The Vulture
Ophelia Malfoy
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Ophelia Malfoy's life is one big lie. The guilt eats away at her as gruesomely as a vulture eats a corpse.
She wakes up on a cold, foggy morning in the dorm that she shares with Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass. She has only gotten four hours of sleep - she had been sneaking around the night before. The vulture takes a bite.
She walks to breakfast with her best friends - her roommates, her twin brother Draco, and his roommates Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott.
Theodore, her boyfriend. Whom she never really loved as deeply as she wanted to.
"Good morning," Theodore says with a smile when he sees her. He gives her a hug. "How did you sleep?"
"I slept well," Ophelia says. She holds back a yawn. The vulture takes a bite. "And you?"
"Oh, we were up til about four. And someone drank a little too much."
She looks at her brother. His hair is unstyled and disheveled. His eyes have dark bags.
"What?" she asks. "Why were you drinking?"
"I'm just stressed," Draco says. "Forget about it."
Ophelia walks into her Charms class, and makes her way to the back of the room. She passes by Hermione Granger. Hermione is always in the front of the class. She is always early.
She smiles at Ophelia and offers a shy wave. Ophelia walks right past her.
The vulture takes a bite.
"Why is that mudblood so obsessed with you?" Pansy asks as they sit down. "I swear she's always giving you that buck-toothed grin."
"She's so creepy sometimes," Daphne says with a giggle. "I bet she's a--"
"Daphne," Ophelia interrupts. "Um- do you have an extra quill?"
"Oh, I do," Pansy says. She hands her a quill and smiles. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
She floats through the rest of the day, staying quiet, staying secretive. This is how she lives. She is full of secrets and full of lies, and it festers in her stomach like an infection. Only at night can she be free of the guilt.
It's finally dinner time. Ophelia sits at the Slytherin table with her friends. Theodore is sitting beside her.
"Thank Merlin for the weekend," Pansy sighs. "Let's do something fun."
"Drinks in our room?" Theodore says.
He smiles and rests his hand on Ophelia's thigh. She looks down and moves his hand away.
"You really need to cut down on the alcohol," Ophelia says.
"Tell that to your brother," Blaise replies.
"Get that broom out of your arse and mind your fucking business," Draco says, not even looking up from his food.
"Who are you talking to?" Blaise asks.
"All of you," he says. "You're all pricks." Ophelia rolls her eyes.
"You're not the only one with problems, Draco."
"Oh, because your life is so dreadful, isn't it?"
Daphne laughs to relieve the tension. She's always trying to relieve tension. "Well, we'll be there at 10, won't we?"
"Of course," Pansy says.
"I'd rather not," Ophelia says. She looks across the Great Hall at the Gryffindor table. She sees a girl with brown curls and a cute smile. "I need to go to the library. To study."
"Oh come on," Theodore says. "You've been cooped up in that library for months."
"Well, I want to do well on the OWLs."
Theodore chuckles. There's something hidden in that laugh, Ophelia can hear it.
"Whatever you say," he mutters.
As 10:00 p.m. approaches, Pansy and Daphne get ready to go to the boys' dorm. Ophelia is laying in bed, reading The Stranger. Albert Camus is a certain girl's favorite muggle philosopher.
Pansy sits down at the edge of Ophelia's bed.
"Ophelia," Pansy says. Ophelia looks up from her book. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Ophelia asks. She gives a convincing smile.
"You're just so quiet lately. I mean, you've always been... quiet, but it just feels like you're avoiding me. And all of us."
Ophelia sits up.
"Pansy, I'm not avoiding you," Ophelia says. "You and Daphne are my best friends."
Daphe walks over to the bed and sits down, as well.
"Okay," Pansy says. "But promise to talk to us if you're ever sad. Or if you don't feel well."
"I will."
Ophelia scoots forward and hugs the two girls. She smiles a real smile this time. The three of them have been roommates since their first year, and yet it feels like it's been ages since they've hugged like this.
They pull away. Ophelia opens her mouth to confess something - she almost says it.
But she closes her mouth.
"Have fun," Ophelia says instead. "Don't get too wasted."
Pansy laughs. "No promises."
After Pansy and Daphne leave, Ophelia packs her bookbag with her notes and a few pens. She slips The Stranger into the bag, as well. She spritzes her rose perfume on her wrists and neck. She applies a bit of makeup and pops a mint into her mouth.
She pads down the stairs into the common room. Nobody is there at this hour; for that she is grateful. She walks through the dark hallways of the castle and makes her way towards the vast library.
The door screeches when she opens it. The centuries-old hinges have become rusty. The library is almost pitch black inside, but in the far corner, Ophelia can see the light from a candle flickering.
Her heartbeat picks up speed. Her palms get sweaty. Fighting the smile growing on her face, she runs toward the light and finds herself in front of her beautiful girl.
"Hello, Hermione," Ophelia breathes.