| Girl on Fire |

94

VERONICA MALFOY

Today is the first day of lessons and I'm terrified. I can't even cover my dark mark anymore. I have to display it. Like it's something I'm proud of, I'm not. But nobody can know that. I woke up and got dressed and Draco met me outside my door. "Ready?" he asked. I nodded and we left.

When we got to our common room, our friends stood there with their sleeves rolled up, revealing their dark marks too. "You aren't going to do this alone." Allison said. I smiled. Then we walked out. People stared as we walked through the halls and sat down at the table. We began to eat and then Mattheo came in. He walked over and sat at the end of the table. He looked wrecked. I looked over at the Gryffindor table and they were whispering. I heard the words Spy, and code and Dumbledore's Army so I knew they got my stuff. I only hoped they trusted it and went to the library tonight and got the letter. Speaking of... "I'll meet you guys in class. I have to go handle something." I said. "Is everything ok?" Theo asked. I nodded. "Fine." I said. Then I headed to the library. I cast a disillusionment charm and walked straight to the restricted section. Last night, I wrote it out. All the patrols, the wards set up throughout the school, the one secret passage out of the school that wasn't sealed and the directions to a secret room students could use as a sort of safe house. I hid the letter under the table and left.

My first class was Transfiguration. It was strange being with McGonagall. It was like she didn't know how to act around us. She wasn't afraid, it was just different. Her eyes always lingered on our forearms. Everyone did. They stared and stared until they realized I was pointing my wand at them. I so desperately wanted to cover it up. Hide it from the world and pretend it wasn't there. But it was. It was there as a reminder of what I did. Always.
A punishment for my sins.

DADA was the worst. The Carrows are ruthless and sadistic. I genuinely feel bad for the Gryffindors. Neville spoke up to defend Harry and Amycus responded by beating him. I can only help them so much. If they can't at least pretend to behave in class, they won't survive. I can't help them there. This is going to be a lot harder than I thought.
A lot harder.

TIME JUMP: 1 WEEK

Today, Draco and I are meeting with Snape and the Carrows. We are supposed to fill them in on any trouble or misbehavior among the students. Draco and I walked into Snape's office and I could immediately tell the Carrows were furious. "They haven't fallen into any of our traps!" Alecto yelled. I looked down trying to hide my smirk. "We put up wards, spells, charms, everything. We should have caught them doing something by now." she continued. "Did you ever consider the fact that they may not be doing anything? That they realized they can't win this time and gave up?" Snape asked. Amycus scoffed. "Yeah right. Like the Gryffindors would ever give up. We need your permission to check their dorms, search their houses. Do more!" Amycus said. "No!" I exclaimed. They all looked at me. "Why not?" Alecto said. I looked at Snape. "Sev, please." I said. He nodded. "You do not need access to their dorms. Every student was searched upon arrival and all passages in and out of the school have been sealed. Searching their dorms is a waste of time." he said. They scoffed. "Whatever you say, headmaster" Alecto snapped. Then they left. "Do you two have anything?" he asked. I shook my head. "They are quiet. I don't think there's anything they can do here." I said. He nodded. "And you Draco?" he asked. "I want to know why you didn't tell us Mattheo was coming back." Draco said. Severus sighed. "You two were already under so much pressure, I didn't want to add to it." he said. "So you just decided-" Draco started. "Draco-" I said, cutting him off. "It's fine. I'm fine." I said. They both nodded. "You two should get to dinner. Thank you." he said. We nodded and left.

GINNY WEASLEY

"I'm only saying, just because the information has been legit so far doesn't mean we should jump in head first with the whole thing." Seamus said. "It's been a week and we've been able to stay under the radar. The Spy, whoever they are, they want to help. I trust them." Neville said. "He's got a point and we need these medical supplies. They said they can get stuff off the Black Market for us. Come on Ginny," Katie said. Everyone looked at me. I wondered how I had been chosen as the leader of Dumbledore's Army. Maybe because of me and Harry. Maybe it was just because nobody else wanted to do it. I don't know. But someone had to. I guess it was me.

"Ok. We need these medical supplies and we have no other options. I guess we have to trust The Spy. I'll code the letter now." I said. They all nodded. I wrote the letter in code, asking for the necessary medical supplies we needed and put it in an envelope. Then I snuck out and to the library. I hid it under the table and snuck back. Now I can only hope our spy can deliver.