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 reached their end of the Ravenclaw table with the predatory grace of someone who never wanted eyes on him but inevitably drew them anyway. Emerson could feel the Occlumency rolling off him like a second skin: that eerie Riddle stillness that only surfaced when he was hiding something enormous.
He didn't sit beside her. He slid into the empty space beside Enzo without so much as a glance at Emerson. He didn't even greet her. He just dipped his chin in a polite acknowledgment. It was the kind that would fool anyone who didn't know him.
Emerson understood immediately. Amycus Carrow just swaggered into the Great Hall with that smug, serpentine smirk he wore whenever he thought he had power over something he shouldn't. He stood by the staff table, scanning the hall and looking a little too pleased with himself.
Mattheo knew he was being watched, even unintentionally. He knew Amycus was aware of who he spent time with, who he protected and where his vulnerabilities might be. So, he buried every single emotion he had for Emerson and locked it away so deeply that even she couldn't feel it through the thread between them. He played the part perfectly. He angled his body away from her, turning slightly toward Theo and Enzo, as if he came specifically to see them and no one else.
"Morning," He muttered, flat and dismissive.
Enzo didn't greet him with his usual dramatic commentary or loud teasing. Instead, he offered a simple nod. Even he knew something was up.
Theo set his fork down, studying Mattheo carefully. The conflicted, brotherly concern was written plain in his eyes, even if his face remained neutral.
Olivia and Emerson exchanged a look. They both noticed the careful way Mattheo was positioning himself like every word could be overheard.
Enzo spoke first. "You look like hell."
Mattheo snorted humourlessly. "Cheers."
"Long morning?" Theo asked in a bored tone.
Mattheo's reply was equally coded. "You two got up late."
"Actually," Enzo drawled. "You were missing before dawn."
Mattheo's lips twitched. "Forest was quiet."
Emerson nearly flinched. That was his coded way of saying I was out there because something's wrong and I can't talk about it.
Theo tapped his fingertips once against the rim of his coffee cup, acknowledging the hidden innuendo without reacting to it. "Quiet can be... Informative."
Enzo's eyebrows twitched. He stopped eating entirely, which was out of character for him. Across the table, Olivia leaned forward just slightly, catching every nuance.
The exchange didn't sound like much. To anyone listening, it was just three Slytherins talking about nothing. But Emerson had learned to read Mattheo's subtleties almost as fluently as Theo and Enzo did. He was here for a reason.
