tw: mentions of suicide, blood, panic attacks and self harm.
VERY IMPORTANT A/N AT THE BOTTOM

             IN THE GRAND TAPESTRY OF existence, the cosmos often dances to a tune of whimsy, where fate's hand can be unexpectedly harsh, weaving threads of challenge and adversity into the fabric of life. 

In other words, Ophelia had realized that the universe can be very cruel sometimes.

One would have to ask, what could have happened in less than twenty four hours that caused everything to change so suddenly?

Well, it's only a matter of time before every single human realizes that life can bring major unforeseen circumstances that cause everything in their world to shatter.

It all started on the first of March.

Ophelia had woken up at her usual time, reminiscing the events of the previous day, which happened to be her boyfriend's birthday.

Because of her detention yesterday, she wasn't able to give him the second part of his gift, so instead, she would give it to him today, later in the evening.

When she got to the Great Hall for breakfast, Harry Potter, Hermione and Ginny were nowhere to be seen. The entire student body was alive with gossip.

It did not take long for the gossip to spread to Ophelia, when Mariana came and told her that Ron Weasley was in the hospital wing after being poisoned.

Ophelia's heart stopped beating.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Her eyes moved to the Slytherin table to find Draco, but just by taking a quick scan of the table and noting the absence of the platinum blonde haired boy, Ophelia knew Draco was not okay.

Without even bothering to finish the plate of food before her, she stood up, eyes meeting Theo's from across the hall. Tilting her head slightly, she motioned Theo to follow her out.

"Lia, is everything okay?" Theo's voice echoed through the silent corridor as the noisy chatter in the Great Hall ebbed away with every quick footstep Ophelia took. Theo's footfalls quickened when he tried to catch up to her, trying to get her to speak her mind.

But Ophelia did not stop until she was outside the room of requirement.

Breathlessly pacing across the empty wall three times, indescribable relief filled her when the door appeared. 

Ignoring Theo's persistent repetitions of different variants of the same question, Ophelia found Draco on his knees, before the vanishing cabinet.

He was shaking, trembling with the inner turmoil that strangled his emotions, his veins coursing with the guilt of yet another victim of the curse that the dark lord had bestowed onto him, disguising as glory and honor.

The blonde felt her heart crack into a million pieces with every heartbreakingly wretched sob that left her brother's body. But what caused her to lose her mind was the sight of two slits on her brother's wrists, and the thick crimson liquid that dribbled down his forearms and soaked the pure white cotton of his school shirt.

"Draco, oh God," Ophelia's voice was hoarse, and she brought herself down to his level, her arms pulling him into the comfort of her warm caress. 

"Shit," Theo breathed, crouching down on Draco's other side.

When Draco sensed Ophelia's presence, he buried his head in her lap, clinging onto her tightly, almost afraid she would slip away, shaking with the sobs of a tortured madman.

The blonde held her brother tightly, her touch the only tangible thing that connected him to the reality of life, preventing him from losing himself in the deafening commotion of thoughts that emulsified in his mind.

She placed her hand on his back, gently stroking his hair as he shook with the sobs that wrecked through his body.

When she noticed that Draco had been silent for a while, she motioned for Theo to come close to her so she could whisper into his ear.

"Could you get some healing supplies from Madam Pomfrey?" she asked, tilting her head up to look at him.

Theo nodded and left the room, leaving the two Malfoy siblings together on the floor, clutching each other tightly, the bond between them unbreakable.

One was broken glass, the other was the glue that tried to hold the broken fragments together.

Theo came with the medical supplies, and together, they used healing spells and potions to tend to Draco's bleeding wrists. There was blood all over Ophelia and Theo, but that was the least of their worries when they tried to nurse Draco back into a more composed state.

"The mead... Slughorn never gave it to Dumbledore," Draco muttered. "How... how many more people will I hurt? I'm dangerous..."

"Shhh," Ophelia stroked Draco's hair, imitating her mother's comforting actions. "It's not your fault, Dray."

"You need to rest," Theo pulled Draco up, and Ophelia's gaze landed on the way his muscles stretched the bloodied fabric of his white school shirt as they contracted to lift Draco into a standing position, her heart fluttering at the way Theo pouted his lips to give her an air kiss behind Draco's back. "I'll take him back to the dorm, yeah?"

"I'll finish cleaning up here," Ophelia nodded in affirmation, gesturing to the tragic combination of spilled beer, blades and blood on the floor.

When one ends up cleaning or tidying up, it is not rare that they suddenly drift into their thoughts, recalling past events, or even thinking about the future.

This is what happened to Ophelia. 

Cleaning is a form of meditation, it cleanses one's mind of all the negative thoughts, purifying the mind and resetting it by filling it with refreshing thoughts.

But the process of meditation is painful.

Ophelia's mind had always been so busy and full for the past month that she had neglected some of her thoughts and feelings. Naturally, when she was alone, and doing something as therapeutic as cleaning, the chain of thought in her mind was continuous.

Her thoughts drifted to her recent friendships, swimming past Astoria, Pansy and Mariana.

It was hard to remember that Ophelia had spend five years of hating Mariana until she read her diary.

Her thoughts then drifted to Ginny, and finally landed on Colin.

It had been a long time since she had spoken to Colin, and she missed him infinitely. Her heart still skipped a beat every time they came into close contact or their eyes met, even from far away.

Stop! Ophelia interrupted her thoughts. I have a boyfriend.

Yet she couldn't stop thinking about Colin always called her the most beautiful girl in the room, or how his lips felt against hers, or how delicately he held her, like she was made of china.

Her mind then took the dark path of the situation was in; dating her childhood best friend, but having feelings for another. Having the closeness of a brother who was mentally troubled with the Dark Lord's burden. Having the love of a father who was miles and miles away from her.

And most recently... She had planned a surprise for Theo, but after this... how was it even possible for her to have fun whilst her brother nearly killed himself? The guilt of enjoying herself whilst her brother suffered got to her, and her guilt worsened when she realized she would have to cancel the plans she had with Theo, when she had promised him she would give him the second part of his birthday gift.

She had so much going on, and she had been so strong for so long... It was only a matter of time before the pressure got to her.

The wetness spilling down her cheeks was completely unforeseen, and the next thing she knew was that she couldn't stop the tears.

She released the pressure bubbling inside her in the form of pearly tears that found their way into her lap after taking the adventurous path down her cheeks.

It only took a few more seconds for her to start weeping.

That was how Theo found her a few moments later, after putting Draco to sleep and giving him a sleeping potion that would render him sober when he woke up the next morning.

"Lia, oh God, Lia, what's wrong?" Theo murmured, picking up his girlfriend and holding her in place next to his chest, one hand at the back of her neck, the other on her lower back.

"N-nothing," she whimpered, sniffling and wiping her eyes. "Everything," she shrugged, letting her tears drip into Theo's shirt, her head buried into his shoulder.

"Shh," Theo had begun rubbing gentle circles on her back, soothing the turmoil of emotions swirling through her mind. "Talk to me, darling."

Ophelia couldn't bring herself to tell Theo everything that invaded her mind, so instead, she allowed herself to silently cry into his shoulder until she felt good enough to speak.

"I'm sorry, Theo," she whispered softly, her voice tender and apologetic to his ears. "I'd planned something special for tonight, but after this, I just—"

"Lia," Theo interrupted her, setting her down and cupping her face between his hands, his thumbs brushing away the tears that rested on the chub of her cheeks. "It doesn't matter."

"It does, because I was looking forward to it, and—"

Theo didn't let her finish, pulling her into his chest once more, hugging her tightly. "Lia, I told you yesterday, even, it doesn't matter."

Ophelia looked up at his face, only to find him already looking down at her expression, his eyes exploding with tenderness and concern, speaking volumes through the silence.

"Theo," the blonde murmured softly, wrapping her hands around his neck, the fingers on her left hand drifting into his hair. "I wanted your birthday to be special..."

"But it is special," Theo whispered tenderly. "I told you, there is nothing, nothing more I want than to spend time with you. That's it."

"That's all you want?" Ophelia's eyes widened, unable to believe that Theo did not want anything else."

"It's the only thing I want," Theo affirmed with a small smile, kissing her forehead gently. "Now, let's get you cleaned up, alright? You smell of booze."

Ophelia realized then, after she looked down at her uniform that she bore traces of Draco's blood all over her clothes and skin. 

"You need to get cleaned up too," she smiled at his words, pushing back his long curls from his forehead.

"Should we meet in half an hour then?" Theo queried, gathering his things from the room of requirement, leading Ophelia out to the door.

Ophelia did want to spend time with Theo, but at the same time, she didn't want to part ways so suddenly. An idea popped into her mind and she blushed slightly before telling Theo her plan.

"So, I'm a prefect...." She began, the pink color darkening on her cheeks. "And that means I have access to the prefects bathroom..."

It didn't take long for Theo to catch on, and he smirked wickedly, before meeting her eyes.

The next thing, the two of them were holding hands and running, their laughter echoing through the corridors.

Ophelia pulled Theo into the prefects bathroom before telling him the password, and after locking the door behind them they were both breathlessly laughing by the time they began filling the large, swimming pool-like tub.

Theo began to unbutton his shirt, and Ophelia's eyes fixated on how perfectly sculpted his chest was, every crevice in his skin perfectly etched into place.

He took off his trousers, leaving himself in his boxers, when he entered the steaming mass of hot water and infinite bubbles.

The scent of the water enveloped Ophelia's senses, filling it with the comforting aromas of both fruity and flowery fragrances.

"Aren't you going to take off your shirt?" Ophelia blurted, unable to stop staring at Theo's chest. 

Theo wiped his face with his hands, droplets of water splashing out in different directions as he shook his head. "Not completely."

Slightly bummed about the fact that her beautiful view wouldn't be fully visible, she began to slowly take off her own clothes.

When she was left in her undergarments, she took small steps to sit at the edge of the pool, placing her legs in the water.

When she lifted her glare to meet Theo's, she felt a rampage of elephants in her lower abdomen, because his one gaze, was enough to corrupt her lungs from functioning the right way and allow any more oxygen into her body.

His blue eyes were dark, so dark. Darker than she had ever seen them, his intense eyes boring into her almost bare figure.

Instantly, like he was possessed by a spirit, he made his way towards her, placing his hands on her slim waist, gently lowering her into the warm water.

"You—" he began, softly kissing her bare shoulder. "Are so—" He kissed her other shoulder, "Fucking beautiful."

She blushed so very darkly, the pink color on her cheeks splashing across the bridge of her nose, her grey eyes looking shyly into his.

Her blonde hair waterfalled down her back and began floating around her like a golden sheen in the hot water, and her milky skin was unblemished, perfect, pristine.

She was perfect. In every single way.

Breathless from just his words, Ophelia thanked him for the compliment by gently kissing his lips.

She was damned eternally, for a single taste of his essence would always leave her yearning for more. An animalistic growl left Theo's lips, and his grip tightened on her waist, when he held her against the wall, kissing her hard enough to bruise her lips.

She gasped softly, and Theo took advantage of her parted lips to drive his tongue between them, exploring the hot cavern of her mouth, memorizing every nook and cranny so he could remember how her lips tasted forevermore.

Her own tongue squirmed as it battled his, and she gave up when his teeth gently nibbled her lower lip, pulling away when he knew she needed to breathe.

"Theo," she gasped softly, closing her eyes lightly for a few seconds, head leant back, resting against the wall.

She had to open her eyes quickly in surprise when he took advantage of her exposed neck to attach his lips to her collarbones and the smooth column of her neck.

She only gasped again, her legs finding their place around his waist, hands pinching the wet shirt at his shoulders before moving to his hair, pulling his wet roots harshly.

"You're divine," he groaned, lips vibrating against her skin as they sucked on her delicate neck, making sure to leave his bite on her neck, marking his territory, eliciting small moans from her lips. "I can never get enough of you, Principessa, sei così, così bella." 

Ophelia's heart would have exploded if he hadn't pulled away to look into her eyes.

His hand cupped her cheek, thumb grazing against her lower lip, his other hand at her neck where his lips were seconds ago.

And his eyes.

His blue eyes were alight with crackling electricity that surged through his whole body like an unstoppable current.

Another small gasp left her when she looked at all the raw tenderness and infinite emotion in his eyes. "My Princess.... My Lia," he whispered softly, dropping another kiss to her lips. 

"I love you."

{ i bet you're all screaming internally. i also bet none of you can wait for the next chapter... i have been planning this moment for agesss. please, please spam me with comments, they're all that keep me going to write.
so i had really bad writer's block suddenly, and i'm losing faith in this story... are people really enjoying it? we didn't get to the targeted votes last time :'( and that makes me sad..
wattpad is removing pms from the app, so pls sign the petition on my mb to stop this... bc the pms are the best part of wp
anyway, it would mean the world to me if you could comment.. unfortunately, i'm not feeling well yet... qatar was fun, for those who asked. it's really nice. i drove there, took me 4 hours to reach.
anyway, pls sign the petition, vote, comment and follow.
also, should i create a discord server for this book? discussions, easter eggs, etc? let me know by commenting 'LETS GO' over here >> 
yeah, socials are in my bio, do tell me who you are if you follow me... comment on this chapter, vote, and share. (can we get to 360 votes pweaaaseee ?? )
ophelia's birthday is in two days !! ya'll better vote fast so i can update on her birthday.
lots of love, jasmine.
xoxo }

{ APR 22. 2024 }