At a few minutes after midnight, Potter sneaked out of his dorm and went down into the common room. Ophelia was already there dressed in her dark pajamas and she looked like she hadn't gone to sleep to begin with.
"How long have you been here for?"
"Fifteen minutes. I had a nightmare." she said yet not going into further details.
Potter nodded and took something that he was hiding behind his back. Ophelia watched carefully as the boy wrapped the cloak around him up to his neck and she gasped.
"I present you the Invisibility Cloak, Molley. Best suited for mischief." He said before he opened it and urged her to get in.
"This is so odd," she whispered once they were safely covered and out in the wilderness. She was busy holding the light while he was taking the lead. "How did your father come to have such a cloak, anyway?"
"Family heirloom. He told me I should take care of it and make good use of it, all with a knowing glint in his eyes."
"Or maybe he had second thoughts." She mumbled after which he 'coincidentally' hit her with his elbow while trying to keep himself covered.
The way to the library had never been so long before. They moved slowly, had to be careful where to turn and when to go down the stairs and in the end, not be caught. It was an achievement how nothing happened.
"Now, restricted section, books about old events that happened in Hogwarts." Ophelia mumbled to herself. She was curious if Idris was just a victim like Spinnard or he was the actual murderer. "We don't need the cloak anymore." She said as she sneaked out of it.
"What exactly should we look for? It's not like they let past registries in the library, do they?" Potter asked, patting his lip thoughtfully. "Or maybe we should look at the old magazines. I bet all my allowance there was a reporter that wrote about it."
Ophelia looked up at her colleague and blinked, thinking over and over about Spinnard's room and scandal.
"The Daily Prophet might had actually covered the story and with a bit of luck we only need to look at one particular month of the year." She added thinking how once Potter was busy searching she could also look for something.
The shelves were full of books, about all kind of potions or dark magic, there was everything one could imagine and yet there was not even one register that concerned the school. No matter how much they searched, nothing conclusive came out.
"This is not going the way I expected." Potter moaned, leaning back with a pout. He was visibly growing tired and his expectation lowered by half.
"Do you think that maybe someone interfered and erased that article? I mean, what if there was something more that we don't know of?" Ophelia asked still looking through newspapers.
"We don't know anything anyway. Maybe I should ask my father about it."
"But what if Idris altered your father's memory?" She asked without thinking how the boy would take such a supposition.
"Who would even think of doing something so dangerous?"
Ophelia looked up and found herself with a name on her lips even if she didn't say it.
They kept searching for another 30 minutes before Potter's whines became louder and annoying. She rolled her eyes and eventually gave in but she did look through one more newspaper of the day her mother died. It was on the front page with a picture of Lillian from when she was younger. It said Tragedy in Ireland. Lillian Gaunt, descendant of Salazar Slytherin, died of unexpected causes. Ophelia tried to keep her offense at the title to herself but Potter suddenly appeared behind her and took a peek over her shoulder.
"They could have left that last part out. It's not like it mattered whose descendant she was." Potter started softly, "She was a Gryffindor. Isn't that odd? And she came to Hogwarts in her fifth year, recently having been home schooled." He added as he read the lines under the picture.
"This is- well, was- my mother." She said seriously, her grip on the paper tightening. "She was murdered cruelly in our home in Ireland. We were hiding there..."
Potter needed a few moments before he frowned as the information settled in.
"What?" He hissed not quite grasping the whole situation. "That's your mum?! Descendant of Slytherin?!" He took a pause before he asked, his voice rising in pitch, "Murdered?!"
"I can't really remember much. Everything is so blurry and mixed up but the fear I felt that night was real."
"You don't really look like her, though. Well, maybe the color of your eyes but that's all. Nobody would recognize her in you." he added as he compared the two.
"Mr. Ollivander did. So did professor Slughorn."
"Hmm, really? Don't girls usually resemble their fathers more?"
Ophelia's eyes widened as she turned to her friend with newfound realization. He didn't seem to find his words significant because he started to read the whole article on Lillian but it did make sense to her. Looking down at Lillian's picture, Ophelia's hair was dark, her skin was paler than her mother's, her eyes were elongated unlike Lillian's which were big and round and she seemed to give a different vibe to people she met unlike the warmth and friendliness oozing off Lillian's face. She was definitely growing more into her father rather than her mother and Ophelia wasn't sure if that was in her favour or not just yet.
"We should leave. There's nothing about an obscurus here." Ophelia said in the end feeling like they only wasted their time.
James went to sleep right away but Ophelia couldn't move up into the dormitory. She glanced at the fireplace and walked to it, the picture still hidden behind much Gryffindor pride. In the end, she sat on the couch and leaned her head back, giving a tired sigh as she closed her eyes.
The students look at me differently,
Spinnard's voice echoed in her mind, making her feel the same amount of guilt she did when she first read his diary. And then everything changed and Idris came in front of her eyes, but his face was not scornful as it usually was...
Let me remind you that Hogwarts only brought me misery and a title that I do not agree with!
He screamed at her as if she was the one he was angry with. His form vanished and Ophelia found herself in the Astronomy Tower. She looked around and realized it was the same yet different. Slowly, she moved around and realized there were two more people towards the edge. Her eyes widened when she saw Idris with another student. What seemed like the most collected man she had seen looked like a giant ball of annoyance and hatred. The other student was speaking quite a lot as he pointed his finger at Idris, his eyes glinting with malice. The two didn't like each other, that much was obvious, but it seemed like whatever that student was going on about was only making Idris' condition worse. It happened really quickly, in matter of seconds, Idris' form vanished as he became this mass of darkness. He was still trying to reduce his anger, Ophelia could clearly see a human head morphing from and into nothingness. She approached the two and watched in amazement as the obscurus was fighting his host. She reached to it with eyes wide and curious and when she touched the mass, someone placed their hand over her eyes and pulled her into their chest. She only heard a boy scream before she was forced to wake up.
"Is Miss alright?" a tiny squeaky voice asked as soon as she opened her eyes to reality. Ophelia looked around, having heard that type of voice before. Her eyes fell over a curious creature, one that looked slightly worse than the one she welcomed in her house. "Hello," he said, jumping next to her with wide green eyes of the size of tennis balls. It looked like he was almost happy to see her.
"Are you a friend of Dylis'?" She asked with suspicion. The elf shook his head and smiled at her, his glossy eyes shining with innocence.
"No, Miss. Dobby was sent here to aid Miss in her quest. Master sent Dobby as soon as he heard you need to find a paper about obscurus." He explained before he searched through his pockets and took out a page torn from a newspaper. It was very old and the date on the corner explained why: 1917.
"Dobby, have we met before?" She asked as she turned her attention on the elf but he vanished.
The page was itself in a bad state but she could still make out what it said. Emergency meeting at the Ministry of Magic. A student of 14 years old was murdered at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as cause of the ignorance some professors have shown towards a peculiar staff member. Idris Eynon, of age 20, recently returned after being expelled in his fifth year for a reason that Hogwarts representatives have not yet confessed. Mister Eynon was seen by multiple witnesses while arguing with the victim before he was pushed off. Further details will be given as the Ministry will come with a verdict for the assistant librarian.
"So it's true. He did push that kid off." Potter mumbled during breakfast. "He was obviously not sent to Azkaban so what exactly was his punishment?"
"I don't know but look at this picture. This is Idris and the next is the victim. Doesn't he look familiar?" She asked pointing at the stern boy smirking on his broom.
Potter needed a few minutes of concentration before he finally saw it. The resemblance was uncanny and yet both Gryffindors knew they found another person to ask. Below his picture was the name, half unreadable but at a closer look they could make it out.
"So that's our next lead...Zabini." he mumbled taking a peek at the Slytherin.
"We cannot just ask him what he knows because chances are he doesn't know anything. It may not even be his relative." Ophelia started as they made their way to Transfiguration.
"How many families are there whose name is Zabini? One." He said, suddenly growing more stubborn if that could be possible.
"And why are you so sure he'll talk to me and not you?" She pestered.
"Look, Molley, you spend time with Snivelly. Get him to ask or even better, get Rabastan involved."
"Why are you so keen on finding out the truth about what happened? This is not about our curiosity about obscurus anymore." She said stopping as soon as they reached the classroom.
"I want to make sure that my father doesn't endanger himself unnecessarily." Was his response before he entered, already being late as it was.
Ophelia sighed and followed him inside, apologizing to professor McGonagall as she hurried to her seat next to Lily.
For the next few weeks nothing major happened. Potter was waiting for Ophelia to pop up the news to him but she hasn't decided yet what to do. Every lesson with Idris was average compared to Spinnard's war like attitude and Cerberus' playfulness but suspiciously, Slytherins were quiet during DADA.
"How is searching for the obscurus information?" Severus asked during their usual meetings. They were in a corridor towards the girls' bathroom from the first floor. Nobody was coming there after dinner so Ophelia chose it as their hiding spot.
"Potter has transformed it into a personal matter. But it's strange,"
"What is?" Severus asked, growing curious.
"A house elf came to me and delivered a page torn from a newspaper from 1917. The paper looks like someone used it to clean but certain details are still visible." Ophelia explained, the paper being now in the common room, in the front pocket of a particularly annoying glasses boy.
"A house elf visited you?" Severus asked a little skeptical that it could happen. But then again, she did spend Christmas at the Malfoy Manor.
"He said his name is Dobby. I am sure I had seen him before but I can't pinpoint where or when. He seemed happy to see me, as if he recognized me." She added.
Severus was curious so he tried to see it with his own eyes but as soon as he entered her mind, he was shoved around until eventually he was thrown out.
"Nice try," she said bemusedly, "Anyway, Potter wants me to ask Zabini if any of his relatives were killed during their fourth year."
"Zabini?"
"Yeah. It seems the victim was a pureblood Slytherin named Orion Zabini and he had an older brother, Enos who is Enzo's father."
"What kind of family names their sons like that?" Severus asked finding no problem with his own odd name. Ophelia watched him for a moment, debating if she should point that out but she ended up not doing it.
"Anyway, I need to catch him by himself but he is always with the Rosiers. What about the late night meetings in the Room of Requirement? I haven't seen Katie there." she asked, her eyes brightening at the mention of the dark arts lessons.
"Lestrange and Malfoy graduated so the ones taking over our tutoring will probably be Rabastan and Rosier." Severus said before he turned to her, "You do realize that without Malfoy, there is no way other Slytherins will accept you coming."
"Frankly, I don't care."
"You should. I know you rely on your idea that nothing can happen to you, but no one will take your side." Severus said, gathering his strength to enter her mind once more. He was getting quite good at Legilimency.
"You will. You're my friend." she replied, surprising him with her bluntness. Severus couldn't say anything because he knew deep down he wouldn't risk his life for her no matter how close they have gotten. But Ophelia believed in her words.
It just so happened that the next day, a wild Severus Snape ran through the corridors, up to the Gryffindor Tower and stopped in front of the Fat Lady, finally realizing that he did not know the password.
"Well? What are you doing here?" the portrait asked him, looking at the boy as if he was a first year.
"I'll just wait." he said, walking off and choosing to sit near the marble stairs. Luckily, Ophelia came out by herself, whispering to herself about what Severus believed was how much of a pest was Potter. "Ophelia! I have great news!" he said, jumping on his feet and grabbing her hand while moving aside. "Zabini has no interest in the dark arts. I eavesdropped on Katie and her friends last night in the corridor and it seems he's going to become the head of the Dueling Club. You're in that club, aren't you?"
"Right but I stopped going after Christmas." she muttered scratching her shoulder nervously.
"It doesn't matter! Once you sign up, you can go on and off but you will remain a club member. I heard they're going to study the Immobilization Charm and a few others that might get them 'closer' to him." he added, quoting the girls. "You can get close to him that way, even get into his mind."
"I don't think I want to get into his mind." Ophelia said, her nose scrunching in discomfort.
And so, only a week after Severus informed her of the change, as soon as she entered the classroom for her club activities, she was met with a dark, looming figure that stood as tall as Rabastan yet thinner which made him less dangerous in her point of view. Looking at him better, she was curious why Cissney liked him so much because even Sirius seemed more appealing than this guy. As he started to speak, Ophelia could only think how to be his partner in dueling so she could ask him about his father.
"What are you doing here, Molley? Didn't you give up dueling because you're so bad at it?"
"I don't remember seeing you here last year. What made you change your mind?" asked Ophelia in return, her expression giving away what she was thinking of. Katie scoffed and swayed her wand before the Gryffindor's eyes as if that could threaten her. Ophelia did keep her eyes on the stick, because it really looked like a stick compared to Idris' wand for example, but didn't say anything. Katie smirked proudly, the same smirk Ophelia saw at her brother, and moved in the front, where Zabini was getting ready.
"Hello, both old and new members! I'm sure some of you are surprised that Da Fu gave his position so easily but some of us just cannot balance school and club activities. Thus, my name is Enzo Zabini and I will take care of you from this day forward." he said, ready to implode with so much self confidence. "Well, let's begin. Choose a partner and let's see what you can remember from last week."
Ophelia stood there as students moved around her, none actually stopping in front of her. Gryffindors were avoiding her as if she was diseased and she had a vague impression that there was a rumor zooming around the Gryffindor Tower that she didn't pick up yet. Even so, not even one student approached her until she felt someone poke her with the tip of their wand.
"Did my brother send you again?" the familiar voice of Regulus Black reached her ears.
"What are you even doing here? You're a second year." she hissed although she looked relieved to see him. "Are you getting bullied this year too?" she asked, her tone changing slightly.
"No. That's why I'm here to learn how to protect myself. Why are you here? Don't you know how to duel already? My brother boasted about your skill during the summer break." Regulus explained, his last statement confusing Ophelia.
"I need to ask you a favor. I won't defend myself, so use the stunning spell and send me flying right into Zabini." she said, her eyes widening as she told him her plan.
"Why? That's such a bad plan."
"Trust me. I know what I'm doing."
Regulus didn't look convinced but once the dueling begun, he complied. Stupefy!, he exclaimed and just like she promised him, she didn't even grab her wand. The force was medium but it still sent her a few feet stumbling back. Since she wasn't hurt, she fell on her bottom and whined loudly, and very fake in Regulus' point of view.
"So weak, Molley. Even a second year can push you down," Katie snarled but Ophelia's eyes moved on Zabini. She sighed when she figured he was not going to act like a gentleman and hurry to help her. No, he was a proud and selfish bastard who looked down at her as if she was the gum on the bottom of his shoe. She might have to focus her inner-Tom for this job.
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