| Girl on Fire |

34

VERONICA MALFOY

It's been quiet. Too quiet. I don't hear voices. I don't hear the floorboards creak. I don't hear footsteps. It's like they aren't here. Maybe they aren't. "Marcus!" I called out. "Adrian!" I yelled. Nothing. I waited a minute and tried again. It was silent. Then that familiar sharp pain shot through my head. I clutched my head and squeezed my eyes shut. "Ronnie, stop fighting it." Draco's voice said. It hurt and I was so tired. I just wanted to sleep and never wake up. "Ronnie, let me in." he said. I stopped fighting and let him in. I saw flashes of what he saw. "Ronnie, it's Draco, can you hear me?" he asked. "Yes, I can hear you." I said. "I need you to tell me if you hear water." he said. "What?" I asked. "Like a stream or river. Water." he said. I listened but I didn't hear anything. Just birds and... a trickling. "Yes. Yes, I hear it. It's like water going down a stream over rocks." I said. "Good ronnie, you did so good. We think we know where you are. If I'm right, you'll hear the sound of a hawk 3x in a row. I want you to get in a corner and stay away from any windows. Do you understand?" he asked. "Yes. Hurry." I said. "We will. I'm coming Ronnie. Just a little longer." he said. Then the connection broke.

DRACO MALFOY

When Allison woke me up and told me about Marcus's uncle's cabin, I knew that had to be the place. It was close to the bookstore and it only made sense. "Just a little longer." I told her and our connection broke. "What did she say?" Blaise asked. "She thinks she hears water. I'm sure they have wards around the cabin that make it hard to hear." I said. They nodded. "It has to be that cabin though right?" Allison asked. "Well we will be there in a few minutes so we'll find out." Mattheo said. "Hold on, you all need to plan. You can just go in there with your wands out and throw curses around." Snape said. "We don't have time to plan. We need to get her out." Mattheo said. "No, he's right. We'd be endangering Veronica further if we don't have a plan." I said. He sighed. "Fine. Quickly." he said. "Let's apparate here so we can scope it out first." Theo suggested. "Good idea." Enzo said. "You guys wait outside, I'll be right there." I said. They all nodded and walked out. "Thank you. We wouldn't have found her without you." I said. Snape nodded. "Please let me know how she is." he asked. I nodded. "I will. Sorry you can't be there." I said. I started to leave when he spoke again. "Draco, I want to remind you to keep your emotions under control. It would be very easy to lose it and do something you may regret. I would hate for you to get your sister back only to be sent to Azkaban. Do you understand me?" he asked. I knew what he was saying. Don't kill them despite how much you may want to or how much they may deserve it. "I understand." I said. Then I went outside. "Are we ready?" I asked. They all nodded. "Apparate to the bookstore. We can't risk Marcus or Adrian seeing us." Mattheo said. We all nodded and spoke "Apparate." Then the world spun and we landed outside the bookstore. "Wands Drawn, stay together. Allison, especially you." I whispered. We walked into the forest and I saw the cabin. "Mattheo, can you sever the wards?" I asked. "Not without tipping them off," he said. "So much for a surprise attack." Blaise mumbled. "Ok. Everyone stays in pairs. Allison, your with Blaise. Theo with Enzo and I'll be with Mattheo. We enter, take down Marcus and Adrian with non-lethal-" I started. "Woah, woah, woah. Non-lethal? You are joking right?" Mattheo asked. "No. I'm not letting you kill them." I said. "It's not up to you," he said. "I guarantee you that isn't what Veronica wants." I said. "Oh really. You think she-" he started. "I think she wants her boyfriend to be with her after this and not rotting in Azkaban don't you all agree?" I asked. "He's right mate. V needs you." Blaise said. "Fine. But I'm not saying my fist might not accidentally fall into their faces a couple times." he said. "I was thinking the exact same thing." Theo mumbled. "Same." Enzo added. I nodded. "Let's go get my sister." I said. We tried to stay as hidden as possible as we approached the cabin. The wards broke and that's when we had to hurry. It was quiet. Too quiet. I used a spell to play the hawk sound. Then I prayed Ronnie heard it and was safe. Blaise and Allison went around the back and Theo and Enzo went to the side. Mattheo and I went up to the front door. "Ready?" I whispered. He nodded. "Bombarda Maxima." he said. The door burst open and I saw them. Allison and Blaise broke the glass door and came in with their wands drawn. Then Theo and Enzo walked down  the hall. We had them surrounded. But it didn't matter. All I saw was the knife held to her throat.