Thestrals
The next day Ofelia woke up in the dark. She could tell it was morning by then because she could hear Aberforth preparing something in the kitchen. Also, the smell of burnt toasts were invading her nostrils. The room was in the dark for the simple reason that it didn’t have windows. He slept in the basement, which she found odd because there was plenty of room upstairs. She didn’t put much thought into it, as she searched for her clothes on the floor. She didn’t know whether he wanted her to stay and Aberforth was a weird bloke, almost sullen. So, she dressed up and went upstairs.
“Oh, you are awake” was the first thing that Aberforth said to her while pouring some coffee into two mugs. “I was about to take the breakfast to the bed.”
“Breakfast in bed?” Ofelia inquired. “Who am I? The Queen?”
“I don’t think so. I wouldn’t go to bed with the Queen.”
“Why not?”
He didn’t answer. He just kissed her. “Good morning.”
They had breakfast quietly sitting in the kitchen table. She was surprised that Forth’s breakfast was quite good. The men that she knew couldn’t go near the stove unless they wanted to burn down the house. After all, he was a grown man, so when you put some thought into it, it made sense he could do some toasts without burning them. After eating, she did the dishes, as he had cooked.
“I guess I’ll go now” she broke down the silence. “I had a great time last night and thank you for breakfast.”
“Bella” he called her name almost shyly.
“Yes?” she asked putting her coat on.
“If you don’t have anything else to do right now, would you want to go some place else with me?” he asked slowly, like choosing his words carefully.
“Aberforth Dumbledore... Are you asking me out on a date?”
He laughed and nodded. “I’m very bad at this. Yes, would you like to go on a date with me right now? Unless you have something else to do. In that case, we can leave it for some other day.”
“I have nothing to do today.”
That was a lie. She always had something to do. Ofelia loved filling her schedule with lots and lots of tasks to complete on her day. But she could leave all behind to spend the rest of the morning in the place that Aberforth wanted to take her.
They walked outside the house by the empty streets of Hogsmeade. In a Saturday morning, there was no soul in the little, old town. They held hands as he guided her into the Forbidden Forest, where the students couldn’t set a foot in. But Aberforth didn’t care. He seemed so nonchalant about the dark creatures living in the forest and the great dangers that lied in it. He wandered around like it was just some silly collection of trees and bushes. Ofelia had never entered the forest and she didn't know anyone that had. After all, she had grown up around Slytherins that were too sly to enter a place that was described as “forbidden” by its definition. If any student was capable of breaking that rule, it was going to be a dumb Gryffindor... like Forth, for example.
“Where are you taking me?” Ofelia finally asked. “Are you going to murder me in here?”
“Oh, no, you discovered my evil plan. I guess I’ll have to wait until next time.”
Bella laughed softly. “But, seriously, where are you taking me?”
“Don’t ask. We’re almost there.”
And suddenly, a pack of Thestrals appeared in front of them, resting and taking care of each other. They were glorious creatures. She always thought that they looked like horses from the underworld, visiting their realm to live with the undead.
“Do you see them?” Aberforth asked reaching his hand to pet one of them.
“Yes, I’ve always seen them” she confessed. “I saw my mother die before coming to Hogwarts, so I was able to see them since the beginning. The boys, however, were quite surprise when we came back after the winter holidays and realized that they are the ones that pull the carriages.”
“I could see them too when I was at Hogwart.”
“Because of your sister?”
“Yes, she also died in front of me all those years ago.”
“You don’t need to tell me about it if you don’t want to...”
“No, I don’t want to talk about it” he agreed. “It’s a sad story”
“I understand.”
“But I’ll tell you another time. I promise” he smiled. “I just don’t want to ruin our first date with such a bitter mood.”
“A date? Who said this was a date?”
“I did. Now, come on!”
He grabbed her waist and pushed her up, so that she could climb into one of the Thestrals.
“Um, Forth... What are you doing?” she questioned when she was finally sitting on top of the magical animal.
“We are going for a ride” he explained, as he sat behind her putting his arms around her waist.
“I don’t think that is a good idea.”
“Relax, it’s just like going for a broom ride, except you are riding a four-leg animal with giant wings” he assured her, as he indicated the Thestral to open their wings.
“That’s my point!” she exclaimed as the animal ran and then elevated itself high in the sky.
They went past the trees and the forest, past the clouds. They went close to the morning sun, and of course Ofelia fell in love with the sensation of the warm rays hitting her skin so close to it. She felt free as she flew across the sky with the man she liked staying close to her at all time. It was similar to the feeling she would get when riding on her broom, but much more special. Like the feeling was intensified. She didn’t know how Forth knew that she would love this experience. Maybe it was pure luck or maybe he had read her perfectly well. What was important was that she could tell he loved it as well, due to the big smile on his face.
When they finally got back to the ground, Ofelia’s heartbeat couldn’t stop going fast. The adrenaline rushing through her veins made her want to do something wild, like grabbing him by his collar and kiss him full on the mouth. She did.
They went back to Hogsmeade talking about the crazy ride they just had. Aberforth told her that in his school years, sometimes he would sneak out and visit the creatures in the forest. He said that he always learnt something knew about them and learnt something knew about himself as well. He explained that nobody really cared about the magical creatures, specially the half-bloods, since they weren’t considered humans despite the fact of having a human conscience. Ofelia listened closely. She found it very interesting what he had to say.
“I had a really nice time today” she said when they arrived at Hogsmeade.
“Me too...” he leaned in doubtfully, but finally gave her a soft peck.
They said goodbye and Ofelia returned to the castle with a happy face. She had have the most amazing night, the most amazing waking and the most amazing morning of her life. She had to tell Walburga all about it as soon as she'd see her. So, she ran through the hallways of the castle until she reached her room.
“Walls, you are not going to believe-!” she started saying, but stopped when she only saw Druella sitting in her own bed.
She seemed to clean her face, as if she had been crying, and proceeded to look at her with a serious frown. They were still not talking to each other. Ofelia couldn't help by noticing that the withered flowers were not on top her drawer anymore. They were in the trash.
“She is not here.”
“Were you crying?”
“No” she said defensively, but then the tears filled her eyes again. “Yes.”
She covered her face with her hands, too embarassed to speak, and Ofelia ran to hold her in her arms. She wasn't mad anymore. It was a stupid fight.
“I’m sorry” she cried. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I was mad at something else. It wasn’t your fault.”
“I’m sorry too. I was a bit unfair” she admitted. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“I was a little envious that... you found someone you like and he likes you back. And although a lot of people may oppose to that relationship, you are so certain it is worth it” she confessed. “I’m jealous of Walls too. But I guess that with you it was worse because, well... you are not a dreamer like her.”
“Does this have something to do with the roses?”
“Yes” she sighed. “Some time after you left, I started receiving a rose and a love note every day. 64 roses, I kept each one of them.”
“From who?”
“Abraxas.”
“Why are you so sad, Drue?”
“Because he won. I fell for him. I admit it: I’m in love with Abraxas Malfoy.”
“Is that so wrong, Drue?”
“No, It's wonderful. I finally get it. I understand why you two think you are so invincible...” she expressed, as some tears escaped her eyeballs. “But the other day, I was expecting my daily note and rose and it never arrived. Now, he doesn’t even take a glance at me when we are in class. He’s over me now.”
“And when you didn’t receive them, it was the day we fought.”
Rosier nodded and Bella tried to find an explanation for Malfoy’s sudden change. In her mind, it just didn’t make sense that Abraxas would stop liking her without no apparent reason. This was something else.
“I don’t think he has stopped liking you” she told her. “I think he has been sending you this stuff for two months now, and although you are so charmed by it, you have not made any move to prove him that you actually like him.”
“Huh?”
“He probably thinks that all his effort was for nothing, so he has stopped bothering you. He gave up, Drue.”
“But I don’t want him to give up!”
“Then you have to do something about it.”
“You are right.” She stood up and walked to the door. “I’m going to prove to him that I do love him.”
She opened the door to go and find him, but she stopped in her tracks as the rush of bravery started to disappear.
“How do I do that?”
“I have a plan.”