Pulling Strings - Theodore Nott

2. An unexpected visit

Considering the past sixteen years of her life, Ophelia should've already known by now that luck wasn't on her side.

The day had started on a bad note already because Pinky, their house elf, had woken her up at seven o' clock after her many attempts to convince her to turn a blind eye and allow her to sleep a bit more, Ophelia had given up and awoke in a bad mood.

"It's Mistress Cordelia's wish for you to start your day, can't disobey." Pinky explained on her way out of her room, after making sure that Ophelia was not going to simply go back to sleep. Of course it is, she thought while reaching for the clothes that she had put away the past night on the chair next to her bed, only to find it empty. It was too early to question it so she wrapped a robe around her body and lazily started to walk down to the kitchen in search of something to wake her up.

But she never made it to the kitchen. Instead, once she had found herself in the ground floor, she heard the distinctly grating voice of her mother calling her to the dining room. That was strange, since the passing of her father they hardly ever used that room, it was too big and demanded a lot of cleaning, and having only one house elf was difficult to keep up, so they didn't use it unless there were visitors. She walked slowly towards the sound of her mothers voice and found her and Phineas —his face looking more sleep deprived than hers— sitting alone in the large wooden table. She studied said table before going to sit at a spot that seemed to be reserved for her because there was a steaming cup of tea waiting along with two scones.

"Morning," she addressed her family, reaching for the small sugar container. "Is this a special occasion?"

Her brother and mother exchanged a complicit look, it wasn't surprising that Phineas was already aware of whatever was happening. She started stirring her tea, waiting for one of them to speak when it was her mother, the one that decided to break the awkward silence only disturbed until then by the sound of the metal spoon on the porcelain cup.

Her mother cleared her throat, fixing her blue eyes on her. "As a matter of fact it is, we're expected to have guests today," Ophelia stopped stirring her tea to look at her mother, her eyes opening in a panicked expression. "For lunch, that is." She allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief. "But you shouldn't come down wearing your night clothes in any way, it's not decent."

She looked down at her clothes, you couldn't possibly see her nightgown beneath the robe that she had tightened around her waist. As always, her mother was exaggerating but it was too early to even allow a reaction out of her. "Pinky took my clothes, I didn't know we were going to have a proper breakfast." she murmured while hiding her face behind the cup, following the action with a quick sip of tea, the scalding liquid soothing her mood instantly. It didn't matter that it was summer, it barely made a difference in England anyway, so Ophelia still found herself enjoying the hot beverages and warm clothing during the mornings. It was one of the few pleasures she indulged in her home.

"Do you not have other clothes? What if your brother had company—?"

"Mum, that's alright." Her brother spoke up for the first time, forcing Ophelia's face to snap up and look at him. Was he actually speaking up for her? Him? The sleep deprivation must really be getting to him because she couldn't remember the last time that her brother hadn't been kissing the ground their mother walked on.

Their mother's face instantly softened and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I just...think it is important for you to learn these rules of conduct," she turned to look at her again. "One day you might find yourself responsible for your own—"

"Mother." A warning tone in Phineas's voice made her shut her mouth again and Ophelia watched as he gave her a stern look. What had gotten into him? This family always found new ways to mess with her head, one day your brother hated you, the next he was kind of advocating for you against your mother, who even knew anymore, she simply wanted to finish her breakfast and retire to a quiet spot to read. Annalise had lent her an old book that apparently had belonged to her great grandfather or something like that, but it was about the extra properties that some potions had apart from the main one they were used for, and it had intrigued her. However her thoughts were detoured from her next plans when her brother decided to speak again, surprising her. "You should change, though, Hydrus will be arriving in short notice and so will our guests so it's best if—"