Undistinguished (H.P.)

Chapter 45: Conspiring

oOo

In the week following their strange midnight encounter, Malfoy had ignored Veronica's existence and pretending he had never even seen the girl as anything except an acquaintance of the boy he hated most. She quickly caught on to what he was doing after he blatantly made eye contact with her in the Great Hall, before turning his head away as soon as she smiled politely in greeting. 

In previous years, it would've been weird for Malfoy to avoid Harry and his group of friends, as he usually took any chance he could to poke fun and bully them. However, over the course of their sixth year, Veronica has noticed Malfoy's sudden disinterest in the Gryffindors but she never thought too much of it. 

After that night, of course, she realised there was more to Malfoy than she first thought. The fear and terror in his eyes reminded her of the vision she had over the summer, in which the blond boy seemed to be face to face with You-Know-Who, and had a similar look on his face then as well. 

It made her entirely too curious, and although on the outside she decided to play along and appear to have forgotten about the boy's mysterious behaviour, her eyes were always discreetly following him around the room and looking out for him in every corridor and classroom. 

Harry's suspicions of Malfoy were not diminishing either but seemed to be placed to one side as Dumbledore filled the boy's thoughts with Slughorn and the secrets that the professor was keeping. 

He had told her, Ron and Hermione about the task he had been given by the Headmaster, to retrieve a memory from Slughorn that had been previously modified, and that it was crucial for the understanding and development of their fight against You-Know-Who. Other than that, he left it quite vague as to exactly what was so important about it - but Veronica knew and trusted that he would tell them eventually. 

oOo

Harry's newfound potion skills were certainly helping him stay on their Professor's good side, much to Hermione's annoyance, but the muggleborn knew there was only so much help it could give him before he would be caught out. 

In their most recent lesson, Slughorn has asked them to prepare as many antidotes to common poisons as possible - and Veronica found herself and most others struggling with the task. Even Harry, who was frantically scanning the textbook in front of him, was unable to find many recipes to assist him.  

With the sweat dripping down her face, she knew she must've looked like a right state after spending over an hour bent over a steaming cauldron. Unfortunately, she had barely even managed one antidote, and even that was poorly made with steady black steam rising from the surface, causing her and the others around her quite a bit of concern. 

Hermione was currently frowning at the liquid in Veronica's cauldron, seeming taking a break from looking at Harry smugly while he searched for something to help him in the infamous book. Unlike Veronica, the girl had an impressive amount of vials in front of her, showing off the immense talent everyone that already knew she had. 

Slughorn's booming voice echoed around the room, informing everyone that their time was up. He strolled around, nodding towards some peoples attempts, occasionally letting them know where they went wrong or what else they could've done to improve. It was times like this that made Veronica step back and acknowledge that Slughorn was actually an amazing teacher, and instead of scolding the students and making them feel bad, he gave them helpful tips and encouraging words. 

He finally made his way to their table, merely shaking his head at Veronica and Ron's attempts, patting her on the shoulder as he passed her, only to stop dead in his tracks. 

There Harry stood, after taking off to the resources table near the front of the room, now back next to his mess of a cauldron, holding out his hand with a small, roughly cut unassuming stone resting in his palm. The cute innocent grin on his face made Veronica smile, and the loud laugh Slughorn gave attracted the attention of the rest of the room. 

"Oh, Harry. How incredible cheeky of you. You remind me so much of Lily sometimes." He then turned to address the rest of the class who was extremely confused, just like Veronica. 

"A Bezoar stone, found in the stomach of a goat, most commonly used as an antidote for many poisons. Just shove it into the mouth of the victim and it will take an almost immediate effect!" He exclaimed, proudly staring at Harry, while using his hands in excited yet vicious gestures. "Your quick wit astounds me m'boy. You're lucky I have a sense of humour!" 

Slughorn strides back to his desk to pick up the Liquid Luck that everyone was competing for and plops it into Harry's hand. "Don't try this on any other professor, I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate it as much as I did, but nevertheless congratulations Harry!"

There was a feeling of disappointment around the room as people began packing up their things. Veronica gave Harry a quick kiss on the cheek and noticed behind them Draco giving Harry the dirtiest glare, whilst sneaking glances at the vial that was still grasped in Harry's hands. 

"You can go ahead, I'm going to talk to Slughorn," Harry informed his friends, and so with a parting wave, they took off to the Great Hall for lunch. 

As they walked through the Entrance Hall, Veronica droned out the conversation taking place between the Gryffindors and looked around. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Malfoy take off up the stairs, which she found quite peculiar.  

"Ronnie?" Hermione's voice broke her from the trance she was in and made her look towards the girl in question. Slightly ahead Lavender had caught up to Ron and was giggling while dragging him to sit with her. With only a quick look, Veronica could see the hurt in Hermione's eyes and pity took over her brain, pushing any thoughts of Malfoy away. 

For the rest of lunch, Veronica was sat with Hermione, trying to distract her from the happy couple up ahead until Harry returned. The boy was downcast and seemed quite upset about something, so as her head was resting on Hermione's shoulder, her hand was in Harry's rubbing it with her thumb comfortingly.

oOo

"Destination, Determination and Deliberation!" the words echoed around the room as a bunch of sleepy teenagers blinked at the short stumpy man pacing the length of the Great Hall. 

Veronica was focusing on the hoop a few feet away from her, drowning out the voice of Mr Twycross, who was visiting from the Ministry especially to teach the students who were almost 17, how to apparate. 

It was supposed to be a landmark in their wizarding lives, as they all come of age, the excitement of officially being able to perform magic should be bouncing around the room. But for a few of them, including Veronica, a Saturday morning was far too early for any type of lesson. 

She was yawning and rubbing the side of her face as Harry, who was right beside her as always, was whispering to the others about Malfoy. 

Veronica was getting sick of hearing Harry talk about him. Whenever they were together Harry always seemed to be either reading that potions book of his or coming up with ideas as to whatever Malfoy is apparently conspiring. 

That's why she decided to stay where she was after Harry moved closer to the Slytherin's, tired enough already and not in the mood to eavesdrop on the mysterious boy who popped up in her thoughts more than she would care to admit to anyone else. 

The visions she had before Christmas were still at the forefront of her mind, and if Dumbledore was never around to listen to her then perhaps she should take matters into her own hands. 

oOo