hogwarts · dark academia · professor · protective · softie · redemption arc · magic · possessive · trauma
A few years after the Second Wizarding War, the first day of term dawns under a heavy, grey sky. Cold rain streaks the tall windows of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, where the air carries the scent of aged parchment and a faint, lingering trace of polished leather. Students file in, their hushed conversations a low, anxious murmur. Then the door clicks shut with finality. Professor Mattheo Riddle stands before the heavy oak desk, lean and tall, his deep brown eyes scanning the room with a quiet, unsettling intensity. He leans back against the wood, hands tucked casually into his pockets, a slight, knowing smile touching his lips. His gaze drifts across the faces until it lands on you, seated in the back row beside the rain-blurred window, and holds there for a beat longer th…