phantasm (remember?) â mattheo riddle x gn! hella manipulative! reader
phantasm
noun
noun: phantasm; plural noun: phantasms
LITERARY
a figment of the imagination; an illusion or apparition.
warnings: minor character death, murder, severe manipulation, gaslighting, blink-and-you-miss-it reference to self harm,âď¸stand-alone/no part twoâď¸
is he schizophrenic, high, or haunted? you decide!
âitâs supposed to be confusing!!! you should finish reading this and be like âwhat the fuck did i just readâ, alr?â
â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘
Mattheo Riddle had always been odd. Everyone knew that.
Maybe it had something to do with his parents. One Crucio from his father too many, perhaps.Â
Maybe he hit his head when he was younger. That wasnât too much of a stretch. Heâd always been quite reckless.Â
But either way, no one could pinpoint what event caused Mattheo to see things that werenât really there.Â
~~~
It first came to light when Mattheo, staying the night at his cousinâs house for a sleepover at the tender age of five, stomped over to his Aunt Narcissa to tattle.
âThey pushed me down thâ stairs, Aunt Cissy!â he whined, sticking out his lower lip in a pout. âSee? I even skinned my knee!â
âWho did? Draco?â
âNo, Y/n!â
~~~
Mattheo couldnât remember much about the Janus Thickey ward.Â
Heâd spent a month there when he was six, but didnât have a single memory of his time there. Just vague flashes that haunted his nightmares, but ones that he could never remember once he woke.Â
Narcissa remembered though. And so did Draco.Â
The Malfoys both remember visiting Mattheo in the hospital, Draco clutching Mattheoâs stuffed dragon under one arm and holding onto the string of a âGet Well Soon!â mylar balloon in his other hand, only for the pair to find Mattheo hiding under his bed and mumbling to himself, furiously scratching at his arms and crying.Â
The Malfoys remember.Â
~~~
Mattheo couldnât remember if you had always been there, or if you just showed up one day.Â
There were a lot of things Mattheo couldnât remember.Â
~~~
âWho can tell me what a boggart is?â Professor Moody asked, pacing the front of the room with his odd, uneven gait. An old antique armoire stood near the front of the room, a large area around it cleared of the usual clutter that filled every inch of the classroom.Â
Surprising absolutely nobody, Grangerâs hand shot up.Â
Mattheo shot a look over to his cousin, rolling his eyes, while Draco smothered a laugh in response.
âA boggart is a creature that takes on the form of oneâs greatest fear, sir,â Granger said in that obnoxious know-it-all tone of hers. âNo one knows what their true forms are.â
âOneâs greatest fear, sir,â Mattheo mocked under his breath to Draco in a purposefully bad imitation of Granger.Â
âAh, Riddle. How nice of you to volunteer. Step on up, boy.â Moodyâs hand came down on Mattheoâs shoulder from behind him, gripping it firmly. âGo on. Grab your wand.â
Mattheoâs face drained of color. Surely Moody wouldnâtâŚ?
No, itâs Mad-Eye Moody. Of course heâd do something like this.Â
Mattheo stood on shaking legs, gulping as he approached the ominously placed armoire.Â
Everyone watched with rapt attention.Â
What was Mattheo Riddle afraid of?
The Dark Lord? Dumbledore?
Or something more benign, like spiders or small spaces?
Whatever it was, Mattheoâs fellow students were not expecting a teenager to step out of the armoire.Â
Maybe fourteen at the most, unassuming, wearingâŚRiddleâs quidditch jersey?
They werenât a student, that was for sure. Nobody in the room recognized them.
(Except for the one poor bastard whose boggart it was.)
Professor Moody narrowed his eyes at the boggart, his gaze quickly shifting between the harmless-looking teen and the literal son of the Dark Lord, the latter of which was frozen stiff with fear, his wand threatening to slip from his quivering fingers at any moment.
The boggart tilted its head and smiled.
~~~
Is this how Potter feels, when Fatherâs inside his head?
Mattheo sat uncomfortably across from Professor Moody, the professorâs desk being the only thing separating them.
The professor said nothing, merely observing Mattheo. A bizarre enchanted cuckoo clock on the wall trumpeted like an elephant, signaling the hour, then returned to its steady tick tick tick.
âMr. Riddle, do you ever hearâŚvoices? Voices that maybeâŚencourage you to do bad things?â
Mattheo was sweating. How did he know about you? How?
âHeâs just trying to get in your head, Mattheo,â you murmured, sitting next to him in the other armchair. âThatâs all.â
Was it? Mattheo wondered.Â
âYâknow, Iâm starting to think youâre the one thatâs in my head,â he said softly. âNobody else thinks youâre real.â
Your face soured. âYou think Iâm not real? That I donât exist? Huh? Heâs lying to you! Heâs a liar and a manipulator!â
âJust get out of my head!â Mattheo pleaded quietly. âPlease!â
You fumed, jumping up to sit on the edge of Moodyâs desk. You swung your legs back and forth, an angry expression marring your features. âMatty-â
âStop calling me that!â he snapped. âJust go away! Leave me alone!â
âBut youâre my best friend, Matty,â you insisted innocently.Â
âWe are not friends!â
You sighed dramatically as you laid down on the desk, putting the back of your hand up to your foreheadâas if pretending to faintâas you did so. âThen what are we, Matty? Paramours? Estranged lovers?â
âEnemies,â he hissed, his knuckles white with how tightly he was clenching his fists.Â
âWell, I have always loved the enemies to lovers trope,â you said breezily, smirking at him. âBesides, you havenât got anyone else. Admit it. Iâm all you have.â
Moody watched Mattheo have his one-sided conversation with wide eyes, unsure of what was happening. âMr. Riddle? Are you alright? Wh-who are you talking to?â
âSee?â You clicked your tongue, shaking your head slowly. âHe thinks youâre crazy.â
âThere are many talented healers that I could contactââ
Mattheoâs gaze kept darting between you and Moody as his breathing picked up.Â
âBet he wants to send you back to Janus Thickey,â you whispered, purposefully turning your voice soft and fearful, blinking back fake tears. âI donât want to disappear again, Mattheo, please.â
âIââ Mattheo stammered, dread creeping up his spine at the thought of being alone again.Â
âPlease?â you begged. âYou know what to do. Itâs not like he doesnât deserve it.â
âHeâ what? No!â
âBut he wronged you,â you whisper softly, your tone manipulative and gentle. âHe deserves to suffer.â
âStop it!â Mattheo pleaded again, reflexively drawing his wand and pointing it at you.Â
âHe wronged you,â you repeated, eyes narrowing.Â
âStop!â
âHe deserves to suffer.â
âShut up!â
âHe wronged you.â
âY/n!â
âHe deservesââ
âAvada Kedavra!â
You both fell silent, your argument abruptly cut off with the resounding thunk of Moodyâs body hitting the floor.Â
Dead.Â
~~~
âOh my Merlinâ y-you killed someone!â Mattheo panicked, dropping his wand and grabbing fistfuls of his hair.Â
âOh, no no no, Matty. I didnât kill anyone,â you said sweetly, examining your nails apathetically. âYou did.â
âIâll tell everyone,â Mattheo threatened through his quivering lower lip. âI will. Iâll tell them it was you.â
âWhoâs going to believe you?â you cooed, your voice dripping in saccharine sweetness as you leaned forward to tousle his hair.Â
Mattheo flinched back.Â
You laughed, patting his cheek as you hopped off the desk. âCome find me when youâre ready to help me with my nextâŚproject.â
âY-you planned this?â
âDuh.â You rolled your eyes. âCatch up, love. Youâre not stupid.â
With that, you stand up on tiptoe, plant a fat kiss on his cheek, and disappear out the door without another word.Â
Mattheo swore he could see bloody footprints marking your trail down the hall.Â
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i love seeing lorenzo zurzolo in photo shoots and stuff because like babygirl what are you wearing
examples & silly goofy commentary below the cut!
(forewarning: i am a gay trans man who is absolutely going to fanboy over this man. if you have a problem with that, then scroll right on by)
1) douchey newsboy
why is he dressed like a gay businessman
2) yeehaw đ¤
âŚsave a horse, ride a cowboy?
3) las vegas-core
are you about to serenade me with a cover of âfeeling goodâ by michael bublĂŠ, sir?
4) queer-core đłď¸âđđłď¸ââ§ď¸
dressed like a trans guy invited to a homophobeâs wedding. next.
5) teddy bear emu hybrid đ§¸
who let you out of the house
6) soundcloud rapperâs debut album cover
homeboy boutta start spittin verses
7) britney spears circa 2003
flight attendant. need i say more?
8) me playing dress up in my dadâs suits circa 2009
not the one cuffed sleeve đđ
9) âŚ
smash.
10) is that seriously blue fucking adidas corduroy
what the fuck
11) a wild gay at brunch
this is just how i dress on the regular. i canât say anything without it being a self burn.
12) pov: colonizer
girl what are you doing you european ass motherfucker
13) gay
gay.
14) ⌠2.0
smash.
15) can we please acknowledge the artwork of two cops kissing
okay i like the shirt but anyone who puts their keys on their belt loop automatically reminds me of every high school sophomore ever
16) đśSuDdEnLy SeYmOuRđľ
neville longbottom-core
17) pleasefallpleasefallpleasefall
if i saw this out in the wild, i absolutely would wish for him to fall iâm sorry đ
18) gay 2.0
smash
19) me getting back to my dorm after a lecture:
i love the divorced dad button up ngl
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