phantasm (remember?) — 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,❗️stand-alone/no part two❗️
is he schizophrenic, high, or haunted? you decide!
❕it’s supposed to be confusing!!! you should finish reading this and be like “what the fuck did i just read”, alr?❕
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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.
Maybe he hit his head when he was younger. That wasn’t too much of a stretch. He’d always been quite reckless.
But either way, no one could pinpoint what event caused Mattheo to see things that weren’t really there.
~~~
It first came to light when Mattheo, staying the night at his cousin’s house for a sleepover at the tender age of five, stomped over to his Aunt Narcissa to tattle.
“They pushed me down th’ stairs, Aunt Cissy!” he whined, sticking out his lower lip in a pout. “See? I even skinned my knee!”
“Who did? Draco?”
“No, Y/n!”
~~~
Mattheo couldn’t remember much about the Janus Thickey ward.
He’d spent a month there when he was six, but didn’t 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.
Narcissa remembered though. And so did Draco.
The Malfoys both remember visiting Mattheo in the hospital, Draco clutching Mattheo’s stuffed dragon under one arm and holding onto the string of a “Get Well Soon!” 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.
The Malfoys remember.
~~~
Mattheo couldn’t remember if you had always been there, or if you just showed up one day.
There were a lot of things Mattheo couldn’t remember.
~~~
“Who can tell me what a boggart is?” 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.
Surprising absolutely nobody, Granger’s hand shot up.
Mattheo shot a look over to his cousin, rolling his eyes, while Draco smothered a laugh in response.
“A boggart is a creature that takes on the form of one’s greatest fear, sir,” Granger said in that obnoxious know-it-all tone of hers. “No one knows what their true forms are.”
“One’s greatest fear, sir,” Mattheo mocked under his breath to Draco in a purposefully bad imitation of Granger.
“Ah, Riddle. How nice of you to volunteer. Step on up, boy.” Moody’s hand came down on Mattheo’s shoulder from behind him, gripping it firmly. “Go on. Grab your wand.”
Mattheo’s face drained of color. Surely Moody wouldn’t…?
No, it’s Mad-Eye Moody. Of course he’d do something like this.
Mattheo stood on shaking legs, gulping as he approached the ominously placed armoire.
Everyone watched with rapt attention.
What was Mattheo Riddle afraid of?
The Dark Lord? Dumbledore?
Or something more benign, like spiders or small spaces?
Whatever it was, Mattheo’s fellow students were not expecting a teenager to step out of the armoire.
Maybe fourteen at the most, unassuming, wearing…Riddle’s quidditch jersey?
They weren’t 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 Father’s inside his head?
Mattheo sat uncomfortably across from Professor Moody, the professor’s 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.
“Mr. Riddle, do you ever hear…voices? Voices that maybe…encourage you to do bad things?”
Mattheo was sweating. How did he know about you? How?
“He’s just trying to get in your head, Mattheo,” you murmured, sitting next to him in the other armchair. “That’s all.”
Was it? Mattheo wondered.
“Y’know, I’m starting to think you’re the one that’s in my head,” he said softly. “Nobody else thinks you’re real.”
Your face soured. “You think I’m not real? That I don’t exist? Huh? He’s lying to you! He’s a liar and a manipulator!”
“Just get out of my head!” Mattheo pleaded quietly. “Please!”
You fumed, jumping up to sit on the edge of Moody’s desk. You swung your legs back and forth, an angry expression marring your features. “Matty-”
“Stop calling me that!” he snapped. “Just go away! Leave me alone!”
“But you’re my best friend, Matty,” you insisted innocently.
“We are not friends!”
You sighed dramatically as you laid down on the desk, putting the back of your hand up to your forehead—as if pretending to faint—as you did so. “Then what are we, Matty? Paramours? Estranged lovers?”
“Enemies,” he hissed, his knuckles white with how tightly he was clenching his fists.
“Well, I have always loved the enemies to lovers trope,” you said breezily, smirking at him. “Besides, you haven’t got anyone else. Admit it. I’m all you have.”
Moody watched Mattheo have his one-sided conversation with wide eyes, unsure of what was happening. “Mr. Riddle? Are you alright? Wh-who are you talking to?”
“See?” You clicked your tongue, shaking your head slowly. “He thinks you’re crazy.”
“There are many talented healers that I could contact–”
Mattheo’s gaze kept darting between you and Moody as his breathing picked up.
“Bet he wants to send you back to Janus Thickey,” you whispered, purposefully turning your voice soft and fearful, blinking back fake tears. “I don’t want to disappear again, Mattheo, please.”
“I–” Mattheo stammered, dread creeping up his spine at the thought of being alone again.
“Please?” you begged. “You know what to do. It’s not like he doesn’t deserve it.”
“He– what? No!”
“But he wronged you,” you whisper softly, your tone manipulative and gentle. “He deserves to suffer.”
“Stop it!” Mattheo pleaded again, reflexively drawing his wand and pointing it at you.
“He wronged you,” you repeated, eyes narrowing.
“Stop!”
“He deserves to suffer.”
“Shut up!”
“He wronged you.”
“Y/n!”
“He deserves–”
“Avada Kedavra!”
You both fell silent, your argument abruptly cut off with the resounding thunk of Moody’s body hitting the floor.
Dead.
~~~
“Oh my Merlin– y-you killed someone!” Mattheo panicked, dropping his wand and grabbing fistfuls of his hair.
“Oh, no no no, Matty. I didn’t kill anyone,” you said sweetly, examining your nails apathetically. “You did.”
“I’ll tell everyone,” Mattheo threatened through his quivering lower lip. “I will. I’ll tell them it was you.”
“Who’s going to believe you?” you cooed, your voice dripping in saccharine sweetness as you leaned forward to tousle his hair.
Mattheo flinched back.
You laughed, patting his cheek as you hopped off the desk. “Come find me when you’re ready to help me with my next…project.”
“Y-you planned this?”
“Duh.” You rolled your eyes. “Catch up, love. You’re not stupid.”
With that, you stand up on tiptoe, plant a fat kiss on his cheek, and disappear out the door without another word.
Mattheo swore he could see bloody footprints marking your trail down the hall.
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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 🤠
…save a horse, ride a cowboy?
3) las vegas-core
are you about to serenade me with a cover of “feeling good” by michael bublé, sir?
4) queer-core 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
dressed like a trans guy invited to a homophobe’s wedding. next.
5) teddy bear emu hybrid 🧸
who let you out of the house
6) soundcloud rapper’s 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 dad’s suits circa 2009
not the one cuffed sleeve 😭😭
9) …
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 can’t 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) 🎶SuDdEnLy SeYmOuR🎵
neville longbottom-core
17) pleasefallpleasefallpleasefall
if i saw this out in the wild, i absolutely would wish for him to fall i’m sorry 😭
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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