where green meets yellow » mattheo riddle

03 | tower of terror

WHERE GREEN MEETS YELLOW
mattheo riddle - hp universe
act one - chapter three
" tower of terror "

"i heard the first challenge has something to do with the forbidden forest." a girl whispered to her friend as charlotte and cedric passed a few gryffindors on their way to their house table.

"well i heard it deals with unforgivable curses." another added.

the two finally sat down at their table, charlotte sighing as she did so. "forbidden forest? unforgivable curses? what the hell did you sign yourself up for, ced?" she asked, turning towards the boy.

"relax, char. i'm sure it's got nothing to do with either."

• ♡ •

"dragons?!"

the two best friends were now sat in the courtyard of the school. cedric had just been informed by harry potter what the first challenge was going to be, and immediately after, when charlotte pulled him away because she was panicking that he was going to die, he accidentally let it slip that it was going to be dragons.

"shit." he muttered.

"you're fighting a dragon?" she stood with shock, her eyes scanning his face for any small sign of fiction. "you can't possibly—"

"it'll be fine, i swear. i'll be okay." he reassured.

"b-but—but y-you—"

"i'll be fine, char. i love you, i'm not going to leave you anytime soon."

"promise?"

"i promise. i promise to be there for you to get married and have children. i'll watch your children grow up and help raise them even as my own. and if none of that happens, we get married at 35, remember?"

"yes."

"and i plan to keep that promise. i'll be there. i'm not going to die. i refuse to let 'dragon' be anywhere near my grave."

"okay."

cedric pulled her in tight to his chest, holding onto her with his whole heart, as she clutched onto him with her life, like if she were to let go, he might disappear from her life forever.

cedric was the most valuable thing she had. her grandfather was special, and so was her brother, but cedric was different. he was her twin, he second half. she loved him with her entire heart.

she refused to let him go; figuratively and literally.

"cedric, come here! look at these pins!" a boy called.

"i'll be back." he said to her, getting up and leaving her on the bench while he looked at some pins his friend had made for him.

charlotte watched the boy from afar, observing as he laughed and joked with his friends. as a deep sigh left her lips, she realized that it didn't matter how many tears she shed, there was no going back; she had to make the best of the situation and hope for the best.

placing her hand on the middle of cedric's back, she softly spoke in his ear. "i'm heading to class." she softly whispered, walking away from the courtyard.

later that night, charlotte decided to sneak off to the astronomy tower. she didn't exactly know why she was going there; stars, view, fresh air, high balcony to jump off of...

but once she reached to top of the tower, her eyes laid upon the shadowy figure smoking by the railing.

"oh, i'm sorry. i don't want to bother you."

"you're alright." the figure said, the voice mimicking the one of mattheo riddle, allowing charlotte to recognize the stature of the man.

"oh, hi."

"oh what, so you only apologize if it's a stranger?" he said, a slight chuckle leaving his lips as he spoke.

"exactly." she giggled, causing a bigger smile to fill his cheeks.

"c'mere." he said softly, nodding his head towards his current position.

she shyly followed his directions, standing beside him.

"you don't smoke, do you?" he asked as he leaned his elbows on the railings again.

"no." she answered softly.

"good, don't."

"well now i wanna." she smirked, leaning over to grab the rolled paper from his fingers.

"no." he said simply, standing up straight and holding his hand high.

"that's not fair!" she exclaimed, jumping to try and reach the contraband. however, her efforts we to no avail as she was a clear few inches shorter. letting her hand fall to her side slowly, she gazed at his ill-illumined face.

charlotte's eyes examined each little dent in his skin, so close she could see a few pores. blinking, she was overcome with a sense of deja vu from a few days ago.

she breathed softly, standing on her flat feet, as opposed to her tip-toes she had been on just a few moments prior.

mattheo looked down at her, his breath quickening with his heart rate. the boy allowed his eyes to bounce from her left and right irises, once falling to gaze at her lips, before moving back to her green eyes.

"charlotte..." he said softly, his hand falling to his side as well. he trailed his voice off, still looking at her deeply.

as the slytherin stared at her, she felt he had actually seen her. she'd only felt this way twice before, with her great grandfather and with cedric. but this, this felt different. her grandfather had looked at her with admiration, and cedric with so much platonic love, she thought his heart might burst.

but mattheo, he looked at her differently. no one had looked at her this way. no one. she's never had a boyfriend, or even been anywhere close, honestly. was this how people looked at others they loved?

her heartbeat quickened rapidly as she thought of the potential between the two's interactions.

"mattheo..." she whispered, copying him.

mattheo sucked in a breath, his brain running wild from the way she said his name. her slight sigh as she said it sent shivers through his spine.

"ow, fuck!" mattheo mumbled, shaking his hand. charlotte practically jumped away from him, subconsciously scanning him worriedly. "damn blunt." he said, dropping the rolled paper as the burner part spread to where his fingers held onto it.

"are you ok?" she asked, concern all over her voice and face. his eyes shot up from his hand, confused for a split second at her reaction.

"uh, yeah." he said, rubbing his fingertips. "just burned too long, i guess." he mumbled, still looking at her, as he eyes were fixated on his injury.

"i don't have my wand, i'd help it, i don't know, i—"

he smiled, cutting her off with his words. "hey, hey. it's ok. you're alright." he said, setting his hands on her elbows comfortingly. "thank you." he said softly.

"what do you mean?"

"for caring."

"i'm a hufflepuff. it's kind of our thing." she giggled softly, hoping she could play off the bright red tint on her cheeks.

1,154 words

ok wait get it bc it's like terror as in her fear for cedric and tower for the astronomy tower??? i'm so good at this guys lmao