𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭, ᵐᵃᵗᵗʰᵉᵒ ʳⁱᵈᵈˡᵉ

chapter 30

mattheo was in charlottes bedroom, sitting at an uncomfortable desk chair he had found. he didn't know why she brought him here, or what she was seeking to get from this. he was inside her room alone for a moment, and he took the liberty of looking around. she had pictures pinned to the walls, pictures of her with pansy, and some with her and his friends that she had gotten close with over their relationship. he wasn't surprised to see them, but what did surprise him, was the framed picture of them in france. france was the best thing that had ever happened to him. no, charlotte was the best thing that ever happened to him. france was just an extension of that. everything good that had happened to him, had come from charlotte. france was fine when he went alone, but when he went with her, it was phenomenal. she had really believed in him, in ways no one else ever had, and he threw it away.  he didn't have it in himself to go with grace, of course, so he would continue to haunt her. he should have said no, refused to follow her here, and maybe he would've if he didn't love her so much, if he wasn't so desperate to please her. she was so...familiar that he was almost convinced that he had known her in every life before this one. he sat in her uncomfortable office chair and waited. she entered the room shortly after, looking sickly and upset. he heard footsteps walking away, and he knew they were cedric's. he had known they were friends, known since seven minutes in heaven last summer, but he had no idea that during his absence, they would become that kind of friends. charlotte rushed to her bathroom, and stayed in there for quite a while. he didn't know what to do or say, or what would happen after this. he was a death eater. he had sworn his loyalty to his father. and yet... there was no rule he wouldn't break, no morals he wouldn't risk, no chance he wouldn't take just to make charlotte happy again. he had torn her apart, taken so much from her, that anything she asked of him, he would give to her. there was no end to his love for her, nothing that could break his undying loyalty to her. he was not religious, nor was he anything close to it, but he knew that if it was what she wished, he would worship her like a god. and he would be pleased to do it, too. he had always thought she was more than this world anyway. he truly believed that their love, or the love they used to have, surpassed the bounds of mortality, of common human nature. it was something magical, and he knew there was nothing he wouldn't do for her. he would go to war for her, die for her, bleed in her name.
when the bathroom door creaked open again, he expected her to yell at him, throw stuff at him, demand explanations, but she did none of that.
"what do you know about spying?" she asked smoothly, moving to stand in front of him.
he raised an eyebrow flatly, "enough."
a wide grin took over her face, "perfect."
"you want me to become a spy," he said slowly, tasting the words as they left his mouth.
charlotte continued to smile, but she shook her head, "no, i need you to become a spy. not for the order, not for dumbledor, for me. my spy."

he thought about it for a second. her spy. he would report to her, no one else. he supposed it was better like that. there was no one he would surrender his service to, save for her. no one he would give power over him, except for the one person who seemed to compel him to do her bidding time and time again. he waited for a moment before nodding.
"just you," he said slowly, "i won't answer to anyone else."
relief filled her face, "like i would expect you to," she scoffed, "you'll never lose that riddle arrogance, will you?"
he shrugged, "you never know, it feels like all i do is lose lately."
she looked at him strangely before nodding, "yes, it seems, along with whatever else you've lost, you lost your common sense."
he nodded, "or something like that."
"you'll do it then? be my spy?" she asked hopefully. she really hadn't changed as much as he had thought. deep down, he could tell she was still the same old charlotte, the only different was the air of importance that clung to her. she had always been important to him, but now, she had found the purpose she had been looking for. she would fight, bring justice to those who deserve it, save the people that needed saving. she would be the hero her parents never got to be. sirius black was still on the run,  and he knew it was something charlotte worried about. he knew her too well to pretend he didn't know her tells. the way she blinked rapidly, tugged at the ends of her sleeves, looked around the room quickly. she was scared.
"my father would kill me if he found out," he breathed, "the death eaters don't take traitors lightly."
worry filled her eyes, "he would kill you?"
he smiled, "worried?"
charlotte rolled her eyes, "never."
"i'll still do it," he said, "you know i won't say no."
she bit her lip lightly, "i don't want you to get hurt, mattheo."
he cocked his head to the side, "i won't say no," he repeated, tilting her chin up to meet his gaze, a strong sense of devotion filling him.
"ask again," he whispered, still holding her chin gently.
"mattheo," she said quietly, giving him a strange look that was similar to...longing?
"ask me again, charlotte," he insisted, tightening his grip on her slightly.
"will you be my spy?" she whispered, bringing her hand up to cover his gently.
"yes," he said, his voice smooth as he agreed.

mattheo knew it was a mistake, a ruination, a reckoning. he knew nothing good would come from this, that even if he did somehow earn back her love, it would do nothing to save his life if his father caught him. he would be putting his life on the line, all for her forgiveness, and the strangest part was, he didn't regret it in the slightest. he would put his life on the line for her, he would bleed for her, go to war for her. he would sacrifice everything for charlotte. his life had a timer now, a timer that would go off the second the death eaters caught wind of what he was doing, which was sure to happen. some of the death eaters were at the top of their graduating hogwarts classes. he was just a sixteen year old boy. they would catch him, and when they did, he would be ready. mattheo was a murderer. he had killed many people on the orders of his father, and he would kill even more, if charlotte wished it. he had a list of names piling up, names of people that he dreamed of putting an end to, and as mattheo stared at charlotte, as he signed away his life to her, cedric diggory was added to that list. he was devoted to charlotte in ways he knew cedric couldn't even dream of. ways cedric couldn't comprehend. mattheo knew war. he had seen blood and violence and torture, and he would see it again in no time. he could already feel it, the love charlotte had for him, softening the anger she held for him, just like back at hogwarts, before everything. just like when snape first made them potions partners and she dropped that ring of hers into the potion. he had felt the same devotion for her then that he did now. and now that he had her back, he wasn't letting her go.