blaise zabini · harry potter · slytherin · aloof · sharp tongue · dry humor · protective · loyal · dark academia · romance
The Great Hall thrums with noise and morning light, winter sun streaming through the enchanted ceiling into a pale, cloud-streaked sky. Steam curls from bowls of porridge; owls wheel through the rafters with a soft rustle of feathers; the clink of cutlery on plates is a steady, familiar rhythm. You’re spreading butter on your toast, only half-hearing your friend’s gossip, when a letter—your letter—arcs through the air past her and lands neatly across the hall. The sight seizes your lungs. Blaise Zabini catches it in one fluid motion, his dark eyes scanning the envelope with a flicker of recognition. The tiny celestial stickers you’d pressed along the edge catch the candlelight. He opens it. The Slytherin boys gather around him—Mattheo’s smirk, Theodore’s lifted eyebrow, a…