Pulling Strings - Theodore Nott

29. Obedience

"You did what?!"

Ophelia squeezed her eyes shut to avoid looking at her friend.

"It was—" She stopped. What, an accident? She couldn't say that because it would be a lie. She had wholeheartedly meant what she did. Which was only worse for her.

"Don't get me wrong, Effy, I do believe he had it coming but..."

"Yes, I know!" She burst out. "We're not allowed to curse our own housemates. Salazar, do you think I will be in too much trouble?" She looked up at Anna from her position in her bed. A pillow squeezed over her stomach as if that could make the turmoil on it disappear.

"I...honestly don't know, I don't think I've ever heard of anybody from Slytherin cursing another student from the same house. I mean, it's kind of like the first rule they tell us in first year."

Ophelia groaned. "I know! Do you really not think that in the past I have been able to push that urge away? To take a deep breath and only imagine the situation? But, this time...I just couldn't."

Anna sat on the bed next to Ophelia, looking over her shoulder for a moment to check that the rest of their roommates were not going to barge through the door.

"So what happened now? What changed?"

Ophelia's mouth closed shut. She simply couldn't tell her. It wasn't so much that she was ashamed of the reason, it was also the fact that she didn't really understand why it had provoked such a reaction from her.

Nott had done worse things to her than ask for a kiss. It made no sense.

Salazar, It would've been much more understandable if she had cursed him one of the times when he had actually kissed her, without her permission.

Not now. Not when he had done nothing worse than...

"It is not important—"

"Not important?! Effy, they are going to want to know, you should know that by now."

Oh.

Of course. She should have remembered. Along with the rule against in-house violence, they'd been told what happened if it did occur: the Prefect would be notified, the offender would have to explain themselves, and if the reason wasn't deemed "justifiable," punishment would follow.

Her face had probably betrayed her already, judging by Anna's expression. "Oh." A small smirk lifted the side of her mouth and in that moment, Ophelia could definitely see the family resemblance.

"What?" She spat. She didn't like the presumption in that smirk.

"There is only one thing that my dumb cousin could've said to you, that would make you...flustered enough—"

"Flustered? I was definitely not flustered! I was—am angry!"

"Please, do not even try to lie to me. You're a shit liar."

Merlin, you are a shit liar. His voice broke through her thoughts, unwanted, and she grimaced.

"I am not lying! He—" Her voice caught in her throat once more. There was no argument. Nothing she could say to defend herself now. She simply had to face the facts and admit that, no matter how much she didn't want it to be true, perhaps Anna was right.

Had she really cursed Theodore Nott simply because he made her feel...flustered? She had reached a new low. Even for her.

Anna sighed. "Maybe he won't tell."

Ophelia scoffed. "This is Theodore we're talking about. Of course he's going to tell on me."

"Why are you so sure? Perhaps now that–"