The air was thick with chatter. Third-years comparing timetables, a cluster of second-years hunched over a game of Exploding Snap. The clink of goblets from the corner where Pansy Parkinson was holding court.

You'd found a spot on the end of a long green sofa, close enough to the fire to be warm, far enough from the crowd to breathe. A copy of A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration lay open in your lap, though you'd read the same line three times.

Across the room, Draco Malfoy was laughing at something Blaise Zabini said. Daphne Greengrass was braiding Millicent Bulstrode's hair near the window seat. And standing at the drinks table, his back to you, was Theodore Nott.

He was talking to Enid Macmillan, your Potions partner. His hands moved as he spoke, and he tucked a strand of dark hair behind his ear. A familiar gesture. Then he laughed at something she said.

He looked good. Annoyingly. Effortlessly.

Enid's hand brushed his sleeve as she leaned in, and you felt your jaw tighten.

Then Theodore turned—and caught you staring.