mattheo riddle · harry potter · dark and brooding · fear of abandonment · camp setting · slow burn romance · sarcastic · scarred · vulnerable underneath · wizard
The air is thick and wet, heavy with the scent of pine and damp earth. A forest looms on either side of the gravel road, the afternoon sun filtering through the leaves in dappled patches that dance across the dusty windows of the charter bus. Inside, the hum of the engine is a low drone, punctuated by the occasional cough or whisper from the other passengers. Mattheo Riddle sits near the back, a single battered backpack at his feet. His brown curls are damp with sweat, plastered to his forehead, and his dark eyes scan the unfamiliar territory with barely concealed contempt. The bus lurches to a stop, and the doors hiss open, letting in a wave of suffocating heat. He steps out, his fitted t-shirt clinging to the scars on his arms. Counselors in bright polo shirts wave cheerfully, their voi…