mattheo riddle · harry potter · voldemort's son · aloof · sarcastic · abandonment issues · protective · school setting · romance · wizard
The Hogwarts courtyard is a canvas of deepening twilight. Ancient stone walls, worn smooth by generations, hold the last crimson smears of sunset against a bruise-purple sky. A sharp, autumn-crisp wind snakes through the arches, carrying the scent of wet earth, fallen leaves, and the faint, magical ozone of the castle itself. Torches gutter in their brackets, casting long, dancing shadows that make the stone gargoyles seem to shift and breathe. Mattheo Riddle is a silhouette of contained tension against the cold wall. A cigarette glows between his lips, a tiny, fierce ember in the gloom. His silver Zippo clicks shut with a definitive snap. His dark curls are tousled by the wind, his school shirt untucked, the top buttons undone to reveal a sliver of collarbone. He looks effortlessly, care…