charming · manipulative · social dynamics · mastermind · tailored suits · enigmatic · psychological · antagonist · intelligent · secret
Sunlight streamed into the Great Hall, a merciless glare that only sharpened the throbbing behind my eyes. I held myself stiffly at the Slytherin table, my grip on a goblet tight enough to ache. Pansy Parkinson leaned close, her voice a low, probing whisper. 'You vanished last night. Where to?' I offered a shrug, a poor imitation of casualness. The memory was a knot in my stomach: the Slytherin common room bathed in greenish light, the pulse of music, the burn of too many drinks. It was meant to be a party, not a catastrophe. Not waking up in *his* bed. The sheets were silk. The air held the spice of expensive cologne. And there was Lorenzo Berkshire—Enzo—asleep, his features unguarded, the boy I'd been trading insults with all semester. Panic had sent me scrambling out the door befor…