A shift in fate | Mattheo Riddle

Fourteen

After what felt like hours of my mind running in circles, sleep finally claimed me, pulling me into a deep, dreamless slumber. No tossing, no turning—just pure, uninterrupted rest. And honestly, after the chaos of the night, it was exactly what I needed.

Tomorrow—well, technically today—was going to be my first official day attending classes at Hogwarts since shifting here. Surprisingly, I was actually excited. Not only would I have every class with my friends, but the lessons themselves seemed fascinating. Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, even Transfiguration—I was ready to experience it all firsthand.

Or at least, I would have been, if Jane and I hadn't completely slept through our alarms.

"V! V! Wake the fuck up!" Jane's panicked voice yanked me out of my peaceful slumber, and before I could even process what was happening, I felt a pillow smack against my face.

"What the—?" I groaned, groggily opening my eyes only to see Jane standing over me, looking like she was on the verge of a full-blown meltdown. Her hair was a mess, her uniform was half on, and she was frantically hopping on one foot while trying to shove on her other shoe.

"We overslept!" she shrieked, pointing at the clock. "We missed breakfast, and we're already late for our first class!"

That woke me up real fast.

"Shit," I cursed, practically rolling off the bed as I scrambled to my feet. My heart started pounding as I realized what time it was. "Jane, why didn't the alarm go off?!"

"I don't know! Maybe we both turned them off in our sleep, but that doesn't matter right now!" She threw my uniform at me. "Get dressed! We have approximately two minutes to make it to Transfiguration before McGonagall roasts us alive!"

I yanked on my uniform at record speed, buttoning my shirt unevenly in my panic. My tie? Forget about it. My hair? A mess. But there was no time to care.

"Do we have time to at least grab a piece of toast or—"

"NO!" Jane cut me off, already grabbing her bag. "We have time to run and that's it!"

I groaned but didn't argue. With my shoes barely on, I grabbed my wand and followed Jane as we sprinted out of the dorm, dodging confused first-years and nearly knocking over a suit of armor in the process.

This was not how I imagined my first day of classes going.

Jane and I sprinted through the corridors, dodging students and barely avoiding slipping on the polished stone floors. My bag bounced against my side, half-unzipped, but I had zero time to fix it.

As we turned a corner, I caught a snippet of a hushed conversation from a group of Ravenclaw girls standing near the staircase.

"I swear I saw them sneak off together last night—"

"Yeah, and apparently she spent the night in his dorm—"

My eyes widened. What?!

I barely had time to process it before Jane grabbed my wrist, yanking me forward.

"No time, V! We're already dead!"

Still, I couldn't stop myself from whispering, "What the fuck," under my breath as we barreled down the hall.

By the time we reached the Transfiguration classroom, we were gasping for air. Jane gave me a frantic look before pushing open the door, and we both stormed in.

The room fell into absolute silence.

Professor McGonagall, who had been mid-lecture, slowly turned to face us. She lowered the book in her hands, giving us the kind of stare that could turn a person to stone.