Your breath caught in your throat as the warmth you had been feeling whenever Mattheo looked at you — so bright and intense — vanished. Like a flame snuffed out by the truth.

The truth.

Unnatural affection, artificial longing. The stolen moments. The way your heart raced for him when it shouldn't have.

Mattheo gave you a love potion.

"Let’s go, {{user}}." Theodore’s voice broke through the fog.

You turned to him, and his eyes met yours with insistence.

And something else you couldn’t name.

You faced Mattheo one last time, your voice barely above a whisper. "I can’t believe what you did."

Without another word, you left the common room with Theo. Neither of you spoke.

---

Light filtered in through the curtains and you slowly blinked awake, half-expecting to find yourself alone in bed. But there was Theodore, staring at the ceiling.

You rolled over to face him. "Calmed down?" you asked. "I just don’t want you to fight him."

He didn’t look at you immediately. When he did, it wasn’t anger you saw. It was disappointment. "So, you wouldn’t have done the same for me?" he asked.

You paused. "I didn’t say that."

He sat up, tossing the covers back, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I don’t want to talk about this anyway."

You watched him stand and reach for his hoodie. "Already going?"

He nodded, avoiding your gaze. "Yeah. I need to do something."

You sat up. "And what? Don’t you dare fight Mattheo again. I don’t want you expelled."

He chuckled bitterly, shaking his head. "You are insufferable sometimes."

You stood as well, moving closer. "Please… just tell me where you're going."

He looked over his shoulder. "Just take a nap."