Fatal Attraction | D.M. (Soft Rewrite)

Chapter Fifty-Eight - Advent

'You better explain yourself!' Millicent shrieked, loud enough to rattle the bones of the dead. Temporarily reanimating corpses underfoot, on their gloomy shortcut to Hogsmeade that crossed the village graveyard. 'I can't believe it - I can't bloody believe it,' she hissed, fervently.

Dispelling Ophelia's wish to have a nice, calm afternoon, purchasing last-minute Christmas presents. Of sipping on mulled wine, gorging on candied almonds, before finally choosing the most delectable yulelog to take back to the common room to split with the boys.

Now that dreams gone up in flames. Oops.

It wasn't clear if Millicent planned to send her to St. Mungo's to be examined, or if she wished to drown her beneath the frighteningly cold depths of the Black Lake. Until a harsh string of curses told Ophelia the latter was more likely. And she could picture it quite clearly. Her lifeless body floating towards a window in the Slytherin common room, while Millicent sat comfortably, appreciating the view of the murky waters with a bowl of popcorn. Of course, she'd have to carve a hole in the ice but I know that won't stop her! By the looks of it, she'd happily feed me to the Giant Squid.

Oh and Draco too. Can't forget about him.

'I will!' Ophelia stubbornly huffed under her breath. Barely managing to bite her tongue, through the onslaught that followed.

'I won't wait! How could you go back to him after everything?! For god's sake, Ophelia. How long has this been going on? How long have you been lying to us?'

'It's not even been twenty-four hours! We only talked last night,' Ophelia clarified, before shaking her head and storming on. Not appreciating Millicent's tone, or her sour words. She focused on retracing the steps of strangers, on their flattened path through the snow.

'Mill, don't be rude. She wouldn't bring it up if she wanted to hide it!' Tracey pleaded in Ophelia's defence. But she only got a sullen grunt in return.

'Still not good enough!' Millicent snapped, through gritted teeth. 'Are you sure you're not bewitched? No blanks in your memory? Any dizzy spells you can't explain?' She rambled wildly, caught on her own tangent.

'No! Don't be ridiculous!' Ophelia snorted. 'Give me a chance to explain myself and you'll have all the answers you need!'

'You daren't skip a single detail, d'you hear me?' Millicent demanded, obstinately. Rushing and almost slipping on a patch of half-melted snow, while catching up to Ophelia's side.

'Every detail, I promise,' she vowed, while offering the vista a dramatic eye-roll. 'But I'd rather be sitting down with a strong drink and a muffliato charm surrounding us...'

'Fiiine,' Millicent conceded begrudgingly, to yelp and run off course once a clump of snow fell from the overhanging treetops.

Karma. Ophelia thought, keeping the tactless comment to herself and her winning smile hidden by rearranging her scarf.

'I know just the place,' Tracey chirped merrily. Snagging the arms of her friends to link the trio as they walked, with her skipping in the middle and them lagging behind.

Not allowing them to waste another moment on sulking, by overwhelming them with cheer. It proved impossible to crush Tracey's spirits. From her festive sweater, covered in pom-poms and dazzling string-lights, to her hand-knitted santa-hat. They knew it would be rotten to dampen her mood, so they acted accordingly. Grinning and teasing one another, until they almost forgot the root of their bickering.