“Where are we going?” Severus asked, keeping up with Ophelia’s pace.
“I am going to the bathroom.” She answered coldly.
“No, you’re not.”
Ophelia sighed and stopped in the middle of the corridor, throwing some nasty glances at the pale boy behind her. He was asking a lot of questions and was meddling in, which he very firmly hated when the subject was his life.
“You’re very persistent, aren’t you?” She mumbled grumpily. “I’m going to visit someone in the hospital wing.”
“Who? A student?” He asked quickly, his eyes widening in curiosity as he walked closer to her.
“It’s not someone you know. It’s-“
“Professor Slughorn?” Severus asked, leaning twards her, “He’s fine. He’s there only to rest but he’s perfectly capable to teach.”
“I don’t care about him. I mean, I already got my punishment for what happened. Every Saturday afternoon Grffindors will have detention with Spinnard.” She added, feeling angry at the thought.
“Don’t you have tutoring with Rabastan then?”
Ophelia’s eyes widened, remembering that Rabastan’s tutoring was usually Saturday but there wasn’t a designated time for it; he’d just tell her at breakfast or a day before when to meet.
“I’ll manage somehow.” She answered in the end, conitnuing her way to the hospital, “How come you’re not studying with Lily?” The girl asked when she realized Severus was not going to budge from following her.
“When did you meet your father?” He asked back, getting a second nasty look from her, “We have talked about him before. Why not now?”
“Because he’s- I don’t know how to explain. He’s just different from everyone here.”
Severus tilted his head to the side, mostly to see her better since he was walking a step behind her, and scanned her expression.
“Does he scare you?” The boy asked making the girl stop midstep.
“Why would he scare me? He’s my father.”
“You said you aren’t on good terms with the headmaster. Is that because of your father?”
Ophelia’s expression fell to the point it became blank. It was difficult to know what she was thinking about, times when Severus would have liked to catch a glimpse of what’s in her head. While the young pale boy wanted her to lash at him and tell him everything sincerely, she didn’t. Ophelia scoffed and went back to walking towards the hospital without a word exchanged.
When the door to the hospital opened with a creak, Cerberus’ head snapped towards it expectantly. His eyes were glistening while the rest of his body looked like it needed a bit more time to recover. When he didn’t see anyone entering for the first few seconds, his eyes lowered to the floor but there was no kitten. Instead, he saw the muddy shoes of the girl who sent him to the hospital, followed closely by a pair of mediocre muggle shoes of a boy. Cerberus’ eyes shifted on his hands before he sighed and looked at Ophelia’s green eyes.
“I thought you’d never visit me.” He started, planting a forced smile while his eyes darkened.
It was obvious for everyone, including Severus, that the man standing on the bed was not very happy to see the brunette witch but he wasn’t displeased by it either. He was simply not in the mood to see her or speak to her or any other student for that matter. When Cerberus’ eyes moved on the Slytherin, the darkness seemed to have faded a bit but he still didn’t look content.
“I’m sorry.” Ophelia begun when the man on the bed didn’t speak a word, “You have taught me a lot and I repaid your kindness with a bad memory.” She added, fidgeting nervously.
Cerberus stared at her silently for a few minutes before he patted the space on the bed, for her to move and sit closer to him. Ophelia looked at the spot in confusion until Severus nudged her.
“He wants you to sit there.” He whispered.
“Right.” She mumbled quickly, having no idea what to do in such matters.
Once she sat closer to Cerberus, he stared into her eyes -straight into her eyes which was a bit weird, even for Severus- and finally opened his mouth.
“I should be the one apologizing, Ophelia. I lied to you. I had never met your mother in Hogwarts and everything I know is from Peverell. I don’t know what kind of person was Lillian but I know for sure that Vernon treasured her.” The man explained, completely ignoring Snape’s presence.
“Aren’t you basing your opinions on someone else’s words? What if he lied?” Severus pitched in, making Ophelia smile unconsciously at his wittiness.
“Vernon Peverell never lied a day in his life. He was foolishly sincere.” Cerberus affirmed, glaring at the Slytherin before returning his attention to Ophelia, “He never lied to me, to his friends and especially to your mother.”
“How can you be so sure of it? When mom met him, he wasn’t a student anymore. He approached her on Dumbledore’s orders.”
Severus’ eyes widened but tried to keep himself silent and still. His opinions didn’t seem to be welcomed by the older man so he should keep them for himself while in there.
“He loved her. Vernon was a charming boy and being sorted into Gryffindor, he took every characteristic of the house. He was a true Gryffindor and he never fought with anyone from any house. You can ask Spinnard about that since they were good friends.”
“What about Tom then?”
Both Cerberus and Severus frowned, for different reasons though. While Cerberus seemed more mature and informed, Severus witnessed Ophelia’s sudden burst of anger and it was memorable.
“Vernon and Tom, there was competitiveness between them but only because of their houses. They respected each other and that’s all. Vernon was very good at certain subjects while Tom was good at other subjects.”
“You mean they were top students and never came in contact? Doesn’t that mean they were avoiding each other as much as possible?” Severus interfered again, cowering a bit under Cerberus’ intense gaze. “I-I’m just wondering, that’s all.”
“Tom Riddle was a peculiar character. Slytherins these days are pretty much the same as before but none is close to how he was. There was something about him, about the way he seemed so perfect. He was a top student, professors loved him and students admired him. Too perfect.”
“Peverell was just the same, wasn’t he? Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, good at studying, charming, brave and handsome. It sounds like they could have been very good friends.” Ophelia added, knowing everything from Cerberus’ memories.
“Vernon was nonchalant. Life was this gift that he wanted to fully experience. If I were to give my honest opinion, I’d say your classmates are just like him. They want to enjoy their lives not just live because they have to.”
Saying those words, his eyes fell over the Slytherin which surprised the greasy haired boy in a negative way. There was no need for a second thought because Severus already took a dislike in the former Gryffindor.
“There are two sides of the same coin. Vernon was one side and Tom was the other.” Cerberus added. “It’s impossible to compare them but it’s also impossible to put them together.”
“Is that why he treasured Lillian? Because of her relationship with Tom? You said it yourself, they were different sides of the same coin.”
Cerberus tensed but had no response to her question.
“Before your mother died, a day or two before, I received a letter from Vernon. Everyone whom he trusted received one and the message was the same for everyone: keep her safe. That’s why I accepted to come and teach you Occlumency.”
“Is that why Spinnard is here as well?” She asked, ignoring Severus’ surprised face when he heard what Cerberus has been teaching her.
“Luce is complicated.”
“Yeah, you can say that again.” She murmured scratching her hand.
It was annoying how everyone who knew something wasn’t giving her exact answers. It was always about others and others but never about Lillian.
As soon as Ophelia left the hospital, Severus grabbed her wrist and pulled her aside. He glanced around before he turned to her with curiosity in his eyes.
“He taught you Occlumency?” He asked what he was interested in, “Why didn’t you tell me about it?” He hissed.
“Legilimency too.” She added knowing he’d be envious, "I'd appreciate if you could keep what you heard for yourself. Even better, forget it."
"I won't talk about it but I won't forget either. That man came here out of loyalty for his team captain. He's honoring Peverell's memory and-"
"Forget about it. I don't care about Peverell and it seems everyone that knows something about mum include this perfect character. I should just ask dad." She mumbled, turning around and leaving the boy alone.
Severus didn't follow her and didn't persist with questions. He knew she will come to him if there was something bugging her. Unfortunately, curiosity was hard to maintain and that man, Cerberus, he threw a lot of information at him. Ophelia's family life was very mysterious and it didn't look like she was minding that; instead, Ophelia was gaining this wicked pleasure out of her mother's murder and father's complicated past.
Walking back to the dungeons, he felt a shiver down his spine coming from the change in temperature. Winter was close by and the walls were getting colder.
"I am disappointed, brother. You, out of everyone should know better than waste time on mudbloods."
That sounded awfully familiar. Severus slowed down, his first reason being to hide his presence until the two Lestranges would leave. Secondly, he did want to hear what they were fighting about. Even in the Slytherin common room, the rumors about Rodolphus and Lucius were zooming at incredible speed.
"I am not wasting my time. You will see in the near future that I did it with a purpose. When that time comes, you will be the one cornered by your insufferable ignorance." Rabastan hissed at his older brother.
Severus took one step forward and leaned against the wall. It was good that he could hide in the shadows without trying too much.
"You can't tutor that mudblood anymore, Rabastan. I forbid you and I will tell dad about it."
That sounded awfully like something that half of the Slytherin house said on many ocassions. With families like theirs, every pureblood had a back up in their fathers. Unfortunately, Severus did not.
"You'll leave soon and won't have to bother with me anymore." Rabastan answered, defying his brother.
"Your decision will bring along harsh consequences, brother. Father will be very angry. We don't need disappointment in our family."
Those were Rodolphus' final words before he left. He probably went in the common room because he didn't pass by Severus' hiding place. On the other side, Rabastan did. He took a few steps towards him before he raised his eyes and stared at the second year.
"I-I wasn't-Just-" Severus stuttered unsure what Rabastan would do to him.
"If I were to be my brother, you should have been scared. But I'm not Rodolphus." His tone didn't help his affirmation much, "There are minor problems that my older brother seems to be keen on making. I may not be available for tutoring so you better do it instead."
Severus frowned. That was not what he expected to hear from the pureblood.
"You mean, tutoring Ophelia? Why does it matter who tutors her? A Ravenclaw would be just as good." Severus asked genuinely confused.
"Are you questioning my motives?"
Severus shook his head slowly seeing how Rabastan's eyes darkened dangerously.
"So it is true that you volunteered to help her. Why?" Severus couldn't help but question him.
"Help her with Potions and only Potions. Nothing else." Rabastan stated before he walked towards the stairs.
Was it him or did Rabastan just more or less ordered Severus to do his deed?
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