Violet swiftly made her way to the dorms and was fortunate enough to find all three of her friends conversing in the common room. They greeted her with smiles that were overshadowed by whatever their previous conversation had been about. All of them seemed uncomfortable and their eyes shifted between themselves and Violet awkwardly.
The image before her was ominous; the light from licks of flames lit half of their face and cast shadows over the other half.
"Can I talk to you?" she asked, glancing at between them.
Harry stood from his chair and started to grab some textbooks he'd tossed beside him "Of course, we'll leave you"
Violet quickly caught his arm and prevented him from stepping further "No. All of you"
She wasn't surprised Harry had been mistaken. The three of them had become much more reserved in the past few weeks. Talking in hurried whispers with nervous eyes darting around, making sure no one was eavesdropping. Violet didn't mind all that much as she had to deal with her own stuff. Having the trio distracted was actually more to her benefit.
"Right. What do you need?"
"Could we go to the dorm? This is––private" she'd rehearsed what she wanted to say a million times over in her head, but now her confidence faltered and her voice cracked.
They followed Violet up to her and Hermione's dorm. When they were inside she cast a muffliato and added several locking charms.
"You haven't brought us here to kill us have you?" Ron chuckled at the excessive precautions Violet took. She didn't respond and moved past them as they lingered in the center of the room. She perched on the edge of her bed, Hermione sat beside her and intertwined their fingers.
"Whatever it is you can tell us. We're your best friends"
Hermione's statement felt somewhat hollow. The term 'best friends' seemed to be casually flung within the group and Violet often wondered if they truly meant it. There was no doubting the bond between the three but she wasn't sure if the same unwavering loyalty was extended to her.
"I've been lying to you––but it's not what you think" She took a deep inhale as she ordered the words inside her head. This had to be perfectly worded or they might misunderstand. "I'm not muggleborn, I'm a pureblood"
Harry's mouth fell open but he caught himself and shut it promptly. Hermione's grip on her hand tightened as she was already aware of this information and started to understand where the talk was going. Ron huffed out a confused laugh and his brows furrowed.
"That's impossible. If you were a pureblood my family would know you. You'd either be part of the Sacred 28 or you'd be a known outcast. Plus, there's no pureblood families with the name Gardner."
"Not in this country, Ron. Gardner is my mother's maiden name––I believe it holds Irish roots but I'm not entirely sure. I know my fathers side was excluded from the Sacred 28 due to a muggle marriage, some distant relative bearing my fathers name. They never procreated keeping our lineage that of a pureblood"
She waited a moment for the shock on their faces to subside and one of them to break the deafening silence.
"Why did you lie?" Harry said as he mentally tried to puzzle together Violet's heritage.
"I didn't––It wasn't a conscious choice. When I joined Hogwarts my mother told me to take her maiden name, it wasn't well known and could easily be mistaken for a muggle surname. She thought it would spare me some harassment"
"Why would you be harassed? What's your name Violet" Ron's voice was harsh but his eyes were worse. She could feel them pricking at her temples.
Harry gave him a shove on the shoulder and crouched in front of Violet. He took her free hand and squeezed it tight. "It's okay. You can tell us anything"
"My name––My father is..." she bit down on her lip and braced for impact "Everette. He's––I'm an Everette, by birth"
She looked to Hermione for comfort. She gave Violet a reassuring smile and they turned to the boys. Harry's hand went slack within hers and his eyes widened.
"It doesn't mean anything though. It's just a name––not even one I identify with. This doesn't change anything" her pleading eyes flicked between Harry and Ron "It's just a name––It doesn't mean I believe his ideologies, that's not how I was raised. My mother taught me the right way, she didn't believe in it either. You're not angry––please tell me you're not angry"
Harry resealed his grip around her hand "Of course we're not angry. You can't choose your family, it's not your fault. It's a bit of a shock and after all this time... I'm glad you told us though" Violet felt a wave of relief wash over her and she relaxed slightly. She felt the worst was over with, that was until she noticed Ron.
Ron's rage was palpable. A blush had spread across his nose and ears, his fists were balled by his sides. His eyes were hardly slits and his breathing was becoming somewhat ragged. Violet could feel the anger radiating from him and blurring the atmosphere where he stood.
"Your brother" he spat. Her heart dropped. She foolishly assumed they wouldn't have a clue who he was due to his low ranks. She was wrong. "It's you isn't it. You're defending him"
Both Hermione and Harry's hand dropped from her own. Whatever source Ron had received the information from wasn't public and he hadn't shared it with either of them.
"Ron what are you talking about?" Hermione queeried, she flipped towards Violet and studied her "What brother? Violet, you don't have a brother"
Her eyes dropped to her hands and she fiddled with her thumbs. "How do you know? That hasn't been released to the public yet"
"Word gets around" his words felt venomous against her skin and she stood up to meet his eyes. She searched for softness within sea blue irises, but there was none. "So what, you're one of them now?"
She started to panic as the accusations were thrown at her. Word gets around. Who else knew? She tried to take a deep breath and steady her breathing but everytime her eyes met Ron's, her breathing was thrown out of kilter. She knew how it looked but surely he was overreacting.
"No Ron, I would never-"
"Trying to live up to the legacy of Daddy by releasing Lance are you?"
His words were carved from pure hatred and they felt like a stab in the gut. Why was he taking this so personally? What was she missing?
"Brother? Releasing? Violet what's going on? Why didn't you tell me you had a brother?" Hermione's questions were rapid fire and desperate.
"You knew who she was!" Ron screeched "You knew who her family was–what they've done and you didn't think it was something to share with the group? No, you know what you're not the one I'm angry with" He dismissed Hermione and his gaze returned to Violet as he pointed a shaking finger at her "You. How dare you. Who do you think you are trying to release convicted criminals!"
He raised his voice and lunged forward slightly. Harry jumped in and held Ron's arms behind his back, restricting him. "Ron stop it! What has gotten into you. Violet what's happening?"
"Violet please-" Hermione started weeping partly from confusion and partly from shock. Violet hadn't noticed but a few lone tears seeped from the corner of her eye too. She couldn't tear her eyes from Ron's as he fought against Harry's restraint.
"Go on Violet tell them. Or would you like me too? Would you like me to tell them that your brother is a murderer and you're getting him out of prison. Your brother, a devoted follower of Voldemort, and you think you have the fucking right to get him out. You make me sick. You bitch."
"Ron please. It's not like that" she choked.
"So you're not his character witness?"
"I am, but it's not––he's not-" she stumbled over her words as more tears sped down her cheeks and slid into her mouth.
"Don't give me all that he's changed crap. Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater. You were at the Department of Mysteries last year, you saw them-"
"Yes I saw them! That's how I know my brother is nothing like them. He's not a murderer. It was all a big misunderstanding. When I spoke to him earlier he told me-"
"You've met him already" Harry murmured as he freed Ron. "Violet you can't do this. Whatever he's said he's lying. He's manipulating you"
"He's not. It's not like that Harry I swear. I have to–I have to help him, he's all I have left. My family-" Violet was gasping between her words as her crying bordered on hysterical.
"You're family. I think you've forgotten who you're talking to. My family are all dead too, that's why I got a new one. The Weasley's, Hermione, Remus, Tonks-"
"Yes Harry you of all people should understand that I would do anything to get a piece of my family back!"
"I wouldn't betray who I am to do it! I wouldn't succumb to the darkness. I wouldn't free criminals!"
"He's not a criminal! Please listen to me-" She reached out for Harry's arm but he jerked it back and looked at her with horror in his eyes. It was like he couldn't even recognise her. Violet felt her heart split as she looked around at her friends who all shared a similar expression.
"Please" she whimpered.
Ron stepped toward her and for a brief moment she thought he was going to listen. "Don't come near me––ever again"
"Ron please don't do this" Violet blubbered as Ron strode from the room and slammed the door behind him.
"Harry?" she'd always been able to read him like a book and he was broken. His eyes were glossy and a similar flush covered his cheeks.
"Save it Violet. Just don't" he scoffed and followed Ron out of the door.
One left. She couldn't lose them all. She just couldn't.
"'Mione-"
"Why didn't you tell me?" she sobbed.
"I didn't think you would understand"
"Understand what? That not only are you related to a kind who believe I should burn just because of my blood status, but you're actually siding with one. Is that how you see me Violet? As some filthy thing that needs to be stamped out from this earth"
"No never. You're my best friend––No my sister. You know me, you know that's not who I am. Just listen and I'll explain everything"
She went for Hermione's hand and she jerked it back just as Harry had. "You lied to me. You've been lying to me for years. How do you expect me to trust you? I want to believe you Violet, that somehow this will turn out for the better but I truly cannot see how."
Hermione's eyes narrowed and she shook her head as she took in Violet. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she formed the words but they seemed to dissolve once they reached her tongue.
"You can't leave me Hermione. You just can't" Violet whispered.
"You should've thought of that before you chose a Death Eater over your best friends"
With that Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and slipped out of the room. Violet thought of going after but she didn't, assuming it would only make it worse.
Best Friends. That word held even less weight than it had an hour ago. She'd just lost her best friends for a man she didn't even know yesterday. It's worth it, she told herself. It has to be worth it. But her friends, her best friends.
Actually no, if they were her best friends as they said they were they would've understood. Or at least listened. That was not a fair trial; she wasn't given a chance. They had her deemed as guilty the minute she spoke the name Everette and didn't even give her a chance to prove her innocence.
Guilty until proven innocent. Is that how she would be treated when word got out of her brother?
She dropped to the floor and hugged her knees as she wept. Why wouldn't they just listen? She felt her soul rip at the thought of losing them, yet they cast her aside as if she was nothing. They had no problem with cutting her off and it killed her.
Had they wanted this all along? Did they see this as an opportunity to get rid of me? Why was it so easy?
Violet sat and tossed the questions about in her mind as she cried. She must have cried herself to sleep because when she awoke she was still on the floor and several hours had passed. Getting up and inspecting herself in the mirror she noticed the crusted tear tracks on her eyes and dried mascara beneath her lower lashes.
She cast a charm to clear up her appearance and changed into jeans and a t-shirt. The sorrow had subsided and was replaced with raw anger. She was angry that they didn't listen and that they tossed her aside. If they didn't want her, she didn't want them.
Closing her eyes, Violet assessed and suppressed her emotions. She was heartbroken and bubbling with anger but she tried to ignore it. She couldn't focus on that now, she couldn't let them know she needed them.
Violet no longer wanted to stay in her room, Hermione would be back soon and she wouldn't be able to bear the tension. She could go to Ginny but Ron's probably already spoken to her by now. Or maybe Luna but she was unsure where the Ravenclaw common room was and they were more school friends, she couldn't go with any real problems.
There was only one place Violet felt she could go. In her mind, it was the only option. She took her wand and placed it in her pocket as she left her dorm and headed for the dungeons.
******
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