| Girl on Fire |

65

TIME JUMP: 3 DAYS

VERONICA MALFOY

I woke up to the sound of footsteps pacing back and forth. I opened my eyes and saw Draco sitting in a chair next to me. I felt my hand in his. Then I looked up to see Mattheo.

"Ronnie!" Draco exclaimed as soon as he saw I was awake. I forced a smile and nodded. "Are you ok? Do you need anything? Pain potion?" he asked. I shook my head. "I'm ok Draco." I said. He nodded. "How long has it been?" I asked. "You've been in and out for 3 days. You stopped coughing blood yesterday so I think you are doing better." Draco said. "Oh" I said softly. I looked at Mattheo and he kept pacing. Then he stopped and just stared out the window.

"Mattheo-" I said. He walked over with guilt in his eyes. "I'll give you two some time alone." Draco said quietly. Then he stood up and left. Mattheo sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the floor. I sat up despite the pain in my ribs and scooted closer to him. "Mattheo, please-" I said.

He just stared at the floor. "Please just look at me." I said. He shook his head and his eyes filled with tears. "Please, it wasn't your fault. Please don't hate me." I pleaded. He finally looked at me and a tear fell down his cheek. "It's not you that I hate. It's me." he said. I pulled him into my arms and let the tears fall onto my cheeks. "I love you so much and it wasn't your fault. Please don't blame yourself. That's the only thing that will make this harder. Please-" I whispered. He was shaking slightly in my arms. "I was supposed to protect you." he whispered back.

"You can't save me from everything, especially not him." I said. He looked me in the eyes and wiped my tears away. "Nobody can escape the Dark Lord." I said. He nodded. Then we just laid there together until the sun went down and we dozed off.

"Ronnie-" Draco said, shaking me. I opened my eyes and sat up quickly. "It's time to go back to school. Get dressed." he said. I nodded and noticed Mattheo was gone. "Where's Mattheo?" I asked. "He- I'm not sure." he said. Bullshit. "You're lying." I said. I stood up and walked over to face him. I clutched my rib as I stared at my brother. "Where is he?" I asked. "I can't tell you but he's coming back to school too. It'll be ok." he said. I rolled my eyes. "You better hope so because if something happens because you didn't tell me where he was, I'll-" I started. "I know Ronnie. He'll be fine." he said. I nodded. Then Draco walked out and I began to get ready.

Before I knew it, I was back at Hogwarts. This place used to be my escape. Now it feels just as suffocating as home. Draco and I walked into the Great Hall and sat down for the feast. I sat next to Allison and she smiled. "How was your break?" she asked. "Great." I lied. Draco scoffed and rolled his eyes. "What was that mate?" Blaise asked. "Tell me Ronnie, what was great about our break? Huh?" he asked. "Shut up Draco." I snapped. "Tell them. They know about us. Tell them what their futures will be like. Tell Allison what her future will be like." he said. "I said shut up." I said sharply. They looked at us with concern.

"What's going on?" Blaise said. "What do you mean, my future?" Allison asked as she looked at Draco. He just stared at me with a blank look. "Tell them or I will." he said. "They don't need-" I started. "He tortured her until she was coughing blood. Then he raped her." Draco said. My veins iced and there was a pit in my stomach. "What the fuck?!" Theo exclaimed. "V, Please tell me that's a joke." Enzo added. Draco kept his eyes on me as he shook his head. I just glared at him and clenched my fists. "Why did you say my future Draco?" Allison asked again. "Don't-" I said. "She has a right to know what her life will be like." Draco said. "Not now, Please." I whispered. "Tell me Draco." Allison pleaded.

"Because you are a woman, in the Dark Lord's eyes, you have one purpose. The only reason he's letting Veronica have a bigger task is because of Mattheo. You... you won't get that." he said. My eyes watered and I forced myself to look at her. There was pain and confusion on her face. "So when I take the mark, I- I'll what, be some kind of whore for them?" she asked. Nobody said anything. Allison looked at me and she had tears in her eyes now. "V, is that- is it true?" she asked. "I don't know Ali, I really don't." I said. She stood up and rushed out. I glared at Draco. "You shouldn't have told her that." I said. "She deserves to know," he defended. "Maybe, but what is knowing going to do. It won't change anything." I said. He looked down and played with his rings. "Someone should go after her." Blaise said. I looked at Draco, and he stayed still. "It's your mess Draco, go clean it up." I said.

Time to find Harry and clean up mine.