The Phantom Woes of Matthew Luther: Part 2
Here’s part 2! (part 1 can be found here )
Verna Malinda ( @gaygryffindorgal )
Camille Jeanes ( @camillejeaneshphm )
Rosie Mayfield ( @magicapandora )
As well as an appearance by @stupendousbookworm ‘s Ara!
Chapter 2/4: Empty Spaces
The group quickly realised it was going to take more than a wardrobe change to help Matthew out of the slump he’d fallen into. Camille sympathised with him; it was only natural that he’d be far more panicky now that he didn’t have Helena to fall back on. Add the fact that he had no clue what had happened to her, and it was no surprise to her that he stopped dead in his tracks outside the Great Hall when it was time for dinner. She, Verna, Rosie and Merula stopped along with him.
“Funny, I-I’d forgotten how loud it got in there…” Matt said, peering at the students settling down to eat.
“Aw, Mathieu…” Camille sighed, looking to the others, “L-Look, we’ll all sit with you, ok?”
Merula nodded. “And don’t worry about the rules about houses sticking to tables, people break them all the time!” she declared, as if anticipating a worry from Matt about them all sitting together.
Rosie and Verna nodded as well. Verna glanced down at the Ravenclaw table, noticing the quidditch team sitting there too, including that reserve chaser from earlier. He looked strangely fearful when he saw them walking into the Hall together.
They sat down at Ravenclaw table, Merula and Camille sitting either side of him and Verna and Rosie sitting opposite, only a little out of place alongside the blue-clad students. Still, it wasn’t like they were the only ones out of place. Professor Flitwick even passed by them at one point, which made Verna slightly nervous, but he merely smiled at them and continued onward. She supposed that he must have noticed that Matthew was back.
“What do you fancy, then?” Rosie asked as they took some of the salad. Matthew shifted a little in his seat, looking across the table.
“Uh…uhm…” he stammered, toying with the fork in his hand. Rosie smiled at him, in a “take all the time you need” way. They knew he was more nervous than usual thanks to what had happened, but they hadn’t realised just how much Helena meant to him.
Eventually, Merula passed over some sausages and chips onto Matthew’s plate, causing a smile to form on his face.
“T-Thanks.” he said to her, looking relieved.
“It’s nothing. You usually go for sausages and chips on Saturdays, so I figured you’d like that.” she replied matter-of-factly.
Camille leant forward from the other side of Matthew. “Hmm, that’s very observant of you, Merula…”
Merula went slightly pink. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Matthew had already started eating. And eating. And eating. He’d finished the chips by the time Verna had finished off her salad.
“Wow, you must have been starving up there, mate.” she observed, watching as he began to devour the rest of his food. Matthew looked up at her and nodded, as the rest looked on in shock.
“Merlin, I forget how out of whack your metabolism is…” Merula sighed, as Matthew grabbed even more food. By the time they’d finished eating, Matthew had gone on to have seconds and thirds.
“Feeling any better now, Mathieu?” Camille asked hopefully, as Matthew put his instruments of destruction (i.e., his knife and fork) on his plate, finally full.
“Mhm, a little, yeah…” he replied, watching as the plates and cutlery vanished. “Thanks guys. I just…I dunno…I guess I struggle with some things more than others do.”
“Anyone would be struggling if someone important to them went missing.” Verna pointed out. “It’s ok for you to take some time to deal with that. Really.”
Matthew sighed. “Yeah, you’re…you’re right. I…I think I need to catch up on what I’ve missed, and then…then I can figure out what’s happened with Helena.”
The group left the Great Hall, with some of Matt’s classmates from Ravenclaw coming up and greeting him, glad to see him around again. They split off to head back to their dorms; Matt, Camille and Verna heading up the stairs and Rosie and Merula heading back down. Merula looked up one last time before heading down into the Dungeons, not expecting to see Matt looking down at her. He smiled and waved down at her, a gesture that she repeated before heading out of the Grand Staircase, allowing herself to smile a little more, completely forgetting that Rosie was waiting for her.
“You seem to be happy about something…” They teased, as Merula went bright pink. “Or should that be someone?”
“Shut it, Mayfield!” she snapped. “I just…well…he was the last person to see Helena! Now I can be the one to find out what happened and get the glory for finding this missing ghost!”
Rosie did not look very convinced. “So it’s not because a certain Ravenclaw was sitting next to you all dinner? Or that you’ll get to help him these next few days?”
“Wh- we’re all helping, it’s a group effort!” Merula pointed out, “Plus he has to help himself too.”
“You know that’s not what I mean…”
“I don’t know what you mean, Mayfield…”
Several floors above, at the intersection between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Towers, Camille had pulled Matthew into a hug, much to his surprise.
“Aw, Cammy…” Matt complained half-heartedly, wrapping his long arms around her, “I…I really am sorry for staying up there so long…”
Camille sniffled “...’sokay. I was just so worried, Mathieu...I’m glad you’re ok.”
Matthew nodded, eventually pulling away from the hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow…I’ve got quidditch practice, so…yeah.”
Camille nodded, as did Verna. “You’ll be alright, mate.” the taller Gryffindor said. “You’re one of the fastest Chasers I know. And believe me, I’d know, the amount of times you’ve been on my tail is ridiculous.”
Matt shrugged. “I just do the best I can.”
“And that’s all anyone asks of you.” Camille said, hugging Matthew one final time before returning to her own common room.
The next morning, the Ravenclaws were once again flying around the Quidditch Pitch, this time with a complete team. Matthew had met up with the others earlier before heading into the Quidditch tent by himself (“Don’t worry Snyde, he can dress himself…” Verna had joked). Now the group were once again sat up on the quidditch stands, watching as Matthew (together with Orion and Skye) ran circles around the reserves. Camille noticed that there were a lot more students in the stands than last time; mostly Ravenclaws, but she also saw Barnaby, Charlie, Jae, Chiara and Tonks sitting by the front too.
“I suppose it makes sense!” Rosie yelled over the whooshing of the players overhead, “I mean, they want to support Matt, right?”
“I suppose…” Camille said, wondering if Matt had noticed that most of his housemates in his year had shown up to watch. He didn’t seem to be that stressed out, and in fact was performing rather well. One of the reserve players, that chaser from yesterday, had managed to get the Quaffle from Orion. He threw the ball at an extremely fast speed, and yet Matthew didn’t seem all that worried as he rushed forward.
“How’s he gonna catch it in time?” Rosie asked with bated breath.
Verna, who’d been given a fact file on several quidditch players, including Matthew, by Murphy McNully, just smiled. “You’ll see.”
As Matthew approached, he let go of his broom and swayed, so that he was flying upside-down, causing the crowd to gasp. In an instant, he had caught the quaffle and was racing to the other side of the pitch, still upside-down. The reserve chasers, still slightly confused, charged forward, but of course, Matthew was simply able to go underneath them. It was at this point that most had assumed he’d have to turn back around to score a goal properly (especially with Ara Black as keeper), and yet, his silver bracelet glinting in the sunlight, Matthew threw the Quaffle upward while upside-down so that it flew past Ara’s hand and landed in the goal, leading to cheering and astonishment from the crowds and players, with even Ara herself looking impressed. Even Camille and Rosie could tell that this was a big deal. Merula, meanwhile, was absolutely flabbergasted.
“He…I mean…I knew he was good, but…” Merula said, falling over her words slightly as she tried to cover how pink her cheeks were. “...still, explains a bit…all that blood rushing up to that big brain of his, heheh…”
Camille looked over at her, smiling. “You’re not fooling anyone, you know that?”
Merula looked like she was about to yell, but couldn’t bring herself to. “...shush. I…I’m just glad he’s better now…missed seeing him.”
Camille nodded. Matthew had confided in her about just what had grown between them over the past year or so. “Me too.”
It was at that point that the group noticed a more squeaky voice among the crowd cheering for Matt. Walking up to the group in a brown coat was Professor Flitwick, some sort of book (presumably on charms) in hand.
“Ah! Good to see you all!” he began, pausing as the quidditch players whooshed past again, descending to the ground to go get changed. “I see you’ve been helping Mr Luther…”
The others stared at each other nervously, but Rosie decided to say something so they didn’t have to. “That’s right! We just wanted to help him boost his confidence again!”
Flitwick nodded. “I think that’s why a lot of my house is here. While not all as close to Helena as Matthew, they all feel her absence, I’m afraid.”
Rosie considered this. “I guess you’re right…I feel like Matthew’s going to want to find out what’s happened.”
Flitwick sighed. “That’s precisely what worries me. Especially considering his-” he paused again, looking around at the crowd. “...it would be best to discuss this in my classroom. Could you three come and see me just before lunch?”
“Three?” Verna asked, looking around to see that Merula had gone, presumably to go and see Matthew. “Hmph. Yeah, ok then.”
“Splendid! I’ll let you get back to it then.” he said, before disappearing into the crowd of students heading out of the stadium.
Down by the quidditch tent, Camille, Rosie and Verna found Merula and Matt talking as the Ravenclaw Quidditch team left the area. Before they could approach and start teasing them, however, Orion stopped them.
“I am glad to see you helping Matthew along his path.” he said warmly, “It can be hard for him to keep his balance, but when he does he shines in a way few others can.”
They looked over at him, already a great deal better than he was yesterday, firing back at whatever Merula was saying and laughing together with her. The reserve chaser then spoke up:
“You sure it’s ok letting Merula talk to him?” he asked, Matthew and Merula once again seemingly in their own world.
“Chase, Merula has shown growth recently-” Orion began, before snickering from Verna cut him off.
“Sorry, sorry…“Chase”? Chase the Chaser?”
He shrugged, “Reserve chaser, but sure. Just…keep an eye out on her, right? You know what she’s like.” And with that, Orion and Chase left as Matt and Merula came walking up to the rest of the group.
“Well, how do you feel now?” Rosie asked, noticing how both his and Merula’s cheeks were dusted pink.
“Hm? B-Better, I think, yeah, um…” Matthew said, pushing the hair out of his face, “a little dizzy from all the flying upside-down, but I can handle it.”
Verna brought her hands together. “Great! So…what else needs doing?”
“Oh, I’ve got prefect duty, but I sort of have to do that on my own.” Matthew explained as they walked back to the castle. “So does Merula. You guys don’t have to wait for me, um, if there’s anything you need to do…”
The three non-prefects looked at each other knowingly. “We’ll figure something out.” Camille said, finally.
“Ah! Come in, come in!” exclaimed Professor Flitwick as Camille closed the wooden door behind them, as she, Rosie and Verna stepped into the Charms classroom. Flitwick was, as per usual, standing on his pile of books that he usually read out instructions and lectures on. “Now,” he began, “I’m glad you’re all here. While normally I would point to the rules regarding the Cursed Vaults with regards to what to do regarding the Late Ms Ravenclaw’s disappearance, I fear that will not solve the problem. I also fear that Matthew, as with the Vaults, will pursue this regardless.”
Camille frowned. “You were mentioning something earlier, Professor. Something about why he’d pursue this?”
Flitwick sighed. “Yes. It is well-known by now, particularly among Ravenclaws, that Matthew has come to see Helena Ravenclaw as something of a mother figure.”
Rosie nodded at this. “Yeah, someone said that he’s accidentally called her “mum” a couple times.”
Flitwick nodded. “Indeed. This is likely…well…I should not say, it is his personal business-”
“It’s about his mother, yes?” Camille asked, before Rosie or Verna had a chance to counter the Professor. He’d told her, after all, one night a few years back. “His…mother by birth…”
Again, Flitwick nodded, the gloom on his face palpable. “Yes. He does not have a good relationship with his mother, as I am aware. I do not know all the details, but her family used extreme tactics to try to make sure nobody in our world knew about the birth of him or his brother…which evidently did not work.”
“But he is still determined to try his best, irregardless of what has happened to him in the past, and what he thinks of himself. Despite his fears, he is not just one of the most capable wizards I have ever known, but one of the kindest too. He’s very lucky to have friends like you who’d help him through this.”
“We are lucky to have him.” Camille said, Rosie and Verna nodding in agreement. “There’s nobody quite like him.”
Flitwick chuckled. “Quite right. He’s done some rather impossible things…breaking curses, fighting Dementors and werewolves…I even hear that he was able to raise a Thestral along with Miss Snyde.”
“Yeah…” Camille said, an idea forming in her head. “We’ll keep helping him, we promise!”
“Thank you, truly!” Flitwick said, waving as they left his classroom. Millie was bouncing on her toes as they headed to the Great Hall.
“Guys! I think I might know what’ll cheer Matthew up even more!” she declared, rubbing her hands together.
“That’s great!” Rosie exclaimed, “What’s the plan?”
“Does it involve Merula, too?”
“That’s putting it lightly,” Camille giggled, pointing. They followed her finger and saw Matthew and Merula leaving prefect duty, having been made to watch opposite sides of the school, looking a little annoyed at that. “I think it’s pretty clear they’ve both been itching for some time to themselves…I say we give it to them…”
That night, Matthew walked through the trees on the outskirts of the forest until he had arrived by the Forest Lake, which was far smaller than the Black Lake but was nevertheless a beautiful spot, especially when basking in moonlight as it was that night. He’d been told by Camille and Verna that he needed to go there for something important, presumably to do with Helena, yet he couldn’t see them anywhere. It was then he heard a twig snap, and turning around quickly he saw none other than Merula Snyde walking up towards him.
“Hey.” he said, trying not to make too much eye contact.
“Hey yourself.” she replied, looking around. “Where are the others? Mayfield said to meet up here. Said it was important.”
“...Think they’ll be here soon?” Matthew asked nervously
Merula thought about just how Rosie had told her to come here, and sighed. “I dunno…they might’ve…uh…”
“...set us up?” he asked, taking a step forward which to him felt like one of the most arduous journeys in his life. “...Yeah, not surprised.”
“Still, glad to get a break from it all, right?” Merula said, “Just…us.”
“There we go.” whispered Camille, crouching behind a bush that was fairly far away from Matthew and Merula. “Now we let them enjoy some time together.”
“And us getting to watch is a bonus?” Verna asked, peeking out at the two by the lake.
“Ugh, it’s a little uncomfortable sitting here and being quiet, though.” Rosie hissed. They’d gone as far as to bring a pillow for them to sit on. “Oo, look!”
“What?” Verna asked, leaning forward.
“Mathieu moved a little closer!” Camille hissed, “Ssh, I think we can hear them!”
Merula smiled up at him. “Remember the last time we were out in the forest together?”
“Yeah, I do.” Matthew replied. “Rakepick did not look happy seeing how much fun we had.”
“Her fault for picking the path to the vault full of monsters. We took the scenic route, that’s all.”
“Yeah…you think she’s a good DADA teacher?”
“DADA? Is that the acronym people are using now? Cannae keep it all in my head. And yes, ah see you smiling, Matt. I know I’m slippin’ into my other accent…”
Merula took another step forward. “To answer your question…” she said, now fully in “Scottish” mode, “I think she’s a fair deal better than some of the teachers we’ve had in the past. She’s even letting us look for the Vaults, but…”
“It’s not the same with her leering over us, right?”
“She just wants us to approach the Vaults the best we can, that’s all…that’s why she pushes us…”
“You don’t sound all that convinced.”
“What do they mean by the last time they were in the forest?” Verna asked quietly.
“Must have been when they went to the Forest Vault,” Camille explained, “they went another route a day before Rakepick did. Camped out there overnight.”
“Wow, that must have been fun…camping in the woods, sleeping under the stars…” Rosie mused.
“Still got to worry about all the monsters, though…” Verna pointed out.
“Ummm!” Camille said, daring to go a little louder, pointing.
They’d both moved even closer to each other. Matthew couldn’t help but smile. “I’m…I’m really sorry I sulked up there for so long.”
“And I told you you don’t need to apologise.” Merula replied, taking his hand. “I…I know what it’s like to have someone that important go…we’re gonna get her back, though. Promise.” Matthew said nothing in reply, simply smiling at her. “...What?” she asked, chuckling, “We’ve been this close before. Closer, even.”
“Doesn’t change the fact you’re, um…” without thinking much, he leant in and kissed her briefly. “...Stunning.”
Merula went bright pink, her arms moving around him. “Smartarse…you’re an idiot if you think that’s all you’re gonna get out of me, especially since you’ve had to hold out recently…”
Camille, Rosie and Verna had to cover their mouths in shock. Rosie was the first to voice their surprise. “Oh…oh Merlin, they…they were a thing! This whole time!”
“They are…they’re just…” Verna stuttered, gesturing wildly at Matthew and Merula’s embrace in front of them.
“...Knew it.” Camille said, shaking her head. She’d had a feeling that they’d needed something like this.
“Don’t they need to stop to breathe?”
“I mean, they do have noses, Millie.”
“I know that, Rosie, but look at them!”
“Quick, they’re coming this way!”
The three ducked as Matt and Merula walked past, hand in hand, chuckling and pecking each other with lighter kisses as they strolled back into the castle.
“Right. I think that’s solved Mathieu’s confidence problem a little.” Camille declared proudly. “I didn’t expect all of that, though…feel a bit bad considering we now know about…them.”
Rosie put their hand on her shoulder. “It’s ok, Millie. None of us were expecting that, and we helped him out either way…though we should tell them that we saw all this.”
“Yeah…” Verna said, picking up the pillow and handing it to Rosie, “Eventually.”
