Mattheo Riddle One Shots

Missing in action

Summary: The Battle of Hogwarts -- one of the bloodiest battles in the Second Wizard War, and you lived to tell the harrowing tales. You were one of the lucky ones.

Warnings: Suicide, mental health struggles, grief, death (in passing), violence, bullying.

Words: 2097

A year and a half had passed since then, the castle had been rebuilt, and the dead were laid to rest. It took a year for classes to resume, but here you were again, going through the routine again with your closest friends - Draco Malfoy, who bravely fought against his parents on the side of good, Theodore Nott, Lorenzo Berkshire and Regulus Black. Although things were getting back to normal, a significant part of your group was missing. Mattheo Riddle, son of the Dark Lord himself but, more importantly, your beloved, was gone.

Mattheo was not among the survivors at the end of the war, nor was his body found within the ruined castle rubble. The professors and Ministry of Magic alike scoured the school grounds in search of anything, but nothing could be seen of him. The mystery of his disappearance deepened, with rumours of what happened to him beginning to spread. One thing all the rumours had in common was painting Mattheo as a hero - the prodigal son of the Dark Lord, standing up against him, holding off the death eaters while many students fled. He was one of the many unsung heroes of the war, his fate uncertain.

As the months progressed and nobody ever found any trace of Mattheo, the hope of his survival began to drop. First, it was the Ministry. A few months later, the professors gave up hope that he was alive. Just recently, Theo had finally given up hope that he was still alive. You heard him talking in the Great Hall about it.

"What do you lot think? Is he actually coming back?" Theo asks, his voice calm. It was not quite a whisper, but it was not his total volume. "Do you believe Matt was actually able to survive the war? Survive all the shit he endured? Are we just kidding ourselves and holding onto false hope?"

Draco shook his head, looking around for you, hoping you weren't in earshot. "There's no way. He could not possibly have survived. I heard that on the second anniversary, they're going to add his name to the In Memory speech. It seems as though everyone has accepted it now, except her."

"I'll tell her," Theo says dejectedly. He didn't want to break your heart even more. "It's best it comes from me. I don't want her to get blindsided by the news when it happens; she already has nightmares every night about the war. Like the rest of us, she carries those scars, mental and physical. She won't like it." he trails off with a deep sigh, placing his head in his hands, mentally psyching himself up to go have this conversation yet again.

He leaves the Great Hall in the direction of the Slytherin dorms. It wasn't hard to know where you would be - you spent all your time in his bed, wearing his clothes and, in Theo's mind, prolonging your hurt.

He opens the door of the dorm, seeing you sitting on his bed, reading your book, his pillow between your arms. "Hey, we have to talk." He says, leaning against the doorframe. "They want to add his name to the list of students who died. I think it's time, Bellissima. I think you need to let him go. He died protecting the school, its students and you."

"You're wrong, Theo!" You whimper, staring at your boyfriend's best friend standing at the door to his and Mattheo's dorm. "He can't be gone! There's no way he's gone! We killed his father! You were the one who cast the curse!"

Theo sighs, running his fingers through his curls. "Ape, he's gone. There are so many places his body could be that would have been hidden. Yes, we killed his father, but that does not mean he didn't have a hand in his death. I miss him, too. I miss him like you wouldn't believe it, but you need to accept that he's gone. He would want you to move on, apa."