You entered the castle in your seventh year. You made friends... Mattheo, Draco, Blaise, Theodore, Regulus and even Lorenzo. You had fun with them... Being known as the 'good girl'. But Tom knows who you are... what you are capable of... what you have done... and why you are here. It is all imprinted on his mind.

Laughter filled the space of the common room as you sat on the sofa surrounded by the boys. Mattheo chuckled. "Come on, admit it. I definitely won the prank war this time," he declared.

Draco smirked. "I think we can all agree Mattheo thrives on chaos."

Regulus tilted his head and offered a rare grin. "Chaos is Mattheo's middle name."

"Actually," Lorenzo interjected smoothly, "his middle name might as well be 'Annoying.'"

Another wave of laughter rippled through the group, and for a moment, everything felt light and easy. You joined in, smiling and laughing along with them. You were the "good girl" here, after all.

But as you leaned back, you could feel a pair of eyes on you. Tom wasn’t laughing. He rarely did. Instead, he observed, his piercing eyes betraying the depth of his thoughts. You glanced at him briefly, meeting his gaze, and something cold and electric passed between you.

"I should head to bed," you said suddenly.

"Already?" Mattheo whined. "Come on, don’t let Draco’s sulking drive you away."

You chuckled. "I’ll see you all in the morning."

Ss soon as you stepped into the corridor, the faint sound of footsteps behind you was unmistakable. You didn’t have to turn around to know who it was.

"Running away so soon?" Tom’s voice was smooth.

You stopped, before slowly turning to face him. "You shouldn’t follow people, Tom. It’s impolite."

Tom took a step closer. "And you shouldn’t pretend to be something you’re not," he replied. "It’s dishonest."

Your breath caught. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

His lips curved into the faintest hint of a smirk. "Oh, but you do. Don’t you? You’re not here for the reasons they think you are. And we both know it."

Why are you here?