Boundless

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥, 𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 (𝟏𝟗)

Mattheo Riddle

I was lying on my bed, one arm draped over my eyes, when the faint sound of parchment brushing stone pulled me out of my thoughts.

A note. Slipped under the door.

I stared at it for a long moment before reaching over and unfolding the familiar handwriting.

"Prefect's Bathroom. Half past nine. Come alone — Ollie"

My chest tightened. No threat. No explanation. Just her. The way it used to be, when we didn't need full sentences to understand each other.

I didn't hesitate.

The corridors were quiet as I made my way to the fifth floor, the usual patrols long since passed. The mermaid on the stained-glass window winked at me lazily when I muttered the password, and the door eased open with a soft hiss of steam.

She was already there.

Ollie stood by the wide marble tub, arms crossed, looking like every inch of her was tangled up in memory. The warm haze of enchanted mist made her curls cling to her cheeks, her Slytherin jumper slouching off one shoulder like she'd rushed out without thinking.

Her eyes lifted when she heard me, and she gave me the smallest nod, like this was harder than she'd planned.

"Hey," I said gently.

"Hi," she breathed.

We stood there for a second too long in silence. The space between us was full of ghosts.

Then she broke it. "I didn't know how to write this into a letter. So here we are."

I nodded, leaning against the marble counter, waiting. Giving her space.

She started pacing. "Do you remember the first time we came here? You dared me to sneak in because Pansy said it was the only place to properly shave her legs without a hexed sink trying to eat her razors."

I cracked a smile. "You were so nervous, you made me check the hallway three times before we went in."

"I still blame you for nearly giving us detention," she muttered, but there was a smile tugging at her lips too.

"We've always met in stolen places," she started, eyes flicking to mine. "Hidden corners. Empty classrooms. The Black Lake. This room. And it always meant something. It wasn't just privacy, it was... ours."

I said nothing. Just listened.

"I keep thinking about all the things we were," she continued. "We were friends first. Before all the drama. Before the kisses and the arguments and the heartbreak. Before the war pulled everyone into pieces."

She began to pace slowly, her voice gaining momentum. "Do you remember our first detention together? Second year. I accidentally hexed your eyebrows off and you nearly cried in front of Snape."

"I didn't cry," I said quietly.

"You almost did."

She smiled — a small, sad thing. I hadn't realised how much I'd missed seeing that smile, even laced with hurt.

"You were my best friend," she said. "And then suddenly you weren't. Suddenly, you were... the boy who kissed me behind the Astronomy Tower, who made me skip class just to nap in the grass. You became everything. And then you disappeared."

I looked down at the tiles, shame heavy in my throat.

"I wanted to hate you," she said, voice thinner now. "Sometimes I did. But I missed you more."

I stepped closer, close enough to see the freckles across her cheeks and the way her hands trembled slightly at her sides.

"I'm not ready to fall again, Mattheo," she whispered. "Not yet. Not until I know you're staying. Until I know we're not chasing something that ends the moment things get hard."

I nodded slowly. "Okay."

She blinked. "Okay?"

"If friendship is where we start again," I said, voice low, steady, "then I'll be your friend. I'll show up. I'll learn everything all over again — your favourite drink, your favourite book, how you twist your hair when you're lying. I'll start from the beginning, Ollie. Because you're not just some girl I want. You're the girl. You always have been."

Her breath caught. Her eyes glistened.

I reached for her hand, just briefly, letting my fingers brush hers like a promise.

"No more running," I added.

She stepped in then, wrapping her arms around me — not romantic, not desperate — just real. Just us. She tucked her head into my chest, and I held her there like a prayer.

Maybe this wasn't falling.

But it was something.

The beginning of everything again.