ACT ONE: the goblet of fire
told by a girl
Chapter 1
You didn't even know her
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Summer was over and it saddened Veronica Black beyond imaginable.
The tears couldn't stop running down the doe eyed girls cheeks as she stood on platform 9 3/4, saying goodbye to her mother.
Her father, the infamous Sirius Black, couldn't be there alongside Veronica's mother Celine waving their daugther off. For according to the rest of the world Sirius Black was a murderer on the run. When in reality he was just a father who missed twelve years of his daugthers life.
Veronica was now starting her fourth year at Hogwarts.
"Do you have everything, sweetheart?" Celine, Veronica's mother asked as she dryed the girls tears away.
"I think so." Veronica said, fixing her curls slightly after the wind had messed them up.
But that wasn't the only reason she was fibbling with her hair, it was always something she did when she was anxious. And she was always anxious when she was going back to school.
Celine pulled her distressed daugther in for a hug, softly saying, "You'll be alright honey, it's going to be okay. This new school year could always surprise you."
"I don't know." Veronica said, looking at her cherry red boots, not so convinced by her mother's words.
"You'll see." The older brunette woman said with a reasuring smile on her mauve colored lips.
Veronica had tried to get there as early as possible in order to secure private seats for her and her best friend, Inez. Considering Inez was always running late it was up to Veronica.
The quite short girl made her way through the already quite crowded train, looking for a decent enough place.
Which she eventuelly found.
Her cat, Laurie who was a darling golden british shorthair had made himself comfortable after just minutes of being let out. The independent cat seemed to hate everyone but Veronica, and by extension Inez.
People stuck their heads in from time to time, looking for seats. But when they were meet by the dark brown eyes of Veronica - the daugther of an alleged serial killer, they went away.
It seemed to be the only perk of being Sirius Black's daugther.
And with the whole death eater incident at the world cup everything seemed worse.
But she told herself that it didn't matter what they thought of her or her family. Her family were essentially once considered royalty by the wizarding world, only to be treated like villians in later years.
How could it all get so messed up?
Inez seemed later than usual, which wasn't much of a surprise to Veronica. Inez seemed to age badly when it came to sticking to a certain time table. It just got worse in later years.
Though Inez missing the train wasn't a highly unlikley thing to happen since the sun ages you faster, Veronica really didn't want to sit all alone with no one but her cat to keep her company all the way to Hogwarts. It seemed a little bit to much of a feared future for her to be okay with.
The brunette didn't have a lot of friends. She was quite lonely, especially last year when her father was on the run from Azkaban. She had also made a new mortal enemy last year, the one and only - Harry Potter.
They had never really talked before but when poor Harry Potter found out that his godfather was Sirius Black. And was told that he was responsiable for his parents death he hated Veronica. He couldn't even stand being in the same room as her.
Veronica wasn't too fond him either but she never hated him. And the fact that he seemed to hate her that much made the sadness she felt everyday that year even more horrible. But it eventually faded to anger towards the raven haired boy, who had really overstepped and hurt the girl who was already sensitive.
What Veronica didn't know was that Harry had been plagued with guilt all summer long. It was the aftermath of how he treated a girl he didn't even know.
"Oh Veronica!" A voice called out in the hallway of the train. It was the high pitched voice of Inez Morgan.
Veronica slung the door open in order to call over her friend, "Oh Inez," Veronica's voice sang, turning heads around, one of them was the guiltfilled boy who lived. Their eyes meet but only for a second before brunette girl had a very forceful dark blonde girl pull her in for a hug.
"Merlin's beard I have missed you, Veronica!" Inez exclaimed happily.
"I have missed you too but Inez, I can't breathe." The smaller girl let out between choked breaths as Inez realessed her from her varm embrace.
"Who were you looking at before?" The dark blonde girl asked as the both sat down, ready to catch up about the happenings in their lives.
"Nobody," Veronica said, brushing Inez's question of with a smile, only intriguing the girls intrest.
"Well now you definitely have to tell me, it was not my replacement, was it?"
"No, of course not. It's not like I could ever get rid of you." The short girl joked.
"Ooh, so it was a boy!"
Veronica raised her eyebrows at Inez's realisation, not like her and Harry were anything like that, god forbid.
"It was just Harry Potter, he looked like he was about to cry." Veronica snickered.
It rubbed of on her friend too, "He better go cry, after how he treated you last year!"
"I guess," Veronica's sweet voice said while she looked out the window as the train started its journey to Hogwarts.
Inez was really pretty. With her shoulderlength dirty blonde bob and pale blue eyes and over all fair complexion she looked the opposite of her best friend, Veronica. Veronica's hair went a bit past her shoulders but crept up due to the luscious curls the doe eyed girl wore her hair in.
This particular train ride felt duller than usual. And it seemed to go by so much slower. Inez, who had apparently thought that pulling an all nighter the day before lay decked a half hour after the train left the station. Which was boring but understandable.
The girl rested her back against her window and her mind soon trailed of to the amazing summer she'd had. Their house out in the country seemed to be lit up in a totally different way with Sirius's presence. Her mother raidiated with happiness in a way Veronica never recalled before. She really hated that it was over.
Veronica, who was now scribbling down some notes and possible lyrics and bored out of her mind.
The candycart had been by earlier, people crowding around it. Two liquorice wands was all she managed to get her hands on before someone else was bugging the poor old candy lady with more orders.
Although the girl was bored she didn't want to leave her seat and face her peers. She planed to drag it out for as long as possible. A lot of the time Veronica was awfully lonely at school. Inez was a Hufflepuff and Veronica was a Gryffindor, which complicated their friendship. They were obviously still close friends, best friends in fact. But it could get lonely, especially in the commonroom where they weren't allowed to bring in friends from other houses. That didn't always stop them but Inez had a bad habit of sometimes going of on "side quests" with other friends from Hufflepuff and leave Veronica behind. It usually only lasted for a few weeks but it still stung.
Veronica Black had never been accepted as a Gryffindor, they had never seemed to consider her as one of their own.
She almost cried thinking about it.
They barely even knew her.
Pulling her out of her sea of thoughts was Harry Potter, who peaked his head in. His face turned white as a ghost the moment his bright green eyes landed on the doe eyed Veronica.
The girl raised her full eyebrows at the boy, as to say, what are you doing here?
"I erm- I was just- looking for better seats, um sorry."
"Well, I don't think you want to sit me so better keep looking." Veronica matter-of-factly said, although there was a humor to her tone, Harry sensed some hurt underneath.
He didn't know what to say to that. He couldn't just leave either. So the boy stood there, he thankfully moved his bright orbs away from her brown ones, looking over at Inez instead.
"I didn't know that you two were friends." Harry said, trying to make him standing there with a girl that looked at him with daggers less awkward.
"Such a shocker isn't it? That I have friends." Veronica sarcastically spoke.
"That's not what I menat!"
"Sure," Veronica said, flatly.
The awkward silence washed over them again. Harry had been lying when he said he was looking for better seats. The truth was that he wanted to ask the girl something, but he didn't know how to bring it up.
He had not only been plagued with guilt all summer but also by nightmares, nightmares of Voldemort and deatheaters. They had haunted him in his sleep all summer and he had no one to turn to. No one that could really help him.
He wanted to get in touch with Sirius but the only way of contacting him was through Veronica, who wasn't to fond of him.
Harry didn't know where Sirius was so he couldn't send his letter to him.
"Look, I know that you hate me but I need a favour." Harry said after the silence had lingered for too long.
Veronica raised her eyebrows at the audacity and almost let out a scoff, "Why of course! Anything for the boy who lived." She said, her sarcasam laid on thick.
"Nevermind," Harry said, regretting even asking as he turned around, ready to make his way back to his friends.
Everyone knew that Harry had had a rough life and that was obviously so horrible and he wasn't exactly a bad person or evil in any way but Veronica had a hard time excusing him taking out his anger on her last term.
But she had promised her father to look after his godson, since he didn't have any real parental figues in his life.
That was the only reason why Veronica said, "Harry, wait!"
"Yes?" He asked, turing back around and Veronica noticed he was holding a letter in his hand.
"What do you need?"
"I just need to get this letter to, you know," Harry said, holding up the letter and looking around to see if anyone was listening in on their conversation. "Your dad and I don't know how to get Hedwig to find him." Harry explained, looking down at his worn out shoes.
"Um, alright I can help you." Veronica sighed, seeing it more as a favour to her dad than to Harry.
"Thank you, I owe you." Harry gratefully said.
"You bet," Veronica playfully scoffed at the boy forgeting herself for just a second.
As Harry walked back to Ron and Hermione with instructions on how to get letters away to Sirius, the memory of Veronica's sweet face and dark curls replayed in his head.