scribbles - m.r x reader - ch3
(this is a series, all ch's linked here !)
summary - dash&lily!au, mattheo and reader communicate through a book. this chapter is they get just a little bit closer.
word count - above 2k
a/n - a bit more than just dares this ch, sorryyyy for the wait omg
The library was quieter than usual, with the soft scratch of quills and the distant rustle of pages filling the air. You glanced over your shoulder, making sure Madame Pince wasnât lurking around a corner. The journal was tucked under your arm, the edges slightly bent from how often it had been passed between you and âMystery Guyâ.
You slid into the Literature section, your feet making no sound on the old wooden floor, and crouched down to the spot where âA Farewell to Armsâ used to sit. Your fingers brushed the spine of the journal as you placed it in its hiding place.
âInteresting book youâve got there,â a voice drawled behind you, startling you so badly you nearly knocked over an entire row of books.
You turned sharply, clutching the journal to your chest, and came face to face with Lorenzo Berkshire.
âOh, donât stop on my account,â he grinned, leaning lazily against the bookshelf. His curly brown hair was as messy as ever, and there was a glint of mischief in his dark eyes. âGo on. Tuck it back into its little hiding spot.â
Your mouth opened, closed, then opened again, but no words came out.
âDonât look so guilty,â another voice chimed in, and now Theodore Nott rounded the corner, his hands in his pockets and an amused expression on his face. âWeâre not going to snitch. Just curious.â
You straightened up, narrowing your eyes. âCurious about what?â
Enzo gestured toward the journal still clutched in your hands. âAbout the fact that youâre Mattheoâs penpal.â
Your heart nearly stopped. âIâm what?â
âOh, come on.â Theo smirked. âWeâve seen that thing before. Mattheo thinks heâs sneaky, but heâs not that sneaky.â
âAnd youâre here, putting it in the exact spot heâs been disappearing to for weeks,â Enzo added, tilting his head. âNot a hard puzzle to put together.â
Your brain felt like it was short-circuiting. You werenât sure what was worseâthe fact that youâd been caught, or the fact that theyâd just casually told you who Mystery Guy was like it wasnât a massive bombshell.
âIâuhââ
Enzo cut you off with a wicked grin. âRelax, itâs cute. The way youâve got him running around doing all your dares? Hilarious. Youâve got no idea how grumpy he gets when you out-dare him. Itâs practically a sport now.â
You felt heat rise to your cheeks. âHeâs not that grumpy,â you muttered defensively.
âOh, trust me, he is,â Theo said dryly. âBut he loves it. Never seen him so invested in anything that didnât involve pissing off Snape or sneaking Firewhiskey into the dorms.â
You swallowed hard, trying to process. They were just standing there, talking about him like it was normal, while you were spiraling at the revelation. Mattheo Riddle. Mystery Guy was Mattheo Riddle. Mattheo Riddle. Mattheo Riddle.
And now you knew.
 âIâve got to go,â you said quickly, shoving the journal back into its spot and brushing past them before they could say anything else.
By the time you got back to your dorm, your heart was still racing. You sat on the edge of your bed, staring at the blank page of your notebook. What were you supposed to say to him now?
After what felt like an eternity, you finally picked up your quill.
To Mystery Guy (or should i say Mattheo?), So, funny thing happened. I mightâve run into a couple of your friends. They were nice enough to tell me who you are. (Donât freak outâyour secretâs safe with me. For now.)
Let me just say, youâre⌠not what I expected. But maybe thatâs a good thing. Youâre kind of an enigma, and I think I like it that way.
Yours, The Penpal Who Knows Too Much
Satisfied, you tucked the letter into the journal the next morning, placing it in its usual spot. And as you walked away, you couldnât help but smile.
Mattheo Riddle had no idea what he was in for.
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Mattheo leaned back in his chair, one boot propped on the edge of the Slytherin common room table. His wand twirled lazily between his fingers, but his sharp gaze flicked toward Lorenzo and Theo as they strolled in, their expressions a little too smug for his liking.
âWhatâs with the looks?â he asked, raising a brow.
âOh, nothing,â Enzo said, plopping down on the couch across from him with a theatrical sigh.
âDefinitely nothing,â Theo added, his lips twitching as he sat beside Enzo.
Mattheoâs eyes narrowed. âYouâre lying. You both look like youâve got something to say, so just spit it out.â
Enzo exchanged a glance with Theo, his grin widening. âWell, since youâre so curious⌠we saw her.â
Mattheoâs wand stilled mid-spin. âHer who?â
Theo leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. âYou know who.â
âI really donât,â Mattheo said flatly, though his stomach flipped. He kept his expression neutral, refusing to give them the satisfaction of seeing him squirm.
âYour penpal,â Enzo said, dragging out the word like it was some kind of joke.
Mattheo sat up straighter, his casual demeanor slipping. âWhat are you talking about?â
âOh, come on,â Enzo said, waving a hand. âDonât act like youâre not dying to know who she is. We saw her in the library yesterday.â
Mattheoâs heart skipped a beat, but he forced himself to scoff. âYeah, sure. And Iâm supposed to believe you just happened to run into her?â
âWe didnât just run into her,â Theo said, smirking. âWe watched her put your precious little journal back in its spot.â
Mattheoâs jaw tightened. âYou watched her?â
âRelax, mate,â Enzo said, holding up his hands. âIt wasnât creepy. We were just⌠observing.â
Mattheo narrowed his eyes, his voice dropping. âWhat does she look like?â
Enzo grinned, clearly enjoying this way too much. âWhy? Getting jealous already?â
Mattheo glared at him. âAnswer the question.â
âSheâs⌠cute,â Theo said with a shrug, his tone deliberately nonchalant.
âMore than cute,â Enzo added with a wicked grin. âYouâve got good taste, Riddle.â
Mattheoâs grip on his wand tightened. He tried to ignore the flicker of jealousy curling in his chest. âThatâs not what I asked.â
âOh, come on,â Enzo said, leaning back and kicking his feet up on the coffee table. âWeâre just saying. She looked⌠surprised, though. Probably didnât expect us to figure it out.â
Mattheoâs mind raced. If theyâd seen her, that meant she now knew theyâd made the connection. Did she know that he didnât know who she was?
âDid you talk to her?â he asked, his voice quieter now.
Enzoâs grin turned devious. âA little. Not much. But enough to see why youâre so into this whole letter thing.â
Mattheo clenched his jaw. âIâm not âintoâ it.â
âOh, really?â Theo drawled, raising a brow. âThen why do you get all moody whenever she takes too long to write back?â
âShut up,â Mattheo snapped, but his tone lacked heat.
âAdmit it,â Enzo said, leaning forward. âYou like her. And now that weâve seen her, we get it.â
Mattheo didnât respond, his thoughts too tangled. All he could think about was the fact that theyâd seen herâthat they knew who she was, and he didnât.
For the first time in his life, Mattheo Riddle hated being in the dark.
Later that evening, Mattheo sat alone in his dorm, staring at the journal in his hands. The last note sheâd written replayed in his mind, her teasing tone now carrying a weight he hadnât noticed before.
âFunny thing happened. I mightâve run into a couple of your friends. They were nice enough to tell me who you are.â
She knew. And she wasnât going to tell him.
Mattheoâs lips twitched, half a grin and half a grimace. âAlright, mystery girl,â he muttered. âYou win this round.â
The next day, Mattheo couldnât focus on anything. Potions class, which usually held his attention (mainly because he could annoy Snape just enough to avoid detention), passed in a blur. His mind was stuck on herâon who she was.
And on the fact that Enzo and Theo were being maddeningly smug about it.
âMate, youâre going to chop your own finger off if you keep cutting like that,â Theo muttered under his breath as he passed Mattheoâs table, dropping a few flobberworms into his cauldron.
Mattheo blinked down at the violently uneven roots heâd been dicing. âItâs fine.â
âItâs not fine,â Enzo chimed in from his station, grinning like the absolute menace he was. âBut hey, if youâre distracted, we all know why.â
âEnzo,â Mattheo said in a low warning tone.
âWhat? I didnât say anything!â Enzo raised his hands in mock innocence, but his smirk stayed firmly in place.
Snapeâs voice sliced through the air. âRiddle, Berkshireâperhaps youâd like to share whatâs so amusing with the rest of the class?â
âNo, sir,â Mattheo and Enzo said in unison, though Enzoâs grin widened, and Mattheo felt the urge to smack him.
Snapeâs glare lingered on them for a beat longer before he turned back to his lecture. Mattheo shot Enzo a warning glance, but Enzo only winked at him.
By the time the class ended, Mattheo was wound tight with irritation and curiosity. As the students began packing up their things, he grabbed Enzo by the sleeve, dragging him into a quieter corner of the dungeon hallway. Theo followed, clearly eager to see how this would unfold.
âAlright, you two,â Mattheo said, his voice low and sharp. âIâm done playing games. Who is she?â
âWhoâs who?â Enzo asked, though his grin gave him away.
âYou know who,â Mattheo snapped. âDonât make me hex you.â
Theo leaned casually against the wall, arms crossed. âYou know, this is really entertaining for us. You, all worked up over a girl? Never thought Iâd see the day.â
Mattheo glared at him. âIâm serious.â
Enzo sighed dramatically, like he was being forced to give up some great secret. âLook, Riddle, I could tell you who she is, but⌠whereâs the fun in that?â
âEnzo,â Mattheo growled.
âRelax,â Enzo said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. âYouâll figure it out. Or, who knows? Maybe sheâll tell you herselfâif you donât scare her off first with all this brooding.â
âIâm not brooding,â Mattheo muttered, shoving Enzoâs hand off his shoulder.
âSure youâre not,â Theo said with a smirk.
Mattheo ran a hand through his hair, his frustration mounting. âI hate both of you.â
âNo, you donât,â Enzo said cheerfully, slinging an arm around Theo as they started walking down the corridor. âBesides, you should be thanking us. If it werenât for us, youâd still be writing to your mystery girl without a clue sheâs real.â
Mattheo stayed rooted in place, watching them go, his jaw clenched. He hated how smug they were. Hated how much they seemed to know.
But more than anything, he hated the fact that they were right.
She was real. And now he couldnât stop thinking about her.
That evening, back in the Slytherin common room, Mattheo sat by the fireplace with the journal in his lap. His pen hovered over the page as he debated what to write.
Finally, he scrawled a message, keeping his tone light even though his heart wasnât.
âSo, I hear youâve met some of my friends. I can only imagine what they told you. Care to share?â
He hesitated for a moment, then added:
âAlso, youâre cruel for knowing who I am while Iâm still in the dark. Just so you know.â
He leaned back, tapping the pen against his knee as he reread the words. Then he smirked to himself.
âBut if youâre planning to keep me guessing, at least tell me thisâwas I what you expected?â
Satisfied, he closed the journal and set it aside, his thoughts buzzing with anticipation.
Because no matter how this game played out, Mattheo knew one thing for certain.
He had to know her.
The journal was back in Mattheoâs hands the next morning, its weight heavier than usual as he tucked it under his arm and made his way to the Slytherin common room. He flopped down onto one of the worn leather couches, ignoring the chatter of his housemates, and cracked it open to her reply.
He scanned her words quickly, his brows furrowing and a smirk tugging at his lips all at once.
"That was actually the point, to not being able to judge who's writing, to kind of be able to connect, you know? So, no, I didnât have an expectation, but fucking hell, I definitely didnât think itâd be, like, you.
But, I donât think it changes anything, honestly, just a little bit hard to believe the guy that punched a bloke last ball actually has a personality more than 'bad boy.'
Anddd, I mean, yeah, kind of wrong you donât know me yet? Well, I think weâre in most classes together, maybe guess? No asking your little spies, btw."
Mattheo let out a groan that was half amusement, half frustration as he snapped the journal shut. "In most classes together," she said. Merlinâs bloody beard, that didnât narrow it down at all.
Across the common room, Theo and Enzo lounged near the fireplace, their eyes on him like a pair of smug cats.
"You look stressed, mate," Theo drawled, flipping a page of his Potions textbook.
"Aw, heâs just lovesick," Enzo said with a grin.
Mattheo shot them both a glare. "This is your fault."
"Our fault?" Enzo repeated, mock-offended. "We gave you a perfectly good clue. Youâre the one failing to connect the dots."
"You know who she is," Mattheo accused, pointing a finger at them. "You could just tell me."
Theo smirked. "Whereâs the fun in that?"
Mattheo scowled, but Enzo cut him off before he could argue.
"Look, mate, why donât you do what normal people do? You know, talk to the girls in your classes. Get to know them. Maybe youâll figure it out."
Mattheo groaned, dragging a hand down his face. The last thing he wanted was to parade around Hogwarts like some kind of lost puppy. But the alternative was sitting here, waiting for her to reveal herself, and his pride wouldnât let that happen.
By lunchtime, the planâor lack thereofâwas in motion. And by motion, it meant that Mattheo was, for the first time in his life, initiating small talk.
*
âHey, do you happen to sit near me in Herbology?â he asked a Ravenclaw girl as they left the greenhouses.
She blinked, surprised. âUh, yeah? Why?â
âNo reason,â he said, flashing a grin before walking away.
Later, in Charms, he turned to a Gryffindor girl who sat a row behind him. âDo you take Ancient Runes?â
âI... do?â she replied, her confusion evident.
âCool,â Mattheo said, leaning back in his seat like it was a perfectly normal question.
By the end of the day, word had spread that Mattheo Riddleâthe brooding, sharp-tongued Slytherinâhad been seen chatting up half the girls in their year.
And, of course, it wasnât long before Theo and Enzo caught wind of it.
âSmall talk, Riddle?â Enzo teased that evening, flopping down onto the couch beside him. âWho knew you had it in you?â
Theo joined in, smirking as he leaned against the armrest. âYou know, I heard from a Gryffindor girl that you asked her about Ancient Runes. Ancient Runes, Mattheo. Really?â
Mattheo groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. âIâm going to hex both of you.â
âCome on,â Enzo said, throwing an arm around his shoulders. âAdmit itâyouâre enjoying this just a little. Chasing her, figuring her out. Itâs all very romantic.â
âItâs fucking annoying,â Mattheo muttered, though the corner of his mouth twitched upward despite himself.
âYouâre so whipped,â Theo said with a grin.
âShut up,â Mattheo shot back, but his tone lacked bite.
As much as he hated to admit it, there was something about herâabout the way she kept him guessing, kept him intriguedâthat he couldnât get enough of.
And if he had to endure a little humiliation to figure out who she was?
Well, maybe it was worth it. Because, since he got to hogwarts, someone didnât give a fuck that he was Mattheo, just was Mattheo. That felt good, more than good.
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The journal was back in her hands later that evening, and when she opened it, his reply was waiting for her:
*âFirst of all, punching a bloke was entirely necessary at the time. I donât make the rules.
Second of all, âmost classes togetherâ isnât helpful, and you know it. Youâre cruel, and Iâm starting to think youâre enjoying this way too much.
Third, Iâm working on it. But Iâm warning youâwhen I figure out who you are, youâre going to regret keeping me in the dark. Just wait.â*
And beneath it, in smaller, messier handwriting:
âP.S. I donât think it changes anything either.â
hiiii omg, okay so yep, ch3 took a while because school killed me, but i'm back !! i moved past the dares lol, and the tag list is open so lemme know !! mwahh, - reyy

















