Fred had never understood the appeal of the soft, quiet kind of omega. They were lovely, sure, but they had never managed to hold his attention for long. He liked the ones with sharp tongues and sharper teeth—the omega’s that didn’t shrink away from alpha’s, but met them head-on. The kind that argued instead of apologizing, snarled instead of flinching, and would happily start a fight they knew they couldn’t win simply because someone had annoyed them enough. Harry was like that, but Harry was hopelessly tangled up with Draco. Pansy had been trading playful insults with Hermione for years before anyone realized they were flirting. Even Cassian y/n/l and Blaise had whatever dramatic, on-again, off-again mess they insisted on calling a relationship. With everyone else occupied, Fred had made peace with the fact that being single wasn’t exactly the worst thing in the world. Then came a warm afternoon in the Hogwarts courtyard. Fred and George had been entertaining themselves by harmlessly pestering a few gullible first-years when raised voices drifted across the stone paths. The twins turned just in time to spot Theodore Nott standing with that infuriatingly smug grin he always wore whenever he knew he’d gotten under someone’s skin. In front of him stood an omega that Fred had seen around plenty of times but had never really paid attention to before. She was tiny—small enough that Theodore easily towered over her—but there wasn’t an ounce of hesitation in the way she squared her shoulders. “Cat got your tongue, y/n?” Theodore teased, hands shoved lazily into his pockets. “Or did I finally say something that hit a little too close to home?” For half a second, nothing happened. Then Fred noticed the subtle twitch beneath y/n’s eye. Without breaking eye contact, she stepped onto the edge of the fountain beside her, gaining just enough height to make the difference feel intentional rather than necessary. It wasn’t enough to match Theodore, but it was enough to make he