Babysitters

Chapter 10

VERONICA VALDEZ

The first thing I saw was a huge tree. Tom, Mattheo, Enzo and Draco were already waiting for us, and as soon as they saw us, they started walking towards a mansion that stood in the distance.
The mansion was clearly old. Its walls were made of dark wood that stood between the large windows. The river between the mansion and us was reflecting the light coming from the windows, making the waters surface look like a mirror. The trees around made the house look even more mysterious than I think it actually was.

Theo held my hand tightly as we followed the others to the bridge that made its way over the river, all the way to the front doors of the mansion.
"What is this place?" I asked him quietly, as if I wasn't supposed to speak normally. The silence around us was scary, apart from my question the only thing audible was our footsteps and the waters splashing against the bridges stone.
"You'll find out soon, amore," Theo answered, speaking just as quietly. "Just remember what I said."
I nodded slightly, stretching my strides to keep up with the boys. As we walked further from the land and closer to the house, I noticed a thick fog starting to surround us. After only a few seconds we were almost completely drowned in it. The only thing I was able to see was Theo's hand in mine, even his face had disappeared, not to mention the other boys.
I focused on my steps harder than ever. Do you know that feeling when you're walking, unable see anything, and you constantly feel like you're about to crash into something, making you want to stop moving? That's how I felt.
"Don't let go of my hand," Theo ordered while walking confidently. Was I the only one who couldn't see anything?
I didn't respond, instead I just squeezed his hand a bit tighter. The longer we walked in the fog, the more I started to feel like panicking. The bridge was not this long, was it?
"Can we please turn back? I'm scared," I whispered to Theo, basically clinging onto him. This was not fun anymore.
No answer.
"Theo?" I tried again.
"Shhh!"
I swallowed hard. The fog felt cold and uncomfortable against my skin, but I couldn't escape it. It had surrounded us completely, blocking out all sounds from outside.

Then I saw it.

Two red dots in the middle of the fog. They were a few meters away on my left side. Just like eyes.
I was so scared I felt like crying. If I was alone right now, I'd have a panic attack.
The more steps I took, the more dots appeared. On my left, right and even in front of me. I looked over my shoulder, seeing a dozen more staring at my back. I let out a whimper.
A mistake.
All of the eyes ran a few meters closer to us before Theo had a chance to stop and cover my mouth with his hand. He looked around for a bit before I heard his heavy breathing right in my left ear.
"Don't make a noise," He whispered, and waited for me to nod before taking his hand off my mouth. He grabbed my hand again and continued walking like nothing had happened.
Honestly I was shitting myself.
What the fuck is happening and where are we?

I followed Theo, staying as close to him as I could. We walked for what felt like hours, but in reality it was just a few minutes. The eyes never stopped following and watching us, but I knew better than to let out any noise.
After a while I started noticing the outlines of the forest and the other boys again. We were close to wherever we were going to. The fog got lighter and it was easier to breathe again, but only after I saw that we weren't on the bridge anymore had I the courage to speak.
"What the actual fuck was that?" I said, hearing my voice slightly break. I wasn't supposed to cry, but the intense fear from the last minutes threatened to escape through my eyes now. Apparently Theo understood I had been actually terrified because he pulled me into a hug.
"It's okay, it's over now," He said quietly, his mouth close to my ear.
"What were they?" I whispered, knowing that the next words I'd say would make me cry.
"They're there to make sure no one uninvited would pass through. They let us over because they were told to," Theo explained with an annoyingly calm voice. Was he not scared at all?
"You should've warned me! I wouldn't have even came here with you if you did," I sobbed into his chest, finally letting the tears fall. I couldn't have cared less if his shirt would be soaked, this was his fault. He should've let me know before bringing me here.
"I know you wouldn't. That's why I didn't say anything, your presence is required by the dark lord," He said, again keeping his voice down.
I looked up at him, feeling confused now. "What?"
"He told us to come here and bring you with us. I'm sorry for not telling y-"
Theo was cut off by Draco who cleared his throat. "We should go, lovebirds."
Mattheo smirked but was soon pulled back by Tom. "We need to go, father is waiting for us."
I let go of Theo and started walking after the others. Now that the fog wasn't a problem anymore I could clearly see the huge mansion towering in front of us. I have to admit, it looked like a place where Voldemort would happily spend time.
The doors opened on itself as we got closer, and the sound of multiple people speaking quietly could be heard. I felt Theo grabbing my hand again as we made our way through the doors.

Goddamn it. If he continued acting like a sweet loverboy I would not be able to deny my feelings for him anymore, even though I was still angry at him.

Tom and Mattheo seemed to know exactly where they were going and the rest of us just followed them. There were multiple wizards just standing in the halls speaking to each other, but as we passed them, they quieted down. I don't know if it was because they wanted to show respect or if they didn't want us to hear their conversations. When their eyes spotted me, they seemed to be surprised. I think it's totally understandable though, I mean, I was wearing a blue crop top and jeans. I didn't exactly fit into the picture of a dark, mysterious mansion.
The wizard's prying eyes didn't leave me alone, and I started feeling really uncomfortable. We walked through the endless halls and with each step I became more aware of their stares in my back.
After a while of the excruciating walk we arrived in front of a big, dark wooded door. Tom knocked on it, and got a flat "Come in" in response.
He opened the door and we all stepped inside, Theo closing it as he was the last one.

The room was large with a huge open fireplace on one side. Next to it was a long, wooden table with 11 seats on the sides and one on both ends. Under the table was an expensive looking rug with symmetrical patterns.

Six of the seats were taken. At the end was sitting Voldemort himself with the two seats next to him staying empty. On the middle were Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy next to each other, and on the opposite side were my father, Severus Snape and Bellatrix Lestrange. As soon as we had entered, their eyes had settled on us.
I froze completely. I did not want to be here, I didn't want to be involved with these people at all. I considered running through the door all the way outside, but if the bridge still had the same horrors waiting for me, I wouldn't get far by myself.
Theo pulled my sleeve a bit to get me moving, and I knew I had to comply. I walked to my father and sat next to him while Mattheo and Tom made their way next to Voldemort. Draco went next to Narcissa as Theo and Lorenzo just sat on some free seats on the opposite side of me.

Voldemort greeted his sons first, before speaking to all of us with a malicious smile.
"Welcome, everyone. Shall we begin?"