Some people even speculated that Eve might have Seer blood.
How else could she have foreseen Nolan's worth and latched onto him the moment they entered Hogwarts?
Eve was mortified. Her face burned as she frantically waved her hands. "Stop talking about me!"*
"Alright, onto the next Hogwarts mystery..." Astoria's lips curled into a mischievous smile. "How many girls at Hogwarts do you think have a crush on Nolan?"
A collective groan rose from the Slytherin boys.
"Everyone is curious about this question!"
Camille snickered, shaking her head. "The worst thing for a boy at Hogwarts is finding out that the girl he likes left chocolates on Nolan's desk on Valentine's Day. Absolutely brutal."*
"And yet, it happens all the time," Montague said dramatically, sighing in mock sorrow. "Honestly, not every boy likes Valentine's Day. Hogwarts boys, especially, hate it."
Alicia turned to Eve, curious. "How many chocolates did he get last year?"
Eve's smile stiffened. "I have no idea... If I were the one handling his chocolates, the girls would have set me on fire."
"Thirty-seven," Montague answered confidently. "For reference, last semester, there were 153 female students at Hogwarts."*
Astoria's eyes widened. "That's over a fifth of them! That many girls?"
Montague clicked his tongue and shook his head. "If anything, we're probably underestimating. I'd bet the real number is much higher. Think about it—not every girl has the courage to send chocolates to someone like Nolan. The odds of being ignored are too high, and no one wants to be humiliated. Plus, we have to rule out the older girls in fifth, sixth, and seventh year—they wouldn't be interested in a second-year kid."
"That means the percentage is insanely high..." Astoria was bewildered.
Just what kind of wizard could inspire this level of admiration?
Sure, she wasn't going to deny that Nolan was handsome, powerful, and incredibly influential, but was that really enough to make more than half of his female classmates swoon?
Something about it felt almost unnatural.
After that, the Slytherins skipped the mystery of Nolan's eyepatch and moved on to a much more bizarre question—
Why had Hogwarts hired Gilderoy Lockhart?
Opinions were divided.
One camp believed Dumbledore had lost his mind, possibly from eating too many Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.
The other camp thought that Lockhart was deliberately placed at Hogwarts to be a comic relief act, meant to lighten up the otherwise serious academic atmosphere.
At this point, even the most delusional fangirls had given up on believing Lockhart had any real talent.
…
That Night – The Slytherin Common Room
Astoria found her cousin, Daphne Greengrass, near the giant glass window.
Daphne was using "Lumos Maxima" to entertain a large, inky-black cuttlefish on the other side of the glass. The creature's keen eyes followed the glowing light, its soft, elastic body moving in an odd, dance-like motion as it tried to chase the flickering glow.
Astoria watched the strange display for a while, then muttered, "I never even knew cuttlefish had eyes."*
Daphne extinguished her wand and turned to her excitedly. "Astoria? Did you find out anything?"
Astoria let out a long sigh and leaned on the railing, looking thoroughly unimpressed. "The competition is brutal. Nolan is even more popular than you think. You know he got thirty-seven chocolates last year?" She groaned dramatically. "With that many options, how is a Greengrass girl supposed to win?"
Daphne pouted, clearly unhappy. "It's all because of Eve Stock. She won't stop clinging to him! She's just a Muggle-born—marrying her would be a disaster for Nolan!"*
Astoria rolled her eyes. She had little patience for her cousin's narrow-mindedness. "It's not that simple, Daphne. You don't understand his situation."*
She folded her arms and explained, "Nolan's family isn't just some random noble house. In the Muggle world, they're extremely influential. They own a massive estate the size of London. They live in a castle, have servants, and run businesses that generate insane profits. They're true aristocrats, not like us pure-blood wizards who just like to pretend we are."*
The uncomfortable truth was that pure-blood wizards had an inflated sense of self-importance but, in reality, most of them weren't that wealthy.
Sure, compared to regular wizarding families, they lived comfortably, but they weren't even close to being as rich as Muggle aristocrats.
In fact, many of the so-called pure-blood noble families had been forced to sell their ancestral magical artifacts just to maintain their luxurious lifestyle.
Even the Malfoys, the pride of the pure-bloods, were rumored to be running low on Galleons.
And that was terrifying.
If even the Malfoys were struggling, what did that say about the rest of the pure-bloods?
The Greengrass family was no exception.
They had history, but not wealth.
For Astoria and Daphne, their real mission at Hogwarts wasn't just about becoming powerful witches. It was about securing a husband—preferably one who was already rich, or at least knew how to make money.
And Nolan Von Draugr was the perfect candidate.
The problem?
Winning him over wasn't going to be easy.
Astoria gave her cousin a pointed look. "Why didn't you make a move last year?"
Her tone was laced with disappointment—Daphne had wasted an entire year.
"What were you thinking?"
Daphne's face turned crimson, her freckles standing out even more as she stammered, flustered. "T-That's Prince Nolan we're talking about! How could I just... casually start a conversation with him?!"
Astoria sighed, rolling her eyes. "The more distant you think he is, the farther away he'll become."*
She might have only been eleven, but the burden of her family's expectations had already made her wise beyond her years.
Some things in life don't just fall into your lap—you have to fight for them.
"Listen to me, Daphne," Astoria said seriously. "If Nolan is out of reach, you should start considering Baddock or Malfoy instead."*
"Baddock?" Daphne frowned, trying to recall. "You mean Malcolm Baddock? Oh—absolutely not, Astoria! That would be the worst choice!"*
She shuddered in disgust. "The Baddock family is going to go bankrupt before any other pure-blood house! They've already lost all their Galleons!"*
Astoria's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What? But I thought the Baddocks had several family members working at the Ministry. Their salaries are decent, and their reputation is almost as grand as the Malfoys!"*
Daphne let out a low chuckle, lowering her voice like she was spilling a scandalous secret. "Oh, Astoria, do you really think that kind of money can sustain their extravagant lifestyle?"
Her eyes glimmered with satisfaction as she continued, "Until last year, the Baddocks were still hosting lavish social gatherings, throwing extravagant parties to show off their wealth and influence. But this year? Not a single event. Do you know why?"
She leaned in closer, smirking. "Because they're broke. Completely. I even heard that Malcolm couldn't afford to buy this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook. Camille told me that! And now, the entire Slytherin house knows!"*
Astoria felt a twinge of regret. "Oh, Camille... that loudmouth."*
Mental note: Never tell Camille Smith anything important. That girl was completely unreliable when it came to keeping secrets.
"Then what about Malfoy?" Astoria asked.
Daphne huffed, crossing her arms. "Draco's family has always been close with the Parkinsons. He'll probably end up marrying Pansy."*
She grimaced, as if the very idea was distasteful. "And we all know that Pansy is... well...**let's just say she has a very distinct look."*
The truth was, every pure-blood witch understood this—when it came to marriage, they had very few choices of their own.
~~~----------------------
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