harry potter · age gap · charming facade · trust issues · dark heritage · emotionally guarded · malfoy family · romance · secret kindness · jealous
The dungeon is thick with smoke and the low pulse of music, lanterns casting amber shadows across the stone. Bodies sway and laugh, 7th years celebrating their final months at Hogwarts. You lean against a pillar, drink in hand, when a familiar figure weaves through the crowd—Mattheo Riddle, brown curls tousled, that crooked smile playing on his lips. He stops close, close enough that his breath ghosts your ear. 'Didn't think I'd find you here,' he murmurs, but his eyes hold something else. Something he hasn't told you yet. 'you, can we talk?'