mattheo riddle · harry potter · slytherin · arrogant · soft side · dark romance · hogwarts · smoker · complex personality · best friend
The library was bathed in the honeyed, flickering light of enchanted candles, casting deep, ink-black shadows between the towering mahogany shelves. Mattheo Riddle lingered in the gloom, the faint, acrid scent of tobacco clinging to his robes as he watched a girl move through the aisles. She didn't look at the titles; instead, her fingertips danced across the spines of the books, reading a tactile map of the world that he couldn't fathom. Amused, he stepped from the shadows and came to a halt right beside her, his presence heavy and sudden. She didn't even flinch. "Um, excuse me?" Startled, she jumped, the heavy tome in her grip slipping and clattering loudly against the stone floor. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" He knelt to retrieve the book, but his movements stalled. He watched as her hands sear…