𝐈t had been a long day, with Eden missing her Potions exam due to absence and having to make it up the following week. She had spent some time with Elina and their relationship seemed to have changed now that they had admitted to thinking of each other as friends. After dinner she went back to her dormitory.

The girls she shared a room with greeted her before leaving for the common room. Eden took off her uniform and put it on her chair before grabbing a pair of black leather trousers and a red jumper and shoes suitable for walking as she didn't know where Mattheo was taking her.

She crossed the corridor and stepped outside. The moon was high in the sky and she stopped in front of the tree. Mattheo hadn't told her where to meet him, but it seemed logical that it should be here, so she waited and saw him arrive, a cigarette between his lips. He was wearing a white shirt, pulled up over his arms. The first thing he did when he arrived was to pull the jacket he was holding over the redhead's shoulders.

"I thought you weren't coming," Eden said.

Their last conversation hadn't ended well and she knew Mattheo was capable of making her wait without coming. He started to walk and shrugged.

"I thought it was you who wasn't coming," Mattheo replied. He slowed down a little so she could join him, and Eden walked beside him, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

"Where are we going?" she asked. She was curious to know where Mattheo Riddle, the most popular boy at Hogwarts, could take her. He removed the cigarette from his mouth and turned his head towards her.

"It wouldn't be fun for me to tell you, it would spoil the surprise," he sighed. "Be patient."

"I don't like being patient." Eden hated surprises, she'd always been curious by nature and not knowing pissed her off.

"Marks, shut up and stop asking questions." Mattheo stopped at the school gates and turned back to Eden. "We're going to transplant apparate." He was the only one of the two who could do it and she looked amused.

"If you wanted to touch me, you could do it in the castle," the redhead joked.

"As irresistible as the idea is, for once it has nothing to do with that." He opened his arms and Eden sighed before cuddling up to him. She closed her eyes as she felt the slight jolt of the transplants apparate, then opened them again as they ended.

They were in Hogsmeade. There weren't many lights in the deserted streets, and Eden saw Mattheo walking towards the district full of bookshops. He didn't stop, but walked on until he came to a stone wall.

"Do you want to cross over to the Muggle side?" Eden blurted out. She was surprised, especially coming from Mattheo. Muggles were not well thought of by Voldemort and there was something strange about his son going into their world.

Mattheo didn't answer and she felt him take her hand. She squeezed it and they walked into a street full of people. They were happy and seemed to be going to parties. Some of them looked at Eden, especially the young men who were whistling.

"Hey, you got a problem?" growled Mattheo at one of them.

"Leave him alone, I'd be offended if he didn't look at me," the redhead quipped. Mattheo grunted and crossed the street, following a group of young people. Some were holding hands and laughing lovingly. Eden took the opportunity to watch them and felt a certain unease.

She had the impression that she too had once been in love, but she knew it was only an impression. No boy had ever really touched her heart and she felt sad. She had always dreamed of Prince Charming. They arrived at the tall black gates from which the music came. Eden didn't know where to look, there was so much to see and all the lights gave the impression of being in another world.

"A funfair? Mattheo, am I dreaming or have you been there before? I thought Muggles weren't your thing?" asked Eden. How could he know the way if he hadn't been here before? He stubbed out his cigarette and looked at her.

"It's not my thing, I hate Muggles. You, on the other hand, love them, come on." He pulled her into the funfair and she stopped, taking her hand again and he turned back to her.

"How do you know I like Muggles?" She looked at him suspiciously and rolled her eyes. "Please don't tell me you've been asking around hoping to get me a date because of Theodore?"

Mattheo looked hurt and Eden was sorry when she saw his expression change. She opened her mouth to apologise, but he caught her off guard.

"Theo has nothing to do with this, Eden. I know you like Muggles because you talked about them in your Muggle History class. You said it was the fairs that made you love them." Mattheo frowned and Eden's eyes widened.

"You remember that? Shit. I'm sorry, I just ruined it." Eden pursed her lips and was pushed away by a group of laughing girls.

"Yeah, it's fine, I just wanted to spend some time with you, you're quite... good company. Forget it, let's go back to the castle," he said.

"No!" Eden approached, she felt so bad, especially seeing how hurt he looked, and took his hand again. "Let's go and have some fun."

Mattheo never opened up, Eden took advantage of the fact that he had opened up a little and she didn't want him to close himself off. She was touched that he remembered her Muggle History class paper and looked up at him.

"Thank you. I stand by what I said last time, you have a heart, Riddle, and you won't make me believe otherwise." Eden felt Mattheo intertwine their fingers and she followed him into the crowd. She felt good in this place, it reminded her of happiness, even though she'd never been here before.

Mattheo climbed onto the big wheel, having paid for it with Muggle money, and they sat down. Eden closed the barrier and she looked out at the scenery as they went up.

"I've always liked being up high, there's more to see," she said. "My mum used to say that's because I see the world so much bigger." Her eyes turned sad and she smiled a little. "I miss them, the hardest part is waking up. There's that moment between waking up and realising. When you still think they're there, but you realise they're not."

"Eden..." Mattheo lifted her chin and looked at her. She'd never seen him so sad and he stroked her cheek. "They will always be there, in your heart. And as long as you think of them, they won't die." He had never been so serious and Eden smiled at him.

"You know how it feels. You've lost someone. What was she like?" Eden adjusted Mattheo's jacket over her shoulders and the he looked away, preferring not to show her his tears.

"She was perfect, she just didn't know it. And stubborn. That's what I liked about her. In fact, I liked everything about her. She was a... I was a better person with her," Mattheo said. He turned and smiled at Eden. It was strange to have such a serious conversation with him, but it wasn't unpleasant.

"You can still be, a better person, I mean," Eden breathed.

"Not without her, no. Losing the person you love the most kills you. It destroys everything you are and it's like life doesn't have the same meaning anymore," Mattheo blurted out.

Eden looked at him, seeing for the first time who he really was. A lost boy who had lived in his father's shadow all his life. As he placed his hand on her cheek, Eden placed hers on top, intertwining their fingers. They slid down her thighs as Mattheo leaned in and kissed her.

The kiss seemed straight out of a romantic comedy. The moon, the lights, the music - they could have been a couple madly in love. Eden stepped back and rested her forehead against Mattheo's.

"You have a heart, Mattheo. Much bigger than you think, and one day you'll understand it." Eden smiled at him and stood back, watching the lights in the distance as the wheel came down. She removed the barrier and Mattheo took her hand and they went to buy some candyfloss, which they shared.

"What are you doing for Christmas? Are you going home?" asked Eden. Mattheo bit into the candyfloss and looked at the redhead.

"Family obligations. Believe me, I'd rather stay at Hogwarts," he said. "But what about you? What are you going to do?"

"I'll stay here, I've got nobody. My parents were my only family. But Christmas at the castle will be great, I could have the dormitory all to myself," Eden replied.

She finished the candyfloss and smiled when she saw a photo booth. Mattheo threw the stick in the bin.

"Come on," she ran, dragging him with her, and she pushed him in before sitting on his lap.

"What am I supposed to do?" laughed Mattheo, putting his hands on her hips.

"They're just pictures, just don't move, Muggles don't have pictures that are magical, you have to be still otherwise they're bad quality," Eden explained.

Mattheo grimaced and she let him put a coin in. The first flash blinded him and he grunted as Eden laughed gently at him. In the second, he watched her laugh. In the third he managed a grimace and in the fourth he grabbed her face and kissed her.

Eden watched as the photos came out and then picked them up to look at them. Mattheo remained silent, just looking at them. Eden tore half of them off and handed them to him.

"Don't wank over them," she warned him with a smile.

"Don't give me any ideas," he laughed. Mattheo took the two photos and put them in his pocket. Eden left the cabin and walked towards the lake, the funfair  was on the edge of a beautiful lake and a few boats were already on the water.

"I don't believe it! Flying candles!" exclaimed Eden.

"Watch out, you're going to come," scoffed Mattheo. "What's so special about that?"

"You... You don't know? Sorry, of course you don't. It's a Muggle ritual. The lovers take a boat and when they're far enough away, they light a candle and make a wish before releasing it into the sky," Eden explained. "That's... That's how my father proposed to my mother. They took a boat and threw a candle before he proposed."

Eden smiled sadly, her parents had been madly in love and they loved to tell stories about their lives before Eden was born. Mattheo approached a man and handed him some coins before taking a candle and turning back to Eden.

"Are you coming? You're not planning to make your wish from the bridge," he said.

Eden opened her mouth in surprise. Mattheo never ceased to amaze her. She joined him and he held out his hand for her to get into the boat, then started rowing, trying to avoid other boats, which made him grunt.

"Go straight round," he grumbled to an old couple.

"Mattheo!" laughed Eden, "they're old, leave them alone!"

"When you're old, you stay at home," Mattheo muttered.

"I think, on the contrary, that seeing the world is wonderful," Eden replied. "Being old is a gift from heaven, time is short, so you have to make the most of it. Look at them." Eden saw him turn his head. The old woman was talking and the man was looking at her as if she were the most interesting thing in the world.

"I'd like to be looked at like that one day," she said. Mattheo turned back to Eden and looked at her. The redhead's eyes shining with wonder and, staring at her, he couldn't see where he was going and got into a boat.

"Be careful, mate," a boy shouted. Mattheo held up his middle finger and Eden slapped him.

"He started it," Mattheo growled.

"You hit his boat, Mattheo, he didn't do anything." Eden laughed and ran her fingers over the surface of the water. The candles reflected off it, giving it the appearance of a painting. Mattheo rowed for a few more minutes before he stopped and handed the candle to Eden.

"You don't have any", she said, taking it.

"Boys like me don't dream, Marks, there's too much darkness in us." Mattheo took out his lighter and Eden unfolded her candle before lighting it. She moved to the edge of the boat and closed her eyes. At that moment, Mattheo gave her the same look the old man had given his wife. The redhead opened her eyes again and let the candle rise into the air.

"What did you wish for?" Mattheo asked as he watched the candle rise higher and higher.

"I wished for you to be able to dream," Eden replied. "So you can wish for me to stay the hottest, we make wishes for others, not ourselves, that's what my mum taught me." Eden wasn't the type to open up to people, but tonight everything seemed different.

"And here I thought it was a statement, in fact you're just thinking about my wish for you," Mattheo joked. "You should have made that one for yourself."

"The only wish I'd like is for my parents and Joshua to come back, but that's impossible, so I don't have any other wishes," Eden said.