First Impressions
30 August 1973
From the window of her bedroom, Violette Laurent watched as the sun set, and darkness gathered over London. She sat in the alcove atop maroon, velvet cushions, and small, vintage table lamps dimly lit her room with warm light. Raindrops dripped down the cold glass of the window as she read her copy of Pride and Prejudice , which had been gifted to her a few months prior. She loved it, and by August, she had already read it three times. On her lap purred a little black cat, whom she called Mr. Darcy.
“Violette?” Said a voice at her door with a knock, and she knew exactly who it was. Quickly, she closed the book and tucked it beneath the cushion, then the door opened. She might get in trouble if she were caught reading a muggle book.
“Mother says it’s time to go.” Her sister Juliette said, and her voice was sweet and smooth as fresh honey.
To Violette, Juliette was perfect. She was quite a bit older, almost eight years her senior. She excelled in school, and was loved by everybody. She was the very image of their mother, with warm auburn hair and big, sweet dark eyes like rich chocolate. Her brown leather boots clicked on the floor, and her long patterned skirt whirled over fine persian carpets.
“Violette?”
“I want to stay here.” Violette said, staring at the window, “I don’t want to go to dinner.”
Juliette let out a long, slow sigh, shutting her eyes and gathering herself so that she would not have to scold Violette and make her more upset than she already was.
“And why is that, sweet girl?” Juliette cooed, “Don’t you want to get out of the house for a bit? You must desire some new scenery.”
Violette tilted her head back. Juliette always spoke so properly.
“Do not coddle me, Juliette.” The girl groaned, “I’m not a baby.”
“I said no such thing.”
Violette sighed, turning to her sister. “Theo says that they’ve only invited us to get on our good side.”
Juliette nodded to herself, pursing her lips. She knew that it was true.
“Theo is an imbecile.” She tilted her head, “Mother has known the Blacks for years, even longer than she’d known father for.”
Violette only shrugged, pursing her lips and petting the cat. Juliette furrowed her brow, and shooed the cat away.
“Violette!” She clicked her tongue, walking toward her sister, “Oh, come here. You are covered in cat hair!”
The young girl slid off of her cushion in the alcove, and Juliette knelt down to dust the cat hair off of her black dress and tights.
“It is very nice of the Black’s to have us over for dinner.” Juliette said, straightening out the bottom of Violette’s dress, “No matter their intentions.”
Violette gazed down at her older sister, who was everything that she was not. Violette took more after her father, having the “classic Laurent look”, with an oval face, and long, straight dark hair. Theo, too, took after their father, some even saying that he was the spitting image of him.
Not only that, Juliette was sweet and kind, and lucky. Although she was born with a curse, she was blessed enough to not have it bloom within herself. And, she was the only member of the family who was not changed by death. Even after the passing of their father, she remained as sweet and wonderful as she was before.
“Come now.” She said with that lovely voice like song birds, “Let’s not keep mother waiting.”
The Black’s lived in a nice townhouse, just outside of the heart of London. 12 Grimmauld Place, it was. A house elf led the Laurent’s down a long hall, dimly lit by iron-mounted lamps, and Violette could have sworn that the paintings on the walls were watching her. The wooden floors beneath their shoes creaked as they stepped over them, entering the main sitting room. It was furnished with fine, black leather couches, with a grand chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Along the walls were shelves of framed photos and what seemed to be antiques collected by the family. Everything was dark and dull, either black or gray, or greens and purples, but chic and pristine nonetheless. The wealth of the Black family was clear in the way that they decorated their home.
“Master…” The elf groaned, “Visitors…”
Down another hall came the click of another pair of footsteps. Emerging was a woman, tall and slender, and her face pale and gaunt but still beautiful. She wore her black hair back in a neat bun, and wore a nice dress that cascaded down her body and legs, the color of obsidian. She smiled, baring teeth.
“Alice.” She said, and she went to hug Violette’s mother, “My, how long has it been? It’s so wonderful to see you again.”
Alice smiled, looking genuine. “Walburga. Far too long, I think.”
“We’re honored to have you dine with us.” Said the man who stood with the woman. Her husband, the man of the house. He was plump and older looking, and on his face was a scruffy gray and white beard.
“Of course, you remember Orion, don’t you?” The woman smiled, and her gaze trailed down at the children, and there was a glint in her eye. “And, who do we have here?”
Alice introduced the children one by one, oldest to youngest. Of course, Juliette stepped forward to shake hands, and spoke of sweet and sugared compliments toward the Black’s and their beautiful home. Theo was a charmer, shaking Orion’s hand, and receiving compliments on how firm the shake was. “ The handshake of a proper, pureblooded man ”, Orion said. Then, Theo took Walburga’s hand and planted a kiss on the back of it, and he too showered her with polite compliments. When it was Violette’s turn, a noise interrupted her introduction. She looked up toward where the sound came from, upstairs some place. Down the stairs came two boys, presumably the Black’s sons, and Walburga looked unhappy.
The first boy looked more like Walburga than the other did. He was slender, and had the same black hair and gaunt cheeks as his mother. He was young, and looked it, too, but his looks were promising. He was dressed properly with a dress shirt and a buttoned up vest over it. The boy who came after him was taller, but had a similar frame. His hair was slightly lighter, and the only resemblance he had to his mother was in the eyes, big and dark. He dressed properly, too, but there was a hint of carelessness in the way that he carried himself. While his brother was stiff, he was more relaxed.
Walburga forced a smile, huffing heavy breaths out of her nose. She tilted her head and glared down at her boys.
“What was all that ruckus?” She asked, putting on a sweet, sing-song voice.
The first boy seemed to shrink beneath his mother’s gaze, looking up at her and drowning in obedience.
He swallowed in a dry throat, answering nervously, “S-Sirius had a go on my broom.”
Violette glanced over at the other boy, presumably Sirius. He pressed his lips together, pointing the corners of his mouth into something of a frown to fight his growing grin. With his hands behind his back, his eyes found the girl who stood at the end of the line of strangers, and his eyebrows bounced up and down at her. She wrinkled her brow slightly, unimpressed, and her gaze broke away from his.
Walburga straightened, and she glanced up at Sirius, hitting him with a sharp look. Sirius understood it as an, “ I’ll deal with you later ”, sort of look.
“Well,” She cleared her throat, still sporting that haunting smile, “... I think my boys have made quite the introduction. This,” She placed a hand on the first boy’s shoulder, “is my youngest boy, Regulus. Just turned thirteen this past June.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” The boy said, flashing a quick smile.
“And, Sirius.” Walburga said, referring to the other boy, “My oldest. He’ll be fifteen in November.”
“Oh?” Questioned Alice, “My Violette will be fifteen in February.”
Sirius looked at the girl, and the name rang inside his head like a bell. Violette .
“Surely Sirius could show her around school. It would be nice for him to have at least one pleasant friend.”
The comment was clearly backhanded, but before Sirius could combat it, Walburga invited everyone into the dining room to eat. On the long table was a roast chicken, and other dishes full of potatoes and carrots and other sorts of things. They sipped wine and water out of fine glasses.
“Theo,” Said Orion, sipping wine, “... I hear you’re somewhat of a linguist. What languages have you studied? In which are you fluent?”
“Well, Durmstrang offers a plethora of languages to choose from. Of course, I’m fluent in English and French, and I speak German quite fairly, all of us do. I’ve studied Latin and Greek, Ancient Greek, that is. Latin has given me a leg up in learning some Spanish and Italian words, but I was far more interested in learning Russian. A fascinating language, Russian is. I hope that I do not lose it whilst I attend Hogwarts.”
Both Orion and Walburga nodded, impressed. Theo was a fine student, and a big bookworm. In the Laurent’s Paris estate, they had two studies, one for Theo, another for everyone else, then one massive library. Theo could spend days in there, and Violette had said that he must have read every book in there ten times over. Their other home, a great manor in the French countryside dating back centuries where they would spend holidays, had two libraries, and two studies on each story, and in each wing.
“You enjoyed your time at Durmstrang, I take it?”
“Yes, sir, very much.” Theo answered, brushing back dark hair with his hand, “I’m sure that Hogwarts will be more than proficient for me to complete my studies, but I do prefer Durmstrang. They offer so many more classes, and they teach discipline, and, well…” He paused.
“Well,” Orion picked up where he’d left off, tilting his face up, “... and no mudbloods.”
Theo grinned, chuckling softly, “Yes, none at all.”
“Sounds like heaven.” Walburga joked, and all around the table had a laugh, save Sirius who did not even smile. Violette grinned only slightly.
“What about Beauxbatons?” Walburga asked, “Both of you girls went there, didn’t you?”
Juliette nodded, smiling, “Yes, we did. I graduated from there, and Violette had her first three years there. Beautiful school, have you been? Very pristine, and oh, you must see it in the winter.”
“The class selection is wonderful, as well. Very different from Hogwarts.” Said Alice, “The girls must take at least three years of ballet. Mandatory. Juliette danced ballet for all seven years.”
“Did you?” Walburga beamed, “How wonderful. You must be a fantastic dancer, I’m sure, with such beauty and grace. What about you, Violette? Do you dance?”
Violette looked up, not anticipating having to join the conversation. Around the table, all eyes were on her. Even Sirius seemed to begin to pay attention when it was Violette’s time to speak. She smiled, pleasantly, and nodded.
“Yes, but not so well as my sister.”
“Oh, she’s being modest.” Juliette waved her hand, “Violette was in year five ballet as a third year.”
Walburga looked very impressed, as did Orion, and Alice felt a sense of pride warm her heart seeing Violette’s cheeks glow red at the compliments.
There is good in her , Alice thought, there always has been, but now she is blind to it.
“I hope that we are able to witness such brilliant dancing from you one day, Violette.” Walburga sighed, “Such a shame that Hogwarts does not offer a ballet class.”
“I have been looking into getting her a private teacher.” Alice added, “We had one back in France, but she was unable to join us here in London.”
Sirius wanted to chuckle at the mention of a private ballet teacher, but he withheld his amusement. He knew that he would already have enough punishment to sit through once the guests left. Throughout the rest of dinner, Sirius couldn’t help but study the girl who sat across the table. Violette was very peculiar to him, but not in the sort of way that people are peculiar because they look funny, or speak in a foreign way. She was peculiarly interesting in the way that children find simple things, like teddy bears, or apples and pears.
Even after the Laurent’s had gone home, and Sirius lied in bed, he still thought about her and her family. He’d heard plenty about the Laurent’s, as had most of the wizarding world. They were like royalty, especially to the other pureblood families. Of course, Sirius didn’t care so much about all of that, but he thought that other kids at school might.
She will be popular , he thought to himself, she and her brother, but her most of all .