firecracker ???

4-9

"You have," Hermione said, not even looking up from her book. "You've been walking a little too close to the Slytherin end of the table and laughing too loudly when she's in earshot."

"I just think she's—"

"Brilliant?" Fred suggested.

"Terrifying," Ron offered.

"Hot," George said.

Harry didn't say anything. But his face said enough.

"She said Theo's like family," he muttered finally.

"Then what's the problem?" Ron asked.

Harry exhaled. "I don't know. It's just... they've known each other since they were four. He gets her."

Hermione closed her book. "Harry, don't make a fool of yourself at the Ball. Just ask someone else. It's not a binding magical contract."

"I know."

"Then act like it."

Fred slung an arm around his shoulders. "Or don't. Personally, I'd love to see you try to out-charm Theodore Nott. He's very suave."

George added, "Very quiet. Mysterious. Brooding."

Harry groaned.

-

Later that night, Lyra slipped out of the common room alone. The castle corridors were calm, cloaked in torchlight and dust motes, still and cold in that way only December could manage. Her thoughts spun in quiet loops—Theo's easy agreement, Draco's idiocy, the looming pressure of the Ball. She turned a corner—

And nearly ran straight into Harry Potter.

He caught her elbow instinctively. "Evening," he said, like he hadn't been pacing that hallway for ten full minutes.

Lyra blinked at him. "Are you just... haunting this hallway now?"

Harry shrugged, a grin already creeping in. "You wound me. Maybe I'm just enjoying a quiet, broody evening stroll. Builds character."

"You're being weird."

"Weird? No. Eccentric, maybe. Charming, debatably. Irresistible, definitely."

She gave him a look. "You've gone mad."

"Only selectively."

He fell into step beside her like it was the most natural thing in the world. He walked a little too close, hands tucked in his pockets, eyes darting just enough to make it clear that he was checking her mood before opening his mouth again.

"So, Theo, huh?"

She arched a brow. "Is this what Gryffindor downtime looks like? Shadowing people through stone corridors?"

"Technically I was here first. Coincidence. Or fate. Or possibly the architectural design of the castle."

Lyra rolled her eyes but didn't speed up. He matched her pace easily.

"Just saying," he added after a beat, "Theo's a lucky bloke. Gets to be your date. Probably already has the smug grin rehearsed."

She snorted. "He's had that grin since we were four."

Harry nodded solemnly. "Ah, childhood friends. That old trope."

She gave him a sidelong glance. "Are you jealous, Potter?"

"Jealous?" he repeated, blinking innocently. "No. Merlin, no. I'm thrilled. Overjoyed, actually. Couldn't be happier. Theo's great. Very... symmetrical."