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THE COLD WINDS of late november swept through the stone corridors of hogwarts, biting at the skin of any student brave or foolish enough to wander outside the warmth of the common rooms. the castle, ancient and sprawling, seemed to resonate with the tension simmering just below the surface of its hallowed halls. as the students of hogwarts pressed on with their studies, two individuals stood out, not for their friendships or their achievements, but for the silent war that had raged between them since their first year.
yn, a slytherin with a reputation for her sharp wit and unrivaled intelligence, had always walked the line between admired and feared. her sparkling eyes, so reminiscent of the cunning nature of her house, missed nothing. she had a knack for uncovering secrets, her mind a fortress of knowledge that often left her peers in awe and occasionally, in fear. her hair, usually tied back in a neat braid, swayed as she walked the familiar path to the potions classroom, her thoughts already on the complex concoction they were set to brew.
then there was mattheo riddle. with a legacy as dark as the night, he bore the burden of a name that struck fear into even the bravest hearts - riddle, the name his father had shed to become the dark lord, voldemort. mattheo was every bit the slytherin that his father had been, but with one key difference: he carried the weight of his father's sins on his shoulders, a constant reminder of a path he neither chose nor desired. his presence was commanding, a mixture of intimidation and mystery that kept most at arm's length.
their rivalry was legendary within the walls of hogwarts. since their first year, yn and mattheo had been at odds, their animosity as much a part of their identity as their house affiliations. in class, they constantly challenged each other, their duels of intellect and skill drawing the attention - and often the bets - of their classmates. to most, it was clear that yn's sharp mind often gave her the upper hand, a fact that both irritated and intrigued mattheo in equal measure.
from the moment they had locked eyes on the hogwarts express, their paths had been set on a collision course. it wasn't just that they were both exceptionally talented and ambitious - qualities slytherin valued above all - it was that they seemed to bring out the worst in each other.
every class was a battlefield, every assignment a competition. yn's cool composure under pressure contrasted sharply with mattheo's fiery determination. if yn solved a particularly difficult arithmancy problem, mattheo would double his efforts to outdo her in transfiguration. if mattheo concocted a flawless potion, yn would push herself to outperform him in defense against the dark arts.
but while their peers saw only the surface - the snide comments, the cutting looks, the relentless competition - there were undercurrents that even they did not fully understand. beneath the rivalry, there was something more complex, an unspoken tension that neither could quite name, let alone confront.
