IT WAS PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL THAT reminded Ophelia that majority of the students were staying back at Hogwarts for the Christmas break this year to partake in the Yule Ball, a Triwizard tradition. Unfortunately, it was only open to fourth years an above, so most of the first, second and third year students had signed up to go home for the holidays.

Ginny Weasley was bragging that she would be allowed to go, since she had a date, while Mariana was jealous of Ginny Weasley. Ophelia wanted to go home for the holidays, and not spend any extra, unnecessary time with the Hogwarts students than she needed to.

The Yule Ball was barely a week away, and Ophelia could see people giggling, and staring, which made it awkward for her to be around them. People were asking each other to the ball, some girls were crying after their preferred choice asked out someone else, and boys were fighting with each other for apparently, asking out the girl they liked.

Hogwarts, and its never-ending drama, Ophelia rolled her eyes.

The blonde was still slightly behind schedule on her schoolwork, especially because she hadn't attended her classes for two days, after she had been released from the hospital wing, as she had been hiding out in the Room of Requirement.

She had moved her belongings there. 

Apparently, Ginny and Mariana were saying that she had finally moved to the Slytherin hole, where she belonged. But Ophelia wasn't hurt at that, since she knew that Mariana and Ginny would kill to have the room in which she was sleeping in.

The best part was that the Room of Requirement resembled her bedroom at Malfoy Manor exactly.

Four days before the Yule Ball. Everyone was now rushing to find a date, because apparently, going dateless was worse than going with someone not-so-good-looking.

Had Ophelia been older, she would have no doubt, been the first girl every guy would have asked.

It was after Charms class that the most unexpected thing happened.

A rather handsome boy from Durmstrang, with long, shoulder-length dark hair, and piercing green eyes, bent down on one knee in front of Ophelia, and asked her to the ball, handing her a single, white rose.

If he were a Hogwarts student, she would have yelled in his face. But he was a Durmstrang boy, and clearly, he had manners. 

"Miss Malfoy, will you go to the ball with me?"

Ophelia looked into his eyes. "I'm a third year," she stated. 

"Yes, I know. But I would like you to be my date," the boy replied.

"I don't think I'm go—" she began, but stopped herself. This could work out to her advantage. This was the perfect opportunity for her to actually make a name for herself. "Yes, I will."

And she accepted the rose.

Two days before the ball, she learned that the boy who'd asked her out was the son of one of her father's distant friends. His name was Nikolai Dolohov, and his father was Antonin Dolohov, a close acquaintance to Karkaroff.

She didn't have a problem going with him. He was a pureblood, and Lucius knew him, so she knew he would approve of her choice.

She had also learned that he lived in Britain, but his father chose him to go to Durmstrang, so as to have a better education.

But for now, her main focus was the ball, and how she had lots of preparations to make.

One day before the ball, she wrote to her mother to send her a dress, from the second part of her French wardrobe at home, describing the exact dress she wanted.

That night, it arrived, along with Lucius' approval to her date. 

Ophelia was also trying to catch up on all her classes, so she could go home immediately after the ball, without being stressed about schoolwork, or having anything to worry about.

The date had arrived. Due to the reason that the ball fell on Christmas day, the students were allowed to go to Hogsmeade for some last minute shopping.

Ophelia went to Hogsmeade, but not for shopping. She went to visit Edward Harper. 

Ophelia had bought Mr. Harper a gift. She'd gotten him an everlasting set of twelve candles. No matter how much they'd burn, they'd never grow smaller, or finish. She wrote out a note.

From Ophelia, to Mr. Harper,

What distinguishes candle from other lights is that it appeals to our soul, not our eyes...

After putting the gift in a bag, she left for Hogsmeade. It took her fifteen minutes to get to Harper and Sons, and after entering the shop, she saw Mr. Harper, stacking books onto a shelf.

She noticed that the place wasn't decorated for Christmas, and she felt a pang of sadness.

"Good morning," she greeted with a small smile. 

Mr. Harper looked up at her through his glasses. "Ah, Ophelia!" he exclaimed feebly. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," she replied, handing him the bag. "I got this for you."

"Ah, my child, you shouldn't have," he shook his head. "You spoil me too much. But I did get something for you," he added, clearing his throat. 

"Why isn't this place decorated for Christmas?" questioned Ophelia, furrowing her brows. "It's a wonderful place."

"Alas, I always spend Christmas alone. My wife died many years ago before she could give me any children," he murmured, wiping his eyes with his handkerchief. I see no point to decorate—"

"Nonsense!" Ophelia interrupted. "We need to decorate this place. Dickens, Shakespeare, Bronte, they all deserve to celebrate Christmas with us, don't you think?"

Mr. Harper smiled. "You are quite right," he nodded. "If you'll assist me?"

"Of course!"

They were hanging streamers and baubles across the inside of the shop, and Ophelia noticed that some of the books were missing from their usual piles and she couldn't seem to locate them anywhere.

"Mr. Harper, where did some of these books go?" she asked. "There seem to be fewer books that I remember."

"Yes, that is part of your Christmas gift," he let out a dry chuckle, clearing his throat. "This way," he gestured.

Ophelia followed him to the back of the shop, and her eyes widened. There, lay a set of brand new shelves made of heavy wood, and the books were arranged alphabetically onto the shelf, polished and cleaned, as if they were brand new. Excitement filled her.

"Is this— Does this mean..?"

"Yes, I have decided to reopen the bookshop."

Ophelia squealed with excitement. "Oh, that's simply wonderful!" she exclaimed, nearly about to start dancing out of happiness. 

"But," Mr. Harper interrupted her. "I will need your help, and it will take time."

"Of course I'll help," she breathed, a bright smile on her face. 

"Yes, since I have no children, I would also like to ask if you would do the honor of taking over once I leave this world behind," he said gravely.

Ophelia's smile disappeared. "Oh, Sir, please don't say that.."

"It is inevitable, my child," he sighed. "I would love for no one else to take over except you, Miss Malfoy. Will you be my business partner? You will get access to any of these books for all your lifetime."

That was an offer she couldn't refuse. Her lips parted, and she pondered this over, before smiling and nodding. "I would love that," she said quietly.

"Perfect," he nodded. "I knew you couldn't say no," he chuckled, taking out a scroll of parchment and giving it to her. "Sign these." He handed her a quill.

Ophelia read through the document, before pausing her quill over at the top to read. Her hand shaking, she signed the contract.

"My first move is to change the name from Harper and Sons, to H&M Establishment," he suggested. "For Harper and Malfoy."

"It's perfect," she nodded. 

And so, Ophelia signed the second contract.

"Merry Christmas, Partner," Mr. Harper chuckled with a small, weary smile.

"Merry Christmas, Partner," she replied back.

And it was like a whole new world had opened for Ophelia Malfoy, with endless possibilities, and magical adventures.

This was the first step in figuring out who she was meant to be.

She had a good feeling about this.

In the Room of Requirement, Ophelia had managed to set up a small Christmas tree for herself, barely two feet tall. She'd decorated it by herself, and sat before the fireplace, reading her newest book from H&M Establishment. 

It was called Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, and she was loving every minute of it. Hamlet's lover was named Ophelia, which made it all the more fun to read, since she related to Ophelia in some ways.

There were presents underneath her tree. Not many. Just five presents. She read the labels. 

Miss Malfoy, from Professor Snape.

Miss Malfoy, from Professor McGonagall.

Ophelia, from Mummy.

My Darling Princess. With love from Daddy.

Ophelia. And... no tag. 

It was anonymous, in a script she could barely read. Messy handwriting, much like a scrawl. She couldn't tell whose it was.

And... nothing from Draco. Just as she had expected.

She opened Professor McGonagall's first. Inside, there was a book about transfiguration. An Expert's Guide to Transfiguration. Her jaw dropped as she ran her fingers across the gold lettering. It was perfect. Opening the first page, she didn't expect to see a note.

Miss Malfoy—
I have no doubt you will enjoy this book. I haven't seen a student this skilled in transfiguration for very many years, and I do hold some sort of favoritism towards you, but I'd rather you refrain from mentioning this to anyone.
Merry Christmas,
Professor M. McGonagall.

That made her smile. She really liked Professor McGonagall. She set the book aside and opened Professor Snape's gift. He was her godfather, so he usually sent her a gift every year. This year he'd gotten her a bottle of a special dreamless sleep potion, for her to sleep better, without dreams or nightmares.

Her mother's gift was a lovely pair of shoes.

As for her father's gift, Ophelia had gasped when she first opened it. An expensive necklace lay inside the velvet-lined box, made of real white gold, studded in with real rubies and diamonds. A set of matching earrings was enclosed, and Ophelia gasped in delight. It was beautiful.

My dearest, darling, princess,
I hope you like the rubies and diamonds. You can wear them to the ball. I have no doubt you will be the most beautiful girl in the whole world. Do send me some photographs. 
I love you,
L. Malfoy

The last box was poorly wrapped, and looked to be done with spellotape, no doubt wrapped by hand. It was easy to rip the wrapping paper off. Her eyes widened when she saw the contents.

Two photo frames fell out. Both of them had pictures of her smiling. One of the photographs was taken on the Hogwarts Express train, and the other within the corridors of Hogwarts.

It took no genius to figure out who sent the photographs.

A note fell out, and Ophelia opened it.

Dear Ophelia,

I know you probably don't want to talk to me, and I only hope you read this letter. I am very sorry for what I said you at the beginning of the year. I couldn't bring myself to apologize in person because you didn't seem to be okay. I hope you can forgive me.

Attached are the two photographs I took of you smiling. I want to say that you look very nice when you smile, and that you should do it more often. I also apologize for lying to you about deleting these photographs.

You are a wonderful person. And I just wanted to say I'm sorry for everything. I hope I can see you once I get back from my Christmas vacation. You can murder me then.

Colin Creevey

She couldn't help but laugh. Where it had started off as the worst Christmas ever, Ophelia couldn't help but think that it wasn't so bad after all. 

For although she didn't have many gifts, and many friends and many people who loved her, she was thankful that this Christmas, she had the very best of people that surrounded her.

And to her, that was all that mattered.

{ this chapter is a bit short, and i know i had promised drama in this chapter. but it was so long, that i had to split the chapter into two. so yes, the next chapter definitely does have all the drama.
when is your birthday? mine is on july28th.
anyway, please comment, vote, follow and share. thank you for reading
stay safe, luvs. love, jasmine. }

{MAR 07. 2023}