As we all make our way into the great hall for breakfast, Walter pulls me away from the rest of the group. "Don't lie to me, Vi. Where are you actually going today? Because Clarissa says you're not going to Hogsmeade because you have to fix a roll of parchment or something for McGonagall..." I try to walk away from him mid-sentence but he grabs ahold of my wrist and spins me around to face him. "And I know that's a lie because I'm in your transfiguration class and we haven't had any essays assigned to us yet."
"Alright fine! You don't have to hold onto me so tight you know." Walter lets go of my wrist sheepishly. "I'm going to Hogsmeade just not with the rest of the third years. That's all I'm saying no matter what you do to me alright? Just promise you won't go looking for me while we are there. I don't need Emma and Clarissa, and the rest of them to see why I lied." Walter smiles and his eyes sparkle so I already know what he's going to say.
"You're going with the Weasley twins! Oh goodness, Violet please don't tell me you fancy one of them. Imagine how hard that will be to hide from the rest of the house. You'll have to hide it from the Gryffindors too. Bunch of pretentious arses if you ask me but the twins seem nice enough. They're friend Lee is kind of... never mind."
I put my hands on Walter's shoulders to calm him down. "Will you stop it! Someone is going to hear you. My god Walter! Even if I did fancy one of them, which I DON'T, I wouldn't hide it from anyone."
Walter stops and looks at me, I slowly take my hands off his shoulders. He nods at me and we make our way into the great hall. "I bet its George, isn't it? The one you fancy?" Walter whispers to me. I scrunch up my nose and try to look disgusted, but as soon as I see George at the Gryffindor table my heart melts a bit and my face softens up. George looks at me and smiles big, his mouth clearly full of eggs and sausage. "Oh yeah. Definitely George. And by the looks of things, he fancies you too." Walter laughs and dashes away from me so I can't hit him for his comment.
After breakfast, the majority of the students from each house rush out of the dining hall to meet Professor McGonagall and some other teachers in the courtyard so they can go to Hogsmeade. I stay back and wave to my friends as they all rush out of the hall. Soon after, the entire hall was empty except for the twins, Lee, and I.
"You can't be serious Violet. You're still in your school uniform? It's a Saturday for crying out loud." Lee says to me once the room is fully empty
"Alright okay, I'll go change. See you by the witch in... dunno lets say half an hour?" I stand up and cross over to where the boys are sitting at their table.
"I mean, we could just have you meet us at our common room. That way we don't have to stand in the freezing cold forever." Fred suggests.
"Ah, I dunno about that one there Freddy. Can we really trust a Slytherin to know where the Gryffindor commons are?" George says jokingly. I hit him on the back of his head and laughs. "Alright, no need to get testy Violet. The common room is on the seventh floor behind the portrait of the fat lady." George gets close to me as if the room is full of listening ears. "the password is Caput Draconis."
I move away from the boys and look at them. "You've got to be joking? That's your password? I wish ours was just a funny little word."
"I'd suggest that we meet you in the Slytherin common room but I'd rather not go into the dark and wet dungeons," Lee says sarcastically.
"Really Lee. Some of the most pretensions, rich, pure-blood wizards have children in the Slytherin house. Do you really think they would allow their children to live in a dark, wet dungeon? Our common room is actually really homey and cozy." I smile at their confused faces. "Nevertheless, I'll see you all once I've gotten changed."
Back in the Slytherin dorms, I pop open my trunk and rummage through my street clothes. I have two different styles. The first is very, very posh looking. Like stuck up rich that only ever wears high heels and long skirts. And then there are the street clothes that I actually want to wear. The muggles call it 'grunge'? I think I'm saying that word properly. If any of the Malfoys saw me in muggle street clothes I'd definitely be burned out of the family tree. No ifs ands or buts about it. I hop into an oversized pair of ripped blue jeans, throw on a white, form-fitting tank top, and wrap a red and black plaid shirt around my waist. I quickly brush out my long, black hair and pull on a knitted beanie. Finishing the look off with some Doc Martens I grab my coin pouch that I bewitched to hold a lot more than just coins, and I threw on my school robe. Just in case there was someone in the common room.
I open the door to my room quietly and double-check the hallway to make sure no one is lurking about. Then in one quick dash to the common room door, I was out and on my way to the seventh floor. As soon as I hit the stairwell I take off my Slytherin robe and stash it in my coin purse. "Bloody hell. Seven flights of stairs just for their common room? Gryffindors are barking mad I tell you." I say to myself as I climb the final flight of stairs. I look around for the fat lady's portrait which honestly wasn't that hard to spot. All I had to do was follow the shrieking noise that sounded like someone was being murdered.
"Caput Draconis," I say breathing hard. But the lady was not paying attention in the slightest. Her eyes are closed and her mouth is wide open. I genuinely hope she's not trying to sing. "um, excuse me? Ma'am? I said Caput Draconis."
The fat lady finally stops doing whatever she is doing and looks at me. "hmm never seen you here before. But I honestly can't recognize anyone in their street clothes. Alright hop on in." she says. Her painting swings off the wall and I step into the hole it was covering. Instantly I am hit with the smell of burning wood and cinnamon.
Gryffindors' common room is smaller than Slytherins I can tell you that one for free. There's a lot of red and gold everywhere, a little much for my taste. But the armchairs are overstuffed and look a lot more welcoming than our old leather couches. The fire also burns the normal colour in here. Which makes sense because fire is already the Gryffindor colours.
"Violet?" I look up and see the twins staring at me from a pathway on the next floor.
"Well, boys are you going to give me a tour or are you just going to stand there and look at me?" Fred hits George's arm and George snaps back into reality. The two of them head down the steps together and meet me in the middle of the common room.
"This is our fire pit, these are our chairs. Over there are some portraits, that way you have some desks. And you've already met the fat lady." Fred says slowly spinning around the room pointing in every direction.
I move closer to the fire and sit down in one of the big red armchairs. Instantly I sink like two inches down into the chair. "Where's Lee? Isn't he the reason we have to do this super-secret pathway business?" Before the twins could answer two doors slam shut from above. Then the sound of feet hitting the stone. Two first-years burst from the bottom of the stairwell. One of them clearly being Ron Weasley.
"Oh good, you haven't left. Can you buy me some sherbet lemons?" Ron says out of breath.
"Yeah gotta give me the money for them though," Fred says with his hand out.
Ron groans, "Oh come off it you know I haven't a knut to my name."
I stand up from the chair I am sitting in and clearly startle the two first years. Only then do I notice that the boy beside Ron is actually Harry Potter himself. "Don't worry, I can pick some up for you. I have to stop by and grab some sweets for Draco and his friends anyways."
Ron and Harry look at each other for a second before looking at me. "I'm sorry but buy some for Draco and his friends? Who are you?" Harry says. He doesn't mean to sound rude and I know that, but I still take a slight offence.
"My names Violet LeStrange. I'm Draco's cousin and a friend of Fred and George." Ron looks from me to his brothers, and back to me before he realizes what's going on.
"George! You cannot just give the Gryffindor password to a girl you fancy! Especially when that girl is in Slytherin!" George reaches for his wand, probably getting ready to hex his brother while Fred goes red in the face from laughing. Lee comes down the stairs just at the right time.
"What's all this then?" Lee says, looking at a very angry George, and a crying Fred. "Violet wow barely recognized you. You look good in street clothes. Doesn't she George." Lee notices my cheeks flush and winks at me. But before Lee could say anything George turns his wand towards Lee.
"Steleus!" George says Lee starts sneezing instantly.
"Oh god" *ACHOO* "This isn't" *ACHOO* "Funny. I'll Get" *ACHOO* "you for this one day" *ACHOO*
"Okay let's head out, we've wasted enough time blubbering like idiots already," Fred says wiping away a tear from his cheek. A quick wave goodbye to Harry and Ron and the four of us head out of the Gryffindor common rooms and make our way to the one-eyed witch.
Fred and Lee are ahead a bit, Lee is still sneezing, which causes Fred to erupt in a fit of giggles every so often. Leaving George and me in the back. "What Ron and Lee said back in the common room. It's not true you know. I don't fancy you." George says sort of quietly.
My heartbeat starts to pick up speed. I can't leave the silence for too long or else it gets awkward. Do I actually tell him the truth that I fancy him or do I just leave it hidden away? I think of what Walter would tell me at this moment. "Goodness Violet if you do not march your arse over to that red-haired boy and tell him exactly how you feel right this very second I might just combust into real flames." His voice echoes in my head.
I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. "Well isn't that a shame then Weasley. Because I certainly fancy you." The footsteps beside me stop. I turn around and George is stuck in place. "Oh don't act like someone cast a stickfast hex on you." George doesn't say anything, he just stands there looking at me.
I take two steps towards him so our noses are nearly touching. "I said what I said George and I'll say it as many times as it takes to work its way into your thick skull. I fancy you quite a bit. Have for the past year or so now that I think about it. Now, will you please for the love of Merlin, pick up your feet and start walking?"
"You're not just pulling my leg are you because you'd be surprised with how many people have pulled a trick like that on me in the past. When I was really little my brother Charlie paid our neighbours daughter a whole Galleon to tell me that she fancied me. It really doesn't feel good you know. To be tricked like that and I really don't thi.." I peck him on the cheek to get him to stop talking and breathe for a second.
"I don't pull those kinds of jokes Weasley. Take it as you will. Take time to think about it for all I care but please can we not think right now? I want to go to Hogsmeade." George nods his head slowly and we start to walk towards the statue again. By now Fred and Lee are already standing there waiting for us.
Without saying a single word., or even looking at me for that matter, George moves his hand closer to mine and wraps his fingers in between my own, holding my hand.