The two weeks of holidays ended quite dramatically for some. While the Nott family could finally live their vile existence without a family of squibs always asking for a fight, Ophelia has been traumatized by watching someone die in front of her. When they returned to Hogwarts, she visibly retreated into her shell and started to look into people's eyes every time she had the opportunity.
"There will be a Quidditch match some time in February and from what I heard, I'll play seeker once again!" Potter bloated.
"You heard wrong," Charlie Wood mumbled, quickly stuffing his face so he won't have to give answers.
"What about you, badge? How's Christmas been?" Potter asked, drawing everyone's attention on her.
Ophelia glanced at Sirius before her eyes moved on the glasses boy. She shifted in her seat until finally deciding to speak.
"I freed a house elf called Dylis." she answered surprising everyone including the dark haired boy. "It happened. Besides that, my holidays have been uninteresting," she continued.
"What do you mean you freed a house elf? Did you even have one to begin with?" Cissney asked, confused how could Ophelia come in contact to the short creature.
Sirius glanced at the loud-mouthed girl before he turned to Ophelia with interest. Her friends were cornering her and her answer needed a lot of thought.
"It wasn't mine, it was someone else's. I was at the right place, at the right time. That's what happened, really." she answered, amusing Sirius. She had a lot of courage to lie so upfrontedly. "What about you, Black? How was Christmas?" she turned to him, surprising the boy but also their classmates.
"It was dreadful." was his simple answer and Ophelia didn't pester.
That was how dinner ended and everyone seemed to be content. Ophelia felt good now that she was surrounded by red and couldn't help but smile.
"You're being incredibly odd." Sirius mumbled as he lagged behind so he could walk with her. "You should be loud and preppy like jolly beans over there,"
Ophelia raised an eyebrow as she registered the person he was talking about was actually Cissney.
"She's bright and lively. I think that's a goal we'll never achieve. You and I, we can't run from our blood."
Sirius stopped and stared at the brunette with a glare. There were so many questions he had planned for her but with all the excitement of being back at school he just shrugged them off. But here she was, talking as if something happened and knowledge found itself in her brain.
"What do you know about blood? Why were you at Malfoy's Christmas dinner?" The boy asked, curiosity and suspicion bubbling inside his body.
"I was invited." She answered simply.
"By who? Lucius?"
There was a short pause in which Ophelia looked to the side, avoiding the real answer.
"Sure. Lucius is a friend, for the use of a polite word. There's also Rabastan," she said, looking like everything was normal.
"Whatever you say..." he mumbled and walked past her, the glare never leaving his face.
Ophelia watched as he jumped the last few steps since the stairs moved. She sighed heavily and looked down at her muddy shoes. Life was getting complicated.
It wasn't anything new to have sudden flashbacks of the time she spent in the orphanage, especially Aviemore, but this dream was different. It wasn't real but it definitely felt so, from the very beginning...
The forest was cold, grass was frozen and would break every time she moved. It was the same sight and temperature as back when she first met a Dementor. Curious, the girl searched for the black cat but it wasn't there.
Taking a few steps to the side, she stopped when she heard someone whistle. It wasn't randomly done but more like expectant; that person was luring her towards him and she was letting herself go with it.
Lead by the whistling, Ophelia walked deeper into the forest, until she reached a table, longer than the one in the Malfoy Manor but shorter than the one in Hogwarts. It only had a candle in the middle, which suddenly lit up at the same time the whistling stopped.
One by one, people started to appear at the table. Some were familiar faces -Dumbledore and McGonagall- and some were young and worried- Cerberus, Spinnard, Peverell and last but not least, Lillian.
"Why have we been brought here? Especially, me," Spinnard asked, standing on his chair as if there was lava all around him. He did not like being there with those people.
"It's my fault isn't it? It's because of my cousin?"
"We're having difficulties understanding just what is that Tom asked you to do at the Gaunt house." Dumbledore started, his blue eyes sparkling misteriously. Lillian looked down and then she looked at Vernon before her eyes found Dumbledore's.
"He will know if I tell you the truth or not, but will you know the difference?" She asked, talking in that secretive and ambiguous way.
"We may not but Luce will be more than enough for that particular worry."
"So what, you'll enter my mind in order to see if I'm lying? I'm not foolish and neither is Tom. What makes you think I'll trust you more than him? Professor-" Lillian stopped and looked at McGonagall, who was her favorite professor at Hogwarts.
"Lillian, we both know you have less than a year before you'll graduate. Peverell won't be able to protect you, Hogwarts won't be able to protect you...it is, ultimately, your choice."
"I don't need protection. He won't hurt me."
At that point, something must have pissed Spinnard off because even from Ophelia's spot, it was obvious he used legilimency to enter Lillian's mind. She was a great witch but she lacked in defending her mind which brought the next statement.
"Merlin's beard, you're bearing his child!" Luce exclaimed, though he looked unimpressed.
Although everyone at the table was shocked, Peverell seemed to be the one to take the announcement the worst. He ran away, feeling his chest hurt like nothing before.
Ophelia watched him run into the forest with a furious expression before she turned to the table.Lillian seemed very calm, even if she did stare at Peverell longingly as he stormed off.
"It's not a mistake." She said before anyone would judge her, "I want this child and I will take responsability of what I have done when time will force me to."
"You need to be aware of what is grooming inside of you. I'm afraid we can only aid you but our help won't matter if you leave with him."
Lillian smiled softly and rubbed her belly fondly.
"It's alright, professor. I trust Tom. He's family."
The images all vanished and Ophelia spun around, searching for another hint. She didn't expect a pair of cold hands to wrap around her and pull her into a firm chest.
"Don't let yourself be driven by his pride and power. Friendship is more important than anything. I trust you'll make the right decision, Ophelia."
That was not her father. The voice was warm, kind, it made her feel safe for some reason but it was also very strange. Her heart pounded loudly as if everything that person said was offending her. It was suffocating how two parts were fighting inside of her, so much that she couldn't breathe. Her throat dimmed, if that was possible and the man behind her tightened his grip so it would be even harder for her.
Then she heard it...Avada Kedavra! The image of life fading from one's eyes appeared in front of her and green light engulfed them all.
Ophelia woke up drenched in sweat and gasping for air. It was so bad that Lily woke up too.
"Are you alright?" The red haired girl asked, watching her friend with worry.
Ophelia couldn't talk just yet. She was trembling in fear and she wasn't sure why...
"Are you sure you're alright? You seem off," Lily asked in the morning. Cissney was a loud mouth so the red haired girl decided not to worry her or Alice.
"It was just a nightmare." Ophelia answered but it was obvious for anyone that for her, it was much more than a bad dream. "You don't have to worry, Lily. You should help Potter with his assignment or else professor Slughorn will force us in pairs again..." she changed the subject which seemed to work for the moment.
Now that she convinced Lily that everything was fine, Ophelia had to convince herself too. While everyone was hurrying to stuff their faces from early in the day, she decided to skip it. Her feet led her all around for around twenty minutes before she went into the Astronomy Tower. She leaned against the wall and hid her face in her knees...and she started to cry. It was very uncommon to her character but tears were flowing out and she couldn't stop them.
She probably stayed like that for a while because she fell asleep. The green light, the harsh words coming from her father and death woke her up later on. She looked up and jolted in surprise when she saw Severus' face so close to hers.
"What in Merlin's name are you doing here?" He asked, his voice calm and soft.
"I'm fine," she mumbled, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Do you even know what time it is? It's dinner time. You have been here since when?" He continued, unconsciously looking at her serpent ring.
"Dinner?! It was morning when I came here..."
Ophelia rose and tidied herself before she turned to the Slytherin. He was neat, like always, and his dark hair seemed less greasy than before. On the other hand, she was a mess.
"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Severus asked, acting like a friend for the first time in three years. "Is it about your father?"
"My father..." she chuckled coldly, her heart pounding just like in the nightmare. "I trust him but for some reason I feel like I shouldn't. Everyone seems to believe that my mother knew what she was doing but she obviously didn't. She was murdered, after all."
"You're not your mother." Severus pitched in, thinking that might help. It didn't because Ophelia's eyes darkened considerably.
"No. I'm more like my father, I guess. The Dark Lord,"
Severus' owlish eyes widened. He grabbed her shoulders harshly and brought her closer, looking like he was going to implode.
"Never tell anyone about it."
Ophelia raised an eyebrow but somehow she did expect him to have figured it out by himself. She did tell him everything.
"At least I know now why Malfoy and Lestrange are so benevolent. What about you, Sev? Actually no. I don't want to know the answer." She corrected herself before she squirmed out of his grasp. "You know, it seemed like everything was going to be alright when I found out but then-" the green light flashed before her eyes and she couldn't continue.
"What happened exactly?"
"I spent Christmas with Malfoy. Surprisingly, Lucius acted less like a prick and more like a normal human being. He helped me free Lestrange's house elf and he aided me if I needed help. It was fun, in a way," she couldn't help but remember Bellatrix and their little moment. It felt satisfactory to have the woman that hurt her be hurt in return, particularly in her pride.
"And?" urged Severus seeing how the girl was reminiscing some memory.
"Let's say I saw what happens if you annoy the Dark Lord. It's not a bright sight, Sev. It's traumatizing even," she said, her tone growing soft.
"After what you have seen, do you still believe it's a good idea to continue your dark arts lessons?" The Slytherin asked, hoping she finally realized what she was sacrificing.
But her answer seemed to be the opposite.
"I know exactly what I am getting myself into, which cannot be said about you and the rest of the Slytherins." She said, no tinge of sympathy or remorse in her tone.
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