Nightfall |Draco Malfoy|

Heart of a Lion

For the second time that year, Violet spent every possible minute with Hermione in the hospital wing, even though this time Hermione won't respond to anything Violet says. Violet was also the only person allowed to visit; McGonagall had given her special permission after seeing with her own eyes how spaced out Violet has become in class since Hermione's attack. She would usually just read or do homework and eat most of her meals right next to Hermione's bedside. She wasn't sure how much Hermione was able to hear, or if at all, but Violet would narrate everything she did: read her readings aloud, worked out her homework by using her words instead of inside her thoughts, and just generally talk. She just hated the idea of Hermione possibly hearing silence for a long period time, and it also helped Violet stay just a tad saner.

Harry and Ron had told her about their trip to Hagrid's and visiting Aragog when she had come back one night from keeping Hermione company, which all Violet said was 'I told you Hagrid was innocent' and then proceeded to go up to bed. She could tell that everyone was worried about her. Ginny tried to get her to eat in the Great Hall every now and then, Dean and Seamus offered to blow up some random objects around the common room, the twins tried their absolute best to make her laugh with games of Exploding Snap, even Neville tried to strike up a calming conversation about herbs and flowers, but Violet just waved them off as she made her way back to her chair next to Hermione's bedside.

Final exams were still in motion and they were only three days away when Professor McGonagall made the announcement to the entire school at dinner that the mandrakes were fully matured and ready to be given to the current petrified students in the hospital wing.

Right when Ron was yelling at Percy who drove Ginny away right before she was about to say something important, Violet sprinted into the Great Hall and straight towards the middle of the Gryffindor table where the quartet would usually sit. Quiet whispers erupted around the hall when students noticed Violet's entrance since she has not been seen for a single meal for months.

"Guys, I gotta show you something." Violet said abruptly before the boys could say anything else as she pulled them up by the scruff of their cloaks and pulled them up out of the Great Hall.

Ron scoffed and straighten his robes back into place, "Well, hello, Violet, nice to see you again. You're still just as kind and happy as you used to be."

"Oh, shut it, Ron." Violet rolled her eyes at him before carrying on with the real reason she dragged them away from their precious food. "Look at what I found in Hermione's hand."

She had uncrumpled the bit of text that had been stuck inside the semi closed hand of Hermione for many weeks. The paper had "Basilisk" written across the top of it in black bolded letters.

Harry took the paper from Violet's hands as Ron just held up his hands and shook his head, "Wait, wait, wait," he pointed at Violet with wide eyes before continuing with his harsh and exasperated tone of voice, "you have been sitting next to Hermione for how long? And you just now found this in her hand."

Violet sneered at him, "I was only sitting on the one side until today."

Harry ignored the bickering redheads as he started to read out loud, "Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it."