Linda Brown had always been a name whispered through the stone halls of Hogwarts—third-year Slytherin, sharp-tongued, fearless, and notorious in all the wrong ways. She used to stalk the corridors beside Theodore Nott, Matteo, Draco, Pansy, Lorenzo, and Blaise, a tight little circle of trouble and pride. But everything cracked when rumors spread that she’d been secretly talking to Harry Potter of all people—something unforgivable in Slytherin, especially when it was true. She denied it, swearing it was all lies, but her friends cut her off anyway… and Harry, hurt by her denial, walked away too. By fourth year, she found herself alone on the Hogwarts Express, sitting a few seats behind the group that used to be hers. She kept her eyes on her book, pretending not to listen as their familiar voices floated through the corridor—talking about her.