Violet Potter and the Basilisk Plague (Year Two)

Chapter Two: "You're Every Bit As Welcome Here As Your Brother."

Mr and Mrs. Spencer had left the house some time after breakfast to go to the local grocer, and said their goodbyes to Violet as they likely wouldn't be seeing her again until Christmas or the next summer.

"Keep learning your lessons and making new friends." Mrs. Spencer told Violet.

"Make responsible choices and for pity's sake don't get up to the sort of mischief you did at school last year." Mr. Spencer reminded her.

"And above all, have loads of fun at the Weasleys and don't do anything I wouldn't do." Emily said. As soon as her parents had left, Emily picked up a silvery container and opened it up to show Violet the whitish, sandy looking powder inside. "This Violet, is a marvellous substance wizardkind calls Floo Powder.

Now you know where our fireplace is. You need to pay very close attention to what I am about to tell you, in order to ensure you end up transported to the correct location grate. You need to grab a generous amount of powder and hold on to it, there you are---" As Violet grabbed a fistful of the Floo Powder and went to stand in the Spencers' old-fashioned stone fireplace.

"And here is where we say goodbye for now. All of your school things, clothes, and essentials are already waiting at the Weasleys, be sure to keep a lookout for Eros. Now say loudly and clearly, The Burrow, and release the powder, and it's off you go. On the count of three...two...one...!"

"The Burrow!" Violet said very clearly and released the powder.

Violet suddenly found herself engulfed in what appeared to be bright green swirling flames as her godmother disappeared and she felt herself spinning, faster, faster, and faster. Violet had just begun to think travelling by Floo felt even worse than that entire creepyesque boat tunnel sequence looked in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which she'd watched on the telly once at Chloe's house at a time when they were still friends. And then, it was over. And Violet stepped out of this second fireplace a little dizzily, and realized that this must be the Burrow where the Weasleys all lived.

Violet Potter took a good look around her. Many times at Hogwarts during her first year, she heard other students in her house, from her year, and even several older Slytherin students say all sorts of terrible things about the Burrow.

Draco Malfoy was forever under the impression that the Weasley children had to sleep crammed all in one bed when they were at home, and that the main part of the house had to be a literal pigsty judging by the way it looked on the outside. He thought Molly Weasley was a fat, ugly, and porky looking woman, and that there was never a bigger disgrace to the name of wizard to live than Arthur Weasley, tinkering away at home and at one of the lowest paid jobs at the Ministry, which had something to do with misused muggle artefacts.

All Violet could do was laugh to herself about how ridiculously petulant and prejudiced Malfoy made himself sound, especially considering who his father was and all of the nefarious things he had done in service to Voldemort. The old adage, like father, like son should have had a photo of Lucius and Draco Malfoy to go along with it.

Pansy would sometimes gossip to her friends about how 'sad' she thought it was, that the Weasleys could never have any nice things. All because their father was a muggle-loving moron without any pride, sense, or ambition, and that his younger brother Bilius had been a pathetic crackpot who, in her parents' opinions, should have been kept at St. Mungo's and not been allowed to leave it ever again, just like the Longbottoms, and anyone else who ended up in the Janus Thickey Ward. Even Tori used to be forbidden by her own father, Pyrus Maynard, from ever associating in any way with any living member of the Weasley family.

But what exactly did the Malfoys, Pyrus Maynard, or the snippy stuck up Parkinsons know anyway? True, Violet could already tell that the Weasleys didn't have rather a lot, and she knew even then that even the Spencers, though middle-class in the muggle world at best, were still considerably better off, but what the Weasleys did have was obviously very well taken care of. Not only that, the Burrow was all quite homey and in it's own way, charming. Violet even spotted a long scarf knitting itself by magic near a squashy armchair in one corner. The wooden mantel above their fireplace had these latin words painstakingly and lovingly carved into it: Quamdiu Inter Nos Habemus, Videbimus Per Tempestatem.

So long as we have each other, we shall see the weather through.

They had a clock that wasn't even really a clock, but a magical device that told where each member of the Weasley family were at any given time. It could be places like home, back garden, school, work, hospital, prison, visiting, travelling, abroad, and so on. The hands that showed the person she guessed was Mr. Weasley was pointed at 'garage,' Ginny and Percy were home, Ron, Fred, and George were in the back garden, and...

A plump, red haired, matronly looking middle-aged woman had hurried from somewhere upstairs and saw Violet waiting in the Weasley's sitting room. "Violet! So you made it here safely? All your packed things are up in Ginny's room, which you will be sharing whilst you are here. It's very wonderful to see you again my dear, although--"

I know. The last time I saw you, it was in passing, I was boarding the Hogwarts Express for the first time. I suppose I might have said hello, but I was feeling a little shy, and then I ended up surrounded and bothered by other soon to be first year students who all ended up in Slytherin and are all very annoying, and you see, that's where my best friend Tori Maynard ended up. And---and that's where I ended up. I'm a Slytherin, not a Gryffindor like my Mum and Dad, who Emily told me you and Mr. Weasley knew, or Harry. I know that Ron is learning not to mind so much, but I just don't know what the rest of you think. I'm both very happy and very surprised to be invited here." Violet confessed, with a tight lump of nervousness forming in her throat.

The very first thing that Mrs. Weasley did next, after hearing all of this, surprised Violet even more. She took Violet right into her arms and gave her a big, comforting hug.

And some of the worries Violet was feeling were soon gone. Particularly when Mrs. Weasley said, "Now, there's no need of any of that. Indeed, we know you're in Slytherin and we knew your parents. I'll say this, at a time closer to the end, your mother had trusted me and Arthur with being some of the people, to look out and care for Harry, and for you, yes, you Violet Potter.

I think Lily, Merlin bless and keep her, knew for quite a time that something was going to happen. But you're here, and your brother is here with the boys out in the back. I've set Ron, Fred, and George to de-gnoming the gardens, and Harry is out there helping, I've been keeping a very close eye on them for the past hour or two." Violet began to wonder what exactly they did to warrant such a close watch on their every moves. "Mrs. Weasley, shouldn't I go out then and help as much as I can?" Violet asked.

But Mrs. Weasley said, "Oh, there's no need. The gnomes should be nearly all chucked back out, but they will, I don't doubt for a moment be coming back. That Arthur of mine. But it's about time I think to start with lunch." Mrs. Weasley pointed her wand at several different areas of the kitchen and several plates, glasses, and food such as bread, butter, and all the other accoutrements to make sandwiches as well as several homemade scones, a jar of homemade jam, and a container of clotted cream, all flew around the dining area in an artistic and graceful manner.

All of the dishes and the food came down around the dining table in the exact order everything was supposed to be placed in. Then with a similar precise and apparently nonverbal spell, Mrs. Weasley set several lemons to be sliced in half, magically juiced into a large jug, and sugar were magically combined together along with some icy water to also be combined with the lemon juice to make lemonade. Violet watched the entire process and thought to herself, she just had to learn those spells.

Once everything was set out around the table, Mrs. Weasley hurried out back to call Harry, Ron, Fred, and George to come in and wash up for lunch. "Percy, Ginny, that means both of you as well." And just before she went out to the Weasley's garage to let Arthur know his luncheon was ready to be made up and eaten, she told Violet reassuringly, "You mustn't ever think for a moment you're not to be invited to our home Violet. You're every bit as welcome here as your brother."