Home - Charlie Weasley Fanfiction Series

BOOK ONE: CHAPTER TWELVE

11:30 AM... 11:35 AM... 11:40 AM... 11! 45! AM!

Merlin's beard, Veronica needed to stop looking at that damn clock and start thinking... FAST! The time seemed to be flying by and she still hadn't figured out what she was going to say to the Weasleys.

It turned out to be easy enough explaining her lack of truthfulness with her friends to the shopkeepers, Tom and the housekeeping crew because she stuck as close to the truth as possible. They all already knew the false reason she was staying at the Leaky Cauldron: she was an orphan and the orphanage where she lived was not pleasant, especially for children deemed to be "different". As she couldn't stay at Hogwarts over the summer, Dumbledore figured this would be the next best place, where she would have her own kind to watch out for her. That was the story she sold them at the start of the summer holiday, and they bought it hook, line and sinker. She had sent an owl to Dumbledore as well so that their stories would match.

So, all she had to do next was explain her real reason for not wanting to stay at the Weasley's, and that was it. They had all promised to keep her secret and treat her like she was a stranger for that whole day.

The problem was, she had spent so much time last night and this morning talking to everyone that she hadn't had time to figure out the other lie she had to tell. And time was running out!

Veronica's thoughts were interrupted by three harsh knocks on her room door. At first, she thought it could be housekeeping, but she specifically remembered leaving the 'do not disturb' sign on her door that morning.

11:55. Veronica really didn't have time for this. They would be here any minute, and she still had nothing. But with three more harsh knocks, she found herself opening the door. What she saw knocked the wind right out of her.