Bound By Blood.

Ch.38~ Melted Snow.

"I used to think of you when it snowed, use to reminisce even,

Now, I'm counting down the months until it melts.

I don't want it to make me think of you."

Recovered Translation correspondents between Order Member Alexandra Brooks, to Death Eater Mattheo Riddle, 2003.

In Route to safe house, 2003.

Alexandra.

In an instant, he had me pinned against the wall, the hard surface jolting awkwardly against my back, a rush of disbelief flooding my senses.

"Now, this is more like it," he said, his voice almost steady, though the tremor hinted at something deeper—something I couldn't quite place.

We were so close, too close.

The way he looked at me sent memories tumbling through my mind, remnants of a different time when everything felt simpler—when he felt simpler.

"Do you think this changes anything?" I whispered, when I hadn't meant to.

His breath ghosted against my cheek, sending a shiver down my spine.

"Maybe it changes everything," he murmured, and I fought to suppress the wave of emotions threatening to drown me.

I wanted to challenge him, to remind him that things were different now.

That I was different.

"You think this changes anything?" I shot back, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside. But he was there, staring deep into my eyes, and I could see the determination simmering beneath the surface.

I felt the heat coming off him, the friction between us blurring the lines of old resentments and new longings.

Years prior, I would've done anything to feel him this close to me. To feel him.

Now, its making me want to scream and kick my way from under him.

To get as far away as humanly possibly.

"Is this what you wanted?" I asked, pushing back against him, feeling the spark of anger flare to life, though there was a hint of something else lurking beneath. "To throw me around?"

"Hardly," he said, his laughter coming too easily for the weight of the moment. But it faded quickly, overtaken by that intense gaze that felt both familiar and foreign. "I want you to understand that I won't back down either."

"Cute," I replied, trying to maintain my composure. Underneath it all, I felt a flicker of uncertainty.

He wasn't the same person I had known.

That realization clawed at me, a painful reminder of how much he had changed. "But your intimidation tactics aren't going to work on me."

I could see it in his eyes—the determination, fierce and unyielding. "Then let's find out who's really in control here," he said, leaning even closer, and my heart raced with the thrill of the challenge—even though the ache of the past loomed large between us.

He wasn't the same.

"You think pinning me to the wall is going to intimidate me?" I challenged, my voice low and laced with a confidence that I desperately hoped still held.

We had been in this dance before, but the stakes felt inexplicably higher this time. "We've been here before, Riddle. It's nothing new."

"I think I needed to remind you," he whispered, the warmth of his breath sending flutters of nostalgia coursing through me. "You're not the only one capable of taking charge."