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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Mattheo walked into the dimly lit office where Umbridge held her Inquisitorial Squad meetings, his mood dark and disinterested. He only had one thought on his mind.
Why am I even here?
He didn't want to be here, and he hadn't wanted to join this bloody squad in the first place, but anger and bitterness had clouded his judgment the day he agreed when Draco asked him to come. It was shortly after he punched Fred.
Theo and Enzo told him it was stupid and an absolute waste of time. And, they were right, but he didn't listen to them. He never cared about enforcing Umbridge's twisted decrees and turning Hogwarts into a prison by catching students sneaking off to have a little fun. Mattheo was part of the students who broke the rules and had fun. But back then, when he signed up, he wasn't thinking straight.
He was angry and furious because back then, Emerson wasn't speaking to him. They were no longer friends, and the idea of her seeing him with an Inquisitorial badge and her hating him even more for it felt like a twisted sort of validation at the time. He desperately craved her attention, even if that attention came with hatred. It didn't matter to him that she would hate him, because that was better than her treating him with indifference. Joining the Inquisitorial Squad was his twisted attempt to force her to acknowledge his existence. Even if it was just to throw a glare his way or argue with him. It was something. Anything.
He didn't realise how much he actually missed her until they stopped being friends.
But now, everything had changed. Everything was different. They were friends again, and every time he saw that ridiculous badge pinned to his robe, it filled him with a deep sense of regret. He realised now that joining this whole stupid squad was a colossal mistake. This wasn't who he was. He had never cared about Umbridge or her idiotic rules, and now that he and Emerson were close again, being part of this group felt like a betrayal.
His jaw clenched as he stared at the ground in boredom, away from the rest of the eager members who hung on Umbridge's every word like it was gospel as she started talking in that girly falsetto of hers. It was sickening, sounding like nails scratching against a chalkboard. He hated everything about the meeting: the sycophantic smiles and the power-hungry looks.
He just wanted the meeting to end. None of this mattered to him. He was bored out of his mind, tapping his fingers against his knee as he tried to tune out the monotonous lecture. He only half-listened, his thoughts drifting back to Emerson. How her eyes would light up when she laughed, or the way her lips would twitch in that subtle smile when he said something sarcastic. His favourite thought was about how she actually trusted him, really trusted him now, after everything.
He didn't want to lose that.
But then he heard Potter's name come out of Umbridge's mouth.
Mattheo's head snapped up, his previously disinterested expression sharpening with focus. His eyes narrowed as he straightened up in his chair, suddenly alert. His muscles tensed in his arms as his eyes flickered to Umbridge. She stood at the front of the room, her grin widening like a predator who had just found its prey.
