OPHELIA DECLINED THE INVITATION TO Slughorn's next dinner party. The Professor had called her to his office to apologize for the drama that went down during the last dinner party.

 During this time, Draco had managed to steal the potions master's supply of Polyjuice potion, while Ophelia served as a worthy distraction. She also asked the professor a question she already knew the answer to, just to give Draco enough time to make a clean escape.

The Malfoy siblings had planned this for weeks, and after going through this carefully formulated plan more than a hundred times, they were convinced that they might actually be able to pull this off.

Draco had practically begged Ophelia to work with Theodore for this plan to actually work, and she only agreed if he bought her a box of sugar quills and promised to accompany her to Malfoy Manor for the Christmas holidays.

Ophelia wanted to go home for Christmas just to visit Narcissa and take care of her. Draco had planned to stay at Hogwarts. But Ophelia managed to promise him into coming home with her for Christmas by agreeing to work with Theodore this one time.

Ophelia wouldn't have needed to work with Theodore if Draco didn't have detention.

The Malfoy siblings were on the way to Hogwarts when they were stopped by Professor McGonagall, who pulled Draco aside and reminded him that he had detention.

Instead, Ophelia would try to do this by working with Theodore.

"Miss Malfoy," Professor McGonagall had also called her aside right before she left for Hogsmeade. "May I have a word?"

Ophelia nodded, as Professor McGonagall led her away from the ears of the other students. 

"Miss Malfoy, I suppose you are ready to do your transfiguration OWL," Professor McGonagall got straight to the point. "Do think about it, because I believe that by waiting to do it in May, we are wasting valuable time when you could do the OWL sooner than later, and begin NEWT level transfiguration."

Ophelia let out a small puff of air and nodded. "I know, Professor, but... I still need time to think about it."

"Well, you need to make a decision quickly, before the end of the month, as I will need to wait a month for approval from the Ministry," Professor McGonagall explained. 

"Yes, Professor. Thank you," Ophelia smiled at the Professor before she walked over to where the Nott heir stood, leaning against a lamppost waiting for her. Again, she ignored everything her brain told her about how his muscular frame was postured so perfectly balanced as he leant against the metal pole.

"Ready, Malfoy?" Nott drawled with a devilish smirk that sent a shiver down her spine, causing her to suddenly get a flash of him with horns.

She scowled, willing the vision away. "Whatever, Nott. Let's just get this over with."

"Where are Crabbe and Goyle?" Theodore asked, looking around, trying to catch a glimpse of the bulky Slytherin boys that were disguised as two first year girls.

"They aren't coming," Ophelia said shortly. "Haven't you forgotten that Hogsmeade is only open to third year above? I'm pretty sure Filch stopped them."

"Oh, shit!" Theodore muttered, facepalming. He snorted in laughter. "Dumb fucks transformed into first years."

"I don't see why you're laughing when that ruins our plan," Ophelia deadpanned. 

"You'd see the funny side when you spend more time with them," Theodore defended.

Ophelia held in a sharp intake of breath. She was frustrated. So frustrated. Why was he behaving so... civilly? Why wasn't he demeaning her like normal; making her cry.

Once again, her emotions and thoughts were conflicted about him.

"Nott, just.... shut up," Ophelia stopped, right before they entered the carriage, looking straight into his eyes. "I'm trying to think." She entered the carriage, her face carrying a neutral expression as she tightened her white belt around her waist.

She was lying. She didn't want him to speak with her so casually. She didn't like the way her heart nudged her to soften and open up to him. 

No, Ophelia was afraid; maybe if she let her guard down again in front of him... He'd hurt her. And this time, she knew it would be twice as worse.

Nott's expression fell slightly, but he managed to compose himself quick enough that Ophelia did not notice.

The carriage ride was silent, aside from the squeaking of the wheels as they trudged through the cobbled pathways, which were covered by a thin, white blanket of snow.

The blonde was slightly cold, but not freezing. Dressed in a stylish white trench coat and black leggings, she wore a pair of knee-length, white, heeled boots. She left her hair in a ponytail and wore her favorite silver hoops. 

Taking out a mirror, she looked at her features and furrowed her brows in concentration. She extracted her wand and began muttering some sixth year transfiguration spells she had just mastered, looking at herself and watching her features change.

"How do I look?" she finally asked Theodore, breaking him away from his trance as he turned to face her.

"You... don't... look like a Malfoy..." Theodore said unsurely, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat as he swallowed.

"Good," she smiled. "That's what I was going for."

She now had straight, brown hair and a slight gap between her normally perfectly teeth. Her cheekbones and jawline were no longer so prominent as she had softened them a little, making her nose slightly more pointed. Her bluish grey eyes were now a pretty shade of green, lips coated in a bold, brown shade of lipstick that she would normally never use.

She had also transfigured her waist a little more slimmer, which made her tighten the belt of her coat more.

Then, she turned to face Theodore. "Bonjour, j'mapelle Celeste," she introduced herself in French, her mother's language.

"Celeste," Theodore remarked, tasting the name on his lips. "Ciao, mia cara, sono Theodore," the male replied, his blue eyes turning a shade darker and glittering with amusement as he introduced himself in his mother-tongue, Italian.

The blonde, or rather, brunette, suddenly flushed pink with slight embarrassment, and scowled with annoyance. "I'm not playing games here," she snapped.

"Oh, I thought we were speaking different languages, "mia cara," he drawled with a smirk.

"What does that mean?" Ophelia asked, tilting her head to look up at him and driving her intense green eyes into his.

"It means, my dear," Theodore remarked confidently, his dark gaze never leaving hers. "Since you know, we're supposed to look like we're dating."

"Yes, well I don't want you calling me that," she said promptly, lifting her head arrogantly, chin lifting up slightly.

It makes me feel... strange, she finished her sentence in her head. 

They reached Hogsmeade, and Theodore slowly brought his hand down to hold Ophelia's gloved hand, which she instantly pulled away with a "don't touch me."

"But we're supposed to be dating," Theodore reminded her, moving closer to her as her boots clicked on the cobbled pathways as she made her way to The Three Broomsticks.

"Well, we're not dating until we reach The Three Broomsticks," Ophelia said quickly, ignoring how her words came out a little harsher than intended.

If Theodore was offended, he didn't show it.

The Three Broomsticks was crowded, as usual. It was the perfect hang-out spot, and a favorite for Hogwarts students. The smell of the famous butterbeer flirted with Ophelia's nose, making her instantly crave the traditional drink.

As per they had planned, Ophelia and Theodore took calculated steps to the counter. Theodore leant over the bar, a slight smirk crossing his features. "Hey, Madam Rosmerta," he winked at her. "Would you be a darling and get us two butterbeers?"

It was so predictable; the way he flirted. It made Ophelia roll her eyes.

"Of course," the older barmaid replied with a small smile, shaking her head; she was flattered with the amount of Hogwarts students that flirted with her, quite used to it by now.

Two butterbeers were placed on a tray in front of them. Theodore leant over to pay the barmaid, but accidentally knocked over the goblet with his elbow, cursing in Italian.

"It's okay, I'll get you a new one," Madam Rosmerta smiled kindly.

Ophelia looked up sharply. Madam Rosmerta was completely dry; without a single drop of butterbeer on her.

But— it was supposed to spill on her... This could not be any worse. What do we do now?

She instantly began to panic, when a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Oh Crap!" Katie Bell exclaimed, eyes widening as she looked at the butterbeer that spilled down her front.

"Oh, I'm so sorry about zat, ma cherie" Ophelia said apologetically, in her practiced French accent. "My boyfriend 'ere accidentally knocked ze butterbeer over while flirting wiz ze barmaid," she scowled at him, then rolled her eyes, trying to look like a heartbroken and jealous girlfriend. "Can I buy you some-sing to make up for zat?"

"What are you doing?" hissed Theodore into her ear, causing Ophelia's breath to hitch as his warm breath caressed the shell of her ear.

"Improvising," she breathed nervously. "Cast the curse on Katie," she quickly whispered.

"What—" Theodore began, but was interrupted by Ophelia.

"Just trust me!" she whispered back, a hint of desperation in her tone.

If Theodore wanted to say something, he didn't, because someone else spoke.

"That's... that's okay," Katie's friend replied. "We can clean it up in the ladies room, right?" she looked at Katie for approval.

Katie suddenly froze. She looked to be in some sort of trance, thinking it over, looking at the butterbeer that stained the front of her sweater.

Ophelia instantly knew Theodore had done the spell.

"Katie?" her friend, Leanne, asked. "Shall we go to the ladies room?"

Katie's expression suddenly turned serious. "Actually, I'll go alone."

"But I can help—" Leanne suggested, before she was cut off by Katie.

"I said I'll go alone. You can wait for me outside The Three Broomsticks," Katie remarked quickly, albeit a little coldly than her usual friendly tone.

Ophelia felt a sudden pang of sadness. Katie was usually one of the only members of the Gryffindor quidditch team that was polite to her. She made a mental note to make it up to Katie later.

"You sure?" Leanne asked suspiciously.

"I'm sure," Katie smiled. She entered the bathroom, and Ophelia followed not shortly after. 

She reached into her bag and took out the brown paper package that nested the necklace they had fixed last night.

"Hi," Ophelia greeted in her French accent. "Katie, right?" 

"Yes," the dark-haired girl muttered lifelessly, like a talking puppet.

"Could you do me a favor?" she asked. "Could you hold zis for a minute?" she gave Katie the package. "I need to go for a minute. I'll be waiting for you outside the ladies room, oui?"

Katie took the package, and Ophelia entered one of the stalls, counting thirty seconds before following Katie out.

Thankfully, despite her clouded thoughts, Katie had managed to remember to take the package. She was waiting outside the bathroom for Ophelia.

As soon as the Malfoy heiress caught sight of Katie, she smiled and kept the imperiused girl busy with useless conversation. Not a minute later, they were joined by Theodore.

"Go back to Hogwarts," Theodore ordered coolly, maintaining eye-contact with the Bell girl. "Give it to Dumbledore. Do not tell anyone who this is for. Do not answer any questions. And most importantly, do not open the package, and do not touch it. Just get it to Dumbledore. Now. Understood?"

Only Theodore could suggest commands to Katie, as he was the caster of the spell. Ophelia held her breath, staring at her, hoping the spell would work.

"Yes," Katie finally replied with a nod, indicating that she had understood, and the spell had worked.

Ophelia released a breath she had been holding, her tense muscles relaxing slightly.

It worked. It worked. Oh, thank GOD!

After quickly taking a few sips of her butterbeer, she grudgingly allowed Theodore to place his arm lightly around her waist, tensing under his touch as he led her out of The Three Broomsticks and down the pathway back to Hogwarts, where they followed Katie and Leanne from a few meters behind.

Much to Ophelia's annoyance, she was right behind Potter and his friends. And they were talking about her.

"She looks like a veela," Ron was saying, casting a slight glance towards her. "I mean, that French accent..."

"She's pretty," Harry agreed. "But Veela have silverish hair, don't think she's one, Ron."

"What does she see in Nott," Ron was saying. "I've never seen her at Hogwarts, wonder what year she's in."

Ophelia was rather amused by this conversation, but her reverie was interrupted when she felt Nott's hand grow tighter around her waist.

She let out an uncomfortable growl, trying to move away from him. She tried so hard to maintain her French accent.

"Pliz, you 'are 'olding me a little too tight," she growled through gritted teeth, causing Harry and Ron to cast a glance backwards at her, while Hermione elbowed both of them and told them to "Stop staring!"

Slowly, Theodore loosens his grip, muttering something under his breath. Normally, Ophelia would make him repeat what he said just so she could hear what he said clearly, but right now, her sixth sense was telling her something was wrong.

A tingle of nervousness could be felt under her chin, as her throat tightened.

"I think.... something's wrong," Ophelia breathed, raising her hand and stopping Theodore from going a step further.

"What?" Theodore began, before Ophelia's prophecy came true as Katie suddenly rose up into the air, almost gracefully, and doing a calculated dance in the air, like a puppet suspended without strings.

A loud, ear-piercing shriek suddenly pierced Ophelia's ears and a loud thudding in her heart began.

Then, the Bell girl's hair whipped up and down, before she fell to the ground and collapsed into a heap, like the puppet master had cut off the invisible strings.

"Fuck, she touched it," Ophelia whispered.

Her eyes were wide, and red hot spread all over her ears, nose and the back of her neck.

She might be dead; Katie Bell.

And it was all her fault.

{ happy xmas to those who celebrate. please, please spam me with comments. hope you enjoyed this chapter.
dedicated to fxckingexhaustxng for being a huge supporter of this book, for always spamming with me with comments every single chapter and because it was her birthday. happy birthday ml <3
comment, vote, follow and share. can't wait for you guys to see what i have in store for you!
anyway, wish you a happy holiday and take care.
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love, jasmine. }

{DEC 26. 2023}