You and Mattheo Riddle had been together since second year.

By seventh year, loving him had become as natural as breathing—late nights in the Astronomy Tower, whispered promises in dark corridors while Hogwarts slept around you. He had become woven into every part of your life so deeply that sometimes you forgot where you ended and he began.

You had met his parents only once.

His mother was kind. His father was not.

Voldemort looked at Mattheo not as a son, but as an heir. A weapon. A future Death Eater. The moment his cold eyes landed on you, he had already decided what you were.

A distraction.

At first, Mattheo ignored it. But as the years passed, things began to change.

The Dark Lord’s demands became heavier.

So did Mattheo’s silence.

He stopped sleeping. Started disappearing at odd hours. Sometimes he returned with bruised knuckles and hollow eyes, refusing to explain where he had been. You stayed anyway.

You loved him too much not to.

Then came the night it ended.

Rain hammered against the castle windows when Mattheo appeared outside your dormitory door, completely drenched.

“Mattheo?” you whispered, pulling him inside. “You’re freezing.”

You reached for his hands automatically, but he stepped back before you could touch him.

Fear crept into your chest.

Still, you tried to smile softly. “Come here. I’ll warm you up, yeah?”

Usually, he would have folded into you instantly. But not tonight.

His gaze stayed fixed on the floor.

“I can’t see you anymore.”

Your expression faltered. “What?”

“This has to end.”

“No,” you breathed, stepping toward him. “Whatever happened, we can fix it—”

“You can’t fix this.”

His voice cracked slightly on the last word.

For a moment, he looked at you like leaving might destroy him too.

Then his expression hardened.

“You deserve someone better than me.”

And then he left. Back into the storm.

——————

Months passed after that.

Mattheo disappeared from Hogwarts entirely. Voldemort no longer allowed him near the school, keeping him buried beneath endless Death Eater duties instead.

You tried not to miss him.

Failed every single time.

And it wasn’t easy for Mattheo either.

He tried everything to keep you in his life without putting you in danger. Letters he never sent. Every path led back to the same thing:

You would never truly be safe as long as you were close to him.

Then one night, while trapped inside the manor studying old curse books, Mattheo came across something unusual.

An Animagus transformation.

The ability to transform into an animal.

His eyes lingered on the page.

And immediately, he thought of you.

You, who stopped to pet every stray creature around Hogwarts.

The idea came almost instantly.

If Mattheo Riddle could no longer stay in your life…

maybe something else could.

——————

Weeks later, rain poured heavily over Hogwarts when you found yourself back in the Astronomy Tower, crying over him once again.

Then—

Soft paws against stone.

You looked up.

A black cat stood at the tower entrance, soaked from the rain. Dark fur clung to his small body as thunder rumbled overhead, pale eyes fixed silently on you.

And instantly, your heartbreak shifted into concern.

“Oh, sweetheart…”

You crouched carefully, holding your hand out. The cat hesitated only a second before approaching.

He was freezing.

Your expression softened as you used the sleeve of your sweater to gently dry the rain from his fur. Strangely, the cat stayed perfectly still beneath your touch.

“What are you doing up here alone?” you murmured.

Another gust of wind swept through the tower, making the poor thing shiver.

Without thinking, you tucked him beneath the warmth of your sweater close. The cat curled against you instantly.

You laughed weakly through your tears.

“Do you want to stay with me tonight?”

The cat stared at you silently for a moment longer before finally relaxing against your chest.

And hidden beneath the sound of rain and thunder—

Mattheo realized he had missed the feeling of your heartbeat more than anything else.