Mattheo Riddle - Imagines/OneShot

In the Breeze

Song: Saturn - Sleeping at Last

Word Count: 1193

The corridors of Hogwarts, once filled with laughter and light, now felt cold and hollow. Every echoing footstep seemed to mock him, a reminder of what had been lost. The young Riddle moved throughout the castle like a ghost, his heavy heart filled with grief that weighed down every breath, every thought. It had only been a week since the accident, but it felt like a lifetime. A lifetime since Y/N had been by his side.

They had met in their third year. He could still remember the first time he saw her–a warm September afternoon by the Black Lake. She was sitting alone, a book in her lap, her hair catching the sunlight in a way that made her look almost ethereal. Mattheo had been confident, always–but in that moment, something made him nervous. Something about Y/N drew him in. Her laughter was infectious, her smile like a spell that made the world brighter.

They'd been inseparable ever since, with occasions of bickering due to Mattheo's attitude towards the younger students. Every memory of Hogwarts was intertwined with Y/N. Long walks under the stars, sneaking out the Astronomy Tower, sharing stolen kisses behind the greenhouse... It was as if the castle itself was built from the foundation of their love.

Now, without her, it was just a collection of stones and empty hallways. Mattheo found himself wandering aimlessly, his feet carrying him to places that he used to go with her. The courtyard where they'd first kissed. The library weather she'd spend hours pouring over books, her brows furrowed with concentration. The Great Hall where they'd always sat together, laughing with the Slytherin group, unaware of how fragile those moments truly were.

He reached the edge of the Black Lake, the spot where they had spent so many afternoons together, just sitting in comfortable silence or talking about the future. It was here, on a day much like this one, that they had spoken of their plans after Hogwarts. She wanted to travel, to see the world beyond the castle walls. He had promised to go with her, to explore every corner of the world by her side. But now...Now there would be no adventures, no future. Only a gaping void where she used to be.

The accident had been so sudden, so unfair. A potions mishap during an advanced class– a simple mistake, one that should have been harmless, but somehow everything had gone wrong. Y/N had been too close when the cauldron exploded, trying to protect another classmate of hers, and in an instant, she was gone. Madam Pomfrey said there was nothing anyone could have done, that it was over before anyone even realized what had happened. But that did nothing to ease the pain that gnawed at Mattheo's soul, the guilt and the anger that twisted inside him like a knife.

He had been there. He had seen it happen. He had watched the light leave her eyes, and he had been powerless to stop it. Every night, the scene replayed in his head, over and over, a never-ending loop of horror and helplessness. Endless restless nights consumed him, and each time wanting to reach out for Y/N to help calm him down, only to realize that she couldn't–she was gone. And every morning, if he were able to sleep, he woke up alone, the weight of her absence pressing down on him like a physical force.

Mattheo sank to the ground by the lake, his hands trembling as he buried his face in them. The cold wind whipped around him, but he barely felt it. All he could feel was the emptiness inside him, the hole that Y/N had left behind.