elemental (m.r)

nineteen

song for this chapter
silhouette- aquilo

Mattheo Riddle's walk to the great hall each morning was usually the same every single day. It would begin, first, by passing the gossiping group of students, a gathering of Gryffindor's who would jump at the opportunity to whisper and squeal about him. Once he manoeuvred his now grimacing body past them, he would usually catch a few professors, to which he would greet them ever so politely. On occasion, he would see Theo, and the two would proceed the last few minutes of their journey together before sitting beside the rest of their friends and eating breakfast. A typical morning was a luxury that he felt he was experiencing for the last time, and he couldn't help but feel his chest constrict at the sight of the rambling girls or the pang in his throat after greeting Professor Flitwick. Today felt like an end to something he wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to.

He rounded the corner, entering the too large room with his hands within the pockets of his robes, his narrowed browse the single tell sign of his exhaustion. Today marked ten days since he saw his mother last, and as she promised, debt would be collected. It made his stomach churn with every step towards what he could only deem his last morning on tranquillity if he were as stupid as to think so. Eyes were placed onto him almost instantly, no different to any other morning, but alas - for he had finally provided them with a topic of conversation beyond that of any other that had come before it. Would he survive? It was almost a game for too many, and it infuriated him. A silent rage, a quiet, icy glare that he offered them all that had most of their lips closing as an understood warning. Despite the circumstances, Mattheo Riddle was not someone in which one would actively try to duel; for chances were, you would fail.

He sat beside his too quiet friends, Theo having arrived a few moments prior. The group of boys were silent, and it provided little warmth to an already sinking feeling within his stomach. He couldn't blame them; the environment itself wasn't one many found themselves in, never mind a group of young adults. He looked to his left, watching Draco sit with a sunken head, his breakfast untouched, whilst Blaise sighed gently in front of him.

"Eat." He gently murmured to his cousin, nudging the blonde's knee as though he was no more than an older brother chastising him for not finishing his meal.

Draco looked up to meet his gaze, the all too familiar rim of red and purple lining his lower lash line, forcing the coffee-orbed boy to frown slightly.

"I feel like a sitting duck, just waiting," Theo confessed, a shaky hand running through unusually messy hair. "And I don't know about you boys, but I don't plan just to sit here and take it."

"No fucking chance," Blaise confirmed, chin straight.

"You're all going to get hurt," Mattheo grumbled in a slight annoyance. He almost hated how courageous they all were; despite being precisely like them.

"You'd do it for us," Draco interjected instantly. He pushed his plate towards Mattheo, a small flame brewing within the confinements of his eyes. "Eat."

With a downturn of his lips, he continued his quiet grumbles whilst eating, practically forced by his friends who were too busy playing mother hen. It was peak comedy, for one would naturally conclude that the bickering group of boys were talking of nothing more than silly troubles. The reality was much darker.

"You spoke to Annie?" Blaise asked quietly, his voice hushed, as though he too was aware of the eyes on them at that moment.

His reluctant chewing stopped at the mention of the girl that plagued his mind. She was a disease within an already sick mind, weakened continuously by the shake of her hips and the way her mouth would spew utter hatred towards him. Oh, indeed, Mattheo was sick, for he was sure his feelings for the raven-haired beauty only grew when she was chastising him. Blaise's mention of her, however, cut him short for a different reason. They were all aware as to what day it was; he was sure there wasn't a soul in the too cold school who didn't - although the feeling unsettled him much more than he cared to admit. Today was the anniversary of Adam and Mina Froztillar's brutal murder - one in which that happened before her very eyes.