Smoking Bricks
The first month went by quicker than Violette ever thought it would. She had already landed herself a handful of new friends, and was staying ahead in all of her classes. Evan and the boys were kind enough to show Violette around, leading her through their shortcuts to class and secret corners where the teachers never looked. She appreciated it, but she found that she preferred to explore on her own. Hogwarts was centuries old, surely there was much to see.
She walked out in the back courtyards where the greenhouses were, and gazed out at the forest, which she understood to be forbidden. Miles and miles of the tallest trees. Her imagination flourished at just the sight of it, and she wondered what might live in there.
The October air was sharp, especially during that time when afternoon faded into evening, and the pleasant warmth of the sun succumbed to the autumn chill. Violette crossed her arms as the breeze danced around her, whispering sweet things in her ears and weaving itself through her hair. Toying with the sleeves of her black turtle-neck, she sighed, watching a murder of crows fly overhead toward the forest, and disappear in the distance.
Click, click.
The girl furrowed her brow at the faint noise.
Click, click, click.
She turned her head, straining her breath to listen. Whirling around, her long plaid skirt swished, and she quietly tip-toed toward the sound. One foot after the other, stepping ever so carefully. She took a quick glance over her shoulder while she turned the corner, then jumped back when she’d collided with someone.
Both parties appeared startled, but the boy relaxed when he’d realized it wasn’t a teacher. Violette didn’t quite recognize him at first, but the longer she looked at him, the more she was able to place him. The scars on his face, the scruffy brown hair, the scratchy woven sweater.
“Ah,” He said, taking a puff of the cigarette between his fingers, “... bonjour.”
She raised a brow, “Bonsoir.”
He nodded, “Right, right.”
Violette narrowed her gaze, parting her frowning lips and tilting her head. “Are you smoking?”
“My,” He huffed, shaking his head, “... nothing gets past you, aye?”
“Are you allowed to be doing that?”
“If I were, don’t you think I’d be cozied up in the main courtyards?”
The boy took the box out of his pocket and opened it toward her. “Want one?” He asked, shaking the box.
Violette scoffed, crossing her arms and looking over her shoulder.
“Nobody comes out here. Well, besides you. Do you want one, or not?”
“No. You’ll probably run and tell my brother the second it’s lit.”
The boy chuckled, “I wouldn’t be caught dead within three feet of your brother.”
“Why should I trust you?” She looked him up and down, “I don’t even know you.”
“So what? You don’t smoke?”
Violette sighed, “I have smoked before.”
The boy shook his head, “Do you want one or not?”
She bit her lip, evaluating the boy. She decided that he was harmless, and took a cigarette out of the box, then popped it between her lips.”
“Remus, by the way.” He said, lighting it for her, “Lupin.”
The orphanage boy, she remembered, Sirius’s friend.
“Violette.”
“Yeah, I know. What are you doing out here, anyway?”
Violette took a drag, “Thought I’d take a look around, see what I can find for myself.”
“An explorer.” He nodded, rocking back and forth on his heels with a hand in his pocket. “Careful not to scuff up those fancy boots of yours. Are those real leather?”
Violette looked down at her shiny black boots, propping one arm up by the elbow, “Yes.”
“Course they are.” The boy chuckled, and the breeze blew through his hair, tousling his curls like leaves, “Find anything worth mentioning, yet?”
“Hmm…” Violette hummed, glancing away in thought, “Nothing too crazy, really. Quite an old building, though. The stone bricks alone fascinate me.”
“The bricks fascinate you?”
The wind whispered at her about the forest. Violette turned, slightly, then looked back at Remus. Maybe he knows more about the forest, she thought, but she knew she ought not to ask about it. It was only a load of trees.
“They do.” She shrugged, nodding at a brick that was eye-level with her. “This one, for example. Who do you think is the last person to touch that brick? Or even glance at it?”
Remus wrinkled his brow, taking a drag, “No clue. It’s one amongst thousands, Laurent. Who’s going to consider one little brick in the middle of the wall?”
It was quiet for a moment, then Violette took a last puff of her cigarette. Exhaling slowly, she tilted her head. Suppressing a smile, she took the cigarette and ashed it on the brick. The black and gray ash crumbled, leaving a spot on the stone, and Violette traced the letter ‘V’ over it.
“I will.” She said, dropping the butt on the ground, and flashing a smile at the boy before walking away.
Remus remained there for a few more minutes after she had gone. It was such a short interaction, so brief and unusual. They had never spoken to each other, but somehow, Remus felt as if he had known her for years. Before, he had assumed that she was a priss, but then, he thought that maybe he was wrong about her.
He turned, ashing his cigarette on the brick next to her’s. He traced the letter ‘R’ onto it, then dropped the butt and went back into the castle.
* * *
Sirius kicked his feet up on his bed frame and opened up a package sent to him from his cousin. She often sent him muggle music and books, but both of them knew that he was far more interested in the music. He peeled back the brown paper wrappings and chuckled to himself with boyish excitement. He read the note that she sent with it:
Sirius,
Here’s another one for you. I heard it out in a pub in Ireland, and I knew you’d love it. Teddy says that they’re pretty big around here. Be good out there!
Andromeda
He traced a finger over the cover, admiring the colors and designs. Mystery to Me by Fleetwood Mac. He frowned, reading the paper inside of it and checking out the song titles and what not.
The door to the dorm swung open, and in walked Remus. He took his jacket off and hung it up on a coat hanger.
“Howdy boys. What’ve you got there?” He asked, unlacing his shoes.
“Andromeda’s sent another record.” Sirius said, “Fleetwood Mac.”
Remus thought for a second, slipping his shoes off and kicking them to sit by the furnace in the center of the room. He set his book bag on his bed and plopped down on the crimson red quilt.
“I think I heard some of the other boys talking about them over the summer.” He pulled a textbook out of his bag and lied back, “She send anything else?”
Sirius shook his head, flipping the record over and reading the back, “Just this one.”
“Where’s James?”
“He stayed behind on the quidditch pitch.” Peter told Remus, snacking on a bag of crisps.
“Where’ve you been?” Asked Sirius, “Seems like I haven’t seen you all day.”
“Thought I’d go out for a fag while you all were off at practice.” Then, he chuckled lightly.
“Something amusing?”
“Actually, yes.” Remus sat up, “That Laurent girl was there, too.”
Sirius wrinkled his brow, sitting up. “Who, Violette?”
“Mhm. I guess she was poking ‘round the castle and bumped right into me.”
“Did she have a cigarette?”
“Yep.” Remus said, and he got up and grabbed a few of Peter’s crisps for himself. He shook the bag, “She’s pretty odd.”
“Pretty and odd, you mean.” Peter said.
“Well, she is pretty.” The scarred boy shrugged, “From the description you gave me, I expected her to be some stuck-up-priss. She’s not so bad.”
Sirius scoffed, “I never said that I know her, I said I know her family. Everything I’ve heard about them gives me every reason to believe that she’s no good, maybe even worse than my cousins.”
Remus grabbed his tattered brown pajamas from off of the furnace and a towel. He shrugged, “Maybe.”
Peter got up, too, “I’m gonna see if I can get Diggory to sneak me some of those dinner rolls from the kitchens. Tell James I’ve taken the invisibility cloak, alright?”
“What do you mean she’s not so bad?”
Remus threw the towel around his neck, “I mean that she wasn’t so bad. Maybe you know better than me, though, I don’t know. I’m gonna hit the showers.”
“What did you talk about?”
He tried not to sound too eager, but he found himself standing up, and leaning forward all-interestedly.
Remus raised a brow, giving a pathetic grin before leaving.
“Stone bricks.”
The door shut, and Sirius was alone. He sat back on his bed and thought for a moment. The furnace had just kicked on, humming faintly and warming the room. They had lived in it for four years, by that point. Between the four of them, it always ended up a mess. Clothes everywhere, books and papers on the floor, and Gryffindor flags and streamers hanging off of the walls and bed posts. The room was always warm, a stark contrast from what Sirius had at home. That cold, dark and dreary old house on the street. He shuddered just thinking about it.
He couldn’t help but assume that Violette must have had the same upbringing as he did. The Laurent’s were formidable, so highly esteemed. His cousin Bella always said that they lived in a palace in the French country, with gardens that spanned out for miles and miles. How could somebody who came from all of that be pleasant?
Remus had been the one to poke fun at her for her wealth in the first place, and now, all of a sudden, he’s the one saying that she’s not so bad?
He lied back on his bed, lying his head on the palms of his hands and stared up at the canopy above his bed. It felt strange thinking that Remus might know Violette better than he did. Sirius did not like being wrong, especially about things that he thought he ought to know the most about.