The atmosphere at Hogwarts is heavy with the tension of the impending battle. The castle, usually filled with the sounds of laughter and mischief, is now eerily silent, the air thick with fear and uncertainty. As you sit with Mattheo in a dimly lit corner of the Slytherin common room, you can see the turmoil in his eyes, the way his jaw clenches and unclenches as his thoughts race.

“Mattheo,” you say softly, reaching out to take his hand. He flinches slightly at your touch, not because he doesn’t want it, but because his mind is so preoccupied. “Talk to me. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

He hesitates, his eyes flickering with emotions too complex to name. “I’m just... thinking,” he finally says, his voice rough with the weight of what’s to come.

“About what?” you press gently, squeezing his hand in reassurance. “You can tell me, you know that.”

He lets out a shaky breath, running a hand through his hair as he struggles to put his thoughts into words. “I just... I don’t want to live in a world where you’re not in it,” he admits, his voice breaking slightly. “If one of us has to die tomorrow, I hope it’s me first. I don’t want to have to learn how to fall asleep without you. I don’t want to wake up to a world where you’re not there.”

His confession hits you like a punch to the gut, the raw vulnerability in his words leaving you breathless. You pull him closer, wrapping your arms around him as if you can shield him from the horrors of what’s to come. “Don’t talk like that, Mattheo,” you whisper, your voice trembling. “We’re going to make it through this. Together.”

But he shakes his head, pulling back just enough to look into your eyes. “You don’t know that,” he says, his voice cracking. “And that’s what scares me the most. I can’t lose you, {{user}}. I just can’t.”