Always and forever- Matteo Riddle

MATTHEOS POV

I couldn't feel anything. Not my fists, not the bruises, not the blood on my knuckles from hitting the castle wall. Not even the throbbing ache behind my ribs where my heart felt like it had fucking shattered.

She was gone.

And he saw me.

My father—his eyes met mine in that chaos, just for a second. Just long enough. Long enough to register the shock. The betrayal. The realization that I was standing there, wand raised, fighting for her.

And then she was ripped from me. Screaming for me to go. Telling me to leave her.

And I did.

I fucking left her.

"Mattheo—Mattheo, stop—" Harry grabbed my arm again, but I shook him off, pacing like I might explode if I stopped moving.

"I can't stay here," I growled. "You don't get it. He saw me, Harry. My father—he knows."

I ran both hands through my hair, gripping it so tight my scalp burned. My voice cracked, low and shaking. "He knows I chose her. He'll make an example out of her."

"He would've already if we stayed. You know that."

I turned to him, eyes wide. "And now he has time, doesn't he? Time to enjoy it. Time to torture her, question her, punish her for what I did—because I helped her. Because I loved her enough to fight for her."

Ron and Hermione stood quietly in the corner, watching me like I might break into pieces. Maybe I already had.

"I can't just sit here," I muttered, quieter now, looking at the ground. "I won't."

Dumbledore stood behind them, his face pale. He hadn't said a word since we got back. He knew. He knew what that meant.

"She's strong, Mattheo," Hermione said gently. "She'll survive this."

"She shouldn't have to."

My fists clenched again. I had never hated myself like this before. Never felt this kind of rage and guilt twist through my gut. I should've stayed. Should've let them kill me. Anything but this.

"She sacrificed herself for me," I whispered, throat raw. "She looked me in the eye and begged me to leave. And I did it. I listened to her."

I laughed bitterly—ugly and broken. "She always fucking knew how to get me to do what she wanted."

The silence in the room was deafening.

"I'm going back tonight," I said suddenly. "I don't care what it takes."

"You won't make it two steps into the manor," Ron said. "It'll be suicide."

"Then I'll die trying."

Harry stepped closer, slower this time. "Mattheo... if he saw you, then he'll use her. To bait you. You go now, you're walking right into his trap. And she'll know that. She'll blame herself."

I clenched my jaw, the truth of it like acid on my tongue.

"So what, we just wait? Do nothing?"

"No," Hermione said softly. "We make a plan. We find a way in. We get her out. Together."

I stared at them, breathing hard. My head was pounding. My body hurt. But none of it compared to the ache in my chest.

"I can't lose her," I said. "You understand? I can't..."

Harry nodded. "Then we won't."

But deep down, I knew—he wouldn't stop. My father. The Dark Lord. None of them would stop until they broke her.