Magic and Mistrust ~ Mattheo Riddle

prologue

I place my hands on the railing of the astronomy tower. The wind was in my hair, and the breeze cooled me off.

My books sit on the ground, next to my feet. I couldn't be bothered to put them back; I had to come up here.

I felt someone else's presence, like they were watching me, and as I looked down at my books, I saw a boy sitting with his knees up, smoking a cigarette.

I sit down, my pile of books keeping us apart.

In the dim light of the tower, I couldn't see much. I could make out some curly hair and a pale face, but that was all. I couldn't recognize him.

"Hi," he says, blowing smoke out of his mouth.

"You know that smoking is bad for you," I tell him, disgusted.

"Acting like you're smarter than everyone else is just as bad," he retorts.

"I am smarter than everyone else," I say, rolling my eyes. "And you could die because of that stuff; the worst that being smart could do is make you isolated."

"So you have no friends?"

"And you have tobacco in your lungs."

He turns to look at me in the dark. "You're funny." He leans on my books. Despite what he said, he doesn't laugh or sound amused.

I watched the fire; this was a serious hazard for people who weren't careful, like him. He rests more of his arm on the pile, the cigarette way too close for comfort.

I swept his arm off of it, his wrist was exposed and I could see the dark mark. I was talking to a death eater.

"What was that for?"

"You almost burned my books, idiot," I accuse, and I finally realise who I was talking to.

Mattheo Riddle.

I got up, shocked that I held a conversation with him for this long.

"You gonna run away?"

I scoff. "No, I just came here for some peace and you're here so I'll leave,"

"You're scared of me," He guesses.

"As if,"

"Admit it, Gingerbread,"

"You wish, Cinnamon swirl,"