Lucius Malfoy was usually a prick. He has always been one and will forever be the platinum serpent of the Slytherin House. He disliked almost everything and yet had the elegance and politeness to smile and nod when he was supposed to. His eyes never stopped for long on a person of the opposite sex--or on a person in general-- because he could not find interest in common people.
But Lucius was a lonely boy at heart who wanted to feel like he belonged to a elevated group of wizards. And he did, he was a Malfoy, he was a Slytherin and recently, he became a Death Eater. Yet Lucius Malfoy still felt as lonely as ever.
"You look different," Ophelia remarked as soon as she walked out of the bathroom. She found him standing on her bed, staring ahead with sad eyes and an expression of helplessness. His usual sneer appeared as soon as the words left her mouth but not as intense as before. "Are you alright?" she asked as she sat next to him.
His eyes first fell over her dress, a medium sized, not very appealing green dress that she probably found around. Well, it didn't matter much since a fight was definitely going to ensue with her in the middle of a room full of Slytherins.
"Is my father sending you off to kill muggles as well?" She asked. Lucius looked up into her eyes and chuckled. "I'm serious. Rabastan has been spending more time out than with his family."
"And why does it matter?" he asked back, her blush contouring her cheeks really fast. "Why are you so worried about Rabastan's deeds?"
"Well...he is my boyfriend now." she said, her cheeks reddening even more. "I don't want him to die."
Lucius was prepared for any type of answer that could come from her and yet this one still took him off guard. His reaction was between amused and very worried which is probably the main reason why he started to laugh. Ophelia stood there next to him, quite offended. She pouted and crossed her arms in front of her chest, turning her back on him.
"I changed my mind, I'm not going to any stupid party with you."
"Rabastan might be there, though."
Ophelia frowned and peeked over her shoulder.
"But it's for the students only, isn't it?"
Lucius sighed and remembered how he was not supposed to tell her much about this alleged party.
"It is. It's for the students that want to become Death Eaters. Their loyalty will be tried at this meeting through a particularly interesting way. Of course, me and Rabastan will be there and so will Rodolphus and Bellatrix and other freshly designated Death Eaters." He explained, not once looking away from her eyes.
"I don't want to be a Death Eater." The answer was expected and so was the authoritarian tone she used.
"You don't have to be one, you are his daughter after all. You being there there is more of a formality."
"I'm supposed to annoy all of them and see which one tries to kill me first?" she asked growing more and more annoyed. She was not a tool but a living person with feelings and patience that were continuously being tested. She suddenly had a very grim thought that made her act upon it. "Are you truly my friend, Lucius? Or are you just one of the puppets?"
His eyes, those grey sad eyes that stared ahead only minutes ago were now uncovered before this fifth year girl. He couldn't hide what he felt from her and he was compelled to tell her something.
"I am your friend."
If those words were indeed true, only Lucius knew for sure. Ophelia tried her best to believe him and not invade his mind because she knew in order to have him trust her, she also needed to trust him. Besides, who could she lean on when she was so far from Hogwarts and Spinnard's Cottage?
The so called party was located in a very posh house somewhere near Liverpool. Malfoy apparated with Ophelia just around the corner and they had to walk in complete silence and darkness. Once they entered, she realized enlargement spells are used often in the magical world because the house was rather impressive. Green and silver were adorning every little corner she could lay eyes upon and she was sure the bathrooms were the same. Many of the guests were at least fifth years, the number of those that graduated being just a bit bigger than the number of the students. Seeing many familiar faces, Ophelia turned to Lucius with wide eyes finally having a revelation that terrified her.
"Tell me Rosier is not here," she whispered with worry.
"Too late." Was his answer as a very preppy Evan Rosier walked towards them with his sister.
"Isn't this a surprise, Molley! It seems we cannot help but bump into each other." he said loudly, gaining the attention of a few bystanders.
"You literally trotted all the way from the chimney to me." she tried to cover her discomfort with wit.
"Tonight will be very entertaining, won't it?" he asked throwing a sinister smirk before he took a sip from whatever he was having.
Ophelia narrowed her eyes at the evil boy and with a brief humph she turned and walked into the kitchen where she hoped was not as crowded. Thankfully, the only people there were two girls she did not know and the angel she has been secretly waiting for.
"Severus!" she exclaimed feeling delighted to see his pale face and owlish eyes. "Wow, you've grown a bit this summer, haven't you? You're taller than I am." she added measuring their height.
"You clearly didn't read my letter." He concluded, expecting such an outcome. "I should have imagined your owl won't deliver anything in time."
"I was dragged here by Lucius. I had no idea there was a Slytherin party until...this evening. Tomorrow night Gryffindors have their own party, where everyone is invited unlike this little fancy dinner." She explained, letting everything out in front of her friend. "So? What did you write in the letter?"
Severus gave a dramatic sigh and pushed her towards the counter, both leaning against it.
"I got into a huge fight with Lily's sister." he said, only partially sounding guilty. "I did it for a good reason, though! It was her fault! She was bullying Lily, pushing her around and calling her a creep."
Ophelia only shook her head in disagreement as he continued.
"It was really bad. Every time she saw us doing anything related to school, she'd go crazy! It was awful so I..." he trailed, glancing at his friend before looking down at his feet.
"You did what? You know we're not allowed to use magic outside school."
"I know that and Lily knew that but her ugly sister didn't. I just waved my wand a bit, nothing major."
Ophelia shook her head again and sighed.
"You shouldn't provoke her, Sev. Just imagine how angry she is all the time. Her sister can do amazing things and go to this mysterious school. They are family and yet only Lily turned out to be special. That must hurt." Ophelia added thinking more warmly about this villainous character.
"She shouldn't bully her then! We're not children anymore, she should just accept the facts and move on. She's a wench." Severus spat in anger, knowing exactly who he was talking about while Ophelia was only imagining what that muggle girl was like.
"If we were siblings and one day only I would get the letter to Hogwarts, only I would be invited into this world of magic and only I would be able to make flowers dance and fly, wouldn't that make you jealous? Because I know it would infuriate me. When you're gone to school, my reality is the only reality but when you come back during the summer break with all that enthusiasm, telling our parents what happened this year and what you learned, then my reality shatters and the pain of being just a normal child makes me hate you."
As Ophelia spoke, Severus couldn't help but sympathize with the feeling. He was jealous on many people at Hogwarts for different reasons, some more petty than others. And then there she was, right in front his eyes, a child with a great future ahead and strong magic and she was...she seemed to be in a constant state of disappointment.
"You shouldn't take her side. I'm not going to stand aside if she bullies Lily." The boy replied, not at all touched by her example. "Anyway, have you even seen who came?" He asked leaning towards her with a well intended glare.
"All the baddies, yes. I already met Rosier and it was terrible." She said, scowling at the fresh memory. "He is so annoying and nosy. Zabini told me to be careful, that Rosier is dangerous when he gets interested in something and I tried to keep away. And yet he always finds me. His mere presence is infuriating." She added, her tone rising a bit.
"Your owl...he is not reliable at all." Severus said completely disregarding her complaint. "I received a letter from him. Well, you did but he gave it to me."
"From who?"
"I can only guess it was from Malfoy. I didn't think it was important but now you tell me Rabastan is your boyfriend and well...you are here at a Slytherin party."
"Death Eater test." She corrected the boy, "Wait, how do you know about me and Rabastan?" She asked blushing faintly. Severus smirked and pointed at his head.
"I practiced legilimency a lot this summer. That's how I also know that everyone in the living room is boiling with excitement."
And it was indeed. All the Slytherins that came were very passionate about serving the Dark Lord. Half of them had no idea how he looked or what he was like and the other half was scared of him yet still praised his strength and actions. It was suffocating so Ophelia left Severus with Zabini, who was there just because he was invited and had nothing else planned for the night. His words exactly.
Going up the stairs she felt like she was in a horror movie. She could hear the cracks in the wood and the soft noise of light rain outside. It was silent upstairs so she decided it was best to spend some time admiring the second floor. Just like Spinnard, the Notts had different paintings of their relatives on the walls. The biggest one was down the hall, where light was dim. He had a long mustache, chilling eyes as if he was trying to cut through your soul and a very long chin. He looked like an aristocrat and he dressed like one too.
"What-what are you doing up here?"
Ophelia turned to her left and saw Nott coming out of a room. It was then when she remembered that this was his house and he had every right to be anywhere he wanted.
"Have you been hiding in your room? I didn't see you downstairs and it's been probably an hour since I arrived." She avoided answering by also questioning him. He blushed, faintly but still visible enough and approached her.
"I was just getting ready, if you must know. How is the atmosphere down there? I expect everyone's enjoying their time?" His voice sounded way too polite for Ophelia's comfort.
Nott was the lesser evil out of the others, with Mulciber being the worst, Avery the smart yet evil one and Severus the tame one. They were such an interesting mix because all of them were more or less influencing each other in bad ways. They had two more boys sharing their dormitory that were half bloods but Severus never spoke of them.
"Who's this?" Ophelia asked turning to the aristocrat on the wall.
"My grandfather. He was a firm believer in Grindelwald's ideas. He tried to impose them in the ministry but once Dumbledore defeated him, it was never spoken about."
Ophelia watched the painting thoughtfully for a few minutes before she turned to the dark haired wizard.
"Why do you like the Dark Lord so much? Why do you want to work under him, be his loyal underling?"
"Because of the power, obviously." Was his simple answer.
"Between being manipulated with words and being manipulated by fear, which one would you choose? Family aside, of course. I'm asking for your opinion." She continued surprising Nott with her chatty attitude.
"Fear is a strong emotion. I prefer to go along with what the majority expects me to do. It is not really a choice as much as it is a given. I am a pureblood and I need to fulfill my duties as one. The Dark Lord offers much more than you can imagine, and I prefer being a powerful man rather than die among mudbloods."
"Why do you even hate muggles? You haven't properly met one in your whole life. A muggle, not a muggle-born." She added the explanation when she saw him open his mouth.
"I already decided which side I am on and I am not going to back down. From the looks of it, you did too. You are here, after all, where Death Eaters meet."
"I didn't. I'm here because I don't have the right to choose." She mumbled looking down at her ring. Every time she had doubts about her father, those red eyes of the snake would sparkle threateningly.
Unfortunately, after that interesting conversation they both went downstairs into the living room. She sat next to Zabini and to her displeasure, Rosier sat on her other side going as far as placing his arm behind her. She looked everywhere for her savior to come and pull her away but Rabastan was not there. She sighed many times and Zabini shared the feeling.
"So, in the end you decided to become part of the elite?" Evan asked out of nowhere.
"No." She answered coldly.
"Then why are you so interested in the dark arts and the Dark Lord?" He pursued, making a vein on her neck tremble.
"Why are you talking to me? Why don't you try and murder me? Nobody would cry over my dead body anyway." She asked in a sarcastic manner.
"Why do you think you are here, Molley? An allegedly pure blood that's not even part of our house, who doesn't share our ideals and future plans nor truly respect the Dark Lord." Rosier asked leaning in. He was so close that unconsciously she felt a chill. Those eyes were scary- the eyes of a madman. Looking into those dark orbs she could feel how her happiness was fading away, all the good memories being pushed back.
But she couldn't answer, she didn't have the time. Suddenly the whole room darkened and most students rose on their feet, wands ready. They were waiting for something and from the feeling of it, Ophelia could only expect Dementors.
She couldn't move and couldn't reach for her wand. Rosier leaned even more and whispered in her ear.
"You are here to die,"
Her eyes widened and all she could think of was her father. He told her they could be immortal, he pushed her to become stronger to the point she might as well have died trying. Ophelia couldn't disappoint her father, not when the price was so expensive.
"No," she whispered, "I'm not afraid of you. I'm not afraid of anything." She said in a bold tone and struggled to move her arms. "I'm not afraid of anything you hear me?! Not of you, not of the Dark Lord! I will die when I decide so!" She screamed and Rosier smirked before turning into dust.
Ophelia opened her eyes and realized it was all in her head. She blinked and looked around only to realize Death Eaters were standing in a circle all around the room with masks on and dressed in cloaks. Next to her was a trembling Zabini, Severus was awake from what it seemed but he couldn't take his eyes off the carpet and many more were still trapped in their minds. At that moment, she was relieved that Regulus was not there.
"Congratulations, Ophelia. You passed." She heard Malfoy say quite happy with the outcome.
"I thought you said I am here only as a formality."
"In a way, yes. They could have used this opportunity to torture you but they didn't. At least, they didn't put it into action."
"They wanted to torture me?" She asked her eyes falling on Rosier.
"They hate you so why wouldn't they? After all, everything Evan said is true. You are a nuisance, a Gryffindor that just cannot give up. Do you think I enjoy babysitting you when I could use my time in better ways? Even Rabastan got tired of it."
"What?" She breathed out. Lucius turned to another Death Eater and made a sign to come forward. It was Rabastan and he threw her the most disgusted look he could muster.
"How can you think I'd be interested in you? I told you before, I do what my master tells me to."
"What- what do you mean?"
"Do you really think any of us would be so nice to you, so eager to please you if it wasn't for your father?" Lucius interfered looking down at her as if she was scum.
"No. No, that cannot be. I trust you, Lucius. I thought we were friends. And Rabastan-" she turned to him with tears in her eyes. "You cannot mean that. You like me for me not because my father told you to. You're not his slave, you decide for yourself."
But both men stared at her with sneers, defying all her expectations and making her feel weak. It was such a shock that she didn't know how to react. She turned to Snape out of reflex and ran to his side.
"Severus, what's going on?" She asked pulling on his arm. "Sev, look at me. Sev-" he did look up and his expression was the same as Rabastan's. He pushed her away and glared.
"We're not friends so stop clinging to me! Stop coming to me whenever you have a hard time!" He screamed and pushed her particularly hard so that she fell on her bottom.
That was the last drop. She couldn't hold it in anymore and all rational thoughts left her. Those green eyes became a mirror of Tom's and she rose on her feet calmly. She glared at them and grabbed her wand, magic already swirling around her hands.
"Avada Ke-"
"Ophelia! That's enough! Wake up!" She heard Lucius calling out.
He was worried when he saw her glow and he knew it was best to release her from the charm.
"You- how can you say such harsh words?" She mumbled, her eyes still closed.
"I'm not. Wake up. The test is over."
Hearing the last words she opened her eyes immediately and she rose on her bottom. Indeed the image was rather different from what she had seen: Lucius was in front of her, looking worried and Rabastan was still not in sight.
She glared at the blond and hit him quite hard on his chest. He didn't say anything but it was clear she was shaken up.
"Was this really the challenge? Why was I part of it?" She asked calmly, which was honestly scarier than if she was beating him up.
"We couldn't have done it otherwise since you are not a Death Eater. What did you want me to tell your classmates if only they were going under the spell?"
Ophelia sighed and hid her face in her hands. Malfoy did not expect her to be so affected, not after the time spent with Rodolphus and Bellatrix. Even worse was when he heard her sobbing. He couldn't help himself, it was as if a greater power gripped him and told him to wrap his arms around her and sooth her like an older brother.
"This is so unfair. All of it." He heard her mutter in between sobs.
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