Around seven a.m., Veronica woke up with a start, out of breath and drenched in sweat. It wasn't real. She was in bed at the Leaky Cauldron, not listening to the sound of her Uncle James body hitting the floor outside her childhood bedroom for the eight millionth time. She looked over to see Harry sleeping peacefully in his bed. She was thankful for that at least. Knowing there was no way she could fall back asleep, Veronica decided to take a bath and get ready for the day. An hour and a half later, she was ready for the day, but didn't want to leave until Harry was awake. She decided that while she was waiting, she would read one of the muggle books that she had packed away. It was a book of poetry and sonnets by William Shakespeare that she had recieved from Lily on her fifth birthday, and it was one of her prized possessions. As a child, she and Harry would curl up as she read to him. Moments like that always kept her going when they were stuck in the house, locked away in their tiny shared bedroom. She sat on her bed and read for about an hour and a half before Harry woke up, rolling over to see a dim light shinig from Veronica's wand, her book in her free hand.

"Good morning." He said sleepily.

She turned to look at him, smiling warmly. "Good morning. As soon as you get ready, we can go get some breakfast."

Harry nodded, hopping out of bed and gathering what he needed to get ready. Before long, he emerged from the bathroom, ready to go.

"Breakfast?" He asked.

She nodded and stood, stretching her limbs. As they emerged, something small and fast dashed by their feet. Looking, they spied a rather ragged-looking rat, pursued by a fluffy orange cat.

Downstairs, two familiar voices rang out.

"I'm warning you, Hermione! Keep that bloody beast of yours away from Scabbers or I'll turn it into a tea cozy." Ron said.

"He's a cat, Ronald! What do you expect? It's in his nature." Hermione's angry voice retorted.

As Harry and Veronica reached the bottom of the steps, they found Ron protectively cradling Scabbers, while Hermione did her best to restrain a hissing Crookshanks.

"A cat! Is that what they told you? Looks more like a pig with hair if you ask me."

"That's rich coming from the owner of that smelly old shoe brush. It's all right, Crookshanks. You just ignore the mean little boy..."

Both of them, sensing another presence in the room, turned to see their friend.

"Harry. Veronica. " They both said excitedly.

"Hello." Harry replied excitedly.

"Ron. Hermione. Its a pleasure, as always." Veronica said with a smile. The two yound wizards ran forwards and hugged the cousins, careful not to squish their pets. "Come on, let's get some food. I'm starved."

Upon getting a plate of food, they all sat at a table where Ron pulled out a folded clipping from The Daily Prophet. The headline screamed: "GRAND PRIZE WINNER VISITS EGYPT!". The photo beneath showed the entire Weasley family standing before the Great Pyramids, waving. Smack in the middle stood Ron, Scabbers perched on his shoulder. As he smoothed the dog-eared clipping onto the table, Harry studied it. Hermione ignored it, stroking Crookshanks.

"Egypt! What's it like?" Harry asked excitedly.

"Brilliant. It's got loads of old stuff. Mummies. Death masks.Tombs --" Ron rambled.

"You know, the ancient Egyptians of the Nile River delta worshipped the cat goddess Bast." Hermione cut in

Ron glared stonily at Hermione, then turned back to Harry.

"I also got a new wand."

Just then, the rest of the Weasleys -- Percy, Fred, George, Ginny, Arthur, and Molly -- arrived laden with purchases from Diagon Alley.

"Not flashing that clipping about again, are you, Ron?" George laughed.

"I haven't shown anyone!" Ron argued.

"No, not a soul. Unless you count Tom. The day maid. The night maid. The cook. The bloke that came to fix the toilet. That wizard from Belgium..."

Veronica laughed at George's words, earning a grin from both twins. She stood when she saw Mrs. Weasley take Harry's face in her hands, smiling as if relieved to see him.

"It's good to see you, Harry." The woman said brightly.

"Good to see you too, Mrs. Weasley." He responded.

"Harry. I wonder if I might have a word." Arthur said, a bit tense.

"Of course, Mr. Weasley."

As Mr. Weasley pulled Harry away, the others continued to hover over the clipping and converse.

Mrs. Weasley turned to Veronica with a large smile. "Hello, darling! How are you?"

"I'm quite alright." She said, hugging the woman tightly. "Fudge informed me that you all picked out my new clothing and robes. Thank you so much."

"Oh, not a problem, darling. Actually, the twins, Ginny, and Hermione had the biggest part in choosing everything." She admitted.

"Well, thank you for getting everything. I really appreciate everything you do for myself and Harry. You're basically our family. I can't thank you enough."

Mrs. Weasley smiled tearfully and pat the girl's cheek. "We love you both. Now, sit. Relax! Tomorrow you start your first day as a professor at Hogwarts!"

Veronica sat back down and smiled at the teenagers surrounding her.

"So do we have to call you professor, now?" Fred asked, looking up at the older girl.

Percy looked appalled at the question. "Of course you do! She is, after all, an assistant professor. You have to address her with the same respect as our other professors."

Veronica rolled her eyes, but shook her head. "No, Freddie, you don't. Actually, the first time you call me 'mam', I'm likely to hex you." She laughed.

"Noted." The twins said together.

"George's nose looks positively massive in that photograph." Fred said, looking back down at the picture.

"That's your nose, Fred." Ginny laughed.

"Bloody hell. 'Tis, isn't it? Take after your side of the family, don't I, Mum?"

Everyone laughed, including Molly. When Harry sat back down between Veronica and Ron, he smiled at his cousin.

"Everything alright?" She asked.

"Yeah. Yeah it's okay." He replied.

She smiled back and gave him a side hug. They were going home, of course everything would be alright.