if one of them is dead.

chapter fifteen.

Draco.

"I should cancel my subscription," Draco grumbled, tossing the newest addition of the Daily Prophet on the table in the Great Hall.

The three of them looked like shit.

None of them have slept in days. And Severus's interrogations weren't helping that fact in the slightest.

Blaise stopped with half a folded waffle in his mouth, reading his own copy of the paper. "Those motherfucking assholes," he said, his voice very muffled.

"What did they say this time?" Mattheo asked, his chin resting on his hand.

"Rita Skeeter, you fucking whore ass bitch," Blaise said, his voice still muffled as he reads on.

Draco nodded to the paper. "Look for yourself. Just warning you, you won't like it."

Mattheo didn't have to be told twice. He grabbed the paper and there on the front page, yet another story about Lilith.

Draco saw Mattheo's expression falter at the picture, but harden as he started reading from the paper. His posture straightened.

"'Daughter of Severus Snape, Lilith Snape, was found dead less than one week ago. Since the time of her death, it has been said that students at Hogwarts have been taken in for questioning.

'It has speculated that people very close with Ms. Snape could have been involved. People of suspicion include: Mattheo Riddle, son of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named; Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy; and Blaise Zabini, son to Mrs. Zabini.

'Latest sources say the three were the last to see Ms. Snape; therefore the suspicion that they partook in the killing of Ms. Snape.'"

Mattheo shook his head. "That's ridiculous. They really think I fucking killed her? Are they fucking mental?"

"There's more," Draco sighed, picking at his toast.

Mattheo looked back down, reading the rest. "'It has speculated that, while rumors had circulated about Mr. Riddle and Ms. Snape being intimate with each other, Mr. Riddle forced Ms. Snape into a romantic relationship. With this, Ms. Snape may not have been as loving as Mr. Riddle would have hoped, and he turned to more violent ways. It is believed he was, to other and to her, very violent, and had—"

Mattheo tossed the paper back onto the table, grabbing his wand out. "Incendio." The paper started on fire and burnt into ash in seconds, earning a few looks that the three weren't already receiving.

"They really try to make it look like I killed the one person that I actually fucking love," Mattheo grumbled, not letting his posture falter. "Seriously, can't we fucking grieve in peace, or do I have to go into detail about our relationship and—"

"I think you're good, Mate," Draco said, putting his face in his hands.

"Rita Skeeter can suck my fucking dick and choke and die while it's still in her mouth."

"Merlin, Blaise," Draco mumbles, shaking his head.

"I'm serious, okay?" Blaise said, pointing at Draco and Mattheo. "Lilith is my best fucking friend. I fucking love her more than I love anything else, and she's the only thing that kept me up for years. And now they have to try and make it into something it's not.

"I can't cry. I can't feel anything. I cried the first night we were told she was gone. I haven't been able to cry since. And it makes me want to fucking die."

"It's all numb," Mattheo mumbled. "I just want her back."

"We all do, Mattheo," Draco said. "It doesn't mean we're going to get her back. As much as I hate myself for saying it. There's no spell that will bring her back."

"Well, there bloody well should be," Mattheo said, standing up before walking out of the Great Hall.

"So, how you you work a muggle gun?" Blaise asked. "I really think it'll be nice to see Rita Skeeter without a fucking head, don't you?"

☯︎︎

"I swear to fucking Merlin, if one more person looks at me like I murdered my fucking girlfriend, I'm going to throw every single one of you into that fucking fire," Mattheo said loudly, pointing to the fireplace in the Slytherin common room. "I didn't fucking kill her, you delusional false-fed pieces of shit."

Without another word, Mattheo left the common room.

Blaise didn't even put down his book. "He's in a mood, isn't he?" he asked like he was an old woman having tea and reading the newscast gossip.

"It appears so," Draco replied, continuing his essay for Charms class. "I thought he would lose it days ago."

"I'm close to snapping too, just not as much at him."

"Don't worry, we're all going to be snapping soon," Draco reassured. "It's not as if we won't snap soon. We've not felt anything for too long."

"I think Lilith would be more offended we felt nothing rather than everything."

"True. Though, we felt everything at once."

"She would smack us right now, wouldn't she?"

"Indeed, she would."