Pulling Strings - Theodore Nott

40. Epiphany

In the blink of an eye, it was Friday already.

Ophelia had decidedly not been thinking about it. It wasn't difficult, with classes and assignments and trying to get Anna to talk to her. Somehow, her previously assumed innocent comment was not so innocent. Anna was straight up pissed at her.

But what else could she do? She hadn't lied, not really.

Still, her attempts at casual conversation were not successful. It wasn't that Anna was ignoring her, but she could tell the difference. The short answers and the reticence to spend time together was enough of a tell, if she didn't say anything outright, it was only because she knew her friend. Eventually, she would get over it, or she would have a new problem with Zabini and come running to her to complain about it.

It was the way things had been since they first got together, in fourth year. Since then, it has pretty consistently been on and off. She assumed that Zabini was unaware of it too, but she couldn't speak about him because they weren't friends, plus she knew for a fact that the only difference between the two was that Anna did not shag other people in the off periods.

So, she was just going to wait her out. Until she was finally past her fit and decided to talk to her again. It just...couldn't come at a worse time. Ophelia had no success in trying to speak with her brother after the last conversation they had and on top of that, she had been forced to avoid Thomas at every chance the boy tried to speak to her. She was running out of excuses and she couldn't continue this much longer without some real information as to why she should avoid him.

It made no sense to her. But then again, she couldn't complain too much about it, after all their last exchange had not been without its faults. She remembered feeling awkward and slightly uncomfortable, so she wasn't too keen on spending alone time with him at any rate. Still, she would've wanted Anna to speak about it with her.

Now, they were both changing for tonight's reunion of the Slug Club.

The dormitory was unusually quiet. Pale green light filtered through the small windows set into the stone walls, distorted by the dark waters of the Black Lake. Rippling shadows appeared whenever something moved outside, and every so often a larger shape drifted past the glass, briefly darkening the room before disappearing again into the depths.

Anna stood in front of the mirror, fastening the clasp of a necklace while examining her reflection with narrowed eyes. Across the room, Ophelia busied herself adjusting the sleeves of her robes for what had to be the third time.

She was nervous.

She told herself that it was just another stupid reunion, but she knew deep down that it wasn't that, the reason for her nerves. The reflection in the mirror looked completely spooked, pale and frightened. That wouldn't do.

With a sigh, she crossed the room to her vanity and sat down before it. The polished wooden surface was crowded with the usual assortment of bottles and trinkets accumulated over the years: crystal perfume vials gifted by relatives she barely remembered, silver-backed brushes engraved with the Selwyn crest, tiny pots of tinted balm, pressed powder compacts, and an assortment of enchanted cosmetics that promised everything from brighter eyes to flawless skin.

Her fingers drifted over them absently before settling on a small jar of rose-tinted cream. A touch of colour would at least stop her from looking as though she was on her way to her own execution. When that was done, and there was some colour on her cheeks, her eyes landed on the lipstick that Anna had gifted her. The one she had used on her first date with Theodore, even if it was just to spite him.

A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth when she remembered that, after all, he seemed to like it.

She pushed the thought aside and went for one of the approved tinted balms that her mother had chosen for her, but before she could apply it, her hand stopped.