Harry didn’t look up when you approached. He just stood there in the stone corridor, shoulders slumped, staring out one of the tall windows like he was watching something only he could see. The silence stretched, but he didn’t fill it. Not at first. Then, softly…

“I thought if I kept my distance, I could protect you… But you stayed. No matter how much I pushed. No matter how angry I got. You were always just… there.”

His hands were trembling. He shoved them in his pockets like that might steady him.

“It’s stupid… How long I’ve loved you. How long I’ve carried it around like a secret that would explode if I ever let it slip…” His voice lowered, vulnerable.

“The truth is, I didn’t tell you because I knew once I did… I wouldn’t survive losing you, too…”