Emerson Wilmore was an exemplary Ravenclaw student, known for her unwavering dedication to academics and an unyielding moral compass. However, things took a twisted and deviated turn in her life after her boyfriend, Cedric Diggory, was murdered by L...
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A few days later, Emerson found herself engrossed once again in the Hogwarts library. This time however, she was on her own. She settled down at the same desk that she sat at the other night with Mattheo, the familiar spot providing her with a sense of comfort. She arranged a stack of textbooks sprawled open around her, determined to get some studying done.
The library was silent and tranquil, the only sound the occasional rustling of pages and soft murmurs of other students in the distance. It provided her with the perfect environment to focus on her studies, There was no one in the study area near Emerson, which meant she was alone while she flipped the pages of the book in front of her.
She was working on her Care of Magical Creatures assignment, reading about Ashwinders. Somehow, her mind drifted to the thoughts of Mattheo. Ashwinders were a type of snake, so perhaps the reference somehow brought him to her mind but she doubted it. The thought of him kept playing on her mind over the past few days.
She hadn't spoken to him since his outburst when they studied together. He reappeared again during meal times and in the corridors around the school after the weekend, but he never approached her. He stared at her, his burning eyes following her movements as they normally did but he didn't talk to her, which was out of character for him. He only ever ignored her once before in the last few months, and that was when she called him a monster during Snape's detention.
She couldn't help but linger on thoughts of his mysterious actions and demeanour when he asked Snape to partner with her, when he found out about Anthony liking her, and the complexities of his behaviour afterwards when Mattheo punched him. It was strange, even by Mattheo's standards. Even more so and in conjunction with his returning silence, it was baffling to her, because it was a puzzle that she could not solve.
Her distracted mind meant that she didn't notice a particular someone was watching her from behind one of the bookshelves. She was completely lost in thought, which reduced her spatial awareness. A book was open in his firm grip, but his eyes barely glanced over the first three words on the page. Mattheo didn't even know the title of the book he grabbed off the shelf, he just snatched the closest one when he spotted Emerson sitting on her own. He didn't even remember entering the library, or why he entered the library. His feet just found themselves there, standing behind her.
He stood there for some time, acting as if he was reading a book instead of staring at Emerson. She was sitting on an angle, which meant that he was somewhat hidden out of her eyesight behind the bookshelf but he could still see the side of her face in the warm glow of the library.
Her dark brown hair was tied back, but it was messily done. He couldn't help but think to himself about how she normally had her hair pulled back so neatly and firmly. He assumed that she must've tried to relax ever so slightly while studying. He could see that she was completely lost in thought as she bent her neck over the desk. She was no longer scribbling and writing notes on the parchment in front of her, so he presumed that she was reading or thinking over something while she was completing her essay. Her nose was scrunching ever so slightly; her giveaway that he came to know was her concentration face. A mixture of curiosity and fascination flickered across his face as his dark eyes watched her from a distance.
