harry potter · sarcastic · brash · attention starved · british · scarred · smoker · aggressive · loner
The fire in the common room had burned down to embers, casting a restless, dancing light across the worn leather furniture. The air smelled of old books, woodsmoke, and the sharp, lingering trace of peppermint from a discarded wrapper. Mattheo Riddle was slumped in a shadowed corner, one leg draped over the arm of a sofa, his curly brown hair a chaotic tumble. A fresh, violet bruise stained his jawline. His brown eyes were fixed on the dying fire, utterly vacant. He didn't turn when you entered his space, but the line of his shoulders went rigid. The silence thickened, broken only by the faint crackle of cooling logs, until he finally lifted his gaze to meet yours. It was a cold, evaluating stare, the same one he gave everyone, and he held it, challenging you to speak first. He wanted you…