Daphne stared at Julius in suspicion.

Her mother had told her, multiple times, to avoid people like him. She had many names for them, but most of the time, she just called them "perverts".

Was Julius one of those? At first, after seeing him talking with the painting and having it call him 'Oniichan', she was certain of it.

Now, seeing him there, in the Common Room, she wasn't so certain. He seemed tense after his weird exchange with Quirrell, looking at his sides as if he was expecting an attack. He had closed himself a little more. His smile was a little more strained.

Maybe she could ask him about the portrait. What was her name? yes, Nunnally.

As Tracy droned on about something, She watched him playing a game of chess with Zabini.

His skill in chess was surreal. To be honest, not even her own father could defeat her as fast was Julius did, wasn't he a quasi-muggleborn? someone who lived among muggles for most of his childhood?

At that moment Daphne's eyes widened in realization.

She watched Julius. The way he moved his hands, the way his smile had just the perfect width at every moment, the way he relaxed back on his seat.

It was as if he was permanently playing a character. As if he was on always on a high-society ball. That wasn't the kind of skill a muggleborn or a muggle raised child developed on his own, before getting involved with the wizarding world. Did he have ties with the muggle nobility? It was possible, his name was Julius, a direct reference to the Roman emperor. she clicked her tongue and relaxed back on her seat.

Julius was slowly revealing himself to be a bulk of secrets. Every time she looked a little closer at him, a new incongruency would suddenly pup up.

She bit her lips and her breath quickened. At first, she thought of him as just a lucky bastard, literally. A bastard child of one of the noblest families of the wizarding world that abruptly found out about his origins and his hidden fortunes, like a male cinderella history. From poverty and misery to money and fame. He was sly, alright, the way he took care of Malfoy showed he had a sharp mind, but that was all.

Now, she suddenly noticed a deepness that was there since the start. He had training and behaved like a damn prince.

His relationship with Karin was also baffling. And the Weasley twins this afternoon...what was that about?

Curiosity was consuming Daphne. Nunnally. Karin. The twins. Quirrell. What was that about Lelouch that made him so strange?

As he finished his match with Zabini, he relaxed back on his seat while holding a Black Queen on his hand and staring absentmindedly at it. Zabini left for something, and at some point, Tracey noticed Daphne wanted to talk with Julius. She left with Millicent for somewhere with a knowing smile on her face. Daphne frowned, Tracey was having the wrong idea and making her own assumptions about Daphne's intentions.

Julius returned the piece to the board and smiled at her. His purple eyes blinking at her "How about a match?"

She agreed and changed seats. As always, Julius stood on the black side. He always insisted on playing the black side. Did it have some meaning to him?

The first piece he moved was the pawn in front of the king. A classic one that allows one to free the queen for a Scholar's Mate. Daphne nodded in understanding. It was his next move that shocked her

"The king?" she asked. That was a very strange movement, something a beginner would do, and Julius was certainly no beginner.

His eyes took on a distant gaze and he smiled. "If the king doesn't lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow?"

She frowned. that revealed more things about Julius. Did he have experience leading? She narrowed her eyes at him. He had been leading their little group since the start, even though he was only a half-blood, and only now she noticed how smoothly their current dynamic was established.

She understood this logic about leading, but could it be applied to chess? No, it couldn't. Moving the king immediately after moving the pawn would open him up to attacks. He did this out of sheer stubbornness. He wouldn't allow himself to stray from his ideals, even if it was just a game, even if keeping them would be prejudicial to him.

What an interesting person...

She decided to press him to see if he could reveal a little more about himself. She had to keep him out of balance. He was about to move the king again when she suddenly said. "Nunnally."

He halted and turned to stare at her with narrowed eyes. He was completely guarded now.

"Where have you heard that name?" Julius asked.

Daphne's breath quickened. He wasn't asking, he was demanding, she could feel an undercurrent of threat in his voice. For some reason, she felt a compulsion to answer. She couldn't help herself, the words sprung out of her mouth before she even noticed.

"I saw you talking with a painting," she said, hastily. "It called you 'brother', and it seemed close to you."

The strange pressure disappeared, but Lelouch was still frowning. He turned his gaze to her eyes and said in a tone that didn't accept defiance. "You will tell no one about it," he growled. "It has nothing to do with you, it is a bad habit to pry on people's secrets. Everyone knows what happened to the curious cat."

She nodded tersely. Her heart was still beating fast. Julius...He really had an incestuous relationship with a portrait, didn't he? and he was terrified of anyone finding out about it.

It was another point he had in common with the nobles of the wizarding world. All of them had these kinds of quirks, according to her mother. Maybe he was truly raised by another wizarding family, his muggle orphanage being only a cover. Who then? And how has no one noticed it?

Too many questions and not enough answers.

...

Lelouch returned to his room after a day of classes. He had already arranged a meeting with the twins for the next day. Kallen had told him they were skeptical of Lelouch's claims. Lelouch could understand it, he was about to test their loyalty towards Dumbledore, and hopefully break it down.

Dumbledore wasn't his biggest problem at the moment, though. He was still just someone to keep an eye on. Quirrell, on the other hand, has been actively antagonizing Lelouch.

He approached the portrait above the headboard of his bed and called Cadogan, who was standing beside Nunnally while she read a book in the garden.

"Cadogan."

"Yes, my lord?" he nodded

"I need you to keep an eye on Quirrell. Forget about Dumbledore for now. I want to know everything possible about the man. Especially about any kind of inappropriate behavior that could see him out of the school. That would be ideal."

Cadogan frowned pensively. "I can try milord, but I am just one man."

Lelouch nodded "You can ask the other paintings as well about his coming and goings. Did you do what I asked you?"

Cadogan scowled. "I am trying, my king, but creating a spy network under Dumbledore's attentive eyes isn't easy. There are still some friends of mine who were loyal to the Old Kings of the Britons at the time of their painting. I managed to convince some of them"

Lelouch nodded. "Keep it up, then," he said and sighed. "I am considering bringing you help, but I still haven't mastered the magical part of painting a magical portrait. Nunnally was a lucky accident."

Cadogan smiled. "Worry not, my lord. I will have answers soon."

...

Flamel...Nicholas Flamel, that was the name.

Hagrid slipped the information to them by mistake. Ophelia narrowed her eyes as she mused. What snape was trying to steal had something to do with this Nicholas Flamel person.

Ever since Harry's near-crash with the broom, she has been wary of Snape. The man hated both harry and herself, for some reason. He didn't even try to hide it.

During the afternoon, they gathered in the library to find information on this Flamel person. They were sitting on a table. Ophelia looked at Karin with the corner of her eyes, the girl was always close by, but for some reason, she didn't mix well with Them. Ron said she was always like this, a little reserved.

She unnerved Ophelia. There was something between her and Julius, and Ophelia had no idea what it was. When did they have a chance to know each other?

As the hours passed by, they found none of the information they were looking for. Their search was in vain. There was nothing on this person in the library.

Ophelia sighed and went back to the shelves, in hopes of finally finding something in the next book. Harry and Hermione were still concentrated on the books they had on hand, trying to search for anything on the man. As she read through the titles on the bookcase, she felt someone approaching her from behind.

At her side, Daphne Greengrass stood, looking at the titles in front of her. Ophelia frowned.

She had heard about Daphne. The heir to one of the sacred twenty-eight. Her father was an important member of the Wizengamot and one of the leaders of the so-called "gray faction", a group of politicians that are said to believe in keeping the old magical traditions while at the same time accepting muggleborns in their society.

The girl was beautiful and intelligent, but her aloof personality and her Slytherin disposition scared people away. According to Ron, she was like a snake hiding on a bouquet of flowers. Although she had a high station, she didn't have many friends and most people didn't want to deal with the mess that comes with becoming her friend. Ophelia was about to snort when the girl called her.

"You are Julius' sister, aren't you?" she said. A slight smile curving on the edge of her mouth.

Ophelia snarled and glared at her. "What do you want?"

She was already waiting for some scathing comment. Slytherins had a strange compulsion to bully the Gryffindors, Malfoy was like this as well. Ophelia glared at the girl and waited for it

Greengrass closed her book and returned it to the shelf before looking at Ophelia. No...inspecting would be the right word. She stared at the girl from bottom to top before stopping in her eyes.

Daphne pursed her mouth and opened it. "You know Julius since you were toddlers right?"

Did Ophelia know him? No, she didn't, but she nodded nonetheless. "What of it?"

Daphne nodded pensively. "Was he overly affectionate towards you when you were little?" She asked.

What?

She was so surprised by the question that she just answered by reflex. "No, he was rather distant..." She shook her head to clear her confusion and snarled back at the girl. "Why do you want to know?"

Daphne nodded again. She seemed to be deep in her thoughts. "Do you have a sister? One that looks more like Julius and has purple eyes?"

A sister? No, she didn't have one. Purple eyes? Her mind went back to the portrait Lelouch had on the art room back at the orphanage. Ophelia frowned and answered absentminded. "There was a portrait..."

Daphne's eyes shined. "Tell me about the portrait."

Ophelia blinked and growled back at the girl. "Why should I?" she said. "This has nothing to do with you."

She picked a book on the shelf and walked back to the table. She noticed that Karin wasn't there anymore. Ophelia sighed in relief and sat back to read the book in her hands.

...

AN: I'm not very satisfied with this one, but I have a policy of never rewriting chapters, so here it is.