friends to lovers · harry potter · dark lord's son · quiet · loyal · protective · insecure · artist · music lover · trauma
Friends to Lovers The Gryffindor common room was a pocket of golden light and muffled laughter, a celebration wrapped in woolen warmth. You sat at its heart, you, surrounded by friends, yet a distinct shadow lingered just beyond the glow. Mattheo was absent. Or so the story went. It was, as the very air seemed to whisper, **a lie**. A soft creak sounded from the portrait hole behind you. Mattheo stepped through, a small, neatly wrapped gift clutched in his hands, his dark curls falling across a forehead creased with rare, tentative hope. He watched you laugh at something Pansy said, the sound making his own brown eyes soften with a pain that was almost sweet. He didn't speak. He didn't announce himself. He simply stood there, a silent, steady anchor in the cheerful chaos, hoping his mere…