Flee from Freedom | Mattheo Riddle

6: No Malfoy Manor

A wave of warmth hits us as we stumble through the doors. It may be early May, but at this time in the evening, the air has a noticeable chill, and we are all low on warm clothing, as well as most of the things we have being torn in some way. The building is nothing extravagant, it's no Malfoy Manor that's for sure.

"Hiya, how can I help-" A small female voice comes from across the room. We all turn simultaneously, to see a woman stood behind a small desk in the middle of the room. Her voice trails off when she sees the state of us. Perhaps our charms weren't as effective as we thought.

"Ah wonderful." Theo jumps into character, giving Pansy's hand a small squeeze before heading in her direction. "We were looking for a room, 6 of us, we've had the most awful journey."

"Is he flirting with her?" Mattheo leans slightly down to me, whispering in my ear.

"Of course he's fucking flirting with her." I whisper back, a smile flickering onto my face.

None of us move from where we are, we all just watch Theo as he tries to persuade the hostess lady to give us a room.

"10 galleons, he has to whip out his wand for something other than paying." I whisper back up to Mattheo.

"You're on."

"See-" Theo leans forward, tilting his head to read her name tag. "Brenda. We had to walk here, all the way from.. a long way basically, and honestly, we are really tired. My friends, probably more so than i am." He ends the sentence with a small chuckle.

"I'm not entirely sure what you are getting at Sir." Brenda replies, then shifts to the side to get a better look at us. We all stand up straighter. "Perhaps you ought to go somewhere else, we are full."

"Rejected." Enzo whispers comedically.

"Look Brenda." His voice is slightly firmer now. "We really need a place to stay, just one night."

"I said we were full." Her voice grows firmer too.

"Well I don't believe you, lets be honest, not many people are going to using hostels in a time like this, so I doubt you are full."

"I think you should leave before i-"

Theo reaches into his pocket, pulling out his wand and placing it on the desk in front of him.

Mattheo sighs beside me, and his arm loosens from around me. "Fuck."

"When this is over, 10 galleons Mattheo." I lean sideways, pushing him slightly.

Brenda steps back, pushing herself against the wall.

"Brenda." Theo continues. "I'm fairly sure you know what's going on now. We don't want to hurt you, we just want a room. 6 people. 1 night."

It takes a second, but she steps forwards, reaching under the desk, to produce a key. "Room 12, second floor."

Snatching it from her hand with a grin on his face, "Thanks a bunch Brenda. You have a nice night." Turning to face us, Theo indicates towards the stairwell on the right. We all begin to head over.

Waiting patiently until we have reached the stairs, Theo turns back to Brenda, flashing her a grin, then muttering a quick obliviate.

__________

"Wasn't I great?" Theo steps through the door, bowing elegantly.

"Not fucking really." Pansy scoffs. "You flirted with her and it got you absolutely nowhere, then the only way to get her to even give you the key was to threaten her."

"Aw Pans, it was only strategy, you know you are my number 1." Theo glides towards her, lifting his hands up to cup her face.

She swerves almost immediately. "All you needed to do was walk up to her and ask her for a room, instead you scared her and embarrassed yourself."