Cigarettes [Mattheo Riddle]

eleven

a pair of bare feet pattered along the bare stone.
pitter-patter.
pitter-patter.

the person whom the feet belonged to was in fact walking to their demise.

thud. thud. crash.

a soft voice muttered curses under their breath, and rubbed their head. they sat on the floor, picking up their books.

"what are you doing here? you shouldn't be here." a distant, but near, voice questioned.
the sleepwalker swayed subconsciously.

"are you alright?" they asked, the 't' was crisp and soothing, in their british accent.

the sleepwalker fell to the ground.

"mattheo, you idiot. how did you even get this far? you daft imbecile." she stroked her comforting hand over his hair.

with all her strength, she softly pulled him up so he was sitting against the wall.

"levicorpus." blaire whispered gently.

she was guiding him back to the hospital wing, when a dark, sinister creature emerged from a corner.

she dropped her wand in shock and heard the body behind her fall to the ground.

it had no face, only a mouth, and it was disgusting- words could never describe it. it looked like a corpse.

"get away, mattheo!" blaire shouted, as the creature approached her.

snore. snort. snore.

she fell on the ground and crawled to mattheo's sleeping body. she flung her body over him and squeezed her eyes tight shut.

"it'll be okay. someone will come."

blaire felt a cold shock brush over her body. she twitched as if she were having a seizure. her memories faded, of her and her siblings, her mother yelling, cedric, mattheo.

a loud gasp was distantly heard.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" it yelled hysterically.

a doe chased the creature away, saving mattheo and blaire. the man ran over.
"riddle! lestrange! what in merlin's beard are you-" snape yelled.

"he's sleepwalking, professor! i was getting fresh air." blaire proclaimed.
"get him back to the hospital wing. you're lucky to be alive! why would you risk your life- for a riddle? for the dark lord's son?! do you know what he's-" snape yelling continued.

blaire's eyes stared straight at the stone wall.

"i love him."
"what?" snape was taken aback. he knew love. he knew the pain.
"i- sorry. nevermind." blaire dismissed it.
"nobody can love him. he cannot love." snape whispered coldly.
"I- what?" blaire struggled to speak.
"he cannot love. like his father." snape remarked.
"but he- all he did for me-?" blaire choked out.
"come on, don't be so pathetic, you know-"

shuffle.

blaire and snape's heads turned towards mattheo's body.
"blaire, blaire.." he whispered mistily, tugging her sleeve.
"is he-?" snape asked.
blaire shook her head. "i'll leave you. take him back. make sure he's safe and will be okay."
"fine. goodnight, lestrange. go straight to your dorm."
"yes. goodnight?" she was confused why he was being kind. maybe he was grateful about her protecting mattheo - although she did this to a faint degree.