| Girl on Fire |

109

HARRY POTTER

"We aren't going to torture her!" I yelled. Hermione sat at the table and Ron paced back and forth. I stood there watching him and I could tell he was furious. "Why? She would do it to us!" he said. "I don't think she would." I said. "Of course you wouldn't. She would probably just fuck you again!" he spat. "Ron, stop!" Hermione said. "Mione, her aunt carved Mudblood into your arm. Why are you defending her?" he asked. "Because, she stopped it. She stopped her aunt. She used her status to order them to leave." Hermione said. "Then she used legilimency on you." Ron said. "But she didn't look at anything useful," Hermione said. I turned around. "What?" I asked. "It was strange. She told her aunt that she was going to get answers through legilimency. And she did look through my head. But when they all came back she told them that we got the sword from the black market and that Harry was hidden and his location was obliviated from my memory." Hermione said. "Why would she do that?" I asked. "I can get the answer from her if you just let me-" Ron started. "Enough, Ron." I snapped. He scoffed. "She helped me too," a soft voice said. Luna walked in and we looked at her. "She brought us food and water. She had a plan to free us." she said. "Really?" I said. Luna nodded. "Bullshit," Ron muttered. I gave him a sharp look and he sat down. "So what does this mean?" I asked. "Maybe Veronica isn't what we thought," Hermione said. "Are you all forgetting what she did? She dated Harry as a distraction. She helped get Dumbledore killed, she poisoned me, she cursed Katie Bell, she's a monster." Ron said. "Yes, she did those things. But did we ever think about why?" I said. "What do you mean?" Hemrione asked. "When we were dating, even though it was fake, she told me things. Things that I believe to be true. And if they are true, her life is far worse than anything we could ever imagine." I said. "What did she tell you?" Ron asked. I said nothing. "I'll be back," I said.
Then I went upstairs.

VERONICA MALFOY

I've been locked in this stupid room, tied to this stupid chair for forever. But to be honest, I really hope Mattheo doesn't find me here. If he does, he will lose it and he might just end up killing them all. I stared out the window and then the door opened and Harry walked in. But he was angry. He was calm. He pulled a chair over and sat down in front of me. I just looked at him.
"Are you doing ok?" he asked. "You tied me up in a house in the middle of nowhere. My brother has no idea where I am and neither does Mattheo. I never got to say goodbye." I said. "We aren't going to kill you. You'll see them again." he said. "You're letting me go?" I asked hopefully. "Not yet, I can't." he said. I sighed. "I'm sorry," he said. "Why are you here? I'm not answering any of your questions." I said. "Can you answer just one? It's not about the war or death eaters or Voldemort. It's about you." he said. I gave him a puzzled look but I nodded. "Ok." I said. "The last time I saw you, at the Astronomy Tower, you said to me, there's no choice for you. What did you mean by that?" he asked. "What do you think I meant by that?" I asked. He sighed. "I think that you fell in love with Mattheo and became a death eater unknowing of what it was truly like. Then when you found out the reality, you had no choice but to participate to protect your family. I think when you said you had no choice, I think you really meant your choice was kill or be killed." he said. I stared at him. "Am I right?" he asked. "You're not wrong." I mumbled. "Can I get a straight answer?" he asked. "Can you give me a straight question?" I snapped. "Fine. If you didn't do what Voldemort told you to do, he would have raped and killed you, right?" he asked. My stomach sank. "He would have killed my brother too." I said quietly. "What about your mum and dad?" he asked. "Mattheo killed my mother and my father is just as bad as Voldemort." I said. His face dropped. "Mattheo killed your mother and you're still with him?!" he exclaimed. "It wasn't his fault." I said. He laughed. "Wow! He's really fucked up your mind, hasn't he?" he said. "You don't know anything. You don't know anything about me or my life or what happened. Mattheo loves me and I love him. I actually love him. I don't pretend to like what I did with you!" I yelled. His face fell and I immediately felt bad. He stood up and walked out.