| Girl on Fire |

42

VERONICA MALFOY

"Miss Malfoy, see me after class." Professor Snape said as Draco and I sat down. I looked at Draco and he gave me a small sad smile. Everyone kept looking at me but I just held my head high and ignored it. This will blow over and everyone will go back to respecting the Malfoy twins, not pitying us. Finally class ended and I was hoping to sneak out without having to talk to Snape. I headed for the door when he called after me. "Veronica-" he said in a warning tone. I turned around as the last student left. They shut the door and I walked over to him. "Yes Professor." I said. "Are you- are you doing ok?" he asked. Despite him being my Godfather and knowing him since birth, he still has trouble showing that he cares about me and Draco. "I'm fine. I'll be fine." I said. "Have you received anything from your father?" he asked. I shook my head. "Not yet, but it's surely coming. We both know I won't come out of this unharmed." I said. "Veronica-" he started. "It's ok, don't worry. We know he'll find a way to blame me for the article. If he doesn't, he'll blame Draco. I know how this goes, I don't care." I said. "Veronica, Mattheo didn't mark you for no reason. Use it to defend yourself." he said. "But what if-" I started. "He doesn't deserve your hesitation. Do what you have to do to protect yourself, do you understand me?" he said. I nodded. "And if you are injured in any way come to me when you get back. I'll heal you so it's off the record ok?" he said. I smiled. "Thank you." I said. He nodded. "Now get to class." he said.

Draco and I sat down at dinner with our friends and I was relieved. I was exhausted from classes and the stress of the day. "Ronnie, have you gotten anything from father?" Draco asked. I shook my head. "Maybe we'll get lucky." I said. He nodded. Mattheo came in and sat next to me. "Hello love." he said, giving me a kiss on the cheek. "Hey." I said. "Have you gotten anything from your father?" he asked. "No. Not yet at least." I said. He squeezed my hand. "I won't let anything happen to you." he said. "I know." I said. Just then, the owls filled the Great Hall and dropped letters in front of us. "Fucking hell." Draco grumbled as he held up a letter. I recognized the emerald seal with a serpent on it and sighed. "Great." I mumbled. "What does it say?" Blaise asked. "You read it, I don't want to." Draco said. I nodded and opened it.

Dear Veronica and Draco,

Be at Malfoy Manor in 30 minutes. I'm sure you know why.

I looked at Draco and he had a nervous look on his face. "I'm coming with you." Mattheo said. "You can't." I said. "Yes, I can. I can and I will." he said. "Don't you think that might just make things worse mate?" Enzo asked. "Yeah, won't it just make him more angry." Theo added. "It doesn't matter. He won't do anything to hurt them if I'm there." Mattheo said. "Riddle's got a point. Our father is terrified of him." Draco said. "Still, I don't know if-'' I started. "So it's settled, I'm coming with." Mattheo interrupted me. I gave him a look and he gently pressed his lips to mine. "I know you can protect yourself but it would make me feel better if I was there anyway." he said quietly. I caved and nodded. "Fine but I have 3 rules. No unforgivables, no threats, and you have to let me handle it." I said. "I can't promise-" he started. "Mattheo-" I said sharply. "Fine. But if it starts to go in a direction I don't like, I'm stepping in." he said. I nodded. "We'd better get going. If we're late, it'll only be worse." Draco said. I got up and we said goodbye to our friends. Then we went to the secret place Mattheo discovered. The wards were broken so we could apparate in and out. "Ready?" I said nervously. We all nodded. "Apparate."

We landed outside the gates and walked in. I held Mattheo's hand and he looked at me. I knew I had him and I had Draco. But that wasn't the reason I wasn't scared. I wasn't scared because I knew I could handle it. I knew I could defend myself. Barry appeared in front of us with a crack. "Master Malfoy waits for young Miss Malfoy and young Mister Malfoy." he said. We followed him into the living room. My father sat in his chair with a drink just like always. Then he saw us.

"Ah, I see you brought the cavalry." he said. "What do you want?" Draco asked. "Now Draco, is that anyway to greet your father?" he taunted. I stepped forward and glared at him. "Tell us why we are here or we are walking out that door." I said. He looked at me with a smug grin. "You are just getting bolder and bolder as the days go by." he said. "I'm not afraid of you anymore. You are a coward." I spat. He stood up and charged forward. He grabbed my throat and slammed me against the wall before Draco or Mattheo could stop him. Mattheo and Draco started to move but I held out my hand to stop them. I drew my wand and dug it into his neck. "Let me go." I said calmly. "Or what? Are you going to release your guard dogs on me?" he taunted again. "No. I'm going to torture you until your mind collapses into madness and you beg for death." I said. His face dropped and he let go. I cleared my throat and Mattheo had the biggest smirk on his face. I kept my wand pointed at my father as I stared at him. "Now, you have exactly 3 minutes to talk and then we are leaving. Go." I said. "I want to know why you ended up in the Daily Prophet. That was supposed to be kept quiet. Now you have disgraced the Malfoy name with your loose morals." he spat. Before I could speak Draco cut in. "How is being raped loose morals?" he asked. "She belonged to Marcus. There was no-" he started. "Yes. There was." he said. "I belong to no man. Not you, not Draco, not Marcus, not Mattheo not even the Dark Lord himself. I am the future queen and one day you will bow to me and we'll see how you like being owned." I said. My father stared in shock. "We are done here." I said. I turned on my heel and walked out. Mattheo and Draco quickly followed. "I'd say that went well." I said as Mattheo caught up to me. He gave me a smirk. "I agree... my queen." he said.