"No, no study advice needed," he answered quietly, attempting to return her smile but mostly failing so the expression came out more of a grimace. Holding himself rigidly, Malcolm walked around the couch and took a seat a space away from where Astoria reclined. He looked down at his own hands, as if unsure of what to do next. A moment later he cleared his throat, raising his head to look at her profile seriously. To any outsider observer, it would have been obvious that he had a rehearsed speech prepared, and was simply girding up the courage to launch into it. He leaned an inch closer to her, eyes intent on her face.
"We've been friends a long time now, Astoria. You were one of the first people I really connected with in Slytherin," Malcolm began carefully, not wanting to confess too much too quickly. "I... I really care about you. Last year when you left Hogwarts to stay with your sister, I couldn't stop worrying that you'd somehow wind up getting hurt."
He took an almost ragged breath, forcing himself to stop and see how she took this small revelation. He needed some clue, some modicum of encouragement, if he was truly going to embark on the words he had prepared days earlier and imagined saying aloud for a year.