The Riot Before Christmas

“HELP! HELP! I'M BEING STOLEN!” screamed Gilbert's wand.

“Oops, sorry,” Gilbert blushed, as everyone laughed at him. Red-faced, he clenched his wand in both hands until it stopped screaming. Across from him, Nagaeena looked as if she wanted to hide under the table, or alternatively, kill Gilbert and stow his body there.

“Mr. Zirkle, I have told students repeatedly to take off those... devices in class,” said Professor Flitwick. “Ten points from Ravenclaw!” Even the perpetually equanimitous Head of Ravenclaw sounded weary and short on patience. Violet looked as amused as she ever allowed herself to, as Kai leaned forward with a sigh and thumped his head against their shared desk.

“Well, you told him he should take special precautions,” she pointed out.

“Bloody Weasleys,” he groaned.

In the last week, the latest product from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes had flooded the school: Wand Alarms. A small ring that shrank to fit around the owner's wand, it would cause the wand to scream continuously if anyone else touched it, until it was returned to the owner's hands. This timely response to the well-publicized wand-thefts at Hogwarts had been one of the Weasleys' best-selling products in years. Unfortunately, it appeared that George Weasley had rushed it into production a little too quickly. The Wand Alarms would go off if anyone else touched the owner's wand, but they'd also go off if the wand were dropped, bumped, shaken too hard, or sat upon. As a result, wands had been screaming daily in classrooms, in common rooms, in the hallways, and even in the Great Hall. All the teachers wanted the alarms banned, but in many cases, it had been parents who had sent them to their children, so Professor Llewellyn had reportedly been overruled by the Board of Governors.

No more wands had actually been stolen since the Gryffindor-Slytherin game, but the Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw game was the next day, and Quidditch fever combined with paranoia and house rivalry had everyone on edge. Historically, the rivalry between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw was not nearly as acrimonious as that between Gryffindor and Slytherin, but in the final week of November, with the game nigh, there was an awful lot of goading and taunting between the two houses, and not a few malicious spells going back and forth as well. The Gryffindors and Slytherins actually seemed entertained by it all, almost as if they were tired of their own ongoing war and were content to back off for a little while, and watch Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff go at it.

The bell rang. Everyone picked up their books. Nagaeena was grabbing hers, trying to escape the classroom as quickly as possible.

“So, who do you like in the game?” Gilbert asked her. “You're going to cheer on Ravenclaw, right?”

“Ravenclaw?” sneered Nagaeena. “You can take every last Ravenclaw and –”

Someone cleared his throat behind her, and Nagaeena turned, and looked down to see Professor Flitwick.

“Go Ravenclaw!” she said weakly.

“We appreciate that, Miss Indrani,” replied Flitwick, with a bemused smile. Nagaeena cast a dark scowl at Gilbert, and hurried out of the room, followed by Decima and Bernice.

“You're cheering for Ravenclaw, right?” said Kai to Violet, as they proceeded out of the classroom.

“I'm cheering for you and Dewey to stop driving me crazy,” she said.

“Poor Dewey,” he chortled. “I almost feel bad for him. Don't worry, I won't rub it in too badly when we crush Hufflepuff.”

“You're very kind,” she replied dryly.

“Got to admit, I'll be glad to get out of here over the Christmas break, though,” he said. “I reckon I'm about ready to go barmy!”

“Mmm,” Violet replied.

Kai glanced at her. “Aren't you looking forward to having a bit of vacation?”

She shrugged.

“You're going to spend Christmas with family, right?”

Violet was silent. They reached the stairs where she usually headed down to the dungeons, following the other Slytherins, and Kai proceeded upstairs towards Ravenclaw Tower.

Kai tilted his head, and blinked at her.

“You're not,” he said.

She shrugged again. “My mother has decided to stay in the tropics through the winter. I don't usually spend holidays with my father. But yes, I am looking forward to the break. I'm sure it will be much quieter around here with most everyone gone.” She frowned at him. “Don't look at me like that! I've never understood the fuss over Christmas anyway.”

He nodded. “Right,” he mumbled. “See you tonight, then?”

She nodded back, and headed downstairs. He watched her go, frowning.

Slytherins largely supported Ravenclaw in the upcoming game, both because they traditionally held Hufflepuff in contempt, and because supposedly some Slytherin had devised an odds-making system and had calculated that if Ravenclaw beat Hufflepuff, there was a higher probability of Ravenclaw losing to Slytherin in the following game.

“Nonsense!” scoffed Kai. “It's Slytherin logic! Makes as much sense as entrail-divining! Basic arithmancy will tell you that you can't predict the future like that.”

“If you say so,” said Teddy. He hadn't studied arithmancy yet. Most first-years hadn't, but he knew Kai had been made to learn it at home. Not that he thought Kai's arguments were based on a sophisticated understanding of numerology and probability. Kai had become almost belligerent in boosting his house's team.

Gryffindors were mostly backing Hufflepuff, because they were more confident their team could beat Hufflepuff's, and a Hufflepuff victory would put Ravenclaw further down in points when Ravenclaw faced Gryffindor in the final game of the year.

“I think we can predict the future much better by looking at your Keeper, who couldn't catch a Quaffle if you gave him Grabbing Gloves,” said Dewey.

“You keep telling yourself that, mate!” Kai said cheerfully. “Wyse can catch Quaffles fine, and I'd be worrying more about your Seeker! I've seen fish who could ride a broom better than her!”

“Really? You've seen fish riding brooms?” Violet asked casually, turning a page in her textbook.

“It's a figure of speech, Violet! Crikey!”

She and Teddy exchanged a look. Kai and Dewey were both becoming very fired up over the upcoming game, and Violet and Teddy were trying to remain impartial, despite their houses' leanings.

They were all in the library, supposedly studying together for one of Professor Rai's grueling Defense Against the Dark Arts exams, but as had been the case for the past week, Dewey and Kai were derailing the studying with Quidditch talk.

The Hufflepuff and the Ravenclaw were preparing to continue listing the many crippling deficiencies that spelled certain doom for the other's team, when Stephen White approached their table, and said, “Hi, Violet,” avoiding the gazes of the other three boys.

Violet nodded to him. “We can sit at that table over there,” she said, pointing. Stephen nodded and walked to a nearby empty table and began getting out his books. Teddy, Kai, and Dewey looked at her quizzically.

“I promised to help him tonight,” she said, closing her book. “And since none of you are studying anyway...”

“I am!” Teddy protested. Violet rolled her eyes. It was true Teddy had his book open and had been abstaining from the Quidditch arguments, but she hadn't seen him actually write a single thing.

“He could study with us, if he wants to,” Dewey suggested, hesitantly.

“I'm not just tutoring him academically,” Violet said, in a low voice.

The boys all looked puzzled, and expectant.

“It's hard to explain,” she said.

“You're teaching him to be a Slytherin?” Teddy asked.

“He needs a friend,” suggested Dewey.

“Something like that,” she muttered.

Kai grinned wickedly. “Vi's got a crush on White? Or vice versa?” he whispered. “Now that I would never have predicted!”

“Nothing of the sort!” she snapped. “He –” She stopped, and stared at him. “Vi?” she repeated in disbelief.

“It's just your nickname,” said Kai.

Her eyes flashed, but her voice was deadly calm. “No. It's. Not.”

Kai snickered.

“And speaking of crushes,” she added icily, “Nagaeena asked me to ask you to ask Zirkle to stop looking at her, stop following her around, and stop trying to talk to her in class.”

“Tell her to tell him herself,” said Kai. “Do you think I could actually give a hopeless git like him a clue about girls, of all things?”

“No, I don't suppose you could,” Violet snorted, and picked up her books to move over to Stephen's table.

Teddy and Dewey looked at each other, and doubled over trying to avoid laughing out loud.

“Oh, har har!” said Kai.

“Vi and Kai,” muttered Dewey. “Has a sweet ring to it, don't you think?” Teddy choked and slapped the table.

“Are we five now?” Kai asked indignantly.

“If you three are going to make noise instead of studying, you'll have to leave!” snapped the librarian, who had slid up silently behind them.

With difficulty, the three boys settled down until the librarian had moved on, with several suspicious, disapproving looks over her shoulder.

“You know, it's really nice, what she's doing for White,” said Dewey, after they had stopped mugging and sniggering back and forth. “Maybe you should think about trying to help your own house misfit instead of just complaining about him.”

Kai grimaced. “I have,” he admitted. “And,” he lowered his voice, “honestly, it's not that the bloke is stupid, he's just –” He frowned, searching for words.

“Out of place?” said Dewey.

Kai nodded. “Yeah. It's just so obvious that he doesn't belong in Ravenclaw. But it doesn't seem to have occurred to him that he might belong somewhere else.”

“Kind of like Chloe,” Teddy said, making a face. “I know she's awful and she deserves to feel awful, but I almost feel bad now, because she keeps looking at me like it's my fault half of Gryffindor thinks she's in the wrong house!”

“Maybe what the Sorting Hat wanted us to do was make the misfits fit in,” Dewey suggested slowly. He thought about Sung-Hee, whom he had misunderstood at first, but then he thought about Alduin, who was about as cold and haughty a Hufflepuff as he'd ever met. And there was Simon, his other Muggle-born roommate, whom, he realized guiltily, he still barely knew.

“You ever...” Teddy cleared his throat nervously. “You ever thought about whether you might be one of the missorted ones?”

Dewey and Kai looked at him uncomfortably, and at each other.

“N – no,” Kai said.

“Not really,” said Dewey.

“I mean, maybe, you know, the thought might cross my mind once in a while,” Kai admitted.

“I'm sure everyone thinks about it a little,” said Dewey.

They looked over at Violet, who was sitting quietly and listening to Stephen talk. He was whispering, and they could make out none of what he was saying, but he seemed more relaxed and earnest than he ever was in class.

“What about Vi?” asked Kai.

“You really oughtn't call her that,” said Teddy. Kai ignored him.

“You think she belongs in Slytherin?” Dewey asked.

Violet sensed them watching her. She looked over at their table, and gave them a scowl that said, “What are you looking at?”

All three boys grinned and waved back at her. She rolled her eyes, while Stephen paused, then shook her head and turned her attention back to him.

“Dunno,” said Teddy. “It's really hard to know what's going on in her head.”

Dewey and Kai nodded in agreement

“She's staying here over the holidays, you know,” Kai said suddenly.

Teddy and Dewey looked at him. “Really?” Teddy asked, with a frown.

Kai nodded. “Guess her mother would rather sip fruity drinks on some island than spend Christmas with her own daughter, and her father...”

“Eh, yeah,” Teddy grimaced. “Reckon the family situation there is a bit awkward.”

“Awkward my arse!” muttered Dewey, surprising Teddy and Kai, as Dewey never used such language. “What kind of parents leave their daughter alone for Christmas?”

Kai nodded in agreement.

Violet looked up, caught them all looking at her again, and gave them another scowl. They hastily looked back down at their books.

“You know she'd hate it if she thought we were all feeling sorry for her,” Teddy said.

Dewey nodded. “You're right.”

“Yeah,” Kai agreed.

They actually studied for a while, before Teddy said, “Well, I'm going to turn in. Can I trust you two not to get in a fight if I leave you alone?”

“I reckon Dewey's accepted the inevitable,” said Kai.

Dewey snorted. “I reckon you're dreaming!”

“It's all right,” Kai said, with mock sympathy. “After tomorrow, it will all be over.”

“And you'll be crying in your butterbeer,” Dewey retorted.

“Good night!” Teddy said, shaking his head, and he left the library, waving to Violet as he went.

He arrived at his dorm room in Gryffindor Tower before any of his four roommates, as he had for the last couple of weeks. He changed into his pajamas, and then stood in front of the mirror, and carefully poured out some oil onto his hands, from a small bottle he kept under his bed, and then rubbed it into his face.

“That's really not good for you, lad,” said a portrait of one of Edan's Irish ancestors that the boy insisted on hanging by his bed.

“It keeps me from changing in my sleep,” he replied, grimacing at the stinging sensation. He knew it would fade in a few minutes. “And it's Edan's fault, so you just keep quiet, all right, unless you'd like to talk to the grindylows at the bottom of the lake.” The Irish wizard shook his head and muttered under his breath.

After his fight with Geoffrey Montague, Teddy was regarded with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension by his fellow Gryffindors. It was bad enough that everyone knew he was a metamorphmagus, but a few nights later, Edan had awoken everyone else in the room with excited cries of, “Lupin's turning into a werewolf!”

The smaller boy had gotten up late at night for a drink of water, and had seen the moonlight falling across Teddy's face. Apparently, his features were shifting as he slept, and Edan had caught him wearing a particularly gruesome visage. This was also the cause of his snoring. Teddy had convinced his roommates that he was not, in fact, a werewolf and did not turn into a monster in his sleep, but he saw the way they all looked at him now. He also knew they were sneaking peeks at him while he slept.

The oil was a dilution of Paralyzing Potion, which was a strictly controlled substance, and he had no intention of letting anyone know he had it, or where he'd gotten it. At full strength, it could stop a grown man's heart. Teddy was sure he was using just enough, though. It froze his face while he slept. The snoring had stopped, and no one had woken him up in the middle of the night shouting that he was turning into a monster. He told himself that he wouldn't need it forever, just until he was better at controlling his metamorphmagus abilities.

The weather was cold but dry for the Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw match. The students and faculty were looking forward to a game that they hoped would be less bloodthirsty than the previous one. The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw teams meant business, but they didn't come out onto the field with murderous intent.

Teddy, in the Gryffindor stands, tried to cheer equally for each team, whenever they made a good play. He really did feel divided loyalties, though secretly, he thought that Kai would be insufferable if Ravenclaw won, whereas Dewey was less likely to rub it in over a Hufflepuff victory.

Most of his house was much more overt in rooting for Hufflepuff, except for Colleen McCormack, who was waving a Ravenclaw pennant, in solidarity with her brother Connor.

In the Slytherin stands, the Slytherins made no secret of wanting Ravenclaw to win, though they tended to cheer whenever anyone got hit. Violet thought most of the boys were disappointed that the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws weren't trying to kill each other. She was amused to hear Nagaeena hissing, “Trounce Ravenclaw!” under her breath, and glaring at the Ravenclaw stands. Gilbert Zirkle was not even visible, but Nagaeena was sure he was watching her.

Neal Honner, a Gryffindor fifth-year who served as announcer for the game, despite his thick Irish brogue, issued another reminder: “Professor Llewellyn has requested that everyone please remove your Wand Alarms during the game, and instead safeguard your wands by keeping them close at hand or in one of the school-approved sheaths – cor, there goes another one!”

“THIEF! THIEF! THIEF!” screamed a wand, from somewhere in the Ravenclaw stands.

“Zirkle, I'll bet,” sneered Nagaeena.

“His sounds different,” said Bernice.

“He probably set it off, then,” said Nagaeena.

“You do spend a lot of time thinking about him, don't you?” said Violet casually, and then pretended to be utterly absorbed in the Quidditch game, as Nagaeena gasped and glared at her, and Decima and Bernice covered their mouths.

Quite a few wands went off during the game, and Honner grew increasingly annoyed and even started shouting directly at the students whose wands had been bumped or sat on. “YOU, LASS! YES, YOU, THERE IN THE HUFFLEPUFF STANDS – Oh, nice dive and roll there by Fletcher but McFee blocks and – WOULD YE TAKE THE BLOODY THING OFF?”

Perhaps because of the distractions, neither team was performing exceptionally well. Early on, it seemed that both Kai's and Dewey's taunts had been accurate: the Hufflepuff Chasers scored one goal after another past James Wyse, the Ravenclaw Keeper, but the Hufflepuff Seeker, Cordelia Wright, was clearly outmatched by her Ravenclaw counterpart.

This resulted in a play late in the game where Peter Honeybourne, the Ravenclaw Seeker, could have caught the Snitch, but instead, he blocked Wright and let it zip away, because Ravenclaw was over one-hundred fifty points down. Catching the Golden Snitch would end the game and give one-hundred fifty points to the team whose Seeker caught it, but Ravenclaw needed more goals.

This proved to be a grievous mistake, though. Only five minutes later, Ravenclaw's Chasers had succeeded in reducing Hufflepuff's lead by thirty points, but the two Seekers were both chasing after the Snitch again. Honeybourne was ahead, and the Snitch was almost within his grasp, and suddenly his own wand began screaming: “THIEF! THIEF! STOP THIEF!” Distracted, he hesitated for a second, and Cordelia Wright surged past him to grab the Snitch and end the game.

“What kind of a bloody stupid idiot wears a Wand Alarm while playing Quidditch!” groaned Kai afterwards.

“I don't reckon he'll be allowed to live that down any time soon,” Dewey said, trying not to look too amused.

“I reckon he'll be lucky if he's not hung from the top of Ravenclaw Tower,” said Kai. “Honestly, why don't we just ban the bloody things and be done with it? No one even pays attention to them anymore!”

“Ravenclaw Seekers do,” Dewey said, and even Violet snickered out loud at that.

The next couple of weeks were relatively peaceful. Relatively, because they were only marked by fewer duels, and fewer students going to Madame Pomfrey's to have arms and legs switched back to their proper locations, or heads and other body parts reduced or enlarged back to normal size. Gryffindor and Slytherin were still armed camps, and Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were still getting involved, involuntarily or not, in the feuding.

Oddly enough, Violet noticed that she was not being targeted as frequently. She was still wary of being caught in hallways alone, but when she encountered a group of Gryffindors, they would generally just smirk or hiss at her. Even Roger Drocker and his gang weren't going out of their way to pick on her.

Likewise, although Teddy now had a reputation for being barmy, thick-headed, and not entirely normal, this reputation seemed to carry with it a certain amount of untouchability. The Slytherins looked at him and shook their heads, but no one had jinxed him in weeks. And even his friendship with Violet seemed to be a peculiar oddity that was grudgingly accepted, in the midst of the Gryffindor-Slytherin war.

In the second week of December, Professor Slughorn announced during breakfast that any students who would be staying at Hogwarts over the Christmas holidays would need to let him know by the end of the week.

Violet ate her porridge, and was not looking at anyone else, so she didn't notice that Teddy, Kai, and Dewey were all looking at her, from their tables.

In the library that night, they were meeting again to study for the end-of-term exams. Since there were no more Quidditch games until January, there was some actual studying going on. Teddy was waiting for Violet, whom he knew usually arrived early, as she didn't spend much time socializing with the other members of her house. He had arrived early to the library tonight so that he could speak to her before Kai and Dewey arrived.

“So,” Teddy said, as Violet set her books down on the table they usually took over, in the back corner. “Were you still planning to stay here over the holidays?”

She nodded. “Nagaeena, Bernice, and Decima are all going home, so I'll have the room to myself. That will be nice.”

“Be a little lonely, won't it?” he asked.

She looked up at him and frowned. “Don't you go feeling sorry for me, Teddy Lupin!”

“I'm not!” he said hastily. “But, umm...” He hesitated, while her frown deepened. He took a breath. “How would you like to spend Christmas with me and my grandmother?”

She stared at him, unblinking.

“I just got a letter from her this morning,” Teddy went on. “She said she'd love to have you stay over. She really would like to meet her grandniece, and she... well, she already spoke to your grandmother, and she said she was pretty sure your father would be okay with it.”

Violet opened her mouth, but was unable to speak.

“And we'd be visiting my godfather's family too,” he added. “Don't worry, Harry's great! You don't have to worry that he'll be mean to you because of your parents. He's not like that.”

She nodded. “I know,” she said quietly.

“So, how about it?” Teddy asked.

“I... I would have to get permission from my mother.”

“Technically, you only need one parent's permission, right?”

“I suppose so,” she murmured. But she knew that if her father allowed it, but she didn't get her mother's approval also (and preferably before Pansy found out that Violet's father had already given his permission), there would be hell to pay.

Dewey arrived. “Evening!” he said cheerfully. He looked unusually pleased with himself, but licked his lips a little nervously as he set his books down on the table, and looked at Violet.

“What's up?” Teddy asked, a little disappointed that Dewey had arrived before he and Violet had finished talking.

Dewey glanced at Teddy. “Hope I'm not interrupting anything?” Teddy and Violet both looked at each other, and shook their heads.

“Good,” Dewey said, still sounding a little nervous. He cleared his throat. “Violet, you know, usually it's just me and my parents at Christmastime. We visit relatives, but to be honest, almost all of them are, well, old.”

Violet gave him a confused look.

“So anyway,” Dewey went on. “I wrote my parents, and, uh, if you'd like, that is –” He glanced at Teddy, and back at her. “They'd like to invite you to stay with us over the holidays. They said any friend of mine was welcome.”

Violet's eyes widened slightly. Unaware of the previous conversation, Dewey added hastily, “I don't want you to think it's 'cause they pity you or anything like that! Or that I do! Honestly, it would be nice to have someone my own age around. My folks are really great, but I don't see a lot of other kids at home.” Then he saw Teddy's broad grin, and asked, “What?”

“Looks like you have two invitations, Violet!” said Teddy.

“Oh! Really?” Dewey looked a little embarrassed. “Well, if you want to spend Christmas with your cousin, of course I understand! No worries.”

“I haven't said anything yet,” Violet replied.

“Oi!” Kai said, joining the three of them and dropping his bookbag on the table with a thump that made them all glare at him.

“You want us to get kicked out like we almost did the other night?” Teddy whispered.

“Bloody alarms going off in Ravenclaw Tower!” Kai muttered. “They're using spells to set off any Wand Alarm anywhere near Honeybourne. I almost feel sorry for him.”

“Almost,” Dewey remarked, with a small smile.

Kai rolled his eyes at him, then turned to Violet. “So, before we start studying, I wanted to talk to you privately, Vi, but I might as well ask now.”

Everyone looked at him. Violet narrowed her eyes. “Stop calling me 'Vi.'”

“All right, all right.” Kai smirked, then forced himself to look more serious. “I know you're staying here over the holidays, and I thought, just in case you might actually want to do something besides skulk around in the dungeons by yourself, maybe you'd like to spend Christmas with us.”

Teddy, Dewey, and Violet all stared at Kai wide-eyed.

“My parents said it would be okay. I've got to warn you, we don't usually have turkey or ham for Christmas, so I hope you like Chinese food. But there's always plenty of it.” And as Violet continued staring at him, he added, “Of course, if you'd rather stay here being all pathetic and lonely, that's perfectly fine. My parents just felt sorry for you when I told them about you, see, and –”

Kai's voice trailed off, and his grin evaporated, to be replaced with a look of abject horror, as Violet's eyes began brimming with tears.

“Oh, God!” he cried out. “Violet, I was kidding! Come on, you know I didn't really mean that! I was just teasing, like I always do! I don't think you're pathetic, honest! My parents aren't pitying you, we just, I just, please, don't cry –” he stammered in a panic, and he actually reached out to her and put his hands on her shoulders.

“You... bloody... toad!” she mumbled. She covered her face with her hands, and stood there, sniffling. And then, in a very small voice, said, “That's very nice. But Teddy and Dewey already invited me.”

The three boys exchanged helpless, bewildered looks, while Violet collected herself. Then, after several long moments, Kai smiled hesitantly.

“Well, what do you know?” he said quietly. “She really is a girl after all!”

Violet sucked in a sharp breath and pulled away from him. “And you are... an arrogant, condescending, chauvinistic prat!” she said, beating her fists against his chest.

“Is this how Slytherins show affection?” he asked, grinning.

She gasped. “What?” She looked as if she might actually draw her wand on him. Teddy and Dewey were almost rolling on the floor. Then the librarian reared up behind them. “That does it! All of you, out! Out of the library right now!”

They were all red-faced and embarrassed as they gathered up their books and retreated from the fury of Irma Pince. As they spilled into the hallway outside, though, Teddy, Dewey, and Kai were still trying to suppress laughter. Violet had regained her cool, though her cheeks were still red.

“So,” Teddy said seriously. “You've got three invitations. You don't have to spend Christmas at Hogwarts.”

“I think you should spend Christmas with your relatives,” Dewey said, nodding to Teddy.

Kai nodded also. “Seriously, Violet, you're more than welcome to come stay with us. But I won't be offended if you want to stay with Dewey or Teddy instead.”

“Thank you,” she said quietly. “All of you.” She looked at each of the three boys. Her eyes were no longer wet with tears, but they could all see the uncharacteristic emotion in them – a gratitude that her mask of stoicism couldn't quite hide. “I think... I think I would like to meet my great-aunt.”

Teddy smiled. Violet looked at Dewey and Kai, concerned, but they both smiled as well.

“I really should write my mother, though, and try to get her permission,” Violet said. She sighed. “That's going to be tricky.”

Teddy nodded. He had only a vague idea what Violet's mother was like, but he didn't envy his cousin.

“Well, since we got kicked out of the library, I reckon we'll either have to go back to our common rooms, or we could use the Room of Requirement to study,” said Kai.

“I think I'll retire for the evening,” said Violet.

She was speaking more carefully now, holding herself stiffly, trying not to betray any more emotion. Kai grinned and straightened his back, adopting a rigid imitation of her bearing, and looked down his nose at her. “Jolly good, let us retire then!” he replied, in his best imitation-posh accent.

“You're such a prat,” she said, but before she turned to go, Teddy was sure he saw a trace of a smile on her lips.

It took Violet several days to draft the letter she finally sent to her mother, asking for her approval to spend the Christmas holidays with Teddy Lupin and Andromeda Tonks. She was almost proud of the skillful blend of supplication, indifference, gratitude, and whiny sense of entitlement she managed to pack into less than one foot of parchment, but in fact, while she was learning the delicate art of managing her mother, it irked her.

She was very tempted to write instead: “Dear Mother, I'm going to spend Christmas with Great-Aunt Andromeda. Dad said I could. Hope you're enjoying your Bermuda Triangle tour. Love, Violet.” But the repercussions of that would have lasted for years. Instead, she expressed annoyance at the implied familial obligation, casually mentioned that all the other Slytherins were wondering if Violet were a poor relation, being stuck in Hogwarts over Christmas, and implied, as strongly as she could without actually lying, that her father had refused to give his approval. She also asked her mother's advice for what to say if she had to talk to Teddy's awful godfather and his Weasley wife.

Pansy would no doubt have plenty of advice to offer on that topic.

It was the second-to-last day of school before the Christmas break began, when a tern arrived along with the morning owls, and landed in front of Violet at the Slytherin table. Holding her breath, Violet peeled off the letter her mother had sent, and scanned it quickly, then looked up and caught Teddy's eye. Solemnly, she held up a thumb pointed upwards, and Teddy broke into a grin and whooped. She sighed and shook her head, but inwardly, she was grinning too. Pansy had begrudgingly given her permission, along with a lot of colorful commentary about Potters and Weasleys and her father.

Teddy, Dewey, Kai, and Violet met in the Room of Requirement that evening, to say good-bye, and exchange presents. Kai was being picked up in Hogsmeade the next day, Violet and Teddy would be taking the Hogwarts Express back to London, and Dewey's father was going to come fetch him and bring him home via Side-Along Apparition, from outside the gates of Hogwarts.

“Don't shake it too hard,” Kai said, handing a small, oblong package to Violet.

“You didn't get me a Wand Alarm?” she asked suspiciously. Kai just grinned at her.

With presents distributed, they looked at each other a little bashfully.

“Well, I guess I'd better finish packing,” said Dewey. “Not that I'm taking a lot with me.”

“I need to do some last-minute studying for Professor Peasegood's test tomorrow,” said Teddy.

Violet snorted. “I've told you that you can't cram for a Transfiguration test!”

Teddy ignored that. “You want to all walk down together to the Entrance Hall?” Everyone nodded agreeably. Although the Christmas season had also had a mellowing effect in recent days, first-years still tended not to walk alone. So Teddy and Kai accompanied Dewey and Violet downstairs, and in the Entrance Hall where Violet would normally go one way, towards the Slytherin dungeons, and Dewey another, towards the Hufflepuff tunnels, they suddenly heard a Wand Alarm screaming from upstairs: “STOP THIEF! HELP ME! HELP ME! HELP ME!”

“I'll bet a Galleon those things are banned by the start of term,” said Kai.

“It's coming this way,” said Dewey.

Indeed, it sounded as if the wand were on the move, as the screaming was getting louder. They all looked at each other. Unless its owner was simply ignoring a screaming wand, it would only be screaming while on the move if someone other than the owner were carrying it.

And then the screaming was coming from mere yards away, as the thief burst into the Entrance Hall, and Teddy, Dewey, Kai, and Violet saw... nothing, precisely.

Teddy thought later it was a shadow, while Dewey didn't see anything, Kai thought he only saw someone when he squinted and turned his head sideways, and Violet was sure there was someone there, yet she couldn't quite lay her eyes on the figure. But someone ran directly into them, knocking Dewey aside and sending Kai sprawling, and then a wand rolled across the floor, still screaming, “HELP ME! STOP THIEF! HELP ME! HELP ME! STOP THIEF!” And simultaneously, a volley of spells came zinging down the stairs. Teddy cried out as a bolt of light spun him around and kept him spinning. He floated helplessly off the ground, while Violet threw herself to the floor to duck a jet of blue flames.

Moments later, the McCormacks charged down the stairs, followed by two older Ravenclaws and three Gryffindors, including Ellie Cattermole.

“There it is!” screamed Colleen McCormack, pointing at the wand, while one of the Ravenclaws, a Beater on the Quidditch team, yelled, “Which way did he go!” to the four first-years who were still scattered and stunned before them.

“Who?” demanded Dewey.

“Didn't see!” groaned Kai, sitting up.

“Someone get me down!” Teddy exclaimed. He was now drifting upwards, until Dewey and Kai grabbed his feet.

Violet had rolled away until she was crouched against a wall, and was looking around warily.

Colleen ran to where her wand lay on the floor, and picked it up. Even before it stopped screaming, the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors who had followed her were sprinting across the hall. Their wands were out and they began yelling more incantations, sending spells sizzling and flashing down the stairs from the Entrance Hall. Someone downstairs yelled in pain, and someone else screamed.

“That was Clarice Darcy,” said Violet, recognizing the voice of Mortimer Thickwaite's girlfriend.

“What the hell are you doing?” roared Thickwaite, and one of the Gryffindors suddenly went flying as a Stunning spell caught him full in the chest.

More students were now coming down the stairs.

“It was a Slytherin! I knew it!” yelled one of the other Gryffindors.

“But we didn't even see anyone!” protested Teddy.

“I think he was invisible,” said Dewey.

A pair of Hufflepuffs were now coming up the stairs, and one of them demanded, “What's going on here?” when they saw Gryffindors and Ravenclaws beginning to fill the Entrance Hall, and then they ducked as a badly-aimed spell from someone just coming down the stairs went whooshing over their heads.

“Let's go get him!” roared one of the Gryffindors, and charged down the stairs towards Slytherin quarters. There was a flash of light and a peal of thunder.

“But we didn't even see which way whoever it was went!” Teddy yelled, to no avail, as no one was listening to him. Kai and Dewey had now pulled him back to the floor, but they had to hold onto his arms, as his feet still couldn't find purchase there. “Could've been going towards the Hufflepuff rooms for all we know!”

“You think it was a Hufflepuff who swiped a wand?” Dewey asked.

“Of course you assume it was a Slytherin!” Violet retorted.

The word had spread. The thief who had run off with Colleen's wand screaming in his or her hands had fled down seven flights of stairs, before dropping it in the Entrance Hall. Colleen and Connor McCormack had both yelled for help, which was now being answered.

There was screaming and the sound of spells ricocheting off walls from downstairs. Teddy looked around, aghast, but it was Dewey who grabbed him by the collar and said, “We should clear out of here.”

“Yeah,” murmured Teddy. “It's getting ugly.”

Dewey turned to Violet. “Come on!” he said, and grabbed at her hand with his other hand.

“What are you doing?” Violet demanded.

Kai, with Teddy's arm in one hand, grabbed her arm with the other. “They're right! This is turning into a riot, and you're the only Slytherin in sight!”

She and the three boys hurried out of the Entrance Hall through one of the other doors. Behind them, it sounded as if a mob of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws were preparing to storm the dungeons, and spells were flying. Teddy had no doubt that Peeves would be attracted by the chaos very shortly, and it was going to take more than one teacher to quell it.

They took refuge in a classroom down the corridor, and listened to the ensuing battle. Their faces were grim. Teddy held onto a desk, until gravity slowly reasserted its hold on him, while Violet folded her arms and stared ahead, thinking about her fellow Slytherins trying to hold off an assault directly against their common room. Kai and Dewey exchanged worried looks, looking at Teddy and then Violet. The walls shook once or twice.

“Maybe we should... be out there?” suggested Teddy.

Everyone looked at him as if he were crazy.

“What could we do?” asked Dewey. “Besides add to this mess?”

“So we just hide in here?” Teddy knew it was sensible. It just didn't seem very brave.

“Yes. Unless you'd like to leave Vi alone? Or maybe bring her out?” Kai said.

Violet didn't even glare at him for abusing her name.

Eventually, the noise subsided. They heard professors yelling. When no more sounds echoed through the hallways, Dewey cautiously peeked out into the corridor.

“I think it's clear,” he said. “I'll go check.”

“I'll come along,” said Teddy, pushing himself away from his desk. He still felt a bit light-footed, but he could walk again.

“Me too,” said Kai.

“No. Someone stay here with Violet,” said Teddy.

“I'll be fine!” she said.

“I'll stay,” said Kai.

He sat down and watched Violet quietly while the other two boys investigated. Teddy and Dewey returned, and said, “We just got chewed out and docked twenty points by Coach Maddock and Professor Rai. There's a curfew right now. Everyone's to be back in their common rooms.”

Kai and Violet left their refuge, with Teddy and Dewey, and paused in the Entrance Hall.

“All of you are to be back in your quarters immediately!” said Professor Rai sternly.

“See you later, then,” Kai mumbled.

“Right. Merry Christmas!” Dewey said, with a feeble attempt to sound merry.

Teddy forced a smile. “See you tomorrow, Violet.”

She nodded. “Thank you,” she said, to all of them, and she walked down the stairs, past Coach Maddock, and at the secret door to the Slytherin common room, she found her path blocked for a moment by the Bloody Baron. The Slytherin house ghost gave her a chilly stare, before stepping aside and allowing her to enter.

Dewey descended the stairs to the Hufflepuff tunnels, and nodded to the Fat Friar, outside the portrait that was the entrance to their common room. “Is everyone all right?” he asked the ghost.

“Some were injured,” said the ghost sadly. “But no one was killed.”

Dewey pushed the portrait aside, wondering how things could have gone so badly, that no one dying counted as good news.

A stream of students was filing in and out of the Headmistress's office all the next day. Teddy, Dewey, Kai, and Violet were among the first questioned. Each was called in individually, and their respective House Heads were present as Professor Llewellyn asked them to describe everything they'd seen. The four of them dutifully recounted what they recalled as they stood in the Entrance Hall. Teddy thought the thief was someone in an invisibility cloak. Dewey had seen nothing, despite almost being knocked over. Kai suspected the use of an Invisibility Spell or a Disillusionment Charm, and Violet was reluctant to offer any theories.

Teddy and Violet boarded the train at Hogsmeade that evening, under the watchful eyes of Hagrid and Professor Longbottom. Many students were taking the train back to London for the holidays, but there was little of the usual holiday exuberance. The riot at Hogwarts had made the front page of the Daily Prophet. Two Gryffindors and a Slytherin had been Apparated to St. Mungo's, at least a dozen students were facing expulsion, and the Board of Governors was reportedly considering a range of options, from the immediate sacking of Professor Llewellyn, to the abolition of Slytherin House, to closing the school.

Violet looked at Teddy, sitting across from her in their car. His expression was very serious and worried.

“I'm really glad I'm not staying at Hogwarts over Christmas,” she said.

“Don't imagine it will be a very cheery place,” he agreed.

She nodded, but added, “I mean... I'm glad I'll be spending Christmas with you.”

He looked back at her. “Really?”

She nodded.

He smiled. It was the first time he'd smiled that day. “I'll bet Harry can sort this out,” he said.

She regarded him solemnly, then murmured, “I hope so.”

Violet wanted to believe him, but she was skeptical. It was true, Harry Potter had defeated one of the most powerful and feared wizards in history, and prevented what probably would have been an age of darkness. She didn't blame Teddy for believing that there was very little his godfather could not do. But she didn't think any dramatic confrontation would banish the problems at Hogwarts. There was no Dark Lord to blame this time.