Surviving Love

Chapter Four

First Date

A few weeks had gone by since Violet had walked him to detention with Snape. Harry had seen her every now and then in some of his classes, but he hadn't gotten the opportunity to speak to her since that evening. He sighed as he walked into the Great Hall for dinner. He automatically went to his place next to Ron and across from Hermione. His eyes immediately scanned the hall for her. When he saw her he smiled at her and she smiled back. He settled in his seat and started piling food on his plate. After a few bites, he tuned back into the conversation that Ron and Hermione were having. They were discussing the upcoming Hogsmeade trip. Suddenly, a thought struck Harry. He should ask Violet to go with him! Now all he had to do was find the right time to ask her. He shrugged and hoped that the opportunity would present itself soon.

Luckily for Harry, the perfect moment arrived the next day, at breakfast. He, Ron, and Hermione were approaching the Great Hall, when Harry heard laughter. He looked to his left to see Violet approaching with Draco Malfoy and some other Slytherins. She was laughing at some joke Malfoy had just told and her eyes were sparkling. Harry gritted his teeth at the smug look on Malfoy's face.

"What are looking at, Potter?" Malfoy sneered. Harry just glared and went to push past him. Malfoy however blocked his path again, sneering down at him.

"Shove off, Malfoy," he snarled, feeling Violet's eyes on them.

"Just leave us alone, Malfoy. No one needs your crap right now," Hermione spoke up, glaring at Malfoy.

"I don't believe anyone was talking to you, you stupid Mudblood." There was a stunned silence after he spoke, in which all eyes turned to Malfoy. Violet, who until this moment had been standing by passively, slowly released Malfoy's arm and turned to face him.

"What did you just call her?" Violet said in a low voice that sent chills up Harry's spine in its deadliness. Malfoy, idiot that he was, didn't realize his mistake or notice the tone of Violet's voice and so repeated what he had called Hermione.

"I called her a stupid Mud-," he started just as Violet's hand came around and met his cheek with a resounding slap.

"How dare you say such a horrid thing? I am ashamed of you, Draco Malfoy! I thought you a better person than that. I can see now that I was wrong in my judgment of your character. When you are ready to apologize to Hermione for your crass behavior, maybe I'll talk to you again, but until then I want nothing to do with you, understand?" If looks could kill, Draco Malfoy would have been a pile of ash, based on the death glare Violet was giving him.

"But, Violet, I-," Draco started.

"No, Draco. I don't want to hear another word. You know my conditions. Good day." She turned and hooked arms with Hermione and Harry and proceeded to go into the Great Hall. Harry looked back to see Malfoy standing there with his mouth hung open. Harry smirked at the stunned expression his face and turned back to walk away with the girls, Ron trailing behind. As they all made their way to the Gryffindor table, Violet was comforting Hermione.

"You should just ignore him, Hermione dear. We all know that you are far superior at magic. Stupid prat. How dare he say such things?! Doesn't he know that whole stupid pureblood stuff is what got us into the war in the first place?! I swear sometimes I really do wonder about his intelligence."
As they approached the table Ron and Hermione went around the other side so that they were sitting across from Violet and Harry.

"Hermione, why do you stand him? I would have hexed him so fast. Ugh. Men and their stupidness." She huffed and reached for the toast. Ron and Harry both looked at her with hurt expressions. She looked back at them as if to say what? It's true. The boys shrugged and went back to their breakfast. After a few minutes, when Ron and Hermione were deep in conversation, Harry decided that it was now or never. He cleared his throat and turned to Violet.

"Um...Violet?" She turned and looked him in the eyes. "I was wondering ...that is...there's a Hogsmeade trip this weekend and I wanted to know...well..wouldyouliketogowithme?" he finished in a rush.

"What was that, Harry? I didn't quite catch the last part." He took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"Would you like to go with me this weekend?"

"Like on a date?"

"Yeah...on a date." He looked down at the table, too nervous to look her in the eye.

"I would love to, Harry." He jerked his head up, his heart skipping a beat at the soft smile in her eyes.

"Really? Then I'll meet you at the entrance at 3:00. Is that good?"

"Perfect. I've got to get going. Lots of classes to sit in on, you know? See you Saturday, Harry." She got up, lightly kissed him on the cheek, and walked away. Harry watched her go, a goofy grin spreading across his face.

"Saturday," he whispered before turning back to his breakfast.

The days dragged on until Harry could hardly stand it. Finally Saturday arrived. Harry and Ron spent a total of ten minutes picking out his outfit before deciding on a short sleeve green shirt that matched his eyes and hugged his Quidditch-toned body, black jeans, black trainers, and a black jacket. He showered, quickly dried off, and got dressed. He splashed on a bit of Old Spice before checking himself in the mirror one last time. He headed out the door, through the common room, and into the hall. He arrived at the Entrance Hall right on time only to discover that Violet had yet to arrive. Harry looked around and couldn't see her. Ten minutes later as the Entrance Hall was clearing out, he finally saw her approaching. She hadn't seen him yet so he took the time to take in her appearance. She was wearing silver boots, purple tights, a short silver skirt and a purple sweater to match her tights. A silver headband held her flowing black hair away from her face. When she finally spotted him, a large smile spread across her face. Harry felt himself relax instantly. Something about her smile always made him feel at ease. When she was near enough, he reached out his hand. He smiled when she took it without hesitation. Hand in hand they exited Hogwarts and made their way into Hogsmeade.

"Where do you want to go first?" he asked.

"How about Honeydukes? I have something of a sweet tooth."

"Me too. Honeydukes it is then." When they arrived, Violet instantly went for the chocolate frogs. After a while in the warm sweet shop, they headed out and shopped for a few hours. Tired, they headed to the Three Broomsticks for a drink. They settled down at a table and ordered drinks.

"So what's it been like coming back and going to all the classes again?" Harry asked suddenly.

"Pretty fun actually. I loved classes when I was here and now I get to relive them except for the whole taking test and getting grades thing. That was always no fun," she said with a small smile, "But all in all it feels great to be back at home."

"Yeah. Hogwarts is home to many of us isn't it?"

"What are you going to do now? I mean with Voldemort gone, will you go back to the Dursleys' in the summer once you've graduated? I know you own Sirius' old house. Will you be staying there?"

"I don't know. How did you know I own Sirius' old house?"

"I work in the Ministry remember? I read the will. I'm so sorry about that by the way. He was a good man."

"Did you know him?"

"Not really but I heard stories and then when the truth came out and everything, I figured it was about time he got some respect. If you trusted him then why shouldn't we? You are the Hero after all. Who better to trust?" she finished with a small smile.

"He was a good man, but I'm no hero. I had help with everything and I only succeeded because of other people's sacrifices," he argued.

"But that's what makes you so heroic, Harry. You instilled a kind of trust and loyalty in people that not many can duplicate. You're a good person. Now that's heroic enough." Harry blushed slightly.

"Thanks, but-"

"No buts. If I want to think of you as my hero then you can't argue."

"I'd like that...being your hero," Harry whispered. Violet's eyes widened and if it had been possible to tell Harry would have sworn she blushed.

"Me too. I'd like that too." She reached across the table and took his hand. Harry gave it a light squeeze before entwining their fingers. They sat like that for a while, silently finishing their drinks as they stared out the window and watched the sun set in an array of beautiful colors. The perfect ending to a wonderful first date.