Home - Charlie Weasley Fanfiction Series

BOOK ONE: CHAPTER NINE

The last four months had been the best months of Veronica's whole life. She had read and memorized every one of her textbooks within the first week of being at Hogwarts, so naturally, she was at the top of her class. Despite being born to Squibs and raised in the muggle world, she had been the first in her year to successfully cast a spell, and it happened to be in charms class with her head of house as the professor. Ravenclaws and Gryffindors had charms together, so Charlie had been there to see her feather float in the air. The excitement on her face made butterflies erupt in his stomach, but he had no idea why this happened every time she was around.

They had also had their first flying lessons, and Veronica had been terrified, but the feeling of riding a broom was better than she could have ever imagined. This didn't change her mind about Quidditch though. She was still mystified by the sport, and this only intensified when she had watched the first match of the season between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Charlie had dragged her along, and proceeded to try to explain everything that was happening throughout the game.

Speaking of Charlie, he and Veronica had become inseparable. They were almost always together; only ever apart when they had different classes or when they had to return to their separate dormitories at night. They had fallen into a routine very quickly. Everyday, they would alternate between eating meals at the Ravenclaw table and the Gryffindor table. Charlie would always walk with Veronica to class, and he would either stay or continue on to his class depending on his schedule. When class was over, Charlie would be waiting for her outside, and they would walk to the next class together. Bill always teased Charlie about his relationship with Veronica, but Charlie insisted that nothing was going on; they were just friends. However, Charlie couldn't understand why his heart sank every time he said it.

Over these four months, Veronica had even managed to do something that all the students thought was impossible: she got Snape to like her. It was clear to everyone that she was his favorite student, and she had even gotten him to laugh once when no one else was around. She was very proud of this. She had also become good friends with Bill, albeit in a different way. Charlie was her best friend, whereas Bill was like an older brother. They watched out for each other.

But as it got closer and closer to the Christmas holiday, Veronica grew more and more concerned. She had learned that students had the choice of staying at Hogwarts over the break or going home to see their families, and Veronica knew right away which option she would choose. The only problem was figuring out an excuse to tell Bill and Charlie as to why she isn't going home; she had chosen not to tell them yet about her parents, so she had to come up with a different reason. To make things worse, they had been celebrating Charlie's birthday on December 12th in the Gryffindor common room when Bill mentioned that his mother had offered for Veronica to come and stay with them at the Burrow over the Christmas break. According to Bill, Mrs. Weasley had been told a lot about Veronica through Charlie's letters and really wanted to meet her. She had even offered for her to come and visit for a few days if she couldn't come for the whole two weeks. Veronica truly appreciated the offer, and she would have given anything to go, but she didn't want to impose on their holiday. She wanted them to enjoy their time with their family. Veronica knew she had to come up with an excuse fast; she couldn't avoid the topic much longer.

That was when she got an idea. The next morning, she had gone to see Dumbledore in his office. Once she had explained the situation to him, she asked for his help. "So you see, Professor, what I'm asking is if you could approach us tomorrow at breakfast and ask me to stay at Hogwarts over the break so that I can help you with something. It doesn't matter what it is. I just need an excuse to stay." Dumbledore had urged her to change her mind and accept the Weasley's offer, but Veronica refused. Eventually, Dumbledore gave in and agreed to help. So the next day, he approached the trio at the Gryffindor table during breakfast.

"Good morning, students. Ms. Singer, what are your plans for the Christmas break?"

"Oh, I was planning on going home to see my parents, Professor."

"I see. Well, I hate to ask this of you, and I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important, but would you be able to stay? I have a task that requires your assistance."

"Of course, Professor. No problem, I'll send an owl to my parents right away." Veronica didn't like how easily the lie came out of her mouth. Dumbledore simply nodded as he walked away.

"What do you think he needs your help with?" Charlie asked curiously as he stared at the retreating figure of their headmaster.

Veronica shrugged her shoulders as she stood from the table. "Not sure, but it must be important if he's asking me to stay back. I'm going to the owlery to let my parents know. I'll catch up with you in charms, Charlie."

"Oh, okay."

Veronica thought Charlie sounded a bit disappointed, but she wasn't sure if it was because she wouldn't be coming over during the break or because they wouldn't be walking to class together. Either way, Veronica didn't have time to think about it. She had to go to the owlery and pretend to send a letter. She didn't mind though, she enjoyed visiting the owls.

Veronica loved all animals; she was great with them and they seemed to love her too. Professor Kettleburn always told her that she seemed to project an aura around animals that made them trust her and want to protect her, even the dangerous and deadly ones. He had never seen anything like it. He had noticed it once when Dumbledore had sent Veronica to deliver a package to the professor during one of his lessons. He had been teaching fifth years about fire crabs, which could be very dangerous when provoked. There were a handful of crabs loose in the outdoor classroom for students to observe, but the fifth years had been warned not to get too close or make any sudden movements. Veronica, however, had not received that warning, so when she came bounding over, the crabs noticed her immediately. Kettleburn gasped as they swarmed her, but instead of harming her, they all clammered for her attention and rubbed themselves on her legs. He watched in awe as she sat amongst them and pet them as if they were domesticated dogs. He knew right away what it was; he had only ever read about it in theory as there weren't any records of people actually having this aura. Until now, it had been nothing but speculation amongst magizoologists. He looked forward to having her in his classes in her third year, where they would get to experiment with it further and really see what she can do with it. It was like a superpower just waiting to be explored.