Undistinguished (H.P.)

Chapter 44: Scared?

Exams are now over and I'm ready to continue this book - sorry about the large delay :(

oOo

The journey back to Hogwarts was a nerve-wracking one for Veronica. She still had no idea what she was going to do about the supposed 'threat' on the lives of the people she cared about and saw it as a tough decision on if she should continue with her original plan, before she got ambushed, of telling Dumbledore. 

Another problem she now faced was the indirect knowledge that someone found out about her odd skill, alarming her greatly, as she believed it was a well-kept secret. It also wasn't comforting to think that the person who now harboured this secret definitely wasn't on her side of this war. 

Even though she didn't know exactly who it was, she had her suspicions. The only people who should be worried about what she'd seen were the people involved in the vision, Malfoy, Dumbledore, hell even Snape. Dumbledore obviously didn't threaten her, so it was down to the two most disliked people at Hogwarts currently. 

How comforting. 

Veronica found herself sitting on a train carriage with Harry and his friends, nervously glancing out into the hallway whenever somebody walked a little too close to the window. 

Her grip on Harry's arm was deathly tight, but he either didn't notice or thought she was clenching his arm in response to their current topic of discussion. 

"He thought I would do as he said just because he's the Minister of Magic! As if I would care about what anyone in that place wanted from me after how they treated Dumbledore and me last year!" Harry ranted on about Rufus Scrimgeour, the Minister, telling the story once again of how Percy had brought him to the Burrow and the man practically begged the boy to cooperate. 

Most of them in the carriage had already heard the entire conversation from Harry as soon as the Minister had left with Percy that day but still listened to, and shared the boy's angry remarks as they also recalled the Ministry's reign of terror over Hogwarts the year prior. 

The conversation was quick paced and loud, but Veronica was focused on the beat of her heart that seemed to deafen her from any other noise. 

As the train pulled into Hogsmeade, a scowling pale face, framed by thinning blond hair walked past their compartment nonchalantly. Veronica's sweaty palms gripped her wand, which was conveniently placed right next to her for quick access, as adrenaline ran through her, desperate to protect her friends. 

While she did this, Malfoy glanced through the window and settled his eyes onto hers. His frown dropped and eyes widened, the little amounts of colour left in his face disappeared. The exchange was no more than a second long because as soon as their eyes met, the boy scuttled off quickly. 

Her grip loosened around her wand in surprise because, instead of a threatening look, Malfoy had a different expression on his face. He almost looked... scared?

Harry turned towards her, holding his hand out to help her up, and it reminded her that the train had in fact stopped and she was the only one still seated. So she pulled herself up and shook off the confusion of whatever had just happened, focusing on the people around her, the ones that really mattered to her most. 

oOo

The nights were longer than the days, not only due to the time of year but also because Veronica was still getting barely any sleep. 

Most times, she found herself curled up on the sofas in the Hufflepuff common room either doing school work or reading a book to distract herself from the images running through her mind.