Always and forever- Matteo Riddle

The rest of the night, we stayed up, my friends doing everything they could to take my mind off things.

Theo and Pansy kept bickering, Blaise made sarcastic comments that had Draco rolling his eyes, and Mattheo never let go of my hand. They kept the game going, daring each other into ridiculous things—Draco was forced to confess the most embarrassing thing he'd ever done, Enzo had to serenade Madame Pomfrey in the most dramatic way possible, and at one point, Astoria made Theo wear one of her bracelets for the rest of the week.

They were trying. I knew they were. And for a while, it worked.

But eventually, one by one, they started to drift off.

Pansy curled up on the chair near my bed, Theo slumped back against the wall, Blaise stretched out like he had no cares in the world, and even Draco, who had been the most tense all night, finally let himself doze off. Mattheo was the last to fall asleep, his fingers still loosely curled around mine as his breathing evened out.

And then it was just me.

Alone with my thoughts.

Alone with the memories that never truly left.

I stared at the ceiling, exhaustion weighing on me, but my mind refused to shut off. Every time I closed my eyes, the past crept back in—flashes of things I wanted to forget, voices I couldn't drown out.

I swallowed hard, my chest tight, forcing myself to focus on the quiet breathing of my friends around me.

They were here. I wasn't alone.

But I still couldn't sleep.

As soon as I said it, the shifting around me started. First, Mattheo pushed himself up, rubbing his face as his tired eyes sharpened with realization. Then, Pansy groaned as she stretched, blinking blearily.

"What time is it?" she mumbled.

Theo let out a dramatic sigh, still half-asleep. "Too early for whatever this is."

Draco was next, sitting up and running a hand through his messy hair. His sharp gaze flickered over me, then to Madame Pomfrey, then back again. "What's going on?"

"I'm leaving," I said again, a little louder this time.

That woke everyone up completely.

"What?" Mattheo's expression turned serious, his exhaustion melting away as he fully sat up. "Are you sure you should?"

Madame Pomfrey shot him a look. "No, she shouldn't."

I sighed, shifting uncomfortably under their stares. "I just... I need to get out of here. I can't sit in this bed all day. I'll be fine."

Blaise, still half-draped across a chair, raised an eyebrow. "You say that, but you also look like you're about to fall over."

I shot him a glare. "Thanks, Blaise."

Enzo stretched, cracking his neck. "If she wants to go, she should go. But someone should stay with her."

"I'll do it," Mattheo said instantly.

Theo smirked sleepily. "Wow. Shocking."

Pansy rolled her eyes before turning to me. "Are you sure? We don't mind staying."

I looked around at them, the people who had stayed with me through the worst of it, and felt a pang of guilt. They were exhausted because of me. I forced a small smile.

"I'm sure."

Draco crossed his arms, clearly displeased. "If you collapse, don't expect me to carry you."