Spirals || Mattheo Riddle

꩜ Chapter 62 ꩜

Mattheo's POV

Looking at her made me feel as though my soul were empty. As if I could feel everything she was going through at this moment just by looking into her eyes. They held so much pain, so much tragedy. So much anger.

Theo, Blaise and I lifted Draco's body and placed it in the corner to be returned for later. Theo didn't say much, I think he didn't know how to process it all. I couldn't blame him, death was an unexpected visitor that no one got used to dropping in.

I held Raven close as I picked up my wand from the charred hand of a Death Eater and cast a notice-me-not charm over the blonde. He would be brought home, his mother deserved that much.

We stood in a loose circle, all of us thinking of our next move. So much had been taken from us in such a short time, and now the only options left were to run or fight.

It wasn't fair. It had never been fair.

As Raven opened her mouth to say something, she was cut off. Sudden screeching pain ripped through my skull and I clutched my head, a groan getting caught in my throat. I reached for Raven and grasped her hand in mine.

"You have fought valiantly, but in vain. I do not wish this. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a terrible waste. I therefore common my forces to retreat. In their absence, dispose of your dead with dignity." I shuddered at the feeling of Voldemort's voice ringing through my brain, his legilimency a harsh intrusion on my mind. "Harry Potter. I now speak directly to you. On this night, you have allowed your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. There is no greater dishonour. Join me in the forbidden forest and confront your fate. If you do not do this, I shall kill every last man, woman and child who tries to conceal you from me."

The threat was clear, Potter had no other option.

Wasn't that what heroes were supposed to do? Sacrifice themselves for the sake of the world? This was his ending, as it always had been since he declared himself the protector of the innocents in this school.

An inch of sympathy ran through me before I remembered what he had done to Raven. I did tell her he would get what was coming to him, didn't I? It seemed fitting that now he would have to give his life to save all of ours.

But I also knew that wasn't the case. This would not end with the death of Harry Potter. The Dark Lord would never stop, not until he had his perfect world. A clean world.

We all blinked away the dizziness brought on by the message. "He won't get away with this," Parkinson growled, her eyes bloodshot. I had the immediate thought that she was someone I would not like to piss off. The same could be said about Raven though. The fury bubbling behind those beautiful eyes was something I could recognise from a mile away. It made her reckless. It made her dangerous.

She was still weary from the magic she performed to save my life. Her skin was pale and she swayed on her feet without my support. I had half the mind to apparate her somewhere safe, but I knew she wouldn't have it.

"You guys need to go. Get home and get safe," my little witch ordered. Her voice was raw from her crying. "Mattheo and I have something we need to take care of." She met my eyes and I felt a tug of absolute infatuation pull at my chest. Wherever I went, she went, and vice versa. We were one person, an immovable force. And we had a job to do.

Zabini stepped forward. "You're mad if you think we're not coming with you," he argued. I wrapped my arm tighter around Raven.

She sighed. "Pansy's leg is broken, I'm ninety percent sure you have a concussion and Theo isn't in his right mind to fight a war right now. Please, just go."