Chapter 10

The silence between Y/n and Mattheo was so deep it was almost painful. No more words were spoken as they still faced each other in the darkness of the corridor. But this time everything was different - it was as if the tension that had been building for weeks could no longer be contained. Thoughts raced as their gazes locked inexorably. Something between them was suddenly clearer than ever, and it was as if they had finally reached a point where they could no longer hide.

"Y/n..." Mattheo whispered her name, and his voice carried a shimmer of desperation, but also of what they could no longer put off. Everything that had held them back until that moment now burst forth in a sudden flow. Without another thought of the consequences, she took a step closer.

"I can't do this anymore..." Y/n murmured before she realized it herself. In that moment there were no more questions. No hesitation. The insecurities that had tormented her no longer seemed to have a place in her mind. She felt the magnetic pull towards him - the space around them no longer existed, only him, only that unspoken something that drew them together.

Mattheo, who had been looking at her the whole time with growing desire, reacted immediately. In a single, determined step, he pulled her towards him. He grabbed her waist and pulled her towards him. Their touches were incredible. The tension that had previously emanated from the air did not disappear, but only increased as their gazes, which never left each other for more than a moment, intensified beyond the simple touch. It was something inexplicable, a moment that no longer needed words to make it clear that what they shared was more than they could put into words.

Their bodies seemed to come together as if they had never known anything else. Time around them seemed to stand still, and all the noise and drama of everyday Hogwarts life disappeared. Here and now, in the quiet darkness of the hallway, it was just Mattheo and Y/n. They kissed as if that was the only thing they wanted to do. So intense and intimate.

But as the intensity of the moment grew, it was Y/n who pulled back again - gently but firmly, her eyes fixed on Mattheo. She took a moment to breathe, to make sure she wasn't lost in a decision she didn't fully understand. The difference between desire and need had changed.

"I..." She hesitated, but her words remained unfinished. She knew that the moment they were living through could never be brought back, but she also knew that she had discovered something in herself that she couldn't yet name. "What does all this mean, Mattheo?"

He looked at her, and for the first time there was no uncertainty in his eyes. "It means I'm not just here as a friend anymore. I've felt something different all this time, Y/n, and I think you know it too."

The silence after his words seemed endless, each of them waiting to see what the next step would mean. But whatever the future held between them, they could no longer hold off the moment of truth now. It was clear: this unspoken tension was the beginning of something deeper than anything they had ever imagined.

He took a step back, his hand lightly touching hers. "But we can't rush it. Let's not run blindly into something we don't know how it ends."

Y/n nodded slowly, her mind still in a confused twilight between everything that had happened. But deep down she knew that whatever was igniting between them was not something to be ignored. She had to face the truth. Even though she didn't yet know where this would all lead, one thing was certain - she couldn't just let Mattheo go.

Just as Y/n and Mattheo had lost themselves in their silence, quiet footsteps suddenly sounded behind them. The sounds, which at first sounded like the rush of wind, became clearer and closer, as if someone was coming in their direction. Y/n flinched, and Mattheo, who was still engrossed in her eyes, also noticed the change.

"Someone's coming," she whispered, and her voice sounded nervous, although she tried to remain calm. But the footsteps quickly became louder, unmistakable. They both instinctively turned towards the darkness of the corridor, and the tension in the air grew. Mattheo put a finger to his lips, a silent reminder to remain quiet, but Y/n could clearly feel both of their beating hearts.

"Who the hell...?" muttered Mattheo, raising an eyebrow as a shadow formed in the corridor. The pace slowed, and a figure appeared from the corner of the hallway - it was none other than Regulus Black, who suddenly entered the confusion.

Regulus had obviously noticed her and was watching her with a neutral expression. But Y/n could not deny that the look he was giving her spoke of something else that was not immediately obvious. She had noticed so little of him in the last few days, apart from the brief, tense moments between them and the deep, probing glances. But now he was here.

"Well, what do we have here? A quiet walk in the middle of the night?" Regulus' voice was calm, but she could hear the flicker of amusement in it. He never had a problem playing a game in public or in the most embarrassing places.

Y/n just stood there, holding her breath, while Mattheo snorted. He hadn't been getting on very well with Regulus to begin with, and now it seemed to only add fuel to the fire.

"Don't make such a fuss," Mattheo finally said, but the anger was audible in his voice, slowly wearing out his patience with Regulus. "We were just strolling through the halls for a bit. What do you really want, Black?"

Regulus shook his head slightly. "I just want to know if any of you will ever venture out of the safe Slytherin zone, or if you really want to hide back there now, Mattheo?"

These last words came sharply and slyly, and Y/n could practically feel the breeze of rivalry between them. An unsettling silence fell as Regulus' words sank into the air like stabs.

She took a deep breath. The situation that had suddenly developed was anything but simple. But what bothered her most was the fact that Regulus clearly knew what had happened between them. And somehow she wasn't sure if it was a good thing that he was now part of the game too.

"You'd better not get involved in things you don't understand," she replied sharply, standing slightly between the two of them.

Regulus looked at her for a while, his gaze sharp, but he said nothing. Instead, he shrugged his shoulders. "Believe what you want. But if you want to keep throwing yourself into the mess, then - good luck."

With one last meaningful look, he turned away and disappeared back into the darkness of the corridor. Y/n still stood there a little dazed, her heart racing as Regulus' words resonated within her. It was almost as if he had subjected her to some kind of test.

"Do you know what that was just now?" Y/n whispered, still a little dazed, to Mattheo, who now slowly approached her, his own tension noticeably cooling down.

"That was a damn game," said Mattheo, snorting contemptuously. "Regulus was never one to keep things to himself."

The silence that followed him, however, was noticeably different from before. It was a realization, a growing uncertainty that brought Y/n and Mattheo closer together again, but at the same time she couldn't deny that this situation was driving them further apart. She didn't know what to do for Regulus, what she was missing in this whole dynamic, but it felt as if he had opened yet another chapter in the game between her and Mattheo.

"It's not over yet," she murmured, almost more to herself, "but I know now that he hasn't won yet."

Mattheo nodded. "Neither of us won," he said, "and maybe that's a good thing."

Night finally fell, but Y/n couldn't shake the swirling storm that moment had unleashed.

The days that followed felt strangely different. Despite the growing tension and the unspoken truth that hung in the air between her and Mattheo, there was still this inevitability, this urge that kept drawing them together. But Mattheo's strange behavior, his constant excuses and defense mechanisms, didn't leave Y/n alone. Something wasn't right. Something that she couldn't put into words, but she felt - like an oppressive weight that was between them and that distanced her from him the closer they got.

That evening, after spending the day in the library, they found themselves alone in a remote part of the castle - the entrance to an almost deserted gallery that seemed almost like a time machine because of the thick dust and decay. Neither of them spoke at first, but Y/n could no longer bear the fact that this unassailable boundary existed between them. Something had to be broken through, and she knew that it was only possible through words.

"Mattheo... there's something I don't understand." Her voice was quiet but firm.

Mattheo, who was holding onto one of the yellowed paintings in the hallway, turned to her. She could see the inner struggle in his eyes, the defensive attitude he was building around himself - but this time something was different. It was as if the words he was throwing at her were stuck in himself, like a bulwark that could no longer be held.

"You know I'm not lying to you, Y/n," he said slowly, and there was now a hardness in his tone that no longer seemed to come only from anger, but also from deep desperation.

"It's not what you're telling me, but what you keep hiding. You act so... so distant. Like you're afraid of me, of yourself... Or of us."

"It's not that simple, Y/n," he replied, his gaze now lowered, as if he wanted to stamp the fate he had built for himself into the ground with another breath.

Y/n shook his head. "You don't trust me," she said quietly. "You don't trust me enough to tell me the truth."

He turned back to the wall as if he wanted to step away from it, but this time it took a step closer and blocked his way.

"Please, Mattheo... I can't go on without knowing what's really going on here," she urged. Her voice was not accusatory, but expressive, with the growing concern she had carried within her for so long.

And then - with a longing that burned in the depths of his eyes, as if it was about to open the gate of a labyrinth he had long since dug himself - Mattheo gave in.

"You have to know that... there is more than you can ever imagine," he began, his voice trailing off quietly but determinedly. "There are things in my family that no one should ever know... things that have shaped me, things that have made me who I am today. And maybe it's the real answer to why it can never be easy between us. And why I can't allow..."

"Mattheo..." Y/n carefully placed her hand on his shoulder as his words faltered, "What do you mean?"

He took a deep breath, his shoulders shaking slightly before he continued without looking at her. "My father is... he's Voldemort. The Dark Lord." The words hung in the air like a wave that was far from slackening. Y/n froze as if an ice-cold shadow was draped over the room.

"What?" The words wouldn't come out properly as her brain tried to process what he had just told her. "Your father is... You are the son of... of..."

"Yes," he interrupted calmly, "and I'm sorry, Y/n. But you have to understand that no matter what happens between us, I would never be able to give you what you deserve without putting you in danger. And you would always be bound by the curse of my name. Who I am, where I come from, will always be a threat."

Y/n stood there paralyzed, the words falling like stones into her stomach as she felt the chains of reality. It was as if she was looking through a door that had suddenly opened in front of her, and behind her was a completely new world that she had never known. The shadow of Voldemort, his name and everything it represented was part of Mattheo - the one she had known, who was perhaps always different than she herself had realized.

And before she could react, she heard footsteps behind her again. The already tense atmosphere seemed to grow immeasurably when Regulus Black appeared again. But this time his look was different - it was no longer just playing with power or confusion. This time he carried a heavy burden with him.

"I didn't mean to, but he told you now, didn't he?" Regulus' voice was calm, but with a palpable disappointment seeping out of every syllable. "He knew you had to know the truth eventually."

"That explains a lot..." Y/n muttered, trying to sort out her mind.

"There's more to it," Regulus continued, "Mattheo, what you're doing is dangerous. You shouldn't play with her. You're making her a target."

The words hit Mattheo like a blow. And she saw his face twist painfully, as if he was torn between what he was doing and what he actually wanted.

"I know what I'm doing," he whispered, "but I didn't mean it this way. I didn't want her... I didn't want her to be dragged into this. She deserves better."

The truth had finally been revealed, and what Y/n had felt - that unspoken secret that affected everything - had finally come to light. But the questions swirling in her mind were just beginning to gain momentum: Could she live with the burden that Mattheo carried? What did her feelings mean now that this dark truth had been revealed?