Y/N had known the boys for practically her entire life. Icarus, Lorenzo, Draco, Theodore, Mattheo, Tom, Blaise, and Marvolo had been there for as long as she could remember, their families having known each other long before any of them were old enough to understand what friendship even meant.
༉‧₊˚. The war was coming, and Mattheo Riddle had finally been given a choice he never wanted to make. His father wanted him at his side. His name, his blood and his loyalty were no longer enough — Tom wanted his son to become part of the war. So he did the only thing he could think of to keep her safe: he pushed her away, slowly destroying the one thing he loved most until she had no reason left to follow him. Because if she hated him, maybe she would survive him. And when the time finally comes for Mattheo to leave Hogwarts, there is only one night left before everything changes. And a thousand things neither of them are brave enough to say.
It started with an ordinary Saturday, the kind of day that seemed completely unimportant while it was happening. Marvolo, the oldest Riddle brother by exactly one year, spent most of the morning trying to keep his younger brothers from turning every inconvenience into a personal challenge. Tom and Mattheo were twins and shared the same talent for making terrible decisions. Tom usually came up with the idea, Mattheo made it worse, and somehow they always convinced each other that whatever they were doing was completely reasonable. Y/N fit into their chaos perfectly, laughing at their stupidity just as often as she encouraged it, and that Saturday felt no different from any other day they had spent together.
Y/N, Theodore Nott, and Mattheo Riddle had been best friends since they were in diapers. Literally. Their parents had known each other for years, and the three boys had practically been raised as a package deal. Where one went, the other two followed. If Y/N was at a party, Theodore and Mattheo were already there. If Mattheo got detention, Theodore and Y/N were somehow involved. If Theodore disappeared, everyone knew better than to ask where the other two were. They were known throughout Slytherin as the three-headed disaster, three boys who somehow managed to turn even the most ordinary afternoon into complete chaos.
Before you transferred to Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy had a very specific set of rules. No attachments, no promises, no exceptions. He was the Slytherin Prince, an untouchable heir and a notorious playboy who treated romance as a fleeting game. He thrived on the chase, fully intending to spend his youth untouched by anything permanent. He didn't want to be anybody's man; he just wanted the thrill.
The Slytherin common room was unusually peaceful that afternoon, which should have been the first warning that something was about to go terribly wrong. Most of the students were scattered across the sofas and armchairs, half-heartedly doing homework, gossiping, or pretending to study while actually watching everyone else. Y/N had claimed her usual spot near the fireplace, comfortably reading while the conversation around her faded into background noise. Nobody was expecting anything unusual to happen, which was probably why everyone completely lost their minds when a young girl suddenly appeared in the middle of the common room.
Y/N, Pansy, Daphne, Astoria, Dakota, Lunette, and Marianna had been inseparable for so long that nobody could remember when their friendship had actually started. Seven girls with seven completely different personalities had somehow become one inseparable unit, sharing one enormous dormitory and absolutely no concept of personal space. They had grown up together, attended Hogwarts together, and eventually became so inseparable that people stopped referring to them individually and simply called them a package deal. Where one went, the other six followed. If Y/N was at a party, Pansy was already causing trouble. If Dakota was planning something, Marianna knew about it. If Lunette disappeared, Daphne was usually the only person who knew where she had gone. They were chaos incarnate.
Y/N had not intended to start a criminal organization. Technically, she had intended to sell enchanted hair potion, and the criminal organization was mostly an unfortunate side effect. It began when Y/N realized she was making far more money than expected from WitchGlow. What had started as a stupid little side hustle had somehow become a full-scale Hogwarts operation, with students carrying potion bottles through secret passages and exchanging Galleons in corners like they were participating in some highly illegal underground economy. Naturally, Y/N decided the only logical next step was to recruit the Slytherins.
Mattheo and Y/N were the undisputed royalty of the Hogwarts social hierarchy, a perfectly curated masterpiece of dark aesthetics and untouchable influence. With hundreds of thousands of eyes tracking their every post, comment, and tagged photo, they were the absolute definition of couple goals.
Y/N had perfected the art of being the girl who was “different from other girls,” and unlike most people who played innocent, she knew exactly what she was doing. She claimed she hated drama while somehow always being at the center of it, insisted she preferred boys because girls were “too much,” and casually put other girls down whenever the Slytherin boys were listening. She laughed at jokes she didn't understand, agreed with opinions she didn't share, and always positioned herself as the only girl who could supposedly “handle” them.
Y/N had always been a daddy's girl. Her father was the first person she called when something happened, whether it was something important or completely insignificant. If she had a good day, she told him. If she had a terrible day, she told him. If she saw something that reminded her of him, she took a picture and sent it before she even had time to think about it. His number had been at the top of her contacts for as long as she could remember, and she had never imagined a world where she would have to stop using it.
Keeping your relationship with Mattheo Riddle quiet was supposed to save you from endless Slytherin drama. For months, it was late-night whispers in empty corridors, stolen glances across the Great Hall, and secret messages back and forth. But tonight, a moment of distraction shattered that fragile secrecy.
Y/N and Blaise Zabini had been inseparable for so long that neither of them could remember a time when the other hadn't been there. Their mothers had been friends before either of them could walk, which meant Y/N and Blaise had practically been raised together. They had matching childhood photos, embarrassing stories neither family would ever let them forget, and enough memories to fill several lifetimes. They had shared toys, birthdays, holidays, secrets, punishments, and every awkward stage of growing up. Blaise had once joked that Y/N had known him since he was wearing Pampers, and unfortunately, she had photographic evidence to prove it.
Y/N had never considered herself a homewrecker. Homewreckers were desperate. Homewreckers cried over men, waited for relationships to fall apart, and convinced themselves that someone else's boyfriend was their soulmate. Y/N didn't do any of that. She simply believed in consequences, and apparently, her preferred method of delivering them happened to involve other people's boyfriends.
Marianna Bianchi had always been the kind of girl people noticed before they even knew her name. She moved through Hogwarts like the castle had been designed around her, blonde hair perfectly styled, gold jewelry catching against the sleeves of whatever expensive outfit she had decided suited the day, and that soft Italian perfume lingering behind her long after she had walked away. She was always surrounded by Daphne, Astoria, and Pansy, always laughing at something, always collecting another invitation, another secret, another person desperate for her approval.