A new Lestrange arrives at Hogwarts. Every girl is competing for his attention. Except you— the one person he keeps circling back to.
💬 9.7m
@gauntThe Great Hall was doing what it did best every morning—being loud, chaotic, and smelling like a beautiful mix of bacon, fresh bread, and pumpkin juice. The Slytherin table was no exception, though their noise leaned more toward strategic gossip than general mayhem.
Pansy had been holding court for the last ten minutes, gesturing dramatically with a piece of toast like she was delivering a prophecy instead of rumors.
Pansy Parkinson
I'm just saying, if my cousin's friend's brother actually saw him at the train station, then he's definitely real. And he's definitely coming today.
Daphne Greengrass
smoothly spreading jam on her toast without looking up Your cousin's friend's brother also said he saw a Hippogriff in Hogsmeade last month. Turned out to be a very large chicken.
Pansy Parkinson
points the toast at Daphne That chicken was unusually large and you know it.
Astoria Greengrass
leaning forward, brown eyes bright with curiosity But what have people actually heard about him? Like, real things?
Pansy Parkinson
dramatic pause for effect Okay so. His name's River Lestrange. Direct son of Bellatrix and Rodolphus. Obviously.
Blaise Zabini
calmly sipping his pumpkin juice We established that part already.
Pansy Parkinson
I'm getting there, Zabini, relax. turns back to the group Word is he's been homeschooled his whole life. Lived in France or somewhere. And apparently— lowers her voice conspiratorially —he's already been in some kind of trouble. Like. Actual trouble.
Theodore Nott
raising an eyebrow from across the table Trouble how? Or are we still on the chicken-level information?
Pansy Parkinson
scoffs I don't know the details, Theodore, that's just what people are saying. But honestly, with parents like that, do you really think he's gonna be some quiet, well-behaved prince?
Mattheo Riddle
leaning back, arms crossed, expression unreadable Doesn't matter what he's like. What matters is how he's gonna act when he gets here.
Draco Malfoy
cold grey eyes flickering with something between curiosity and irritation A Lestrange dropping in mid-year. That's going to be... interesting.
Lorenzo Berkshire
grinning, clearly entertained by the whole situation Interesting how? Like, good interesting? Or setting-the-common-room-on-fire interesting?
Draco Malfoy
dryly We'll find out soon enough.
Astoria Greengrass
tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, voice soft but eager I heard he's actually really handsome.
Pansy Parkinson
immediately perking up Did you? From who?
Astoria Greengrass
shrugging casually, though her cheeks warm slightly Just... people. You know. Girls who've seen him.
Daphne Greengrass
finally looks up, one eyebrow arched And these girls are reliable sources?
Astoria Greengrass
defensively I'm just saying what I heard!
Theodore Nott
snorts Classic. He hasn't even walked through the doors yet and people are already deciding whether to fight him or date him.
Pansy Parkinson
grins Why not both? Keeps things interesting.
A few seats down, Octavia Lestrange had been quietly eating her breakfast, violet eyes fixed on her plate, saying absolutely nothing. Which, given the topic, felt like a very loud silence.
Octavia Lestrange
finally looks up, voice flat You know I'm sitting right here, right?
Pansy Parkinson
waving a hand Oh please, you're the distant cousin or whatever. That's different.
Octavia Lestrange
a small, unreadable smile Sure. Distant.
Theodore Nott
eyes narrowing slightly at her tone, but deciding not to push
The conversation continued to swirl—Pansy speculating wildly, Daphne occasionally shutting her down with surgical precision, Astoria getting a little too invested in the physical descriptions, Lorenzo throwing out jokes just to keep everyone laughing, Mattheo watching the doors more than he was participating, Blaise looking mildly entertained by all of it, and Draco slowly getting more annoyed the more people talked about this guy like he was the second coming of something.
Then—
The doors to the Great Hall opened.
Not dramatically. Not with a bang. Just smoothly, casually, like the person on the other side had every right to be there and wasn't in any rush to prove it.
Professor Snape walked in first, his usual gliding stride, expression as unreadable as ever. Behind him—
The boy.
Tall. Dark-haired. Pale green eyes that swept across the Hall once, taking everything in, before settling into something that looked almost like amusement. He didn't look nervous. Didn't look impressed. Didn't look like he felt the need to perform anything.
He just... walked.
And the Hall got quieter.
Pansy Parkinson
whispering very loudly Oh my god.
Astoria Greengrass
completely frozen, toast halfway to her mouth
He followed Snape toward the front, footsteps even, hands in his pockets, gaze drifting lazily over the students like he was cataloging faces for later.
And then—right before Snape stopped at the head table—his eyes found the Slytherin table.
Paused.
And he smiled. Just a little. Just enough.