Mattheo Riddle One Shots

How it started -2- (finally)

Second year had ended and summer break had felt too fast. You found yourself on the train to Hogwarts for third year before you even knew it. You spent all the past train rides with the boys from Slytherin and, once again, were on the train with them again to go back to Hogwarts. It was going fine, just chatting and joking with the boys, even Mattheo seemed to be in a good mood. That was until the train had stopped moving, halting your conversation as everyone went silent.

Blaise checked outside the compartment, looking around, but seeing nothing. You could hear the other students talking quietly, trying to figure out what was going on. The murmurs died quickly when the temperature suddenly dropped drastically, the windows started frosting over and your breaths were becoming visible.

Blaise closed the compartment door and sat back down, everyone squishing together in the seats. You scooted back into Mattheo as you stared out the compartment door window. Normally, Mattheo would've said something and you would've apologized and scooted away, but even Mattheo seemed spooked and was staring out the window too, glancing out the other window as well.

All of the boys were quiet and that scared you even more. They were always loud, always joking, always doing something, but now they were all frozen, glancing between the two windows and each other occasionally.

"What's happening?" You whispered, too scared to be any louder.
"Dementors." Mattheo answered quietly.

You remembered hearing about them briefly. "The things in Azkaban? What are they doing here?"

"One of the prisoners escaped. They must be looking for him." Draco answered you from the opposite bench.

Before you could even respond, you saw a shadowy figure pass by the compartment window, looking in for a short moment. You remember hearing that they cause people nearby to feel dread and you felt that with a mix of terror. It felt as if all the happiness you've ever experienced had been sucked out of your body. You stared at where its eyes would have been, but were met with nothing but emptiness before the figure continued down the hall.

No one spoke until the temperature went back to normal and the windows thawed, and even then, it was quiet. You're used to this with Mattheo, but the other boys were normally so much louder and annoying. The mood seemed to lighten a bit by the time you got to the castle, but most of the students were quiet and whispering about what happened.

A little over a week later, you had Defense Against the Dark Arts class with Mattheo and Theodore.

Professor Lupin started the class with a wardrobe in the middle of the classroom, saying he was going to teach about boggarts and the riddikulus spell to fight against the boggarts. He had the students line up and you found yourself in the middle of the line with the two Slytherin boys, Mattheo in front of you and he seemed a little nervous.

It made sense. Boggarts are supposed to take the form of the things you're most scared of. Facing something you're terrified of is nerve-wracking.

There were many forms the boggart took as each student went up and casted the riddikulus spell on it to make it harmless.
As Mattheo went up to it, only a few steps in front of you, he waited as the boggart chose what form to use. It finally settled on a man. He was handsome, black hair and brown eyes, dressed in the school attire, Slytherin specifically. He looked a lot like Mattheo.

Similar curls and eyes.

You couldn't recognize the man, but Mattheo did as he froze. Professor Lupin seemed to recognize the man as well and stepped between Mattheo and the boggart, causing it to change to the full moon and he casted riddikulus on it, turning it into a balloon and sending it around the room.

Mattheo came back to his senses and darted out of the room, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.

Professor Lupin dismissed the class as everyone laughed at the moon turning into a balloon. Without even thinking, you took off after Mattheo, seeing his figure turn down a hallway at the last second before running after him. You saw him go into the restroom and stood outside the door for a moment as you caught your breath, debating if you should go in or not. It was the men's restroom, but Mattheo seemed like he needed someone.

Before you could overthink it, you pushed the door open and walked inside slowly.

"Mattheo?" You called softly.

He didn't respond, but you could hear him in one of the stalls, hearing him breathing heavily as it sounded like he was trying to calm himself.

"Are you alright, Mattheo?" You asked quietly outside the stall.
"Fine. Just leave me alone." He snapped.

"You just ran out of there. I want to make sure you're alright." You said, keeping your voice calm to not upset him further.
"Can you not listen? I said 'leave me alone." He nearly shouted.
"Mattheo, please-"
"I said 'leave me alone'! Get out!" He shouted this time.

"Okay. Sorry. I'm here if you need me." You said before leaving the restroom.

You stepped out of the restroom before running into Theodore and gestured to the door, telling him Mattheo was in there but that it seemed he wanted to be left alone.

A few hours later, you were in the library to do some homework and Mattheo sat down at your table without saying anything for a moment. You looked up at him, waiting for him to say something.
He kept trying to look at you, only to have his eyes fall back down to the table. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you."

"Are you alright now?" You asked, putting your quill down to focus on him.

"Yeah, I just...l needed a moment." He answered and you nodded.
"You just made me worried. I didn't mean to overstep, I-"

"It's fine. You were just trying to be...You didn't deserve that." His eyes were focused on the table now, refusing to meet your eyes. "That-The man that...That was my father. Tom Riddle. Voldemort."
You nodded along to what he was saying. "Your boggart was your dad?" You asked quietly.

He swallowed, eyes darting around the room. "I only knew him from stories and photos, but..." He sighed.

"Every story was, well, I'm sure you can guess."
"I'm so sorry, Mattheo." You said softly, reaching for his hand gently to reassure him. "Yeah." It was all he said before clearing his throat and pulling his hand away. "I'm fine now. So. I'm... sorry for worrying you and yelling at you."

"It's fine. I'm just glad you're okay." You said, smiling slightly, but he still refused to really look at you for longer than one second.
"I'll see you tomorrow, princess." He stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder before walking away.

You smiled a little at the pet name, seeing he was feeling much better than before.