Pulling Strings - Theodore Nott

36. Birds of a feather

Ophelia was left standing outside the Hog's Head, coat forgotten inside making the slight snow that was falling from the sky feel like small needles on her unprotected skin. Her mouth was slightly opened in surprise.

She had been waiting patiently for Theodore, wondering how long he was going to stay in that damned toilet, whether she had already scared him off, when the sound of heavy and fast footsteps coming from the stairs behind her forced her to turn around. The sight of Theodore gave her pause. He was looking completely disheveled, eyes wild roaming about the place, not staying in one spot for more than seconds. She could see the way his chest was rising and falling way too fast to be normal and that was what prompted her to act.

She stood up, and called out his name. His eyes seemed to land on her for a moment but no sign of recognition was in them before he was sprinting out of the pub like a blur. Instinctively, she followed while calling out his name some more, but when she made it out of the pub, there was no sign of him.

Hugging herself close to try and protect herself from the snow, she turned around and went back to the pub, grabbing both their coats —he must be freezing already, with only a thin sweater on—, leaving a few sickles on the table to cover the butterbeers and finally making her way back outside.

Wearing her coat now, she stood for a moment to gather her wand and point it directly at Theodore's cloak. Vestigium. The words were uttered with a hint of doubt, she had never attempted to perform this type of spell, mainly because she had never had the need before, or the resources.

But, she had both of those now, she had only to hope that it would work.

The cloak immediately acquired a soft kind of glow, which was a good indication. Starting to walk, Ophelia put it on herself and let it do its magic —literally.

In theory, it was supposed to grow warmer the closer you get to the person it belongs to. Also, it's supposed to work better with important objects, emotionally linked objects. But, Ophelia was in a rush so a simple cloak would have to do. She decided to walk back towards the castle and see if the cloak grew warmer or colder.

She did not question the motivations for doing this, for searching him.

If she had to give a justification, it was going to be to gather information. It was obvious from his expression and distressed state that Theodore had most likely met with his father already. And Ophelia had missed it. The whole reason why she even concocted this elaborate ruse of going on a date with him, and she had missed the moment Theodore escaped to said meeting.

What a joke she was.

So, yes, that was the whole reason for doing this.

It did not have anything to do with his current state. She was not worried about him. She was not thinking about the way he was mostly freezing. No, this was strategic. Plus, it would look bad if she didn't even attempt to search for him, after all, she still needed to maintain their civil relationship.

The cloak became a bit warmer on the path she was taking now, so she relaxed, if ever so slightly. She noticed this path had strayed from the actual road, so she was now walking directly over snow. Her boots almost disappeared under the thick blanket of white. A shiver went down her back when the snow grew a bit deeper and it started to make contact with the skin on her legs, only protected by a thin layer of socks and a long skirt.

Her date outfit was definitely not made for outdoor activities. Thankfully, the cloak was doing a good job of keeping her warm and she was doing a good job of tracking down Theodore. It was a positive situation if you could call it that.

She was way too deep into the forest now, completely away from the road or any civilization whatsoever, but the cloak remained warm so she carried on. How they would return to the castle then, would be a problem for later. It certainly did not help her nerves that she was starting to see the first signs of dusk. If it became dark and she was still alone, wandering the forest without a clear path, she was going to kill Theodore Nott herself.