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MATTHEO RIDDLE was laying on his bed in his dimly lit slytherin dorm room, a cigarette dangling lazily between his fingers. smoke curled toward the ceiling.

hogwarts was new to him, and he found it all rather underwhelming. the classes were too easy, the teachers too nice, and the students too dumb. everything about it bored him terribly. he spent most of his free time in the astronomy tower, smoking cigarettes and gazing out over the grounds, trying to find something — anything — that piqued his interest.

the one thing he did appreciate about hogwarts was the boys of the slytherin house. though he would never admit it, he found their company bearable.

theodore nott, his roommate, was also a big smoker and shared mattheo’s disdain for the mundanity of school life. mattheo liked him the best. draco malfoy and adrian pucey were tolerable as well. lorenzo berkshire, however, was too "gentle" for mattheo's liking, and while blaise might have been a decent companion, his weird situationship with that vanessa burkeley made mattheo steer clear.

his mind stopped at vanessa burkeley, who for some reason was often in his thoughts. the slytherin girl was objectively beautiful. her long, shiny black hair and seductive green eyes made her stand out in any room. she smelled like the most heavenly roses, her voice was soothing, her hands gentle.

yet, there was something about her that irritated mattheo. she was witty, yes — he had noticed that during their potions class yesterday — but she was also as cold as ice. the way she looked at him, at blaise, at her best friend, whose name he didn't know, her eyes always seemed emotionless and cold.

he took a deep drag on his cigarette, exhaling slowly as he let his thoughts wander. his father, the dark lord, was also often on his mind, even though mattheo hated to admit it. he hated a lot, but his father the most.

but tonight, vanessa was on his mind. he looked over to draco malfoy, who was quietly doing his homework at the desk of the room. mattheo shared his room with him and theodore.

"hey, malfoy," mattheo said, his voice a low drawl.

the platinum blonde boy hummed quietly in response.

"do you per chance know a vanessa burkeley?"

draco looked up from his parchment, a smirk playing on his lips. "everyone knows her," he replied with a laugh.
"why? are you already in love with her?"

mattheo raised an eyebrow. "what? with her? no. why would you say that?"

draco leaned back in his chair, now looking at mattheo and considered his words. "she’s basically the it-girl of hogwarts. every girl is jealous of her, and every boy wants her. it’s always been that way."

"what makes her so special?” Mattheo asked, genuinely curious.

draco shrugged, silent for a moment as he seemed to think about mattheo's question. "i don't really know. maybe it’s her beauty, or her brains. or maybe it’s just because everyone thinks she’s that special, so she is, even though there is nothing special about her."

"well, she doesn’t really seem to care about the attention," mattheo noted. she might love it, but she leaves the boys cold and ignores them, even though they apparently all want her. "do you want her too?" he then asked draco.

the other boy chuckled humorlessly. "even if i did want her, it wouldn’t matter. blaise is my best mate, and they dated for almost a year. i couldn’t do that to him. besides, burkeley wouldn’t take me anyway, no matter how rich or good i am.”

mattheo’s curiosity deepened. he didn't even know why he cared so much about some ordinary girl. "why did she date blaise, if she usually doesn’t date?"

"don't ask me. it was strange to everyone when they announced that they're a couple after randomly hooking up at a party," draco explained. "don't get me wrong, blaise is my best friend. and he is nice, good-looking, smart, and very charismatic. but in general, he’s not much different from the rest. but i guess he was special to vanessa. she seemed happy with him after all".

"so why did they break up?"

"nobody really knows. their relationship got intense, though. they started fighting a lot toward the end, especially about their future and their families. their fights got worse, more frequent. it was like they were trying to force something that wasn’t meant to be. i guess it all became too much for vanessa, and she broke up with him before the summer."

mattheo took another drag of his cigarette, the smoke filling the silence that followed. vanessa burkeley was turning out to be more interesting than he initially thought. perhaps hogwarts did have his secrets. but vanessa was also a puzzle he wasn't sure he wanted to solve.

"why are you so interested in her anyway?" draco suddenly asked, breaking mattheo’s reverie.

mattheo shrugged, a smirk tugging at his lips. "just curious. i had to work with her yesterday in potions. she seemed different, that’s all. and everyone is always talking about her like she's one of the seven world wonders."

"different, huh?" draco echoed, returning to his homework. "well, good luck with that. she’s not one to be easily impressed, even if you're the son of the dark lord.”

"shut up," mattheo rolled over, facing draco more directly. he couldn't stop himself from asking. "what was their relationship like? burkeley and zabini, i mean."

draco sighed, setting his quill down. "pretty complicated. they were hot and cold. one moment they’d be all over each other, and the next, they’d be fighting."

"i think it took a toll on both of them, especially vanessa. blaise can be ... intense. he expects a lot from people, and vanessa, well, she has her own way of dealing with things. after the fourth year, she changed so much and never told anyone why."

mattheo stubbed out his cigarette. burkeley might just be the most interesting thing in this school, and he wasn't about to let that slip through his fingers.

mattheo sat in the slytherin common room, the atmosphere thick with the aroma of weed. rain softly pounded against the windows. he was seated next to theodore, with draco, blaise, and enzo sitting around him. the golden glow from the fireplace cast flickering shadows across the room.

draco took a deep drag from his joint, his expression a mix of frustration and resignation. "i can't stand my father sometimes," he began, his voice carrying a hint of bitterness. "he's always on my ass, especially now that i’ve got the dark mark. like it’s some badge of honor."

the room fell silent for a moment. mattheo noticed the way the other boys glanced at him, uncertainty clear in their eyes. it was always the same whenever the topic of death eaters or the war came up. the son of lord voldemort was an intimidating presence, and it made people hesitate to say their thoughts out loud.

mattheo exhaled a cloud of smoke, breaking the tension. "you don’t have to censor yourselves around me. i hate my father. say whatever you want about him."

enzo leaned forwards. "do you have the dark mark?"

without a word, mattheo rolled up his sleeve, revealing the big tattoo etched into his skin. "i've had it since i was fifteen."

for a while, the boys talked about their experiences, their voices low and tinged with a mix of anger and sorrow. they shared how their parents had forced them into this life, how they initially thought that joining the dearh eaters was a good idea, but then realized that the reality of it was cruel and unfair.

blaise, notably the only one without the mark, sat quietly, absorbing their stories. mattheo watched him, unsure how to feel about it.

suddenly, the door to the common room burst open with a loud bang. mattheo and the other boys quickly rolled down their sleeves, hiding their marks.

pansy parkinson and vanessa burkeley entered, giggling about something stupid. at first, they didn’t notice the boys, but then pansy walked over to them, vanessa trailing behind.

blaise stood up immediately, moving towards vanessa. he greeted her with a hug, and mattheo’s eyes narrowed slightly. he saw how she tensed up, disliking the public display of affection. he also knew she was aware they were all high.

"hey, want to join us?" theodore offered, gesturing to the space around them.

pansy sat down next to draco, but vanessa hesitated before squeezing in next to mattheo, the only empty place. her leg brushed against his, sending a jolt through him.

she looked up at him, her emerald green eyes locking onto his. her beauty was undeniable, and despite everything, mattheo found himself captivated.

theo handed the joint to the girls. "want some weed?"

"sure," vanessa said, taking the joint. she brought it to her lips, then looked around. "anyone have a lighter?"

"i got one," mattheo said, flicking his lighter. he brought the flame to the tip of the joint as vanessa held it in her mouth. their eyes met again, and this time, there was an electric charge between them.

for a few seconds, they were locked in that gaze, the world around them fading into the background. mattheo wasn’t sure if it was the weed or something else, but he was completely taken by vanessa’s beauty. despite knowing she no good, he couldn't help but admire her.

vanessa blinked, breaking the spell. she looked away, her expression turning slightly irritated as she shifted away from him.

butterfly, that was the meaning of the name vanessa. and vanessa burkeley was like a butterfly. beautiful, delicate, but always ready to fly away if someone got too close. mattheo couldn’t help but feel a mix of frustration and fascination.

as the others continued their conversation, vanessa zoned out, taking a long drag from the joint before passing it to pansy. mattheo watched her, trying to make sense of the brief, intense moment they had shared. he hated her arrogance, the attention everyone gave her, how everybody treated her like she was the queen of england and how confident she was, but he couldn't deny that he felt intrigued by her.

draco’s voice pulled him back into the conversation. "my father thinks the dark mark makes us superior. but it’s just a curse, really. a way to control us."

"why don't you have it, zabini?" mattheo suddenly asked the dark-skinned boy sitting opposite of him.

blaise, who had been silent for most of the night, finally spoke up. "my mother refused to let them. said she’d rather die than let them brand me."

theo looked at blaise, a mixture of respect and jealousy swirling in his mind. "you’re lucky," he said simply. "you don’t have to deal with the nightmares."

vanessa, still distant, glanced at mattheo. her expression was unreadable, but he felt her eyes linger on him for a moment before she looked away. he couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking.

"what kind of party is the one this saturday?" pansy asked to change the topic.

blaise shrugged his shoulders, "just a normal one. only slytherins are allowed though, so we don't have to deal with those nasty gryffindors." the boy then turned to vanessa, "you're coming, right?"

she looked up to him, "yes. i'm coming."

theo has already told mattheo about this apparently spectacular party this weekend. he didn't know if he wanted to go or not, but now he, for some reason, was certain he was.

NOTE FROM ME:
hey guys,
i hope you liked this chapter thought it would be nice to have a chapter from mattheos point of view. the next chapter will be so good, i can't wait to publish it once im done writing it.

i haven't thanked you all for over 100 followers yet, but thank you so so much. i feel like it's so hard to get followers on wattpad and i am so thankfullll, i love you all 🫧

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