Babysitters

Chapter 33

THEODORE NOTT

We made our way to the first stairs in sight and crept carefully on the side of the wall to not creak the wood under our shoes. If we were to succeed, we'd have to catch the man by surprise.
The stairs led to an open hallway with multiple doors along the walls. Two of them were slightly open but they weren't the ones we were looking for. According to the floor plans, the master bedroom would be at the end of the hallway. Enzo took slow and deliberate steps towards the thick white door, reaching out with his hand and carefully twisting the doorknob. He didn't even have the time to open it fully before a spell was cast from somewhere inside the room, flying inches away from Enzo's hand before crashing onto the opposite wall. I glanced at the burning spot on the wall, my heart racing as I flicked my wand and cast a nonverbal spell toward the dark silhouette inside the room. I'd really hoped we would've been able to do this without having to fight, but considering our luck, nothing ever goes as planned. The figure quickly ended my attack with a counter spell before getting prepared to attack again. However, Enzo, luckily for us, was quicker.
"Sectumsempra!"
The man fell down on his back, groaning in pain as he rolled in pain on the floor. We walked through the room to the man, towering over his shaking form. I hadn't expected for Enzo to use the curse Severus Snape had once taught us, for it is deadly if not healed quickly.
"Enzo, what the hell did you do?" I hissed, my gaze on his writhing body. "We weren't supposed to kill him!"
"I'm not killing him," he replied calmly, raising his wand and crouching down next to the man. Enzo moved his wand over his body, mumbling the incantation, "Vulnera sanentur."
It was the counter curse against sectumsempra, I knew, but as I dug into my memories of what Snape had taught us, I let a sly smile fall onto my lips. The counter curse would have to be cast thrice in order for the victim to heal properly. Enzo cast it only once, stopping most of his bleeding, but leaving him crying out as angry red marks and deep wounds covered his body. It gave us more time to get the information we needed, but I knew if we wouldn't heal him soon, the most affected body parts of his would be in such bad shape they couldn't be saved anymore.
Enzo had thought this through already.
"Where's the artifact?" Enzo asked in a voice so cold even I got shivers running up my spine. Everyone thought he was such a sweetheart, but if they saw him on his missions their opinion would change in a heartbeat.
"I don't—I don't know what you're talking about," the man cried out, holding his wounded arm close to his chest.
I scoffed, my feet coming down hard into his back. "I suggest you tell us the truth. We'd hate to hurt you more."
The man screamed in pain as my shoe collided with his back. Apparently I hit a wound. "Who do you work for?" He choked out, attempting to put on a mask of defiance as his eyes searched our faces in the darkness.
Enzo's eyes gleamed as he scoffed mockingly. "Why don't you try and make a wild guess?"
The man's eyes visibly widened as the realization hit him. "You're Death Eaters."
"Tell us where the artifact is and we won't need to resort to more—extreme measures," I said calmly, staring down at him with indifference. I got a glimpse of his wand on the floor and immediately crouched down, ripping the last chances of him being able to defend himself as I grabbed it and dropped it into the pocket of my robes.
The man internally fought with himself for a moment, but with the way Enzo was pointing a wand at him, his defenses crumbled down in front of us. "Under the house is a protected room, it's there!"
"You're coming with us, and you'll give it to us willingly, won't you?" Enzo sneered at him as I watched in curiosity. Perhaps this would be easier than what we thought at first.
The man winced, his breathing ragged under Enzo's wand. "I can't walk."
Enzo scoffed mockingly and grabbed him roughly by the arm as I took his other one, staring at him coldly as he winced in pain at every little movement his arm was forced to make. We dragged him out of the room, to the hallway as he began guiding us to the entrance of the secret room. We'd seen the floor plans and already knew very well where it was, but it was a given he had protected it with spells. Him letting us inside would be the safest and quickest way to get what we wanted. We had no time to fail now since we both knew the Ministry of Magic was coming. When—we didn't know, but it was clear we'd have to hurry.
Soon, we arrived in front of a thick wooden door. The doorknob was made of silver and the paint on the wood's surface looked brand new, like the man had wanted to attract attention with it. I briefly glanced at Enzo, who shrugged confused before turning back to the whimpering man with the same cold expression he had earlier.
With a almost cruel voice, he spoke again. "Where now?"
"The—there," the man coughed out as he pointed to an old painting of a brown haired woman, sitting on the edge of an idyllic stone bridge above a river.
I glanced down, seeing blood dripping out of the man's mouth as he coughed it up from somewhere from his body. He didn't have much time left, I knew it, but before I could make any further thoughts about whether or not we should have mercy and let him live, I heard him speak again, this time, in a panicked and strained voice; "Please, I beg of you, don't do that!"
I quickly turned my gaze back up at Enzo, who was pointing his wand at the painting, clearly about to destroy it from the way.
"I beg of you, please," the man choked out, more blood running down his chin. "She is—was my wife. She died many years ago, and it holds emotional value. Please, don't do that."
Something happened inside of me. A surge of empathy, perhaps, because I found myself grabbing Enzo's arm. "Let's not, there's no need."
Enzo rolled his eyes, but lifted the painting up with care and set it out of the way, leaning onto the same wall. The man let out a relieved sigh, but I didn't have time to analyze him anymore, since my eyes were occupied studying the hole in the otherwise so neat wall.
Soon, the task would be done, and I could go back and see Veronica again...

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A/N:
Hello loves
You've had a good week, I hope? I know I have, despite it being incredibly busy.
Veronica and Theo's story is continuing, and I'm so excited to show you what I've had in mind since the very beginning. Just keep on reading as I update...
Don't hate me even though I left you a small cliffhanger ;)
Love u all x