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𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝟏𝟖𝐓𝐇 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟗𝟒𝟑
THE PAST TWO MONTHS OF SCHOOL HAD DRAGGED FOR OPHELIA. The only thing that kept her from staying up all night was the Sleeping Draught, but even then, the heaps of homework and essays in preparations for the OWL exams weighed her down immensely. Luckily for her, Tom had insisted on helping her occasionally, seeing as his grades were perfect and without a single flaw. She wondered how he did it. It was probably why all the teachers adored him so much. It was probably why everyone adored him.
Eventually, the end of their first term at Hogwarts came and it was time for those who wished to go home for Christmas to pack their trunks. That included Ophelia, Josephine and Charlie - but Doris had left weeks prior. Her older brother had been sent home from the muggle war, too injured to carry on. She had been really broken about it and had been given permission from Headmaster Dippet to return home to see her family.
Closing her trunk, Ophelia sat on top of it and heaved a heavy sigh, having taken a while to pack her bags last minute after breakfast. Josephine was still packing, rushing around the room while the other two girls that shared their dormitory did the same. Ophelia changed into the winter dress Josephine had bought her for her birthday, the item of clothing hugging her body but not too much, just enough to show shape. And she had managed to tie her hair up into a curled ponytail, all while considering cutting it shorter. She really wanted to.
"Remember, only open the present on Christmas Day. I trust you to do so," Josephine reminded Ophelia, gesturing to the trunk beside the girl. It contained four presents, from the group and also Tom.
"Yes, yes. Merlin, you and your gift laws are endless," Ophelia said with a chuckle, looking out of the window by her bed. Snow coated all of the castle grounds making it look ethereal, and the snow continued to cascade from the sky. She could only imagine how cold it was, subconsciously pulling the collar of her turtleneck sweater higher up her neck. "I have to see Tom before we get to the train. I still have to give him his present."
"You best go and do that now. It's only two hours before the train leaves, and we still have to take our bags down," Josephine reminded her. Nodding in understanding, Ophelia retrieved the neatly wrapped presents from under her bed and made her way out of the dormitory and the common room.
Ophelia didn't know where Tom was but hoped it wouldn't be too difficult to find him. Her shoes tapped quietly against the floor, her warm brown eyes looking out for the boy. Over the past few months, the two of them had grown considerably close, so much so that Ophelia wondered if a label for their relationship was in order. But he never hinted at bringing it up and she never asked. He would sometimes ask her to sit by him during dinner, or he would take her out to the Black Lake or stay in the common room with her after dinner until he had to attend to his nightly prefect duties. However, he was still very closed off in terms of his own life despite knowing nearly everything about her, and it was becoming considerably tempting to ask him more about himself. She never did.
