| Girl on Fire |

101

VERONICA MALFOY

Mattheo and I stayed in the ROR for the rest of the night. I memorized his scars, tracing each one with my hands. Eventually, I dozed off in his arms, safe and sound. As if no time had passed.

"Veronica," he whispered. He shook me gently and I opened my eyes to sunlight. "We have to get back, love," he said. I shook my head and held onto him tightly. "I don't want to leave you." I said. "I know," he said. I sat up and played with the rings on his fingers. "What's wrong?" he asked. I looked at him. "You always play with my rings when you are thinking about something," he said. I smiled. "You're right." I said. He nodded. "I have to tell Draco." I said. His face fell.

"No," he said. "He deserves to know. She was his mother too." I said. "I wasn't even supposed to tell you. I can't tell him." he said. "Then don't. I'll tell him." I said. "You aren't listening. The more people know, the more you and Draco are in danger." he said. "I'm already in danger, Mattheo." I said. He shook his head. "This is different," he said. "Tell me this, why did you tell me about my mother?" I asked. "What do you mean?" he asked. "You wanted me to understand, to have answers. You know that if I didn't have answers, I could never have found peace. Right?" I asked. "Yes, you deserve that." he said. I cupped his face and looked into his eyes. "Draco deserves peace too." I said. He sighed. "You aren't going to let this go, are you?" he asked. I smiled and shook my head. "Fine. I'll tell him." he said. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him. "Thank you!" I exclaimed. "Let's go." he said. I nodded and got dressed.

Mattheo went to get changed and I gathered all my friends in my room. Draco, Allison, Blaise, Theo and Enzo all sat there, equally confused. "What's going on?" Allison asked. "Just wait." I said. "Are we in trouble?" Blaise asked. I shook my head. "Does this have anything to do with The Dark Lord?" Draco asked. "Not technically." I said. "Well that's irritatingly vague." Blaise said. I rolled my eyes. Then I heard the knock on the door. "Please don't lose your minds"...

I opened the door and Mattheo walked in. The second his foot crossed the threshold, everyone had their wands drawn. Draco looked more furious than I've ever seen. I quickly jumped in front of him. "Wait, just wait!" I exclaimed. "No, fucking way! What? Here to finish off the job? Who's next? Me...Allison?" Draco yelled. "Please tell me he didn't twist his way back into your head, V." Theo exclaimed. "Let him talk." I said. "No! No, no, no!" Draco said. I held Mattheo's hand and didn't move.

"You need to leave," Allison snapped. "No!" I yelled. They all stopped. "You all need to shut up! He told me everything. The truth about what happened with our mother. The real truth, Draco" I said. He glared at Mattheo. "Wands down," I said. They all looked to Draco and he nodded. They lowered their wands and sat down. "You have 5 minutes. Talk." he snapped. And he did.

The second Mattheo finished explaining everything about our mother to Draco, he was staring at the floor. "Draco," I said quietly. I walked over and knelt down in front of him. I could see the tears in his eyes. "Draco, are you-" I started. Before I could finish, he stood up and walked out. I sighed and sat down. "I'll go talk to him," Allison said. I nodded. She quickly followed after him.

Theo walked up to Mattheo and stared at him. "I want to talk to you." he said. "Theo, don't," I said. "It's alright V. We are just going to have a talk." Theo said. Then they stepped outside. I sat there and Blaise and Enzo stared at me. "What?" I asked. "V, we are your family and we will back you up no matter what. You know that right?" Blaise said. I nodded. "We just need to know that if we are loyal to you, you aren't going to blindly lead us into a war just because he tells you to. We need to know you can make your own decisions and stick by them." Enzo said. I smiled. They have no idea of the decisions I've made. "Trust me, I can make decisions." I stated. They just nodded. "Then we've got your back." Blaise said. "Always." Enzo added. I nodded. Then Theo and Mattheo walked back in. Mattheo sat down next to me. "I never meant to hurt you." he whispered. Then he just took my hand and never let go. I looked at Theo and he just gave a small nod. I sighed with relief. I had Mattheo back, and Draco might be able to make peace with our mothers decisions and her death. Now all we have to do is win this war and make it out alive.