Burn Baby {Open}

[Verity Valentine]

Verity had received the letter at breakfast. She hadn't needed to open it to know what it contained and it was with a couple of strange looks that she had stuffed the ivory envelope into the pocket of her robes to read when she was alone and continued with biting into the apple she had selected to keep her going for the day. Dark eyes swirled with a mixture of emotions as she watched the rest of the student body get on with their morning as if nothing was changing about them. How could anyone be so carefree? The eyes hardened slightly in anger although if anyone had bothered to look they would have seen the fear and self loathing contained within their depths but like any self respecting Snake she had made sure there was no witness to such a thing and instead looked about her slightly, eyes darting from one face to another. She wished she could be like that...

She had forgotten about the letter by the time she had gone to her first two classes -or at least, she pretended to have forgotten about it and it was by the time her third, free period had started that she had wandered away from the rest of her year mates after a rather interesting Charms class and had made her way deep in thought to the steep hill located on the school grounds.

As a general rule Verity didn't like sitting on the ground all willy nilly as she was always half terrified of ripping her clothes and as she had them owl ordered to herself and paid quite a pretty penny for them on top of that she didn't fancy having to buy replacements...and especially as the repairing charms she had been taught just didn't work all that well on something so fine as lace, velvet and silk. And Verity was very particular about her clothing. Today it seemed she was about to defy all her previous rules and it was with a thump that she sat down on the nearest, flattest rock she could find and dug into the pocket to locate the letter that had been so unceremoniously stuffed in there only a few hours before.

Her fingers shook as she opened it, pulling the thick parchment out, her eyes immediately going to the signature at the bottom of the page and with it confirming that it had indeed come from her mother. Her mother. The woman who had brought her into the world and yet seemed to hate her more than anything. The woman that Verity had witnessed as being the killer of her beloved father. Verity hated and feared Morgain with every fibre of her being and she was the first to admit that the only other person she would ever fear the was Dark Lord...and that was only a very close first. Sometimes she wasn't sure who scared her the most and more times than that she tried to forget about her family and what was expected of her.

My dear daughter, It started and it was a huffed sarcastic laugh that she read it out. Dear? Since when was she ever a 'dear daughter'? The woman was madder than she thought! Her eyes skimmed over the next few lines and her blood ran cold although the only outward physical sign of her anxiety was the whitening of her knuckles as her grip on the parchment grew tighter. It was nearly time...Her mother had written to tell her that soon she would be joining the ranks of the followers. Soon she would be seen as a wife of a Deatheater.

Verity swallowed back the urge to scream and blinked back the bitter tears that wanted to fall. She had always known this was going to happen but she hadn't thought it would be so soon. She had always assumed that there would be months before she needed to worry about who she was to be stuck with for what would probably be the rest of her life...She had so hoped that..that...She gulped again before fumbling for her wand. With parchment in one hand, wand in the other she viciously jabbed the tip of the stick into the middle of the page, setting it alight immediately and then let go. Watching the page turn to ash on the wind she kept a tight hold of her wand, breathing heavily and almost seeming like she was about to start hyperventilating as she tried to process everything that was in that letter. Soon. She didn't have time! Dully she looked down at the wand in her hand and briefly considered just ending it all and indeed her wand came up so that the tip was against the side of her forhead but although she so desperately wanted to say the words she couldn't quite bring herself to say them. She was suicidal but perhaps she wasn't quite ready to do anything about it...

She didn't remove it however and as she stared out across the forest she wondered how her life had come to be so wholly and wonderfully messed up. What had she done to deserve such hatred from the one who was meant to protect her? How was she ever going to save herself now?

Notes:
So, not my best work but it needed to be written according to the muse and my writers block...so here it is.

[DRACO MALFOY]

Draco was a Slytherin for good reason. If you didn't know that, then you clearly didn't know him. He was a snake personified- cowardly but determined, ambitious and arrogant. Clever, a liar, a manipulator. Somewhat physically imposing, but more likely to think his way out of something then blast through his problems like a bloody Gryffindor. But just because he was a Slytherin didn't mean he was evil, just because he was a Deatheater didn't mean he was a murderer. Yet. Stereotyping and prejudice had been a part of his life for a very, very long time. He'd always been told Purebloods were better, and he had foolishly believed it. He'd spend a good part of his years taunting and bullying others because they were 'mudbloods' or 'traitors.' Words like that were part of his vocabulary before he even understood what they meant, before he understood what Prejudice even was. From the very start he was convinced he was better because of something he couldn't see, and Draco thought he'd be that way forever. Know, he knew better... somewhat. Now he understood that while he always thought others were below him, oftentimes they thought the same thing about him. First because he was a Malfoy, a Pureblood. It was expected of him to be blood prejudiced, and so he was. Then, when he was a Slytherin, and it was expected of him to be clever and manipulative and a bully, and so he was. Now, as a Deatheater. It was expected of him to be a torturer. A murderer. A follower. And so, he was. Draco never had a choice, or at least it hadn't felt like it. How could he turn his back on his parents, his so called friends, everything he knew? Any other way was frighteningly dark and foreign.

There is a saying. That the only thing to fear, is fear itself. But Draco wasn't afraid of fear. He was afraid of the unknown. The road he couldn't possible imagine, the frayed endings of a path he couldn't see. The outcome he wouldn't know until it arrived. At that point, there was no turning back. So he had come to the conclusion that he had no choice. Murdering Albus Dumbledore was the only thing he could do, and even that was uncertain. Draco didn't understand that chances had to be taken and that things almost always got worse before they got better. And until he learned that, he'd be stuck in the vicious cycle that even now he was struggling to break free of. But until then, he'd be desperately trying to do what was expected of him. That's what he was doing now, working in the Room of Requirement, when a cold dark laugh pierced his thoughts. Draco spun on the spot, searching for the source of the noise that haunted him. He quickly realized he had only imagined it, and then sunk into one of the many chairs in the Room of Requirement, putting his hands over his tired eyes. He needed to sleep. But sleep brought nightmares, and he already had enough of those while he was awake. Eyes fluttering shut, the young Deatheater shot out of his chair. He couldn't stay here if he wanted to stay awake. It was too silent, too warm and enclosed. And he knew if he fell asleep here, he would be, relatively speaking, safe. No one would find him. The youngest Malfoy soon found himself on Hogwarts grounds. Surely, it would be empty enough here, but not as silent, not as easy to let himself slip into that fitful sleep he almost wanted to come. Maybe, he'd get a few hours without nightmares he thought. Maybe he'd sleep soundly.. but no. Draco shook off that particular hope. Not now, he couldn't deal with that. It hadn't been a good day, to say the least.

That was when the boy, stumbling down the stairs that were placed onto the side of the hill, saw someone familiar. With her back turned from him, it took a moment to process who it was, but then it quickly came to him. Verity. The girl at the tower. Of course, he would have the luck to run into her, of all people. For a moment, he debated turning around and walking in the other direction. She hadn't noticed him yet, after all. But perhaps a conversation would keep him awake and alert better. Besides, anything they talked about couldn't be much worse then the last time. So he continued down the last few steps, finally heading towards her, walking across the grass slowly. Giving himself time to change his mind. But from the new angle he was coming at her towards, he could see what she was doing with one hand. Holding her wand to her temple. Like she was going to kill herself. His feet stumbled over something that was not there, and he couldn't help himself from calling out, "V-verity...?" Draco stopped then, still a few feet from where she sat. His eyes were wide, the previous tired, dull look replaced with one of surprise, and then of unsureness. Perhaps this encounter would be worse then the last.

[Verity Valentine]

Verity wasn't sure how long she had sat there for just staring off into space with her wand against her temple but she supposed it could have been quite some time. Her mind didn't care about time right now. She just wanted to try and work out some sort of plan...how was she going to get through this? The last few years had been filled with the hope that perhaps just one person would take pity on her and help her escape the life she was leading but now it seemed like that was nothing more than a cold dream. Her body shivered slightly although not from the cold. How was she going to get through this? Being told that your life was now forfeit made her wish she had the courage to just cast the curse and be done with it all but that talk with Malfoy on the tower had made her stop and think just a little.

Malfoy. A boy she had never spoken more than two words to before that night had suddenly made her stop and think about what she was doing with her life. She had been sincere in her words to him about not having any value on her own life but at the same time she was just as sincere about keeping his secret. She was well aware that if she so much as uttered a hint about the whole thing they would both pay for it and for some reason she didn't want to hurt him. The thought was strange to her for she had always been by herself but it was a welcome one; why should she not care about someone else? It was nice just to stop fretting about her own safety and concentrate on his. And yet at the same time in order to keep him safe she would need to live just a little longer in order to see it happen...perhaps things would become better soon? She had no way of predicting the future but she had no choice but to believe things would pick up. After that then she would perhaps just end it all...there was no future for a broken doll like herself.

Her thoughts were eventually brought to a halt at the call of her name. The voice was familiar although not so familar that she recognised it to begin with and as it was a male she ruled out the one or two people it might have been. She dropped the arm holding the wand up as if she had just realised what she was doing and turned slightly so that she could see who had called her. Her own eyes matched his for a moment, widening in surprise at the boy she had just been thinking so intently about. Despite many of her thoughts being about him she had actually gone out of her way to ignore him over the last few days and to be caught by him now brought a blush of shame to her cheeks. Her words drifted through her mind, taunting her as she continued to stare at him, "I may not value my life very much...but I do value yours." The blush intensified at having been caught doing something that so obviously betrayed what she had confessed before.

"Draco!" The word came out slightly high pitched, shame so very evident and also filled with surprise at just who had come to her. Then, as if realising where she was she swiftly allowed her eyes to dart about her as if making sure there was no one about as she did not like the thought of anyone hearing her actually say his name out loud. Not that it was a taboo of some sort but because saying his given name implied that she knew him well and although they had had one conversation fuelled by lack of sleep and loniless she would never lay claim to knowing him 'well'. That was for the people he had known before this whole mess had started....and for those who would be acceptable for his family. She was neither of these things and she felt it with everything she was.

((Its not great but I had a go XD The next should be a lot better!))

[DRACO MALFOY]

It would be a lie to say he hadn't thought about her at all since that night at the tower. But Draco already had enough worrisome reasons he could end up dead, and truthfully, he did trust her. Strange as it may seem to trust a suicidal Slytherin who may or may not become a follower of the Dark Lord, he couldn't help but believe she'd keep her word and thus keep him safe. Though he couldn't help but wonder if she really knew how much was at stake. But Verity didn't really have the aura of being a vapid or ignorant girl, and he really had no other choice. Although, she had seemed to avoid him in the last few days, which had actually made him more aware of her actions then anything. So perhaps he had thought about her more then he had at first acknowledged. Nevertheless, his thoughts had never stumbled in this direction- Draco had never worried for her safety. If he was in a mind to feel guilt, he actually might of, because coming upon her with a wand pointed to her temple was the last thing he could have ever imagined. He had been foolishly selfish, he realized vaguely.

Draco knew that she might be in a place almost as dark as his, and she had said she didn't value her life... but words and actions were two entirely different things. It took a certain kind of person to live through what Draco and possibly Verity would have to live through. But it took an entirely different kind of person to be able to take hold of what was left of their life and cut that all away. Maybe, maybe he would be better off dead. Maybe she would be, too. He had indeed thought of it before. But he had never been pushed so far as to begin to put such ideas into action. How could anyone believe that death would be better then life? That would be like saying... darkness was better then light. But then again, Draco was aligned with the 'dark' side of things, so he couldn't say much about the matter.

The high pitched pronunciation of his name was the thing to bring him back to the present, but before his eyes could meet hers, she looked away. Almost like she was looking around to see if someone else was there. Automatically, he did the same thing, and it was only after setting his sights back on her did Draco really understand what she said. The way she said it. His name, without contempt or spite or a cowardly tone, which were often the only three things associated with his first name. Contrary to common belief, Draco liked his first name. Much better then his last, actually. That had only been a recent discovery, but the blonde preferred to be seen as Draco, himself, then a Malfoy, which was his family and their actions. So the shame that echoed throughout the word confused him for a moment, as well as the quick glances afterwards. He could quickly associate the shame with the fact she was caught in... well, the position she was in, but then why would she have looked around as if she was afraid others were there? Of course it could have been that she was looking to see whether anyone else had seen her in such a delicate moment, and decided that was it.

"What are you doing..?" Were the first words that tumbled from his lips as he walked closer, before finally standing before her, looking down at her place on a rock. They came with surprise and a kind of vulnerability not often seen in his voice. The words had not come planned, but had instead sprung free from him without any kind of idea what they could mean. The question, he realized immediately afterwards, was not one he wanted an answer too. So stumbling slightly over his words and then clearly appearing shocked for doing so, Draco continued, "I mean, well... I mean is-is something wrong?" Clearly something was wrong, she just appeared ready to kill herself! He thought furiously, trying to get his mind in step with his voice and doing so very unsuccessfully, "I- no, What's wrong? I don't--" He grimaced, clearly disgusted with his lack of comprehension at the moment. Only after clearing his throat, and then waiting another moment, did he say with careful and quiet emphasis, his words defined and controlled as they were supposed to be, "You don't have to, if you don't want... but if you'd like to tell me, I'd listen." He nodded at her, noting the position he had found her in. Surely something else would have had to happened since they last met if she were going to resort to that measure so soon. Draco's scowl at last was replaced with a serene mask, finally getting himself under control once more.

{OOC: I liked it! Hopefully mine isn't too ramble-y.}

[Verity Valentine]

Verity couldn't help but staring at him as he moved cautiously closer to where she had perched herself and with his words her eyes only widened slightly. Was that concern she had heard? For some reason she had never associated concern with him before and it was just a little strange that it was directed at her of all people. Surely it was not so surprising to find her like this? Although she supposed anyone would have been shocked to have found her with her wand so clearly pressed into the temple and she did not doubt that like him they would jump to the wrong conclusion. She couldn't blame him for thinking such things of course as she had already so clearly stated that she didn't want to live if it meant having to serve under the Dark Lord and she was quite prepared to continue with that plan...especially now that things had escalated like they had.

As he asked her if she was alright she frowned slightly, wondering what had possessed him to ask such a question. If he thought her to have been on the brink of suicide then surely he would know that something was not quite right? Verity thought him to be a bit of an idiot for asking but also found it somewhat sweet that despite everything he was showing her a compassionate side that no one else would have known about and what was stranger was the fact that he seemed unable to form coherent sentences and it was with wider eyes that she watched him fumble over his words. This side of the male was certainly something she had not expected....It was nice seeing him act like everyone else for once instead of the cold shell he seemed to have become.

Eventually however he seemed to calm himself down and with his next statement his face had relaxed from horrible shock to quite peaceful and it was with some force of her own that she relaxed her face muscles, her eyes no longer so wide they threatened to pop out and her own mask of indifference was brought down- something they both seemed to have in common. It must be a snake thing to be able to pull it down so quickly and with so little trouble. However unlike his she soon allowed a small smile to grace the lips of her mask as she tilted her head slightly to the side, causing a mess of dark curls to tumble over her shoulder as she did so. "I've been better," She told him, unwilling to part with the truth of the whole matter just yet. The truth was something she did not want to acknowledge as real and telling him would only make it so. Her mask was not quite so perfect as she had hoped as mere moments later panic flitted through her eyes so clearly that even the most dense of Gryffindors would have noticed it and she had to closed them briefly in order to bring herself back to some state of calm before she started to have a panic attack.

How did one go about telling someone that their entire life was about to be over? She was well aware that their problems were vastly different and that as far as she was concerned he was going through a hell she could only dream of and yet at the same time she considered what was to happen to her was the worst thing that could happen...to her at any rate. She didn't know how to form the words that would tell him that she was petrified of what the holidays would bring to her life, nor could she admit that her mother was so insane as to believe that anything she might do would gain no favours anywhere. As far as Verity was concerned she would be dead one way or another before the year was ended and if it happened to be at her own hand it was better than her mother's or even the man she was meant to marry.

((I lied...it sucked DX))

[DRACO MALFOY]

You always knew when someone like her- or himself, really- showed any emotion it was because they either wanted too, or because it was a strong one. The two were both good at hiding things behind a careful face, and when such an expression like surprise crossed her face, Draco was positive she must have been extremely surprised. There was no reason for her to display that just because she wanted too. And though he was surprised himself, he'd already gotten his features under control after that stumble moments before. It wasn't often the Slytherin Prince tripped over his own words... in fact, this was probably one of the first times he'd ever done so. Even when something slipped out unguarded, he never stuttered or backtracked quite like he had when speaking to Verity just now.

That would perhaps be something he could ponder after this encounter was over, but for the time being he pushed it aside and watched her closely, guarding his own emotions closely. But just as he did so, her face relaxed. Of course it did. Obviously if something was bothering her so much as to want to kill herself, she'd want to hide it from others, thus making the indifference necessary. She was just as good at hiding things at him. Or at least almost as good. Either way, he didn't like that, how both of them were so sure of the mask they slipped into. The more time he spent with the girl- which so far had been very little- the more similarities he found between them. Being similar to Draco was not something to aim for, in most cases. At least not any more. And it wasn't just that, either. He didn't like the feeling that someone else was going through something alike to his situation, and for more then one reason.

Anyways, the blonde certainly hadn't been expecting a direct answer from her, but the statement 'I've been better,' made him angry in a way he hadn't been for some time. Of course she'd been better. Did he look like a complete idiot? Sure, some of his words had came disconnected from his throat in an almost embarrassing way, but that didn't change a thing. Why was he angry? Because she was directly avoiding his question. At least, that's what he told himself. The real reason, you ask? Perhaps because it was the kind of answer he would give if someone had asked him the kind of personal questions he'd accidentally thrown out at her. It was, after all, the very same answer he had sent to his mother what- three, four weeks ago? Or maybe it was because Draco was starting to feel a strange twinge in his chest. An odd discomfort he couldn't quite name, though the word 'guilt' floated through his mind for a brief second. Guilt, what did he have to be guilty for?! It wasn't his fault she was stupid enough to want to kill herself. Nevertheless, Draco had learned that anger was always a sufficient emotion to push away all others, and no matter how he felt or what he thought, the only thing at the forefront of his mind then was that sudden fury.

"I knew that," He snapped, scowling, his icy cold glare shooting in her direction, hiding anything else he might have been feeling even better then the indifferent state he tended to morph into around others. That was all he kind do, really. Become uncaring or angry. Those were the two traits he held on to from who he used to be, and now it was all he had left, "I'm not blind." Silver eyes glanced pointedly to her wand before coming back to her face. His mouth had slackened slightly, but he kept that stare of his fierce as always. Taking a slow breath he added in a more careful, dejected tone, "Or deaf, either, for that matter." His glare flickered, just for a moment. Draco was referring to her statement. I may not value my life very much, but I do value yours. He hoped she hadn't noticed the slight change of shade in his eyes, even for the short moment it lasted. If Verity were to call him out on his anger, he was sure it would all fall apart. He couldn't have that happen, not again, and certainly not in front of the same person as last time.

OOC: It was fine!

[Verity Valentine]

Her response had been a general one. One that was commonly used by everyone at some point or other in their lives and like many others she had used it far more than she ought to. She would often tell her mother that she was 'fine' despite the obvious hatred in the words as she spoke them. Verity could not remember a time when her world had been all sunshine and roses. She was pretty sure there had never been such a time but then, when her father had still been alive things had been better...she had been safe. Her mother had ruined that illusion of safety and now the word 'fine' was a lie to convince the world that she was ok with what was happening to her family. She would never be ok with it. However, his anger at the comment left her stunned for a moment for she could not understand what the problem was. He must be the same as her when it came to it so surely he would know that she could not state the truth. For a moment she wished she had kept that letter instead of burning it like she had for then she could have just shown him instead of trying to explain it with words she did not have.

Her stunned response to his irritation was replaced with horror at the fact that he had indeed heard her words from that previous night; words she had been so sure he had not heard for he had said nothing about it until now. She had been hoping that she had fallen on deaf ears but alas that also seemed to have been an illusion. Those words had been mostly for her to feel better about the secrets they had shared and although a part of her was glad he had heard her promise of silence about his part in things she still found herself wishing he had not heard her. Why had she spoken such things? Why had she even been out that night in the first place? She should not have bothered with sneaking out at all and now here she was stuck with an annoyed Slytherin prince and no words to ease the situation. She felt stupid and she really, really disliked it.

So she turned to annoyed as well. Her lips thinned slightly as she stared at him, giving only a tiny hint that she did not like the tone he had chosen to use with her. Yes they were not bosom buddies and certainly not even classed as acquaintances but she did not like being spoken to in such a manner and she was intent on telling him so. "You asked," She told him, forgetting for a moment that she was well in her teens as she crossed her arms to try and stare him down. "Or perhaps you want to be lumbered with the truth of this?" She wiggled her wand from where it could just be seen beneath her arm, causing small silver sparks to streak from the tip as she did so although they fizzled out quickly enough.

Like him she was using anger as a front to how she truly felt about being caught in such a way. Her defences were too well developed to be brought down so easily and the fact that it was Draco made it worse for he was far too like her to be able to do much of the wall breaking. Verity considered that they would always be like this with one another if they kept meeting like this and she wondered if she enjoyed the idea of getting to know him in such a way before deciding that she bloody well didn't care one way or another! If he wanted to get all arsy then she would just follow his example. The fact that she was to afraid to admit the truth was not something she would admit even to herself.

((I'm sorry...its is just AWFUL. My muse killed itself))