AS SHE WALKED AWAY FROM him, Ophelia couldn't stop playing the moment in her head. The scent of his empowering cologne still lingered around her senses, and Ophelia felt a slight loss from the feeling of where his arms were only minutes ago.

She wasn't prepared for it. His comfort. And the way he said her name... She couldn't control the fluttery emotions she felt when he said her name like that.

He didn't tease her. Or ridicule her. Or make fun of her. Or say something to make it worse. Instead, he held her tightly while she cried, and he made it.... better.

As she walked to her dormitory, she wrapped her arms tighter around herself, and couldn't help but feel all messed up and confused in her mind.

Why on earth was Theodore behaving like this? What had come over him suddenly? Why wasn't he hurting her like he normally did? His actions towards her were confusing the hell out of her.

She couldn't shake of the feeling of his arms wrapped around her while he stroked her hair.

STOP! 

She kept shouting at her brain.

There was only one possible explanation for this. That wasn't Theodore Nott up there at the Astronomy tower.

That was the boy from her childhood. The boy who was her first friend. That was Theo.

But Theo was gone.

And tonight she had caught a glimpse of what was left of him.

And for a moment, her old, childish feelings towards him returned.

But not for long.

Just for a fleeting second.

Before they vanished.

And all through the rest of the week, Ophelia couldn't stop thinking about that little moment between her and Theo in the Astronomy tower, despite how much she wanted to forget it.

But then she remembered why she needed to be comforted and her mind went to Slughorn's dinner.

She didn't eat anything since that day.

Not even strawberries.

She was starving. But she only drank water. Every time she felt hungry, she satisfied her hunger with water.

And every night, after her bath in the prefects' bathroom, she'd weigh herself.

She had already lost half a pound.

Her lessons were going okay, at least. Where the rest of the students in her year were always complaining about the tons of homework and the upcoming OWL exams, Ophelia was managing perfectly fine. 

She found it no different to the previous years. 

Professor McGonagall was giving Ophelia extra work in transfiguration, as the blonde had requested. The professor had told Ophelia that she had potential and had never seen talent like this. 

Defense Against the Dark Arts was easier than last year, as Professor Snape was a much better teacher than Umbridge ever was. He explained it in an easy way, and Ophelia found a newfound interest in the subject.

Potions was also going well. Not as well as Ophelia hoped, since Slughorn avoided Ophelia's eyes every time. She could only assume he felt guilty for what had transpired during the last Slug Club gathering.

If there was one thing that helped Ophelia get through all of this, it was spending time with Draco. She helped him read and practice the spell to repair the vanishing cabinet, and Draco found her to be a rather interesting conversationalist.

Nobody knew about Draco's dark secret, except for Ophelia. 

They would spend hours in the room of requirement together, Draco fixing the cabinet and Ophelia doing her homework there just to give him company.

The month of September dissipated like smoke and October rose up to take its place, bringing with it the excitement of Halloween and 

But as time whizzed by, Draco fell further into despair, and so did Ophelia.

"I just can't," Draco hissed, slamming the door of the cabinet shut with an angry kick of his foot. "It's not working!"

"Draco, have patience," Ophelia soothed, lifting her head up from her extra transfiguration work. 

"Patience, my arse," Draco muttered, slamming the book shut. "I spend all day and night trying to fucking figure this out!"

"Let me see," she stood up, looking at the cabinet and trying to fix it by muttering the spell. Nothing happened. She looked at the book, flipping through some pages. "Draco, this spell is outdated," she sighed, rubbing her face. "We need to come up with a new one..."

"We don't have time!" Draco snapped. "I'm running out of ideas here, and I'm behind in schoolwork, and I've got detention..."

"Let me help," Ophelia offered softly. "Maybe... Maybe I can help you with your schoolwork," she suggested. "I'm already doing sixth year level transfiguration... Professor McGonagall told me I'm ready to do my OWL exams for transfiguration."

"Really?" Draco croaked. "That's... nice news."

Ophelia smiled. "Let me help you with your school work then," she suggested. "I'm ahead in mine."

"You'd do that for me?" Draco asked, his voice a hoarse whisper.

"I'd do anything for you."

And she meant it. She really would do anything for her brother.

The next week was the same. Nothing eventful, nothing new, except for the fact that Colin Creevey was completely avoiding Ophelia.

No matter how many times she'd try to talk to him, he'd give an excuse and run away from her.

Ophelia suddenly knew what he must have felt like when she had been avoiding him.

She wanted to apologize for giving him an impromptu kiss, but it looked like he still hadn't gotten over it.

At least it would be easier this way for her to get over her feelings for him.

Every time she saw him her heart would skip a beat, and she would blush madly. It was so obvious. Even Draco knew about her feelings towards the muggleborn, and Ophelia was thankful he didn't confront her about her feelings or say anything that would embarrass her.

Ophelia was also trying to avoid Theodore. It wasn't too difficult, as he'd been keeping distance from her too, but she was taking extra measures to avoid him because she didn't want to remember that night at the astronomy tower every time she saw him.

Quidditch practice was also going really well. Gryffindor had a rather good team this year, and the first match was approaching sooner than Ophelia had anticipated.

Draco had opted out of Quidditch this year, and he had told Ophelia that he wanted to drop his prefect badge as well.

A week before the next Hogsmeade visit, Ophelia had officially gone an entire two weeks without eating anything. She would only have her daily lavender tea and water all day, and she was feeling happy that she had lost two and a half pounds already.

Her pants and skirts were all a centimeter looser for her, so she would have to put a pin for it to fit her properly. 

But she wore her shirt untucked these days so nobody would see her waist, and she always kept her robes zipped up.

Gryffindor had also won the first Quidditch match of the season, and Katie Bell had told Ophelia that she made a good chaser. The rest of the Quidditch team pretended she didn't exist the moment the match ended.

Ophelia was also helping Draco with his essays and homework. She'd read his books, learn what he was learning, then write his essays, a and the material out to him loudly so he'd understand.

He wasn't getting full marks in his essays, but he understood the material, and he was doing better than average, at least.

The night before the Hogsmeade visit, Draco had sent an owl to Ophelia to meet him in the room of requirement as he needed her help and advice on something.

After her bath in the prefects' bathroom, she put on a pair of comfortable grey pants and paired it with a white t-shirt with pink writing on it. Then, she threw her robes over it and headed to the room of requirement, leaving her hair down as it was slightly damp from her bath.

She paced across the wall three times, and the door formed and opened, permitting her entry. She walked through the familiar isles of junk and hidden objects, through the musty smell of the large room, until she came to the cabinet.

What she saw next made her heart suddenly beat thunderously in her chest as her eyes widened at the sight before her.

Draco wasn't alone. His sleeves were pushed up, exposing his dark mark. Someone else knew their secret.

But that wasn't why Ophelia's heart was beating so loudly.

No. 

Her heart was beating loudly because he was here.

Theodore Nott.

{ hey guys ,, i'm so sorry for the short chapter-
i actually wrote this as one chapter, but it was too long, so i had to split it into two. also, i kinda liked the cliffhanger.
i actually enjoyed writing this chapter a lot. i know there's not much going on, but it's a filler. the next chapters are gonna have a bit more in them.
as usual, please spam me with comments, votes, and please follow me coz i'd love to hear from you guys. follow me on insta (dessert.o.holic) and spotify (dessertoholic) too.
almost at 1k followers, and i'm hoping to reach 1k followers before new years...
you guys traveling anywhere this holiday? i went to qatar by car, and it was so much fun aah!
anyway, please spam me with comments, votes and share this story. love you guys all so much, and cannot thank you guys enough for your endless support on this book.
take care lovelies. luv, jasmine. }

{DEC 20. 2023}