| Girl on Fire |

105

VERONICA MALFOY

Ginny and I arrived at the safe house and I brought her inside. Then I got Dean, Seamus and Neville and told them what happened. They were furious. But Ginny told them she was fine.

"Thank you, Veronica." Neville said. I nodded. Then I went over to Ginny. She looked at me with concern. "You sacrificed yourself to keep all the girls at this school safe?" she said. I shrugged. "I had to." I said plainly. She was speechless. "I should go talk to Snape. Try to get some rest. I'll talk to you tomorrow." I said. She nodded and I got up and left. Then I headed for Snape's office.

I knocked on the door and went inside. "Sev!" I called out. I walked up the stairs and he was sitting at his desk. "I've been expecting you," he said. "Did Mattheo tell you what happened?" I asked. He nodded. "That's not even my biggest concern. My biggest concern is the deal you made with Amycus." he said. I sighed. "Sev, you and I both know he was not going to keep the promise he made to leave the girls at this school alone. This was the only thing I could do to keep them safe." I said. "I understand that, Veronica. But what about you?" he asked. "What about me?" I replied. "I know you've been hurt but that doesn't mean you shouldn't care." he said. "I appreciate the concern, Sev, but really, I'm fine." I said. He sighed. "Ok." he said.

"I do have something I need your help with though." I said. He looked up at me and narrowed his eyes. "What is it?" he asked. "Luna Lovegood. Where is she?" I asked. His face fell. "Why do you ask?" he said. "She was taken by death eaters because of what her father was writing in his paper. I need to know where she's being held." I said. "Veronica, you are on very thin ice right now. You need to be careful of what you say, when you say it, and who you say it to." he said. "What is that supposed to mean?" I asked. "It means things like, voluntarily supervising detentions, talking to people you almost never talk to, sneaking around empty parts of the castle, those things draw attention. And you, of all people, should not be wanting attention." he said. I stared at him. What the bloody hell was he implying? "Ok, I'll stop doing all that," I said. "Good, it will-" he started. "If you help me find Luna Lovegood." I said. He stopped mid-sentence. "What makes you think I even know where she is?" he asked. "Do you?" I asked. He sighed. "Yes," he said. "Where is she?" I asked. "Veronica, you need to think very hard about your next actions," he said. "I know. Just tell me." I said. He stared at me like a puzzle that couldn't be solved.

"She's being held at Malfoy Manor," he said.
Fucking hell.

As I walked back to my dorm, my thoughts were racing. Why would Luna be held there? Is she ok? How do I get her out? I knew I couldn't tell DA that I knew where she was because they'd go in wands drawn and curses flying and probably get her killed. Luckily, spring break is coming up next week. Draco and I originally planned to stay at Hogwarts, like we did during Christmas. But now that I know Luna is at the Manor and I might be able to save her, I have to go. So I quickly wrote a letter to my father telling him the change in plans. Then I went to Mattheo's dorm and knocked.

He opened the door and smiled. I hugged him and he pulled me inside. "I took care of Amycus. He won't ever touch you again." he said. I nodded. "Did you kill him?" I asked. "No. He's alive." he said. I nodded again and we both sat on his bed. "I'm going home for spring break." I said. He looked at me with surprise. "What! Why?" he exclaimed. "I have to. Luna Lovegood is being held hostage and I have to help her." I said. "Fucking hell, Veronica. You can't save everyone. You know that, right?" he said. "I know. But I can save her. So I'm going to." I stated. "Listen, I know you feel guilty. You feel guilty for everything with Potter, for the mark on your arm, I know you regret it-" he started. "I don't regret it, I just-" I started. "You do. And it's ok. But I can't let you run around with reckless abandon trying to do the impossible to please someone." he said. "It's not about that. It's about cleaning up the mess I made. Ending the war I helped start. Putting a stop to the chaos I helped create." I said. "This was always going to happen. No one person can start or stop it." he said. "That doesn't matter. There are people who are dead because of me. I may not have killed them, but if I didn't do things I did, they would still be alive." I said. He sighed. "Fine. But I'm coming with you." he said. I smiled. "You can't." I said. "I can and I will." he said. "Mattheo, if you come, your father will know what we are doing. We can't risk it." I said. He sighed. "Fine. But if anything happens, I can be there in a minute." he said. I nodded and kissed him.