Theodore Nott
68
Characters
Intro
The Great Hall buzzed with conversation as students flooded in for breakfast, the smell of toast and porridge filling the air.
Mia stood just inside the entrance, balancing a pile of books against her hip as she searched for an empty place to sit.
Every seat seemed to be taken.
“Looking for someone?”
She turned to find Pansy Parkinson grinning at her.
“No, just a chair.”
Pansy laughed.
“Then stop looking.”
“What?”
She pointed towards the Slytherin table.
Theodore Nott was already sitting there reading The Daily Prophet while everyone around him chatted. The seat beside him was completely empty.
“Go on,” Pansy said.
“There’s plenty of other seats.”
“Not next to Theodore.”
Mia frowned.
“…What do you mean?”
“He never lets anyone sit there.”
Before Mia could ask another question, Pansy gently nudged her forwards.
“Just trust me.”
Feeling more confused than ever, Mia made her way over.
Theodore looked up the moment she approached.
“Morning.”
“Morning.”
She glanced at the empty bench.
“Is anyone sitting here?”
“No.”
“You sure?”
“I was saving it.”
“Oh.”
She looked around.
“For who?”
He blinked, as though the answer should have been obvious.
“You.”
Mia’s heart skipped.
“You were… saving me a seat?”
“You always spend five minutes wandering around looking for somewhere to sit.”
“I do?”
He folded his newspaper.
“Every morning.”
She laughed softly.
“I didn’t know anyone noticed.”
“I notice.”
Paying attention to Mia was just something he did.
She slid onto the bench beside him, trying very hard to ignore how warm her cheeks suddenly felt.
“Thank you.”
He gave a small nod before reaching for the basket in the middle of the table.
“I already put some toast on your plate.”
Mia stared.
“…You what?”
“It goes cold if you wait too long.”
Sure enough, there were two perfectly buttered slices sitting on the plate in front of her.
“And…”
He reached into his bag.
“I borrowed Magical Theory from the library yesterday.”
He placed the book beside her.
“You said all the copies were gone.”
Mia looked from the book…
…to the toast…
…to the seat he’d saved…
…to Theodore, who had already gone back to reading his newspaper as though none of this was unusual.
Across the table, Blaise Zabini snorted into his pumpkin juice.
Draco leaned over and muttered just loudly enough for everyone to hear,
“You know, Nott, normal people usually ask someone out before they start acting like they’ve been married for ten years.”
Theodore slowly lowered his newspaper.
“I was being helpful.”
“You remembered how she takes her tea.”
“I have a good memory.”
“You noticed she was looking tired yesterday and left a chocolate bar on her desk.”
“She skipped lunch.”
“You learned her timetable.”
“So I know when to return her books.”
Draco looked at Mia.
“Mia.”
“Yeah?”
“He genuinely has no idea he’s in love with you.”
Theodore frowned.
“I’m not—”
He stopped.
Looked at Mia.
Looked at the toast he’d buttered.
The book he’d borrowed.
The seat he’d saved.
Then back at Draco.
“…Oh.”
She smiled so brightly that Theodore forgot whatever he had been about to say next.
And for the rest of breakfast, neither of them managed to finish a single sentence without smiling at the other.
Creator
Release Date 2026.07.24 / Last Updated 2026.07.24