| Girl on Fire |

70

VERONICA MALFOY

I couldn't stop seeing the blood. The blood and the sound of my brother's shallow breaths. It was engraved in my mind. But I can't let that distract me. I have to protect him and there's only one way to do that. "Malfoy?" I looked up at the voice that pulled me from my thoughts. Granger. Just perfect.

"Hello Granger." I said. "What are you doing here?" she asked. I gave her a look of annoyance. "Take a guess." I said. "Aren't you and Harry in a fight?" she asked. "Not that it's any of your business but yes. Typically, when you try to kill someone's brother, they tend to get a tad upset." I said. She sighed. "He didn't mean to." she said. "So I've been told." I mumbled. "Just- come in. You guys should talk." she said. I just nodded. She whispered the password and we went in. Their password is Fairy Lights.
Are you kidding me right now? Fairy Lights?

As we walked through the dorms, I made note of Katie Bell's room. Finally, we arrived at Harry's dorm. Hermione left and I knocked. The door opened and it was Ron. "What do you-" he started. "Get Harry. Now. I'm sufficiently furious and I guarantee you don't want to face that." I said. His face paled and he walked out. I walked in and Harry was sitting on his bed. He looked up nervously.

"Veronica, I'm so sorry. I never meant to-" he started. "Stop!" I exclaimed. He went silent and looked at me. "Stop talking. I'm going to talk and you are going to listen." I said. He just nodded. He sat back down and I stood in front of his bed. "Ok..."

"Draco didn't curse Katie Bell." I said. He looked at me with concern. "I don't know who did it. It wasn't me, it wasn't Draco and it wasn't Mattheo." I said. "How do you know?" he asked. "Because I spiked both of their drinks with veritaserum. Then I asked them. Their answers were the same. It wasn't them and it wasn't me." I said. He nodded. "If you don't believe me, then I'll happily take-" I started. "No." he said. I looked at him and he sighed. "No, I trust you. I mean- I never thought it was you." he said. I just nodded. I sat down next to him and looked at his book.

The Half-Blood Prince. Who is that? "That book, that's where you got the spell?" I asked. He nodded. "You need to get rid of it. It's too dangerous." I said. He nodded. "I will. Hermione has a plan." he said. I nodded. "I'm sorry Veronica. Really. I never meant to hurt him. I know how important he is to you." he said. I smiled. "I understand. Do you believe me now? That we don't know who cursed Katie Bell?" I asked. "Yes. I should have just trusted you from the beginning." he said. No. Actually, trusting me was the worst decision you could have possibly made.

The next thing I knew, Harry was kissing down my neck and I was dragging my hands down his chest. I knew I had to. If I wanted this stupid plan to work, I needed to do this.

Harry and I finished and we laid on his bed together. It got dark as the sun set and he smiled at me. "Do you want to stay?" he asked. I forced a smile and nodded. "Of course." I said. Then he fell asleep.

I waited until I was sure he was sleeping to slip out of bed. I found that invisibility cloak Draco told me about and grabbed my wand. I made my way down the hall and to Katie Bell's room.

"Alohomora," I whispered. The lock clicked and the door opened. I went inside and quickly shut the door. There was just enough moonlight for me to see. Katie had 3 other roommates but I found her bed with ease. I went over to Katie and drew my wand. I pointed it at her head and took a deep breath. Remember what Mattheo told you. Focus. Find an anchor. Use your emotions to fuel your magic. Stay in control. See the spell before it happens. Focus. Focus. Focus.

I visualized the spell and stared at her. This is what's best. For everyone. It will protect my brother and what she doesn't know won't hurt her. She's fine. The curse didn't hurt her and even if it did, knowing who did it won't change anything. This has to be done. I don't have a choice. I never have a choice.

I'm sorry Katie but I will always choose Draco.
My brother, my responsibility.

"Obliviate" I whispered. And just like that, I erased any memory of what Draco did.

Everything goes according  to plan.