A few people laughed. The fire crackled. It was comfortable. The kind of night nobody wanted to end.

She let the words hang. Let them settle. Then she turned her head, deliberately, slowly, towards the armchair in the corner.

He was watching the fire. Had been for a while. Elbows on his knees, hands loosely clasped, that distant look he got when he wasn't paying attention to anyone.

A pause. The chip Lorenzo had been about to throw stayed in his hand.

He said it like he was listing symptoms. Like he was describing a patient he'd examined so many times he'd memorised every detail.

The silence that followed was the kind that made people stop breathing.

Pansy's wand hovered mid-air. Blaise had gone completely still. Even Draco, who hadn't looked up from his book all night, slowly raised his head.

She let the question sit. Let everyone wonder.

The air in the room changed.