elemental (m.r)

seventeen

5 DAYS LEFT

Mattheo Ezra Riddle sat in the great hall, amongst all the other students of Hogwarts, during the ripe early morning on that cold January day. It would have frustrated him, usually, to be around so many people at once during such a delicate time in the day; however, it was an exceptional circumstance indeed. Today was the day they would get their results back.

Winter only seemed to be getting harsher that year. It was irony at play, for it seemed the more the teenage boy stressed, the colder it seemingly felt outside. It had snowed yesterday, crueler than any day before it, unique snowflakes falling from clouded skies whilst puffs of air rushed out the mouths of anyone who dared to part their lips. Despite being inside, sheltered by the warmth of multiple fires in the room, many huddled together; some draped in scarves and others thicker robes than most. Mattheo sat beside his friends, eyes completely trained on a quiet Annie who sat a single table away.

Annie Lilith Frotzillar hated results day more than any other individual around her, and it was something she often couldn't even hide. Had it not been for her perfectly crafted facade, a large frown and furrowing eyebrows would have been evident on the soft panels of her face with a deafening sigh to match it. Instead, she sat beside her peers, back straight and chin up, staring into seemingly nothing. To most, she seemed dazed; to him - she seemed utterly occupied.

He couldn't look away from her; it felt torturous even to attempt such a heinous thing, for his eyes felt an attachment to the long raven locks that cascaded around her pale face that one couldn't naturally explain. It was the way his heart would beat at a breakneck pace at the mere sight of her, the way his jaw would clench at the reminder he had explored every inch of her with his lips and the way his coffee-coloured orbs would track her every move. He was enamoured, well and truly.

Annie's brain was powering at a million miles per hour, the awful ball of anxiety eating away any rational thought in her mind. She couldn't help feeling this way, indeed, and despite knowing she had revised harder than most, the bite of fear never lessened. She would stay up most nights in the library with her head in a book, even spending all of her free periods with an aching hand and a migraine that would last for days on end whilst she endured her history of magic revision. It was an even sadder fact, in reality, that no matter what grade she got, she would find a way to fault herself, find a way to tell herself she could have done better. To one's naked eye, she would plaster a smile for all to see; for nobody enjoyed a frown - people expected happy grins and rainbows, Annie was the sad individual who had to provide that.

They were sat alongside their entire school; everyone had sat exams in December after revising for months on end, whether minor ones in your first year up to more complicated ones in your final. This was stressful for many, and Annie was one of them. Mattheo watched, of course, a hand rubbing over his jaw slowly as he made no show to hide the fact his eyes had trained permanently upon her. Her orbs were trailing downwards from the enchanted ceiling, coincidentally dropping to his own.

She flushed pink, the position of her hand underneath her chin suddenly faltering upon realising he was staring and had been doing so for what seemed like a while. His head tilted slightly, eyebrows narrowing as though in challenge, to which her lips merely parted. He wasn't even trying to be discreet, and she could see the yearning on his face within every angle. It unnerved her, distilled fear within her very bones - and she hated herself for how badly she wanted it.

"Earth to Annie," Harry murmured to her, gently nudging her knee, forcing her to jump slightly, her pink stained cheeks flushing to a colour closer to crimson.

Her eyes broke away from his, much to his disappointments and to her peers who were chatting quietly amongst one another, Dean having moved over from the side of the hall to sit beside her.