing special."

She shrugged. "I don't really. I was just curious."

And that was probably the only reason Marlowe gave in. He inhaled through his nose, sighed, and said, "Come on," quietly.

Caiti hung back.

"You really don't have to show me if you don't want to," she said.

But Marlowe kept walking, and after a few seconds, he heard Caiti's footsteps hurrying to catch up to him.

The door wasn't locked at the moment, though he made sure it was locked in every way he knew how when he came here. It was Marlowe who'd suggested most of the precautions on the place. His parents had first thought he could just stay in his bedroom, but Marlowe had vetoed that idea instantly. He didn't ever want to ruin the safety of his childhood bedroom with those kinds of memories. He wanted that feeling confined to one place he never had to look at or think about otherwise.

That was why it felt so strange and so vulnerable to open the door and let Caiti see.

But Caiti didn't react how he thought she would.

She looked around the tiny room, at the sofa along one wall and the little coffee table that was never used for anything, at the rug covering the floor and the fresh paint his dad had done that past summer. Had Caiti not been making the potion for him every month, all the soft furnishings would likely have been torn to shreds. Just picturing made him nauseous.