Emerson Wilmore was an exemplary Ravenclaw student, known for her unwavering dedication to academics and an unyielding moral compass. However, things took a twisted and deviated turn in her life after her boyfriend, Cedric Diggory, was murdered by L...
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The change between Theo and Olivia wasn't drastic at first, not the kind to send rumours flying or alert the whole castle like it did with Emerson and Mattheo a few weeks earlier. Theo and Olivia had always been close, that much was never questioned. From the moment they sat next to each other in Potions in Fifth-Year, they shared jokes that no one else understood, bickered like they were raised in the same household over some conspiracy theory, and naturally gravitated toward one another in any room.
But for those who knew them, Emerson, Enzo, and Mattheo especially, the difference between Theo and Olivia after the Quidditch final party was obvious.
They were closer.
It was in the little things. The almost-there smiles. The private looks. The quiet conversations that ended in Theo grinning under his breath like Olivia just told him the best secret in the world. No one commented. But, everyone noticed.
It started with proximity.
Theo was always near her now, as if every moment with Olivia was something to be valued.
In the corridors, Theo walked closer to her side than usual. In classes, if Olivia didn't sit beside him, his eyes followed her movements with a kind of distracted attachment until she rejoined him. In the library, he pulled up a chair beside her without saying a word, and the two would work in complete silence, except for the way his fingers would occasionally brush her quill when she wasn't looking, or how his knee would bump hers under the table and stay there. And when Olivia laughed, Theo smiled like it physically hurt not to.
Olivia still acted like herself, with such an air of confidence and wit, but there was a softness to her now when she looked at Theo. She didn't roll her eyes as often when he smirked at her. She didn't huff when he forgot to return her books or stole the last piece of chocolate. Instead, she grinned and flicked him in the arm.
Late on Tuesday night, when Theo walked Olivia back to the Ravenclaw Tower, he didn't leave until she was through the door. Emerson caught a glimpse of him standing there still, hands in his pockets, as if grounding himself before turning away.
The next morning at breakfast, Emerson watched as Theo reached across the table to brush a stray eyelash off Olivia's cheek. He didn't say anything, and Olivia didn't react like it was unusual, but Emerson caught the tiny inhale her best friend took like she forgot how to breathe for a second. Theo's fingers lingered for a second longer than they should have, and then he cleared his throat and dropped his hand like it had burned him.
And then there was the way Theo looked at her.
It wasn't subtle anymore. Not really. There was a softness in his expression now, especially when Olivia wasn't speaking. When she laughed, it was like he forgot the world was crumbling. When she was serious, he listened like everything she said had weight, and that's because he loved listening to speak about anything, even long winded explanations about a travel destination that she wanted to visit. And when she looked tired or frustrated after a long day, he handed her a mug of hot chocolate without a word.
