The Slytherin common room was dimly lit, the fire casting shadows across the stone walls. Mattheo leaned forward in his chair, elbows on his knees, eyes fixed on his brother with exasperation.

“So, are you gonna tell him?” he demanded, his voice carrying enough bite to draw Marvolo’s attention from the book in his lap.

Marvolo sighed heavily, snapping the book shut with an audible thud. “For Merlin’s sake, what now?” His tone suggested this was far from the first time he’d been dragged into one of Mattheo and Tom’s disasters.

Mattheo pointed accusingly at Tom, who sat across from them looking far too calm for Mattheo’s liking. “Don’t just sit there, Tommy. Tell him what you did.”

Tom arched a brow but said nothing. His silence only infuriated Mattheo further. “Fine,” Mattheo said, throwing his hands up. “Our brother here thought it was a brilliant idea to—”

“I accidentally,” Tom interrupted smoothly, “maybe turned someone into a Horcrux today.”

Marvolo’s head tilted, his expression unreadable. He blinked once, slowly, then leaned back in his chair. “Oh? Is that it? Who was it?”

Mattheo gaped at him. “Is that it? Did you hear what he just said?”

Tom, still unbothered, shrugged. “It was only Ron Weasley. Not a big deal.”

Marvolo’s lips curled into a smirk. “Don’t worry about it. His family won’t even notice—there’s so many of them.”

Mattheo slapped a hand against his forehead, dragging it down his face in disbelief. “Don’t encourage him, for Merlin’s sake, Marvolo!”

Tom folded his arms across his chest, smug. “See? You’re overreacting, Mattheo.”

Mattheo stared between the two of them, utterly done. “Overreacting? He just doomed a Weasley to eternal torment and you’re acting like he tripped over a staircase!”

Marvolo chuckled darkly, clearly amused by the chaos. Tom, meanwhile, leaned back with that infuriating little smirk, as though he’d just proven a point.

And Mattheo seriously considered apparating away from the common room before he lost his mind completely.