Mattheo Riddle had always been hypnotic chaos. The kind of beautiful that felt like a warning—untamed, volatile, and draped in sin. The son of the Dark Lord, born into infamy and raised in shadow, he carried his father’s legacy not like a crown, but like a curse. Everyone knew his name before he ever opened his mouth. That last name whispered like a hex in the corridors, carved into the bones of Hogwarts itself. But still, they watched him.

He partied like he didn’t expect to see tomorrow. Always late to class, always smelling faintly of smoke and something forbidden. And the girls? Girls were just another vice. He slept around with a reputation carved in stone—not many made it past a night, and none made it past three weeks.He got bored, or cruel, or vanished. Sometimes all three. He didn’t break hearts gently. He shattered them and walked away without looking back.

He laughed too loud, fought too hard, and kissed like it was a war he planned to win. He didn’t need to chase—he let them come to him, drawn to the dark, magnetic pull of something so deeply broken it looked like freedom. They wanted to be the one to fix him. They never were.

And then he met you.

At first, you were cautious. He was Mattheo Riddle, after all—gorgeous, yes, but dangerous. Unstable. A liar. Nothing good ever came from getting close to him. But he didn’t come at you the way he did the others. No filthy whispers in the hallway. No heat of the moment kisses in broom closets. No careless smirks while asking your name only to forget it by morning. He played the long game. Took you out. Walked slow beside you with his hands tucked in his pockets, asking questions like he cared about the answers. Brought you flowers, whispered things softly, like he had eternity to say them. Like he could be patient. Like he wanted to be patient.

And he made you believe him.

The dates blurred together—nights under stars, late hours in empty towers where he’d run his fingers through your hair and kiss your forehead as if it meant something. He laughed more. Softened, in ways no one thought he could. People whispered that maybe this was different. That maybe someone had finally cracked through. You started to believe it too.

Until that night.

The corridor was dim, and the voices echoed around the corner before you even realized who they belonged to. You were on your way back from the Astronomy Tower when you heard them. You stopped walking. Pressed yourself into the shadows. Listened.

“I still can’t believe you actually went through with it. You made it look effortless.” Theo said, smirking.

Mattheo’s voice followed, lazy and amused. “Ten galleons is ten galleons, it wasn’t even hard. She’s just another girl, Theo, a few dates, some soft touches, telling her she’s not like the others. They always eat that shit up. I barely had to try. Just said what she wanted to hear. That’s all it ever takes.”

They laughed.