Fighting Fate // Mattheo Riddle ♣️

Chapter Eighteen - Wolfsbane

Word Count: 2,846

Warnings: None

"Hey Granger." I greeted as the Gryffindor Common Room came into view. She was standing outside the Fat Lady with Ron.

"What do you want Black?" she asked. Ron didn't speak. He just turned away, pretending to look at something on the wall.

"I just wanted to give this to Harry for Christmas." I held the parcel out in front of me. "I didn't think that he'd want to see me."

"No, he doesn't." She crossed her arms over her chest. My throat tightened. I couldn't lie that I was hopeful he might have gotten past our argument. Apparently not.

"Can you just give it to him for me?" I asked. Hermione nodded, grabbing the brown bag off me. "Thanks."

"Yeah, sure."

I smiled tightly, turning from the Gryffindors and walking away. Merlin, that girl was uptight.

ᵜᵜᵜᵜᵜ

I hadn't spoken to Moony since the next school term started. We were three weeks in, and I had done everything in my power to avoid conversing with the DADA Professor. I hadn't planned on changing that either.

Lupin hadn't approached me. There was no more apologizing. No more asking for forgiveness. No more excuses. I didn't know what had changed between then and now, but I wasn't sure whether I liked it or not.

The Black Lake freezes over during the winter, many of the students using this as an opportunity to skate across the ice. I was no exception. One by one, each of the Slytherins had refused to go out to the lake with me. It was late, almost curfew, and they complained that it was too cold for anything like that.

"So, you've never been ice skating before?" I asked again as I tucked my hands into my coat, shivering slightly. They may have all collectively refused point blank to go out into the cold with me, but that didn't mean I wasn't able to convince just one of them.

"It wasn't the first thing my mother wanted me to learn," Mattheo answered, following after me. I could hear his voice shaking as he spoke, teeth surely chattering.

"Well then I hate to tell you this, but your mother is boring." We were now at the edge of the lake.

"I'm starting to see truth in that."

There was no one left on the ice, all of the students having re-entered the castle early to prevent them from being late back after curfew. The Dementors still hovering around the borders of the school grounds likely impacted that decision greatly.

"Here," I spoke, taking out my wand. I flicked it forward causing Mattheo's height to rise slightly. He became unsteady on his feet, bringing his arms out either side to try to balance himself. There were now thin blades on the bottom of his shoes.

I turned the wand on myself, preforming the same charm. I had better balance that Riddle did, not needing to stretch my arms out beside me. Mattheo found this rather cocky, giving me a pointed look once he had regained his balance.

"Don't you need to say a charm for this?" Riddle asked.

"I just say it in my head and that seems to work." I replied. He shook his head.

"That's not normal Lyra."

There was a small silence when I didn't answer. I felt my throat tightening slightly. Mattheo shook his head, letting himself smile softly.

"Why did I let you talk me into this?" He spoke, leaning against a tree for balance. His hands dropped to grasp the tree.

"Because out of all of my friends, you are the most susceptible to my charm." I answered.