NOW THAT THE CABINET WAS fixed, there was a forbearing sense of darkness that loomed over Ophelia's head, like a storm cloud that was constantly above her, ready to unleash it's anger and wrath across her path in the shape of a deadly hurricane.

It was like waiting for the right moment, for the perfect chance, for the ideal opportunity.

And then, the day finally came, and ironically, it happened to be a lovely, sunny morning.

But that's what they say; that the calm always appears before the storm.

The day started out like any other, with Ophelia in the library, spending her time tutoring younger students, helping them do some last minute learning and cramming for their ongoing exams.

Theo came and sat beside her after his lessons, which ended at midday, and the pair spent the rest of the gloriously sunny afternoon outside by the Black Lake, Ophelia reading a novel, and Theo lying down in her lap and trying to annoy her and distract her by tickling her knees. 

Draco didn't attend any of his classes. He had been far too busy sending a message to Borgin and Burkes, informing them that the time had come for death eaters to storm all over the castle grounds.

In a way, it made perfect sense that Ophelia and Theo spent the rest of their day together underneath the sun, for who knew when it would come out once again? It was as if they were both trying to live for one more golden day before the earth would flood and the storm would drag them down, beneath the waves to their deaths.

They watched the bittersweet sunset together, the end of a beautiful day, and the beginning of a night of terrors, one that would be imprinted in their minds forever.

It all happened so fast, the whole night was mashed up into a series of events that were a blur as they occurred, yet Ophelia still remembered every, single, distinct detail.

She had been in the courtyard counting the stars with Astoria, eating strawberries and whipped cream that Little had brought for them. 

Summer was approaching, but it promised nothing but stormy skies and dismal nights. The air was warm, so Ophelia and Astoria decided to take advantage of the weather and spend their evening together instead of in the Slytherin Common Room or the library. It was nearly dark, the stars were twinkling above them, as if it were bidding them goodbye.

They were discussing the latest fashion magazine when Draco interrupted them, approaching both blondes with desperation that bordered on frantic.

"Come with me, let's go," Draco warned them, urgency lacing his tone. "The Death Eaters will begin to swarm across the castle any moment now."

Ophelia stood up and gathered her things in a rush, stashing everything in her bag and helping Astoria do the same. 

Draco didn't wait for the girls to fully pack up. He was already jogging through the corridors, occasionally turning back to see if Ophelia and Astoria were following him, which they were doing, but with great difficulty.

Though she played quidditch, and she was fit enough to run faster than three quarters of the girls in the school, she couldn't run as fast as her brother without ending up breathless. Struggling to hold all her items in her hand whilst running, she was grateful when Draco slowed down when entering the dungeons, and came to a complete stop at the entrance of the Slytherin Common Room only to give the password before engaging in motion once more, his quick steps taking them both to his dorm room.

Theo and Blaise were the only occupants in the room, the blonde noticed, after taking two seconds to scan the room.

"What's going on, mate?" Theo asked, gesturing to the two girls standing in the doorway.

"You wanna date my sister, Nott?" Draco asked, the tension evident in his voice, not even giving Theo the chance to give a verbal response. "Prove it. Take care of her tonight. Keep her in your sights at all times. Make sure she doesn't get hurt, otherwise I will kill you."

"Are you going to do it then?" Ophelia asked quietly, setting her bag and books down, sparing not even a single moment to arrange them as she usually did. 

Draco only gave a single nod and the Malfoy heiress had already spoken.

"I want to come."

His jaw clenched, and out of the corner of her eye, Ophelia noticed Theo's eyes glaring daggers at her.

"No, absolutely not!"

"You must be out of your bloody mind if you think I'll allow that."

Both boys had spoken at the same time, and their eyes met at the fact that they finally agreed about one thing after spending weeks not speaking to each other.

"Would someone tell me what the heck is going on?" Astoria interrupted everyone, staring at the three boys and Ophelia.

Specifically, her gaze lingered on Draco. 

"I didn't want you to find out this way," the Malfoy heir spoke, his voice full of self-loathing, as he made a bitter expression and raised the sleeve of his left arm.

Astoria's eyes widened, but she didn't back away, she surprised everyone, including Ophelia when her arms wrapped around Draco and she pressed a kiss to his cheek, causing him to go slightly pink. "Good luck, Draco."

The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife, and Ophelia couldn't deny it, but it was rather amusing to see Draco so flustered because of a girl.

"Is there something going on between you two?" Blaise broke the silence, asking the question everyone else had been dying to ask.

"God, No!"

"We're just friends."

But the moment Draco realized that Astoria's denial hurt him, was also the moment when he realized that he didn't want to be just friends with her. Without even caring about the fact that Astoria might not have feelings for him and he could possibly ruin their friendship, he grabbed her jaw with both hands and kissed her, right in front of his best friends and sister, making them all very uncomfortable.

Once he broke away from Astoria, he turned his back to the occupants of the room and made his way to the door. 

"Draco, wait!" Astoria called after him, following him on his way out.

"I want to see this," Blaise said, beckoning Theo and Ophelia to join him. They leant against the staircase railing, watching from above, how Draco was halfway down the stairs when Astoria caught up to him and grabbed his arm, stalling him.

"What did that mean?" she asked, utterly breathless with a flattered smile on her lips.

"It means we'll talk later," Draco gave her a small smile. "It means I have something else to look forward to after all this. It means I have another reason to live."

Astoria, completely shocked by his response, froze momentarily and Draco seized the opportunity to slide his arm from her grasp and continue on his way, ready to begin the life of his that he had no choice but to participate in.

Astoria looked up to where Theo, Blaise and Ophelia were spying on them, her eyes searching those of her best friend for approval, who only smiled, indicating that her best friend had her permission and blessing to pursue her brother.

"Didn't know Draco had it in him," Blaise announced, once the four of them were tucked into a warm corner of the Slytherin common room. 

"Neither did I," Ophelia giggled, rather embarrassed at seeing her brother and best friend kiss. She was sitting between Astoria and Theo, the latter having his arm coming around her shoulders until his fingers lay resting at her hip, holding a half smoked cigarette between his fingertips. The blonde had her little flask of firewhiskey in her hand, occasionally taking sips from it.

"Take small sips, Principessa," Theo murmured softly into her ear, gently nipping it between his teeth. "Don't want you getting drunk now, do we?"

The blonde was intoxicated enough to giggle softly, very uncharacteristically. 

"What's up, fam?" 

They were interrupted from their conversation momentarily as Pansy Parkinson came and sat down next to Blaise, opposite Theo.

She placed a very large, fluffy thing in Ophelia's lap, which happened to be Cleo. 

"Your cat was waiting outside the common room for ages," Pansy explained. "Think she missed you. Anyway, what's going on?"

"Draco kissed Astoria," Blaise was the first to spill the beans, at the very moment that Pansy asked Theo for a cigarette.

"What?" Pansy echoed. "Don't play games with me, Zabini," she continued, fingers outstretched towards Theo as she waited for a cigarette.

"I'm not, I swear," Blaise defended. "Ask anyone here."

"It's true," Ophelia nodded.

"I'm all out," Theo shrugged, gesturing to the empty box of cigarettes that lay on the side-table. "You're welcome to share mine though, if you want." He held out his half-smoked cigarette to her.

"Don't mind if I do," Pansy plucked it from his fingers and took a drag before giving it back to him, turning back to face Blaise. 

"Wait— Draco actually kissed you?" she asked Astoria, who nodded just like Ophelia had moments ago.

"Oh wow, didn't know he had the balls," Pansy commented, stealing Theo's cigarette once more and taking another long drag before handing it back to him.

"That's what I said, and you didn't believe me!" Blaise remarked, annoyed. 

"Of course. Who'd believe you?" Pansy sighed. "You're such a gossip!"

"Am not—"

The two had already engaged into an argument without even realizing that Theo and Ophelia were having a little argument of their own.

"Could I try it?" Ophelia had asked, right after Theo had given the death stick to Pansy.

"No." The Slytherin's answer was short and one worded.

"Why not?"

"Because, Principessa," Theo blew a puff of smoke from his lips. "It's not good for you."

"But you let Pansy do it," she reasoned, not keen on the idea of Theo and Pansy sharing the same cigarette. "And you're sharing yours with her, might I add."

The Nott heir let out a dry chuckle. "Are you jealous, Lia?" The brunet boy taunted, murmuring in her ear, pressing small kisses right behind her jawline. 

Ophelia said nothing, petting Cleo in her lap, taking a sip of firewhiskey, suddenly paying attention to where Pansy and Blaise were counting and exchanging galleons whilst Astoria was commenting on how atrocious they were for betting on her and Draco's love life.

"Look at me," Theo growled, his voice a deep, low rumble, demanding her to pay attention to him, causing a shiver to travel down her spine as she suddenly snapped away from reality and got lost in him— in his dark blue, mesmerizing eyes. "Open your mouth, baby," he murmured in a softer tone, his gaze flitting quickly to make sure their friends were still arguing and not paying attention to them.

Ophelia gasped softly at his words, and she parted her lips slightly, just enough for Theo to lean close to her, close enough to just almost touch lips with her and blow smoke into her mouth, between her parted lips.

The blonde coughed slightly, the taste of the cigarette smoke mingling with the remnants of the firewhiskey in her mouth, causing a shudder of thrilling excitement and surprise to travel down her spine.

"I love you," he breathed softly, before capturing her lower lip between his teeth and tugging it slightly, not caring that their friends were right there, and could see the almost tangible intimacy between them.

They were about to engage in a make-out session when Cleo hissed in Ophelia's lap, meowing really loudly and jumping off Ophelia's lap, clearly in fright, interrupting everyone.

At the very moment there was a loud clap of thunder in the sky, and the shrill cry of a wailing phoenix in the distance.

As everyone looked around at each other in alarm, they knew it was over.

Dumbledore had fallen.

{ hey guys! terribly, terribly sorry for the very, very late update. i meant to publish this chapter ages ago, and i thought i did, but i was mistaken :((
i just finished my exams, and i had a bake sale last week, and work this week too, so i've been super busy.
i will try to update more as soon as possible as i also finally got over my writer's block :))
hopefully, i can finish the half blood prince before new years :)
in the mean time, socials are in my bio. comment, vote and follow. spam me with comments PLEASE! that is what keeps me going.
hint for the next chapter: title is fresh out the slammer.
(random but i'm obsessed with gracie abrams rn, hence the chapter titles)
what are you planning to do this break?
hopefully, i've planned to travel to singapore and malaysia with my mom :))
anyway, SPAM ME WITH COMMENTS.
lots of love, xoxo,
jasmine. }

{ DEC 11. 2024 }