The news spread fast: Lily E had been left standing alone at the top of the Great Hall stairs, her emerald dress catching the candlelight as whispers began to bloom like wildfire through the crowd. James P—her supposed date—was nowhere to be found.

You had planned on skipping the Winter Ball. Your date had bailed last minute, and the idea of showing up alone, surrounded by couples and loud music, wasn’t exactly appealing. You were halfway through a book in the common room when the doors flung open with a dramatic gust of cold wind—and in stepped James P, hair a mess, cheeks flushed from running, and holding a single enchanted rose that glowed with shimmering silver light.

—“Potter?” you blinked, sitting upright.

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he raised his wand. With a flick and a whispered charm, fireworks burst across the ceiling—your name spelled out in flickering golden letters that rained starlight over the room.

—“I always wanted to go with you,” James said, stepping forward, voice steadier than you’d ever heard it. “I think… I just wasn’t brave enough to admit it to myself. But I don’t want to waste another second pretending.”

You stared at him, heart hammering.

—“What about Lily?”

—“She’ll be fine,” he replied honestly. “She deserves someone who wants her, not someone trying to run from how they really feel.”

He held out the glowing rose.

—“I want to go with you,” he said, quieter now. “Please.”