Pulling Strings - Theodore Nott

1. Into the snake pit

Ophelia watched her reflection carefully in the full length mirror of her room. Everything had to look perfect. She slid her hand over her midnight blue dress robes, making sure to straighten any stray wrinkles that her mother's spell had missed. Apparently pleased with the result, she stole one last glance at her hair and after deciding that it was as best as she could do, she exited her room to meet her family downstairs.

Her mother and brother were waiting at the bottom of the staircase, also wearing their best dress robes. Her brother didn't even bother to look at her, only taking the sound of her footsteps as confirmation that she was ready and then walking over to the fireplace, she preferred it that way. Her mother, however, did exactly the opposite. She turned her head so abruptly that Ophelia was surprised she didn't snap something.

A frown didn't take long to appear in Cordelia's face. "Whatever is wrong with your hair?" was the first words that welcomed Ophelia once she was finally at the same level as her mother. She refrained from touching it. "Did you use the potion I left for you this morning in your room?" she had opted for grabbing Ophelia's chin and turning her head to watch her properly.

"Yes, I did, mother." she assured her, trying not to wince at the feeling of her mother's nails digging into the flesh of her chin. Hearing this, she let go and turned to address her brother, still waiting by the fireplace, a restless expression on his face.

"Phineas, why don't you head over without us? I need to fix your sister's mess of a hair and I don't want to keep you waiting." She said, grabbing her by the arm and starting to go up the stairs once more. Ophelia didn't resist.

"Are you sure?" Her brother asked, trying to hide his satisfaction, something that he was really awful at if you asked her.

"Yes, yes,'' came her mother's answer without even glancing at him. "While you're there, find your uncle for me? I need to discuss something with him." They were already at the top of the stairs when her brother's answer came and seconds later a flash or green light and he was gone. "Now, come with me." Cordelia dragged her to her own room and forced her to sit facing her vanity mirror. She left for a moment to, most likely, go fetch the potion that laid in Ophelia's bed and indeed, came back carrying a bottle of purple looking liquid. It was a homemade recipe that a friend of the family personally brewed for her since the famous Sleekeazy's Hair Potion advised against its use on redheads. Another problem with her, her mother liked to say.

"You surely used too little of it," she started, dropping a good amount of it on Ophelia's hair. The sensation was anything but pleasant, the liquid was harmless but it didn't mean that the burning that she was feeling on her scalp was something to be comfortable with. "You're not a little girl anymore, Ophelia, I cannot be expected to style your hair every time." she protested, combing a brush through her hair now, the former curls turning straight in an instant.

"Nobody is asking you—" The small surge of confidence was gone before she even noticed it. But the words were already said and the tugging of her hair was evidence of that.

"Do not talk back to me! Would you prefer to go out to society looking like a— Well I don't even know what looks like this." After a few minutes of more brushing, her mother finally seemed to be pleased with the results and stepped back. "Isn't this better?" she asked, and Ophelia had to bite her tongue not to answer her. It was definitely not better but she was too used to it by now. "Honestly, It's such a shame you took after your father's side of the family, I had hopes, after your brother was born looking like me, that you would be the same, but no," her face soured. "Your father's ginger curls just had to make an appearance." The bitterness in her voice was not concealed. "It's just so...unladylike."

Ophelia watched her mother more closely now, her perfect posture, slim figure and perfectly pin straight blonde hair. The perfect picture of a pureblood lady.