𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭, ᵐᵃᵗᵗʰᵉᵒ ʳⁱᵈᵈˡᵉ

chapter 31

charlotte had not seen mattheo in 3 weeks. this would have been alarming  to her, had she not been so used to it. it had been two months since he had became her spy, and in those two months, she had only seen him once. he had given her important information, a hasty explanation on how busy his missions from his father keep him, and then he was gone again. she told herself this was her way of keeping him safe, that when voldemort was defeated, mattheo would be safe from trial because he was doing this for her, but in reality, she feared she was only putting him at risk more. if he was caught, he would be killed. brutally. and there was nothing she could do to stop it. dumbledore kept assigning her the easiest missions possible, acting as if she couldn't handle greater things, when everyone knew she could.
the day she got her first big mission, she was ecstatic. harry, ron, and hermione were hunting horcruxes, and while she had no big mission like that, the order had still instructed her to stay at grimmauld place and miss out on her sixth year at hogwarts. dumbledore, even though he was involved in the war the smallest amount, seemed to make all the calls. he instructed her to meet her in the dining room, acting as if it wasn't her house to begin with. she debated ignoring his request for a moment before she made her way down to the dining room. she hated being under his control, but everyone assured her it was only temporary.
"hello mrs. black," dumbledore said, watching her enter while he sat at the head of the table.
"hello," she said stiffly, taking a seat farther away from him, "you wanted to see me?"
"yes," he said eerily, "i am in need of your specific ...talents."
"what do you mean?" she asked, leaning forward curiously.
"there has been some speculation that the death eaters plan to invade hogwarts and attack it," he said evenly, "and we have decided, that your expertise could be...helpful."
"you want me to go back to hogwarts?" she asked hopefully.
"precisely." dumbledore answered, nodding at her.
"i-i'll get packed right away," charlotte said, excitement bubbling in her stomach.
"good thinking." he said, "i'll have mad eye apparate you there shortly."
"thank you, sir." charlotte said gratefully.
"don't thank me yet," dumbledore warned, an odd glint in his eye.
as she rushed up the stairs, she wondered if hogwarts was like she remembered. it was a magical place, and charlotte felt her heart ache just thinking about it. she had been away too long. hogwarts was where she was meant to be. it was her home. she stuffed all of her things into her trunk quick as possible. as she stormed down the stairs with her trunk trailing behind her, she was filled with an overwhelming sense of peace. with the tight pinch of apparation deep in her gut, the familiar sight of the castle flooded her sight. before she knew it, she was running down the hallway, desperate to get to the one place she missed the most.

the astronomy tower was just the same as she remembered. the person leaning over the railing, a cigarette lazily held between his fingers, was just as she remembered, too. she could almost feel it, the moment he realized it was her behind him. his head tipped slightly to the side, and she
knew without seeing him that he had closed his eyes. he turned slowly, and when he opened his eyes, he was staring right at her. it had been months since she seen him look like that. it had been months since she'd seen him at all. she thought of the fact that somewhere in these halls, cedric was here too, but she couldn't bring herself to care. there was no one on earth that could compare to mattheo riddle. her matt. her feelings for him were deep and wild and impulsive, but she couldn't bring herself to even attempt to put an end to them. she knew war was coming. she needed to savor the moments she had with him before it was too late. before another thought could fill her head, he was in front of her, hands gently grabbing her shoulders and pressing her against his chest.
"charlotte," he whispered quickly, "are you staying?"
she nodded, to shocked to say anything as one of his hands began stroking her hair.
he pressed his lips to her head lightly, "stay in your room tonight," he said, a slight tone of begging in his voice, "lock your door, don't come out. please."
she looked up at him swiftly, "i don't understand."
"i know," mattheo said, holding her tighter to him, "i'm sorry, but please charlotte, do this for me."
she nodded stiffly after a moment before solemnly saying, "anything."
he squeezed her tightly one more time before disappearing down the spiraling steps of the astronomy tower, leaving her alone with her confusion, fear, and a twinge of regret that she didn't get more time with him after not seeing him for so long.

that night, when the sun went down and the halls got dark, charlotte locked her door. she did exactly as mattheo asked. she laid in her bed silently for hours, waiting for some sign that whatever mattheo was trying to keep her away from, was occuring. whatever was going on was silent and undetectable. slowly, she opened her door slowly, tiptoeing down the hall. when she reached the stairs to the astronomy tower, she took them stealthily, hearing voices echoing down the stairwell. she hid inside the doorframe upon her arrival, watching in shock as Draco and Mattheo held their wands at dumbledore who looked a sickly shade of gray. draco's hand quivered slightly, and charlotte knew without looking at her cousins face that he was hesitating. while draco seemed reluctant, mattheos hand was still. if draco wouldn't do it, he would. she took one slow step out of the doorway, and it was in that moment she realized that draco and mattheo weren't alone. all the death eaters were there. at hogwarts. a place she had considered her home for ages, infiltrated by the worse people the world had to offer. as draco's wand lowered, mattheos hand seemed to straighten. she feared for a moment that he would finish the job himself , but after a moment he lowered his wand slowly. she let out a sigh of relief and took a step back into the shadows of the doorframe, but her relief was short lived. from the opposite set of stairs, snape walked into the platform of the tower. she saw dumbledores lips move, and before another second passed, snape had killed him. she wished she was closer when it happened, only so she could hear the dying words of a man she had hated so much, but she knew even then that she would spend years trying to figure out what he said. she backed away slowly, back down the way she came, and once she got to the main corridor, charlotte sprinted to her dorm as fast as she could. the death eaters were in hogwarts. dumbledore was dead. mattheo had almost killed him. things hardly ever made sense these days, but even as she strained her mind, charlotte couldn't decipher what this meant. what could voldemort possibly want? what would this lead to?  she locked her door, breathing heavily as she collapsed on her bed. she knew no one had seen her, not draco or mattheo, none of the death eaters. she was safe for now, but she knew in her mind that it wouldn't stay like that for long.