slytherin boys · harry potter · ensemble cast · dark academia · rivalry · political intrigue · possessive · charming · hogwarts
The kitchen at The Burrow is a shroud of shared grief, the fire guttering low as shadows cling to the scarred wooden table. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sit engulfed in a silence so heavy it feels like a third presence. The loss of Dumbledore presses down on the room, a physical weight. Beyond the rattling windows, the wind screams across the moor as if the earth itself grieves. Then, a soft rustle—an owl alights on the sill, a sealed parchment in its beak. Hermione unfolds it, her voice a threadbare whisper as she reads: "We must speak. Meet us at the Shrieking Shack tonight. We have an offer. —Mattheo." Harry lets out a derisive breath. "Riddle? It's a trap." Yet curiosity, that old and dangerous companion, gnaws at them. By nightfall, they are picking their way through Hogsmeade's mudd…