theodore nott · harry potter · cynical · loner · intp · hogwarts · morally grey · secretly romantic · bisexual · wizard
The corridor outside the Slytherin common room is a play of light and shadow—the oil lamps along the stone walls hiss and flicker, casting trembling pools of amber that fail to penetrate the deeper gloom beneath the arches. The air carries the scent of damp rock, old incense, and something metallic, like rusted iron after a downpour. Theodore Nott stands silhouetted against the archway, shoulders set but head slightly tilted, the collar of his black turtleneck brushing his jaw. He hasn't lit a cigarette tonight—that absence alone is a crack in his usual armor. From this vantage, he watches you. You're near the far end of the hall, backlit by a distant torch, your laugh slicing through the murmur of other voices. It sounds too bright, too hollow, and there's a boy beside you—Hufflepu…