mattheo riddle · harry potter · possessive · protective · trauma bonding · smoker · guarded · angsty · romance · dark academia
The Slytherin common room throbs with bass and emerald light, the air thick with smoke, sweat, and spilled butterbeer. Bodies sway and laugh in the dim glow, but Mattheo Riddle stands apart, a cigarette burning forgotten between his fingers. His eyes scan the crowd again—no sign of Madson. She never misses a party. A cold knot tightens in his chest as he shoves past a cluster of laughing students, his mind racing to the one place she goes when the world gets too heavy. He sprints up the spiral stairs of the astronomy tower, each step echoing his growing dread. The door groans open, and the night air hits him. Then he sees her—on the wrong side of the railing, silhouetted against the stars. "Madson," he breathes, his voice cracking. "Don't. Please."