| Girl on Fire |

55

VERONICA MALFOY

He just stared at it. "I didn't have a choice. It was me or Draco. I couldn't let Draco do it, I just couldn't. He was going to kill me if I didn't." I said. "Veronica-" he started. "I'm sorry Potter, I'm so sorry. I never wanted this. I know what you think of me. Because I'm a pureblood and a Slytherin. I know I'm mean to you and your friends but it's because I have to. I know what you are thinking but I never wanted this." I cried. "Why? Why you? Why now?" he asked. "It's because of what happened at the Ministry last year. My father failed the Dark Lord. This is one of his punishments." he said. Potter looked at me with concern. "One of them?" he asked.

Put on your vulnerable face. I looked away and squeezed my eyes shut. "Veronica-" he started. "Because I'm a girl, I had to earn my mark. But he decided to kill two birds with one stone. He made me prove that I wanted it and punish my father at the same time." I said. "What did he do?" he asked. I shook my head. "He made me- he- I had to-" I stammered. "It's ok-" he said. "He made me get on my knees and you know-" I said. His face fell. "Fuck" he muttered.

"I'm sorry Potter. For everything. For everything I've ever said and done to you. But you have to understand, we are expected to act a certain way. I wanted to be your friend. Draco and I both did. When you made the Quidditch team in first year, Draco wasn't all jealous. He was inspired. He practiced all of winter break at the Manor. Then father caught us talking about you." I said.

"What did he do?" Potter asked. "He broke Draco's wrist and gave him a black eyes. Then he cracked my collarbone and gave me a split lip and a broken rib." I said. Potter's eyes widened.

"So that's who gave you the black eye last year," he said. "What?" I asked. "Hermione told me she saw you in the bathroom with a black eye," he said. I laughed. "No, that was Marcus." I said. He looked horrified. "Veronica, how many people have hurt you?" he asked. "I don't keep track anymore." I said. He sighed. "I'm sorry. I had no idea. Your life always seemed so-" he started. "Perfect?" I asked. He nodded. "A princess doesn't cry" I said. He looked at me strangely. "It's what my mother says to me." I said. He nodded. Here goes nothing...

"I used to have a crush on you, you know?" I said, staring at my shoes. He head snapped to look at me. "Really?" he asked. I nodded. "In our 4th year. During the tournament, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I kept worrying you were going to die and I would never be able to tell you how I felt." I said. "But you never did." he said. "I know. It's because I knew you would never feel the same way about me." I said. He chuckled to himself. "That's not true actually. When I first saw you, I thought you were the prettiest girl I'd ever seen in my life." he said.

Shit, I was not expecting this.

"Really?!" I said. He nodded as his cheeks turned red. "But then Draco made fun of me and my friends and eventually you did too. I just assumed you didn't like me." he said. "If we are being honest, Draco is just jealous of Granger. She's the smartest person in this school. And father beat the hell out of Draco and I when he found out she got higher marks then us." I said. He shook his head and sighed. "That's awful," he said. "I guess now you realize Pureblood society isn't all it's cracked up to be." I said. He laughed. "I guess not," he said.

After we sat in silence for a while, he spoke again. "Veronica-" he asked. I looked at him. "Yeah?" I said. "Why are you telling me all this?" he asked. I shrugged. "I don't know what The Dark Lord wants me to do yet. But he'll make me do something eventually. I want you to understand that I don't want to hurt anybody and do anything like this but I have to. I want you to understand how sorry I am." I said. "I can help you Veronica. I can-" he started. I smiled at him and put my hand on his. "No, you can't. Just promise me one thing." I said.

"What is it?" he asked. "Promise me you'll win. Promise me you'll kill him and save everyone." I said. He forced a smile. "I'll try," he said. I nodded. "Thank you." I said. He nodded.

"Do you still hate me?" I asked. He smiled, a real smile. "No. In fact, I think I like you." he said. Then he got up and pointed his wand at the railings. Suddenly there were barriers around it. "Please stay alive Veronica, I really think I want more time with you." he said, then he left.

I wiped my tears away and smiled smugly to myself. Then I went straight to Mattheo's room. He was laying down and reading. He smiled at me as I laid with him. "How'd it go?" he asked.

"Too easy, everything went according to plan." I said. I kissed him and we both went to sleep.