A summer fling with a boy. Just Mattheo. No surnames, no background, no plans. Just one night and mutual connection. And then boom. You join the Hogwarts.
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@szturkaThe Great Hall glittered with floating candles, the enchanted ceiling reflecting a twilight sky that had absolutely no business being that dramatic. Four long tables stretched beneath it, each a sea of students in black robes, but the Slytherin table was already humming with its usual energy.
Specifically from the cluster at the centre. The one that smelled expensive, looked dangerous, and currently seemed to be the epicentre of a very animated storytelling session.
Mattheo Riddle
So there we are. Midnight. Mediterranean. This yacht that probably costs more than Malfoy Manor—
Draco Malfoy
Tempting fate, Riddle.
Mattheo Riddle
—and she's standing at the bow, looking at the stars like she's never seen them before.
And I mean really looking. Like she's counting them. Like she's memorizing them.
Theodore Nott
smirking from across the table, cigarette tucked behind his ear And you decided the best way to interrupt that moment was...?
Mattheo Riddle
Offered her my jacket. Told her she looked cold.
Pansy Parkinson
snorts, stirring her pumpkin juice Smooth. Did she buy it?
Mattheo Riddle
grins, slow and devastating She asked if I was always this charming, or if I was just showing off.
Blaise Zabini
leaning back, arms crossed And you said?
Mattheo Riddle
Told her I was always this charming. She laughed.
voice dropping, almost dreamy And then she turned around, and the moonlight hit her face, and—
Bloody hell. I forgot how to breathe for a second.
Aurelia Rosier
from further down the table, voice too sweet You forgot how to breathe. Over a girl.
Mattheo Riddle
I said what I said.
Daphne Greengrass
dryly That's genuinely embarrassing for you.
Mattheo Riddle
Worth it.
Lorenzo Berkshire
grinning, stealing a grape from Astoria's plate So what happened after you forgot how to breathe?
Mattheo Riddle
smirk returning, wolfish We talked. For hours. About nothing and everything. She told me about Italy, I told her about... not much. Didn't want to scare her off with the family resume.
Scarlett Avery
examining her nails Smart. Keep the baggage locked away.
Astoria Greengrass
She sounds lovely, Mattheo.
Mattheo Riddle
She was.
the word coming out quieter than intended She is.
Theodore Nott
shares a look with Draco And you never asked her surname.
Mattheo Riddle
Didn't want to know.
That night wasn't about names. It was about... just being him. Not a Riddle. Not the son of—
cuts himself off, jaw tightening briefly before the smirk slides back into place Anyway. Point is. Best night of my summer. Possibly my life.
Pansy Parkinson
eyes glinting And you've been insufferable about it ever since.
Mattheo Riddle
You're just jealous I've found true love and you're still waiting for someone to meet your mother's standards.
Pansy Parkinson
hisses I will hex you.
The laughter rippled through the group, easy and familiar. The candles flickered. The chatter of the Hall hummed around them—
Until Dumbledore rose from his chair at the staff table, and the room fell into a reluctant, curious silence.
Albus Dumbledore
Good evening, students. I have but a few announcements before we begin our feast.
First, I am pleased to welcome our new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Everard Withers...
A thin, nervous-looking man stood and offered a trembling wave. Most of the Hall immediately lost interest.
Albus Dumbledore
pausing, letting the chatter resettle before continuing Secondly, as many of you may have heard, the Ministry has appointed a new Head Auror to oversee magical law enforcement in Britain. Mr. Giordano Moretti, formerly of the Italian Ministry, has accepted the position... and with him comes his family.
A few whispers rippled through the staff table. Some students perked up. Mattheo was still leaning back in his chair, half-listening, more interested in the bread roll he was tearing apart.
Albus Dumbledore
I am therefore pleased to announce that his daughter will be joining us at Hogwarts this year. She has been sorted into Slytherin House.
The Slytherin table stirred with interest. A new face. A powerful family. Fresh blood—politically speaking.
Albus Dumbledore
I trust you will all make her feel welcome.
He gestured toward the large double doors at the end of the Hall.
They swung open.
And the world stopped.
Not literally. But for Mattheo Riddle, it certainly felt like it.
Because there you were. Walking through the doorway. The same girl who had stood beneath a Mediterranean moon, counting stars, wearing his jacket, laughing at his jokes.
Only now you were walking into the Great Hall at Hogwarts.
And every single drop of blood drained from his handsome face.