only you mattheo riddle

~~~~♤9♤~~~

### **Chapter 9 - Blood and Sky**

The morning air was crisp, carrying the familiar scent of damp grass and autumn leaves as I made my way to the Quidditch pitch. The sky stretched wide and endless above me, the perfect shade of stormy gray-my kind of morning.

I hadn't played in years, not properly. Not since Mother decided I had *better things* to focus on. But flying? That was different. Flying was freedom.

"Didn't peg you for the athletic type," Mattheo drawled as he fell into step beside me.

I smirked. "Didn't peg you for the type to wake up this early."

Blaise snorted behind us. "She's got a point."

Draco was already waiting by the pitch, broom in hand, looking impatient. "About time. Thought you'd flake, Lestrange."

I rolled my eyes, grabbing one of the team brooms. I hadn't brought my own, but it didn't matter. A broom was a broom.

The moment my feet left the ground, the world *shifted*. The weight of everything-Umbridge, the blood quill, the war brewing in the shadows-disappeared. There was only the sky, the wind, and me.

I pushed higher, faster, feeling the broom respond effortlessly to my movements.

"Holy shit," Blaise muttered from below. "She's actually good."

Good? That was an *understatement*.

Draco launched the Quaffle in my direction, testing me, but I twisted midair, catching it with ease before diving straight toward the goalposts. My speed blurred the world around me, and I scored before anyone could react.

Silence.

Then Mattheo let out a low chuckle. "Well, damn."

I grinned, breathing hard as I hovered in the air. "Still think I'm not the athletic type?"

Draco smirked. "Welcome to the team."

---

### **Later That Night - The First Recruits**

By the time evening rolled around, the common room was buzzing with low chatter, but my mind was elsewhere. The game earlier had reminded me of something-magic wasn't just spells and rituals. It was instinct. Power. And there were others who had it too.

Mattheo caught my eye from across the room and nodded slightly. Time to get to work.

We didn't need an army. Not yet. What we needed were people who *understood*. People who weren't afraid to fight for what magic was supposed to be.

Draco and Blaise were obvious choices, but there were others-Daphne Greengrass, Theo Nott, even some outside of Slytherin. A few Ravenclaws had been digging into the old magic laws. A Hufflepuff in my potions class had whispered about their grandmother practicing rituals in secret.

The fire crackled as I leaned forward, eyes flickering over the group gathered around us.

"We're not just here to complain about the Ministry," I said, voice steady. "We're here to do something about it. Magic wasn't meant to be controlled, and we're going to take it back."

Mattheo smirked beside me, eyes gleaming in the dim light. "So, are you in?"

Silence.

Then, one by one, they nodded.

The Shadow Agents had just begun