A shift in fate | Mattheo Riddle

Seventeen

I rolled my eyes. "Not just hide and seek, magic hide and seek, obviously," I said, raising an eyebrow at him.

Draco still looked unimpressed, so I sighed, trying to remember the exact rules of the game.

"Okay, for those of you who have never played before, let me break it down," I started, glancing around at the group.

"First off, the entire castle is in play—every floor, every hallway, even the dungeons."

Theo whistled, looking intrigued. "Damn, that's a lot of ground to cover."

"Exactly," I nodded. "That's why we use magic. The seeker is given a special enchanted blindfold that forces them to rely on their other senses. And—" I paused for dramatic effect, "—they can use Legilimency to try and catch glimpses of where people are hiding."

Lorenzo leaned forward, clearly more interested now. "And the hiders?"

"The hiders can use any magic at their disposal—Disillusionment Charms, shrinking potions, even Polyjuice if they really want to get creative. But there are restrictions: no Apparating, no using the Room of Requirement, and no staying in one place for too long. Every five minutes, the castle forces you to relocate."

Sebastian let out an impressed whistle. "Shit, that actually sounds fun."

Draco still looked skeptical, but Blaise nudged him with a smirk. "Come on, Malfoy. Afraid you'll get caught first?"

Draco shot him a glare. "Please. If I play, I win. That's how it works."

Mattheo, who had been unusually quiet, suddenly grinned. "Sounds like a challenge, Malfoy," he mused, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "Now you definitely can't back down."

Draco scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Fine. But I'm winning this stupid game." His usual cocky grin spread across his face, making it clear he was already scheming.

"Oh, I don't doubt that, Malfoy." I smirked, tilting my head slightly. "But—no cheating."

Draco let out a dramatic sigh, but the amused glint in his eyes gave him away. We all knew him too well. He had a long history of bending the rules during games like these. And by bending, I meant blatantly cheating. The number of times we'd caught him red-handed was ridiculous, yet every single time, he somehow managed to gaslight his way out of it.

"I never cheat," he said smoothly, feigning innocence.

Lorenzo snorted. "Right, keep telling yourself that mate."

I rolled my eyes, suppressing a laugh. "Alright, so we're on then?"

Everyone exchanged excited glances before nodding.

Grinning, I grabbed my phone and quickly typed out a response to Fred.

Me: Oh, it's on, Weasley. Prepare to be annihilated. 😏

Fred's reply came almost instantly.

Fred: Pffft. Moonvale, you're dreaming. George and I know this castle like the back of our hands.

Another message popped up right after.

Fred: Oh, and also—dress code is pajamas!!! 🤩🪅🫨

I blinked. Pajamas?

I chuckled as I read his text aloud to the group.

"Wait, pajamas?" Pansy repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I like this rule," Sebastian said, grinning. "Moonvale, you better wear something cute."

I threw a piece of bread at his head. "Shut up, Sallow."