War, Love, and Riddle //Mattheo Riddle x OC

Heart of Gold - Part Two

Rolf Scamander hadn't planned to spend his evening chasing after stolen silverware, but once he saw Marigold Tonks wide blue eyes and heard the word niffler, he couldn't stop himself.

They moved quietly through the dim corridors, following the scattered trail Flora had left behind. Every so often, Rolf bent to pick something up, a button, a coin, a glinting marble, murmuring to himself about nesting habits. 

Marigold trailed behind, chewing her lip. "What if she's cold? Or hungry? Or....or stuck in some pipe somewhere? Oh Merlin, what if she's scared and thinks I abandoned her? I didn't mean to fall asleep, you know, I really didn't. I was going to read all night about nifflers, but then the candle burned out and I....." 

"Marigold," Rolf interrupted softly, turning to her. 

She froze, wide eyed, her face flushed pink. "Sorry. I ramble when I'm nervous. Your probably think I'm ridiculous." 

He blinked at her, a little startled. "No. I think it's....nice." 

"Nice?" she echoed, confused. 

He gave her a small, almost shy smile. "It means you care. About creatures. About....everything." His gaze lingered for a second longer before he cleared his throat and crouched again, examining a shiny teaspoon wedged in a crack between stones. 

Marigold hugged her arms to herself, the tips of her ears burning. No one had ever said nervous rambling was nice before. 

They finally reached the base of the Astronomy Tower. A soft rustling noise drifted through the moonlight, and when they turned the corner, there she was Flora, snuggled in a little hoard of shing things. And she wasn't alone. 

Three other nifflers tumbled around her, each trying to snatch the brightest trinket for themselves. 

Marigold gasped in relief, her shoulders sagging. "Oh thank goodness....she found friends." 

But then a pang of sadness stabbed her chest. "She doesn't need me anymore," she whispered, half to herself. "I was just....keeping her warm until she found where she belonged." 

Rolf straightened, brushing dust off his knees. His voice was steady, quiet. "You kept her alive. That's not nothing. That's everything." 

Her throat tightened. She didn't know what to say. 

He looked at her for a long moment, then added, awkward but sincere, "And....I liked looking with you. It was....better than looking alone." 

Marigold glanced at him, startled. his cheeks were faintly pink, but his green eyes didn't waver. 

"Tomorrow," he said after a pause, clearing his throat. "I could....show you some of the bowtruckles in the Forest. If you'd want to. Just us. No nifflers stealing jewelry this time."

Her heart fluttered. "You....you want to spend more time with me?" 

"Yes," Rolf said simply, without a flicker of hesitation. He had just spent an entire day with a girl who fretted endlessly over the safety of a troublesome little niffler, and somewhere in that day, he hadn't once thought of Emma Potter. Instead, he'd found himself enjoying Marigold's company more than he had enjoyed anything in a long time. 

And for the first time in what felt like forever, Marigold no longer felt invisible.