| Girl on Fire |

104

VERONICA MALFOY

After all the students left, I packed my bag and waited outside for Mattheo. As I stood there, twirling my wand, I tried to think of how to find Luna. I didn't know Luna very well but I knew she was kind. She obviously knew I was struggling last year and she might have even known I had the mark. And she kept it to herself and gave me a crystal to heal me. It seems stupid but to me it meant a lot. I want to find her. I'm going to find her and when I do, I'm going to save her.

All of the sudden, I heard a scream. I froze and gripped my wand. I listened closely and heard more muffled screams. "Who's there?" I called out. There was no response. I decided to follow the noise and I walked down the hall slowly. Then I found it. And the sight I saw was horrible.

I saw Amycus. He had Ginny pressed against a wall and immobilized. He had one hand over her mouth and one hand under her skirt. Her shirt was torn open and there were red marks on her chest. Tears streamed down her face and Amycus had a wild look on his face. I froze and my heart started to race. I remembered all the times this was me. But that didn't matter right now. What mattered was Ginny. So I snapped out of it and focused."Get the fuck off of her!" I shouted as I pulled Amycus off her. He stumbled back and I released Ginny from the body binding curse. She dropped to the floor, shaking and crying. I stood in front of her and pointed my wand at Amycus. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I spat. "Oh come on, she's a Gryffindor. Don't act like you care." he said. I glared at him. "I do care. This was not the deal." I said. Ginny stood up and I looked at her. "Deal, what deal?" she asked. "Nothing. Weasley, go." I said. She stood there, staring at me. I just turned back to Amycus. "She's a Gryffindor, I didn't think you would mind." he said with a shrug. I dug my wand into his chest and he stopped talking. "I was clear. You get me in exchange for every girl at the school. That includes every house, every age, no matter what. That was the deal and you know it." I said sharply. Ginny's face fell. "Malfoy, you let him-" she started. "That's right Weasley." he said smugly. "Weasley, you need to go. Now or I'll give you detention for the rest of the year." I snapped. She quickly rushed away, still trembling. "I figured you were too busy with the Riddle king," he said. "We have a deal. But if you touch another girl, we won't. I'll tell Snape and he'll have you executed. Is that clear?" I said. "Fine. Then you'll have to deliver on your end." he said. I sighed and clenched my fists. I hated myself for this but I also didn't care. I've been assaulted so many times, at least now I'm protecting other girls. "What do you want?" I asked. "Follow me," he said. I followed him into an empty classroom and he shut the door. I forced away that sick feeling as he pulled the zipper down my dress. He pulled the top down and revealed my bra and chest. Then he pushed me against the wall and I felt his hands. They were everywhere as he kissed me. His hands groped and he smirked. I closed my eyes and just waited for it to be over.

MATTHEO RIDDLE

"Is that proof enough?" I asked as Draco pulled his head out of the pensieve. He just nodded and walked out. I sighed in relief and headed out too. I was walking to meet Veronica when my body crashed into someone. I looked up and it was the Weasley girl, Ginny. Only she looked different. She looked wrecked. She was holding her shirt closed with shaking hands and there were hickeys on her neck and chest. Her hair was messy and she looked ill. I looked closer and she was crying. "Woah, what the hell happened?" I asked. "It was him. I tried to s-stop him but he was stronger than me. I- I couldn't move. He- he- my clothes and then Veronica-" she started. My heart stopped when I heard Veronica's name. "What happened to Veronica? Is she ok?" I asked. She shook her head. "She found me. She told Amycus that he broke the deal." she said. "What deal?" I asked. "Veronica made a deal with him. If he promised not to touch any other girls here, she would let him-" she trailed off. "Where is she?" I asked. "She's still with him." she said. "Fuck!" I exclaimed. I closed my eyes and pressed on our shared mark. "Come on, Veronica. Show me where you are." I whispered to myself. Suddenly, an image appeared in my head. "I know where she is." I said. "I'll come with you." she said. "You need to-" I started. "What if she's hurt? You need all the help you can get." she said. She fastened the remaining 3 buttons on her shirt and we headed for the classroom. I found the door and burst inside.

I saw Amycus kissing Veronica and I lost it. "If you don't remove your hands from her, you won't have hands!" I yelled. He stepped back with hands up and smirking. "Calm down, we were just-" he started. "Stupefy" I shouted. The spell hit him and he hit the floor. I ran over to Veronica and she was shaking. "Mattheo? How did you-" she started. "Ginny." I said. She nodded and I helped her put her dress on. Then I walked over to Amycus. "Incarcerous" he said. Chains wrapped around his body and he couldn't move. "Veronica, take Ginny somewhere safe. I'll handle him." I said. "You aren't going to kill him, are you?" Ginny asked. "Yes, I am." I replied. Her face paled. "You can't kill him! He's a teacher." she exclaimed. "He's a rapist." I said. "Veronica, you have done so much good. You have helped us. But none of that good stuff matters if you counteract it all by killing someone." she said. Veronica stared at her. "He deserves it." she replied. "Maybe he does. I don't know what else he's done to you. I do know killing him won't make you feel better." she said. Veronica sighed and walked over to me. "She's right," she said. "No fucking way. I'm killing him." I said. She cupped my face and pressed her lips to mine. "No." she said. I groaned. "You know if we kill him, The Dark Lord will find out. Do you really want him poking around? Especially with us?" she asked. He sighed. "Fine, but I'm going to make him suffer," I said. She nodded. "Fine." she said with a smirk. Ginny shrugged. "I don't care." she said. "You two go. I'll handle this." I said. Veronica took Ginny and they left. I woke up Amycus and the second he saw me, his face paled and he looked terrified.

"You think you can touch Veronica and get away with it?" I spat. "Are you going to kill me?" he asked. "No. I'm going to make you wish you were dead." I said. "No, just wait. I-" he started.

"Crucio" I spoke. Then there were screams.