!!!!!TW SENSITIVE CONTENT WARNING!!!!!!!!!!
This work includes thoughts of suicide.
The brunette shivered as he clutched the railing behind him.
He knew he wanted to die, yet the feeling of his feet halfway off the edge of the tower threatening to slip still made him feel fearful.
His knuckles started to turn white as tears fell down his face like falling diamonds. He thought anything would be easier than living. Even jumping off the astronomy tower he had spent countless nights wishing for it all to stop.
“Help is always given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it”.
He laughed at the irony. He had asked for help, begged for it even. Maybe not with words, but with weak eyes and a pleading silence. As did so many of his friends. No… help wasn’t given at Hogwarts unless it benefited those who gave it.
Mattheo Riddle was so deep within his own mind that he didn’t hear the door behind him slowly gliding open.
“Mattheo….” You whisper as you stand frozen in place. You couldn’t hardly believe the sight in front of you.. Mattheo… So willingly close to falling off the edge…
The boy flinched at the sound of your feathery voice. The sound of the one person who he knew could stop him from doing what he so yearned to do.
The sound of the person who had defended him against anyone who dared to treat him differently because of who they believed he was destined to be.
The sound of the person who his father had caused more pain than anyone. And that was the part he didn’t understand, above all else.
He couldn’t even begin to understand how _______ Potter still cared about him and believed in his goodness when his father had taken away more from her and her brother than anyone else. But then again, there wasn’t a single person at Hogwarts who hadn’t been affected by the monster who he couldn’t dare to call dad.
You step closer as you see Mattheo lost in his head again. You recognized the expression on his face. And you even related to it. See you understood something many people didn’t.
“Mattheo… I know you don’t want to die… You just don’t want to live… Hell I’ve been there... I can even feel myself still there sometimes….. But why let Voldemort take yet another soul out of this world?” You had started out your statement strong but by the time you ended it your voice was a mere raspy whisper.
“I do want to die. But I want to live too. I do… That’s why I haven’t yet jumped from this ledge… But what is the point in living when, most of the time, it doesn't even feel like you are? He whispered, almost afraid of the answer you’d give him.
You resisted the urge to pull him off the edge yourself as more diamonds fell from his eyes onto his skin.
“That's where you're wrong. You’re still living, that's why you hurt so much. We live every day to feel happiness again… To feel light and joy… But you have to fight for it… But sometimes people have to fight for us when we can’t fight for ourselves…” You pause as you now feel moisture coating your skin…
“I will fight for you… If you’ll help me… Please come off that ledge… You deserve to live…”
You had never felt more scared. You hadn’t even been this scared when you met a dementor for the first time. Not even when you stood in front of Voldemort in that god-forsaken graveyard.… No, you were more scared that the boy standing in front of you would lose his life when he hadn’t even been given a real chance at life to begin with.
That was the moment he knew he had been right earlier… She was the only person who would be able to help him step off that ledge. And step away from the darkness his father had created. And he also knew he would live if it meant one more moment of light.
He shivered as he carefully lifted his leg over the edge of the railing, attempting to climb back over. You muster a small smile as you reach your hand out to Mattheo. And he takes it while he pulls his other leg over the edge, so he’s fully back on the tower's floor.
“Promise me something Theo?” you say softly,
“Anything”. He says quickly, as if he didn’t even need to think about it to know the answer.
“If you ever think about succumbing to the darkness… please tell me… I will be your light.” He smiles while you speak as more diamonds leak onto his skin…
“I promise.”