Then I Met You [D.M.]

Year Two: A Bit of Draco

10th November, 1992, Tuesday

As it would turn out, the entirety of the Hogwarts staff was quiet about the latest petrification. That didn't stop the students from talking, though.

Word had gotten around that the boy, Colin Creevey, had been petrified. More than half of the student body was afraid, worried about who could be next. Colin, as had been revealed, was muggle-born, so rumours and discussion over the Heir had started becoming louder and harder to ignore.

Violet remained solid on her stance; neither Harry or Draco were the Heir. By Tuesday morning, she found herself defending both boys to her friends. Most, if not all, of the Hufflepuffs were convinced it was Draco. Though a few, including Hannah and Ernie Macmillan, thought it was Harry.

The more time went on, the more Violet grew frustrated with her friends. They began to argue over the subject, to the point that Professor Sprout had to separate the girls in Herbology that morning. They didn't speak at all during lunch, and Potions class was uncomfortable as Violet, Hannah, and Aimee had been paired up for the day.

By the time Violet arrived at the library at three that afternoon for her lesson with Draco, she was in a sour mood. She could hardly stand to be around anyone else, as her frustration was beginning to overwhelm her and she was worried she'd lash out at someone.

Draco was already sitting in the back of the library, at the same table as Friday. He was looking over the assignment they had due in Astronomy later that evening when Violet stomped up to the table, throwing her bag onto an empty chair. He looked up, startled. He watched as she sat in the chair across from him, her scrunched up face telling him just what sort of mood she was in.

He hesitated a moment before asking, "Want to talk about it?"

She looked at him then, her face relaxing slightly, "Surely you don't want to hear about my troubles."

"Not really," He leaned back, willing himself to appear nonchalant, "But I don't want your bad mood to affect your tutoring me."

She rolled her eyes, "Unless you can convince my friends that neither you or Harry is the Heir of Slytherin so they'll stop arguing with me, there's nothing you can do to help."

Draco had to recite the words in his mind several times to convince himself she'd actually said them. Then, when he finally let the words sink in, his posture straightened and he stared at the girl in shock.

"What's that look for?" She asked, glancing at him as she pulled out a few books and notes for their lesson.

He still wasn't fully convinced he'd heard what he thought he did, "You... You argued with your friends? About me?"

"Well, you certainly aren't defending yourself, now are you?" She snapped.

"You defended me? To your friends?"

Violet finally focused her attention on him at his dumbstruck tone, his expression matching.

"Right, sorry. I forgot, I'm supposed to hate you and claim you're evil, or whatever." She rolled her eyes, "I defended Harry too. Despite everything, I don't believe either of you are the Heir. You might both be a bit daft, but I don't think either of you is capable of releasing a monster that's petrifying muggle-borns."

Draco couldn't get over it. This girl- a girl he'd insulted for the past year and a half- had defended him. She'd fought with her friends to claim his innocence.

"Why would you do that?" His tone was harsh, "For all you know, I am the Heir. Maybe I did open the Chamber of Secrets, hoping it would eradicate the school of you filthy-"

"Are you finished?" Violet interrupted, pretending his words didn't sting, "We've only got a few hours before dinner, and we have Astronomy tonight, so I'd really like to get some studying done."

Draco blinked dumbly at her. She really didn't believe he could be the Heir? Godric knows half the school was convinced it was him. The entire Slytherin house all but celebrated him for it. He couldn't find the will to keep arguing with her, though. For whatever reason, he knew that it was pointless, that nothing he could say would poison her against him.

For the entire session, Violet had to ignore the fact that Draco was staring at her. There was no malice in his eyes, only hesitant curiosity. She could tell her words had shaken him, but she wasn't sure why. Had no one ever believed him to be anything other than evil before? Was she truly the first person to believe he was innocent? The questions nagged at her for the rest of the evening.

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The rest of the week was just as awful. Between not talking to her friends, the other houses gossiping, and any class shared with Slytherins, Violet was feeling more and more alone. The only person she could really talk to was Cedric, who was adamant in not taking sides, and even talking to him was hard.

Whenever Violet would complain about Hannah and Aimee picking a fight with her, Cedric would simply tell her to "give them time". Well, she didn't want to give them anymore time, she wanted her friends back. Unfortunately, she wasn't ready to forgiven them for how rude they'd been about Draco.

She spent quite a bit of time thinking about why she felt so protective about the boy. She rationalized it as he has no one who stands up for him, aside his housemates, and even they do it for all the wrong reasons. She truly believed he was innocent, no matter how often he claimed to hate muggle-borns or how foul he spoke of them.

During Defense Against the Dark Arts, Violet was forced to sit in the back of the class, alone, as she didn't feel comfortable sitting next to her friends. Draco, who sat at the table in front of her, looked back at her frequently.

She kept her head down the entire hour, her focus on the book in front of her. Something for Herbology he guessed, judging by the drawings of plants on the cover. She often had a Herbology book on her, reading whenever she had the time. He'd noticed that the previous day, during History of Magic, when she had the Herbology book sat in her History book, promptly ignoring Professor Binns.

Draco was beginning to notice more and more about the girl. He, like Violet, wasn't sure why he held a particular fascination for the girl. Somehow, no matter where they were, his attention would find her. He tried not to think about it, but as he found himself watching her in D.A.D.A, he wondered about her.

He wondered if she was still fighting with her friends over him. He wondered if she continued to stand up for him, no matter how many insults he hurled at her. He wondering why she didn't hate him, when so many others did.

Draco decidedly didn't like how sad and angry she'd been all week. He hated that he felt this way, especially over some Hufflepuff who was likely only helping him because she pitied him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the unfamiliar ache out of his chest when he thought about it...

When he thought about how he'd seen her crying in the hallway before Astronomy the previous night, after her friends ignored her on their way into the tower. About how she barely ate at meals, and how the table was so quiet when she sat down. About how she'd become so quiet whenever someone would try to talk to her, especially that odd Ravenclaw girl with long, white-blonde hair. Or, the worst of all, when he'd find her staring at him, with glassy, absent eyes. That he hated most of all.

Draco didn't know how to handle this new feeling. He couldn't even identify it; he knew it wasn't anger or resentment. No, he'd felt those often throughout his childhood. It wasn't disappointment or sadness, something else he was used to. It wasn't jealousy or envy, as he certainly didn't want to be in her place. So what was it?

His answer would come later in the evening, when he was on his way to the library for their tutoring lesson.