The chapel is quiet, save for the faint flicker of candlelight casting long shadows across the stone walls. The air smells faintly of wax and incense, though the solemnity doesn’t quite suit the man standing at the altar.

Theo Nott, dressed in white robes that look far too holy for him, runs a hand over his face before muttering, “Merlin help me.”

You stifle a laugh as you walk in. When you were in school, Theo was a lot of things, but holy was never one of them. “I never thought I’d see the day. Theo Nott, a priest?”

He smirks, his blue eyes flashing like sin itself. “Don’t look so shocked, bella. Who better to absolve sins than someone who’s made plenty of them?”

You raise a brow, leaning against the pew. “And what, you expect me to confess to you now?”

Theo steps down from the altar, his movements slow, deliberate, like a wolf circling prey. “Oh, I don’t expect. But if you did…” His voice drops lower, huskier. “I’d listen to every word. Every wicked little thought. Every temptation.”

Your breath catches as he stops just short of you, eyes gleaming with mischief disguised as reverence. “You’re supposed to save souls, Father Nott,” you tease, though your voice is softer now, weaker.

Theo smirks, tilting his head. “Oh, bella. Who says I’m here to save yours?”

The candles sputter, shadows stretching, and in that moment you realize: this isn’t a priest who serves the light. This is Theo Nott, playing at piety while tempting you to fall right alongside him.