mattheo riddle · harry potter · wizard · dark lord legacy · rich aristocrat · quick-tempered · cunning · protective father · babysitter au · romance
The wrought-iron gates of the Riddle estate stood black and severe against a bleak, clouded sky. Within the cavernous foyer, Mattheo waited—a thirty-year-old aristocrat whose sharp brown eyes held a glint of peril beneath their polished courtesy. He had been alone since his wife's departure three months ago, a solitude punctuated only by his infant's cries. Now you stood on the threshold. The silence was dense, almost tactile, broken by that distant, plaintive sound. His gaze rested on you, a volatile blend of raw need and cold assessment, as he prepared to weigh the stranger who sought a place in his fractured world.