Fighting Fate // Mattheo Riddle ♣️

Chapter Seventeen - In the Belly of the Beast

Word Count: 3,847.

Warnings: None. 

I was yet again packing my bags for Malfoy Manor. Pansy had left early, giving me the time I needed to get everything together without having to give her an excuse as to where I was going.

"Make sure to bring your wand," Crouch reminded me, pointing to the object that sat on my bed.

"Thanks," I replied, picking it up and throwing it in my suitcase.

"She's hardly going to need it," my mother told the two of us, seating herself on the side of my bed. "Malfoy Manor is perfectly safe."

Crouch perked a brow. "What world are you living in?" he asked her. "She needs every defence she can get. This is the Dark Lord we're talking about."

"He is interested in her power. He won't hurt her," my mother argued.

"That doesn't stop any of the other Death Eaters trying to kill her." He turned to me. "Do you have a knife you can bring?" he asked me.

I shook my head. "Why would I have a knife Crouch?"

"To defend yourself. You may be good at charms and defensive spells but a physical way of defending yourself is always useful."

I turned away from him, closing my suitcase. "What do you think is going to happen there? Every Death Eater is going to try and kill me in my sleep."

He didn't answer, causing me to stop what I was doing and look at him. He gave me an innocent look.

"You're kidding," I told him.

He shook his head. "These guys are ruthless."

Gulping, I turned from him, taking the handle of my suitcase and dragging it towards the door.

"They are still people Lyra," Crouch continued. When I looked at him again, I found that my mother had vanished and he stood at the base of my bed. "You don't need to kill them to save yourself. You're smart," he paused, leaning himself against the bedframe. "Words cut deeper than knives. A knife can be pulled out, words are embedded in our souls."

I nodded. "William Chapman."

He smiled innocently. "I am in your head after all."

Taking a deep breath, I turned from the man and left my dorm room, making my way to the Common Room.

ᵜᵜᵜᵜᵜ

"Ready to go?" Riddle asked I approached the boy that stood by the fireplace.

He took the suitcase from my hand as I nodded. "Thanks." I looked around. "Where's Draco?"

"I'm alive," Malfoy's voice approached us from behind. We turned to him. "Barely. It's too early for this," the boy complained, dark circles under his eyes.

"It's 3pm," I told him,

"Too early for a Saturday."

Rolling my eyes playfully, I turned back to Mattheo. "Let's get going. The quicker we get out of here, the better."

He nodded, making for the exit to the Common Room. Pulling Draco by the arm, I dragged the Slytherin across the room.

"Where are you running off to?" someone asked me before I could enter the tunnel. It wasn't Riddle and it wasn't Malfoy, but I knew the voice. I knew it well.

"I'm going home for the weekend," I told Theodore Nott as I turned to face the boy.

His expression was stern as he replied. "You don't usually go home for the weekend."