LETTERS 4 U I D.M

04

The Slytherin common room buzzed with the usual quiet intensity. Zara sat cross-legged in her usual spot by the window, watching the soft flicker of the firelight play across the faces of her friends. The group was gathered in their familiar circle, and for once, there was an ease in the air—no lingering arguments or complicated tensions, just the comfort of familiarity.

Lorenzo sat beside Zara, his signature grin never far from his face, casually leaning back against the wall as he cracked a joke with Blaise, who smirked in response. Across the room, Draco sat with his arm draped lazily over the back of a chair, seemingly relaxed but with that perpetual edge in his gaze. Zara knew that edge too well by now—the weight of everything Draco kept hidden, the things he couldn't say aloud, not even to her.

Pansy Parkinson, perched near the hearth, gave a theatrical sigh. "I can't believe we're stuck in this place while the Gryffindors are probably off planning some ridiculous adventure. Again."

Zara rolled her eyes, half-smiling. Pansy had been easier to get along with ever since she and Draco had ended their on-and-off relationship. The tension between them had evaporated, and surprisingly, a friendship had started to form. Zara hadn't expected it, but Pansy, for all her sharp edges, had become someone she could count on.

"Let them have their adventures," Daphne Greengrass chimed in from where she lounged beside her sister, Astoria. "It keeps them out of our hair."

Zara glanced at Astoria, noting the quiet tension between her and Draco. Astoria was his ex, and though Zara tried not to let it bother her, there was something in the way Astoria watched him that made her chest tighten. She wasn't jealous exactly—just aware of the history they shared.

Mattheo Riddle leaned forward, his voice low but playful. "You know Potter and his lot are going to end up in trouble again. It's a miracle they haven't been expelled by now."

"Who knows," Tom Riddle added, his tone more thoughtful than his brother's, "maybe this time they'll finally manage it."

Zara chuckled, shaking her head. Mattheo had always been the more chaotic of the two brothers, while Tom was the calculated one. Still, despite their differences, both of them had become a part of her life in ways she hadn't expected. Mattheo, especially, had been there for her when things with Theodore had fallen apart.

Her thoughts strayed to Theo, who sat across from her, his gaze distant. They hadn't spoken much about their breakup—it had been clean, as far as breakups went, but there were still moments of awkwardness that lingered. He'd been her first serious relationship, and even now, sitting in the same room, she felt the weight of the history between them. But the friendship that had survived was fragile, and she wasn't sure how to fix it.

Blaise glanced between Zara and Theo, sensing the unspoken tension. "You know," he said lightly, "we should make this night interesting. Something to shake things up."

"What did you have in mind?" Pansy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Blaise's grin widened. "A little truth or dare, perhaps?"

Zara groaned inwardly, exchanging a look with Lorenzo, who smirked. "Why do I feel like this is going to end badly?" she muttered.

Lorenzo chuckled, nudging her playfully. "Because it's Blaise."

"Exactly," Zara shot back, but she knew there was no avoiding it now. Once Blaise set his mind to something, there was no stopping him.

The group reluctantly agreed, and soon enough, they were seated in a circle, the flickering fire casting shadows over their faces. Blaise, of course, took charge. "Alright, I'll start. Pansy—truth or dare?"