| HIDDEN IN SECRETS |

chapter fifty-eight

RESEARCH

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Azkaban. Verena would rather be in the nasty prison than at Hogwarts. She would rather hear the mad people in their cells talking to themselves, and she would rather have all the happiness and joy sucked out from her by the Dementors. She was suffering far worse in Hogwarts than she would in Azkaban.

HARRY POTTER'S SECRET ROMANCE

It is no secret that The Boy Who Lived fancied muggle-born Hermione Granger. Although a plain girl, she managed to hook Harry's attention. There were seen together on many occasions, and who knows how much time they spend together alone in the Gryffindor common room. However, recent events at the Yule Ball have suggested something may have gone wrong with this lovely couple.

Miss Granger seems to have a taste for famous wizards that Harry alone cannot satisfy. Mr Viktor Krum, Bulgarian Seeker and hero of the last Quidditch Cup, has been openly smitten with Miss Granger. Sources tell me she excitedly accepted his proposal as his date to the Yule Ball. I cannot imagine how hard Harry had taken this blow, but another girl has possibly stolen his heart, and effortlessly so.

Miss Verena Salvador, daughter of Silas and Duvessa Salvador (may she rest in peace), was seen with Harry Potter hours after the Yule Ball, to which they watched the sunrise on the shores of the Black Lake. Now that is one hell of a date if I have ever seen one.

There is an ongoing debate throughout the wizarding community. Dating back to the days when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, her father fell a victim to the Imperius Curse, aiding the Dark Lord in killing Harry's parents. In school, they are surrounded by different people, too.

"I didn't know they were friends," says Miss Marietta Edgecombe, a fifth-year Ravenclaw. "I was quite surprised to hear Verena and Harry were possibly dating, let alone friends."

"Whatever makes her happy is what I can say," says Cedric Diggory, Hogwarts' champion.

"Her mood really has been better since she became friends with him," Cho Chang, Cedric's girlfriend, tells me.

Miss Cho Chang implies that she knows when the two became friends and has more details, but she has not disclosed anything more.

While some show their support for this new pair, others do not. Verena's brother, Damien, feels betrayed and hurt by this new information. Others simply don't like it and don't understand how these two different people could have ever become friends.

"She's always disliked him," says Pansy Parkinson. "And now all of a sudden, she's hanging out with him and the other obnoxious Gryffindors."

Draco Malfoy, whose family has been friends of theirs for years, says he has never been so shocked in his life. "She's fooled everyone," he says. "I guess I should have known she'd turn out like this. I heard her aunt was the same."

"Stop reading it!" said the green-eyed boy angrily.

He snatched the newspaper away from her, burning it in midair. Verena heaved a sigh, leaning her head against the table.

"It's not true," said Harry. "Rita Skeeter always makes up things for her viewers."

"She saw us at the Black Lake," said Verena, though her voice sounded mumbled as she kept her head down.

"Maybe it's good that it got out," said Harry, shrugging his shoulders.

Verena looked at him with a glare.

"Think about it," said Harry. "Now, we don't have to hide anymore. Don't you feel a sense of freedom this past week?"

Verena sighed again. He was right. She did feel a heavy weight lift off her shoulders. Though, that didn't mean she didn't enjoy spending time with her friends in Slytherin. She was beginning to miss Draco and her brother. She also knew that Daphne and Astoria would no longer want to hang out with her because they needed to keep their pure-blood image.