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 next morning arrived far too quickly. It was the kind of winter morning that seemed to seep straight into your bones. The castle felt louder than usual as students poured back into the corridors, voices bouncing off stone, boots echoing and laughter forced a little too brightly after weeks away.
Emerson barely slept, caught in that restless half-dream where her thoughts refused to slow, looping endlessly around fragments of the night before. By the time the pale winter light filtered through the Ravenclaw dormitory curtains, her chest already felt tight with the nerves humming just beneath her skin. She moved through her routine on autopilot: pulling on her uniform, smoothing her hair and fastening her robes. Ravenclaws were good at doing everything they could to look composed.
She almost succeeded.
Mattheo noticed the moment he saw her at breakfast, unsurprisingly.
It wasn't anything obvious. Emerson sat straight at the Ravenclaw table, speaking quietly with Olivia, even managing a small smile when Enzo called something outlandishly stupid across the room. But Mattheo clocked the details others missed: the untouched food, the way her fingers worried at the hem of her sleeve and the way her gaze kept drifting toward the Great Hall doors as though she expected something dreadful to appear.
He didn't say anything. He couldn't.
He did the only thing he could, he paid attention. He memorised every detail of her that morning. He also positioned himself a little closer than usual, his body angled subtly toward her, an unconscious shield. When a burst of laughter from the Gryffindor table made her flinch, his hand moved instinctively, stopping just short of hers on the bench before curling back into a fist.
He was showing that he cared, in the only way he was allowed to.
Emerson didn't realise how much steadier she felt until she glanced sideways and caught him already looking at her. For the briefest second, his dark eyes softened, before the familiar walls snapped back into place. The reassurance settled deep in her chest, reminding her that he was still here.
The return of their classes loomed, but the weight of the night before still clung to everyone.
When Mattheo, Theo, and Neville returned through Arianna's passageway to the Room of Requirement the night before, relief washed through the D.A. almost immediately. A few people actually sagged where they stood. Someone, Hannah, maybe, let out a shaky laugh.
Not everyone looked pleased though.
Ernie Macmillan folded his arms tightly. Anthony Goldstein muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "pity."
It was followed just as quickly by questions.
Enzo barrelled forward regardless. "You're alive," He announced dramatically. "I was taking bets."
