War, Love, and Riddle //Mattheo Riddle x OC

Chapter Twenty Five - Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem

The Great Hall felt wrong.

Emma noticed it the moment she stepped inside.

The enchanted ceiling still stretched high above them, but the familiar warmth that had once defined Hogwarts had vanished. The floating candles seemed dimmer somehow, their light swallowed by shadows that clung stubbornly to the stone walls. Students filled the long tables exactly as they always had, yet nobody spoke above a whisper. Nobody laughed. Nobody passed notes beneath the table or argued over Quidditch scores. Hundreds of students sat in near-perfect silence, their faces carefully blank as though they had learned that drawing attention to themselves carried consequences.

It didn't feel like Hogwarts.

It felt like occupation.

Emma lowered her gaze and continued walking with the crowd. Around her, students shuffled toward their seats with mechanical obedience while professors stood stationed along the walls like silent guards. Beside her, Mattheo's hand slipped into hers. Neither acknowledged the gesture. Neither needed to. The reassurance flowed between them all the same.

They were here.

Together.

For now, that had to be enough.

When Snape finally rose from the staff table and swept toward the center of the hall, the room seemed to tighten around him. His black robes billowed behind him as he moved, drawing every eye in the room without raising his voice once.

"Many of you are undoubtedly wondering why I have summoned you here at this hour."

The silence that followed was immediate.

Absolute.

Emma watched him carefully.

Really watched him.

The same questions continued circling through her mind no matter how often she tried to dismiss them. If Severus Snape truly belonged to Voldemort, why had he protected them during Dumbledore's death? Why hadn't he exposed Harry and Emma when he had countless opportunities? Why had he protected Draco? Why did every answer somehow create more questions?

"It's come to my attention," Snape continued, his voice carrying effortlessly through the hall, "that Harry and Emma Potter have been sighted in Hogsmeade."

The reaction rippled through the students instantly.

Heads lifted.

Whispers erupted.

Emma could practically feel hundreds of hearts skipping a beat at once.

Hope.

Shock.

Disbelief.

Snape waited for the murmurs to settle before continuing.

"Any student found assisting Mr. Potter or Miss Potter will be punished in accordance with the severity of their actions. Likewise, anyone possessing knowledge of their whereabouts who fails to come forward will be considered equally guilty."

The threat lingered in the air long after Snape finished speaking. It settled over the Great Hall like a storm cloud, pressing down on hundreds of students who suddenly seemed very interested in the surfaces of their tables. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. The silence felt unnatural, stretched so tightly that Emma half expected it to snap beneath the weight of everything left unsaid.

Snape's dark eyes swept methodically across the room.

"If anyone possesses information regarding the Potter twins' movements this evening," he said, his voice carrying effortlessly through the hall, "I invite them to step forward now."