Bound By Blood.

ch.107~Made of glass.

"I never saw him."

Recovered note found in Death Eater Mattheo Riddle's Potions Textbook, From order member Alexandra Brooks, dated 1997.

Hogwarts, 1997.

Alexandra.

Spring was finally here. But I knew what was coming with the change of season.

Even now, at three o'clock in the morning, the air was nearly warm, but winter was still haunting it.

It was perfect.

And on a night this perfect, I found my self on top of the astronomy tower.

Mattheo had found his was to my dorm about an hour ago, insisting on me seeing the stars.

Correction; dragging me to see them.

So, here we were.

As he lay there beside me, his shoulder brushing mine, I couldn't help but marvel at how easy it was to fall into silence with him.

It was as if the world around us faded away, leaving only the hum of the night, the distant calls of owls, and the soft rustling of leaves.

I wanted to bottle this moment up, preserve it against the inevitable storm brewing just beyond the horizon.

"Tell me something," I whispered, breaking the spell of silence.

"What?" He turned his head to me, curiosity dancing in his eyes, and for that fleeting second, I felt like the only girl in the universe.

"Tell me something about you that no one else knows."

A pause stretched between us, thickening the air with unspoken words. I could see the wheels turning in his mind, the heaviness of thoughts he carried like an anchor.

"I can't wait to leave this fucking school." He scoffed, "And yes, I know that sounds horrible, because I know the reason why I'll be leaving. But I truly cannot wait to escape this castle."

"Why?" I whispered, confusion lacing my tone.

"The judgment. Since the very first day, everyone decided who I was based on my last name," he confessed, barely above a whisper. I held my breath as he continued, "Teachers, students, everyone. It was like... it was like I was never given a chance. Before I really got to speak for myself, they labeled me, and then I began to embody that monster they expected me to be. I was fucking eleven."

I had heard whispers, the judgments that wrapped around him like a bramble, the same ones that had left my own mouth, my friends mouths.

But now it was clear as day, that they were so far from the truth.

"I never wanted that." He mumbled, staring up at the stars. "I wanted to be a kid away from home, away from him... But it was easy to give in when everyone around you has made up their mind. It was easy to become exactly what I was bred to be."

I studied him closely, feeling the warmth of his presence, saturated with a vulnerability I had never seen.

"Mattheo..." My voice was softer now. "I don't think your him."

As I spoke his name, something fragile flickered in his gaze.

He looked over at me, those stormy eyes swirling with emotion. Then he squeezed my hand gently, as if grounding himself in the moment, creating a tether between us.