Violet Potter and the Basilisk Plague (Year Two)

Chapter Seventeen: This New Year 1993 Part One

Another Christmas Eve had come and somehow, Violet had managed to get permission from Emily, Mr. and Mrs. Spencer as well to remain at Hogwarts for Christmas that year. Victoria was also one of the few Slytherins who didn't go home to their families, apart from Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

Duncan Boggs and Felicia Lamberton were also still there on holiday prefect duties, and as much as she wanted to stay by Malfoy's side, Pansy Parkinson's parents were insistent that she return home to Buckinghamshire to spend the holiday with the extended family, even going so far as to arrive at the school themselves to whisk her away, while lecturing her sternly to focus more on her education and upholding the Parkinson name and less on boys or wasting time and energy on attempting to exact her own childish vengeance on that nasty Violet Potter, especially since, as the adult Parkinsons would later insist, the Dark Lord still had far more sinister plans for both Potters.

Pansy being forced to leave made Violet and Tori at least a little happier, and something else was about to happen that would make Violet and Tori more hopeful than they'd been ever since the Chamber of Secrets had been reopened. The dread and even terror everyone now felt as they went about their day-to-day schedules and classes at Hogwarts had only been getting worse. So too, were almost everyone's suspicions regarding Harry and Violet Potter. The Weasleys for their part understood that the rumour that either Harry or Violet was the Heir of Slytherin was ludicrous. Fred and George had gotten plenty of laughs out of the entire thing.

"Make way everyone! The Heir of Slytherin and his equally dangerous sidekicks are coming through!" Fred would yell whenever they spotted Harry, Violet, Ron, Tori, and Hermione walking down any corridors.

"Be sure to watch your backs around his sister!" George would add. "She is after all, the actual Slytherin of the Potter duo. Now make way, the Potter Twins must hurry down to the Chamber of Secrets to have tea with their monstrous servant this Christmas Eve!"

Percy wasn't happy with either one of them. "I pray to Merlin that someday, Fred and George, you will both grow up and grow out of this nonsense. Ginny is distraught as it is, and here you are making idiots of yourselves yet again, with no thought for anyone or anything but to amuse yourselves, and real life dangers be damned! It's small wonder Ronald's behaviour has been quite atrocious all year thus far with the shoddy examples you've already set for him, I'm also not sure I approve of the influence that the Potter twins have had over Ron either, for that matter!"

"Aaahhh! You're just jealous Perce, that even during the worst of times for Harry and Violet, they are still getting waaay more attention and recognition than you." Fred told him.

"By the way, we have something planned for the New Year, all other Weasleys currently at Hogwarts are required to join us, that means you Percy. Forget hanging around with Penelope Clearwater or any of the other prefects. Holidays like this are for family!"

"Not to mention very dear friends we consider about as good as family!" George added matter-of-factly. "Harry, Violet, Hermione, Tori, you are invited to tag along."

"Well, I can't just be running off to wherever it is the rest of you are going as the responsible older brother, since I've promised Mum that I would be in charge of looking after Ginny during the New Year's Eve festivities. Mum and Dad also expect you Ron, Fred, and George not to do anything stupid. Especially now there are students getting petrified by Merlin knows what." Percy told them.

And since the top secret other plans Harry, Ron, and Hermione all had for disguising themselves as certain Slytherins friendly with Draco Malfoy in order to interrogate him about the Chamber of Secrets, were set only to take place that evening after Christmas Eve supper, they all three figured that since Hermione very painstakingly and carefully brewed the polyjuice potion they would be using to that effect, that not much could possibly go wrong. As it would turn out though, Draco Malfoy was not the Heir of Slytherin either, and most embarrassing of all, for Hermione anyway, was that the hairs she had used for her portion of polyjuice were not Millicent Bullstrode's, but they belonged instead to her pet cat.