Fatal Attraction | D.M. (Soft Rewrite)

Chapter Six - Dreamless

On her first morning she raced to find Ginny at breakfast. She felt desperate to unload, after spending hours in bed mulling over Pansy's words. Her outburst was apparently customary, as Ginny confirmed, 'she's vile – she always has been!' Only pausing to send a venomous glare over to where she was sitting, with her arms draped around Malfoy, 'don't let her make you feel unwelcome!'

'It's hard not to!' Ophelia groaned, settling to sit with the Gryffindors for breakfast. She felt frustrated that Pansy would interpret this as some twisted form of victory – or maybe it will only encourage her suspicions – but I don't give a damn. I'm in no mood to be sitting with them.

'Just ask to switch houses,' Ron offered, shrugging his shoulders.

'No,' Ginny retorted, 'don't give Pansy the satisfaction!'

'I can handle her – I was just shocked really.'

'Don't be,' Ron spoke, quirking his brow, 'she's a bloody nightmare.'

Ophelia giggled at Ron's candid expression. Feeling more assured, she started to fill her plate.

'So, how are the others?' Ginny asked hesitantly.

'They all probably agree with her but some of them have been nice – like Blaise and Millicent...' her voice trailing off.

'Hmm,' Ginny mumbled, as she tried to locate her opinion of them, 'Blaise, he's one of Malfoy's cronies, right?'

'I don't know – I didn't get that impression...'

'He fought with him at the Battle,' Ron barked, glaring down at his plate.

'What w-with them?' Ophelia stammered. She felt winded as the weight of this information hit.

'Yes,' Ron snarled, 'he didn't do any of the fighting, but he was there alright.'

Ginny watched her friend's expression shift, as Ophelia dropped her face into her palms, before exhaling sharply, 'he wasn't one of them Phi. Not really. He didn't take the mark – he was probably just influenced by Malfoy's friendship.'

'Maybe,' Ophelia replied meekly, 'I suppose the Ministry did clear them all...'

'That's not saying much,' Ron huffed, 'look at Pansy – look at Malfoy – it's a joke.'

'Oi, enough of that,' Ginny reprimanded her brother, 'you'll scare her off.'

'Really, I still can't believe I'm a Slytherin.'

'Neither...' Ginny frowned, before asking, 'would you want to talk to him about it?'

'It feels like prying, but I'd want to know his reasons before befriending him,' she looked down, biting her lip, 'but is it fair that I get to keep all my secrets? He won't even understand why the Battle is so important for me...'

Ginny's face softened, as she placed a hand on top of Ophelia's, gliding her thumb comfortingly across her skin, 'you don't have to explain anything to anybody – he should expect these questions – you won't be the first to ask.'

'You're right,' the two exchanged smiles, as they resumed their eating.

Pretending to have forgotten the subject, her mind raced through different scenarios where she asked him. She had no way to gage how Blaise would react, but it was going to happen eventually.