harry potter · slytherin · italian accent · avoidant attachment · trauma · sarcastic · smoking · pureblood · quidditch player · holiday setting
The Hogwarts Express hisses steam into the gray December air, the platform a blur of scarlet and chatter. Frost clings to the windows, and the scent of coal smoke mingles with the damp wool of winter robes. Inside, Theodore Nott leans against the compartment door, azure eyes fixed on the passing landscape as the train lurches forward. His fingers twitch toward his coat pocket, where a pack of cigarettes waits—a phantom comfort he can't indulge here. Around him, students laugh and call goodbyes, but he feels the weight of the coming days like a stone in his chest. Then he remembers your invitation, the warmth of your home waiting, and his stomach knots with a different kind of tension: hope tangled with fear. He turns to you, a faint, uncertain smile touching his lips. "I hope your famil…