After such a dark hypothesis stuck in her mind, Ophelia intended to go into her room and think it over but while going up the stairs, someone grabbed her hand. She looked down and saw Dylis. His eyes were watery but he wasn't crying just yet.
"Miss Ophelia has to help Dylis. Mister Cerberus has been caught." He whimpered as if every word was a blow to his heart.
"What? By who?"
"Dylis' former master. He is kept prisoner in a cell like Dylis was...the Dark Lord is there too." Dylis whispered, terrified of the last part.
Ophelia narrowed her eyes and rushed back Malfoy. Lucius rose and opened his mouth but she shut him up immediately.
"This was all just a distraction. You wanted me to get more worried about Cissney so that I won't be able to find out the truth! Tom is torturing Cerberus for information about Peverell!" She shouted angrily.
Lucius was so shocked that he couldn't even mutter a response but after thinking it through, he finally knew what to say.
"What are you talking about?"
But Ophelia was so angry and worried that she couldn't control her temper. Green lightning engulfed her hand and without a word she stunned Lucius. He groaned and got up sourly only to be suddenly lifted into the air.
"You and I will go on a trip to Lestrange and save my guardian."
That was definitely an order.
When Ophelia and Lucius arrived at the mansion, they found it silent. The brothers were not around and house elves were staring at her like she was the Devil himself.
"They are scared you will free them too." Lucius explained but Ophelia gave him a sarcastic glance.
"That cannot be it, Dylis is a lot happier as a free elf."
"I'm sure," he replied sarcastically.
Ophelia glared at him but did not pester on the subject since there was a bigger reason for them to trespass.
"Do not need to be so quiet. I'm sure they are all in the cell, taking turns." Lucius said jokingly but Ophelia shuddered at the thought.
The way down into the basement was free and house elves did not dare stay in their way. Once she opened the door, however, she froze. Even Lucius got a chill down his spine at the way Lestrange and his oldest son were laughing while another man screamed in utter pain.
"Wait. You can't just barge in there waving around your hands."
"I'm going to stun them. I know how to duel and I'm fast enough to protect myself...and you." She was still not sure she wanted to help him out of the mess after taking part in Tom's scheme.
The screams intensified as she heard Tom's voice asking the poor victim about a subject that Ophelia was tired of.
As they sneaked closer to the door towards the darkest and deepest cell in the basement (the same Rodolphus trained Ophelia in) Lucius stopped.
"What are you doing?" She asked before she glanced at his hands. "You are terrified of Tom."
"I'm not the only one. He may be father or Tom for you but for the rest of us he is the Dark Lord." Lucius whispered trying not to hyperventilate though it was so hard just standing in front of that door.
"You realize that now?"
She sounded so confident and so powerful that Lucius wondered if she was registering just how deadly was the situation. They could die in the next few minutes but she didn't seem bothered by that idea.
"You're still a child," he mumbled to himself as she turned the knob and silence fell on the other side.
"Where is he, Knowingall? Just give me the answer and you're free. So easy, so fast," Tom hissed in Cerberus' face, one hand grasping his face while the other held his wand at Cerberus' temple.
"Go to Hell," The owl man whispered through gritted teeth.
"Crucio!" Mr. Lestrange shouted before Cerberus gasped, the sound reminding Rodolphus of a deer caught in a trap.
"Tsk, tsk, you make me do such bad things, Cerberus. I dislike hurting people that aid my daughter and yet you give me no choice. If you do not give me Peverell's location, I might just oversee how well you taught Ophelia Legilimency."
"If-if I tell you, you-you will k-kill him," Cerberus barely muttered, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. That was not his only bloody spot on the face; no, he had a splinched ear, both his eyes were swollen and his whole face was red from the tension he was feeling from using Occlumency so much. He looked like his head was soon going to explode but he still had his loyalty and pride.
"And? All he has ever done is meddle into others' lives and ruin them. Aren't I right, Ophelia?" He asked already sensing his daughter enter the cell.
Lucius swallowed nervously as he watched Tom straighten up and move towards them. His cold eyes fell over him for a moment before they shifted on his daughter.
Ophelia looked up at him but couldn't see past his big form. He was dressed in a dark cloak and his face seemed to have changed over the period of time they haven't met.
Rodolphus glared at his former colleague and almost hissed at him but stopped himself in time. Tom turned to them with a pleasing expression.
"Rodolphus, join your father and Lucius and do me the favour of letting me alone with my daughter."
Mr. Lestrange seemed taken aback that his precious Dark Lord gave the order to his son rather than himself but didn't utter a word against it. The three men stepped outside, one more grateful than the others, and closed the door. Tom waved his wand and a high noise informed everyone that he locked himself inside. He walked slowly and moved behind her, put his hands on her shoulders and urged her near the victim. He stopped her, by literally plunging his nails into her skin, right in front of the bloody mess that was Cerberus Knowingall.
Ophelia gasped as she let her eyes travel over his body: Cerberus was a fit man more or less but nobody could have the strength to stand with such deep wounds that still bled. He was placed against the wall, hands chained behind while he could barely stand on his knees. His clothes were torn up, dirty and he smelled of blood, sweat and piss.
"Men like this failed player do not deserve to be left alive if they do not obey to those stronger than them." Tom started, leaning to her right ear. Only his breath sent chills all through her body. "Now, daughter, raise your wand and whisper, Crucio," he used her wand in order to hit Cerberus with the curse. She knew how much it hurt but it was even worse being the one inflicting the pain. She remembered Zabini and how she used the cruciatus curse with such ease...and she suddenly drew her hand back. Tom straightened himself and pointed the tip of his wand at her neck before he moved it on Cerberus.
"He is a weakness that shall be erased. You need a good influence, by guardians I shall choose to care for you." Tom informed her.
Ophelia could feel in her heart what was coming. Cerberus was never going to give away the location of his good friend and was never going to disappoint Spinnard's memory so then what was left was preparing himself to be sacrificed. Having a quick flash of Spinnard's face, she ran and stood in front of the owl man while facing her father.
"Ophelia, move aside," Tom ordered her in a voice that resembled the hiss of a snake, "Listen to me child. Do not make me repeat myself."
"No," her voice was shaky and her legs were like noodles. "Let him go. He's already been through enough pain."
Tom's eyes narrowed even more and he was growing angry with his daughter. She knew, everyone knew, that he could punish her badly, take her on the edge of absolute torture and even kill her if he wanted to. But Cerberus mattered to her, he taught her how it felt to have a family in a way and he protected her no matter the cost. He was not going to die, not while she was alive.
"Are you insane! Just move already! This is not your business anyway, foolish child!" Lestrange shouted although the door was locked and he couldn't enter. He could bark all he wanted because he was not in the room with the Dark Lord.
"He only uses you to protect himself. Why do you think every friend of Peverell is so keen to guard you? It's because they know you will come and save them. That's the only reason Dumbledore helps you too. He doesn't care! You're just a pawn in his plans." Tom started pacing around while throwing her nasty looks.
"Is that how you got Spinnard to murder grandma? Is that what you told mum in order to make her stay by your side? All those people who went against your word died miserably!" She cried out, tears dripping down her face. "You killed them all! You killed the Molleys just because they were acting as parents!"
"I am your father, Ophelia!" It was one of the few times he ever raised his voice and it was terrifying. "You do as I say." He threatened in a lower yet angry tone.
"Or what? You will kill me? Is that it? Then go ahead. KILL ME!" she shouted before she threw her wand aside and waited for him to whisper those two deadly words.
Tom was both shocked that she would lay her life for someone who wasn't family but moreover he was shocked that she had the impression he would give in. Sincerely, he had to control himself and think of the true reason he let her live for all these years.
With slow moves, he lowered his wand and walked closer to her. His eyes were beautiful to look into but deadly and ironically, so were hers. Ophelia was watching her father with defiant green orbs but they looked nothing like her mother's. That was the second reason why it was so hard to get rid of her from the beginning: she was growing up to look so much like Tom.
"Take him and leave. But you will come back, daughter, and you will pay for your little overconfident act." He informed her, audibly getting calmer. His mind was already planning her torture and he was probably going to cover it by saying it was training for her future.
Ophelia couldn't breath until Dylis appeared and took them back home. Apparating was needed, it seemed, so she might as well learn how to do it soon.
They placed Cerberus on his bed before Dylis started to work on the wounds. He rose Cerberus' shirt and unveiled many bloody spots inflicted by her father. She couldn't stand looking and left, going straight into the kitchen to brew tea. While the water was boiling, she started to cry silently. Now that she was out of his sight, fear crept into her heart. Tom could take everyone she knew and torture them in gruesome ways and she may not be there to stop him all the time. What then? Indeed, what then...
Morning came and Ophelia woke up at the sweet smell of chamomile tea. She opened her eyes groggily and yawned, feeling like she went through a real fight not just a verbal one.
"Good morning,"
Hearing that voice, as calm as if nothing in the world mattered, made her realize the person that brew tea was not Dylis. Idris was standing across her, looking just like he did during his classes.
"Here, this will calm you down. I'm sure you had an interesting time with your father." He added pushing a mug towards her. "I promise you it's nothing but tea."
"Why are you here? How did you know I was here?"
"When a Malfoy invites Tom's daughter to his place, something will definitely happen. That, and I got a flash of Cerberus being brought in a very bad condition back home."
"Who was the informant? Peverell the kitten?" She asked not waiting for a serious answer from him.
"Maybe. Vernon Peverell is a sly bastard, even under the form of a pet."
"You can say that again. I don't understand why dad is so desperate to find him. He's a cat, for Merlin's sake!" She moaned, finding her professor as the perfect listener.
"It's not his physical power that he wants but his memories. Peverell holds many secrets and not all of them regard you and Lillian. There is more at stake," he explained sounding nothing like the sassy mysterious man that first stepped into the house. He seemed a lot nicer, had visibly lowered his guard and looked at her not at an image of someone else.
"I know you and James have been digging up my past. I let you do it since I knew you couldn't find anything relevant."
"So what then, you deny getting angry at your boyfriend and pulling him off the Astronomy Tower?" She asked with more menace than she intended.
"...no. He was aware of my darker side and pushed me into losing my temper. He died because he was foolish." He admitted rather easily.
"But I remember you said Rosier is the one that destroyed your life. Then, the real problem, the heavy burden, is from before you were expelled?" She asked hoping he was in a good enough mood to lower his defences even more.
Idris leaned back and crossed one leg over the other while drumming his fingers on the table. His eyes were looking at her with ever changing emotions: one time it was amusement while the other time was sorrow before it changed again into mischief. And then those eyes that seemed to glance at the world with such superiority were drown in nostalgia. Ophelia took a shaky breath as she finally realized he was not only going to tell her- he was going to show her!
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