Violet was sitting at the bottom of the Slytherin House table, glad for the chance to rest from her classes and take a much-needed meal break. She had before her a small, chocolate cupcake with fudge frosting and little silver and green swirls of decorative frosting on the top. She had put a small candle in the top of it. October was her birthday, and she thought turning 12 deserved some sort of acknowledgement. It wasn't like she would have gotten a party or anything at home, anyway. She hadn't heard from her parents in ages, her grandfather and uncles pretended she didn't exist most of the time, and her governess said that birthday parties were a needless frivolity. But Violet thought different. At least at Hogwarts, she had elves to ask for a little cake, instead of pilfering a stale one from the day-old bin in the Mubble corner market back home.