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rose-of-the-grave · 4 months ago

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The Great War: Chapter 7

Pairing: Mattheo Riddle x Reader

Hey everyone, it's a longer one but I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it in what free time I had! Also Merry early Christmas!!! Chapter 8 is already in progress and should be out soon! Sidenote: TGW is over 20k omg!!!!! As always I'm the author (please don't repost) <3

Masterlist. Series Masterlist. Read on Ao3

Warnings: magic paintball, Ron and Lavender, quidditch, trash talk/teasing, nerves, sad Hermione, hurt/comfort, fluff, Filch, Mattheo and Pansy are bffs

Word Count: 4330

Description: While her friends are busy Y/N gets into some mischief with her Slytherin friends. She, along with the rest of their team absolutely crush the Slytherins in a game of Quidditch and she helps Hermione through her current dilemmas.

Taglist: @sylveryfire, @dundunmin, @undercover-smutlover, @whoreforfictionalmen18, @lafrone, @lovemiss-vale

It had only been a few minutes since Harry and Hermione had left for Slughorn’s dinner party and Y/N was already bored. Ron was off getting some extra practicing in with some other Quidditch players outside so she had been left alone. Figuring she would find Pansy somewhere, causing mischief, she grabbed her coat and wand before heading out.

The hallways were abuzz with students discussing their Christmas plans. She sighed thinking about how that used to be her. Planning a ski trip in the Alps or a beach vacation in the Bahamas. Her parents always made good use of her breaks. Now they were somewhere in the Middle East, hiding from Death Eaters. She shuddered to think what might happen to them. For all she knew, they could already be dead. It had already been two weeks since she last heard from them.

Her worries were distracted by a little golden fairy-like apparition beckoning her to enter the room ahead. Her hand gently pressed against the door, pushing it open to reveal a room the size of the Great Hall. The floor was covered in pedestals with encased trophies. Pictures of those people decorating the walls.

About twenty feet in front of her stood Pansy wearing her uniform minus the robe. Her hair pulled back and wand in hand. She turned and waved, “Hey! You came.”

“That was you? The little golden fairy thing?” She motioned her hand as if to demonstrate.

“It’s a new trick I learned.”

Y/N slowly nodded her head, walking over to where she stood. “So…what are you doing here?”

“Same thing as you. I was bored.” Pansy shook her head causing her earrings to jingle a bit. “I’m trying to find someone but I don’t think they're here.”

Y/N’s brow furrowed, “Who?”

The Slytherin opened her mouth but then her gaze shifted, her eyes having glimpsed a bit of movement. Bringing a finger to her mouth, she gave Y/N a stern look before peeking behind one of the trophy cases.

“Aha! Busted!” She chuckled, casting some spell that shot blue sparks that splattered on the person’s coat.

“Hey!” Riddle stood up from his hiding place, dusting off his pants. He walked over to the two of them, tossing his spell-splattered coat at Pansy.

“Ew!” She held it up by the collar. Wrinkling her nose, she taunted, “Sore loser!”

“Reckless words from someone with a clean uniform.” He took out his wand.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

He smirked, “Try me.” Before she could say anything blue was splattered all over the front of her white shirt.

“Mattheo!”

“Pansy!” He mocked. His face suddenly turned to shock, his entire left cheek covered in blue. He turned to face Y/N, a dangerous, almost hungry look in his eyes. “Oh, it’s on.”

Suddenly blue was shot right at her, catching her square in the chin. She fired back at him, right when Pansy did, causing him to retaliate with even more until all of their clothes were covered in blue as well as the area around them. A portrait of an older witch not too far away was now half covered so it was impossible to tell what she looked like.

Just when Pansy was about to call truce Riddle hit with one more magic blue paintball. Raising her wand above her head she said, “Any last words?”

He laid a hand to his chest, tossing his head back, “Tell Blaise I fought till the bitter end and died a hero.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Blue splattered all over his chest and neck.

“And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how it’s done.” She took a bow.

He sat up, squinting at her. “Very funny. You still have two more people to find so hop to it.”

She rolled her eyes, turning to Y/N “You wanna help me?”

“Sure, why not? I’ve got nothing better to do.”

“There’s the enthusiasm!” She grabbed her by the wrist and pushed past Riddle who was shaking his head.

“Cheater!”

“Loser!” She shouted back. The two girls were almost to the door when they heard Filch’s voice.

“Shit, fuck, ugh!” She muttered before turning on her heel. Y/N followed quickly behind her as she grabbed Riddle’s arm, “Come on! Let’s go!”

The three of them turned to see Filch open the door and see all of the blue splats all over the room.

He ran, shouting at them to stop. “I’ll have your heads!”

They laughed, running away, their shoes hitting the floor at light speed with Filch hot on their tails.

Motioning them past a statue, Pansy led the way into a secret tunnel.

“Lumos!” Her wand erupted with bright light, illuminating their path. Y/N kept on accidentally running into Pansy, Riddle right behind her. They didn’t stop until they reached the other side. The tunnel had led them to what Y/N could only assume was the Slytherin common room. She had never been inside except for that one party which was too packed to see anything but she recalled what Harry and Ron had said back in second year. It was just as dark as they had said, with very expensive furnishments. No doubt paid for by parents. The fireplace which was full of ash but not a single spark had a shiny exterior with two snakes running down its sides. The carvings were extremely detailed, every scale shining and polished. Green gems glinted from the eyes.

In the center of the room was a huge black couch and a handful of armchairs. Each looked brand new.

“Took you long enough.” Draco called from where he sat on the couch. A handful of other Slytherins, most of whom she didn’t know that well, sat near him. One or two gave her a polite nod but that was all.

Riddle hopped over the armrest and made a spot for himself on the other end of the couch. “You all are no fun. The game wasn’t over yet and you all just gave up?”

“In case you have forgotten, some of us have assignments to complete. Not that you would know since you don’t come to class.” Daphne said.

Pansy snorted. “I’m surprised you’re even passing.”

Y/N nodded, taking a seat on one of the unoccupied chairs away from everyone else. Recently she had seen him a total of three times in class over the past month. Whenever he showed up she was shocked to realize that he was in that class.

Before Riddle could reply Millicent chimed in, “It’s cause they’re all scared of him.”

“No, they just don’t want him in class.” Daphne responded. “They barely have enough time as it is for all of his detentions.”

“Oh, yeah. How many more weeks do you have left with Trelawney before you’re done?”

Y/N glanced over at him, remembering when Hermione mentioned that. But that was a while ago.

“Four.” He laughed.

“How many have you already done?” Y/N wondered.

He smiled.

“Go on. Tell her.” Pansy taunted.

“Eight.”

“Eight?” Her voice turned a bit squeaky. “What the hell did you do?”

Draco who had been silent for the whole conversation, off in his head, suddenly jumped in. “He released a bunch of stink bombs in her room and blamed it on Peeves. It was in the middle of a test.”

“In my defense, Peeves was about to do it anyway. She totally bought it too.”

Puzzled, she asked, “Then how’d she find out it was you?”

“Your friend, Granger, outed him.” Daphne said.

Malfoy wrinkled his nose in disgust while a few of the others grimaced. There was a reason why she never mentioned her friends when hanging out with them. They were personas non grata within the Slytherin house.

“Right. Sorry I asked.”

“It’s fine. It gives me something to do every Tuesday night.” Riddle said but he didn’t look fine. He had shadows under his eyes and miscellaneous cuts and bruises on his face and arms. His shirt was dyed blue from earlier, no white visible anymore. In fact, one of his wounds had a bit of blood trickling from it, turning the magical paint purple. Some traitorous part of her wanted to wipe it away, to comfort him. The other part of her wanted to know what he was thinking. If he knew anything. As far as she had seen all he did was cut class and hang out with friends while smoking and occasionally drinking. She hadn’t seen him with that girl from the party since she bumped into them. For some reason that made her smile a bit.

Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the return of Blaise and Theodore. Glancing over her shoulder she was surprised to see them dressed so formal. Both of them sat down on the couch in between Draco and Riddle.

She sat still, unsure what she should do. If they were getting back now, then Harry and Hermione were probably headed back to the common room. Ron was probably done practicing. The Slytherins had no windows in their common room but she suspected the sky was already dark.

Nudging Pansy in the arm, she whispered, “I should probably go.”

She turned to look at her, “Okay, see ya.”

“Bye!” She waved at Pansy before walking up the stairs.

“Hey, tell Potter and Weasley to watch out tomorrow!” Someone yelled after her.

She whirled around, a teasing smile on her face. She yelled, “No need! We’re going to kick your asses!”, before ducking out of the common room. A pair of brown eyes trailing behind her before Pansy caught his eye, giving him a knowing look.

-------------------

Ron was the first thing she saw upon entering the common room, or rather the group surrounding him and a few other quidditch players.

A few gave way when she approached them, allowing her access to the couch where her friends were sitting. They were all wishing them luck. Eventually Ginny told them to give Ron some space.

“Come on, nothing to see here.”

Ron sat there, head in his hands while Harry sat beside him, reassuring him. They had their first match in the morning and all week in practice he had been off his game. Even worse, it was against Slytherin so tension was high. The animosity between the two houses had reached an all time high.

Katie Bell was still out a month later. Her replacement, Dean Thomas, had proven himself to be a strong player, giving them hope despite everything. Although it had raised some tension between him and his girlfriend. They had yet another fight right before Slughorn’s party right in the middle of the common room not long after Harry and Hermione left. Something about how closely she and Harry were working on strengthening their team’s strategy.

“Hey Ginny,” Harry said. “What were you going to tell me earlier after practice?”

The redhead’s face lit up despite how tear-stained it had looked, earlier “Oh, yeah. During class today I overheard some Slytherins talking. Two of their players are out of commission for tomorrow’s match, including Malfoy.”

Harry sighed, relieved, “Well that’s good news.”

“Nice!” Y/N said, high fiving Ron who was similarly glad. She hadn’t noticed it earlier but Draco must have gotten injured or something. Maybe that’s why he had seemed so gloomy.

“I must admit, I was looking forward to the look on Malfoy’s face when we won. I can hear him now,” He put on a high pitched voice in a dramatic imitation of the blond Slytherin, “‘My father will hear about this!’”

All four of them collapsed in a fit of laughter.

Struggling to reign in his laughing in order to speak he went into an imitation again, “‘I’m Draco Malfoy and I’m a blond ferret who needs his rich daddy to hear me complain about everything!’”

She felt sick with laughter, clutching her stomach. It did feel odd though, now that she hung out with him more often. Not that they talked much.

When she finally looked up, meeting her friends’ eyes none of them could keep from laughing, breaking almost immediately. It was true what they say, laughter is infectious. The mirth in each others’ eyes twinkled, a welcome sight after so much gloom surrounding the impending exams before Christmas break. Outside of quidditch practice there had been few opportunities to be outside, enjoying the winter weather. Studying had kept them all tied to their books inside. In just a few short weeks school would be out and they all couldn’t wait to escape from the oppressive weight of classwork.

The next morning at breakfast all of their joy had been sucked out, leaving them all jittery with nerves. Ron most of all. The three of them watched as he walked in, stiff as a board. A handful of Slytherin’s taunts echoed but he kept on heading their way. He sat down opposite Harry and a plate appeared with the most unappetizing breakfast imaginable. Ron grimaced, looking up at Harry and Hermione.

“So, how was it?” He asked.

Hermione looked up from her book, “How was what?”

“Your dinner party?”

“Pretty boring actually. Though I think Harry enjoyed dessert.” She said with a small grin on her face.

Harry busied himself with his plate, not meeting their eyes. She exchanged a confused look with Ron. What on Earth did Hermione not tell her last night?

“Slughorn’s having a Christmas party next week and we’re meant to bring someone.”

“I expect you’ll be bringing McLaggen then. He’s in the Slug Club isn’t he?”

Y/N internally slapped her hand to her forehead. Teenage boys could be so dense.

Hermione shook her head, “Actually, I was going to ask you.”

She smiled, elbowing Harry in the ribs. He turned to look at her, his green eyes already rolling in exasperation. She gleefully took his five Galleons and pocketed them before either of their friends spotted it.

Ron scoffed, “Really?”

In the corner of her eye she spotted a flash of blonde hair.

Lavender came up behind Ron. “Good luck today Ron.” She touched his shoulder, “I know you’ll be brilliant.” She flashed him a smile which left him looking a little dazed before walking back to her friends.

Y/N glanced over at Hermione to see her dismayed expression. Reaching behind Harry’s back she touched her shoulder to reassure her. She gave her a small, sad smile before turning back to her forgotten book beside her plate.

Ron gulped, “I’m resigning. After today’s match, McLaggen can have my spot.”

Harry calmly said, “Have it your way. Juice?” He slid a cup across the table.

“Hello Everyone.” Luna’s light and airy voice drew their attention. There she sat, next to Ron, with a lion hat, the mouth was the opening for her head. She gave Ron a look, “You look dreadful, Ron.” Turning to face Harry, she asked, “Is that why you put something in his cup? Is it a tonic?”

All three of them turned to look at him. Ron, who had been about to take a sip, paused and examined the seemingly harmless contents.

Harry’s elbow bumped into Y/N’s as he put something away. She glanced down to see the familiar glint of Felix Felicis. Harry had a habit of toying with it when he was bored.

“Liquid Luck.” she said.

Hermione let out a gasp, “Don’t drink it Ron!”

The redhead shrugged before taking a slow sip. Setting it down he met them with a far more confident look, a noticeably different expression than the one he had earlier when he threatened to resign.

“You could be expelled for that!” Hermione hissed.”

Harry just shrugged, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Ron began to stand up, a smile on his face. “Come on Harry. We’ve got a game to win.”

“Yeah, that’s the spirit!” Y/N exclaimed. She and Harry both stood up. They were going to absolutely crush the Slytherins. Hermione gave them, both a disgruntled look but said nothing.

Once they got on the pitch Harry gave them all a pep talk. “We are going to go out there and we are going to win!”

“Yeah!” They all cheered, raising their brooms in the air.

Ron, instilled with a newfound confidence, marched out to the curtain where they all mounted their brooms.

“Three, two, one,” Harry paused, “Go!” In unison, all seven of them pushed off the ground and soared through the air, circling the pitch. The Gryffindor student section went wild, along with plenty of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. The sound drowning out the Slytherins booing.

A few seconds later the Slytherin team emerged, cheered on by their house. Draco, along with a few others, were noticeably missing. Replaced with other students. They just needed to hope that they would be off their game because of it. Once they got information she looked across at the player in front of her which just so happened to be a certain curly haired Slytherin.

“You’re going down” She mouthed.

He smirked. “You wish.”

Madam Hooch walked out under the field beneath them, blowing the whistle and releasing all of the balls. Harry’s eyes, as per usual, were immediately latched onto the Snitch. The rest of them were immediately spreading out, trying to get a clear path for Ginny to throw the Quaffle. Y/N drew closer so she could pass it before diving lower to escape the Slytherins. Just as she was about to score, the Keeper hit it away, tossing it to someone else.

“Better luck next time!” Riddle taunted from where he sat, perched on his broom a few feet away.

Gritting her teeth, she flew away just in time to see Ron manage to stop the ball from going through one of the hoops.

“Whoohoo!” She cheered before joining her teammates in their formation. Ginny broke away, narrowly escaping one of their Beaters. Her feet only a couple inches away from the icy ground below. Y/N followed suit, distracting the player long enough for Ginny to slam the ball right into the goal, causing two of the Slytherins to collide into it and fall.

After Ron began to block even more points the crowd began to chant, “Weasley! Weasley! Weasley!” The sound of it a soundtrack behind the rest of the game as Ron kept on blocking shot after shot and the rest of them kept on scoring. Not long after, the game was over and they were headed back to the team room. As the winning team they made a few celebratory circles around the Quidditch pitch, the crowd going wild. Most of the Slytherins were walking off, disappointed.

Harry gave them a very brief congratulatory talk before letting them all get changed so they could get back to the common room for the party. The entire room erupted in cheers when the seven of them entered, a banner that had Gryffindor painted on it was lifted high in the air and Ron was lifted onto people’s shoulders. He had the biggest smile on his face, a sort of dazed look in his eyes. Everyone was cheering for him. Even McLaggen halfheartedly joined in despite being a bit dejected over not getting on the team again.

Y/N watched on from where she stood next to Hermione.

“You really shouldn’t have done it.” She said to Harry.

Y/N looked over at him. He smiled impishly from the other side of Hermione. “I know. I suppose I could’ve just used the Confundus charm.”

“That was different. That was tryouts, this was an actual game.” She said, disappointed.

Harry took something out of his pocket to show her. There it was, right between his fingers. The Felix Felicis vial. And it was full.

“You didn’t put it in. Ron only thought you did.”

He nodded, pocketing it once more.

Y/N shook her head in amazement. Of course he did.

All three of them turned back in time to watch as Lavender grabbed Ron by the shoulders and kissed him, Ron’s arms wrapping around her waist. Harry began to clap along with the others but Y/N felt Hermione back away. She watched as Harry finally noticed that she was gone and how his smile faded. Y/N was about to follow her when he put a hand on her arm and shook his head.

“I’ll go.”

She nodded.

--------------------

“I can’t believe you’re going to Slughorn’s party with McClaggen!” Y/N said, hitting her with her pillow.

“I know! I thought it would annoy Ron the most.” Hermione admitted. She flopped down on her back right beside where Y/N sat.

“Have you seen him with Lavender? I doubt he can even notice from where she’s snogging him every five seconds.” Y/N grimaced. They had become insufferable.

Her best friend’s face became dejected. She hated how weak she felt, hurting over a boy.

“Look, I’m sure he’ll be annoyed. He hates Cormac. If he doesn’t notice then I’m sure Harry will mention it to him if you ask.”

Hermione smirked but shook her head. “No. I just want him to notice me, like actually notice me as more than just his friend. It’s not the same if someone is pointing his face in my direction.”

Y/N gave her a hug, mentally thrashing Ron in her head. He would be lucky to have her if he could just see what a wonderful girl was right in front of him. Not that Lavender was a bad person but she smothered him. He didn’t admit it but it was in his eyes whenever she called him her ‘Won-won’. They had only been together for a little over a week but she could tell he was getting tired.

“He will. And if he doesn’t then someone else will. You’re intelligent, funny, and absolutely beautiful. Anyone would be lucky to have you.”

“Thanks.” Y/N could tell she didn’t fully believe it but there was nothing more she could do about that other than remind her.

Hoping to distract her she decided to tell her about what she had overheard in the library earlier. “Okay, so you know Romilda Vane? The girl with the long, dark, and curly hair that we saw Hannah Abbott talking to the other day? Apparently she’s trying to sneak Harry a love potion! I heard her talking about it with some of her friends.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Boy am I glad that I’m not the Chosen One.”

She snorted, “Speaking of, Harry still needs a date to Slughorn’s party.”

“I’m not going if that’s what you’re going to ask.”

“Ugh, why not?”

“Because.”

“No. Give me a real answer. Come on, it’ll be fun! You can distract me from my horrible choices.”

“You can manage. Besides, I have a paper to write.”

“Fair enough. We don’t want you to fail.”

Y/N smiled at her. “I thought you’d think so.”

“You know me so well.”

“I sure do.”

--------------------

A few days passed before the party. Y/N walked into her room to find it in total shambles. Hermione sat in the middle of it. She was still in a shirt and a pair of pants, the only thing done was her makeup. Although subtle, it was there.

“Wow.”

She looked up at her, “I know. I can’t decide.”

“Well you don’t have many dresses so how hard of a decision can it be?”

Hermione sighed. “I didn’t think this through. What am I doing?”

Kneeling beside her amidst the piles of clothes, she gave her a tight squeeze. “It’s going to be alright. Now! What are the options?”

Hermione nodded, glad to have a distraction from the horrifying thought of having to dance with Cormac of all people.

“Okay, how about this one?” Y/N raised the dress that she wore for the Yule Ball. It was still in really good condition.

Hermione shook her head. “I want to wear something else. Something a bit more, I don’t know. Mature? I guess?”

“Oo! How about this one?” It was a pretty pink dress that she had gotten on vacation with her parents over the summer holidays. She still hadn’t worn it.

Hermione took it from her and quickly changed into it. After she zipped it up she turned so Y/N could see it.

“That’s the one!” It was absolutely gorgeous. The pink shade suited her so well and the v-neck and knee length cut made her look amazing. It was so different from what she normally wore. They found a necklace and a pair of earrings that matched her new dress.

“Oh, look at the time! I need to go!” Hermione exclaimed.

“Not so fast! Just give me a minute.” Y/N immediately set to doing her hair, brushing it out a bit before using her wand to curl the ends. As a last touch she grabbed a small clip to tuck a strand of hair back with.

“Okay, you look gorgeous! Let’s go!”

Hermione slipped on a pair of heels and hurried down the stairs.

Y/N watched as she left, excited to hear all about it when she returned. Hopefully Cormac would be able to keep his hands to himself.

Ducking back into the room she realized just how empty it was. The mess of clothes was still all over the place. Sighing, she got to work, cleaning it up, putting all of Hermione’s clothes away. She then went over to her own bed and opened up her bottom drawer. In it was a notebook that she had been using to meticulously note everything she observed about a certain Dark Lord’s son. All she had was the various places she had seen him smoke and that he liked listening to the Smiths. She had been listening to them for research and research only. Although she did occasionally wonder what his favorite song was.

Chapter 8>>

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