| Girl on Fire |

97

VERONICA MALFOY

I sat on the desk twirling my wand between my fingers while I waited for the Gryffindors. Eventually, right at 7, they started to file in. One by one, they came in with death stares and sat down. I continued to twirl my wand keeping the straight face I always had acting as if I didn't care. Eventually, they all sat down. The only one missing was Cormac. Maybe he died.

"Where's McLaggen?" I asked. "You really expected him here? You nearly killed him!" Neville exclaimed. I laughed. "If I wanted to kill him, he'd be dead. Trust me." I said. "Like you killed Professor Dumbledore?" Ginny snapped. "I didn't kill him." I stated. "You might not have killed him, but you're the reason he's dead." she replied. "Why didn't the chosen one save him? Isn't that his job?" I said. She clenched her fists. "Do you even care that he's dead? He was your headmaster." Katie said. "Unlike all of you, I'm not a Gryffindor. That means Dumbledore never gave a shit about me." I said. "So you killed him because he didn't pay enough attention to you?" Lavender snapped. "Are you that dense? Dumbledore's death was just... let's say collateral damage. Draco and I were under The Dark Lord's orders. We didn't plan it, hell, we didn't even want to do it!" I said. "Yeah right" Ginny snorted. "Not that it's any of your business but if we didn't do what he said he was going to kill our mother. We did what we had to do. Even though he killed her anyway." I mumbled. "He killed your mom?!" Neville said. I nodded. Neville and Ginny exchanged guilty looks. "What are you going to do to us?" Katie asked nervously.

I sighed. "Nothing." I said plainly. I hopped off the desk and sat in a chair. I pulled out a book and started to read. They all stared at me in shock. "What? What do you mean?" Ginny asked. "You told Carrow-" he started. "I tell Carrow a lot of things." I said. "Won't you get in trouble?" Lavender asked. "Carrow fancies me but he won't try anything again so no." I said. "What do you mean again?" Neville asked. I rolled my eyes. "Do you all ever stop talking?" I snapped. They all went silent. "Listen, as long as you all walk out of here limping or crying or whatever, it'll be fine. Then stop being a hero in class and fly under the radar. I won't be able to get you out of detention everytime and the Carrows love punishment." I said. Their faces fell. The rest of the time, nobody spoke. I waited an hour and then I let them go. Ginny stopped in the doorway and looked at me. "Why did you do that?" she asked. "Just go before I change my mind." I snapped.

She quickly left. I sighed and grabbed my things. I swiped the bottle of firewhiskey from Carrows drawer and started to head back to Slytherin. I decided to stop by the hospital wing to pay Cormac a visit. I walked down the halls, and it was already dark. I walked into the Hospital Wing and Madame Pomfrey was sitting at her desk. I snuck past it and into the privacy wings put up around Cormac's cot. He was laying there asleep. "Lumos" I whispered. The room lit up.

Cormac's eyes opened and he sat up quickly. He reached for his wand on the nightstand but it wasn't there. He looked at me in fear as I held up his wand, smirking. "Your friends don't know what you did, do they?" I asked. He shook his head. I laughed. "Makes sense. Gryffindors are loyal but I don't think even a Hufflepuff would stay loyal to a rapist." I said. "What do you want from me?" he asked. "Are you afraid of me, Cormac?" I asked. He stayed quiet. I drew my wand and dug it into his neck. "I asked you a question." I snapped. "Yes!" he exclaimed. I smiled. "Good. That's what I want." I said. He looked confused. "I want you to be afraid. I want you to feel the fear I felt. To be terrified to be around one person. To not know what they might do or when they might do it. You see, I run this school now. This mark on my arm, it puts me in power. So if you ever do what you did to me, to another girl, you won't just suffer, you'll die. Are we clear?" I asked. He nodded. "Words McLaggen" I spat. "Yes, I understand," he said. "Good." I said. I turned to leave when he spoke again. "Can I have my wand back?" he asked. I turned around and smiled. "Of course, how silly of me." I said. I smiled as I snapped it in half. His jaw hit the floor and his eyes widened. Then I dropped it on the ground and walked out.

Serves him right. He deserved to die, slowly. He should be grateful I showed mercy.

I was walking down the hall when I heard my name. "Veronica!" I turned around and Severus stood there. I walked over and he looked at me. "What are you doing walking around the castle at this hour?" he asked. "Just handling some business." I said. "Could this business have anything to do with Cormac McLaggen?" he asked. "Maybe." I said. He nodded. "You got your revenge and I looked the other way. That's enough now, ok?" he said. I nodded. "Got it." I said. I started to leave but he called after me. "One more thing," he said. "Yeah?" I asked. "You are given a lot of power right now, correct?" he asked. I nodded curiously. "I just want you to be careful. The Dark Lord doesn't tolerate disloyalty. I want you to make sure you know what you're doing. Whatever it is." he said. I stared at him. Did Draco tell him? No, he wouldn't.

"Ok, Sev. I got it." I said. He nodded and walked off. Strange.