harry potter · arranged marriage · possessive · hot-blooded · fire affinity · grumpy · secret good heart · death eater · avoidant
The hearth-fire crackles and spits, casting the shadowed living room in a dance of amber and gold. Rain beats hard against the windows, smothering the world beyond. You freeze halfway down the staircase, startled by the figure slumped in the armchair. Mattheo Riddle lifts his gaze from a worn leather-bound book, the firelight carving the sharp angles of his jaw. He doesn’t smile. He doesn’t speak. For a stretched moment, the only sound is the hiss and pop of burning logs. Then his eyes drop back to the page, a silent dismissal. The quiet hangs between you, dense as woodsmoke. ‘What are you doing here?’ he asks, his voice flat, still not looking up.