The crowded room was buzzing with student's laughter, and Verina was one of them. The frothy top of her butter beer had gotten on her nose, and with as she giggled Draco wiped it off.
"I am telling you" she continued her previous conversation " There isn't a decent cottage in all of Hogesmeade." she said shaking her head. " I may as well as just live in a box."
"Such a snob you are." Blaise said laughing " and here I thought you were the good one, Verina. Our little humanitarian angel."
"She has never lived anywhere that has less than 20 bed chambers. Of course she is choosey. I would be choosey. "
" I liked the last one we looked at." Draco said " It was nice, and cozy."
"How quaint." Blaise said with a snarling laugh.
"It had a leaky roof."
" I said we could fix the roof, Verina."
"It had green walls."
" I said we could paint the walls, Verina."
Briony laughed " You just want her close."
Verina rolled her eyes. " If I buy that cottage, Draco we're stuck with it well into our marriage, and that is not where we are living after the wedding."
"I know where we are living after the wedding, Verina Obolensky."
"The manor." "The beach house." they said at the same time and Verina laughed.
" I am not going to live in your mother's house as a married woman, I refuse."
" Verina, I am the man of that house."
"Not for long." Verina said matter of factly " I have already spoken with Father about that and he said he would work on it, Draco. We are not going to start our married lives with your mother breathing down my neck and your father driving you insane. Tinworth is a quaint little town, and we already own the beach house."
"You own the beach house, Verina."
Verina sighed " Please tell me that is not the reason."
"It is." he said bluntly and she shook her head. "You're ridiculous."
" Speaking of beach house." Briony said " You could always live there after graduation."
"I could, but I would be alone, and it's far from Draco."
"True." she said " You were born in that house."
"I know." Verina said a little puzzled.
"It would be sweet if your children were born there too. It would mean a lot to you having that connection with your mum."
Verina caught on and immediately changed her demeanor. " Yes, yes it would." she said and a tear dripped down her cheek.
She heard a heavy sigh. " If it really means that much to you we can live in the beach house, but only if you buy that cottage we saw."
Verina paused for a moment and looked at Briony who gave her a nod.
"Well, if it means that much to you." Verina said and kissed Draco on the cheek.
He smiled. " It does."
"Good. Well, listen I have to get back to the castle I promised Madame Pomfrey I would help hold detention for some first years. They're helping me reorganize some shelves in the supply closet." she said standing up and put her coat on kissing Draco on the cheek she waved goodbye to everyone, and walked towards the door. She saw Charlie Weasley sitting at a table with the Weasley twins, and their older brother Bill. She walked over with a smile, and a wave. " Hello gentlemen!" she said kindly.
Charlie smiled. " Verina." he said kindly "enjoying your day off."
Verina smiled " Yes, I am. This little village is positively darling. I was just looking to buy a cottage actually, and they're all very quaint." she said lying through her pearly teeth.
"I heard that rumor." Bill said " Your Uncle said you were trying to stay close to Hogwarts."
"I am." she said smiling, but it faltered when he said
"To be close to that fiance of yours." in a tone not meant to be aimed at her, but to the person sitting next to him.
Verina's stomach faltered, but her stomach remained the same. " I am not engaged to anyone."
"No?" Fred Weasley said " But the Prophet seems to think."
"Surely, Mr. Weasley being so close to Mr. Potter would have taught you to never believe everything you read. I am not saying Draco and I aren't soon to be engaged, but that we're not right now. We're only 16, and that's awfully young to be planning a wedding."
"Isn't that what your people do?" Bill said "After all you were 15 and engaged to Lev Zograf I spoke with him and he said you were wedding was planned to be this coming August actually. Surely if your aim is to marry well not much would change that. Death, yes, but you have obviously moved on to better pure bloods."
"Excuse me." Verina said burning tears in her eyes. " I must be going, gentlemen. I have to help Madame Pomfrey." she said and walked away briskly.
She got out of the pub before she started to cry, and Briony caught up with her.
"Verina! Verina! What happened?"
Verina wiped her eyes and sighed. " One of the Weasley boys said some very unkind things."
"I see." she said " Well, stay away from them. They don't understand our world. They aren't apart of it anymore. Come on let's go back to the castle."
Together they walked towards the castle. Verina saw three familiar figures walking ahead of them. " Look it's the golden trio." Briony said.
But Verina wasn't concerned after that. Instead she was concerned with the scene playing out ahead of them. She heard a scream and saw a girl fly in the air, but what she felt was an evil she never wanted to feel again.
She let go of Briony's arm and ran towards the fallen figure. " No one, and I mean no one touch her or whatever object she has in her hand. Understand me? Someone go and warn Madame Pomfrey that I am coming with a 7th year female who has been cursed and send for Professor Snape. Now!" she said and with her wand lifted the object, a necklace, into a paper sack. She had seen the necklace before she couldn't place it, but she had. She flipped the girl over, and noticed she was barely breathing. She checked her pulse, and it was faint. " I need to get her to the hospital wing." she said and a big burly figure approached her and lifted the girl into his arms. " Quickly, Mr. Hagrid." she said " I am going to stay right by her side, alright?"
And together the two walked quickly to the castle. She listened closely to her patient and paid attention to her surroundings at the same time.
She didn't know how the girl had obtained a severely cursed necklace, but she knew one thing was for certain, it wasn't meant for the innocent young girl now hanging onto her life.
