Babysitters

Chapter 30

VERONICA VALDEZ

I felt so alone. Theo and Enzo had been gone for a month now, and I hadn't seen a trace of my father. My summer break was passing by quickly, and I spent it laying on my bed, worrying so much I felt sick.
Theo hadn't sent me one text, and all Mattheo told me was that 'he's okay'. I was frustrated, angry and hurt. I needed to get my mind off Theo and Enzo, but there was absolutely nothing to do. Most of the time the manor was cold and empty of people besides me, Mattheo, Tom, Draco and Narcissa, and even she left for long hours at a time. Everyone was somewhere, and no one told me anything. I began to wonder why and if I was still needed there. Why couldn't I just go back to Finland, to my mother who I missed so dearly?
Whenever Mattheo wasn't completing his tasks given by his father, he'd often spend time with me. We'd go to the same beach where me and Theo kissed, but that was it. Tom never joined us much to my delight, and Draco very rarely. I didn't think he liked me much, considering we never spoke.

I'd just got back to my room from another lonely lunch. Mattheo told me he'd been requested to meet his father in the Riddle manor, which meant I'd have to figure out something to do by myself.
The amount of time Mattheo or Tom would be away was a mystery every time they were requested to meet up with Voldemort. It could be just an hour or more often, the rest of the day. Then they'd apparate back to the Malfoy manor, looking drained and lifeless as they'd walk through the halls to their rooms. I'd noticed Tom was a lot better in hiding this exhaustion, masking it behind the stoic mask he always wore and the coldness and venom his words held. Mattheo, too was often grumpy after these so called 'meetings', and during the past few weeks I'd learned to avoid speaking to him within the first hours after he'd arrived.
If I was being completely honest, I felt bad for them. The amount of pressure I'd seen them under would crush me in a second. It must not be easy to be the Dark Lord's heirs.

My reflection in the mirror didn't look good. I had dark bags hanging under my eyes, and my usually pale and glowing skin was now Grey and bleary, lacking its natural shine due to the lack of sleep and nutritious food. Now I could see my weight loss too. My cheeks were hollower than before, which was an unpleasant contrast to my face. My favorite sweatpants didn't fit as perfectly anymore, they were slipping down on my hips.
As I made eye contact with myself, I decided. I wasn't going to let myself suffer from Theo's own actions anymore. If Theo wasn't going to update me of anything, fine, he could keep me in the dark. But then I wouldn't waste my time in worrying about him, letting him consume thoughts to the point where I'd be neglecting myself. From now on, I'd let Theo worry about his own shit, while I'd become the best possible version of myself, ready to shine when a new year at Hogwarts would begin.

THEODORE NOTT

It'd been a month since I'd last seen Veronica. I was missing her so much it almost hurt physically. I often wondered if she still thought of me on her daily basis. She hadn't sent one message after the one's I'd ignored. It'd taken a lot of willpower to resist the urge to take my phone and send her the longest, most heartfelt love confession ever seen, but I knew I had to restrain myself. Leaving the number for her now felt like the biggest mistake I'd ever made.
After me and Enzo officially arrived in Paris, we'd worked hard in order to find the identity and location of the man who currently possessed the artifact. I had two pretty good motivators; the desire to get home and see Veronica again, and the fear of Voldemort's wrath we'd get upon ourselves if we failed.
We'd interrogated at least six people who we knew had information of the artifact, and two of them were left in a rather bad shape afterwards due to refusing to cooperate. I didn't like it, not at all, but to see Veronica I'd go through the gates of Hell with a smile on my face.
Me and Enzo were staying at a crappy muggle hotel as we planned our attack. We needed a good plan, something that'd be bulletproof and would ensure our success in the task. No one who possessed something so valuable the Dark Lord himself would desire, would just leave it for others to steal. They'd do their best to make sure their possession would remain as theirs.
Right now, our next milestone would be figuring out the wizard's safety measures for the artifact, and finding a way to break through them. If he wouldn't break under the pressure me and Enzo would be putting him under, we'd have to have a plan B. We'd have to be thoroughly prepared.

I glanced over the bridge's edge. There it was. The house we'd be breaking into during the next week.
"They weren't lying when they said he was rich," Enzo commented, leaning onto the railing next to me.
I stared at the large three-story house. It was old styled with big windows and a large fenced yard full of trimmed bushes and flowers. "No, they weren't."
I glanced at Enzo, who had a puzzled expression on his face. "Do you think the house could have something like—secret rooms or hidden areas?"
I turned my gaze back to the house. It was so big, at least to the outside, that the possibility seemed almost probable. "If the man has any sense left in him, most likely yes. And if that is so, the artifact is most probably there."
"Right." Enzo ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "How can we know for sure?"
I thought for a moment. "Either we break in when he's not there, which is relatively a really bad idea since he's probably protected his house with countless charms, or, we get ourselves the floor plans of the house."
Enzo looked at me for a moment. "The latter," he said, pressing his lips together into a straight line.
I nodded. "The latter."

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A/N:
Hello loves
An update on Tuesday, as I promised :)
I hope you've had a lovely start of the week! A few days ago, I finally published the 'Slytherin Boys Oneshots' book. If you want to read or request, go check my profile:) if not, that's okay too.
I hope you liked the chapter, if so, please vote and/or comment, it means a lot💕
Till next Tuesday :)
Love u all x