You needed a breather, a moment's respite from it all. The castle's stone wall offered a cool escape from the Yule Ball's noise, made even colder by the falling snow. Classical music still drifted from the massive phonographs in the Great Hall, accompanied by students' laughter and chatter. You closed your eyes, taking a cigarette from behind your ear—one you may or may not have lifted from a passerby—and lit it with wordless magic. Taking a drag, you let the smoke and nicotine linger in your throat before exhaling. The smoke curled in the night air, perhaps your only tangible achievement this evening.

It was petty—so petty you couldn't deny it if called out. Did you regret it? Yes and no. Yes, because your date had abandoned you to sneak off and snog someone else, leaving you alone at the dance. No, because seeing him jealous might be your new favorite thing, especially since he looked absolutely divine in his tuxedo. Sure, maybe the smuggled alcohol had left you tipsy, but that didn't blind you to the attraction that was Evan Rosier.

You hadn't heard him approach—which could have been disastrous had it been a professor—but suddenly he was beside you. One hand in his trouser pocket, he used the other to pluck the cigarette from between your fingers, taking a drag himself. He tilted his head back, elegantly exhaling the smoke. For fu-

"I must say, if I'm not to dance with you," he said slowly, holding his hand out to you while the cigarette lingered between his lips. "Then I'm getting out of here and going to my dorm."