LUNACY ll Mattheo Riddle x Reader

19. ᴄʀᴏꜱꜱɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪɴᴇ

I'd apologize for the shortness of THIS chapter, but, like, i just finished writing the *spicy* scenes for the LATER chapters and i feel like i should just use this opportunity to apologize for how late in the book they come in- 

But i won't do THAT either, because slowburn is the best type of romance and there needs to be a lot of buildup before any relationship development can take place, as room is always needed for a hell ton of angst, drama, and all around trauma :)

 It's very early in the morning that movement at the foot of my bed stirs me awake. Mattheo looks at me from where he sits on the edge, the sun's rays filtering in through the window making his hair glow.

"You're still here... Thought you would have gone by now," I murmur, unable to lift my voice to a higher volume than that.

"You weren't fully unconscious last night, were you?" he shakes his head. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough to know you've gotten yourself kicked out for keeping a secret that has nothing to do with you," I answer. "Why would you do that for me?"

Mattheo shrugs. "Figured I had a lot less to lose. Besides, it was an easier story to believe than the truth. Notice how they didn't even bother to cast Priori Incantatem on my wand? It was a curse they'd never seen before, so naturally, they assumed it was something my father had taught me... And I haven't been expelled, you know."

"You haven't?"

"They wouldn't do that to themselves. What would McGonagall have to gain by letting me out of school a year and a half early? She knows where I'll end up as soon as I graduate anyway- It's better for the whole Wizarding Community that she keeps me under her watch for as long as she can."

"But what she said last night..."

"She was angry. Rightfully so- According to what I told her, I've now fully betrayed the trust she's put in me time and time again."

"I'm... Sorry."

"Don't be. My fault for not leaving when you told me to."

"Still doesn't explain why you lied for me."

Mattheo hesitates. "People who have certain... Skills," he begins, "Are always going to end up being valued. And there are always going to be people who value those skills enough to want to make that person and their capabilities their own. Like Slughorn, for example- My father wants him on his side, even now. He had to spend this summer constantly on the move, faking his own attacks, all because of who he is."

"Oh," I murmur.

"I suppose it's just that I don't hate you enough to subject you to that kind of life, sweetheart. And it's not only my father I'm talking about- Imagine what Dumbledore might give to have someone as destructive as you on his side." He sighs. "I should leave. I don't think anyone will be too pleased to find me around you after last night's alleged events. I only came to tell you that you shouldn't come near me anytime soon... Or ever at all, really, if we want this lie to be believable."

I hum a response.

And so he stands up. Walk away. Reaches the door.

"Mattheo?" I call quietly. "Thank you."

He gives a small nod and then leaves, and it's like he was never here.

I manage a few more hours of sleep before the wing gets flooded with people who've come to visit me. Word of attempted murders travels at lightning speed in this castle, all the more so when the perpetrator happens to be the son of the Dark Lord. Harry and Ron are the first to come, and I have to spend twenty minutes convincing them that going after Mattheo isn't worth it. 

Then come Pansy, Daphne, and Blaise, who all swear to me that they're never going to speak a word to Riddle ever again. They bring me food from the Great Hall as well, as the final feast before Christmas break is currently taking place. Hermione comes rushing in while we're still talking, and my Slytherin friends leave to make room for the Gryffindor girl who practically launches herself into my arms.

"I should have been there with you," Hermione cries. "God, my own problems just seem so stupid now- I'm so sorry you had to go through this, Y/n."

I awkwardly pat the girl on her head a few times, my uncomfortableness with this lie growing bigger and bigger with each person that comes to visit me. For a change in topic, I hesitantly ask if she talked things over with Theo last night.

"I was going to, and I know that he was under a curse- Harry's convinced your brother did it, not sure if I believe him about that but I don't doubt that he was cursed- But the thing is," she sighs, "Nott wouldn't have said all that if there wasn't a small part of him that meant it, no? I mean, no curse, no matter how strong, can make something out of virtually nothing."

"Hermione, I'm sure it was just teenage jealousy mixed in with the upbringing he's tried his best to fight off all his life," I say. "I'm not telling you to go out with him or anything, but you shouldn't stay mad at him for this. I know what that curse was, it inflates the tiniest slivers of insecurities and flaws and turns it into something hideous. He didn't mean any of it, I'm sure he didn't." And then I inform her of a book in the library that describes this very spell, knowing that even if she doesn't take my word for it, she'll believe the truth if she sees it on written parchment.

"We're done with him." Theo and Enzo come by a half hour after that, and what they tell me makes my jaw drop open.

"What?"

"We're done with him," Theo repeats. "We'd seen him mess with the other students before, your brother especially, but at the end of the day, those were all jokes. Hell, most of it couldn't even compare to what people like the Weasley twins had done, but this- This was crossing the line."

"We'd known he was going to cross it eventually, but never so soon," Enzo mumbles, looking at the ground with his hands in his pockets. "Especially not to one of us."

While it warms my heart that Enzo thinks of me as one of them, considering the fact that I spend more time with the Gryffindors than any of my Slytherin friends, bile rises up at the terrible lies these two are unknowingly speaking about their best friend. I wonder if Mattheo knows that what he did for me has cost him all those closest to him. If he does, does he regret it?

"But your fathers... And his father..."

"We'll still have his back if he decides to land himself in another duel or something- But out of duty, not friendship," Theo mutters. "Merlin, I'm so sorry this happened to you, Y/n. I really didn't think he'd go this far."

"Yeah," I swallow, feeling absolutely rotten inside. "I didn't, either."