Dueling with Fleamont Potter was a lot more fun than Ophelia expected. Two hours passed as fast as two minutes and her condition was not bad, compared to a duel with Spinnard. Fleamont also liked to use diverse spells and curses that Ophelia never heard of before.
"Never forget that it's all in the wrist. Even a small stretch can make a difference between you and your opponent. Better watch him for a while and attack only if you really have to. It's best not to leave with wounds." He added while they walked back into the house.
"Mr. Potter, why did you accept to come? You don't really know me and have your own son to bother with."
Mr. Potter was surprised how blunt she could be. It was also interesting how she chose her words, describing taking care of a child as a bother.
"I have many reasons to help but there is one in particular."
"Is it about Dumbledore?"
"No. Well, I guess yes but Dumbledore is not the main reason why I accepted. Let's say it's a family favor."
Ophelia raised an eyebrow, curious what that meant. Did Fleamont know Lillian in any way or maybe Peverell? She was ready to ask when she heard a familiar scoff.
"Hurry up. Fleamont has a family to return to." Spinnard scolded her forgetting one small detail.
"I do too. I have the Molleys."
Spinnard scoffed and rolled his eyes, taking her answer as nothing but random commentary.
"He is not a bad man. You can trust him." Fleamont mumbled, patting the tense teenager on the shoulder.
The green eyed girl looked up at the man innocently but even Fleamont could see the snake in her eyes.
Lunch was far better than Ophelia expected. Cerberus seemed to have decided to stick around for a while and for some reason Spinnard didn't seem to mind.
"Don't you have a family, Cerberus?" She asked while eating, disregarding Spinnard's cold attitude.
"I do. I have my mum and dad and two older sisters. All of them like traveling, especially America."
"I meant one of your own." Ophelia corrected herself, keeping her eyes on the brown eyed man.
"That's not your business." Spinnard spoke for the first time but kept his eyes on the plate.
"I suppose since both of you are meddling into my life, it's only normal for me to be curious who you are." She answered as if she was an adult which surprised the men.
Cerberus sensed a sudden change in Spinnard and they both knew why the color in Ophelia's eyes darkened and she seemed to think more in depth.
"Lunch is done. Go into your room and wait there until Rabastan comes." Spinnard ordered, getting up and starting to clean the table.
Ophelia felt her hands tingle but shrugged it off and left the room. While she was passing through living room she could hear Cerberus' voice.
"He's watching us through her eyes. Maybe we shouldn't drag Potter into this. He still has a family unlike the rest of us." He said before he closed the door.
Ophelia narrowed her eyes at the wooden door before she went upstairs.
"I had a life before Dumbledore blackmailed me into his plan." Luce mumbled, sitting back down.
"Come on, Luce. We agreed to help because we've gotten the letters. We promised Vernon, all of us."
"We're all going to die." Luce added,already imagining his demise. "And I bet my life that she will kill us, not her father. The connection between these two is more powerful than Dumbledore imagines."
"That's why we should have someone gain her trust. Someone fit to be a role model." Cerberus commented, genuinely believing his words.
"And what makes you think I am fit? Aren't you the one who embarrassed me in front of the whole castle when you placed me on a broom?"
"That was only to make you loosen up." Cerberus chuckled bemusedly at the memory.
"I fell and broke my leg. The whole castle laughed and they started to call me Spinnered." Luce said coldly, clearly remembering that moment.
"Sorry. But I don't regret it."
Luce glared at the man,feeling the urge to let Tom have his way and give up on defense.
"Just bother your head with Ophelia. I will do the rest."
"Wait. Tom's been moving his puppets from the back, Rabastan being the best example. But Malfoy too?"
"Lucius is not his father."
Cerberus sighed and let his former colleague believe what he wanted. They both knew how manipulative could Tom be and with his interest in dark magic and all the strange stuff he used to do back in school, he could only wonder what level Tom has reached.
Rabastan arrived at exactly 13:45, not earlier and not later one minute. He came through the chimney, making Ophelia stare at him curiously.
"I am intrigued by this chimney." She started, her eyes widening at the object that should not be used the way it was being used.
"Let's just begin our lesson. You cannot use Floo Powder anyway." He answer grumpily.
"Why not?" She pestered, following him when Rabastan walked towards the stairs.
He didn't say anything else and opened a door hidden into the bottom of the stairs. It was a trap door that was most likely leading into the basement, which could have been just as big if not bigger than the house. Rabastan entered first, drawing his wand and whispering Lumos in order to see what was in front of him. From what she could see from behind the broad shoulders of Rabastan, the basement looked a lot like a kitchen; a fully equipped kitchen with potions, ingredients and a lot more stuff that she had never approached at Hogwarts. In the far corner next to a library was a wide table with three cauldrons on it. One was extremely familiar.
"That's mine," She stated pointing at the one in the far left, "I always use it at school. Did Spinnard steal it?"
"No one would want to use it after how many failed potions have been done in it. It brings bad luck." Rabastan replied coolly, smirking at her offended expression.
"I do believe that my grades have gone up since you became my personal professor." She tried to smooth him, make him retract his rude words and maybe flatter him. It didn't work but he did seem amused by her attempt.
Rabastan rolled his eyes and pushed her towards the shelves of ingredients. Her green eyes were staring at stuff she knew and stuff she didn't want to know while Rabastan leaned against the table, next to her cauldron.
"You choose what you want to make."
"I'm a second year and very bad at this particular subject." She admitted blankly.
"Let your instinct guide you."
That was a peculiar advice but she did turn towards the number of ingredients and looked at them and their names. She hummed to herself and even tapped her leg nervously before she felt her hand twitch. From her point of view, she chose random ingredients with no idea what to do with them but from Rabastan's point of view, her hand fell over particular ingredients.
"What now?" She asked, getting everything to her cauldron. "What do I do with these?"
"Work." He said coldly, placing an older version of the Potions manual on the table. It looked as old as time but it had a lot of notes next to almost every paragraph.
Watching her search for her potion, Rabastan remembered the time before he started his fourth year at Hogwarts. It was on the day before school begun and the atmosphere at home was tense.
"Father, Rabastan has been very talkative as of late. He's telling the members of other families of our little muggle problem." Rodolphus stated in a superior tone, glancing at his younger brother from the corner of her eye.
"I only talked to Lucius and stupid Prewett eavesdropped. Just like always, he poked that big nose of his into our business." Rabastan hissed, though he tried to sound calm so that his father wouldn't be angered.
"And whose fault is it, brother? You and Lucius are being thoughtless. There are muggles at Hogwarts and the Prewett family has always had a affinity for them."
"I didn't tell Lucius about the problem in Bury. We were talking about muggles and Arthur Weasley's stupid infatuation with them which caused an uproar at dinner that night."
"Then how did Abraxas Malfoy know about the Cloke family in Bury, hm?" Rodolphus was taunting his younger brother, that much was obvious, even for their father. "Did father tell him, because I do not think so. It was a family problem, not one we wanted to share."
"I did not tell Lucius about Bury. Maybe his father found out through the rumors at the Ministry. Every time you go visit father, you're always boasting about something or another, aren't you Rodolphus?" The young boy hissed, losing his patience rapidly.
Rodolphus was ready to draw his wand at the insinuation but the doors opened, surprising the three Lestrange men and stopping any kind of altercation that could happen.
"Aeron Lestrange, I see you're playing judge even at home." The silky yet cold voice and those eyes that fell over the elder Lestrange entered the office as if it was his own house. Unlike Rabastan and Rodolphus who didn't know who that man was, their father rose instantly and walked to him with wide eyes.
"It's nothing, my Lord. Please enter. Is there something I can help you with?" What was an incredibly strict and hateful judge in court suddenly transformed into a sheep.
Tom's eyes wandered towards the two young boys and he smiled, seemingly pleased of what he was seeing. Rabastan felt a chill down his spine but kept his imposing figure. He wasn't the type to ramble and seemed quite a boy of his word, silent and with great amount of patience. Unlike his brother, who was indeed boastful and maybe too proud and self assured of his quality, Rabastan was still learning.
"I will take care of your problems in Bury but I need something in return." Tom stopped and cracked a tiny and polite smile. "I need Rabastan to keep an eye on someone. It's only a small favor compared to what I have done for you in the past."
Aeron Lestrange's eyes widened, remembering what that was and how Tom Marvolo Riddle killed the elder Lestrange for him.
"Of course. Rabastan will do anything you ask."
And thus Rabastan ended up in the basement of professor Spinnard's house, watching Ophelia make a potion, or at least try to. Whenever she was focused, he could see traces of the glint in her father's eyes. It didn't seem like she was aware just who her father was.
By the time she was done, an hour and a half passed and the potion did not look at all like in the picture but it wasn't that bad either.
"Do you even know what you made?" Rabastan asked, raising an eyebrow at the girl.
"Polyjuice Potion. Good for shifting into other people when needed." She answered, one eye glancing at the manual on the table. "Yep. All will be good in another month...when I have to add the last ingredient and finally use it."
"Right. If it works, that is."
His words were not encouraging at all but it didn't seem to crash her spirit. A loud sound as if someone fell on the ground shook the basement, making the two students look up. The trap door must have been removed because she could clearly hear Cerberus yell.
"We have new visitors! Come up, come up!"
Ophelia was ready to leave when Rabastan grabbed her hand and looked down at her with a knowing glint.
"Don't tell anyone what you discuss with me or Lucius during out tutoring time. Not one friend, including Snape."
Once arrived upstairs, Ophelia's eyes widened at the man in the living room, who looked very uncomfortable. It was the same one she met when she arrived with the train.
"This is Rubeus Hagrid, former colleague of ours." Cerberus introduced the half-giant man which in return nodded.
"I thought I came here because dad allowed it. Somehow, it doesn't feel like Christmas." Ophelia said bluntly looking into Hagrid's big brown eyes. "No offense, of course. But you are definitely not Santa and it's too early for presents."
"If you keep this attitude, you won't get presents at all. But I can promise you a lot more homework." Spinnard's cold and authoritarian voice boomed in the living room. "Hagrid is not here for you. I told you already, I do not take orders from your father."
"Yet." She mumbled. It was very faint but granted to being very close to her, Cerberus and Rabastan heard her.
Winter is usually the coldest time of the year, especially when one isn't living in the city but in a wider place surrounded by nature mostly. It is a lot colder in a village.
Ophelia drew the covers closer to her, feeling her feet getting cold. But it still wasn't enough because the coldness seemed to be creeping under the covers as well.
Her eyes opened when it became so cold inside the room that her breaths became vapors in the air.
She first looked at the window above her bed but it was closed. Then she got out of bed and realized there was water on the floor. She retracted immediately on the bed and covered herself.
From the corner of her eye she saw something sneaking inside her room through a small crack of the door towards the bathroom. It was like a shadow hiding in the dark corners of the room before it reached the bed and crawled up. Her eyes widened as she backed into the wall, tightening the covers around her.
It was a snake, one that seemed a bit bigger than normal but dangerous nonetheless. The snake hissed and kept his eyes on the girl before Ophelia's ears started to ring loudly. She frowned and held her head in her hands, the ringing accentuating.
"Listen to me, Ophelia. You will receive a present on the night of 25th. Never take it off."
It was a whisper that she heard before. It was faint and charming and now, she was sure it was Tom.
Next morning she could swear everything was a dream until she heard hissing once again. She stopped on the stairs and looked around but there was nothing.
"Morning!"
Cerberus was a man who loved mornings and seemed ready to do his chores for the day. When he saw her frown, he raised an eyebrow.
"Are you alright? You look concerned."
"I'm fine. It was just very cold last night." She avoided telling him the rest.
"Of course it was. It's December." He mumbled, passing her down towards the kitchen with a grumbling stomach, "I hope Luce left something for us in there."
"Why? Is he not home?" Ophelia asked, running after him.
She was a bubble of curiosity and Cerberus knew it was hard for him to contain it. He wasn't Luce and couldn't just boss her around.
"He's out." He answered, having the young girl follow him closely with a lot of questions.
"Out where? Is he at Hogwarts?"
"No. I don't know."
"Is he with Dumbledore?"
Cerberus chuckled bemusedly, stopping and turning to face the girl. Those eyes were looking at him with so much innocence that he actually felt a bit bad of what they were planning.
"I don't know where he is. If you don't believe me, you can just rummage through my mind."
"Oh, right. Right," She almost forgot about that. Last time she hurt Cerberus by luring him into a dark and slightly altered memory. She avoided entering anyone's mind afterwards but maybe she shouldn't.
The one person that arrived after breakfast was the half giant man. Hagrid proved to be a very kind man with a good sense of humor. He had very different interests compared to others, for example he told her about hippogriffs, creatures she didn't believe existed.
"What about unicorns? Have you seen one?" She asked with sparkling eyes.
"'Course I did! Great creatures but you shouldn' harm one. Bad things happen to those who harm unicorns." He advised before he smiled at her. His beard was bigger than last year but he seemed to haven't aged one year.
"That's amazing. What else is there? Mermaids. Are there mermaids?"
"Right they are. Merpeople live at Hogwarts too in the lake. They're usually nice but...it's hard to keep a chat with them." He continued, "You know, with their differen' language and all."
That was such an amazement that Ophelia didn't register the rest of the sentence. She couldn't believe that unicorns and mermaids were real, some even as close as Hogwarts.
Hagrid left when Spinnard came back. She didn't get the chance to ask him anything because Mr. Potter arrived a few moments later.
"Good morning, Ophelia!"
The father was definitely an influence on his son.
That continued as Hagrid came over quite a few times to give and get things from Spinnard. Ophelia couldn't look into what exactly was that they were exchanging every time because Cerberus was teaching her how to fly, Rabastan was helping her concentrate for long enough to make a potion and Fleamont Potter was teaching her how to duel. Now that that was clear, I bet you wonder what is Lucius Malfoy's role.
Well, it is pretty clear that it wasn't Tom's idea to involve Lucius in Ophelia's preparation which automatically meant he had to lie to his father where he was going. Luckily, he didn't have to come as often as Rabastan because Lucius wasn't a great dark wizard just yet.
"What's this?" Ophelia asked one day during Malfoy's dark arts lesson. It was far from that with the way the blond was looking down at her from his imaginary pedestal, but it was also funny.
"It's a goblet. You drink from one every day at school." He explained sarcastically. "It's not important what it is but what it can be."
"What do you mean?" She asked curiously, "What can you do with a goblet?"
"Curse it. You can use a cursed object to inflict a curse on someone else. If you're good enough, it cannot be traced back to you."
"So I curse an object that will get to someone and that someone will be cursed because they have the cursed object." She repeated in a simpler way. "That's not bad," She mumbled, her eyes darkening at the idea.
"Yes. Not bad in theory but you need a certain affinity for such a task. Affinity you clearly don't have with how short your attention span is during classes." He had to offend her somehow, he just had to. Luckily, she was taking him very lightly compared to how serious he was.
"So, how do I curse this goblet? Can I curse it so that everyone who drinks from it will choke?"
That question raised a few suspicions with the blond, mostly because he thought he was going to be the victim but Ophelia had bigger plans.
Once their hour was up, Malfoy left Ophelia alone with the cursed goblet. Looking down at the object, her mind swirled with the bad memories of Luce and how his hatred made her decide to meet her father. It was his fault and he was still keeping many secrets from her. How could she trust someone who was putting up a mask even around his friends? No, Luce Spinnard was not worth all the trust Tom had invested in him and she wasn't going to mistake his so called kindness.
Thus, at dinner that day, Ophelia watched Spinnard's every move. She placed the cursed goblet along with the others and smiled when she saw Cerberus taking it out and putting butterbeer in it. She bit her lip when Cerberus put the goblet on the table, next to his own plate.
"What's that?" She asked pointing at the beverage.
"Butterbeer. You want a sip?" Cerberus asked smiling boyishly.
Ophelia reached for the goblet but Spinnard glared at both of them and forced her hand down. She glowered at the older man and reached for it again, touching it slightly before the same dark haired professor grabbed it. Her eyes widened when he rose it close to his lips, the moment happening too slowly for her taste. Ophelia swore she noticed his lower lip touching the goblet and sincerely, her heart was beating so loudly that she was surprised nobody could hear it. Growing a bit nervous she started to lean forward, her eyes set on Spinnard's lips. The blue eyed teacher was ready to drink it when he stopped and put the goblet on the table.
"It smells different." He stated, making Cerberus frown and with confusion all over his face, take the goblet and drink the butterbeer in a long gulp.
Ophelia bit her lower lip harder and leaned back on the chair with a guilty conscience. When Cerberus started to choke on his own saliva, the girl licked her lips and sighed, her eyes traveling towards Spinnard. Her hands grasped her pants under the table, annoyed of that subtle grin on his pale face. Spinnard was enjoying every second of her failure.
For the rest of the week, Ophelia tried to curse different clutters in order to curse Spinnard but every chance she got, Cerberus interfered and suffered instead. It was not a nice sight to see the good guy being nudged towards what Spinnard believed was an attempt at a cursed object so in the end, she just gave up.
"He's an evil man. I've never seen someone so hateful."
"You clearly haven't met many wizards. Students at Hogwarts are nothing compared to wizards from real life." Rabastan explained while watching her stir. "Professor Spinnard is weak. Out there, he's just a half-blood who likes dark artifacts and potions. He's part of the laughing stock, if I am blunt."
"Then how did he convince you to tutor me during the break? Wouldn't you prefer to be home rather than here with me?"
Rabastan didn't think once before he answered, "He didn't convince me. I'm here because I have to obey the orders of my father."
"Aren't you a good son," She mumbled sarcastically but it made her feel bad as soon as she spoke it. From Rabastan's stoic face, she was sure she just took a step back in their relationship. "You are a good son." She repeated in a firmer voice, trying to alter the result.
The older boy looked down at her and sighed. If only she knew what was happening in the world, she wouldn't be so petty. The number of muggles entering wizarding grounds was increasing and so was the number of annoyed pure-bloods. It was only a matter of time until the pure-bloods will unite against the common enemy. They only needed a leader and from the looks of it, there was one person above everybody else and that was the Dark Lord, also called Voldemort and coincidentally, Ophelia's father.
One week passed quickly, maybe because of all the activities she had, but one thing was for sure: Spinnard was disappearing for longer and longer periods of time and it was disturbing how he'd always come back before 7 in the afternoon in order to dine together. Cerberus and Mr. Potter were secretive and Rabastan had no idea what was happening -not that he cared- thus there was no one she could ask.
On the morning of 24th December, Ophelia woke up feeling her heart beat fast in anticipation. Only a few hours were keeping her from the bliss of the Christmas morning where usually she'd wake up only to find presents under the tree. It was such a busy week and she ended up forgetting to send anything to her housemates.
"So, you need presents as soon as possible? I can arrange that." Cerberus said that at breakfast and vanished afterwards, through the chimney most probably.
It was worrying how there was no lesson on that day which gave her enough time to feel guilty and ignorant. Spinnard saw her pace in the living room and ignored her for most of the time but two hours later and she was still in the same spot doing the same thing.
"Trust Knowingall. He's always had a flair for choosing presents."
"Did you get presents from him and Peverell?" She asked, not really assured yet.
It seemed like her question reached deep in Spinnard's memories because he actually smiled, genuinely so.
"I did. There was a time when my biggest troubles were getting good grades and making my friends happy." He seemed to miss his student years a lot but when his eyes fell on her, that wonderful nostalgia transformed into the usual cold exterior, "Those times are over now. They've been getting worse and worse and soon, a war will break out."
"How does that make it my fault? You're making everything my fault."
"You shouldn't have been born." The man spoke so nonchalantly even though those words hurt her.
Ophelia was a child and everything Spinnard was doing was amplifying her emotions and her loyalty to her father. He was selfishly attacking the subject instead of getting closer to her and gaining her trust. Once those emotions have been triggered, her eyes darkened and emptied of life. She looked like a puppet and in that particular moment, she was a puppet.
"But you're the one who gave Lillian to him." She started, her voice so soft and calm, as if every fiber of her being was in perfect harmony with the hatred in her heart," You could have said no, you could have told Vernon or Dumbledore but you didn't. You obeyed Tom because you wanted to be like him. Let's be blunt, Luce. You don't hate me, you hate yourself because I have Lillian's green eyes."
For a second there, he seemed worried but that didn't last long. He was proud and he knew what were his faults, he didn't have to be scolded by the one who destroyed his peaceful life.
"The father sees everything, doesn't he? I guess what muggles say is true; the eyes are the mirror to one's soul." He spat out angrily, sounding like a pissed off wolf. If the light didn't return in Ophelia's eyes sooner, he would have growled and shown his true character.
Luce Spinnard was a wolf in cheap clothes and Tom Riddle had chosen him specifically for that trait.
When Cerberus arrived home, Spinnard was in the kitchen, drinking rum from his personal reserve. The owl-like man sighed heavily and fell on the chair across the dark haired professor.
"I guess something happened while I was gone?"
Spinnard poured more rum in his glass and scoffed.
"You do know you're pushing her away instead of pulling her closer. At this rate, she'll be completely loyal to him and we won't stand a chance." Cerberus was only making Spinnard feel worse but he was only stating facts. "I bought presents for everyone based on what I know from her memories. There's a muggle that seems to be close to Ophelia. I think that being the first wizards she met, Lily Evans and Severus Snape can help us."
"The bookworm and the dark magic fanatic,"
"They're better than you, that's for sure. At least be nice to Ophelia on Christmas. I bought her something after I sent everything to her friends. Say it's from you and-"
"No."
Cerberus rolled his eyes at Luce's childhood behavior but dropped the subject. Luce could be very stubborn if he wanted to.
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