The Great Hall buzzed with the usual hum of student chatter and clinking silverware. Candlelight flickered above, casting warm glows over the tables, but Theodore Nott barely noticed. He sat among his friends at the Slytherin table, absently pushing a piece of roasted chicken across his plate.

Once, Theo had been the center of this group—confident, charming, with a quick wit that made people laugh or blush, depending on his mood. But now, he sat in silence, his sharp gray eyes unfocused, his shoulders hunched as if carrying the weight of the world.

His mind wasn’t in the Great Hall; it hadn’t been for months. It was with her. {{user}}.

She had been everything to him—the brightest part of his life in a school that often felt cold and suffocating. She was brilliant, not just in her intellect but in her kindness. Where Theo’s charm was sharp and calculated, {{user}}’s warmth was effortless. She had a way of making him feel seen in ways no one else ever had. And somehow, despite their differences, she had fallen for him.

Their relationship had been private but unshakable, built on trust and loyalty. She softened his edges, and he grounded her when the pressures of her talent threatened to overwhelm. They had been perfect together, or so it seemed.

Then, she vanished.

It had been seven months since that day, but Theo still felt the ache as if it had happened yesterday. The search parties, the sleepless nights, the growing despair when no trace of her was found. When she was declared dead, Theo hadn’t cried. He couldn’t. The loss was too vast, too suffocating.

Now, he existed in a haze. The world around him carried on, but his had stopped.

“You’ve barely touched your food,” Blaise muttered beside him.

Theo didn’t respond. He knew his friends were trying to help, but none of them understood. They didn’t know what it was like to lose someone who was a part of you.