Darkest Black
Chapter One
Early in the morning...
Veronica was awoken once again by the shrieking of her mother.
"UP YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SCUM! UP!" At the crack of dawn, as usual.
It was best not to argue with her.
Veronica almost jumped out of bed, rushed to the door, grabbed her dressing gown and rushed down the stairs, fighting her sleepiness. She had only just finished placing her dressing gown around herself, covering her black satin nightdress when she had reached the large dining room, her mother, and older sister, Isabella.
"Oh," her mother exclaimed, "You've finally decided to grace us with your presence." Veronica would have retaliated, but chose not to-she didn't want a massive red hand-print etched upon her face on the first day back at Hogwarts.
She loved Hogwarts, it was the furthest she could get away from he god damned, retched family.
When she had been sorted into Gryffindor, they had a fit. Why couldn't she be born into another family, a family who treated her as a person. She would have settled down to enjoy her breakfast, but an all to familiar snobby voice put her off.
"You can't eat," Isabella sneered, "you've got to get ready for Hogwarts." Veronica glared at her twenty year old sister. As she turned she heard that horrid voice of hers. "Maybe if you were granted Head Girl position like me, instead of that mud-blood, you may have been aloud a bit of egg." Veronica balled her fists.
How dare she insult Lily, her best friend. Lily had owled her, to tell her the good news. Regaining control, she headed back to her room to get ready. An hour later she stood in front of her mirror and examined her reflection.
She was dressed in a muggle t-shirt and jeans that showed off her curvy ,6 foot (apparently she got it off her father, which made her mother hate her more) body with trainers.
Her black hair fell naturally half-way down her back. Right in the middle of her chest was the Ravenbird Locket. Satisfied she looked muggle enough, she headed downstairs.
"Get going, girl!" Cried her mother, "I don't want to be stuck with you for another minute!"
Neither do I! Veronica thought angrily.
She truly hated her family. She stayed at Hogwarts for all of the holidays. Once in Forth Year, she had asked if she could stay during the summer holidays instead of going home. Obviously, they had said no, but she had good dreams imagining she could. She grabbed her trunk and Sybill, stepped onto the cobbled path of the perfectly trimmed garden, and Apparated just outside Kings Cross Station. No sooner had she Apparated there had someone ran their trolley into her.
"Oi, watch it!" Veronica snapped. She turned to see the perpetrators: Sirius-bloody-Black. And James-fricken'-Potter.
Fan-bloody-tastic! She hated Black. Literally hated him with a capital H.A.T.E.D. and a passion! Since First Year; he spread rumors that she had set fire to her home which caused her father to die in due to accidental magic. The whole school had become cautious around her (including the current DADA teacher Professor Newbie), with the exception of Lily Evans and Alice Prewitte. When she finally found out it was him, she had confronted him about the real reason her father had died…
oX FLASHBACK Xo
"BLACK!" She shrieked after charging into the boy's dormitories. She found four boys sitting on their four-poster beds.
"Why hello Ronnie," Black said calmly and in mock friendliness, while the utter idiot James frickin' Potter snickered over his shoulder. "What brings you here this fine evening?"
"Don't call me that Black," Veronica warned, "I am here regarding a certain rumor about a fire that killed my father-"
"But it's true!" Black interrupted, a smirk on his face, "it was in the prophet and everything!"
"You know for a fact that isn't true! Your father was good friends with mine, he attended the flipping funeral! Didn't he tell you about a certain Sherlock Ravenbird?" James sniggered at her father's name, but Veronica didn't notice. "No? Let me enlighten you.
"He was the best father ever, he never cared much for pure-blood supremacy, and he passed that trait onto me. One day, when I was five, he got into a heated argument with my god-damn mother. He shouted a few nasty insults at her and you know what she did? YOU KNOW WHAT SHE DID!" She dropped down till she was at eye-level with him. "She drowned him. That's right DROWNED HIM!" she bellowed into the four boys shocked faces.
"He lived long enough to give me, Veronica Cassandra Ravenbird, this" she showed them her locket, "The Ravenbird Locket-been in the family for centuries, it doesn't respond to even the most powerful summoning charm, is worth forty thousand gallons, and will only open if the beholder sings a verse of my favorite nursery rhyme."
James annoying voice came back, " A nursery rhyme?" he said, disbelievingly.
"I was FIVE James! Kookaburra was the only thing that would calm me down. Father put that charm on himself, the day before he died," She announced proudly.
"Kookaburra?" James asked.
"It's a muggle nursery rhyme." A sandy-haired boy explained.
"Hello," Veronica exclaimed, "I haven't argued with you yet, Veronica Ravenbird."
The boy seemed a little taken aback by this, "R-Remus Lupin."
"And I'm Peter." A chubby boy with watery eyes piped up.
"Well, it was nice to meet you Remus, Peter, and you, Black," Veronica pointed a finger at Black's frightened face "better not spread anymore rumors about me, or when you wake up you'll find your own prized jewels RIPPED OFF!" With her `death threat' over, she turned on her heel, and sped off to her own dorm, slamming the door as she left.
"Wow." The four boys chorused.
oX FLASHBACK Xo
OxxxxxENDxxxxxxO
"Black," Veronica said coldly, narrowing her eyes, "Potter."
"Veronica." They chorused together, equally as cold. They remained silent for a few more moments, before Black broke it with his overly large mouth! "Shall we get going then?" With that, they made their way to Platform 9 ¾.
"Ladies first," Potter insisted. Dragging her trunk behind her (she didn't have a trolley), Sybill under one arm and making sure no muggles were watching, Veronica made her way through the barrier. She sighed at the sight of the scarlet train, it would be the second-to last time she saw it. Moving out of the way so she didn't get run over by Black and James' trolleys, she made her way over towards said train, hoping to find a compartment. Eventually, she found a compartment with her best friend Alice inside.
"Hey Alice," she said, whilst putting her trunk away.
"Hi V," Alice replied, her cat Mittens resting on her lap. "How was your summer?"
"It was alright," Veronica lied, she hadn't told anyone about her abusive mother and insane sister. "What about you?"
"Oh it was wonderful" Alice exclaimed like her usual, cheery self, "Frank and I had our first compassionate moment!" Frank was Alice's boyfriend since two weeks into the summer. She had started crushing on him since Fifth Year. She kept staring at him during the lessons Hufflepuff and Gryffindor had together, and drawing (really bad) pictures of him. It was really quite pathetic.
"In other words, you finally snogged him?" Veronica stated, raising her eyebrows.
A blush crawled it's way up Alice's cheeks. "Yeah." she answered, looking away. Veronica gave a chuckle-she loved seeing Alice embarrassed. It was cute, in a friendly sort of way.
One thing she didn't like seeing, however, was a fuming Lily Evans. Unfortunately, that's what she got when the compartment door slid open. As she sat down on the right of Alice she let out a cry of frustration that if it was a little higher, only dogs would hear it. "Hello to you too," Alice said.
"Tell me Lily, what's got your knickers in a twist?" Veronica questioned.
"James-bloody-Potter is the new Head bloody Boy" The compartment fell silent. James Potter? As in the James Potter, marauder, practical joker and is completely in love with Lily Evans so much it's annoying? That James Potter? Surely not! "What?" was all Veronica could muster.
"Please don't make me repeat it, it hurts!" Lily begged.
"Lily," Alice began, "I can honestly say, from the deepest depths of my heart, that I feel sorry for you."
"You're about to feel a whole lot sorrier…" Veronica predicted, in a sing-song voice, after stealing a glance at who awaited outside the door.
"How come?" As if on cue, the compartment door opened to reveal the `brand new' Head Boy and his accomplice. For those of you who need that translated into `obvious', (i.e. people who have an IQ less than four) James Potter and Sirius Black. Oh no, please no, spare the torture!
"Alright Evans," James said, full of himself, as usual.
"Go away Potter," Lily retorted.
"Now Evans," James waggled his index finger at her, "don't talk to your new Head Boy like that, I haven't even asked you out yet!"
"I can talk to you however I like Potter, and I don't want you to ask me out again, and if you did ask me out again, the answer will be no, just like the other billion times you asked me out!" She stormed out of the compartment, whilst chanting "No, no, no, no…", James hot on her heels. Veronica burst out laughing, "that girl…is my idol!"
To her surprise, Sirius was also laughing, and Alice was giving a light chuckle. "That girl is funny when she's angry" Sirius stated five minutes later after they had calmed down a bit. As if on cue (again) there was a large shriek of "NO!", and the evil cackles started again.
"Do you think James will ever get Lily?" Sirius asked. He got two answers for the price of one.
"No," Alice said.
"Lily 'll ask James out!" Veronica voiced.
"How 'bout a bet? Twelve Gallons each way?"
"So the winner 'll get twenty-four?" Alice asked.
"Yup,"
"You're on!" Veronica accepted.
"Alice?"
"Best just give me my winnings now!"
Veronica chuckled, and glanced at Sirius. She never did appreciate how good-looking he was: his long, sleek black hair, his lustrous gray eyes, his tall, 6'4", strongly built body from Quiddich practice. No denying it-the boy was a God!
"Oh my word," Alice exclaimed, panicked, "it's the Apocalypse, hell has frozen over, pigs have mastered space flight and colonized Mars-"
"Wow, slow down Alice," Veronica interrupted her ramble, "what is it?"
"You two are acting civil, no, friendly towards each over!" Alice was right; It was the Apocalypse! Hell had frozen over! Pigs had mastered space-what-sit and done something-or-other. Veronica looked over at Sirius, with a look of horror on her face that matched his. They had hated each other since the day he had spread that stupid rumor, and yet, here they were, talking like old friends.
"I think you should go," Veronica said gingerly. As if on cue, (again, she thought, God must be on my side) a sudden yelp of pain came from a few compartments down, "OW! Evans that hurt!"
"That's the POINT!"
"Well," Sirius stated, "I better go rescue Prongs."
He was about to set off when Veronica suddenly blurted out "Does this mean we're friends?"
Sirius pondered for a bit, "Not friends, more like, acquaintances."
"Acquaintances," Veronica agreed. A curt nod, and he was off. She turned back to Alice, who sat there gawping like a fish. She shook her head and looked out the window, smiling.
Acquaintances, she thought, I never knew he knew such a long word.
For those people who paid attention to my Easter Egg quest, the answer was her twany owl Sybill, a play on Sybill Trawney. Sad I know.
For all those wondering why I placed Alice in Hufflepuff, it's because I want a reason for Neville's clumsyness (I am not impliying all Hufflepuffs are klutzs)
Bad news-School Starts tomorrow! Duh Duh Duh. I can't promise any regulare updates for any of my storys, but I will try.
Thank you to the one person who reveiwed (Snowfoot511). Honestly! ONE! I'm not that bad, am I..? I know- reveiw and tell me! Must Go- the mother is yelling at me.
Tat-tah!