Two Worlds Apart - Fancast Slytherin Boys

Chapter 19: Home

Mattheo had dreaded the day he'd see the cold stone walls and the shiny marble floors again. So much in fact, that he'd even gone to Dumbledore in a desperate plea not to make him go back there. It did not help. Instead, he found himself back in the one place he hated the most. Home. The vacant hallways and the old paintings portraying years upon years of family history made Mattheo's blood run cold. He found it difficult to imagine a time within these old thick walls, where love was present and usual, instead of something he sought to find in a place that simply held no such thing.

His bags remained unpacked on the floor in the middle of his room, his eyes staring numbly at the window ahead of him. The rain poured from the sky above, and if it wasn't for that thrumming noise, the silence would've been unbearable. He had yet to see his father, and he knew the possibility of their paths crossing was narrow. Which was probably for the best, he thought.

It was his first time back at the mansion since what happened at the start of term. He hadn't realized how much it would hurt to walk through the empty hallways she used to wander. Every time he looked down an empty hallway, he'd see a glimpse of her face. It stung, and it hurt him so unbelievably much. Her presence made the world less cold, he thought, and oh how Mattheo's heart yearned for her touch, her voice, her warmth.

The biggest regret of his life was how he'd left her. He'd been so angry, the mere thought of going away to Hogwarts having sent him into a frenzy. Loud screams and heavy breaths had echoed through the hollow hallways that day. He'd left, and never seen her again. He recalls slamming the door as hard as he could, not looking back as Hagrid had come to pick him up, to take him away from the place he'd once called home. He'd had no warning. It is what is best for you, she'd claimed. He could still hear her soothing voice. Only a few mere days had passed before he'd received the news that would crush his world.

Mattheo knew her last letter like the back of his hand. He'd read it so many times, back and forth, inspecting every curve of every letter. Love, your mother, it said. That was the final line. She had loved him. She had loved him despite his rude and reckless behavior. She had loved him despite how he left her that day. Her last day. She loved him.

The sound of the rain hammering against the glass of the window was the only sound keeping Mattheo from going completely and utterly insane. He'd shown himself inside the day he arrived, not even the countless house elves he'd passed on his journey to his room had acknowledged him. He was alone. Truly alone.

Minutes turned to hours, and hours into days. Days became weeks and he had heard not a single word from any of his friends. He hadn't expected to. Not as long as he would be staying at his father's house, but he had to admit that a small part of him wished just one of them had dared.

Mattheo tiptoed down one of the corridors of the left wing of the building. He'd heard voices earlier that day, and decided to check it out. The room was filled with people, though none of them spoke. It was eerily quiet until the sound of footsteps approaching made the hairs on Mattheo's neck rise. A chair screeched as it was pulled across the wooden floor, and then, a voice. He closed the distance to the large wooden door, pressing his back up against the wall next to it in order to properly listen in on what was happening.

It was at this moment that Mattheo realized what he was witnessing. It was a meeting, but not just any meeting. His father had started recruiting, he had been aware of that since Theo told them about his own father, but he hadn't quite realized just how many. And what kind of people these recruits seemed to be. They were dangerous people, people with nothing to lose. The kinds of people that would follow orders, no questions asked. Mattheo swallowed the lump that had been collecting in his throat. These people, wizards, creatures, they all had one thing in common. They were under his fathers rule, and to prove it, they each had a burning mark on their arm.