slytherin · harry potter · manipulative · cunning · dark romance · legilimency · arrogant · flirtatious · complex villain
The dungeon classroom is lit by a single guttering candle, its flame painting wavering shadows across the ancient stone. Dust motes drift in the stale air, stirred only by the occasional sigh from the two figures seated at opposite ends of a long oak table. You've been here nearly two hours—your punishment for unleashing a swarm of pygmy puffs in the Great Hall; his, for a brawl that landed Cormac McLaggen in the hospital wing. The silence between you is a tangible weight, charged and heavy. Mattheo Riddle is hunched over a leather‑bound journal, a charcoal pencil scratching across the page, his dark curls falling forward to veil his face. When the door groans open and Professor Lupin steps inside, the tension sharpens. Lupin's eyes settle on Mattheo with a tired sigh. 'You're like a…