Chapter Text
(Chamber of Secrets)
pov: harry
Thursday, 3rd of September 2015
Ron, Hermione, and I had just entered the Great Hall when-
“OH YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS RIGHT NOW NOTT, YOU TOTALLY CHEATED”
“I DID NOT. YOU NEED TO ADMIT YOU’RE A SORE LOSER”
“THIS IS THE FIRST MATCH YOU WON, PLUS YOU CHEATED”
A dark-haired Gryffindor girl was arguing with someone I vaguely recognized as Theodore Nott's brother. She was leaning so far across the table that I was half convinced she was about to climb over it, and Nott was not holding anything back either.
“VEGAA,” Ron shouted and started waving and walking towards the girl, startling both me and Hermione.
Suddenly, the fight stopped, and the dark-haired girl looked in our direction and also started waving alongside Nott.
“RONNY,” she screamed while Ron jogged over to hug her. “I missed you, kid. You've gotten taller since the last time I saw you.” I glanced at Hermione. She looked just as confused as I felt.“Where's Freddy and Georgie?”
“They’re gonna be here any minute now, oh hi Evan, how are you?” Ron bumped fists with him. I vaguely remembered seeing him with Fred and George the year before.
“oh good to see you too, Ron,” Evander said sarcastically while fisttbumping Ron.
“Oh yeah i wanna introduce you, these are my friends Hermione Granger and-”
“Harry Potter” finished for Ron and held out her hand. “I’m Vega Black, yeah, that Black,”
“VEGA, EVAN,” and two redheaded blurs suddenly shot across the Great Hall with fireworks trailing behind them. The older students ducked instantly while Ron yanked Hermione and me down by force before we even got to react in any way.
They crashed into both Evan and Vega at the same time, sending all of them to the floor, and just in seconds, they were a tangled mess of limbs and laughter.
The older students just got up, brushed themselves off, and resumed with their breakfast. I'd known these people for less than a minute, and I was already beginning to wonder whether any of them were entirely sane.
“Freddy, Georgie, get the hell off you pigs,” said Vega while hysterically laughing, and as they were trying to get up.
“Gee,” Fred let out the most dramatic sigh I’ve ever seen, “so much for ‘yeah, I missed you too, my dearest and most beloved friends,’”
“tragic, really. We’re not wanted here anymore, it seems.” George sounded every bit as devastated as Fred.
“Yeah lets leave before we get emotionally destroyed, my heart won't be able to take it.” Fred clutched his chest dramatically, pretending to sob. I looked over at Hermione, and she seemed to be fighting the same urge to smile as I was
“Come along then, we don't wanna waste time on these people”
“Awh poor babies, have you forgotten what it's like to be around me already?” Vega finally managed to get up, also helping Evan to do the same.
After that whole fiasco, we finally got to sit down and have our breakfast. The four of them sat at the end of the Gryffindor table, talking over one another as they caught Vega up on everything she had missed last year.
They were laughing so loudly I couldn't make out a single word, at some points shoving each other and laughing even louder than before.
“They seem close,” I said
“They’re pretty much best mates,” Ron said with a mouthful of food. “Honestly, Evan and Vega are pretty much Weasleys at this point”
“Really?” I asked
“Yeah, one summer they practically lived at the Burrow, it was nice,” he was still talking with food in his mouth, while I got even more curious.
“Well, I’ve heard that Professor McGonagall tutors her privately. Is that true?”
“Yeah, she stalked McGonagall for those tutoring lessons, she begged her for like half a year until Professor finally agreed,” replied Ron matter-of-factly
“Wait, what?” Hermione and I both asked in unison.
“Yeah, like not creepy kind of stalking, but just waiting outside her office and stuff like that, Vega stuff,” said Ron as if that's already not disturbing.
“What are you three gossiping about? I heard my name mentioned.” The victim of our gossip was suddenly looming over us— and yes, I mean looming, she was basically towering over us
“Oh, just about your desperate plea to McGonagall for tutoring.” Brilliant, Ron
“Oh fun, while you call me desperate im being taught by one of the greatest witches in the wizarding world,” she said, crossing her arms, looking way too pleased with herself, then her eyes landed on Ron’s wand. ”By the way, kid, you need another wand. We have to get you one soon. What do you say to a late birthday gift?” In an instant, her teasing expression disappeared.
“It’s fine right now, but thank you,” Ron responded sheepishly.
“Nonsense, we’re going to Hogsmade this weekend. I need to shop anyway, bring your friends,” she said as she walked away, shouting the last part,
As she was walking away, she passed the Slytherin table, and she casually reached over to ruffle Draco Malfoy's and Theodore Nott's hair. Neither of them even reacted. I was fairly certain my brain had stopped working for a minute or two, as I looked over at Hermione, she looked just as confused as I felt.
“What the hell just happened?” I managed to ask.
“Well, as much as I absolutely hate it, Malfoy is kinda Vegas cousin, and well, Theodore is Evans brother, so they're kinda very close, hate them both tho,” said Ron with obvious annoyance
“Wait, they’re cousins? How?” Hermione asked while still being very confused, and to be fair i was in the same state
Ron shrugged, “It's complicated, most pure-bloods are somehow related to Blacks, I wouldn’t give it too much thought.”
“That's unbelievably confusing.” Hermione finally spoke. “But she doesn’t seem anything like the rumors; Anyway, we'd better go. Potions starts in ten minutes, and Snape's going to have our heads if we're late.”
We hurried towards the dungeons, already cutting it far too close for Hermione's liking.
Saturday, 5th of september
We had just arrived at Hogsmeade. Usually, we need a permission slip, but Vega and Evander caused enough of a scene by introducing themselves that it wasn't all that hard to get in.
“To the Ollivanders, my dearests, after that we feast. My treat, as a celebration of finally being free again,” she announced
After that, she grabbed Ron and dragged him to Ollivander's before he could get a word out to protest. And of course, his brothers just stood there and did nothing but laugh.
“Oh come on, I don’t need a new wand, really!” Ron managed to protest. I had to admit, I was fighting a laugh myself.
"Having a broken wand is dangerous. You could hurt yourself or, worse, hurt someone else. Don't argue with me, kid. I owe you this one, y'know? I kinda missed your birthday this year." She had a point. Ron had nearly blown himself up the day before trying to use that thing.
“I mean… you did almost blow yourself up yesterday,” I pointed out. That earned Ron a sharp look from Vega.
“Just go with it, she won't give up, you should know that already,” George said in defeat.
“Fine, fine, I give up.”
Wow, Ron had finally said something reasonable.
“Finally, let's go, I miss that old man, besides, I'm gonna make him examine my wand just to make sure it’s still perfect,” Vega exclaimed in joy and started dragging Ron again.
As we all swarmed into Ollivander's shop, he immediately recognized all of us, but especially Vega. He seemed genuinely pleased to see her.
"Good heavens... what a delightful surprise. Miss Black, it's lovely to see you again. How have you been, my dear child of mischief?" Ollivander greeted her in a very familial way
“Nice seeing you, too, old man. We’re here on business. We need a wand for this little fella.” That's way more familiar than I’d expect. "Oh, and could you have a look at my wand? It feels... odd." She handed him her wand before wandering off to rummage through the shelves as though she knew what was on each of them.
“How curious…” Ollivander murmured, turning the wand over between his fingers. “Well, Mr. Weasley's wand is right over here. ”Ron's wand flew neatly into his waiting hand. “As for yours…” Ollivander looked back down at the wand. “I'm afraid this isn't your wand at all, my dear.”
“What do you mean, it isn't mine?” Vega appeared from the back of the shop so quickly that it was almost startling. She looked furious.
“Well, dear, your wand is black walnut, thirteen and a quarter inches, thestral tail hair, pleasantly flexible. This one is slightly more rigid, and the wood is ordinary walnut, stained to resemble black walnut. An impressive imitation... but an imitation all the same.”
As he finished speaking, Vegas actual wand flew across the store into her hand.
"A remarkably fine copy. Whoever crafted it knew exactly what they were doing."
“What do you mean by that?” she asked with obvious agitation in her voice.
“Whoever crafted this knew exactly what they were doing,” Ollivander said quietly, still studying the imitation. “It has been cursed.”
Vega smiled strangely at that. For reasons I couldn't explain, the expression sent a chill down my spine.
“What do you mean, cursed”
“Please remain calm now, my dear,” Ollivander says gently, “but yes, the curse was cleverly concealed within the wand itself. Had you continued to use it, the effects would only have grown worse. Whoever exchanged your wand intended for you to keep this one.”
Her expression shifted in an instant—from that unsettling smile to one of cold fury.
Before I could even process it, Fred stepped in front of us.
“Hey, V,” he said carefully. “Calm down. We'll figure this out.”
“Yeah,” George added, sounding unusually tense. “We'll sort it.”
I still didn't fully understand what was happening, but I knew it had to be serious if even Fred and George weren't joking anymore.
“Can you determine who replaced my wand?” Vega asked, her voice unnervingly steady, “Or does it conveniently not remember who handled it last?”
The atmosphere in the shop turned suffocating. Beside me, Hermione's grip on my arm tightened enough that I was fairly sure she'd leave bruises.
“I'm afraid there's nothing more I can tell you, my dear,” Ollivander said apologetically. “But I would advise you to be cautious.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Vega's shoulders sagged.
“Oh, for Merlin's sake...” she groaned, burying her face in her hands.
A second later, she took a slow, steady breath, straightened her back, and looked at Ollivander again.
“Well, thanks, old man. Could you still examine the wand? Maybe you'll find something that points us toward whoever did this.”
Ollivander nodded.
“Leave it with me. Come back next week, and I'll see what I can uncover.”
Before anyone could say anything else, the bell above the door chimed, and a small crowd of customers filed into the shop.
“Well, we won't keep you any longer, old man. Thanks for your help. I'll be back on September 12th. See you then.”
After paying for Ron's new wand, Vega waved a quick goodbye, and we finally left the shop.
No one spoke for a while, but of course, Fred was the first to break the silence.
“So,” he said, clapping his hands together, “where should we go first to eat?”
And with that single sentence, the tension was gone. They immediately started brainstorming and bickering over where they wanted to go first. Even Evan was arguing.
After nearly ten minutes of arguing, they finally settled on the Three Broomsticks. Since it was supposedly Ron's late birthday celebration, Vega eventually declared that the birthday boy got the deciding vote.
After that, Fred and George insisted on going to Honeydukes, claiming they needed to restock on "essential supplies." Judging by the amount of joke sweets they threw into their baskets, I wasn't entirely convinced they were talking about actual food.
Since Vega was paying for everything, nobody held back. Ron, Hermione, and I each walked away with enough sweets to last us the rest of the term.
What surprised me most, though, wasn't Fred and George.
It was Vega and Evan.
Between the two of them, they somehow managed to fill four enormous bags to the brim with sweets, chocolate, and Merlin knew what else. The strangest part was that they spent the entire time insulting each other's choices.
"You're actually buying those?" Vega scoffed, tossing a packet into her basket.
"Says the person buying the exact same thing," Evan shot back.
She looked down at her basket, paused for a second, then shrugged.
"Mine are for different reasons."
"They're literally the same sweets."
"Completely different."
Five minutes later, I caught them both reaching for another identical packet.
When we left the shop, both of them struggled to carry their extremely heavy bags. It was almost comical watching them struggle in exactly the same way.
Vega suddenly stopped, dropped the bags, and tied them tightly together. She pulled out her wand and, with a quick charm, the bags lifted off the ground and began floating beside her.
“How the hell did I not think of that before you?” Evan said, looking genuinely offended.
He immediately pulled out his own wand and did the same thing.
“Y’know, for people who claim they’re the least lazy people ever, that’s pretty lazy behavior,” George said teasingly.
“Yeah, absolutely hypocritical. What a horrible example you’re setting for these poor young children,” Fred added dramatically.
He immediately turned and started gesturing toward us like he was presenting evidence in a trial.
I looked between Hermione and Ron, unsure whether I was supposed to be offended or laugh. Ron looked like he was about to lose the battle entirely, while Hermione was doing her best to look annoyed. The problem was that the small smile threatening to appear on her face ruined the effect.
Eventually, we all lost the battle.
Even Hermione.
Watching them, I couldn't help but wonder why everyone seemed so determined to judge her.
I understood the reason, at least partially. She was a Black. Sirius Black's daughter. The daughter of the man everyone believed had betrayed my parents.
But the Vega Black I had met today wasn't the person everyone described.
She was loud, dramatic, and maybe a little strange, but she was kind. She cared about Ron enough to buy him a new wand without hesitation. She treated Fred and George like family. She joked with people who, according to everything I knew about the wizarding world, shouldn't even be on speaking terms.
So why was everyone so determined to judge her before they even knew her?