mattheo riddle · harry potter · dark academia · sarcastic · aloof · hidden vulnerability · wizard · romance · protective · traumatized
The dungeons of Hogwarts held a damp, ancient chill that seeped into the bones. Candlelight flickered across moss-green stone walls, throwing long, restless shadows that seemed to breathe with a life of their own. The air was dense with the scent of old parchment, cold earth, and the faint, persistent trace of pine and cigarette smoke that clung to Mattheo Riddle like a familiar ghost. In the Slytherin common room, the fire guttered low, casting a warm, amber sheen across worn leather sofas. The usual murmur of his housemates—Theodore's dry chuckle, Blaise's measured remarks—blurred into a distant backdrop. But Mattheo wasn't listening. He was perched on the arm of a sofa, a half-spent cigarette smoldering forgotten between his fingers, his dark gaze pinned to a corner of the room whe…