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Over the next few days, Veronica stayed in the Hospital Wing under Madame Pomfrey's orders as she believed all the girl needed was some well-deserved rest in a peaceful environment. Little did she know at the time that the Hospital Wing was the least peaceful of places after the events that took place after the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament.
The first thing Veronica heard when she woke up the next morning, her body aching from the strenuous activity and mental stress placed on her yesterday, was the stern voice of Professor Dumbledore as he faced off with Cornelius Fudge - the Minister of Magic. She missed the beginning of the argument but it was something about Dementors and Barty Crouch.
Veronica was half convinced she was still asleep and was having another horrible dream listening to this conversation because she'd never heard Dumbledore so furious and she swore she heard him claim that He Who Must Not Be Named had returned.
Once the shouting had ceased, she sat up in bed, groaning in pain. This caught the attention of someone who was a few beds down. Harry had identified the girl as soon as he'd been brought into the Hospital Wing by Sirius and Dumbledore, and the moment he saw her he remembered her warning to him before he entered the maze.
He realised that there was more to the shy Hufflepuff girl than he'd first thought, and if he thought he was curious about her before, it had nothing compared to how he felt now.
The Boy Who Lived wasn't the only one to notice the girl was finally awake, Dumbledore had also seen her sit up and once she'd made eye contact with her Headmaster, she knew they were going to have to have a serious talk.
Dumbledore wanders over to Veronica's bed, a concerned glimmer in his old tired eyes as he spoke with an inquisitive tone "Good Morning, Miss Green. How are you feeling today?". Her answer was given after she narrowed her bloodshot eyes and let out a cough wincing at the soreness in the back of her throat.
Dumbledore nodded and carried on "Now, I've been informed that you had apparent foreknowledge of the events that took place last night, am I correct in that assumption, Miss Green?" all she offered back was a shrug as she wasn't completely sure what had happened and what hadn't.
"Ah yes, perhaps it would be best if I were to fill in the gaps for you. But first I need to know what it was that made you so panicked, yes?" the wise old man looked deep into her eyes, but couldn't seem to read her easily like he could with other students.
The eye contact was so intense that Veronica had to look away, and stared at her hands resting in her lap. She spoke quietly, her voice raspy and she muttered: "I had a dream that Harry was in danger.".
Everyone's eyes were on her as she described what she'd seen in her dream, and once she'd finished the silence was deadly. She peeped through the hair that was framing her face and looked directly at Harry, who returned her stare.
Veronica hadn't realised she'd started crying until her vision started blurring, and by that point, she was smothered by the ginger woman previously standing next to Harry's bed, who was now hugging her tightly and stroking her tangled brown hair.
The woman, who introduced herself as Mrs Weasley, had a nice calming motherly presence and managed to soothe Veronica, who was beginning to hyperventilate before she'd stepped in.
Harry watched silently, secretly wishing he could be the one wrapping his arms around her in comfort. He thought back to Veronica's actions the night before and hoped he never saw the girl in that much distress ever again.
The next hour was extremely difficult, as Dumbledore informed Veronica that what she saw wasn't just a dream, but reality and that loud, pale, snake-like man that she'd seen was Lord Voldemort. She cried once again after Cedric's death was brought to her attention but was stiff in shock when she learned that Professor Moody was actually an escaped Death Eater and he'd arranged the entire thing.
Dumbledore told her there was much more to divulge, but she wasn't ready as of yet and so her and Madame Pomfrey was asked to leave the room. They took this opportunity to clean Veronica and give her a calming draught and once she'd returned she fell asleep, not knowing that as she rested, the Order of Phoenix was being reinstated and that her life was going to change.
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Harry and Veronica spend the next few days in the Hospital Wing, sharing their grief over the death of Cedric and both taking comfort in the fact that they were not alone as they recovered from their respective traumatic experiences. Harry was glad he wasn't the only one who had seen Voldemort return, even if Veronica had only dreamt about the ordeal.
There are occasions when Ron and Hermione visit Harry in the Hospital Wing, but he doesn't fill them in immediately on why the Hufflepuff girl is there, despite the numerous questioning glances they give him.
They had told him privately, however, that people had seen Veronica's meltdown before the Third Task and there were some nasty rumours being spread about the girl regarding her mental health and sanity.
This angered the boy more than anything, even more than what people had begun saying about him since he'd come back shouting about Voldemort's return, which is why he kept an eye on Veronica throughout the End-of-Term feast, especially once Cedric's memorial was mentioned as he knew how fragile the girl still was.
He was so worried about Veronica that he barely batted an eyelid at those around him who stared at him once Dumbledore mentioned what happened in the graveyard, informing the school of Voldemort's return.
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On the Hogwarts Express, Veronica was honoured to have been asked to sit with the Golden Trio but felt that she was intruding slightly on the friends' limited time together and so politely declined the offer and, after bidding Harry farewell, went to find a compartment of her own.
As the train pulled into the station, Veronica sighed blissfully, happy that her fourth year at Hogwarts was over and she could finally rest back in the comfort of her own home and hoped next year would go a lot smoother.
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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...
