sixth year | half blood prince
"I'm going to miss you so much, Ophelia." Her mothers arms wrapped gently around her body as she squeezed tightly. "I'm only an owl away if you need to chat." She whispered in her daughters ear, who now nodded with a smile. "Please let me know when you arrive there safely." Ophelia nodded, as her mother stood from her hug and looked ahead to the manor before them. "Are you sure you don't want me to accompany you? I'm a bit hesitant leaving you here on your own." Her mother grew anxious at the sight of the home. She still had never been inside of it, but she somehow, for some reason, trusted the family to take care of her. She knew they wouldn't let a thing harm her, at least, as long as her secret remained a secret.
"Mum, I'll be fine. Pansy will be there along with Theo, and I promise, it's just one night. They have always treated me like family." Ophelia smiled, assuringly. Her mother smiled, wiping the tear from her eye.
"Just please, be safe. And remember—"
"Conceal. I know." Ophelia rolled her eyes with a smirk. "I've made it this far, haven't I?"
"You have. I just can't get over how old you are." She shook her head. It was bittersweet to see your child grow, but terrifying all at once. One second they are still learning how to crawl, and the next they're just only a few years to adulthood.
"Alright, I've got to get going." Ophelia was impatient, trying to get out of the grasp of her mother and to her friends she desperately wanted to see.
"I know, I know. I love you, Ophelia."
"I love you, mum." Ophelia waved her off and hurried to the front doors of the manor. She had only been here a handful of times, mostly for the annual Christmas party they held each year, but it always amazed her how eloquent it was. She reached her hand up, beginning to knock, when the door opened up wide and she was faced with the familiar house elf. "Hello, Wheezey." She smiled as Wheezey smiled back, allowing her to enter.
"Wheezey shall get Master." Wheezey told her, hurrying off.
"No need." A soft voice spoke, halting the creature from leaving. The woman came in to view and smiled wide at her guest. "Ophelia! I'm so happy you could come!" She exclaimed.
"Thank you so much for having me, Mrs Malfoy!" Ophelia exclaimed, walking to her with a brief hug.
"Draco and the others are just upstairs." She told her, kindly. Ophelia nodded and made her way up the long, large staircase. She walked down the hall, with an echo of her boots ringing around her and slowly opened the door to Draco's room. Pansy and Theo had been sitting on the floor playing some card game, while Draco, sat himself up in his bed and looked directly at her. She felt her face burn red as she entered the room. Pansy immediately jumped up, running to Ophelia with a tight embrace.
"It's about bloody time you got here! These two have been driving me mad." Pansy scoffed while Ophelia let out a laugh.
"Can't imagine why." She mocked the boys in response. Draco shifted himself into a more appeasing position as he stared over at Ophelia who was eyeing him awkwardly. Usually their friendship would just pick back up where it last left off, but being that the two of them had actually met up once during the summer and kissed briefly for the first time, it was a weird encounter.
"Wow, Draco, what a way to great your girl." Pansy scoffed at him with a laugh.
"She is not my girl." Draco rebutted, picking up the Daily Prophet, and obviously pretending he was reading it.
"I could be if you just asked nicely." Ophelia joked back, giving him a quick side eye before sitting on the floor beside Theo.
"Malfoy with a girlfriend? That'll be the day." Theo joked, slamming down one of the cards, with a loud and exaggerated 'Ha!' while Pansy sighed in defeat.
"I'll have you know, Nott, I've plenty of willing girls at the ready." Draco snapped at him, defending himself.
"Oh yeah? Who? It seems to me you prefer the company of Blaise and I more than females, mate." Theo winked at him, before standing and walking to the window.
"That's because you two prats never take your heads out of my arse." Draco chucked the paper at him, causing Theo to throw it back.
"I think we can all just agree that Draco is the only one who has their head up his own arse." Ophelia said, pulling the paper from Draco's hands. Her fingers briefly brushed against his knuckles and she felt her heart flutter ever so slightly. What was happening to her? Yes, she had been very much attracted to Draco for years now, but something had changed in the both of them, and now all she wanted was to see him and be around him. Pulling the paper away, she set it on the floor beside Pansy and walked to the bathroom which was conjoined to Draco's room. Shutting the door behind her, she pulled her hair into a high ponytail and stared at her face for a moment. She couldn't keep getting so giddy around her best friend, because the second others notice, it'll be a never ending torment of them. And no one, including Pansy, needed to know about their secret kiss over the summer. That was between them and did not need to be shared. Even if they all knew Draco and Ophelia held feelings for each other, the two of them weren't very vocal about it toward one another.
Walking back out, she noticed everyone was standing, gathering their belongings. For a moment, she had completely forgotten why she was even at Draco's to begin with. But then it came rushing back to her. "You ready, Ope?" Pansy asked, draping her Slytherin scarf over Ophelia's neck.
"Right, yeah." Ophelia nodded, following Pansy and the two boys out Draco's door and down the hall.
Ophelia's eyes fluttered open as she looked to Pansy who had just sat down beside her. Pansy was quiet, knowing all how Ophelia was feeling, so she simply placed her hand on top of Ophelia's in an attempt at comfort. "What's on your mind?" She whispered to her friend.
"Just thinking back to this time last year." Ophelia shrugged, leaning her head gently on Pansy's shoulder.
"You know, I heard he broke up with Astoria." Pansy told her, abruptly changing the subject.
"Why?" Ophelia asked before shaking her head, "Nevermind. I don't care." She let out a sigh. Pansy went quiet for a moment before speaking again.
"He apparently did it right after you ended it with Fred." She whispered again.
"And who told him I broke up with Fred?" Ophelia felt herself get annoyed. There were no secrets within their group. Well, except the one. Her one.
"Theo."
"And how is it that Theo found out?" Ophelia questioned, raising a brow.
"Blaise."
"And you told Blaise, I presume?" Pansy went quiet at this question. And Ophelia sighed once again, now leaning her head against the compartment window.
"I'm sorry. Figured you'd be happy they broke up." Pansy insisted, trying to explain her motive.
"I'm happy if he's happy." Ophelia muttered, before two figures slid into the booth. Blaise, squeezed in next to Pansy on the far left side and Theo sat across Ophelia, wide smile and all.
"But he's not happy." He claimed, with a smirk.
"Bloody hell, Nott, do you ever know how to mind your business?" Pansy snapped at him and he shrugged. A mist of black smoke rushed through the compartments as students began to cough and complain. Ophelia looked around, confused and then when the smoke faded away, Draco Malfoy's face came into view. He refused eye contact with her, as he took his seat across Blaise. Her heart was beating faster and she felt the heat rise into her cheeks. But she had to play it cool, so she rested her head once more against the window. The train soon began to leave and the silence was thick and eerie. Everyone was uncomfortable due to the circumstances.
"Well, we should be at Hogwarts soon." Pansy coughed in an attempt to ease the awkward tension.
"Hogwarts," Draco scoffed, finally speaking up, "what a pathetic excuse for a school. Think I'd rather pitch myself off the astronomy tower before I have to continue for another two years." Ophelia looked to him, dumbfounded by this negative attitude he now had.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Pansy asked. Draco scoffed.
"Let's just say I don't see me wasting my time in charms class next year." Draco rolled his eyes, glancing upward. Blaise snickered at this comment. "Amused, Blaise? We'll see just who's laughing in the end." He now looked to the side. Ophelia shifted in her seat, now rolling her eyes with a scoff at him. He was acting like a prat, and she felt it was unnecessary. He finally looked to her, glaring with an angered expression.
"Want to elaborate some more, Malfoy? Or are you just going to keep bitching about our school?" Ophelia finally spoke, feeling some anger rise up in her.
"Coming from you? That's funny." He snapped back.
"And what exactly are you implying?" She asked, leaning forward. If she could strangle him, she would. Pansy sunk back, not expecting them to already be arguing after only five minutes of seeing each other again.
"Don't get me started on everything you bitched about last year. Constantly, just talk, talk, talk. Your nagging has always been a constant in my life and it's not an attractive trait to have."
"Fred sure found it attractive." She said a little louder as Pansy grasped onto her thigh, trying to get her to calm down and not already begin the bickering.
"Yeah? And where's he now?" Draco snickered. Blaise was feeling uncomfortable. He didn't agree with Draco's behavior, and with how many nights he spent consoling Ophelia over her heartbreak over him, he knew Draco was just being a prat.
"Wanna give us a quick briefing on you and Astoria? How'd that end, love?" Ophelia couldn't contain herself now. But before Draco could hurl some sort of insult to her again, Theo took it upon himself to speak up.
"Well, mates, this has been a fun topic of conversation, but maybe we should focus on the issue at hand." He smiled.
"Christ, Nott, what issue?" Pansy sighed at him, with a glare.
"Is nobody curious on what disgusting food we'll be served tonight? Come on, we always sneak into the kitchens and steal snacks the first night. It's like a tradition." He insisted, but this wasn't helping whatsoever. Ophelia glanced at Draco, who was now looking upward at the luggage rack above them. She too, followed his gaze to it, and then went back to him. He noticed this, and looked away. "This year will be fun." Theo commented sarcastically, before leaning his head on his arms.
When the train slowed to a stop, it was dark outside, and students were eager to get some dinner and go to sleep. But Ophelia felt she needed to talk to Draco. She knew their groups friendship wouldn't survive if her and Draco didn't make amends, so this was her best chance to squash whatever lingering resentment was between them. She was still hurting from his harsh words, and she knew she wouldn't be able to handle a whole school year of it. Pansy, Theo and Blaise all got up, and Pansy turned to Ophelia, but she gave her a look that read to give her a second with him alone. When Pansy got off the train, Ophelia moved herself over to being across from Draco. "Look, I understand you're upset with me. I get it. But can we please try and not make this year miserable? We were friends before all of this, so why can't we be friends now?" She asked him and his eyes narrowed in her direction.
"Ophelia?" He asked, in a gentle tone.
"Yeah?"
"Do yourself a favor, and piss off."