LUNACY ll Mattheo Riddle x Reader

29. ᴛʜᴇ ᴠᴀɴɪꜱʜɪɴɢ ᴄᴀʙɪɴᴇᴛ

So it turns out that Harry Potter, Quidditch, and teenage romance are the three ingredients needed to brew up the most powerful batch of Forgetfulness Potion there is. By the next morning, no one is talking about the bathroom incident anymore- Which is all good and well for Mattheo, but it does irk me that while it took months for the school to move on from what Mattheo allegedly did to me that winter night, it's taken all of five days for Harry to get away with practically the same thing.

And it's all Luna Lovegood's fault.

Even without their captain, Gryffindor completely flattened Ravenclaw on the Quidditch pitch, winning them the House Cup. As this victory for the Gryffindors had landed Ravenclaw in last place for the House Championships, none of the Ravenclaws felt very congenial and collectively turned down the invitations for a party that the Gryffindors had sent them- All of them except for Luna, who showed up right around the time that Harry was getting back from his detention and ended up getting swept into a kiss in front of fifty-something people.

Now Harry and Luna are all anyone can talk about. It's fucking ridiculous is what it is, but no one seems to care enough to ask my opinion, so I don't bother voicing it out loud. A good thing, too, or else I might end up hexing multiple passersby in the process of my furious ranting.

At least Draco's on his feet again, so that's something. But what's cause for more celebration is that the color has returned to his skin again. He's actually looking happy, for the first time since forever- I'm confused, because it's really looking like getting cut open and nearly losing his life has brought some light into him, somehow.

On the night that marks exactly three weeks since the change in Draco's mood, he comes bursting into the Slytherin Common Room, looking giddy and fearful at the same time.

"Up," he says, dragging me off my armchair and away from Pansy and the others. "Come on, Y/n, we haven't got time to lose-"

Then he's pulling me towards the portrait hole, not offering a single shred of explanation for his bizarre behavior- "Riddle- Where is he, where's Riddle? Where's Mattheo, Y/n?"

"What makes you think I'd know?" I cross my arms.

"Please, I've been seeing you an average of two minutes a day these past three months, and even I can tell how obsessed he is with you. Where has he gone?"

"Professor Sinistra's room, he wanted to ask her-"

"Great. Right. Splendid. Go find him, tell him that it's happening tonight."

"What's happening tonight?"

"Just tell him, and he'll know," Draco insists, a manic glint alive in his eyes. "Whatever happens, Y/n- Merlin, please don't get yourself killed. If we both make it out alive, I swear, I'm going to be a better brother to you from now on, so much better-" He gives me a quick kiss on the forehead, rushes off again before I can answer. Then he doubles back. "And whatever you do, don't breathe a word of this to anyone."

"Thought you broke off all ties with me at age eleven because I was a freak," I call after him, but get nothing in response.

Ten minutes later, I'm standing in the corridors of the North Tower, and I don't at all like the way the shift happens in Mattheo's eyes. At first, it's a glimmering golden gaze when he sees me running up to him in the hall- Then it's a concerned, tinged gray, upon noticing my breathless pants. And when I finally get the words out...

"Back to the Common Room," Mattheo orders, no room for any questioning in his voice. "Pack only what you need and nothing more. Tell Enzo and Theo to stay inside tonight, no matter what, that's a direct order- They can't be caught taking part in this. Then you meet me on the seventh floor, across the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, do you understand?"