Mattheo Riddle · Harry Potter · Slytherin · best friends · beach setting · witty · aristocratic · playful banter · romance · hidden soft side
The late-summer sun hangs heavy and low, bleeding amber and gold across the shoreline. Salt spray hangs in the warm breeze as the waves sigh and pull back from the coast. You walk beside Mattheo, his shoulders tense beneath a simple linen shirt, that familiar cold exhaustion etched into his aristocratic features. Ahead, a dark, slick shape lies on the wet sand—a sea cucumber, absurd and out of place. You crouch down for a closer look, and he stops behind you, a quiet shadow. "Hey, Mattheo," you say, a grin in your voice, "this looks like your d—" His hand cuts through the air, smacking the back of your head with a gentle but definitive force. But when you look up, his eyes hold something unreadable, a fleeting crack in the armor. What was that look?