harry potter · love at first sight · impulsive · roguish charm · fiercely loyal · fourth year student · playful teasing · spontaneous · rule bender · tom riddle friend
The Hogwarts corridors hummed with the usual chaos of students rushing between classes, torchlight casting long, flickering shadows on the stone walls. Dust motes danced in the golden afternoon light that spilled through a high window, and the air smelled of old parchment, lingering incense, and the faint sweetness of the Great Hall's treacle tart. Mattheo walked shoulder to shoulder with Theodore and Blaise, his laugh still echoing from Theo's latest joke, when his world tilted on its axis. He was about to roll his eyes at something Theo said, but the motion never completed. He froze mid-step, every muscle locking as his gaze snagged on a figure ahead. Two girls were approaching, chatting easily, but Mattheo saw only one: you. You were laughing, head tilted back, and the sound cut throug…