Shrinking Violet

Red Hair

Nimble fingers traced the lines of the wall, the cold, solid surface. Then the grainy thin lines between the spaces, where her fingers dipped into and scratched against the tips of her nails.

"Miss. Prince?" Her head turned quickly, and her fingers retreated from the wall, curling against her palm. Her eyes searching for the one who spoke, while his dark eyes glanced over her, and narrowed slightly, as if she were a complex problem that he couldn't decipher the answer too.

His dark hair curled at his shoulders and his arms tucked away to his chest.

And as she took all this in, her straight posture softened around the edges once again, her gaze lingering to the wall.

"Hello Professor Snape." Her calm words surprised them both, and even though her fingers had left the cold surface, her strict gaze had failed to abstain from the sight. His eyes grew soft as he noticed the absence of the two red headed boys who seemed to accompany her like shadows.

'So they do spend time away from each other.' The thought came not bitter, rather nostalgic as a series of memory's, all interwoven filled his mind. But he could not reminisce for long as her eyes trailed away from the plain sight, and now judged Snape curiously.

"Are you alright?" He finally asked, though it had not been his initial question. But once he noticed a few dull streaks, trailing from the corner of her eyes to her jaw. And the rosy singe around her eyes, he retracted his question.

She didn't answer with her voice but rather with a quick nod. His mind raced, as he questioned wether this was because she was afraid her voice would betray her actions. She wasn't a tall girl, definitely as tall as the Weasley boys. But she wasn't short either, short enough that someone would be afraid of stepping on her.

She was quiet, but when called upon by him in class she would provide an accurate answer. She wasn't half bad on a broom, he recalled as she caught the snitch out of Draco Malfoy's reach at a Quiditch Match.

While the Weasley boys were loud, never knew the answer when called upon. And had a certain disregard for the rules as long as it came to their amusement, a particular emotion that they dragged the girl into quite often.

"Tell me Ms. Prince," he started looking directly into her large brown eyes, which looked back onto his own dark ones, unblinking. "Why do you speak with the Weasley boys?" Her eyes widened, and her hand clenched quickly. Obvious signs to the man that she was expecting a different question. The two identical pools of brown swooped downwards, her eyelids concealing them.

"Because they saw me," she paused, her eyes slightly glassy as she blinked quickly. "When no one else could."

***

Her strides were quick, and people swerved too see who it was but she paid them no mind, as she kept her hood securely in place.

Her eyes narrowing as she saw his thin stature, and small frame.

"You," a primitive growl escaped her lips, one that not only frightened her target, but all the members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team as well. The corner of his mouth twitched upwards, while the rest of him fell stiff as a bizarre shock spread through his body. "Immature, conniving, manipulative, lying, toad." Her body shook, and her eyes burned with a deep feeling of hatred.

Before she knew it, her fingertips were a centimeter away from grasping his neck. So close that her fingertips grazed against his skin. When someone yanked her back, two someone's. and in that moment two things happened. Malfoy's twisted into a face of disgust as he rubbed at his neck,

"How dare you touch me you filthy mudblood!" He hissed, eyes appearing through slits.

And her hood feel back, revealing thick, lustrous locks of flaming red hair.

Which, resembled the familiar tell-tale sign of the Weasley's. A quick gasp erupted from Angelina Johnson as she covered her mouth quickly, while Oliver Wood tried to Grasp what he had just seen, everyone ready to ask what had happened.

But Fred and George were quicker, dragging her away quickly. Nervous glances thrown back and fourth between the two, as they hurried about the school. Settling when they found moaning Mrytle's bathroom.

The door squeaked, as they entered and Cleary refused to meet either of there eyes as she held a steady gaze with the floor. Too ashamed to even look at herself in the mirror. Several long seconds of silence passed, both Fred and George completely unsure how to handle the situation.

"Can we ask," One started a soft look in his eyes,

"What happened?" The other finished, his eyes more curious as he eyes her hair.

"Malfoy put hair dye in my leave in conditioner." She murmured, eyes still trained at the floor. Fingers interwoven, and rubbing against one another nervously.

"But then why'd you get so upset about it?" George's voice rose, his eyes trained on face.

"I mean at the most we would just need some hair dye." Fred completed his twins thought, which is when her eyes snapped up.

"Don't you get it?" Her voice leaked of disbelief as a bitter smile creased against her face. "He was insulting you." Her eyes briefly met theirs before training onto the wall once again.

" To him you're as good as Muggleborns, with the company you keep." The last part came out hushed, her eyes cast down filled with shame. At first no one said anything, they just wrapped their arms around her and held her tight. George's arm loping around her shoulders, while Fred's was around her waist.

"Your not bad company-" Fred whispered,

"In fact, we think your brilliant." A shadow of a smile etched her face, as she buried her nose into his shoulder.

Both would deny later, but they were extremely happy.

For they both never knew they would find such a good friend, in a shrinking violet.

***

"George," her voice was quite, and her steady stare with the creamy ages before her wavered upwards, meeting his own. "Can I tell you something, and you won't think I'm crazy afterwords?" She asked, her voice quick and precise, mostly due to having the thought urn through her mind like a record that never stopped.

He nodded lightheartedly, after all getting a E on an potions exam often made her feel incompetent.

"I was out late a few nights ago, and I was a bit lost." She paused closing her eyes so she could conjure a stronger image. "And I saw this room, and it was filled with the most wonderful things." A small smile glimmered onto her face, and slowly began to fade. "But then it was just gone, and it's not on your map either." George listened intently, processing every single word before a wicked grin broke out into his face.

"It's about time we found something to explore, I was getting quite bored."