Chapter Twelve: Sitting
They drove all day, taking various tunnels where they would pop out in different countries in different towns and villages. When it got to be too dark, Oskar decided that they should stop at his flat in Paris for the night, just to be on the safe side. They arrived just as it was getting dark and Regan was thankful that their day of driving was over. They drove through the magnificent city before heading outside of the capital to a quiet neighborhood where an upscale apartment building waited for them. Parking in a shared underground garage, Oskar took both his and her suitcases and walked her to a petite elevator. It became clear that Oskar lived exclusively in a muggle community, though it was not really surprising seeing as his business catered to both muggles and magical folks. They went to the top floor, where Regan found that he was the only occupant. His apartment was extremely modern and appeared almost impersonal. There were no pictures or any decorations. She saw nothing that reflected Oskar and she had to wonder what he had done to make this space his own.
"You can sleep in the guest room tonight," he told her as he strode across the living room and pushed open a white door with his foot. Regan peeked inside, seeing that the room was only large enough to properly accommodate a twin bed. There was an elaborate desk with a comfortable chair, not that Regan would be using it. They would just be here for the night, and she had no urge to write to her uncle to tell him about her whereabouts. "The bathroom is right past the kitchen and my room is just right next to you." He said, nodding to another white door further down the hall. "Will you be all right on your own?" He asked, placing her suitcase just inside the door. Regan quickly nodded, slowly pulling off her jacket.
"I'll be fine," she told him.
"Good, are you hungry? How about you get settled on the couch and I'll make something for dinner, all right?" Regan tossed down her jacket and followed him back into the open living space. He quickly began to tinker around in the kitchen while Regan awkwardly sat in front of his blank TV. She hadn't seen one since she was seven, when she had gone to a friend's house where her father had been obsessed with muggles and their technology. They had watched some popular cartoon show, but Regan couldn't remember what it was called. After closely examining the remote control that Oskar had given her, she pushed the power button and waited patiently. The TV made a small beeping before a picture slowly began to fade onto the screen. The sound was low, but they were speaking French, so it didn't matter if Regan could hear them or not. She experimented, flipping through the channels and turning the volume up. By the time Oskar sat beside her and set the food in front of them, she felt quite accomplished. Her eyes instantly lit up when she saw what Oskar had made for her.
"I love grilled cheese," she said with a wide smile. Oskar chuckled as he took the remote from her and flipped to the only English channel that he paid for: the MBBC.
And if you couldn't guess or just didn't feel like it, that stood for the Magical British Broadcasting Company.
"…And now we move on to politics. Minister Malfoy arrived today in Sweden to being talks of expanding the Death Eaters into their territory. Legal experts predict that the talks should go well since Sweden already has a good base population of Death Eaters. And speaking of Minister Malfoy, we finally have a name to go with the face of his mystery woman."
Regan stared up at the TV with wide eyes, wondering if she had somehow misheard the woman. But then, when she saw her picture on the screen, she knew that she had heard the woman correctly.
"We now go to David Finch for the rest of the story."
"Thank you Rachel. It was a little over a month ago when we all first caught a glimpse of this beautiful red head. It was at the first quidditch match of the season, when London slaughtered Bulgaria, but nobody seemed to care about the score. All anybody could talk about was the red head on Minister Malfoy's arm.
"I'm standing here with the man that wrote the first article about the young woman in question, Mr. Edward Dopplegang. Mr. Dopplegang, tell me about the response that you received after having the article published."
"We got letters from all over the country, some even suggesting that they knew who she was. We followed every lead that we got, but each one was a dead end."
"And is it true that the Malfoy household refused to give you any information on her identity?"
"Correct, they wouldn't give us any information and they refused to release any facts on their household staff."
"But now, you've finally got her name. Would you tell us what you know about her?"
"Certainly, we now know that her name is Regan Westwood and that she works as Minister Malfoy's personal servant. She was also seen last week with Oskar Greengrass, but we have no personal information on the nature of their relationship or the relationship that she has with Minister Malfoy."
"Now, would Minister Malfoy have taken her with him since she is his personal servant, and wouldn't she prove helpful to negotiations?"
"Yes, that was our assumption as well, but it seems that she's been left behind for whatever reason."
Oskar finally shut off the television, his face hot as he quietly fumed. Who would have leaked her information to the press? There must have been a bribe, something huge. Leaked information like that could make a person lose their job. He looked to Regan, who was sitting completely still with her eyes still locked on the TV.
"Are you all right?" He asked quietly. Regan slowly nodded, gently biting her lower lip.
"I wonder who told," she whispered.
"It doesn't matter," Oskar insisted. "They know who you are, so what? Nobody will recognize you when we get to Saint Georges de Didonne." Regan nodded as she slowly leaned back on his couch.
People knew who she was…what if somebody did recognize her and turned her in? What if Lucius found her again? She shuddered, tightly closing her eyes as pushing the terrible thoughts from her mind.
"Maybe we should go to bed, we have to get an early start anyway." Regan forced her eyes open to look at Oskar, who was standing and holding a hand out to her. She took it and allowed him to pull her up from the couch. He hugged her tightly, gently rubbing her back. Regan hugged him back, taking in a deep breath, finding that his scent brought a sense of calm to her. He then slowly walked her to her room, keeping her close, but he said nothing to her. When he got her into her room, he asked her again if she needed anything, but Regan shook her head.
After an awkward moment of silence, they bid each other goodnight and Regan closed the door. She instantly shut off all the lights, happy to undress in complete darkness and quickly climb into bed. She listened to Oskar clean up a bit before he bolted the door shut and shuffled off to bed. Regan listened to him change for bed before he climbed into bed with a small groan. Within minutes he was asleep, his even soft snores signaling that he had drifted off. Regan curled up on her side, only taking up one half of the bed as she slowly blinked and felt herself giving into sleep. For the first time in months, she felt totally safe. She didn't have to worry about somebody coming into her room and possibly molesting her. She could sleep with ease and she was glad that Oskar had come to take her away.
...
A/N: Did I miss a week? Oh goodness, I do apologize; I fail. My thoughts with those in Boston, especially with you Dave. Just stay inside and be safe; we're all sending you good thoughts.
