Babysitters

Chapter 29

THEODORE NOTT

I felt awful. Veronica had sent multiple messages to the number I left for her, but I couldn't answer her. I was never supposed to leave the number as it could delay the mission. Still, I couldn't help myself, I needed something I could contact her with.
Now I was just being cruel. I left it for her, and as I knew it would, it gave Veronica some sort of hope of finding me when I wouldn't even respond to her.

"Tell me, how will we ever get the artifact from him without the help of magic?" Enzo asked, leaning on the side of the building as he waited for me to finish my cigarette.
We managed to threaten a wizard who supposedly had some information of the artifacts current location into sharing it with us. Funny how much the title 'Death Eater' can benefit you in these kind of situations. The man told us how the artifact had been sold to a rich wizard living in muggle Paris for whatever reason. We both knew this would complicate things, since using magic among so many muggles would attract the unwanted attention of the ministry. We'd have to come up with another way.
"We could just sneak in and steal it? Besides, we can use magic, we'll just have to avoid any dangerous spells the ministry could catch us from," I replied, trying to sound convincing as if stealing it was the easiest thing in the world. The stealing itself wouldn't be hard, rather finding the correct location. "Another option is that we deal with him the same way we did with the guy from the bar. Threaten him into giving it up."
Enzo shrugged. "Could work. So now—to Paris?"
"Yep," I replied. "The city of love."

VERONICA VALDEZ

I hadn't heard anything from Theo, not even a simple 'I'm okay'. Now that I knew where he was and what he was doing, I understood better, but I still felt slightly betrayed. I was almost certain that he was responding to the boys' texts, so why not mine?
I really missed him. We'd been doing so well, and then he just left without saying a word. It bothered me more than I'd liked to admit.

"Veronica!" Narcissa's voice came from the other side of my door. "Lunch is ready. Are you hungry?"
I snapped out of my thoughts. "Um, not really. Can I eat later?"
Narcissa opened the door slowly, her eyes finding me sitting on the bed as a concerned expression settled onto her face. "Darling, you've been eating awfully little during the past week or so. Are you alright?"
I bit my tongue. She was too sweet, I was seriously beginning to view her as a mother figure since I couldn't see my own one. "I'm okay, thank you."
"Come eat with us, please. I know you don't eat unless there are other people. This isn't healthy, dear. I understand you're worried of Theodore, so am I, but you still need to remember to take care of yourself," she said gently, opening the door a bit more. "Come on."
I hesitantly stood up, following after her as she lead us both to the dining room. The room smelt good, and only then was I beginning to feel the hunger that usually hid behind my worry. Mattheo, Tom and Draco we're all sitting at the table, already eating from their plates.
Very rarely were there other people eating with us. Voldemort, my father, Lucius, Bellatrix, they were always someplace else. At first my father used to always inform me before leaving somewhere, but now, he didn't even bother. He'd changed, just as I'd feared from the moment I heard who he'd be working for. It felt like he'd completely forgotten me. And now Theo was gone too.
I sat at the table quietly, next to Narcissa, who urged me to grab my fork and eat. So I did.
During the whole meal, I didn't say a word. Draco and Mattheo were having a conversation about next years quidditch matches and how Slytherin was going to beat Gryffindor in the House Cup. I wasn't surprised when I saw Tom not participating, I didn't even think he'd be interested in such topic. All he cared about was his grades and his duty as Voldemort's oldest son, his most loyal Death Eater.
I'd been dreading Tom ever since Theo left. Theo felt like a shield in between me and him, despite the upcoming marriage. I feared Theo's absence would ignite something in Tom, a desire to get more acquainted with me, perhaps.
But that's not what I wanted. Every time I even saw a glimpse of Tom all I could think about was how I'd be spending the rest of my life with him unwillingly. I'd tried so hard to suppress all thoughts involving the marriage, but it was beginning to get hard. I knew soon would come the day my father would 'reveal' the big secret to me, and after that, it would become all the more real. Like my fate would be sealed. Maybe it already was, maybe I didn't have any hope to escape my cruel fate anymore.
And now, that the boy's eyes were glued on me as I ate, I began to fear, perhaps it was the truth. I could not run from it anymore, I'd have to face it and prepare myself.

Spending time with someone you know is purposefully keeping something so important for you is hard. You wish you could just confront them, make them swallow their pride and tell you the truth, but you can't because it'd get someone close to you in trouble.
Mattheo was hiding the marriage from me and acting like everything is okay. I hadn't spoke to him much about me and Theo's situation, but I knew he knew. He could see it, just like most probably everyone could. And despite everything, he was still keeping it from me.
It didn't matter I already knew all there was to it. Mattheo's every word, every move around me was all an act. Our newfound friendship didn't feel real. Enzo had told me, he'd taken the risk of getting caught defying Voldemort and revealed a huge secret just because he knew it was the right thing to do for a friend. Mattheo didn't, and it ruined all the kind words he said. Everything he pretended to be for me was all a facade, and it kept the possibility of us ever becoming real friends at bay.

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A/N:
Hello loves <3
How's your week been? What've you been up to?
I apologize for not updating in Tuesday as usual, I've been really busy and just unable to find the time to write. This is Tuesday's chapter, I'll try my very best to get one ready for next Tuesday!
I also want to thank some of you for all the supportive comments, they mean a lot, truly. I'm very glad you enjoy my writing!
Love u all x