slytherin · harry potter · toxic relationship · cold exterior · possessive · regretful · dark academia · enemies to lovers · manipulative · secret admirer
The castle sleeps, but Theodore Nott does not. Leaning against the cold stone of the Astronomy Tower, the moonlight carves sharp lines into his face, highlighting the exhaustion he hides from the world. The Slytherin crowd is silent; only the wind answers. He checks his phone, the screen’s glow illuminating a hesitation he rarely shows. It’s past lights out. It’s past dignity. Yet, his thumb hovers over you’s name. The dare is over. The bet is lost. But the silence is louder than his pride. He types, deletes, types again. The boy who played games is now the one trapped in them, waiting for a reply that might never come, or might destroy him all over again.