Pulling Strings - Theodore Nott

16. Crossing lines

"You know," Nott's voice cut through the quiet corridor, taking her by surprise. "This was not exactly what I had in mind when I said I would do whatever you wanted." She turned around to look at him and didn't miss the scowl on his face.

She rolled her eyes. "Trust me, this was not my idea either."

Tightening her robes against her cold frame, Ophelia started walking, not really caring if Nott followed or not. Still, she heard his footsteps behind her and had to fight the smirk threatening to appear.

It was the last day at school before the winter break and because the world had some personal vendetta against Ophelia, she was on her way now to Professor Slughorn's Christmas party.

With Nott as her date.

The sound of their footsteps echoed in the deserted dungeon corridors, the only noise cutting through the silence. Most students were too busy packing their trunks to go home, and the few who weren't had more sense than to be roaming around this late. If they weren't careful, they'd end up caught by Filch for breaking curfew.

To her defense, it had not been her fault. She had been standing outside of the Slytherin common room almost ten minutes before the arranged time. Nott, on the other hand...arrived ten minutes late. It was incredibly rude and inconsiderate but she refrained from saying anything. They had managed to spend almost two weeks without any fights after that awful night of his birthday party and she wasn't too excited to jeopardize that apparent peace.

She still remembered the feeling of his eyes on her, heavy and filled with so much hate. The way he had acted only because Ophelia had dared to dance with someone at a party. But the worst part still remained being the sly smirk he gave her before leaving her room, acting like he had won when in reality it was she who had set her limits and he who had agreed to them. Wasn't it?

A chill that had nothing to do with the cold ran down her spine, remembering how she hadn't been able to sleep that night, still feeling on edge, wondering what was going through Nott's head during that.

It was beneficial for her, when he went back to ignoring her not long after. She could easily pretend that nothing had happened, and she did most of the time. But some others, when they happened to accidentally meet eyes over at class or in the common room, she was filled with a asphyxiating need to run away and hide.

It was all very normal, she gaslit herself.

"Right." His voice cut into her thoughts, and she almost jumped, forgetting for a second that he was still walking just two steps behind her. He caught up easily, falling into step beside her. "There's no need to lie, Selwyn." His voice was too smug, too full of himself. She had to fight the urge to shove at him. "I was clearly the best choice."

"The fact that you think I chose to invite you to this party speaks more about you than about me."

He scoffed. "Who were you going to invite, then?"

She didn't answer. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of getting under her skin. Tonight was going to be an evening free of fights, she had promised herself that.

"Wow, silent treatment? Real mature." She watched from her side eye as he shrugged. "Fine by me, then I don't have to hear your annoying voice all evening."

She couldn't help turning her head around then, and a scoff left her lips. If only he would grant her the same mercy.

Ophelia let out a slow breath, choosing to ignore him as they turned a corner. The flickering torches along the dungeon walls casted long shadows, making the corridor feel narrower than it was.