Her fifth year at Hogwarts had been like all the others before it, the only notable difference being the added stress of her OWLs.
She barely even noticed the Slytherin boy with the hooked nose; wouldn't have noticed him at all if it weren't for the fact that he kept following that Mudblood girl around like a lost House-elf.
She'd been out of Hogwarts for nearly two years when she next took note of him; the sickly-looking teenager who had begun to spend quite a bit of time with her youngest cousin. They'd both taken to following Bella around like she were royalty, hanging off her every word.
She couldn't tell you when it had become more than that; she wasn't even sure if it was more than that.
He was in no way attractive - if anyone told you otherwise, they were lying - with his greasy hair and hunched stance; with the way he managed to simultaneously act as though he were better than her and as though he lived to serve her every wish.
She ignored it as best she could; these almost-feelings for a man who was so far beneath her it was laughable.
But she always noticed him; she couldn't help it.