SHE SPENT THE NEXT TWO days in anger, sending spiteful glares at Ginny every single time she saw her. Meanwhile, the Weasley girl was getting a whole load of praise and popularity showered her way, while Ophelia was once again, kicked to the curb for reasons unknown.

She should have known that it was too good to be true. That her, Ophelia Malfoy, would ever be on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. No, it wasn't fair. Not one bit.

Just as she thought things would get better...

She resented Angelina. She hated Ginny.

At least she still had Colin, even if the whole world was against her.

Colin seemed sympathetic when Ophelia told him about what happened with the Quidditch team, and after he gave her a hug, and told her everything would work out, she felt much, much better.

"Everything will be okay, Ophelia," Colin said quietly, pulling the blonde into his shoulder and wrapping his arms around her. "Just give it time."

And so, Ophelia did. She gave it time. 

Three days passed, and during every Quidditch practice, she showed up, and sat on the bench, without saying a word. 

A week later, and once again, Angelina approached her.

"Hey Malfoy," Angelina greeted cheerfully, after they were the only two left in the locker rooms. Ophelia was done changing.

"Johnson," replied Ophelia coolly, her expression impassive.

"I'm really sorry about—"

"It's fine," Ophelia cut her off. "It doesn't matter. I should have known you'd choose a Weasley over a Malfoy."

"No, see, the thing is.. I want you to play beater.." Angelina explained. "You're... really good."

Ophelia's expression remained neutral, save for the small eye-brow raise. 

And then, several silent moments later, she spoke.

"Fine, I'll do it."

Because playing as beater, was better than not playing at all.

And so, Ophelia became the first ever female beater for the Gryffindor team.

As Ophelia got used to her new position on the team, and tried to fit in with the team, November was out like a dying fire, and the flame of December was alight, bringing with it the Christmas spirit.

Hagrid, Filch and Professor Flitwick were working on decorating the castle together, and Ophelia had to dodge the mistletoe on her way to her classes, in fear of being trapped underneath with someone she barely knew.

Along with the Christmas excitement came the next Hogsmeade visit, the last one before the end of the first term. Ophelia was rather enthusiastic about going, to say the least, as she yet had to find Christmas presents for her family and friends.

She was also looking forward to going into the village with Colin, as lately, he'd been spending less and less time with her. He would walk Abigail to some of her classes, and sometimes study with her in the library, and take pictures of her...

And Ophelia gradually felt like she was being replaced. But Colin had no other friends besides herself, and he seemed rather happy when he was with Abigail, and Ophelia, who didn't want to seem too protective or selfish, said nothing, and decided to be happy for him.

Colin had waltzed into the common room one afternoon with a smile on his face, after Care of Magical Creatures class, elated that Abigail had agreed to be his girlfriend, which made their relationship public.

The announcement of their official relationship also meant that Colin would spend much more time with Abigail than normal. Often, Ophelia would find Colin missing, specially during the evenings, right before curfew, where Colin seemed to make it a habit to spend a couple of hours every other week with his girlfriend.

Right before the Hogsmeade visit, after Ophelia had gotten dressed, Colin slowly closed in on her while she sat in the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Ophelia, hey—"

Ophelia glanced up at him through her eyelashes as she buttered up her toast. A bright smile crossed her features when she noticed him. "Colin. I thought you were with Abigail." 

"I was," Colin mumbled, lips contorted into an expression of confusion.

"Wait, is something wrong?" Ophelia asked worriedly, making space for him to sit next to her as she noticed his unusual lack of enthusiasm.

Colin sighed and sat down, running a hand through his hair. "It's Abigail," he murmured. "She got me something for Christmas.." 

"So?" Ophelia remarked. "Wait, that's a good thing, right?"

"I didn't get her anything," Colin groaned, burying his face in his hands. 

"Hey, relax," Ophelia chuckled. "You could always get something for her today.."

"Yes, but I don't know what to get her," Colin argued. "I don't know what she likes! Unless—" His eyes landed on Ophelia. "Ophelia, could you help me?" he asked quietly.

The blonde sighed. Once glance at his pained expression, and she nodded. "Fine."

"Yay!" Colin tackled her into a hug. "You're the best!"

And the Gryffindor girl suddenly felt strangely hot when she wrapped her arms around him, but just assumed that it had something to do with the fact that her best friend was always warm.

"How about you get her makeup?" Ophelia suggested, as the pair left The Three Broomsticks, the blonde reapplying another layer of lip-gloss.

"Nah, she doesn't like makeup," Colin quipped, leading her into the cobbled streets. "She says it's too artificial, and true beauty comes from within."

"Right," Ophelia said unsurely, clearing her throat and putting her lip-gloss away, her cheeks pink, a sinking feeling settling itself right in the center of her chest. "D-do you agree?" she found herself asking, in great need of hearing his answer.

Colin shrugged. "I do agree that a good personality contributes to beauty, but in a way, I think maybe a little makeup won't hurt..."

Ophelia looked up at him, humming softly in agreement. "S-so," she cleared her throat awkwardly. "What would you say about me?" she asked, trying to sound confident to hide the slight insecurities she felt. 

Colin stopped walking just to look at her, his expression softening. "About you?" he questioned, a crinkle forming between his eyes as he wondered what on earth brought up this sudden concern of hers. 

She said nothing, her grey eyes glancing up to meet his, anticipating his answer.

Colin gave her a side-lipped grin. "I've told you before, Ophelia," he stated, slinging his arm around her shoulder and leading her to continue walking. "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

At this, the blonde nearly choked, but disguised it as a nervous laugh as she brushed his arm off her, blushing at the intensification of the little flutters in her stomach, bending her head down to hide her flushed cheeks. "I'm... I'm not.." She found herself saying, and Colin had to completely freeze in his tracks to stare at her.

"Modesty?" his eyes widened. "You're being modest?" he emphasized. "Merlin, Ophelia, are you feeling okay?"

He took a step closer to examine her, to which she responded by rolling her eyes and scoffing. "I'm not being modest."

And then, she threw her nose in the air, and confidently sauntered into Scrivenshaft's Quills, Colin following her as he eyed her curiously.

By the time the pair left Hogsmeade, Ophelia had bought a pure cashmere sweater for her mother, an ornate pocket watch for her father, and she had secretly managed to purchase a delicate wrist watch for Colin. 

Colin was rather pleased after Ophelia had helped him pick a pretty blue hair ribbon and an ancient wizarding romance for Abigail's Christmas gift, and he kept thanking her all the way back to Hogwarts.

This year, Ophelia would be going back to Malfoy Manor for the Christmas holidays, and much to her utmost disappointment, Draco would be joining her too. 

The last week before the Christmas holidays passed by faster than the blonde had anticipated, mainly because the teachers seemed to partake in the Christmas spirit, and were cutting the students some slack when it came to their homework and classwork, much to their delight.

The fourth years had much more time on their plate, and one day before the commencement of the holidays, Colin had told Ophelia he wanted to teach her a muggle card game called Uno. She agreed instantly, curious to try out something new, even though her father would disapprove of this.

All day she had spent looking forward to the night, and at last, after class ended an hour early, she skipped off to her dormitory to drop off her books, and change from her school uniform.

Dinner was a livelier affair than usual. There was a beef casserole and mushroom soup for dinner, and the blonde, for once, actually finished everything on her plate. 

When she got up to the common room, (which seemed much emptier than normal, for some reason), Colin was nowhere to be found. 

Ophelia had gone round to do some asking, but it turned out that he was not in his dormitory too.

He must be with Abigail, Ophelia thought, before sighing and taking up her usual seat in the corner of the common room, opening up a copy of Hamlet, as she waited for him to turn up.

But an hour later, he was still missing.

Her eyes watering, she stood up in frustration as she stared at her watch. He'd never been gone this long before. This was the last straw; she'd had enough.

It was one thing that Abigail had stolen her best friend, but it was another when her best friend had blown her off when he'd made a commitment to her, and that made her furious.

Her eyes watered. It was completely and utterly annoying; the fact that she had to pretend to be okay with it. She was happy for Colin, and tried her best to be supportive, but it seemed harsh for him to take advantage of her, and for him to take her for granted. She had nobody else at Hogwarts, and she thought that it was rather insensitive of him to forget all about her.

Does he not need me anymore? thought Ophelia.

Marching out of the common room angrily, with tears balancing in her eyes, she stormed across the corridors, until she managed to locate the Ravenclaw common room.

Standing outside the blue door, with a bronze knocker, the blonde came face to face with a stone gargoyle. 

"What is always in the future, but never arrives?" the stone gargoyle sprang alive.

She took a step back. "Erm—"

"Hello there, Gryffindor," a dreamy voice interrupted her from her thoughts. 

Ophelia swerved around quickly, fully prepared to shout at whoever it was that had spoken.

A Ravenclaw stood before her, slightly taller than her, with long, blonde curls, and pale features. "Oh, hi Ophelia," she greeted, once the Gryffindor had turned around.

Ophelia's eyes widened. She had recognized the girl from a few of her classes, but had never spoken to her. What surprised her was the use of her first name, and the lack of hostility towards her. That made her anger simmer down slightly.

"I'm Luna," the girl introduced with a small smile on her pink lips. "We have a few classes together," she explained. "What brings you here?"

Ophelia noticed that her voice was gentle, sweet, and soft, slightly louder than a whisper.

"Have you seen Abigail?" Ophelia finally formed words, her grey eyes still blazing with slight vexation. 

"Of course, I'll go get her," Luna smiled. "Wait here."

A minute later, the girl with the dreamy expression returned, accompanied by Colin's girlfriend.

"Hi," she said shyly. "Ophelia, right? Colin's friend?"

The blonde nodded stiffly. "Where's Colin?" she demanded, causing the brunette to cower slightly beneath Ophelia's harsh glare. "Is he with you?"

Abigail furrowed her brows. "No, he isn't," she answered, biting her lip. "Last time I saw him was at dinner. I thought he was with you? He did tell me he would be spending the evening in the Gryffindor common room..."

Ophelia shook her head, all her anger rushing down to her feet and seeping out of her body through her shoes and into the floor. "I haven't seen him since dinner," she said quietly.

She suddenly realized that some of the days she'd assumed he was with Abigail, he actually wasn't.

And then, she turned on her heel, and made her way back the way she'd come from.

Back in the common room, Ophelia was feeling absolutely rotten about herself. Colin was hiding something from her. What was it? Why didn't he trust her enough to tell her? Did he care about her anymore?

Doubt filled her, and when she ended up overthinking until she could not think anymore, she stood up and slammed her book shut, taking slow steps towards the stairs that led to the girls' dormitory.

A hand on her shoulder stopped her from moving, and even before she turned around, she knew that it was Colin, judging by the warmth emanating from the hand, and the comforting smell of photo film and books.

She turned around, her eyes meeting Colin's smile.

Her expression was pained, and tired, since she'd woken up an hour earlier that morning, and she longed to do nothing but sleep. 

But on seeing her best friend, her eyes snapped wide open, and all hint of drowsiness vanquished within the blink of an eye.

"Where were you?" Ophelia demanded, narrowing her eyes at him.

Colin's smile faded. "Listen, Ophelia, I'm really sorry about what happened tonight. I didn't mean to leave without a word... Something urgent came up—"

"Where were you?" Ophelia repeated, refusing herself to listen to anything her best friend spoke.

"I was with Abigail," Colin said quickly. "She— erm—"

The moment those words left Colin's lips, a pearly tear streaked down Ophelia's cheek, and her heart was wrenched into two, the same thought repeatedly playing in her head on loop.

He lied to me. He lied to me. He lied to—

"Ophelia, are you alright?" Colin asked concernedly, taking a step forward and reaching forward to wipe the tear off her cheek, which made her wrench his hand off her with brutal force. "Don't," she hissed, eyes narrowing. "Don't lie to me. You weren't with Abigail. I just came from seeing her, and she said she hadn't seen you since dinner."

Colin's face fell. "Listen, Ophelia—"

"What aren't you telling me, Colin?" Ophelia asked, another tear falling off her cheek. "Why are you hiding something from me?"

"I'm not hiding anything!"

"Then tell me where you were," the blonde folded her arms.

"Fine," Colin sighed. "I was in—erm— detention," he stammered. "For erm.."

"Stop lying to me!" Ophelia demanded. "Why are you lying to me?" she questioned, another tear dripping down her cheek. 

Colin hung his head, reaching forward to pull Ophelia into an embrace. "Don't cry, Ophelia," he whispered, pain evident in his eyes. "Please."

The blonde pushed him away. "I'll ask you one more time," she said shakily, her tears heavily pouring down her cheeks. "Where were you?"

Colin hung his head, shrugging.

Ophelia stifled a sob. "Thanks for trusting me," she muttered bitterly. "And I thought I was your best friend."

At this, Colin sighed. "Listen, I'm sorry for not telling you, but I don't always have to tell you everything—"

His attempt to comfort her failed, as apparently, it was the wrong thing to say. 

"Then what are best friends for?" Ophelia threw her hands up for. "Fine, don't tell me everything. But don't expect me to ever confide you into my—"

"You don't tell me anything anyway!" Colin argued. "I have to force you into telling me. All you talk about is books, makeup and looks!"

Ophelia's lips parted. "Is that all you think I am?" she whimpered, sniffling as she broke into a small cry. "Thank you so, so much for being honest."

And she began climbing the stairs to her dormitory.

"Ophelia! Ophelia, wait, I didn't mean to—"

But she didn't hear him, nor did she want to.

Her heart was too broken to think of her best friend, who lied to her, multiple times, and then blamed it all on her.

What had she done to deserve this?

Was she a bad friend to Colin?

He had never said anything hurtful to her before... And Ophelia knew that for Colin to say something hurtful, it took a lot.

Perhaps it was her.

All her.

At that moment, she wondered what she did to cause Colin to behave like this.

And she hated herself. 

{ guess who finally updated? yours truly ! apologies for the late chapter (it's been a week), but i'm hoping that the long chapter makes up for the lack of updates? last chapter i thanked you guys for 28k. this chapter, i am thanking you guys for 45k !! oh my goodness, thank you so, so much, i had no idea how fast this book is going! also, we are almost at 700 followers (2 months ago i reached 600) so thank you so so much again!
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{APR 28. 2023}