Theodore Nott had originally just been passing through.
This was a common area in Hogwarts—surely anyone was allowed to walk through here?
He didn’t speak, but looking at Vincent standing right in front of him, his eyes made his meaning crystal clear.
And it wasn’t just Vincent.
A few steps behind him stood Harry Potter and two other Gryffindors, staring at him.
“Blocking the way? I never expected Gryffindors to do something like this.”
Theodore let out a sneer.
If Vincent really was looking for trouble, that smile alone would have been enough to spark an immediate duel.
In fact, he would have preferred Vincent to be looking for trouble.
At least then he could pull out his wand and hit him with a spell instead of waiting around to hear whatever weird thing he was going to say.
“What, surprised that a Slytherin would get stopped in the hall for once? There’s no school rule saying blocking people’s paths is a Slytherin exclusive. Besides, I’m a Ravenclaw. Even if I wanted to pull a stunt like this, I wouldn’t call Gryffindors to help.”
Vincent took another step closer.
Theodore instinctively wanted to back away, but feeling that retreating would make him look weak, he forced himself to stand his ground.
They weren’t far apart, but not too close either.
Vincent didn’t raise his voice, speaking softly so only the two of them could hear.
Harry tried to catch a few useful words over the chilly breeze, but found nothing but cold air.
“When did Vincent get to know a Slytherin?” Harry muttered, unable to hear anything over the wind.
Giving up, he settled for watching their movements, planning to ask Vincent directly in a bit.
“Looks like they’re almost friendly.”
“That’s Theodore Nott,” Hermione provided, always ready with information.
“He’s quite well-known in Slytherin and very good at Potions. Vincent brewed potions with him once.”
No matter the situation, Hermione could always supply information.
Ron looked at her in surprise.
“You know about that too? Aren’t we together every day? How do you seem to have an extra eight hours in your day?”
“Because I actually pay attention instead of wasting class time complaining about the professors.”
Hermione knew better than anyone how Ron and Harry scrambled during Potions while still finding time to badmouth Severus Snape.
“That just proves Snape is genuinely terrible.”
Even without naming him directly, they all knew which professor was being implied.
Vincent lowered his voice intentionally, and Ron and the others were keeping their voices down too.
From Theodore’s angle, he could just see their lips moving as they whispered.
“Your friends don’t know about our connection. Do you really have to act like we’re close friends in public?”
Ordinarily, Theodore wasn’t the type to care about people getting close to him, nor would he give a damn about gossip among acquaintances.
But Vincent…
for some reason, getting involved with him always gave Theodore a distinctly bad feeling.
“I used to think Slytherin was the least popular house in Hogwarts. Has that treatment shifted to Ravenclaw now? As a proud Ravenclaw, I ought to offer a positive response on behalf of my house.”
Vincent kept his smile.
“By the way, mind sharing your modified Warming Charm?”
Theodore: “I haven’t modified the Warming Charm.”
“Yet your actual physical temperature is significantly higher than mine. Given that we’re both using the Warming Charm, our temperatures should be equal. I don’t consider my physical constitution inferior to yours, so there’s no reason my temperature should be lower.”
This time, Vincent had truly come out of pure academic curiosity.
“Oh. It’s because my clothes are more expensive,” Theodore said deadpan.
Vincent blinked in confusion.
“What?”
“Because my clothes are expensive. This school robe uses the most expensive fabric in Madam Malkin’s shop. It comes with built-in heating magic.”
Vincent: “…Never mind then.”
Theodore walked past him, a streak of warm air brushing against Vincent’s exposed hand.
Just an ordinary rich guy.