Surviving Fate // Mattheo Riddle ♣️

Chapter Sixteen - Bathilda Bagshot

"Credence Barebone?" Potter questioned. "As in the other Obscurus?"

I suddenly realised that I hadn't explained a lot of my situation to Harry. He was still in the dark about most things. "Yeah," I replied. "I'll explain later."

Then, I turned to Nagini. "Are you alright?" I asked.

She nodded. "Voldemort isn't."

I tensed, watching as Hermione and Harry moved closer. "What do you mean?" Potter asked.

"He's getting impatient, wanting the Elder Wand and you're not helping by disappearing. If you weren't vouched for, there'd be Death Eaters trying to find you." She directed the last part at me.

I took a deep breath. "Who vouched for me?"

Her eyes turned cruel and I already knew who before she spoke. "Grindlewald."

"Voldemort trusts that?" Hermione asked.

Nagini shook her head. "You had a few other Death Eaters on your side... and the Snatchers."

I was confused by that. "The Snatchers. Why would they vouch for me?"

"You're stint at the Ministry interested Scabior," she explained.

"I don't like that man. He makes my skin crawl. More than Greyback does."

Nagini winced in pain, grabbing my arm tightly. I turned all of my attention to my grandmother, taking both of her hands in mine.

"Are you okay?" I worried.

"He's trying to bring me back," she explained. "I have to go."

When her eyes turned up to me, I found that they had transformed back to yellow. She was already losing control.

Nodding, I moved away from the woman. "Be careful."

Nagini tilted her head back, body curling over on itself as she transformed back into a snake. Then, she apparated.

"Holy fuck," Harry cursed, turning to look at me. "You have some explaining to do." Yeah, I did.

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"Where'd you run off to?" That was the first question that Harry asked as we arrived back at the tent.

I sighed, sitting down at the bench and placing my satchel on the table. "I was looking at a nearby house," I explained. "Turns out it belonged to the Dumbledore's."

"How'd you know it was there?" Hermione asked.

"I didn't," I answered, lying. I knew that the Dumbledore family had lived at Godric's Hollow. "It was just a gut feeling."

"What were you looking for?"

"I told you," I paused, wringing my hands together. "I didn't intend on going there. I wasn't looking for anything."

"Did you find something?" Harry asked gently, leaning against the table. He was looking down at me.

"No," I told him. "Just reminders."

Harry nodded, seeming to take that lie. When he turned away, I felt my stomach twist. I hated lying. I was always terrible at it, Gellert had commented on it more often than not, but I was getting better. Either that or Harry was putting too much trust in me.

"I'm going to check the protection spells," Hermione told the two of us, nodding to Harry before leaving the tent.

Potter moved closer, sitting himself down beside me. We sat in silence for a moment. It was deafening. It was odd that. How silence could be deafening, but the truth was that sometimes the quiet could be worse than the noise. In silence, you were alone with your thoughts. You were alone.