MEMENTO MORI | DRACO MALFOY

TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

     "Wow, you look like shit."

     "Enough with the compliments, Blaise, you're inflating my ego." Ophelia muttered sarcastically as she set her books down on the desk next to him in the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. She had spent her entire free period in Snape's office practicing Occlumency. With all the practice she'd gotten in during the summer and with Snape's help, she actually felt confident that she'd be back to herself in no time.

     "What'd Snape want?" Blaise asked as Ophelia took her seat, placing her quill and parchment at the corner of the desk, ready to start their lesson.

     Ophelia shrugged. "Wanted to check up on me after what happened last term, as my Head of House he felt obliged, I suppose. I told him I'm fine, just like I've told you lot a thousand times, yet you all still treat me like I'm made of glass."

     "Because you're not fine." Blaise whispered only loud enough for her to hear. When Ophelia shot him a glare, he continued. "Ever since that night, you've been different. I don't ever expect you to speak about it with me, but whatever happened changed you. It's like you have feelings now. It's disgusting..."

     "Thanks, always the sweetest." Ophelia muttered, fiddling with the plume of her quill between her fingers.

      Blaise leaned back in his chair. "I'm joking, but seriously, you used to be this strong, stone hearted girl and now it's like you're broken."

     Ophelia drew in a sharp breath through her gritted teeth. "I'm working on it, OK?"

     He nodded curtly, directing his attention across the room. Ophelia followed his gaze to see Draco sitting with Pansy, who was leaning on the palm of her hand that was propped up on the desk and fluttering her eyelashes at him.

     "See," Blaise sighed. "That wouldn't have bothered you before."

     Blaise was right. Before, she would have laughed at Draco for having any interest in Parkinson. She was clingy and needy and obsessed, and Draco swore up and down he would never so much as smile in her direction. It never even bothered Ophelia before when he asked Pansy to the Yule Ball. But now, seeing them speaking so closely together made an angry, green monster appear within her, trying to claw its way out.

     "He's probably just trying to make me jealous, like you said." Ophelia turned back to Blaise, sitting back in a way that he blocked her view of Draco. "I'm not going to let him."

     "Good." Blaise smiled. "Now, do you think this Umbridge woman is going to have any idea how to use defensive spells or do you think the Ministry sent the most gullible person because no one else would dare to take that cursed job?"

     "I don't know," Ophelia's lips pursed uneasily. "I don't have a good feeling about her. She's Fudge's Undersecretary... The pink and frills might be a front."

     "You think she's some evil cat lady?" He suggested, looking upward as a paper bird fluttered above them. Suddenly, the paper erupted in flames and fell onto Parvati Patil's desk in a clump of ash. Ophelia whipped around in her seat to see the pink woman, Umbridge, walking forward slowly with her wand drawn ahead of her.

     "Good afternoon, Children!" She announced in her sing-song voice that was a few octaves higher than it was last night at the start of term feast. "Wands away and quills out, please!