A Magic Stronger Than Darkness ~ Book 1: Perfect Opposites

Chapter 1 ~ Let the Games Begin

"Bye mom!" I called out to my mother, waving farewell at her from the entrance to King's Cross station. One of the train workers approached me and offered the use of a small luggage cart to transport my belongings. Accepting it gratefully, I collected my suitcases and cat kennel and loaded them onto the small trolley. I walked the familiar path through the station to the boarding area, feeling anticipation building up inside of my stomach at the prospect of heading back to school for the year.

Wizarding parents were saying goodbye to their own children as I crossed onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters. I quickly unloaded the cart full of my bags and boarded the train, my hands heavy with the weight of two suitcases and the kennel. I immediately searched for the compartment the Golden Trio would all be sitting in, finding them in one of the middle train cars. I opened the door excitedly, more than thrilled to see my best friends after such a long summer apart. "Veronica!" Hermione greeted me with just as much enthusiasm, giving me a tight hug. I set my bags on the floor and returned the gesture while saying hello to everyone else, before proceeding to sit down with Hermione and brush off my clothes.

Taking a deep breath, I looked around at all the other compartments in the area. Draco was in the last one at the end, with his friends Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson beside him. Pansy was flirting with Draco, running her fingers up and down his arm and trying to mess with his hair, but the Slytherin boy just rolled his eyes and looked out the window, obviously less than amused. "She's so desperate to get him back." I mumbled nearly inaudibly as I stared at the pair. Shaking away my thoughts, I tried to concentrate on my friends and what they were saying. Sometime later, I snuck a glance in Draco's direction again. This time, however, his eyes darted up and over to me as well, causing me to blush and turn away once more.

When the compartment door was finally closed, I opened the latch on my cat kennel. "Hey baby girls. Come see Mommy!" I said as my two pets crawled out of the cage and onto the compartment floor. Maleficent, a gray and black striped she-cat with a white belly and paws slunk forward with a sway of her hips, her soft green eyes focused on Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, while he washed behind his ears. Cleopatra, a pale gray she-cat covered in a combination of stripes and spots, followed her with a soft mew. They each jumped up on the seat beside me, purring and curling up against my thigh to sleep for the duration of the journey.

Once we were settled, I returned my attention to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "How was the Quidditch World Cup?" I asked my friends cheerfully. "Not good actually," Hermione answered. "Why? I thought you were all excited to go." I replied, interested in what could've possibly made the event so terrible. Harry explained how the Death Eaters had swarmed the sports match and attacked everything and everyone that they could. "Oh my god, that's awful." I gasped, shocked that something so serious and dangerous could happen with almost the entire Ministry of Magic present at the game. So many experienced witches and wizards in the vicinity, and yet the Death Eaters left so much destruction in their wake. I couldn't even begin to fathom what Harry and the others had witnessed.

Upon our arrival at Hogwarts, my cats were taken to the pet corridor, and I made my way to the Great Hall for our beginning of the year welcome dinner. In the giant dining corridor, a grand feast was already prepared and laid out along the seemingly endless tables. Dumbledore promptly started his speech, just as he did every year.

However, our headmaster soon provided us with news none of the students, certainly not myself, had anticipated. There was excitement in his sparkling cerulean eyes as he began to tell us that our school was to be hosting a Triwizard Tournament during the year. The doors behind us all burst open as he spoke, causing practically everyone in the room to flinch in surprise. Those of us at the Gryffindor table exchanged apprehensive gazes, Hermione and I reaching for our wands just in case the noise was caused by unwanted intruders. Argus Filch, our resident hall monitor and campus caretaker, suddenly ran in and whispered something into Dumbledore's ear. Dumbledore gave an inaudible reply and then Filch immediately returned to the corridor outside the Great Hall.

Opening his long arms out wide, Dumbledore's voice returned to its earlier excited tone. Our headmaster's calm demeanor and clear joy seemed to reassure everyone and I loosened the grip I had on my wand. "Now, please help me to welcome the beautiful ladies of Beauxbatons Academy..." Dumbledore announced as the huge doors to the Great Hall swung open once again. Tall young women wearing pale blue dress uniforms strode into the hall gracefully, twirling their wands and conjuring all sorts of beautiful spells as they passed.

Introduced to us as the Headmistress of Beauxbatons, Madame Maxime was a woman taller than even Hagrid. She followed her students with a smile on her face and proud elegance in her step. Her dark magenta velveteen gown dragged the floor, and a soft breeze ruffled the gray furs around her collar. Many of us stared at her in awe, but Professor Dumbledore simply moved to greet her and offer the giantess his hand in a gesture of chivalry. All the boys were gawking at the Beauxbatons girls the entire time that they walked by, which grew rather irritating for us girls the longer that they continued to do so.

Thankfully Dumbledore recaptured everyone's attention and continued, "And now our friends from the north, please greet the proud sons of Durmstrang." A new set of visitors entered the Great Hall, young men wearing uniforms of crimson, and capes lined with walnut colored fur, and atop their heads sat dark ushanka hats. In their hands they carried massive staffs that pounded loudly and rhythmically against the floor with each step they took. Like the girls of Beuxbatons, they did some magic tricks of their own. Then their Headmaster, Igor Karkaroff, and another one of the boys stalked into the room with an air of authority. "Blimey, that's him." Ron said in awe once he saw the boy at Karkaroff's side. "That's who?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows as I tried to get a better look at the younger guy. Ginny leaned across the table to answer me. "Viktor Krum, the seeker for the Bulgarian Quidditch team. Ron's obsessed with him." Ginny laughed and I nodded in understanding, suppressing a giggle of my own.

Like the boys before us, the girls began to stare in wonder at the handsome Durmstrang boys, and there was no denying that they were good-looking. Of course, most boys around their age are better looking than the ones my own age, especially since the majority were at the end of puberty and had an older appeal to them. While I whole-heartedly understood why my peers were so interested in these new gentleman, I could not help but allow my eyes to wander back over to the Slytherin table, easily spotting Draco. He was smiling, not an arrogant smile, but one that was full of genuine excitement. It was a nice change of expression.

After what I would consider to be one of the most eventful Hogwarts feasts I had ever attended, I went up to the girls' dorms and retired into my shared room. Maleficent and Cleo purred in greeting when I arrived, both stretched out at the end of my four poster bed, their tongues working quickly to clean their shiny fur. Sitting on my mattress with the felines, I pulled out a piece of parchment from one of my bags and started drawing little ink hearts on it.

Despite how excited I was to witness the Triwizard Tournament and get to know all these new faces from other magic schools, I still couldn't get Draco Malfoy out of my head. I had tried, and failed, not to stare at him during the train ride and the feast. The Slytherin Prince was always on my mind and it drove me absolutely insane. I wanted to hate him for everything he represented, his privilege and prejudices, and especially how he treated people, particularly my friends. Yet, I could not bring myself to do so. I didn't understand why I liked Draco Malfoy, and perhaps that was exactly what drew me to him.

I continued doodling on the parchment absentmindedly, alone with my thoughts. Every few moments I would catch myself writing our initials DM & VD in a heart. Engrossed in my drawing, I did not hear when my best friend entered our shared bedroom. "What are you doing?" Hermione asked, standing behind me with a curious note accenting her voice. I quickly hid the parchment in a blank journal and shoved it under my pillow. "Nothing! Really, I'm just...getting an early start on my to-do lists!" I replied hastily, meeting her caramel gaze. She raised an eyebrow in interest, "Okay then..." She responded, clearly not believing me but dropping the subject anyway.

Feigning a yawn, I pulled back the garnet colored covers and crawled under my thick bedding. "Well, goodnight!" I told her, turning on my side and dimming the lamp on my nightstand. Hermione bid me goodnight as well, and I breathed a heavy sigh as I waited for sleep to quiet the thoughts stirring in my mind.