{ important a/n at the bottom }

             WHEN THE BLONDE HAD MANIPULATED her emotions to stop spiraling out of control, Theo's piercing blue gaze bored into her own, before he gently kissed her and gave her a smile that reminded her very much of the way he used to smile at her when they were kids.

"But no one has to find out!" Ophelia blurted. "Especially Draco."

"Don't worry," a wicked smirk slid across his lips. "No one will find out."

"Promise?" she asked breathlessly, her gray eyes flitting up to look into his, silently begging for his word, his affirmation.

"I promise." He had taken her hand and placed it on his chest, to feel the heartbeat that thrummed under the confines of his ribs.

Ophelia slept well that night, blushing and giggling all night.

The good thing about being friends with Luna was that it automatically gave Ophelia the opportunity to make more friends. People no longer thought she was completely unapproachable. 

Like Astoria Greengrass.

The moment the Greengrass girl caught Ophelia's eye from the Slytherin table at breakfast and smiled, Ophelia knew she would get along with her.

Sure enough, during the next class with the Slytherins, Astoria sat next to Ophelia, gently tucking her blonde hair behind her ear. "I hope it's okay if I sit here," the Slytherin asked quietly, to which the blonde merely nodded.

Until she saw Astoria's bag.

Ophelia gasped softly, eyes widening. "Is that the latest Hermes?" she asked, jaw dropping. "It's fabulous!"

"Got it as a birthday gift," Astoria shrugged. "But Father bought it in orange. When I didn't like the color, he took me to the store to choose."

"Ivory is by far the prettiest," Ophelia agreed. "Mine's last season," she held up her own pink bag. "I would have thrown it out but the color is limited edition, so it's still in."

Limited edition was what Ophelia chose to call it. The truth was that she had paid the store a huge sum to make the same design in pink just for her, because she hadn't liked the boring colors they had (red, orange, ivory, tan, white, black and blue).

"Limited edition my ass!" Astoria snorted. "You totally bribed them."

Astoria was a pureblood, her father was rich, she knew how these things worked.

Ophelia gasped in disbelief. "How dare you?!" she placed a hand on her chest, though a giggle slipped past her lips. "Yes, I bribed them," she admitted. "But look, it's so pretty!"

"It is," Astoria agreed. "Though have you seen Prada's summer collection?"

"I need that collection as badly as I need a new set of diamonds!" Ophelia agreed. "I only have six."

"I've just got four diamond sets. Father refused to buy me any more because of my grades," Astoria grumbled. "Apparently, Daph did so much better!"

"I could help you study," Ophelia suggested. "I'm already doing transfiguration NEWT level."

"Oh, is that why I never see you in transfiguration any more?" Astoria inquired. "I was wondering..."

"Yeah, now I take private lessons with Professor McGonagall," Ophelia said proudly. "I've finished one quarter of the sixth year coursework."

"Wow," Astoria whistled softly. "That's really impressive."

Ophelia and Astoria hung around much more often after that, and Ophelia found herself constantly smiling and laughing around the blonde Slytherin, and knew that a girl best friend was far better than a best friend who was a boy. For one, there were so many things Ophelia could tell Astoria that she couldn't tell Colin or Theo.

Yes, Astoria was Ophelia's best friend, despite the few days that had spent together. They were practically inseparable.

Of course she still hung out with Luna, but Luna tended to be rather close with Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasley, the latter being a huge no from her.

So it became Astoria and Ophelia.

Or Ria and Lia, as they liked to call themselves.

Astoria's birthday was in January, and Ophelia's was in April, making Astoria older than her by a few months.

Astoria had also told Ophelia something she found very, very interesting. She had a crush on Draco! Draco!!!

"Yuck," she had first grimaced at the confession. "Draco? My brother? What the heck do you see in him?"

Astoria shrugged. "I sometimes ask myself the same thing," the Slytherin witch sighed. "I went and adopted a crush for someone who doesn't even know I exist!"

"He knows you exist, he's just been... preoccupied at the moment. Sixth year is hard," Ophelia covered up for Draco's strange behaviors. 

"Could you set me up with him?" Astoria stared at Ophelia pleadingly, which she found difficult to say no.

"On one condition," Ophelia replied. "If you swear to keep my secret, because I'll burst if I don't tell someone."

"Promise," Astoria pulled out her pinky finger. "What secret?"

"I'm dating Theo," the blonde said casually. "But in secret. No one should find out, especially Draco."

"Wait, I thought you guys broke up?" Astoria inquired, sipping her pumpkin juice like it was tea.

"We weren't really dating for real at that time. It was fake. We were just together for mutual benefits," Ophelia explained. "It's complicated as fuck, and it's a long story which I have no time or energy to explain."

"Fair enough."

Another thing Ophelia had in common with Astoria was their shared love for muggle books. The latter preferred romances, and Ophelia had usually read books of all genres rather than sticking to one.

Astoria had read Pride and Prejudice, and had given it to Ophelia to borrow, (disguised as a potions book), and the blonde found it extremely hard to put it down. In return, she had given Astoria her copy of Antony and Cleopatra.

Astoria was also good at keeping secrets. Not one person in Hogwarts knew about Ophelia and Theo's secret relationship, and Ophelia planned on keeping it that way.

She and Theo would meet up in secret, either in the Astronomy tower, or in the tree near the Forbidden Forest, kissing most of the time, talking, and sometimes, they would even just sit in comfortable silence.

He even snuck her out to Hogsmeade one time, and took her and Astoria shopping for books. Astoria was suddenly planning Ophelia's wedding with Theo after that, and the former had to constantly use silencing charms on her friend to stop her from saying anything embarrassing that Theo might hear.

"Ria, for fuck's sake, shut up," Ophelia had hissed, nudging her friend in the ribs with her elbow. "He might hear you!"

They were going walking down the streets of Upper Class Hogsmeade, where Theo had managed to sneak them out of Hogwarts way after curfew. Blaise had accompanied them, just so Astoria wouldn't feel like a third wheel, and he was walking in front of them with Theo.

"I'm just saying— I approve of him as your future husband," Astoria remarked, carrying a whole stack of books. Ophelia carried nothing but her very stylish white Birkin, since Theo was carrying her newly purchased books. 

Ophelia wondered how Astoria could be so loud and open about such things. Didn't she have any shame? She wasn't even thinking about marriage, for Merlin's sake!

"Is he good in bed?" Astoria asked. "I've heard girls talk about how—"

"Sorry, what?" Ophelia shook her head, tilting her head slightly in confusion.

Astoria blinked several times. "Is he good in bed? You've fucked him, right?"

Ophelia gulped, suddenly feeling very, very uncomfortable. Her cheeks turned a vivid shade of maroon, and she couldn't breathe at all.

"Uhm... I..."

"You have!" Astoria cackled victoriously. "Oh my God! You didn't tell me earlier?"

"Didn't tell you what?" Theo entered their conversation, sliding an arm around Ophelia's waist and gently kissing her cheek.

"That you two fucked. Duh," Astoria stated, before Ophelia could stop her, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She hadn't realized Ophelia was nearly suffocating from the lack of air, completely frozen in place.

Theo suddenly froze.

He turned to fully face Ophelia, his eyes darkening slightly, his features rigid. And then, he smirked wickedly, and Ophelia wished for nothing more than to melt on the spot and let the cobblestones soak up her liquid into the ground.

"Oh? Is that so, Principessa? Did you tell Astoria we fucked?" Theo asked slowly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. The words sounded so vulgar coming forth from his lips, and the blonde felt a tangled mess of butterflies and elephants bonding in her stomach.

Ophelia still did not move.

"Greengrass, I would appreciate it if you could stop harassing my girlfriend," he remarked coolly. "She is clearly uncomfortable with such questions."

Theo gave Astoria one final glare before joining Blaise, who was doing his best not to burst out laughing at Astoria's expression.

"Lia, are you okay?" Astoria asked softly. 

"I don't know what sex is," she blurted, cheeks pinking even further, staring at the floor.

"You don't know what—" Astoria began, in a very loud voice, but quickly shut up after realizing she would only embarrass Ophelia further if Theo heard any part of their conversation. "This conversation is far from over," she warned Ophelia, narrowing her eyes and shaking her head.

Astoria felt horribly guilty for the rest of the trip. Not once after did she tease Ophelia until they reached Hogwarts once more.

But Ophelia and Astoria did not get much chance to talk later since Professor Flitwick and Slughorn gave them an incessant amount of homework, so they were both holed up in their common rooms or the library trying to complete it.

However, the next morning, the Malfoy heiress waved to Adriana, the first year Gryffindor and piled her plate high with strawberries.

She could see Theo all the way across the Great Hall on the Slytherin table, nodding in approval at the sight of her full plate.

She had followed Theo's advice and begun eating two more bites every few days, and now, she was now having about fifteen bites every meal, not counting her small salad before every meal. She had gained a bit of weight, and she was starting to look much healthier now.

But there was something amiss. 

There was a crowd of students gathered near the entrance of the Great Hall, and the blonde fought to roll her eyes. No doubt, there was some sort of fight going on, and the rest of the spectators were bored gossipers, looking for some news to spread or talk about.

When the crowd parted slightly, giving Ophelia a view of the commotion, her jaw dropped.

Ginny and Mariana were arguing very loudly near the entrance of the Great Hall, but Ophelia couldn't hear what exactly they were saying. 

The next thing she knew, Ginny was shouting incoherently about something (Ophelia couldn't hear very well) and Mariana looked like she was about to cry.

But Mariana's expression was short-lived when Pansy Parkinson, a pureblood, kissed Mariana Cooper, a mudblood.

{ here's the next update. i hope you liked this chapter. i got secondhand embarrassment from writing a part of it, and i'm sure you know which part i'm talking about. so ... some mean people were plotting my death if i didn't update... *cries*
375 votes to the next chapter, which contains DRAMA
anyway, most of you were happy this story was rated mature, but i need to clarify something here: i won't be writing smut. i am going to be a teacher, and i do not condone minors reading that stuff. so yeah, i'm sure most of you would say you already know everything, but i don't want my book to be the reason someone else loses their innocence. i don't know if that makes sense...  it is rated mature for explicit scenes of gore, blood, death, suicide, eating disorders, and very, very slight mature content. i won't write smut.
that being said, i might not update again as i will be going to qatar on the 9th of april 2024, and i'm busy til then. anyway, i hope you guys are okay. please comment, vote and follow. don't forget to share. socials are on my profile. lots of love,
xoxo,
jasmine. }

{ APR 06. 2024 }