Before The Past

Ch. 53

"How did it go?" Matteo asked as I plopped down onto the couch and rested my head on his lap. 

"We killed it. And then it came back." I responded. 

"So it worked?" He asked, a smirk growing on his face. 

"Not good enough." I said, rolling my eyes. 

I looked up and him and admired his beautiful features. No matter how much I stared at this boy I could never get tired of him. His deep brown eyes, soft lips, curly hair, and even the dark circles around his eyes were perfect.  He smelled familiar and I felt comfortable anytime I was around him. Although we never established what we were, we already knew. 

We weren't anything, officially, we were simply just enjoying each other's company. We couldn't be anything more than friends, and even that was risky. Putting a label to our relationship would be a huge mistake. The Dark Lord would grow suspicious and we can't risk getting caught. It was already hard enough to find time to be with each other. He was always busy and so was I. Not to mention this was all we had for some time. This summer we'd likely become strangers and he'd be off on his own while I still had a year left of school. 

There was no denying that I wanted more. I wanted to be able to call him mine and to see him any time I wanted. I didn't want to worry about whether or not we could keep a relationship without contact or even if he wanted to keep going. I wasn't sure about what he wanted. He'd always brush everything off and focus the attention back on me. He'd say some silly thing and then redirect the questions. 

"Will you come with us, when it's done?" I whispered, still debating on if this was the right thing to ask. 

"Yes, although I likely won't be with you. I'll be waiting for the signal and then I'll leave." Matteo responded. 

"So that'll be it then. After that we won't be able to speak again?" I asked, knowing that although it sounded dramatic, it was true. 

"No, I won't let that happen." He sighed and nudged me to sit up. 

"But he doesn't want you talking to me." I reminded him. 

"Because he thinks we'll distract each other from our tasks. After the school year ends you won't have any more tasks, so he'll be more lenient." 

He sounded hopeful, but I wasn't sure. I didn't even think the word 'lenient' was in The Dark Lord's vocabulary. 

"So we'll be able to write to each other?" I questioned for more clarity. The last thing I wanted to do was get my hopes and expectations up too high. 

"And perhaps see each other occasionally, but that depends on the time we have." He responded. 

I smiled at him and he smiled back. His eyes were genuine and so were his words. Even if we truly couldn't talk to each other as much as we hope to, it was something. It was more than never seeing each other and being forbidden from even communicating. There was hope, and the more time I spent the more I realized how much we each meant it. How he truly did care and wanted to be with me. Although it had taken me a while to accept I realize that it isn't just a game to him, and maybe it never was. 

Two nights ago we put another bird through the cabinet and to our surprise, it survived. It was in perfect condition meaning that the cabinet was finished. In a few weeks time all we would have to do was open it and let the others handle the rest. After that, we'd have to kill him. One of us would have to cast the curse, to prove ourselves. 

I didn't want to be the one to do it, but Draco likely didn't either. When it came down to the two of us, who would it be? Was the killing curse easy to cast? Did it take anything special to do?