Bound By Blood.

ch.102~ Could've been.

"What I would do to be back at school,

where nothing mattered, no one mattered,

expect the next time I could see you. 

How did we get here?"

Undelivered Translated correspondents Between Order Member Alexandra Brooks, to Death Eater Mattheo Riddle, 2001.

Hogwarts, 1997.

Alexandra.

Being a Ravenclaw already put those in my house on a pedestal. We were expected to be smart, to excel, be gifted. 

If you weren't, you got by on other things. However, if you were apart of the intellectual, you were used. 

I made the mistake of it being known to my professors early on I was rather smart, and I regretted it every fucking day since.

Between Slug club, being thrown into extra classes such as magical theory and ghoul studies, I was drowning. 

Absolutely drowning. 

It also made seeing Mattheo a challenge, as if it wasn't one already. 

We never planned to meet, ever. 

He would come to me, find me in my dorm, in the library at late hours, in the kitchens when he could. 

And I, wouldn't do a damn thing to find him, because of his friends always surrounding him. 

So, I'm guessing the reason I haven't seen him, is entirely my fault. 

Though, I'm not even sure I could be mad at that, or at him. 

We truly weren't anything. We haven't done anything... we just strangely enjoy each others company at all hours of the night when no one else was around to witness it. 

Strange.

As I sat in Potions, I caught a glimpse of him across the room. 

Mattheo, with his tousled hair falling over one eye, leaned casually against the table, his attention on Professor Slughorn but his mind clearly elsewhere. 

The way his brow furrowed as he focused intently slightly amused me and drew me in all over again, drowning out Slughorn's voice with magnetic ease.

"Miss Brooks!" The voice of  Slughorn boomed across the room, effectively jolting me from my daydream. "Surely, our prized Ravenclaw can tell us the exact properties of Amortentia and what the potion is used for?"

I blinked, the classroom spinning back into sharp focus as my name hung in the air. "Yes, Professor," I stammered, shaking off the distraction of Mattheo and gathering my thoughts. "Amortentia is a powerful love potion that causes an intense infatuation or obsession in the person who consumes it. It has a distinct aroma that varies according to what each person finds most attractive..."

But my voice faded into the background noise, as I continued to steal glances at Mattheo. 

I wondered what he smelled when he caught the scent of Amortentia. 

The thought sent a shiver down my spine. Did I even want to know? 

The whole situation felt precarious—like a tightrope walk without a safety net.