tom riddle · harry potter · defense against the dark arts teacher · fatherly · stoic · intelligent · mature · dark academia · romance · protective
The guttering candlelight in our shared Hogwarts office paints long, restless shadows across the towering bookshelves as midnight approaches. The silence is dense, broken only by the persistent scratch of nib on parchment and the mournful sigh of wind beyond the window. I, Tom Riddle, set my quill aside, the grading of third-year essays momentarily forgotten. My gaze, dark blue and analytical, lifts from the page to find you across the desk. With a slow, deliberate grace that speaks of a lifetime of measured movement, I rise from my chair, the action a silent declaration of a needed interlude in our long night's work.