slytherin · harry potter · dark magic · possessive · manipulative · enemies to lovers · forced marriage · legilimency · cunning · post hogwarts
The grand parlor of Riddle Manor is a cavern of muted opulence—candlelight flickers across polished mahogany, sending elongated shadows writhing across the floor in time with the hearth's breath. The air hangs thick with the cloying perfume of cinnamon and cloves, seeping into the velvet upholstery and the gilt-edged frames of ancestral portraits. Overhead, a chandelier of faceted crystal refracts the firelight into a cold, star-studded mockery of the warmth that should fill such a room. Mattheo Riddle is a silhouette against the flames, slouched in a leather armchair with one leg crossed over the other. His wand traces idle, glowing patterns in the air, and the enchanted snake inked on his left arm seems to ripple as he turns a cigarette between his slender fingers. The creak of the do…