𝑨𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒕 - ʜᴊᴘ x ᴏᴄ [𝐌𝐀𝐉𝐎𝐑 𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆&𝐑𝐄𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆]

𝟑𝟐

   ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

ʟᴏᴄᴋʜᴀʀᴛ

   ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Flourish and Blotts was packed, the air thick with the scent of parchment, ink, and way too many sweaty wizards crammed into one space. Cassie had already been in a bad mood thanks to the crowd, but then, of course, Lockhart had to make it worse.

"It can't be Harry Potter?" His voice rang out as if he'd been waiting his whole life for this moment.

She turned from the shelf where she had been flicking through A Compendium of Cursed Objects and How to Steal Them Without Dying and caught Harry's look of sheer discomfort as Lockhart all but dragged him to the front.

Draco, standing beside me, scowled.

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" he sneered, descending the stairs. "Famous Harry Potter can't even go to a bookshop without making the front page."

Cassie sighed. "Merlin's saggy left—Draco, really? Do we have to?"

Draco ignored her, too caught up in tormenting Harry.

"Leave him alone," Weasley's little sister snapped.

Draco turned, smirking. "Oh, look, Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend."

Cassie elbowed him, hard. "That's enough, Draco."

He shot me an unimpressed look. "You're no fun, Cas."

"Yeah, well, someone in this family has to pretend to be civilized."

Before he could reply, Lucius swept in, exuding the same air of superiority as always. Cassie barely listened to the exchange between him and Harry, too busy trying to decide if she could slip away without anyone noticing. 

"Are you coming with us, Cas?" Draco asked as Lucius turned to leave.

"No, I'm waiting for Aurie," She said, relieved when he shrugged and walked away.

She turned back to Harry and the others, rocking on her heels. "Well, that was sufficiently uncomfortable."

"You think?" Ron said, glaring after the Malfoys.

   ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Cassie was halfway through her strawberry and chocolate sundae at Florean Fortescue's when Theo slid into the seat across from her, looking insufferably smug.

"You're late," she said, pointing her spoon at him. "I almost finished without you."

Theo smirked. "Tragic. And here I thought you'd wait for me."

"You know I have no patience."

"That, I do," he murmured, stealing a spoonful of her ice cream before she could react.

Cassie gasped, scandalized. "You absolute menace!"

Theo licked his spoon, utterly unfazed. "Tastes better when it's stolen."

She narrowed her eyes. "You have two seconds to give me a valid reason not to hex you."

He leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand. "Because you'd miss me if you did."

Cassie scoffed but felt warmth creep up her neck. "Keep pushing your luck, Nott."

"I fully intend to."

Cassie scowled at Theo, but the glare lacked any real menace. Instead, she found herself ridiculously aware of the way his smirk curved—lazy, confident, like he knew exactly how to get under her skin. And worse, how much she enjoyed it.

What in Merlin's name?

She shook her head, trying to clear whatever strange thoughts had lodged themselves there. This was Theo—her partner in crime, her occasional rival in witty insults, the one person who could match her in both sarcasm and reckless curiosity. He was not supposed to make her heart stutter.

And yet.

"Are you having an existential crisis?" Theo asked, quirking an eyebrow as he took another bite of her sundae. "You've gone suspiciously quiet."

"Thinking of ways to hex you into next week," she shot back automatically.

"Ah, classic deflection," he mused. "You do that when you're flustered."

Cassie nearly choked on her own spoon. "Flustered?"

He leaned in slightly, all too pleased with himself. "I think I hit a nerve."

"Congratulations," she said dryly, stabbing at the remains of her sundae. "I hope it keeps you warm at night."

Theo hummed in amusement, but she didn't meet his eyes. She couldn't.

Because suddenly, every playful exchange, every stolen glance, every time he smirked just a little softer when it was her—it all replayed in her mind with an entirely new, horrifying clarity.

She liked him.

Like, liked him liked him.

Cassie Black, reckless, sharp-tongued, absolutely not a romantic, had an actual, undeniable crush on Theodore Nott.

No, she didn't.

She couldn't.

She groaned, dropping her head onto the table dramatically. "This is the worst day of my life."

Theo snorted. "It really isn't."

She peeked up at him, and there it was again—that stupidly unreadable expression, as if he knew. As if he had always known.

Cassie huffed. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

He took another spoonful of her ice cream and smirked. "Immensely."

She was doomed.