MEMENTO MORI | DRACO MALFOY

THIRTY-TWO

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Thoughts of Draco's cool lips plagued Ophelia's thoughts for days. She thought there might be seriously something wrong with her, but the more she tried to suppress it, the easier it became. Perhaps if things were different, like if she wasn't a servant of the Dark Lord, then she could have pursued something with him. Even though she could suppress her feelings, she cared for him whether she liked it or not, and she would never put him in harm's way for her own personal reasons.

     There was only a week left until Christmas Break, and Ophelia knew that if Voldemort wanted to act, he would be doing it before she returned home for the holidays. She tried to put the thoughts out of her mind as much as she could, but the whispers were relentless lately, as if they were excited for something.

     Draco and Ophelia were doing their last scheduled shift of Inquisitorial Squad rounds before Christmas, and they had gone back to not speaking, though they consistently shot each other glares whenever their eyes would meet. She knew her heart was betraying her, because it would skip a beat every time he would glare at her, even if it was full of disdain. It was too late now to say anything to him, if she hadn't been so cold and uptight all these years, perhaps she would have noticed his feelings sooner, and she could have reciprocated them, but she'd dug her hole. She betrayed his trust by invading his thoughts, and she knew she'd never get that trust back.

      They rounded the same corner on the seventh floor corridor that had lead to the strange broom cupboard door that strangely no longer existed. Ophelia was thankful, because the memories of their kiss would have plagued her vision if she had seen the door again.

     Ugh. What is wrong with me!?

     She looked down at the floor. She was ashamed that she'd somewhat allowed Draco back in, cracking that hard exterior she'd worked so hard to rebuild. She just wanted to kiss those lips one last time, before her life would completely change again.

     'Shut it down.' Snape's voice echoed in her head. Reminding her of how much work she'd done to get where she was, and a single kiss with Draco was about to obliterate it all. She squeezed her eyes shut, pushing the feelings away, deep down, so far away that they could never resurface.

     Upon opening her eyes, she felt a new sense of clarity. Her heart didn't skip a beat when she glanced at Draco, even upon noticing his curious stare. She rolled her eyes, sending him a glare, causing him to quickly look away again.

     Suddenly, a loud hiss reverberated inside of her mind. Ophelia's hand flung out to brace herself against the stone wall as she felt her balance wavering.

     'Tonight.'

     It felt like her brain was about to explode. Ophelia covered her ears, as though it would help the pain as she slid down the wall. She didn't even notice Draco run forward and grip her face with both hands, screaming at her, but all she could see was his mouth moving frantically. She couldn't hear anything but Voldemort's voice so loud in her head that she feared she'd be deaf afterward. She didn't blame Draco for reacting this way, especially after what had happened at the Third Task.

     'I need access to Potter tonight. You will be rewarded.'

     Ophelia's eyes widened and she quickly stood, almost knocking Draco backwards.