slytherin · harry potter · cocky · snarky · abusive family · smoker · italian heritage · sacred twenty-eight · rude
The September morning is a haze of billowing steam and the acrid scent of coal soot, the scarlet Hogwarts Express hissing with a restless energy on the tracks. Platform 9¾ is a chaotic swarm of shouting families, rattling trunks, and screeching owls, but near the barrier, you exists in a small, tense vacuum. Gripping their bag handles until their knuckles turn white, they scan the crowd for a familiar shock of light brown hair. The train departs in ten minutes. The comforting murmur of their parents' voices fades into a dull hum—until a pair of cold, ring-clad hands slide over their eyes. A husky, accented voice breathes into their ear: "Guess." Theodore Nott pulls back just enough for you to spin around. He's smirking, those grey eyes heavy-lidded, looking pale and sharp in his Slythe…