Stay - Mattheo Riddle

You Remind Me of Him

The evening had settled over Grimmauld Place, casting a gentle veil of shadows throughout the house. Kirra and Mattheo, exhausted from the day's events (Kirra basically telling the three boys what to put where around the house and the four of them cleaning up a bit since they had free time), retreated to their shared room, their steps echoing softly in the dimly lit corridor. It was a space that had become a haven in the midst of the chaos surrounding them, a place where they could find solace and moments of peace.

Mattheo leaned against the doorframe, his eyes lingering on Kirra as she stood in the centre of the room, she was fidgeting in her spot, balancing her weight between her feet as she looked at the walls around her. 

Even though they had been so busy all day and she should be on the verge of passing out from how tired she was, he could see that there were a million things going through her head at the moment that were keeping her conscious.  

"You look like you could use a break," he said with a soft smile, crossing the room to stand beside her. She looked up at him, showing him the dark circles under her eyes.

Kirra sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I can't afford a break, Mattheo. Not with everything that's happening. What if someone comes looking for us and breaks into the house... I know you're safer here but that doesn't mean you're safe! Theres still so many things that could go wr-" she looked away from him as all the horrible possibilities began to fill her mind. 

He gently tilted her chin upward to meet his gaze. "Nothing is going to happen while we're here okay? And if it does there's enough of us to fight back, and there wont be much you can do if you're on the verge of falling asleep. Come on, let's get ready for bed and then get some sleep okay?"

He reached his free hand up to brush a strand of hair behind her ear. Kirra's green eyes met his, and she couldn't help but be drawn into the warmth of his gaze. She nodded, allowing herself to be led toward the large bed that dominated the room. Mattheo sat her down on the bed and then went over to their luggage and began to dig through his own, pulling out a shirt for her and then pj shorts for himself. He then grabbed a pair of pj shorts from her suitcase and walked back over to her.

"You wait here while I go run you a bath 'kay?" he told her softly, placing a kiss on her lips. She nodded her head and watched him through tired eyes as he walked out of the room and towards the bathroom. 

Mattheo walked down the hall, a tired sigh falling from his lips as he ventured to the bathroom. "How's she doing?" he turned his head quickly to see Sirius Black a little way down the hall. 

"She's alright... I think she's trying to keep herself busy so she doesn't think about everything that's going on," Mattheo admits hesitantly. Despite the discomfort he felt, he made sure to look Sirius in the eyes and give him his attention instead of looking away. He hadn't spoken much with Sirius, but they had never really had any bad discussions... but it also didn't take a genius to figure out that Sirius wasn't the biggest fan of Mattheo. 

Sirius chuckles softly, shaking his head, "yeah, she always did have a habit of doing that. I remember in our 5th year around exam time she went through a phase of cooking and baking, she made little cookie bags for all the first years almost every day for almost a month, they loved her for it."

Mattheo couldn't help but smile softly at the thought. "She is an interesting one," Mattheo said with a small nod, "definitely sounds like something that she would do."

"That she is," Sirius agreed, "she seems to be a lot less of a trouble maker now though, but thats probably just because James and I were a bad influence on her," he chuckled softly. It was silent between them for a few moments before Sirius decided to speak up again, "I'm going to be honest with you, and tell you that I'm still not sure if I trust you yet... or the other two. You all come from families associated with Voldemore and well you..." he didn't need to finish his sentence for Mattheo know what he was hinting at

"But I do believe that you love her, the way you look at her... it's the same way he used to. So im sure you're going to do what you can to protect her."

Mattheo's face scrunched up slightly in confusion but he didn't query about who Sirius was talking about, he already had a fair idea. "She means more to me than anything, and im going to do whatever I can to make sure that she stays safe, I'll protect her with my life and I know that Theodore and Jasper would too"

Sirius nods, "good," he seems to hesitate for a moment, "It's wrong for me to judge you based off your family, trust me I understand that... but I really can't help it, you just remind me so much of my brother."

"Regulus right?" Mattheo asked

Sirius just gave a short nod, clearly not wanting to talk about him, "Just do me a favour and just keep a close eye on her okay."

It seemed like a usual request but there was something about the way that he said it led Mattheo to think that there was more to it. Sirius seemed to catch on to the look on Mattheo's face and decided to elaborate.

"There's something different about her, haven't you noticed?" Sirius asked but the look on Mattheo's face answered the question for him. "The way she keeps spacing out, or the way her face just goes completely emotionless, I don't know... there's just something that isn't right."

"We've been here for less than a day and you noticed all that?" Mattheo asked, confusion bubbling in his stomach. He had spent almost all his time with her recently and he hadn't really noticed anything. Sure, he noticed her blanking out sometimes, but he didn't really suspect anything of it, he just brushed it off as her being tired.

"I spent almost every day of my life with her for like 10 years," Sirius says, "Emily and James were practically my family."

"I'm sorry... I can't imagine what you've gone through," Mattheo said. He knew it wasn't his fault, he didn't have any control over his parent's actions but he still felt guilty in a sense. 

Sirius just shrugged his shoulders, his eyes trailing down to the ground sadly, "just keep an eye on her. You can ask her about it, but I doubt she'd open up about it. She'd prefer to suffer in silence than to make others worry about her, that's one of the only things I've never liked about her."

Mattheo nodded softly. He was surprised that Kirra hadn't come out to see what was taking so long, "Thank you again for letting us stay, I cant imagine how things would have gone if we were sent home these holidays," Mattheo says

"Anything for Emily," Sirius says with a small smile before the two of them said goodnight and went their separate ways. Mattheo made his way back to his room. "Hey, do you still want me to run you a ba-" he quickly shut his mouth as he looked at her sleeping figure, she was right where he had left her, only she was now laying down. 

He made his way over to her, hesitating before softly shaking her awake. A small groan fell from her lips as he eyes slightly opened. "Come on love, lets get your pyjamas on." He handed her the clothes and then turned around, waiting for a small hum telling him to turn back around. He pulled his shirt of and then pulled the covers back, lifting the girl by the waist and then pulling her down beside him. 

She threw her leg over his stomach and buried her head into his chest, "What took you so long?" she whispered tiredly, snuggling further into his chest

"Nothin' just bumped into Sirius and had a little chat, nothing to worry your pretty little head over," Mattheo whispered, running his fingers through her hair affectionately, 

"He didn't give you a hard time did he?" she asks

Mattheo just chuckles sofly, shaking his head, "no, nothing to worry about," Mattheo says, placing a kiss on her head, "just go to sleep my girl, you need to rest, its been a long few weeks. You're safe here and I'm not going to let anyone hurt you... I promise."

 "Night Theo..." she mumbled softly, one last yawn falling from her lips. 

"Goodnight little badger," Mattheo whispers, his arms wrapping around her tightly. He softly rubbed her back, his eyes staring up at the ceiling above them. He planned to stay awake for as long as he could so that he could wake her up if she began to have a nightmare.