| Girl on Fire |

107

3 DAYS LATER
VERONICA MALFOY

It's been 3 days. 3 days of sneaking down to the dungeons and helping Luna. Only 2 more days and I can free them. I just hope that when I do, they'll be safe for good. They deserve that.

It was around 3 and I was sitting in my room with Draco and we were practicing our mind connection. We were deep into it when I heard the front doors slam and our connection broke. "What was that?" Draco asked. Then I heard Bellatrix's shrieking laughter. I felt a pit in my stomach as I wondered what was going on. Heavy footsteps started coming towards our room and we both stood up and drew our wands. Then the door opened and it was our father. "Get downstairs, both of you. Now!" he yelled. Draco and I exchanged looks before following him downstairs. When we got to the sitting room, the sight I saw shook me to my core.
I saw snatchers holding Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. And on his knees in front of us, was a boy with a swollen, wrecked face. But the second we locked eyes, I knew who it was.
My father grabbed my wrist and yanked me towards him. "Look closely Veronica and tell us the truth. Is this Harry Potter?" he asked. I looked back at Draco and then at Weasley and Granger. Their faces were pleading. "I can't- I can't be sure. I don't think so." I said quietly. My father scoffed. He pushed me to my knees in front of him and grabbed the roots of my hair and pushed my face closer to Harry's. "Look closer!" he snapped. Harry looked into my eyes and despite his straight face, I knew what he was thinking. It was pure hatred. I gave him a small smile and stood up and faced my father. "It isn't him." I said plainly. My father glared at me. "Are you absolutely sure? If we deliver Potter to the Dark Lord, all our past mistakes will be forgiven. You need to be certain." he said. "You mean all your mistakes will be forgiven." I snapped. I felt a sharp sting as my father backhanded me across the face. "Stop!" Draco yelled. I looked at Draco and shook my head. "Veronica already suffered for your mistakes. If this was Potter, she wouldn't hesitate to turn him in." Draco said. Bellatrix and my father looked at each other and nodded. "Fine. But then what-" Bellatrix started as she looked around. Then she froze. "Where'd you get that?" she said to the snatcher. He was holding a sword. Then I recognized it. The sword of Gryffindor. Where the hell did he get that? "Found it in her bag. Reckon it's mine now." he said with a smirk. The next few moments were a whirlwind of chaos. Bellatrix cursed snatcher after snatcher until she had chased them all out. "Put the boys in the cellar!" she yelled. My father grabbed Ron and Harry and began to drag them away. Then Bellatrix stepped towards Granger. "I'm going to have a little talk with this one. Girl to Girl." she spat. Granger looked terrified. She should be. If she didn't tell Bellatrix what she wanted to know, Bellatrix would kill her. I can't let that happen. Draco looked at me and shook his head. "You can't stop this. Don't try." His words entered my mind. I looked at him and connected back with his mind. "I have to. Bellatrix will kill her." I said. "Why do you care?" he asked. I disconnected with him and he looked down. Then Draco walked over and dragged me into fathers study. "What is the matter with you?" he yelled. "I could ask you the same thing!" I yelled back. He stared at me. "I get it. We never like Granger. All that Gryfindor heroism was irritating. Not to mention the fact that we suffered because of her brilliance but that doesn't mean she should die!" I said. "You're a death eater, Veronica. You are going to be the queen of death eaters. The Dark Lord's main goal is purity and you think Granger would survive that?" he asked. I said nothing. "You've changed. I didn't want to admit it to myself but you have. You aren't loyal to the Dark Lord anymore...are you?" he asked. "That's a ridiculous question." I snapped. "Then why won't you answer?" he asked. "I'm loyal to Mattheo. To you. And to our friends. That's it." I said plainly. He gave a curious look of curiosity. "I knew it," he mumbled. Just then, I heard Granger's screams echoing through the house and Bellatrix's psychotic laughter. I ran out of the study and pushed Bellatrix off Granger. "That's enough, Bella!" I exclaimed. She glared at me and stood up. "You're protecting a mudblood?!" she hissed. "No. I'm using my brain. She might know where Potter is. If you torture her to death, she can't tell you anything." I said. "So what do you suggest I do, future queen?" she snapped. Granger was laying on the floor and looked up at me with tears in her eyes. There was blood seeping from her arm. "Let me conduct legilimency." I said. Bellatrix smirked. "Well, well, well. The future queen has taken charge." she said. "I'm glad you're impressed. But you seem to forget that as your future queen, I have the ability to choose when to kill you. So would you like to try again with how you speak to me?" I snapped. She bowed her head. "Forgive me...my lady." she said. I smirked. "Good. Go fill my father in while I look through her mind. Draco, go check on our guests." I said. They stood there staring at me. "Did I stutter?" I snapped. They quickly walked away and I turned to Granger. "Please-" she started. "I'm sorry, Granger. I have to make it look real." I said. Then I dove into her mind.