𝐄den bit her lip as she looked out the window. She had been there for a long time when she finally saw a group of students arrive. They were on their way back from holiday and she hoped to see Mattheo. The redhead made her way down the stairs, searching the crowd for the one person she wanted to see immediately.

When she finally saw him, her heart began to pound in her chest, but she frowned when she saw his face. Broken. That's what she thought when she saw his split lip and the bruises on his handsome face. He hadn't brushed his hair, and the curls fell back over his forehead. As he stepped in front of her, Eden realised that people were watching them.

"Hi," she said. Eden wanted to go and see Voldemort, yell at him, hit him and make him pay for what he had done to his son. Mattheo seemed to have lost the sparkle in his eyes, which looked empty.

"Hi," he replied. Mattheo walked past her and away, leaving her to be swallowed up by the students. Eden froze, blinking several times. She heard some of the girls say Mattheo's name and Eden's face darkened. What an idiot. Of course, she was just another girl, even after everything he'd told her. There was nothing special about her and yet she loved him.

The redhead returned to her dormitory for a while before going downstairs to get her meal. Elina was waiting for her at the front door and they hugged.

"What are you doing tonight? We should get together and talk about our holidays," Elina suggested.

"I really need a girls' night, we'll meet at the usual place," Eden replied. She walked over to her table and sat down before starting her meal. Refusing to look up at the Slytherin table, as difficult as it was, she ate while listening to the conversation between two girls.

They were talking about Mattheo and Eden felt like rolling her eyes. Rumour had it that the reason he'd got a gash on his face was because he'd got into a fight with four boys and slaughtered them. She knew exactly what had happened. She was sure of it. Tom Riddle had beaten Mattheo. She swallowed her dessert quickly, ignoring Theodore as he tried to get her attention. She went up to her dormitory to do her homework.

There wasn't much to do, so she got a head start and when it got dark, Eden went out again in silence to climb the astronomy tower. She sat down on the sofa and waited for Elina, who arrived panting and dropped down beside her.

"I hate stairs," Elina said. "How was your holiday?"

"It was great. I missed my parents a lot, but I spent a lot of time with Theodore. I didn't get bored. And I read the book you gave me. It was brilliant!" says Eden.

"Please don't tell me you're going out with Theodore?" moaned Elina with a grimace. Eden felt compelled to defend Theodore. He was kind, gentle, funny and a lot of things.

"I'm not going out with him. But he has asked me to be his girlfriend. He's really sweet when you get to know him. I'm surprised, but I really like him," the redhead said. Her cheeks flushed and Elina winced.

"See, even though I don't like any of them, I would have thought it would be Mattheo you'd get closer to," Elina looked at Eden with a small smile, so she couldn't hold back and told her best friend all about it. She talked for several long minutes and when she stopped, Elina tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey, you're crazy! Why did you do that?" cried Eden.

"You're such an idiot! Why didn't you tell me before? Wait, that's not even the point, what are you going to do about it?" Elina was so curious that Eden laughed.

"I don't know. I'm sure Mattheo doesn't care about me, but ... sometimes I feel like he does. And I get this block, like something's pulling me towards him. I feel stupid." Eden groaned and rested her head on the back of the sofa.

"If Joshua were here, he'd tell you that all you have to do is draw lots," Elina laughed. Eden laughed and rolled her eyes.

"He never agreed with us," she said with a smile. "I wish I could have told him that he was my friend... That it wasn't just because we had a secret," Eden murmured.

"He knew, Eden, I'm sure he knew," Elina said, taking her hand. Eden pursed her lips, tears welling up in her eyes, and Elina took her in her arms. "I assure you he knew."

Eden hoped Elina was right. She blamed herself so much. If she'd gone up to him at the party, maybe he wouldn't have fallen down the stairs. The girls talked for a few hours and it was twenty-three when Eden left the Astronomy Tower.

The redhead crossed the main corridor in the dim light. She let out a little shriek as she tripped over something and fell forward, landing heavily on the floor and grunting.

"Shit," she muttered. Eden heard a grunt and reached for her wand to light it. She'd stumbled over some legs and brought her wand up to reveal Mattheo's face. Next to him was an empty bottle of alcohol.

"Mattheo, fuck," Eden moved closer to him and put her wand down to grab his face. He grunted and mumbled something. He was completely drunk. Eden sighed, if Filch came by he would be in trouble. She put her wand in her mouth and tried to lift Mattheo.

"You've got to help me, you're too heavy," Eden said. She grunted as she tried to lift him again and Mattheo groaned before he stood up. He leaned on Eden and she almost let go of him.

"You smell good," Mattheo said in a strange voice. He staggered forward and Eden had to hold him to keep him from falling over.

"Shut up, you're drunk," Eden replied. She thought of the room of Requirement and then it appeared, she walked in and let Mattheo fall onto the bed. The room was simple, a comfortable bedroom. "How many bottles have you had?" Eden took off his shoes and put his feet up on the bed.

"No, I'm not ... not ... ah, I don't know. Eden, you're hot. You know you're hot? Don't you want to show me your tits?" Mattheo sat up and Eden slapped him. His eyes widened.

"Dumbass. You need to rest." She took his trousers off and he helped her off with his shirt. Eden let out a hiccup of surprise. "Mattheo... what the hell did he do to you?" His body was covered in marks. His skin was red, sometimes open.

"It's nothing..." Mattheo blurted out. He rolled onto his side and threw up at the foot of the bed. Eden thought of a bathroom and it appeared. The redhead got up and swept the floor before taking a basin and filling it with water, then she sat down and took a clean cloth.

"It's not nothing, Mattheo, he..." a sob escaped her throat and he frowned, opening his eyes to look at her. "What did he hit you with? You need medical attention."

Mattheo placed his hand on Eden's cheek and wiped away her tears. He got to his feet, but went straight back to bed because he felt like throwing up. Eden cleaned his chest and let his hand comfort her.

"Stay out of this, Eden. It's my business," Mattheo growled. "Shit, I feel like throwing up." He pulled his hand away from her cheek and Eden felt the cold. The redhead dabbed his lip and shook her head.

"I want to know, tell me what he did to you," she wanted to kill him. She wanted to find Voldemort and make him suffer for what he'd done.

"He used a whip," Mattheo blurted out. He winced as she passed over an open wound.

"He has no right! That's abuse, he has no right!" Eden let her tears flow again and Mattheo took her face in his hands to wipe them away.

"Look at me, look at me, Eden. I'm all right, I'm all right. I don't want you to think about it." Mattheo wiped her cheeks, pulling her against him and Eden cuddled into his arms, trying not to hurt him.

"Stay with me tonight," he asked. Mattheo reached for his shirt to put it back on so that his wounds didn't come into contact with the sheet and Eden climbed into bed. He pulled her against him and their legs wrapped around each other.

"Everything's going to be all right, I promise," he breathed. Mattheo ran a hand through her hair, trying to calm her. Eden cried softly, she was in so much pain. How could he bear it all? She cried herself to sleep and Mattheo continued to rock her even after she had fallen asleep.