I am sitting here at a table in my room. The room is very dimly lit by candle light even though we have electricity I still don't like the idea of a lamp I suppose I am stuck in my gypsy ways. I am looking at my husband he is asleep. I look at him and still see the youthful boy I fell in love with. I cannot see his aged face or his grey hair. I can only see our love and where it began. It was He who encouraged me to write this book. To take bits and pieces of my journal entries and tell you all the inside story of my life. What many of you have been longing for since the awful day I discovered my true identity. I must tell you, however, it is not that exciting. However, it is an emotional book. This book is a love story, a story of death and loss, of betrayal and fame. This is a true story of one girl and her journey through most of her life. It will begin where I believe I began. Before my sixteenth birthday I did not really live. I was just the Princess of Bulgaria so I will begin where I made the change. I will begin with the awful event that turned my life around forever. This book begins in tragedy and I am afraid ends in tragedy.

So here it is my story: Slytherin Princess.

Enjoy,

Verina

It was a lovely day in Norway; the sun was finally shining and the weather wasn't frigid.

The halls of Durmstrang were buzzing as students began to pack to get ready to go home for the summer holiday.

Goodbyes were being said and tears for some were being shed, as it was there last time to walk these halls and be a student at this academy.

One girl, however; had to take a break from her packing, not that she did much packing of her own anyways.

Her house elf did most of it, but she found it appropriate to delegate in-between end of the year festivities.

She always found the end of the year was her busiest time of the year. Not only was she taking exams, and preparing to go back to Bulgaria, but she was also invited to every party being held. People seemed to feel obligated to invite her to things because she was the minister's granddaughter, and she always had a problem with saying no. Now; however, she left her house elf to do her packing and was headed to the head masters office to arrange her travel back home. She walked along the narrow dimly lit hallway that had become so familiar to her. Two hands on either side of her rib cage made her jump she spun around and smiled. "You shouldn't sneak up on me, Lev. You know better."

He laughed and pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead (the extent of their physical affection).

"How could I forget you would have your guards here in seconds, or even worse use your gypsy magic to kill me?" he said picking her up and spinning her around.

She leaned into his chest and smelled his familiar smell of musk and broom polish. "What's wrong? Are you still sad about this summer? Verina, I told you I will visit you in England." He said laughing lifting her chin.

She shook looked into his chocolate brown eyes so full of love for her that she was afraid she could never reciprocate. He was almost three years older than her and had just graduated. She still had to finish up her last year. They met at a Quidditch game after party. She was there making an appearance with her mother, the ex- seeker of the Bulgarian and Holyhead Harpies' Quidditch teams.

It was there that she was introduced to the keeper Lev Zograf. She recognized him from school instantly, of course she had seen him at parties and things. He asked her to dance, and they rest as "they" say is history.

They weren't officially dating because that was not allowed in Verina's world, but everyone knew they would one day get married. She suspected he had even spoken with her grandfather. She knew he loved her a great deal and she knew that love would come for her too. It seemed like they were meant to be. He was handsome, rich, famous, a pureblood, and he was her best friend. The Bulgarian world loved them. It was romantic that the Minister's granddaughter and the Quidditch queen her self's daughter was dating a self made man of fame.

Two famous people in famous love- the media loved it. So she stayed where she was. It was not like she didn't love him too just in a best friend sort of fashion. She traced her finger across his angled jaw and shook her head. "Your one of my best friends, of course I am sad."

He smiled "Once we're married you will think back fondly of the time we spent apart." in true Lev fashion he said things like this making her extremely jittery. A young marriage to Lev was definitely in her cards she knew and there was no stopping or denying it.

" Now why are you headed to Karkaroff's office? Is there another influential person here who needs to meet the famous Verina Obolensky in order to donate?" Verina rolled her eyes and turned on her heel and began to walk away. He grabbed her hand.

" I am only teasing." She looked up at him and sighed. "My grandfather wants me home immediately he sent some owl saying I needed to be home for something! You know the works of Bulgarian royalty, I need to go arrange my port key for the morning. No doubt he is having a press conference that is the only time my face is needed."

She did not travel with the other students because of security purposes. They all left by boat, she however, had to take a port key straight home or straight to her grandfather's office. Not that anyone knew where Durmstrang was located, but it was not every day you had such a profile student. Verina's family was incredibly famous. Her grandfather of course being the minister for magic, her mother was not only the ex-seeker of the Bulgarian Quidditch team but she had also went to Durmstrang and was their first female student to ever compete in and win the Tri-Wizard tournament, and Verina's grandmother was a gypsy from Romania her parents had sent her to Durmstrang to better herself and get an education. She left her gypsy ways and began attending school at eleven. Her passion was healing and it there she discovered how to learn. She went back to Romania only to discover many different ways to heal wounds inflicted by Dragons and was rather well known for that. She met her husband as he was travelling through Romania and they fell in love.

Verina, unlike her family, wasn't all that important but she was a good tool to get to her family.

Igor Karkaroff had always taken extra measures to ensure her safety.

"Well my little Bulgarian Princess we only have one night together I don't want you to spend it in Karkaroff's office arranging port keys." He whispered in her ear his breath tickling her neck. She giggled and allowed him to push her against the wall. His nose rubbed hers and she put his hands on his chest

" Lev, we need to go Karkaroff is waiting and besides what if someone sees us so close?" she said nervous about how incredibly close he was. He had tried a few times to get more physical than she knew proper and she had always been the one to stop him. It wasn't that she didn't love him she just knew better. He winked "Then they'll know to go the other way." She wiggled out of his hold and he followed her once again to the office... this time they made it. Karkaroff welcomed them in gladly.

" My favorite duo please come in." he said laughing and Lev strutted in the office.

"Headmaster, will you be sad to see my gone?" the young man asked pulling out a chair for the young lady with him and then sitting next to her.

Igor eyes sort of twinkled, he was very dedicated to his students. " I always hate to lose a Bulgarian."

Verina laughed a pure sort of sing song like laugh. " It is a shame."she said " I am rather fond of them myself." this was the sort of thing Verina was expected to say because of who her grandfather was. Not that she minded she had a certain love for Bulgaria that no one could understand.

"She says that even though she's half English." Lev said winking and squeezing Verina's hand. Yes, she had been mocked for this many times, but all of the students. She couldn't be the true "Bulgarian Princess" as everyone endearingly called her if she was half English. Verina never pointed out her grandfather was half Russian. She didn't want to point out to them that she was more English than anything else.

"We forgive her. We must, her grandfather being so important, and her mother being a champion and all it's a shame though her father isn't more Scandinavian." Verina was used to this sort of teasing. She just smiled playfully. " Careful gentlemen I may have to tell grandfather."

Igor laughed. " We wouldn't want that now would we? So about your port key you are actually flooing straight to your home. Your grandfather is having security sent over."

" Must be really important than. I wonder what the English have done now?" She said seriously. "It's the only reason Grandfather ever holds a large press conference. We all know nothing bad happens in Bulgaria."

"Leave it to the English." Lev said and Igor nodded his agreement.

"Yes, well as I hear it's pretty bad, but no use worrying about that tonight. It being your last night of school. Those things will work themselves out in the morning. Go have fun." He said and urged them out of the office.

Verina walked into her room at curfew and saw her three roommates on their beds in their pajamas jabbering away. She had had the same ones since she began school when she was eleven. They were a year behind her but they still managed to get along well. They weren't in any fashion her best friends but they were friends none the less. They shared a lot and knew each other very well. She walked into her room and sat on the edge of the bed. The three girls looked up at her and giggled she knew they wanted to know all about Lev.

"Nothing happened." She said throwing a pillow at them. They giggled even harder.

" Oh come on he is leaving school and you still didn't kiss him." Kalina said

Verina shook her head. "No, and I won't because I am not even allowed to date yet. You know I have not yet been presented Such impropriety will not be tolerated especially by my grandfather."

They all sighed. "We know."

Durmstrang was a school full of pureblood's that adhered to certain traditions and standards maintained by pure blood magical families. Things such as society debuting, courting, propriety and some families even believed in arranged marriages. So that sort of talk was not unusual for them.

"What the minister does not know won't hurt him and I would definitely be kissing Mr. Bulgarian Keeper all day if I could." Penka said teasingly

Verina covered her face with a pillow. " He is rather handsome isn't he?"

The girls giggled. "A bit yes."

Verina was not one to giggle or find much enjoyment out of their girlish talks but tonight she was feeling especially jittery. An owl flew to the window as usual around this time of night and Verina went to retrieve it.

"You would think she would relent just one day, but no. It never fails the girl writes every day."

"That's what a best friend is good for, Kalina maybe if you made real friends you would know." Verina said causing her favorite roommate,Emilya , to laugh and opened the letter.

She and her cousin Briony had always written letters every day. Briony was her true best friend. Verina read over it every night before bed with delight. She loved to read about Briony's day in vivid detail, and to experience Hogwarts with her was a pleasure.

The two were cousins three times removed. Her grandfather was Briony's grandfather's brother. They spent every summer together since they were born and had only grown closer over the last fifteen years of Verina's life and now as they were both starting to be debuted they needed each other more than ever. The letter was longer than usual because Briony told of her O.W.L.'s a test English students took in their 5th year. Last year Verina had taken the same test just with a different spin. She was now a full N.E.W.T. student entering into her seventh and final year at Durmstrang Academy. Verina would be the first ever magical student to graduate at just 16 years of age. She came to school on time like everyone else did but mastered her first year in a matter of days. She was too advanced to be sitting in first year level courses and the head master had no choice but to officially make her a second year at the age of eleven. They allowed her to stay in her room however because she had already grown close to Penka, Kalina and Emiliya especially Emiliya. Verina unfolded the letter and began to read.

Dear Verina,

I must inform of rather awful news. Your mother is probably waiting to tell you, but I just can't make you wait. Tonight after our O.W.L's (which went smashingly by the way) there was an attack on our ministry you-know-who is back and he of course drug your cousins with him. They went into the ministry looking for something when Potter and his goons showed up. They were outnumbered barely anyone escaped. Lucius and my father are both in jail. Your godfather is here pacing disagreeing with me as I send this letter you know how nosy he is. Draco is pretty upset- wait, he says not to tell you that, and he said not to tell you that either. Anyways Verina, it's serious now. They're calling Potter the chosen one... something about a prophecy. I have no idea. Any ways, Verina there is something I also must tell you. Your Uncle Sirius he was at the ministry tonight, Verina he has fallen. I am so sorry I know he was the closest thing to your father you had left. Severus said your trip to England would no doubt be postponed so I don't know when I will see you. Until then, my love.

Briony

Verina had gown pale. Emiliya had come to her side and was rubbing her back. Verina put her head in her hands. Her cousins Lucius and Dmitri Jr. were now in Azkaban prison. The dark lord had indeed returned and her Uncle Sirius was dead. She had no idea what happened next but as she looked into the future she knew it was not good.