Your heart pounds violently, each step slamming against the damp forest floor. Breath burns in your throat, ragged and shallow. Behind you dull, ominous noises creep closer. A snap. A rustle. A sound that coils cold panic tighter around your chest. You push yourself faster.

A shrill scream shatters the darkness,then you’re yanked to the ground. You cry out, thrashing, kicking wildly, until iron strong hands pin you down. Your pulse is deafening, drowning out the harsh, uneven breath above you.

Your eyes fly open and freeze. Looming over you, eyes glinting, mouth curled into a cruel smirk: your greatest enemy, your eternal rival, Mattheo Riddle.

“What the hell are you doing alone, in the middle of the night, in the Forbidden Forest?” he growls, his voice low and dangerous.