| Girl on Fire |

62

TIME JUMP: 1 WEEK

I had just finished getting dressed for this bloody meeting and I was putting on my shoes.

Then I heard a knock, I went to open it and Draco stood there in a black suit. "Ready?" he asked. I nodded. We went downstairs and our dining room was full of death eaters. Mattheo came over and he looked nervous. "What's wrong?" I asked. "Nothing," he said. I knew he was lying but I figured he was just nervous being around so many death eaters. I know I was. "Oh fucking hell-" Draco mumbled. "What?" I asked. He nodded across the room and I looked in that direction. "Aunt Bella," he whispered. "Great-" I said. He nodded. Aunt Belltrix was insane. She also happened to dislike us very strongly. She believed Draco and I to be weak. She can fuck off. I don't like her either. But we have to respect her. She is one of The Dark Lord's most trusted followers so it's best not to get on her bad side. But then again, being on any death eaters' bad side isn't a good idea. I find it best to lay low whenever you can. But I usually can't.

Dinner was quiet and surprisingly calm. Everyone was drinking when I heard that awful laugh. Bellatrix. She was talking to The Dark Lord. Then her and a few other death eaters started cheering and they left. I found Mattheo and he was even more nervous. "What's going on?" I asked. "Nothing," he said again. "You're lying. Tell me the truth." I said. "Nothing, go upstairs," he said. "No." I said. "Veronica, I mean it." he said. "So do I, tell me what's going on." I said. He just rolled his eyes. "Fine." I spat. I drew my wand and prayed this would work. "Legilimens," I said.

Before he even had the chance to find his anchor, I saw it. They were going to the Burrow. Harry. I broke the spell and my eyes watered. "You- you were going to let them-" I started. "It's a direct order from my father," he said. "Fuck you Mattheo and fuck your father." I spat. I turned on my heel and ran to my room. I grabbed my cloak and ran outside. I apparated before Mattheo could speak again. I landed near the burrow but I was too late.

There was a ring of fire around the house and I could hear Bellatrix. "I killed Sirius Black! I killed Sirius Black!" she chanted. Molly, Fred, George, and Ron all came running out of the house. "Harry!" I yelled. I ran over to them and they were shocked. "Veronica? What are you doing here?" Fred asked. "Where's Harry?" I asked. "He went after them." George said. My face paled. I ran past the fire and followed the sound of the spells. "Harry!" I yelled. My feet sunk into the water and I heard his breath. "Harry-" I said in a quiet voice. "Veronica?" he whispered. I ran over and hugged him. I kept my wand out and stood next to him. Curses were flying at us and Remus and Tonks ran over. They were a part of the order or so I heard. "Veronica Malfoy?" Remus said. "Good to see you Sir-" I said. Then I saw Bellatrix. I stepped in front of Harry. Only a select few knew about The Dark Lords task for me. I hoped Bellatrix didn't screw it up.

"Aunt Bellatrix!" I yelled. She walked out with a cruel smile. Everyone had their wands pointed at her and she did the same. "Now, now Veronica, what would The Dark Lord think about this?" she taunted. "Leave Bellatrix. I'll only ask once." I said. "You know maybe he'll let me torture you as punishment for this." she said with a laugh. "I said leave. You can torture me when I get home." I said calmly. "Veronica-" Harry started. "This is pathetic, you are protecting our enemy-" she spat. "He's not my enemy, he's yours." I said. She scoffed. "When the Dark Lord kills him, what do you think will happen to you?" she asked. "I don't care." I said. "Do they all know?" she asked. "Shut up." I said. "Does Professor Werewolf know about what lies on your arm?" she taunted. "Shut up!" I yelled. "You will be dis-" she started. "Stupefy!" I yelled. I managed to hit her square in the chest and she fell back. She made the hiss of a snake and the death eaters disappeared into black smoke. I turned around and Harry hugged me. "I'm sorry." I said. "It's ok- it'll be ok." he whispered. I looked at Lupin and he stared at me. "I'm sorry Sir, I didn't have a choice." I said with tears in my eyes. Suddenly, there was a huge explosion.

The burrow was on fire. Everyone ran over and watched it burn. Harry took my hand and I let real tears fall down my cheek. Why? Why did they do this? There was no point. They knew they wouldn't kill Harry. He belonged to the Dark Lord. They had absolutely no reason to do this.

I was standing there when Ron came storming over. He grabbed my cloak and pushed me back. "Did you know?!" he yelled. "Ron-" Harry started. "What did you tell them?" he demanded.

"No! I swear. There was a meeting. I didn't know until just now and I came as fast as I could. I didn't tell them anything." I said. "You snake, they destroyed my home. Maybe we should burn down your Manor to see how you feel!" he yelled. "I'm sorry!" I exclaimed. Harry pushed him away. "Lay off, it's not her fault. She just saved my life." he said. I looked at all of them.

"I'm so sorry." I said. Then I apparated home. When I went inside, I knew I was screwed. Every death eater was staring at me and The Dark Lord was seething while Bellatrix smirked at me.

But the only thing I could think about was Harry. I was terrified when I thought something had happened to him. I got in the way of direct orders from the Dark Lord to save his life.

And I had no idea why.