𝐏𝐎𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐒 | mattheo riddle

three 𝐓𝐎𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐎 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐄𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐃

・・・❦・・・

A FEW DAYS passed, and vanessa's life fell back into its usual routine. she attended her classes, participated in study group meetings at the library, and worked on her homework.

she has always been an average student excelling in potions, especially because professor slughorn favored her, and because the burkeley family had always been gifted in it. her worst subject was magical history, the subject so boring it almost made her eyes glaze over. this year however, she was determined to get good grades, even in those classes, telling herself it was for her own satisfaction, but deep down, she knew it was to finally earn her father's approval in at least one thing.

so, on a cloudy tuesday morning, vanessa headed to her favorite class, potions. she took her usual seat next to izzy, who looked half-asleep. then she glanced over at the slytherin boys. blaise was sitting there, talking to a boy, looking effortlessly handsome. well, he always did. it was part of the reason she had fallen for him in the first place after all.

the class began, and slughorn greeted them warmly. a few minutes in, the door banged open loudly.

mattheo riddle walked in, late as always. vanessa only had very few classes with him and was grateful for that. he either missed class entirely or showed up late, never participating or completing homework. the teachers however, except for mcgonagall and snape, seemed too intimidated by him and his background to say anything.

as he entered the room, a few girls giggled and whispered amongst themselves. mattheo had become the school's latest heartthrob, especially among the female students.

vanessa, however, found him irritating. his behavior was obnoxious, and the fact that no one reprimanded him only added to her annoyance. izzy, on the other hand, found him irresistible, even more so because of his infamous father. but then again, izzy found almost every boy in this school hot. vanessa rolled her eyes at the thought. yes, riddle was undeniably handsome, but he was also unbearably rude.

the class proceeded with slughorn yabbing about unnecessary things until he announced todays task: the amortentia potion. he asked if anyone knew what it was, and before hermione granger could raise her hand, vanessa did, providing a flawless answer.

"amortentia, the most powerful love potion in existence. it doesn't create actual love, of course, that would be impossible. but it does cause a powerful infatuation or obsession. the potion has a unique scent to each person who smells it, depending on what attracts them most."

"absolutely correct, miss burkeley. ten points to slytherin!" slughorn beamed, which made vanessa smirk with pride.

slughorn then explained they would be working in pairs to create the potion and write an essay on its history. vanessa groaned inside. she hated partner work but knew she had no choice. unfortunately, slughorn also decided to assign the pairs himself.

"honestly, i'd die if i get riddle. he's so... mysterious. but enzo would be fine too, of course," izzy whispered to vanessa, her eyes lighting up at the thought.

vanessa rolled her eyes. "well, riddle is also a pain in the ass. you would have to do all the work alone."

one by one, slughorn called out names. izzy wasn't paired with lorenzo or riddle, but with neville longbottom, much to her visible annoyance. as more names were called, vanessa's anxiety grew. blaise was paired with some ravenclaw boy, and hermione granger with theodore nott, which meant that the two best choices were unavailable.