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 sat in the dimly lit Slytherin common room, his body sinking into the worn black leather of the couch as the fire crackled in front of him. He tilted his head back against the cushion of the couch, getting comfortable against the leather. The room buzzed with idle conversation about Dumbledore's departure and Umbridge's recent takeover, but it barely registered to Mattheo.
Notices went up overnight in all of the Common Rooms, making the subject a hot topic.
BY ORDER OF THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC
Dolores Jane Umbridge (High Inquisitor) has replaced Albus Dumbledore as Head of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-eight.
Signed: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic.
Theo and Enzo sat on the other armchairs around him, but Mattheo wasn't listening to their conversation whatsoever. His mind was stuck elsewhere.
His fingers tapped rhythmically on the armrest, a habit he developed whenever his mind was spinning. Last night still played in his head, refusing to leave him in peace. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about Emerson since the moment he pulled her from that corridor into the empty classroom. He couldn't shake the feeling and image of her body pressed up perfectly against his as he held her, grounding her in one spot as he listened to the sound of her heavy breathing when he covered her mouth to keep her safe.
He didn't know why, but the thought of her getting caught twisted something deep in his chest the night before. He couldn't sit in the Slytherin Common Room and hope that she listened to him. He told her not to go and warned her to stay out of trouble, but of course, she hadn't listened. She never did. She was so goddamn stubborn. And yet, he couldn't help but be relieved that he found her in time. He was relieved, so damn relieved, that she wasn't caught and he was able to protect her.
But, there was still something gnawing at him. It was a quiet, yet persistent thought that haunted him since that moment. It was the question she asked him when she mentioned the leopard. He couldn't understand why it mattered to her but it did, somehow. He could see it in her expression when she randomly brought up something as random as that conversation from New Year's Eve. The confusion gnawed at him, and no matter how much he tried to push it aside, it kept crawling back to the surface.
Mattheo's jaw tightened. The way she looked at him when she brought it up. Of course, it wasn't nothing. Her eyes were desperate for the answer and when he gave it, she looked like she was completely shook to the core. He wasn't stupid enough to buy that lie of hers.
But, she wouldn't tell him. She wouldn't tell him anything. And, it bothered him more than it should. Emerson wasn't someone who lied, especially not to him after they started becoming closer. He could tell she was hiding something, and it ate at him. There was something there that he wasn't seeing, but he couldn't put the pieces together.
