oOo
Veronica kicked herself as she sprinted down the corridor the morning of February 24th, the day of the second task. She had overslept again and found the common room empty of life, the castle corridors in a similar fashion as she ran through them to get outside to the Hogwarts grounds.
Luckily she wasn't too late and hadn't missed anything important. By the time she got to the edge of the Black Lake, she managed to catch the final boats heading out to a wooden platform that had been set up in the center of the large body of water filled with the entire student body.
As her boat got edged closer to the platform, Dumbledore's voice called for everyone's attention. She panicked, thinking she wouldn't be able to get a seat of which she could see what was going on. She saw Ernie standing with a large group of Cedric supporters on the second level of the platform and tried to gesture to him and gain his attention but he was too invested in cheering for the Hufflepuff Champion.
Once she made it onto the platform, she just had to squeeze her way in between a few fourth-year Gryffindors near the front of the wooden deck, one of them she recognised as Neville Longbottom, the subject of Hannah's affections, who looked like he was about to throw up with nerves.
The boys next to her were quite loud, drawing loads of eyes to them as they screamed out Harry's name. Said Champion turned to face them and once he saw Neville's face gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up before shoving some slimy green substance into his mouth, not noticing the small Hufflepuff standing right there.
Almost immediately after swallowing he began choking on it, even after the cannon went off to signal the start of the challenge and the other Champions had long since dived in, he was still standing there struggling to breathe.
This caught the attention of a few teachers standing close to him and Professor Moody leaned forward and shoved the boy into the lake, quite aggressively, thought Veronica as her eyes were peeled to the water, as worry floods through her the longer time passes without catching a glimpse of Harry.
Her anxiety increases ten fold once Neville turns around, places his face in his hands and exclaims "I've killed Harry Potter!" and she stares at him in disbelief, her eyes widened terror-stricken.
The other Gryffindor boys didn't seem too bothered as one of them, a tall dark-skinned lad, points towards the water with everyone's eyes following it quickly after he gave out a happy cheer.
A wave of relief fills Veronica as Harry's body propels out of the water shouting "Yeah! WOO!", she spots his hands and feet are webbed before he is then back in the Lake, swimming out of eyesight.
oOo
For the rest of the hour, the students basically stood in place restlessly waiting for one of the Champions to complete the challenge and arise from the murky water and after Fleur returned empty-handed, people became more impatient.
The first one back was Cedric, and to everyone's surprise, had Cho Chang in his arms. As they took in deep breaths and swam to the edge Veronica put the pieces together and assumed that the 'treasures' hidden at the bottom of the Lake to collect were people. Which was quite morbid and she didn't want to think what would happen to those left down there.
Shortly after Cedric and Cho were lifted back onto the platform, Hermione appeared from the water and next to her was Krum, whose face was still transfiguring back from the head of a shark.
The stands were going wild as Cedric and Krum had by far the largest support from the crowd, but there were still a few people, like Veronica, who were staring into the water searching for Harry, the only Champion who had yet to return. As the bell sounded for the end of the given hour, the teachers also started to look concerned.
Veronica detects two figures floating to the surface of the Lake and once they break through the water her heart sunk to her gut with a feeling of dread when she observes that neither of them was Harry. One being Ron, who was obviously Harry's loved one, and the other a small blonde girl who bore a striking resemblance to the French Champion who was now leaning over the platform to reach her.
Finally, as Ron was being pulled from the Lake, Harry came flying from the water, wand in hand and he hit the deck with a thud. Out of reflex, Veronica grasped the hand of the nearest person, who just so happened to be Neville, and leaned on him in obvious relief for a few minutes before regaining her composure.
He shuffled in obvious discomfort, and when Veronica looked at him, she merely patted him on the shoulder and smiled awkwardly back.
The boys surrounding her all ran towards Harry, all trying to congratulate him after Dumbledore announced that he was given second place for saving two people instead of one. Veronica wasn't ready for the rampage and her small frame got swept away with them and by the time she regained control of her feet she was right next to the Champion.
Harry glanced at the girl in disbelief due to the fact she seemed to appear out of nowhere once again but smiled happily at her presence nonetheless. She gave him a shy smile back whispering her congratulations while holding his arm, slightly for support and slightly because she wanted to touch him.
Harry looked around and greeted all of the people surrounding him, slightly overwhelmed with all the attention and by the time he'd turned back to the Hufflepuff, she'd already taken off in search of Ernie, disappearing and somehow escaping from the Boy Who Lived again.
And that made him even more intrigued about this seemingly mysterious girl who keeps appearing in his life.
oOo
YOU ARE READING
Undistinguished (H.P.)
Fanfiction[adjective] lacking distinction; unexceptional. Veronica Green is a simple and average half-blood. Hidden in plain sight and blending into the background are what she does best. Until her fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, wh...
