AS THE CLOCK TICKED AWAY, Ophelia lay enveloped in the soft embrace of her bed. Despite the weariness that weighed heavily upon her, sleep remained an elusive specter, dancing just beyond reach. With each turn she took, a cascade of thoughts, like a relentless storm, besieged her mind, leaving her adrift in a sea of wakefulness.

It felt like hours ago, when Ginny, Mariana and the rest of the Gryffindor girls in her year entered the dormitory to sleep, where she had been feigning sleep, a deep ruse to mask the fact that she was awake.

Now, as the night deepened its hold, the others lay in the embrace of dreams, while she remained the sole sentinel of consciousness, enveloped in the quietude of solitude.

The sheer satin material of her pajamas clung to her warm figure, clinging to her like a second skin, and she was feeling hot, despite the freezing weather outside. She could hear the wind billowing outside and rattling the windows, knocking to come inside and put out their warm fire.

Her hand fumbling around her sheets and the bedside for her wand, she lit it with a Lumos spell so she could see where Princess Cleopatra lay.

If she had Cleo by her side, she would at least find it easier to fall asleep.

Her cat wasn't under her bed. 

Sighing, she checked under her quilt and covers, for her pet sometimes liked to hide beneath the sheets, but once again, she discovered she was alone.

Her watch read the time as two twenty seven am.

"Cleo," she whispered softly, calling for her cat, who might have gone underneath someone else's bed.

After another five minutes of searching around the room, Ophelia decided to check the common room for her cat.

Slowly, the soft skin of her feet soundlessly pattered against the floor and down the steps to the common room. The fire was almost out, the embers casting a dull orange glow around the room. 

"Cleo," Ophelia called softly, clicking her fingers in the same way that she always did to summon her cat. 

A tiny mewl was heard, but it wasn't accompanied by the familiar sound of her cat's running feet to meet its master.

She followed the sound; it sounded as if Cleo was curled up by the fireplace.

On moving closer to the fireplace, Ophelia's breath hitched. Cleo was by the fireplace, but she wasn't alone.

She suddenly felt bare, and cursed herself for being careless enough to think that nobody else would be awake at this time to see her in the very indecent pair of shorts and matching camisole that she called pajamas. 

Colin sat on the couch opposite the fireplace, hugging Cleo tightly.

Ophelia stared. He hadn't noticed her yet. Perhaps she could just grab Cleo and go back to her dormitory without being seen?

Why hadn't she put on a dressing gown like she normally did? An idea popped into her mind, and she backtracked in the direction of the stairs. She could quickly grab a dressing gown then come back down... couldn't she?

Cleo seemed to be alerted by the presence of her mistress, and she mewled loudly, trying to escape Colin's grasp.

"Cleo, stay put," he muttered. "What's gotten you so restle— Oh..." His eyes found the blonde, who was trying to climb the stairs backwards. "Hi Ophelia," he said quietly, grip loosening around her cat, who instantly clambered off the loveseat and strutted to Ophelia.

It was too late. Colin had seen her.

She cleared her throat. "Hi." 

Her gaze tried to land anywhere but him. 

"How come you're still awake?" Colin's voice was slightly hoarse from being unused for hours after his shouting match with Abigail, and Ophelia found her legs carrying her closer to where he was, protectively holding her cat to her chest and peering at him through the thicket of white, fluffy fur, her soft gray eyes resembling the first touch of dawn.

"I couldn't sleep. I needed—"

"Cleo," they both said at the same time, before chuckling softly and shaking their heads.

"How did your exam go?" he inquired, moving slightly to the side to make space for her to sit beside him, which she did without further comment, the cat's tiny heartbeat a soothing rhythm against her own chest.

"It wasn't that hard," she shrugged. "Just... the journey was tiring."

"What time did you come back?" Colin finally asked, his eyes drifting down her neck to where a silver locket and a mother of pearl necklace intertwined with each other, both given to her by him.

"An hour before curfew," she answered softly, her gentle fingers stroking Cleo's fur. 

"Oh," Colin shifted around awkwardly. "So you saw—"

"A little bit," she whispered softly, the edges of her lips curling into a small smile. "I'm sorry... Was that why you couldn't sleep?" she added, gesturing the the way he had been sitting there before she found him.

He nodded.

The room was silent, save for the occasional mewl or purr from Cleo, and even then, a few minutes later, the cat squirmed away from Ophelia and wandered off in the direction of the stairs to Ophelia's dormitory.

Until Ophelia broke the silence. 

"I thought you loved her," she blurted, after endless little moments of peaceful silence.

Colin gave her a dying smile. "I did," he affirmed, closing his eyes for a few seconds before opening them again.

"So why'd you break up with her?" She asked curiously, clearing her throat to ask her next question. "Was it because I kissed you?" She had been dying to hear the true reason behind his actions instead of hearing rumors, for once. The dying embers cast a golden sheen on her pale skin, her blonde hair shimmering a shade of rose gold so light that she looked like the goddamn sunrise on its finest day.

Colin did the thing Ophelia least expected him to. He laughed. Not a loud, mocking laugh. A real laugh, that lasted none but a few seconds.

"For someone so intelligent, you seem to be rather clueless," Colin continued. "Aren't you supposed to be the smartest in our year?"

Ophelia scowled, opening her mouth to tell Colin exactly how smart she was, or possibly chastise him about how not very nice his words were, when he interrupted her thoughts once more, cutting her off.

"No sweetheart. I broke up with her because I fell in love with you."

oh.

Oh.

OH!

His words sink in, and her breath hitches as her greyish blue eyes drag upwards to meet his, her heart beating too fast for her to even feel it. For her to even breathe.

This was all she ever wanted.

For him to feel the same.

And now, here he was, confessing that he was in love with her, his words the perfect puzzle piece to the empty space in her heart.

She could only stare into his beautiful hazel eyes like they were little windows into his golden soul.

Her eyes unblinking.

Her lungs unbreathing.

Her body unmoving.

Her heart... beating.

He had leaned in closer to her.

She had leaned in closer to him.

Their noses touched. Colin's delicate touch found the back of her neck, his warm fingertips trailing down to where she wore both of the necklaces he had given her. 

Ophelia's breathing had now gained substance, slightly heavier at the foreign whispering touches of the warm pads of his fingers against her molten skin, and no matter how much she wanted to, she did not dare let herself close her eyes, in fear that if she opened them once more, this would be a dream.

Their breaths mingled together. Everything was deathly still, both fearing that a single wrong more would tarnish this sacred move for good.

"Do you still...?" Colin had whispered, his voice like the finest silk to her ears.

love me?

Ophelia finished his sentence in her mind. 

Yes. You. Always you.

Unable to form any words, the blonde merely nodded singly, and that was all it took for Colin to close the gap between them.

Her lips met his like they had finally found home, and Ophelia could feel her heart bursting with emotion as she kissed the boy she had dreamed about for months.

His lips were soft and his hands held her delicately like she was made of porcelain, one resting on her jaw, the other at her waist, and strangely, Ophelia did not mind that she was dressed in her not-so-decent pajamas in his presence any more. 

He tasted of butterbeer and caramel and everything sweet and comfortable she had ever known as she sunk backwards into the cushions of the loveseat, her hands finding each other behind his neck to pull him down with her.

He hovered over her, holding himself up with his elbow, afraid to hurt her with his weight as he wordlessly conveyed his feelings for her; telling her exactly how he felt about her.

When he finally pulled away, causing her to gasp for air, she looked into his eyes, her own stormy grey ones searching his for answers.

"Hogsmeade," he whispered against her lips. "Valentines day. Go on a date with me," he murmured breathlessly.

"Yes," she whispered, before they both leant in at the same time, kissing each other once more before they decided to part ways for the night.

Ophelia ended up falling asleep immediately after she entered bed; but not before touching her lips with her fingers and smiling softly to herself, dreaming of two weeks later, when her and Colin would go on their first date together on Valentine's day.

The next day, Ophelia couldn't stop smiling. It was one of the busier days in her timetable, where both she and Colin had a full day of classes, so there wasn't much time for them to hang out together.

She only had enough time for Draco, who was her number one priority after her OWL exams, and the good thing about hanging out with Draco was that Theo was there too, to give her company.

When she was busy trying to come up with yet another spell to fix the cabinet, she was unable to concentrate; and Theo seemed to catch up on her good mood.

"Someone's rather chipper this morning," he teased. "Did you finally wake up on the right side of the bed after all these years?"

"Shut up," she muttered playfully, shoving him away from her, cheeks pooling with color at the thought of last night's events.

"Oooh, is little Lia blushing?" Theo seemed to enjoy making fun of her, and he pulled her hands away from her face, which she was using to hide her blush.

"No!" she wrenched her hands away from his grasp. "Leave me alone, Theo."

"Something you want to tell me, Principessa? You're practically shaking with excitement," he stopped teasing her, his expression getting more serious, dragging her away from the vanishing cabinet to sit down.

"Don't call me that," Ophelia's tried to sound authoritative, but it was hard, considering that Principessa was a much, much better nickname than Baby Malfoy, and the fact that she was in too good a mood to be ruined.

"You didn't mind me calling you Princess Lia when we were kids. Principessa is practically the same, except in Italian," he pointed out, and Ophelia shrugged, the argument lost. She had to give it to him; he won this round.

He sat down opposite her, lifting his eyebrows for her to start talking. "Is there a reason for this good mood? Did something happen?"

"Yes," she finally sighed, giving in to his questions. "But I can't tell you, you won't be happy about it. And you'll tell Draco."

Theo suddenly perked up with interest. "What is it?" His blue eyes practically gleam with curiosity, almost as if he would die if he never found out what made her smile so much. "I swear I won't tell Draco."

Can I trust him?

 Ophelia was having a mental debate on whether or not to tell him. One one had, he might not understand... on the other hand, she needed to tell someone, otherwise she would burst.

And Theo was her friend. A very close one at that.

She took a deep breath.

"Well, I'm sure you know of my feelings for Creevey," she murmured softly, looking at her hands in her lap, nervousness radiating off her skin.

"Go on," Theo's voice had dropped an octave lower, but Lia hadn't noticed it. His smile had faded, replaced with a look of utter seriousness.

"He said he's in love with me," Lia murmured softly, the everlasting smile on her face getting wider and wider.

"Oh?" Theo meant to say it as a statement, but it sounded like a question instead. 

"Mhmm, he broke up with Abigail because he said he had fallen for me," she looked positively delighted at the thought, toying with the two necklaces around her neck as she stared into space like a lovesick fool. "We're going on a date this Valentine's day!" she finished dreamily.

And then, she looked at Theo, waiting for his reaction.

Waiting for him to tell her off for loving a filthy mudblood.

But instead, he smiled, and said, "I'm happy for you."

And Ophelia, who had been most definitely surprised he was so accepting of her situation, hugged him and squealed in excitement that she at least had one person on her side.

One person who knew her secret.

.

.

.

All along whilst she was talking, the Slytherin wanted nothing more than to gouge his ears out with a knife at the poisonous words that left her sweet mouth. His fists clenched, blood pounding into his ears as he felt heat. All over.

Theo's eyes drifted to both the necklaces resting on her slender neck. The bastard had made one of them himself. 

Though I got her a fucking diamond tiara. Beat that, you son of a milkman.

He gulped slightly when his Lia mentioned a date with the mudblood, masking his disappointment of her opposite excitement by plastering a fake smile on his lips.

He was used to faking it. It was nothing new.

But this was so hard. 

He had actually thought they had something special. But she... she saw him as nothing more than a friend, a confidante.

And this was clear with the innocent manner she was speaking in. She wasn't even trying to make him jealous. She was just telling him last night's events.

He wanted to kill the Creevey boy; he wanted to scream bloody murder, for the mudblood had stolen what was his. 

What had been his since forever.

But she was smiling.

And it was so hard for him to feign happiness, because now, to her, his opinion actually mattered.

When she hated him, it was easy to hate Colin.

But now his opinion actually mattered to her.

"I'm happy for you," he struggled to say those words, the lies that burned up his throat like poisoned fire as the dragon in his chest roared and clawed against his ribs in an attempt to get him to tell her the truth.

Please don't be in love with someone else.

But she was.

And Theo could do nothing but be happy for her.

Because he knew she would smile if he accepted Colin.

So no matter how much he despised lying, he had to.

For her.

She did not seem to detect his true feelings. Instead, the most radiant of smiles formed on her face at his acceptance and she threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you," she whispered.

And Theo closed his eyes tightly and wound his arms tightly around her, inhaling her scent as he entered a world where Lia was his.

For now, his current world had got it all wrong. 

The system was faulty.

There was a glitch.

{ hey guys. here's another heartbreaking chapter for you guys </3
 i wrote this days ago. i swear i meant to post it next week. but i love you guys all so much i needed to give you an update when you asked for one. so please vote, comment as much as you can and follow me on spotify (dessertoholic) and insta. (dessert.o.holic)
but lemme tell you this: that valentine's day date is gonna be your favorite chapter.
anyway, i know most of you are bummed out about this, but it is ESSENTIAL to the plot.
you can kill me now, i deserve it. 
when i said very slow burn, i meant VERY slow burn... anyway, i hope you liked this chapter.
special thanks to fxckingexhaustxng bc she's sweet and i love her sm. go follow her. 
anyway, next chapter we have some DRAMA. and the chapter after that is EVEN MORE DRAMA
please vote, comment and follow me on spotify and insta.
and i would love it if you guys have any fanart/pieces of writing/graphics for lia and theo.
so i figured i would split hbp into two... posted aesthetics and playlist for part four, i would suggest checking them out and voting please >.<
you guys are all my family, my cult and my community. your comments are everything. don't stop commenting. xoxo
lots of love,
jasmine. }

{ MAR 13. 2024 }