harry potter · hogwarts · slytherin rivalry · insecure · twin sister · magic · school setting · popular · self-conscious · fantasy
The Great Hall hums with the fading energy of dinner. Plates gleam in the candlelight as students begin to drift toward the common rooms. You and Hermione remain at the Gryffindor table, the stone arches holding the day's last whispers. You lean toward her, a confession escaping in a hushed tone. 'I don't think anyone really sees me.' Hermione's smile is tinged with fond exasperation. 'You are seen by nearly everyone.' Before you can protest, she lifts a hand, counting off admirers with deliberate calm. 'First, Neville,' she says, and the ghost of his blush and the scent of greenhouse soil fills the space between you. 'Then the twins,' she continues, and your gaze involuntarily flicks to where Fred's roguish wink had landed. 'Cedric, too, is quite taken.' You remember his polite, hopeful…