| Girl on Fire |

25

VERONICA MALFOY

"Are you nervous?" Allison asked. "No." I lied. We were all hanging out and talking. Allison was sitting on my bed reading The Daily Prophet while I finished packing for break. Blaise sat on my chair, Enzo sat criss cross on top of my dresser, and Theo sat on my desk. Draco was sitting on the floor leaning against the foot of my bed. The boys were passing a joint around. "Do you have to do that here? My room is going to stink." I said as I folded up shirts and packed them in my trunk. "We leave tomorrow, you'll survive." Draco said. I scoffed. "Did you find a date yet Draco?" I asked. He nodded. "Who?" I asked. Blaise started laughing. "Piss of Zabini." Draco snapped. "Who is it?" I asked. "Pansy." he mumbled. I groaned. "Come on, you've got to be kidding me." I said. "It's not his fault V." Allison said. "Yeah, She practically begged him to take her. We were there." Theo said. "Pathetic. I hate her. You hate her. We all hate her." I said. He rolled his eyes. "I know ok? Let's move on." he grumbled. "Are you going with Mattheo?" Allison asked. I nodded. "It took some convincing but yes. I think he's just excited to see father and all his friends' faces when he shows up." I said chuckling. They all laughed. "Great, let's antagonize father because that always goes so well for you." he snapped. "I'm not afraid of him." I said. Draco stood up and faced me. "You should be. Mattheo can't protect you from everything." he said. "Fuck you. When are you going to get that I don't need either of you to save me." I said. "You are making stupid decisions." he said. "No, actually I'm making really smart decisions. My brother, my responsibility." I said. "Maybe we should go." Blaise mumbled. "No. You all stay here. I'll go. While I'm gone maybe you can try and teach Draco how not to be a prick for 5 minutes." I snapped. Then I walked out and slammed the door. I walked down the halls aimlessly and tried to focus on something other than the rage in my head. Then I heard footsteps and a rumbling. I turned the corner and I saw a bunch of students exiting the ROR. A few seconds later, Potter, Granger, and Weasley walked out. This should be interesting. I strolled over smirking at them with my wand drawn. "So this is Potter's famous little club." I said smugly. Their faces dropped and they drew their wands too. "What are you going to do hex me?" I asked. "We should." Weasley said. I scoffed and smiled. "Go ahead, I already know what I know. You're screwed." I said. "You won't tell anyone." Granger said. I laughed. "And why's that?" I asked. "Because you owe me. I knew about what Marcus was doing to you and I didn't say anything." she said. I stared at her. "Well Marcus is gone now. He left school because he-" I started. "Got sick?" Potter said. "Yes." I said. "Yeah, we know what the story was. We also know what actually happened." he said. My veins iced and I narrowed my eyes. "I haven't the slightest idea what you are talking about." I said. "Really? Let me refresh your memory. The locker room" he started. "Shut up." I said. "After the Quidditch game," he added. "Shut. Up." I said sharply. "We know the whole thing. Rita Skeeter would eat this up. The Malfoy Heir. A tragic ra-" Ron started. "Silenceo." I said and he was cut off. "I don't know how you found that out but if you tell anyone-" I started. "We won't. If you keep our secret, we'll keep yours." Granger said. I stared at her and thought about it. "Fine. Deal." I said. "Deal." Granger said, sticking her hand out. "Yeah right Mudblood." I spat. "Don't call her-" Weasley started. "What's going on here?" Draco asked. Him and Allison strolled up with their wands drawn to back me up. "Just a friendly chat with the Gryffindorks. I'm trying if this is our lucky year where Potter finally dies." I said. They laughed. The 3 Gryffindors just scoffed and walked off. I turned to my friends and glared at Draco. "Why are you here?" I said. "It's past curfew. I got worried." he said. "The next time you try to save me, I'm turning you into a flobberworm." I said. Then I hooked my arm in Allisons and walked off. "He just cares about you V." she said. "I know. I wish he cared about himself as much as he cares about me." I said. "He'll be ok." she said. I nodded. My brother, My responsibility.

"Can we play a game to pass the time?" Allison asked. We were all sitting in a cabin on the train. Blaise, Theo, Enzo, Allison, Draco and Mattheo and I. "Sure, let's play fuck, marry, kill." Draco said. "Yeah right. Because that went so well last time." Blaise said. "It's truly sad that we can't play a simple game because someone constantly has to cause trouble." I said glaring at Draco. "Get over it. Maybe if he didn't flip out every time somebody mentions daddy dearest." Draco said. "Shut the fuck up." Mattheo spat. "You know you can be a real ass too when someone mentions your dad. I remember when you hexed me for making fun of his hair." Enzo said. "Why don't we just say parents are off limits for Merlin's sake." Allison said. "Yeah, that's a good idea." Blaise said. "He'll just come up with another way to piss everyone off." I said. "Let's just play the game." Mattheo said. "That's a great idea." I said. I stared right at Draco and kissed Mattheo. I pulled away smirking and Draco glared at me. "Ok. But I'm setting the rules. Parents are off limits along with other students." Blaise said. "I like it." I said. "So then who can we say?" Theo asked. "Theoretical people. Celebrities, teachers, anyone in this cabin, etc." Blaise said. We all nodded. "I'll go first, for an example. This one is for Mattheo. Fuck, Marry, Kill. Dumbledore, Rita Skeeter, Professor Trewlaney," he said. I stifled a laugh. "Hmmmm. Ok. Fuck Proffesor Trewlaney, Marry Rita Skeeter, Kill Dumbledore." he said. "Ooo, intense." Enzo mumbled. "Why would you marry Rita?" Blaise asked. "Because then I could influence what she writes." he said. "Strategy. I like it." Blaise replied. "Ok. My turn." Mattheo said. He looked at me. "Veronica. Fuck, Marry, Kill, Blaise, Theo, and Enzo." he said. I rolled my eyes. "Really?" I asked. He smiled smugly. "Come on, I'm sure we're all curious." he teased. "Fine. Fuck Enzo, Marry Blaise, Kill Theo." I said. "Damn girl, that's cold." Theo said. "Just give me a time and place V." Enzo teased. Then he looked at Mattheo and shut his mouth quickly. "To be honest, I'd only kill Theo because I've slept with you before and I wasn't impressed." I said. He clutched his heart. "To be fair, I was incredibly drunk." he said. "So was I, I still made you cum twice and I didn't finish once." I exclaimed. They all started laughing. Theo turned red. Mattheo looked at me sharply. "Seriously Ronnie, I'm sitting right here." Draco snapped. "If you'll all excuse us for a second, Veronica and I have something to discuss." Mattheo said. He grabbed my wrist and dragged me out slamming the cabin door. "We really need to stop playing games." Blaise said.