| Girl on Fire |

112

VERONICA MALFOY

I felt it pulsing. My mark, the one connecting me to Mattheo. But it was his voice that pulled me out, that woke me up. I could hear voices. I could hear him screaming. It pulled me out.

"Do you think I'm a fool? Did you think I wouldn't notice?" he screamed. I opened my eyes and he had Harry by the throat pinned against the wall. Harry started to speak and Mattheo yelled again. I started to get up and Fleur tried to make me lay back down. "Veronica, you need to rest," she said gently. I shook my head and stood to my feet. She wrapped a blanket around my body as I stepped forward. "Mattheo, enough." I said weakly. His body froze for a second at the sound of my voice. Then he turned around quickly. He pulled me into his arms and exhaled heavily. "What the hell happened?" he asked. "I'm ok," I said quietly. "That's not what I asked," he said sharply. He sat me down on the bed and knelt down in front of me. "Merlin, you're freezing." he said as he pulled the blanket tighter around me. He held my hands and looked at me. "Tell me how this happened. The truth." he said. I looked at Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Fleur. "Mattheo, I know you. Every time someone put their hands on me, they get their internal organs torn out or you torture them to the near point of insanity." I said calmly. Everyone's faces dropped. Mattheo gave a smug grin and shrugged. "Your point?" he asked. "After all the work we did, you can't kill the chosen one." I said. He looked behind us and sighed. "The Weasley boy isn't the chosen one. In fact, my father has given orders to the death eaters that he and the mudblood are to be killed on sight." he said. Hermione looked down. I gripped his chin and forced him to face me. "Don't call her that," I said. "Very well. I apologize, Miss Granger." he said, giving her a nod. She looked stunned. "What the bloody hell?" Ron mumbled. "I must say I'm confused. When did the king and queen of blood purity become advocates for muggleborns?" Hermione asked. "If you had given Veronica the chance to speak before attempting to kill her, maybe she could have told you," Mattheo snapped. "We did. We asked her to talk, but she refused." Hermione said. "You kidnapped me after I saved your asses. Why would I trust you?" I spat. "You didn't save us!" Ron yelled. I scoffed. "You are a fool. And a pain in my ass." I said. Mattheo just smirked. "You didn't save us and you deserved what you got!" Ron yelled. "Say that again and I'll strangle you with your own intestines!" Mattheo yelled as he drew his wand. "Enough! Let them explain." Harry yelled. We all stopped. "Ron, if you can't calm down and handle being here, then leave," he said sharply. Ron sighed. "I'm fine," he said, gritting his teeth. Harry nodded and then looked back at us. "We apologize, really. We shouldn't have hurt you, Veronica." he said. We locked eyes and I could see the sorrow. "Mattheo told me already, I'm sorry we hurt you." he said. I nodded. "Great, now that you got your Gryffindor self-righteousness out of the way, I'm taking Veronica and we are leaving." Mattheo said. We stood up and he started to help me walk. "Wait!" Hermione exclaimed. We stopped. "What?" he snapped. "You didn't explain anything, you didn't tell us anything," she said. "And why would we? You beat the living hell out of her, you're lucky she is demanding I show mercy," Mattheo spat. "Please. I truly appreciate what you did, truly. If you tell them, they will too," Harry said. I sighed and looked at Mattheo. "They are going to know eventually," I said. He rolled his eyes. "It's up to you," he said. I nodded. "Fine." I said. They nodded and Mattheo and I sat back down. I explained everything to Hermione and Ron and by the time I finished, I could see the guilt on Ron's face and the shock on Hermione's. "Why?" she asked. "I realized the world I was helping to create wasn't one I wanted to rule." I said. They nodded. "You saved my sister," Ron said. I nodded. "One hell of a thank you," Mattheo said, gesturing to my bruises. "I'm sorry, I really am. I just lost it. I- I'm sorry." he said. "Merlin, give me patience or an untraceable wand," Mattheo mumbled. I nudged him and he stopped. "So what now?" Hermione said. "You won't stop, will you?" I asked. "Looking for horcruxes?" Harry asked. I nodded. The secret inside me was fighting, clawing to get out. I looked at Mattheo. He knew, I knew, and The Dark Lord knew. That's it. Mattheo told me when I first received my task at the beginning of our 6th year. Ever since then, I buried it deep inside, pretending it didn't exist. I looked at Harry with sorrow in my eyes. Mattheo looked at me and took my hand. "Not yet," he whispered, so quiet I barely heard it. "One of the horcruxes is in Bellatrix Lestranges vault at Gringotts. That's all we can tell you because that's all we know." Mattheo said. They nodded. "Thank you," Harry said. "What will you do?" Hermione asked. "We are going back to school. Someone has to protect the other kids," I said. Ron smiled. "Good luck," I said. Then Mattheo and I left. We walked out and when we stood on the sand, before apparition, I looked at him. "He can't know yet," Mattheo said. "I understand. He has to die, but at the right time. Otherwise, it was for nothing." I said. He nodded. "This is one thing you can't stop. And if you try, it will cost you your life. Do you understand?" he asked. "Yes," I said quietly. He nodded and we left. We arrived back at Hogwarts and went in.