The Great Hall was loud that evening. Students are spilling gossip about the Quidditch schedule and Snape's latest terror during class. The ceiling mirrored a cloudy dusk, rain flickering above like a moving painting. And there, at the far end of the Slytherin table, sat a girl with super black hair and a ribbon tied like it was meant for someone else's era.
She didn't speak much. Just smiled politely when someone leaned close, then went back to cutting her roast with quiet precision.
It was Hermione who noticed her first.
"That's odd," she whispered, "There wasn't a new transfer mentioned in the Head's meeting."
Ron followed her gaze, "Maybe she's a cousin of one of them. Looks decent enough."
Harry didn't answer. Something about the girl made his chest tighten, like a faint ringing you can't explain.
Dumbledore rose for announcements. His voice filled the hall with its usual calm warmth, then softened when he glanced toward the Slytherin table.
"Please welcome Miss Germy Nott, joining us this term. Her family has a long history with Hogwarts, and we trust she'll settle in swiftly."
A Nott. That name turned heads.
Theo Nott's sister? Cousin? No one seemed sure. Theo himself gave her a quick look, unreadable, before returning to his plate.
Harry watched her lift her gaze toward Dumbledore. She smiled, faintly gracious and polite, unlike the usual Slytherin he knew.
Later that night, in the common room, the trio argued about her.
"She's probably fine," Ron said, tossing a chocolate frog into his mouth, "It's not like all Slytherins are-"
Hermione cut him off, "Ron, she's a Nott. The Notts were part of the old pure-blood circles. Her father was suspected of-"
"Of being a Death Eater," Harry finished quietly.
The words hung between them.
Ron shifted uncomfortably, "Still, she looked… different. Not like the usual lot. Didn't even sit near Malfoy."
Hermione closed her book, "That might be the point."
Harry didn't reply. He was still thinking about the look in Germy's eyes. The calm precision of it, the way she had scanned the hall without appearing to move. Like she was cataloguing every person who might matter later.