Chapter Text
A foul flavour filled my mouth and I couldn’t help but gag. “You have to swallow it.” A boy's soft voice spoke, I couldn’t see anything but it sounded familiar so I followed their order, the foul taste smothered my mouth and I started coughing. My entire body started burning but I couldn’t move. “It will be over soon.” the voice spoke again and I felt a hand clutching mine now.
Where was I? I tried to see but there was nothing. It wasn't dark, it just seemed—empty. My mouth wasn’t working and my hands wouldn’t move, but the burning was moving down my entire body.
Slowly a bright light started to shine in my eyes and as it faded I could see blurred images. I tried to squeeze the hand holding mine and felt my fingers twitch before the hand started to squeeze my hand.
“Y/n! Are you awake? Are you hurt anywhere?” The voice was coming from a blurry image next to me, I slowly blinked and my whole face ached from the movement.
“What happened?” I croaked out, my voice barely escaping my lips. The person next to me lunged forward and swept me into an embrace, although my body ached at the sudden jolt of movement that it caused, I was sitting up now and I could see where I was—The hospital. The burning feeling was fading but my whole body felt a little stiff still.
“Mr Riddle, please be careful! You might fracture her if you move her too quickly.” Madam Pomfrey came to stand on the other side of the bed, I could see her clearly now.
“Sorry.” Mattheo said as he pulled back slowly and lowered me to the bed again. I slowly turned to look at him, his hand still gripping mine.
“Are you okay?” I whispered, trying not to strain my voice, he had been in the dungeons for so long and now he was here by my side again.
“Am I okay?” He scoffed and ran his free hand through his hair. “Fucking hell. You’re the one in the hospital bed but you’re asking if I'm alright?” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ve been here all week waiting for that stupid antidote to be ready and the first thing you do is ask if I’m okay.” He chuckled and then locked eyes with me again.
“Well… are you alright?” I asked again, managing the tiniest smile.
“Yeah. Now that you’re—alive—again.” He smiled back at me but I couldn’t help but frown.
“What do you mean?” I asked, looking down at myself for the first time, I was still in my school uniform. What was I doing before I ended up here? I closed my eyes and tried to sort through my brain, I remembered walking through the halls with Hermione, were we looking for something?
“The Basilisk!” I shrieked and reached for Mattheo’s hand, “There is a Basilisk! And Ginny, she was there talking to it, we have to find it!” I said quietly and sat up trying to get out of the bed. Mattheo quickly stood and pushed me back onto the bed. “Come on! We don’t have much time!” I said more urgently and he smirked.
“I already dealt with it.” He nodded towards his arm, which was completely wrapped in a bandage. “Basilisk venom needs to heal in a more—Muggle way.” His smirk grew and my eyes went wide.
“You got bitten!” I shouted and he shushed me, “How are you alive?” I whispered, feeling furious that he got hurt at all, I grabbed his arm trying to inspect it. He let me turn his arm back and forth as I tried to see any damage.
“Dumbledore has a phoenix. But you don’t have to worry. It’s just another scar, It will fit right in.” He grinned at me and I couldn’t help but shake my head at him. Of course he was so nonchalant about it.
“When did you defeat it?” I asked and his grin softened, he looked around the room and I followed his gaze. It landed on a bed down the other end of the hospital, I could just make out the red hair on the bed, that must be Ginny, and next to her was a bed where Hermione was.
“A week ago. Everyone who was petrified has been woken up, you were the last to take the antidote.” He frowned at the others around the room. I realised we were the only slytherins in the hospital. Everyone else in here was a muggleborn or halfblood. Like me. “It’s a good thing you have to stay here for a few more days to recover, I have to catch you up on what’s been happening.”
Mattheo’s face had fallen into a grimace and I knew something else had happened. “Did someone die?” I asked quietly, my body wasn’t stiff anymore and I sat up, trying to be closer to him and keep our conversation private.
“It’s worse. Theo let it slip that you had muggle items. Everyone knows you’re a muggleborn.” Suddenly there was a high pitched ringing in my ears. I couldn’t hear anything as I fell back onto the bed. Who was crushing my lungs? Did someone cast a hex on me to tighten my chest so that I couldn’t breathe?
“Hey it’s okay. I won’t leave your side. No one will mess with you as long as I’m around.” Mattheo tried to calm me down, but my lungs refused to work. Then I saw him run, and almost immediately madam Pomfrey was next to me handing me another potion. I drank it quickly and started to feel my lungs expand again.
“Mr Riddle, if you don’t let her rest, I’ll have to ask you to leave.” Madam Pomfrey stormed away to another patient and I closed my eyes, trying to breathe evenly. I didn’t want him to leave, I needed him to stay.
“What if you aren’t with me? We aren’t always together.” I opened my eyes to look at him and was met with a frown.
“I’ll walk you to and from every class and meal. And I’ll spend all my free time with you. You can even come to the tower when I smoke—if you want.” He seemed to have planned it out already. But I wasn’t convinced at all. I tried to think of the positives of the truth coming out, and my eyes moved across the room to Hermione’s bed.
We could be friends now. Real friends who hang out every day, who can be seen talking without trying to murder each other. No one would question why we were talking.
“Thank you.” I said, meeting his eyes once again. “I don’t know what I would do without you.” I smiled softly at him and I saw his jaw twitch.
“If anyone does or says anything, they’re dead.” He growled and I couldn’t help but feel shocked.
“Don’t kill anyone! If you do that then I’ll definitely be alone!” I whined and he laughed.
“Well hopefully it doesn’t come to that.” He smiled.
______________________________________
When I was finally released from the hospital Mattheo walked with me to the Great Hall for dinner. Everyone was staring, which was typical anyway, but this time it was different. Whispers started to engulf the room, as we made our way down the Slytherin table to find a seat one word stood out from the rest.
“Mudblood.” I clenched my jaw, I knew this was going to be the reaction, I just hoped that it would be after graduation that they all found out. We sat down and I looked at Theo, expecting that at least he would greet me.
“I knew there was something off about you.” Malfoy had decided to speak up. “Though I do understand why you tried to pretend, who wouldn’t want to be like us?” He smirked and his groups of friends laughed along with him.
Mattheo grasped my hand, could he tell I was about to cry? I quickly grabbed some food and ate it, hoping to be out of here as quickly as possible.
“I don’t understand why you’re still around her. What would your parents think?” Malfoy was trying to get a rise out of Mattheo now that I was ignoring him, his hand tightened around mine.
“I don’t care what they think.” Mattheo sounded like he was bored, but I could feel his hand shaking. “Let’s go.” He said and he pulled me along, out of the Great Hall and back to the dorm.
“I’m sorry.” I couldn’t look at him, he was risking so much to be around me still and I hadn’t even realised until now.
“Don’t.” He said, finally sounding angry. He turned to face me, “I made the choice to be your friend. And I don’t regret it.” His jaw was clenched with anger, but his eyes looked sad. I couldn’t help but step closer to him, wrapping my arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug.
His arms gently wrapped around me and I thought I could feel him relax a little. The familiar smell of smoke made me feel at home, even though I would never tell him that. I pulled back from him and I reached for my door. “Stop!” Mattheo yelled and I froze, turning to look at him to see what the problem was. “I hexed your door.” He admitted and I frowned.
“Why would you do tha—”
“I didn’t want anyone to get in there.” He cut me off and walked to my door, casting a counterspell to get rid of it. “I think it’s ok now.” He smiled and I raised an eyebrow.
“You think?” I asked and he rolled his eyes, grabbing the handle himself and opening the door. I chuckled and walked through the doorway. “Thank you.” I was sincere, he didn’t have to be my friend, he didn't have to protect me like this but he was. “Are you going to the tower later?” I asked, feeling hopeful.
“Yeah, why? Do you want to take up smoking?” He winked and I couldn’t help but shove his arm.
“No! I just want to go with you.” I felt shy now, I didn’t have a real reason other than that I wanted to spend some time with him.
“Alright. I’ll come get you later.” He smiled, I closed my door and then took a look around my room. It looked exactly the same as I last remembered, I’m sure no one has been in here while I was in the hospital.
I felt myself relax a little before I decided to check the date. What had I missed in classes? It would be a great distraction to get straight into it. I didn’t feel like sitting here and wondering what will happen the next time a slytherin sees me alone.
I sat at my desk, engrossed in my studies, the soft glow of my lamp casting a warm light over the room. Hours passed in silence as I delved deeper into my textbooks, the only sound was the scratching of my quill against the parchment.
Suddenly, the quiet of the night was shattered by the sound of yelling echoing through the air. My heart skipped a beat as I recognised the voices of Mattheo and Theo. Concern gnawed at me as I set aside my books, curiosity piqued. As I opened my door I was met with the two boys standing between my door and theirs.
“That’s no excuse. I thought you were better than that.” Mattheo’s voice rang out, filled with disappointment.
“And I thought you’d be better than to keep a filthy mudblood around,” Theo retorted, his words sharp and dripping with venom.
My breath caught in my throat at Theo’s words, shock coursing through my veins. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. What had happened in the time where I was gone? Mattheo’s gaze met mine, his expression mirroring my disbelief, while Theo remained oblivious to my presence with his back turned to me.
Theo continued, his voice laced with bitterness. “Draco was right. I should have seen the signs, but I trusted you to have better judgement.”
I felt a pang of hurt at Theo’s accusation, my mind reeling with confusion. “You’ve changed.” I whispered, the words barely escaping my lips.
Theo spun around, his eyes widening in surprise before quickly masking his expression with disdain. “No. You’re just a liar.” He spat, his words like daggers.
With a final glare at Mattheo, Theo shouldered past him, disappearing into his room and slamming the door shut behind him. I let out a shaky breath, my hands trembling with emotion.
Mattheo turned to me, concern etched on his features. “Are you okay?” He asked softly, reaching out to gently touch her arm.
I nodded, still trying to process everything that had just transpired. Mattheo took my hand, and I felt a sense of calm wash over me as we made our way down the hall.
“I was just coming to get you, let's go to the tower now.” He entwined his fingers with mine as he offered me a reassuring smile.
As soon as the fresh air filled my lungs at the top of the tower, I felt my head clear and I could finally ask the question I had been holding on to. “What happened?”
Mattheo sighed and I watched him grab a cigarette out of his pocket and light the end of it. He took a long drag from his cigarette, the ember glowing brightly in the darkness of the night. "Malfoy got in his head," he began, his voice heavy with resignation. "He's been feeding him all sorts of lies about muggle-borns, about you."
I frowned, trying to wrap my head around the revelation. "But why would Theo listen to him? He knows me, he knows I'm not like whatever Malfoy says."
Mattheo shook his head, a bitter laugh escaping him. "I wish it were that simple. But Draco's been working on him for forever, planting seeds of doubt, twisting his perception of everything. Remember back when Daphne was ruining your life? He was talking about Malfoy back then too."
Anger simmered within me as I listened to Mattheo's words, a surge of frustration coursing through my veins. "So, it was only a matter of time before he decided to leave us?" I asked, hurt flickering in my gaze.
Mattheo took another drag from his cigarette, exhaling a plume of smoke into the night air. The wind sent it in my direction and I couldn’t help but cough at the harsh air filling my lungs. “Sorry.” He smirked at me.
“I can’t believe he said that.” I thought back to the word he had decided to start using. “I really thought he was our friend.” I was so hurt by his sudden change, we had spent so much time together, and Mattheo shared a room with him.
“He’s weak.” Mattheo growled and ruffled his hair with his free hand. “Most of the Slytherins have been talking about how to make you pay for lying, he just didn’t want to be caught up on the wrong side of that.”
“I didn’t lie! I just didn’t tell anyone.” My voice trailed off, was it really that bad to be a muggleborn in Slytherin? From what I can tell we seemed to have been raised the same way. Just that I didn’t know I had magic from the beginning.
“I know. But it doesn’t matter to them.” He walked over to me, grabbing my shoulder, “If any of them say anything to you, you tell me right away okay?” He was staring right into my eyes, this was one of those rare times where he looked like he could kill someone.
The only reason I wasn’t running for my life was because I knew it wasn’t me he would kill. I nodded, I knew I could trust him, he knew everything and was still here by my side.
“Maybe this can be our spot, now?” I asked, looking hopefully up at the stars. I would love to have this time in the night to just relax, and no one else would be here to ruin it.
“Yeah, now that Theo won't be smoking with me, you can come up here whenever you want.” He smiled and rested his elbows on the railing.
“What, so I’m just a replacement for Theo?” I feigned being shot in the heart, “You wound me!” I giggled and he rolled his eyes, pulling out another cigarette from his pocket. “I really have no idea how you can smoke, even that small amount from the wind before has made my throat burn.” I made a face at him and he held it out to me.
“It’s not as bad once you get used to it.” I pushed his hand back towards him and he laughed. “The smell is hard to get rid of though, so I try to use cologne to cover it up.”
“Well it doesn’t work.” I smiled at him and he looked shocked.
“Really?” He asked, he seemed genuinely surprised and it only made me burst into laughter. “Is it really that bad?”
“Don’t get me wrong…It’s not a bad smell. But I always knew you smelt like smoke and cologne, I just thought that it was because you spent too much time in front of the fireplace or something.” I admitted, now it was his turn to laugh.
“The fireplace? Really?” He asked and I couldn’t help but playfully shove his shoulder. I looked out at the stars and hoped to see a shooting star. I wanted so desperately to make a wish and feel hopeful that my years here at the school won’t be tainted by comments on my blood status.
I looked over to him, only to find he was already watching me, his dark eyes piercing into mine, a soft smile on his lips. “What?” I asked, touching my face to make sure I didn’t have anything left over from dinner. His smile grew into a light chuckle.
“I was just thinking, anyone who cares about blood status isn’t worth our time.” He pondered for a moment looking up at the stars, “We should just hang out with the Gryffindors. Become real traitors.” He smirked now and looked at me out of the corner of his eyes.
“Well, if I’m already an outcast, it can’t hurt to have some back up?” I laughed and nudged him with my elbow, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. I let my head rest on his shoulder and took in the familiar scent of him, feeling more at home than I ever had before.
______________________________________
A few weeks later, as the end of term approached, the Hogwarts corridors gradually emptied as students departed for the holidays. The echoing halls, once bustling with chatter and laughter, now seemed eerily quiet. A sense of liberation washed over me. With most of the school gone, I revelled in the solitude, relishing the freedom to roam the corridors without the constant scrutiny of my peers.
As I wandered through the empty halls, a sense of relief washed over me. I hadn’t been subjected to taunts or whispers about my muggle-born heritage yet, but Mattheo hasn’t left my side for a second. With the majority of the student body gone, I basked in the rare tranquillity of Hogwarts, grateful for the peace that enveloped me in its absence.
“What do you want to do first?” Mattheo asked, walking in step with me to our favourite hang out location—the astronomy tower.
“Well, after you have a celebratory smoke for scaring everyone away from me for the last weeks, I was thinking we could listen to music?” I said, linking our arms together and smiling up at him.
“Deal.” He said, as we started to ascend the stairs, he reached down and clasped my hand, pulling me along with him. When we reached the top, the sun was just setting and the sky was a magical pink colour.
“Wow!” I said running over to the railing and smiling out at it. I looked back at Mattheo as he lit his cigarette, “isn’t it just the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?” He looked over at the sky and back at me,
“Yeah, it is.” He smiled and sat down against a wall, looking out at the sky again. We didn’t leave until the sun had gone down and the stars began to shine.
“I have all those new tapes to listen to remember?” I felt excited as I ran down the stairs with him in tow, our fingers interlaced.
When we reached my room, he flopped back onto my bed as I began my search for the new music Hermione had gotten for me. So much had happened in the last months that it almost seemed strange to be just sitting around listening to music again.
“I’ve missed this.” Mattheo said, “hey maybe now, since everyone knows you’re a muggleborn, we can just listen to music all the time?” He sounded so enthusiastic that I couldn’t say no.
“I don’t see why not.” I smiled as I turned my head to face him, and after a moment added; “I don’t want everyone to come back.” I admitted, my smile faltered for a second. His eyes met mine and I knew he was trying to read my expression.
“Me too.” He said, and I had to look away, “Have you talked to Granger about it?” His question caught me off guard, I had talked to her but not about Slytherins reaction.
“You know, if we start hanging out with Hermione, that means we probably have to spend more time with Ron?” I couldn’t help but smirk and he sat up, I followed his lead and turned to face him.
“I could always get rid of him? There are plenty of Weasley's I'm sure they won’t mind if one goes missing?” He gave me a devilish grin and I shook my head,
“I’m sure the Weasley wouldn’t mind, but Harry and Hermione might.” I laughed and got up and walked over to my desk. I grabbed my book out and started writing to Hermione.
‘Hermione, next year I think Slytherin will turn against me. Would you mind if Mattheo and I hung out with you guys?’
“What did you write?” He asked, now looking over my shoulder even though he knew he couldn’t see anything.
“Asking if they are alright to hang out next year at school.” I smiled, turning my head to look at him, not realising just how close he was to me. I quickly looked back down at my book.
“I hate that I can’t see it.” He grumbled, and I giggled.
“It’s nothing important.” I shrugged and he flopped back onto the bed.
‘Of course. Harry has been asking if you are alright, I think he’s worried about you. Ron will have to deal with being around Mattheo. Harry already told him how he wouldn’t have been able to save Ginny without his help, so I’m sure he will come around.’
“Good news. Hermione said they would love having us around.” I didn’t want to mention Ron again,
“Now that that’s out of the way. Do you want to go on a late night snack trip?” He asked and I spun around and narrowed my eyes.
“Are you making me steal for you again?” I was suspicious but knew exactly what he meant and could definitely use a good chocolate fix.
“Come on, it’s our tradition!” He pouted and I couldn’t stop my mouth from twitching, “ha! I saw that! Let’s go!” He jumped up and grabbed my wrist, pulling me up from my seat and out the door.
______________________________________
We spent the rest of the holiday like we usually did, but this time I could be more honest, I told him what growing up with my parents was like and he of course said he hoped he never met them. Luckily for everyone I don’t think that’s going to happen.
The astronomy tower became our hideout, where we would go with or without each other when we wanted to relax and think; Though usually we were together.
Mattheo said it was rare for anyone to go up there, he hadn’t seen anyone on his 3am trips for the past 2 years. so it seemed like a fairly safe place for us to continue hanging out when all the students came back next week.
I couldn’t help but notice the worry etched on Mattheo’s face, he seemed to grow more and more worried the closer we got to the first day of school.
I couldn’t blame him though, I felt just as worried. No, that wasn’t it, I was terrified. I knew things would be different soon, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
But something else was worrying him, we had been told by the professors that Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban, and that he would be safe in the school if he decided to come after Mattheo. We couldn’t figure out what he would want from him, was it just to kill him? Was it to pledge his allegiance to his master's son? If he did manage to find Mattheo, would he kill him for being friends with me? Or would he just kill me for being close to the dark lord's son?
There were so many things he had blurted out to me on the night after we found out about Sirius. All I could do was hug him and repeat McGonagall's words. Hoping we would be safe at Hogwarts, Especially now that they had dementors flying around just outside the grounds.
As the first day of the new school year dawned, anticipation hung thick in the air at Hogwarts. Mattheo and I were waiting patiently at the Slytherin table, our eyes scanning the crowd for familiar faces. I was hoping to see Hermione before the majority of Slytherins entered the room.
As the throng of students began to file into the Great Hall, I saw Malfoy and Theo talking, their voices hushed as they engaged in conversation. Intrigued, I watched them as they sat down a few seats away from us and continued talking.
“…heard Potter fainted,” Malfoy was saying, his voice tinged with a hint of malice. “Couldn’t handle a little dementor, could he?”
Beside him, Theo nodded in agreement, a smirk playing across his lips. “Pathetic, really. You’d think the great Harry Potter would be made of sterner stuff.”
My heart sank at their callous words, a pang of sympathy stirring within me for Harry and the ordeal he must have endured. I was also surprised at how quickly Theo had seemed to change, or was he always this… cruel?
Mattheo’s jaw clenched at the mention of Harry’s name, his eyes narrowing as he also listened intently to Malfoy and Theo’s conversation. I could sense his growing anger, a fierce protectiveness emanating from him as he sat tall beside me.
I reached for his hand and squeezed it, which seemed to drag his attention away from the horrible conversation, and he focused on me instead.
“Are you okay?” I asked before he had a chance to ask me the same question.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” He said, though I didn’t believe him and I don’t think he wanted me to believe him. I watched as Harry, Hermione and Ron entered the Great Hall and once they were seated Malfoy started to antagonise him.
“Potter.. potter!” He whispered and Harry turned around, “Is it true you fainted? Like you actually fainted?” And Theo feigned a faint, Crabbe and Goyle laughed.
“Shove off, Malfoy.” Ron said as he turned Harry back around.
“Pathetic.” Malfoy said and the four boys went back to talking amongst themselves again.
Mattheo and I had both been on edge all afternoon and now that the students were back—that the Slytherins were back—it was worse. The last time he was acting like this he kept disappearing and I was left on my own, I just silently hoped that it wouldn’t happen again this time. So I watched him while we ate to make sure he wasn’t going to vanish into thin air.
“I have to go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” I said and started to get up from the table, but he grabbed my wrist.
“You aren’t going without me.” He said and took one more large mouthful of food and we got up. As we made our way to the bathroom I couldn’t help but be reminded of when Daphne had cornered me. I was cautious as I stood outside the bathroom entry, Mattheo seemed to notice and he gripped my arm.
“Do you want me to go in with you to check there is no one?” He asked. His eyes told me he was serious but his smirk told me he was trying to keep it light hearted.
“No, but if you hear me scream, feel free to come check on me.” I tried to smirk back but I don’t think it was very convincing. As I walked into the bathroom I cast a detection charm and found that no one was inside.
I tried to be as quick as possible and get back to Mattheo before anyone had a chance to follow me inside.
“—blood traitor. Wait ‘til my father hears about how disappointing you are.” I caught the end of a sentence as I walked out of the bathroom.
“Oh look, there she is, the Mudblood herself.” Malfoy chuckled at his own words and Theo laughed but his eyes betrayed something in his mind that I couldn’t quite catch.
“Fuck off, Malfoy.” Mattheo snarled as he grabbed my hand and we started to walk towards the Slytherin common room.
“Petrificus Totalus.” The words were spoken so quickly that I barely had any time to react. I froze in place and could just hear laughter behind us followed by Mattheo leaving my side.
The sound of fists colliding with skin was all I could hear along with some yelling, it was too much to understand without being able to turn around to see what was happening.
“You’re going to regret that.” Mattheo yelled, before coming back to me and standing where I could see him. “He ran off after I made his nose bleed.” I looked him over and he was bleeding too, he had a blood lip again. Why did he always get into physical fights? “Finite incantatum.”
I felt my body release and I stumbled forward into him, his arms wrapping around me. I felt numb as I looked up at him, “so it’s begun.” I gave him a small smile as I righted myself and took a deep breath.
“It’s going to be okay, it will pass eventually. I’m sure of it.” He said, but the words fell flat on my heart, I wasn’t sure if it would pass, but I could only hope. As we made it back to our rooms he stopped me.
“Though I think you need to have your wand ready whenever you are near any of them.” He added and I furrowed my eyebrows.
“I’m not the fastest with spells.” I deflected and he lifted my chin up to look at him.
“We can practise.” He smiled and I gave him a genuine smile back.
“Okay. But not today, I’m tired.” Now it was his turn to look deflated. He started to turn to go to his room and I felt my hand move before I could realise.
“You can still come to my room if you want?” I said as I held his hand to stop him from leaving. He looked down at our hands and smiled again.
“Alright.” He said and opened my door and dragged me inside with him. I could feel my heart racing. The numbness I felt before melting away as I watched him lay on my bed and summon a book from my shelf.
“I’m just going to wash up.” I said and quickly closed myself in the bathroom. I put a hand over my heart, willing it to stop beating so loudly. All we did was hold hands but this time something just felt different, was it because he had just looked into my eyes? I recalled the feeling of his fingers gently touching my chin, the soft look in his eyes. I felt my entire body heat up, what was happening to me.
After a cold shower I opened the bathroom door feeling refreshed and saw Mattheo was still laying down reading, though this time he was levitating the book above him and using his wand to flick through the pages. I summoned my pyjamas and closed the door again, quickly getting changed and then leaving the bathroom.
“Are you coming to the tower tonight?” He asked and I shook my head. “I’ll still knock before I go, just in case.” He smiled and went back to his reading.
I climbed into bed and pulled out my book from under my pillow, Hermione had written already.
‘I saw you leave with Mattheo, where are you going?’
‘Malfoy just came back bleeding, what happened?’
‘Please reply so I know you’re alright.’
‘Honestly, there are rumours that Mattheo tried to kill Malfoy now. What on earth actually happened?’
I quickly replied so she knew I was okay before she sent out a search party.
‘Malfoy was just running his mouth again. They got into a fist fight because he used petrificus totalus on me. I’m okay.’
Before she could reply I started writing again.
‘I think my crush on Mattheo is worse than I thought. He looked into my eyes and I almost burst into flames.’ I covered my face with the book and scrunched my eyes closed.
“Is everything okay?” Mattheo asked and I quickly dropped the book to my lap again, staring wide eyed at him and there was an almost panicked look on his face now. I tried to reply and say it was nothing but a headache burst through my head and I had to hold my head to try and ease the pain.
The headache left almost as quickly as it had started and I looked back at Mattheo, ready to tell him it was just a headache but he seemed flustered. The book fell and smacked right into his face.
“Ah fuck.” He said and grabbed his nose. “Shit.” I couldn’t help but giggle as I asked if he was alright. “I’m fine. I think I’m just tired.” He said, but he wouldn’t look at me, I could see the blush in his cheeks now, he must feel embarrassed about dropping the book.
“Alright, goodnight.” I called after him as he rushed to the door, taking my book with him. He really was so cute sometimes, maybe in a few years things will change between us, but for now being his friend like this is enough.
I looked back down at my book to see Hermione’s reply.
‘Oh my god you’ve got it bad. Have you kissed yet? What do you even do during the entire summer break together?’ I rolled my eyes, thankful that Mattheo was no longer here to witness my reactions to the messages.
‘We just talk. And we are just friends. He doesn’t like me like that. It’s entirely one sided. If he liked me he would have done something right?’ I wish I could believe what Hermione had said about the night she polyjuice into me. But he has never looked like he wanted to kiss me, so I’m sure she was misinterpreting his actions.
‘Well, I’m surprised nothing has happened. But just you wait.’ I closed the book and tucked it under my pillow again. I didn’t need to delude myself into thinking we could be more than friends.
Friends was enough.