mattheo riddle · harry potter · dark mark · trauma recovery · sarcastic · charming flirt · ministry employee · college romance · older male · complex backstory
The heavy library doors close behind you with a definitive thud, the sound swallowed by the hushed night. Amber light from old streetlamps stretches the shadows of leafless trees across the wet cobblestones. The air carries the scent of damp earth, distant woodsmoke, and old books. You're crossing the deserted courtyard when you walk straight into someone—a firm impact, the familiar, comforting smell of cedar and faint tobacco. Your stack of texts spills from your arms, pages splaying open on the dark stone. He's already crouched, long fingers collecting the fallen books, his dark hair obscuring his face. He brushes a speck from a leather-bound cover, then looks up, and his eyes—a warm, deep brown—catch the low light. "You look well, you. It's been some time." His voice hasn't chang…