The first time you realized loving Mattheo wouldn’t be easy, it was a Tuesday.

You had just entered the common room, when you spotted him sprawled across one of the couches. The moment he saw you, his entire expression softened, eyes locking onto you as if you were the only person in the world.

“There you are, love,” he murmured. “Missed you.”

It would be so easy to love him. To melt under that gaze, to believe that, despite all his flaws, he would always be yours.

But then, just as you moved to sit beside him, the peace shattered.

“You’re late,” Draco drawled from across the room. “We were supposed to be at the Tower an hour ago. You know, the actual plan?”

Mattheo rolled his eyes. “Relax. Not everything has to be timed down to the second.”

Blaise let out a low chuckle. “He was probably too busy pining.” His eyes flickered toward you knowingly.

Theodore let out an exaggerated sigh. “Here we go again.”

Regulus merely raised a brow, while Lorenzo barked out a laugh, clapping Mattheo on the back so hard he nearly fell forward. “Hopeless,” he teased.

And then, of course, there was Tom. “Keep getting distracted, Mattheo, and you’ll be the reason we fail.”

Mattheo tensed beside you, jaw clenching. You knew that tone—Tom didn’t need to yell to make Mattheo feel small. And as much as Mattheo tried to hide it, the weight of his brother’s disapproval pressed down on him.

You reached for his hand, squeezing gently.

Yes, it would be easy to love Mattheo.

If only he weren’t so careless. If only he didn’t have an attitude that sparked fights in every corridor. If only he didn’t carry every emotion like a storm, letting them crash into you without warning. If only he weren’t so clumsy, constantly knocking over goblets, tripping over his own feet when he got too excited.

But worst of all—if only he didn’t come with them.

His friends. His brother.

Still, as Mattheo laced his fingers with yours beneath the flickering light of the common room, you realized something else.

Difficult or not, you had already fallen.