Fighting Fate // Mattheo Riddle ♣️

Chapter Twenty-Three - The Golden Egg

Word Count: 2,862. 

Warnings: None. 

My hand tumbled the stone around my neck. The pendent had taken a permanent place on my throat and I had gotten used to the calming feeling that accompanied it.

Facing the sky, I took a deep breath in, watching the wisping clouds flutter across the blue back-round.

"You should probably finish your essay Black," Kenneth told me, softly pushing the hair back from my face. "Instead of watching the clouds."

He was sat up against the tree by the Black Lake, parchment in his right hand as his left played with the strands of my hair. I lay across his lap gently.

Things had gotten a lot more comfortable between me and Kenneth in the past few weeks. Before the Yule Ball, there was confusion in my mind over what Kenneth exactly meant to me. It was true. That he was a distraction from the aching in my chest over someone else, but a distraction is exactly what I needed right now. I needed to relax, and he gave me that.

I felt bad for it, if course. Playing with the poor Gryffindor's feelings, but if I told him the truth, things between us would change, and I didn't want that to happen. I liked things just as they were.

"I finished it two hours ago," I told him, my eyes closing.

"How, in Merlin's name, did you do that?" he asked, astonished.

I giggled lightly. "I did an essay on Wolfsbane as my entry into the Advanced Potion's class. Snape gave it the highest grade I've ever gotten from him, so I just changed a few of the words around and added a different introduction. He'll notice of course but won't be able to mark me down because it isn't exactly the same essay."

Kenneth laughed. "You never fail to amaze me Lyra," he replied softly.

I opened my eyes, looking up at his face which had now moved its gaze to me. He was smiling brightly, leaning down towards me.

Towler captured my lips in a soft kiss, dropping the parchment in his hand and bringing it to the side of my face. He turned my head gently.

I never got old of his kisses. They were soft and gentle and the most caring kisses I had ever had, but there was always something missing from the romantic gesture. Something that if I felt they had, the rest would fall into place perfectly. The only question was, what did they need?

ᵜᵜᵜᵜᵜ

We had stayed at the lake until late into the evening. Kenneth took his sweet time polishing off the homework assignment and he still wasn't completely positive about it when we made our way back to our Common Rooms.

"I just don't know about this line," he told me, holding up the paper to me.

"It's perfect. I've already read the entire thing and it is the best Wolfsbane essay in there apart from mine."

He laughed nervously. "And why is yours better?"

"Because I have experience." He passed me a confused glance.

The bells of the Hogwarts Tower ranging, telling the both of us that it was past curfew. "Merlin," Kenneth gasped, looking down to his watch. "Is it that late?"

"I guess we were there longer than we thought," I replied calmly. He didn't seem as relaxed as I was.

"I really don't want to get caught. Are you good to sneak back to your Common Room by yourself? I don't want Snape catching me down there," he asked, moving restlessly from foot to foot.