Undistinguished (H.P.)

Chapter 47: Poisoned Heartbreak

oOo

Saying that Draco and Veronica got along was a bit of an overstatement. But they tolerated each other's company. 

And although he would never admit it, Draco was actually comforted by the presence of someone else. Someone who wouldn't judge, nor ask any intruding questions they knew he wasn't going to answer. 

That's the role Veronica played. She returned to the room of requirement the day after their confrontation, and just sat there for a while watching as Draco struggled with some cabinet. She brought a book with her to read but never got around to actually opening it, her eyes trailing after the boy the whole time trying to understand what he was doing. 

It all seemed calm and quiet, the two rarely speaking except for Veronica greeting Draco and exchanging pleasantries at the beginning of the night.  

Before she knew it, the evening had flown by, and it was well after midnight when Draco shrugged on his black blazer over his shirt and told her they should be leaving. 

He seemed to already have a schedule in place for the entire process, alerting her subconscious that he'd obviously been doing this for a while without anyone noticing. Veronica followed him to the door inquisitively. 

"How do you sneak around every night without ever getting detention?" she questions, not really understanding the Slytherin's actions, but in reality not trying to. 

Draco glanced back at her with a smug look in his eyes. "Professor Snape lets me off if I get caught," he answers, shocking her as she tries to imagine the Head of Slytherin being nice to anyone. 

"Perks of him being a family friend. He wouldn't want to upset my father," he explains after she didn't reply, her face not being able to hide her curious expression. 

She shrugged, slightly impressed, silently wishing she had those sorts of connections around the school. 

She thanked him quietly as he held the door to the room of requirement open for her, as she wondered in her head if she could visit Harry. Knowing her boyfriend he was probably still awake anyway, despite the time of night. 

The Slytherin barely noticed the girl glancing down the hallway in the direction of the Gryffindor common room as he took off down the hallway, encouraging her to follow him. 

She pushed away from the nagging feeling in her head drawing her to Harry's dorm and wandered after Draco, confident that everything was okay for her other friends. 

oOo

Veronica woke up dreadfully late the next morning and was rushing around the dorm ignoring all conversations around her. 

It was only when she heard certain names of her close friends being whispered across the room did she pause and turn back to face her roommates. 

"What did you just say?" she asked cautiously, trying to wrap her head around the information as the fear and panic slowly sinks in. 

"Ron Weasley is in the Hospital Wing, apparently," Susan informed her, watching the girl with pressing eyes. The rest of the girls were watching Veronica, interested in her reaction due to the girl's connection to the Gryffindor. 

Hannah stepped forward and placed her hand on the frozen Veronica's arm, rubbing it sympathetically. "It seemed quite serious, his parents and brothers were seen earlier this morning," she whispered softly into her ear. 

Veronica leaned into the comforting embrace, not completely registering what was just said. At that moment, she was grateful for Hannah's kindness and friendship even if they didn't spend much time together.