Hogwarts, the Headmasters Office.
It was an apprehensive Harry and Ophelia who tried to weather the gaze of Albus Dumbledore, the man himself was seated behind his enormous claw-footed desk looking at the two with complete ambivalence.
"Mr. Potter, Miss Black." The Headmaster said gravely. "Do you care to explain why you felt the need to leave three third-years within the Hospital wing?"
Dumbledore then paused, clasping his hands together as he peered at the two inquisitively behind his half-moon spectacles and continued.
"Whilst I'm sure you had a perfectly good reason to display such an alarming level of violence when stunning spells would have sufficed. I feel it is my duty as the Headmaster of this institution to ask the two of you carefully, was your childish tit for tat worth the repercussions that will surely follow?"
Ophelia just sniffed, the girl unlike so many before her was not unnerved at finding herself under the heavy gaze of Albus Dumbledore.
The brunette spoke without hesitancy. "I believe it was necessary, Professor. A price was paid, a message was sent and the matter settled. Only weary eyes and fewer confrontations will come of it."
Ophelia continued off edgily. "I believe the last thing we want, Professor, is another conversation in this office of yours."
Dumbledore inclined his head towards Ophelia in acknowledgement, pondering her words as he turned to Harry and spoke.
"And you Mr. Potter? Do you believe your actions were rightful, for I ask you this severely, where does seeking justice end and seeking vengeance begin?"
"Lex talionis," Harry replied simply as if the discussion was settled.
"Ah," Dumbledore said, reaching for a lemon drop and sucked on it thoughtfully before speaking.
"The Law of Retaliation, though primitive in its concept, I will say, Harry, it is refreshing for someone as young as you to engage an old man such as myself on matters of philosophy."
Harry, however, found himself annoyed at the faux concern of Dumbledore and replied sharply.
"You shouldn't expect me to engage in discussion, Professor. For what can a boy green to the world, speak on Philosophy that a man old and wise has already navigated before?"
"A point I will concede," Dumbledore admitted before speaking again. "However one cannot discredit the perception of youth."
Harry scoffed, it seemed Dumbledore was being tedious in dragging out the conversation.
Harry replied rashly eager to get the matter over with. "Perception? How's this for your notion of perception, I reacted as anyone would react to a confrontation that sought harm to them. With vengeance. An archaic philosophy was all but a passing thought."
"Indeed." Dumbledore surmised, seemingly troubled that Harry wouldn't indulge him in a scholarly conversation, and responded further. "That does seem to be the crux of the matter at hand."
Dumbledore continued speaking as he gave a stern stare at Ophelia. " I do believe however that a confrontation was your intent, or am I wrong Miss Black?"
Dumbledore gave a penetrating stare at the brunette as the two eyes clashed in a momentary exchange.
"My mind isn't yours to read." Ophelia finally snarled in defiance. It seemed Dumbledore's legilimency attempt had made the girl quite disgruntled at having to block the intruding survey of the Headmaster.
Dumbledore blinked, not expecting the girl to have detected his gentle scan, and replied hastily in a genial tone.
"Forgive me, my dear, It wasn't my intention to intrude so far. I was merely checking on your well-being."
"Oh, I'm sure you were." Ophelia bit back scathingly.
Dumbledore barely acknowledged the brunette's snide tone however deciding it was inconsequential as he resumed his voice of authority. Waving the matter off as something trivial.
Dumbledore spoke in a formal tone. "Let us return to the incident Miss Black Mr. Potter, the two of you confronted Mr. Warrington, Bletchley, and Parkinson. The two of you knew that all three had known designs on causing harm to Mr. Potter over here, decided it was the best course of action for the two of you to goad these boys into a confrontation and when they attacked, the two of you responded with intentions of violence to inspire fear into the three boys and all who watched as a warning of what would befall them if they tried again?"
Harry grimaced. It seemed the Headmaster had pieced the puzzle together from Ophelia's mind.
"And if we did?" Harry gritted out. The raven-haired boy knew the Headmaster would see through any fabrication of the truth.
"You should've sought forgiveness and resolution to the problem," Dumbledore said heedfully. "I fear you've created more problems than you've solved Mr. Potter, for you should always remember actions are a double-edged sword, there's no telling when they may come back to bite you."
The raven-haired boy however didn't seem to like Dumbledore's patronizing tone and responded harshly.
"Forgiveness? Is that what you preach?" Harry spat and continued, deciding to give the wizened form of Dumbledore a piece of his mind.
"I read about you Albus Dumbledore. The man so high and mighty he's considered the pinnacle of power, the face of reason in the Wizarding World. It's saddening to see you're a pacifist at heart, but maybe that's just what old men are, frail and weak, oblivious to the daily injustices."
Ophelia interjected in agreement and spoke decidedly. "It seems to me that you consider that the lives of the innocent are inconsequential to the guilty who can be redeemed."
Ophelia tried to nail the coffin around Dumbledore. "You sit us down and talk of idle things while the threat of punishment hovers over our heads. Yet the three boys who attacked us, you send them to the hospital wing, without a scolding in the wake of their actions. Almost as if the attempt on our lives was insignificant."
Ophelia finished with her little speech, gave a pointed glare at Dumbledore, almost as if she was daring him to try to argue his way out.
Dumbledore didn't hesitate to rise to the occasion.
It seemed Harry and Ophelia had struck a chord in Dumbledore as he rose from his claw-footed desk and towered over them, sharp lines of fury etched into his ancient face.
Magic began to saturate the Headmaster's office, blanketing the room with the same turbulence a great sea would in its long-awaited consumption of a civilization. The magic thick upon the air and suffocating in its power.
Above them, Dumbledore stood a monolith of might, tendrils of pure magic streaming from his now apoplectic form as they bore down on the foundations of the office in absolute ire. The stones trembling and groaning under the onslaught of the Headmasters rage.
Harry stared into the piercing blue eyes of Dumbledore never having felt so insignificant. The raven-haired boy felt as if was but a stem of wheat before the sickle, easily snuffed out by the keen edge of the metal.
Harry's mind clicked as he finally realised why Dumbledore was so powerful.
The moment hovered within Harry's head as he now understood why Dumbledore was so feared, why so few alive could attest to his power.
He was an Archmage as the stories said, not some meagre wizard. The words he'd just mentioned before now seemed to have more bark than bite.
He understood why Wizards idolised the man, why Sorcerers wanted but a portion of his power and Warlocks, he understood why Warlocks strained themselves to death practicing the esoteric and eldritch that Dumbledore could cast on a whim.
The power Dumbledore manifested was intoxicating, addictive.
Harry knew then and there that he might never achieve the title of Archmage, the goal was almost insurmountable, out of reach for all but a few born with innate power. Only a dozen or so every generation eclipsed the highest echelon of power.
It was well known not much brought down an Archmage. Only another Wizard or Witch of the same calibre could hope to single-handedly tear down an Archmage from their pedestal.
Even history had alluded to the fact that there had been a handful of occasions, few and far between where a pair of Mages had triumphed over an Archmage in combat before.
It was an ashen-faced Harry who stared down the intimidating form of Dumbledore, now confronted with reality. The boy grimly knew the unlikelihood of achieving such a status of power as Dumbledore displayed in his utter wroth.
But just maybe, just maybe Harry thought that there was a slither of a chance where he could rise through the ranks of society that only a Mage or Archmage had at their grasp.
"Do not question me on mortality girl!" Dumbledore boomed like a thunderclap. "I have lived and breathed it to the extent that lesser men would crumble. Be grateful that it is by my decisions and hard choices you sleep safe at night."
Dumbledore's magically enhanced voice continued through the whirlwind of magic.
"I have weathered the weight of Wizarding Society before you were a gleam in your grandmother's eye. For decades I have been a protector of the people, their Champion of the Light against the doctrine of supremacy. Painstakingly toiling through the cesspit of politics to ensure you can live in a world without the backward ethos of wizardkind."
The furious form of Dumbledore then rounded on Harry and snarled.
"And you boy, I'd be careful with your words. I have lived through too much to be rattled by mere words."
Dumbledore outstretched his arms as the cacophony of magic swirled on and announced.
"I have fought Dark Lords to a standstill, swept through armies like a hurricane, quelled rebellions with a wave of my wand. I am not only the calm before the storm. I am both."
Dumbledore paused, eyes icy, devoid of any warmth as he continued in a final warning.
"Be glad that restraint is my greatest strength, others in my position would be seeing you leave Hogwarts by sundown."
Dumbledore then scoffed. "So be it if you view my compassion for all life as weakness and frailty."
Silence reigned the Headmaster's office as the maelstrom of power subsided.
Harry and Ophelia were now wholly unnerved by Dumbledore's demonstration of raw magic, the two were now seeing the elderly man in a different light, no longer was he the genial bumbling fool they thought him to be but rather a flowing current. Harmless at first glance but dangerous if not treaded around carefully.
Dumbledore sighed as he slumped back into his chair. "I'm sorry for my outburst but the two of you must see the repercussions of your actions. I can only hope the two of you will understand why I must assign the two of you a punishment."
Harry and Ophelia nodded along. They were cautious now about not wanting to upset the headmaster.
"Good," Dumbledore said in acknowledgement now pleased he'd managed to stamp out any protest, and continued speaking in his genial tone.
"Hagrid. I believe, tends to the Forbidden Forest on Tuesday evenings, you will assist him every week up till yule. I believe that is a fair enough punishment for your actions."
"Yes sir," Harry replied. The punishment seemed tame compared to what he was expecting.
Ophelia shortly muttered the same sentiment in agreement not wanting the headmaster to resume his wrath.
Dumbledore then gave the two a pointed look and questioned warningly.
"I trust we can close this chapter then? I will not be so forgiving upon a second visit."
"Yes," Ophelia said tersely, replying for both of them. "We'll do our best so we don't find ourselves in this situation again."
"Very well," Dumbledore said letting the matter slide and closed the discussion. "The two of you can go off to class now, I will be expecting Hagrid to inform me of your assistance tomorrow."
Let off the hook from consequences that could be far more dire. Harry and Ophelia quickly slipped out of the office so the Headmaster couldn't change his mind.
Ophelia finally spoke up as the two passed by the gargoyle, now having exited the Headmaster's office.
"I must admit Harry, that was frightening. I think we underestimated the old man, his little display of setting fire to your cupboard was a joke compared to what we just witnessed."
"Yes." Harry agreed and voiced tensely. "I don't think the two of us even came close to comprehending the power of an Archmage. "
"I know," Ophelia responded in awe and fear. "It was almost tangible upon the air, constricting and primal."
Shaking off the event. The brunette continued.
"That reminds me," Ophelia mentioned casually as the two walked through the seventh floor and replied further. "It'll be best if we return to the library to browse some books on occlumency and legilimency. My mind barriers were worse than useless against the old man."
Harry nodded and spoke in agreement. "I guess it can't be helped, like you I can't see a better alternative and I certainly don't want my thoughts read so freely."
Harry then added offhandedly. "I wish that Charlus would've allowed us access to the books on the Mind Arts. I don't see how the knowledge is unnecessary at our age."
Ophelia gritted her teeth in annoyance and responded. "Charlus was being a stubborn fool. I'm sure we can convince him this time upon our return to Potter Manor. He'll definitely listen to us now if we mention that we've had both Snape and Dumbledore use legilimency on us."
Harry sighed. "I guess it's a matter for another day. Speaking of Snape, he's bound to scold us for being late to our theory lesson."
Ophelia just groaned. The brunette wasn't looking forward to another lesson seated next to Hermione.
Thursday had come round and Harry found himself glad that their flying lesson would offer a slight reprieve from the hostility of the castle walls.
The week had been a testing one, to say the least for Harry and Ophelia since the events of Monday.
Whispers followed the two wherever they walked, the constant cautionary glances were draining, they kept the two on high alert for any potential curses directed at their backs.
The less navigated passageways had become frequently crossed by Harry and Ophelia in their attempt to hopefully defuse the tension that surrounded them.
Whilst the fifth, sixth and seventh years viewed them with a watchful eye, it seemed the fourth years and below would be constantly on edge around the two.
Hagrid's detention had gone well at least, the half-giant had escorted the two through the forbidden forest to feed a flock of animals he called Thestrals. The cold breaths of the skeletal horses had taken Harry and Ophelia by surprise, neither could see the winged manifestations of death.
Thankfully after the feeding, the detention had been finished in little under an hour and both Harry and Ophelia relaxed a little as they entered the castle grounds.
The two hadn't liked Hagrids warning of not venturing into the deeper parts of the forest, the man had mentioned Lycans, Trolls and what he thought to be an illegally transported Quintaped from the isle of Drear occupied the dense undergrowth of the forest.
The Quintaped in question Hagrid explained had taken a fancy for unicorn flesh.
Whilst Hagrid said he hadn't seen the elusive animal, the half-giant told them he knew no other animal could take down a unicorn and leave its remains mostly intact. Hagrid proclaimed that only a Quintaped would kill a unicorn for fun, not even Chimeras and Manticores were so callous in their hunting.
Hagrid's final explanation of a Quintaped having a fondness for man-flesh that was unrivaled meant Harry and Ophelia had all been immensely thankful upon seeing the grounds of Hogwarts.
The two decidedly upon their return had searched the Hogwarts library the next day for any information about the Quintaped and the heavy artillery spells needed to take it down. If Hagrid feared the animal after talking lovingly about how harmless dragons were, Harry and Ophelia saw all the more reason to take the man seriously.
It was three-thirty that afternoon as the Slytherins watched the Gryffindors hurry down the front steps and onto the castle grounds for their first flying lesson.
The Slytherins were already there waiting idly by the school brooms that were placed neatly in a row as the Gryffindors joined them.
The brooms weren't in great condition, Harry noticed. They almost made the old Silver Arrows at Potter Manor seem brand new and off the assembly line in comparison.
Rickety was the only word that did justice to the school brooms.
Madam Hooch shortly arrived later, the short gray-haired instructor looked already irked as she looked upon the Gryffindors and Slytherins.
Her yellow Hawk-like eyes looked upon the group shrewdly before she barked.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" The short gray-haired instructor continued. "Everyone go stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."
A quick scramble and jostle followed as the Slytherins and Gryffindors searched the row of brooms for the ones with the least amount of twigs misaligned.
Ophelia didn't seem to care however as she settled alongside Harry with a broomstick that had twigs crudely upturned at an odd angle.
"Stick out your hand over your broom," Called Madam Hooch from the front, "and say up!"
Sure enough, the broom slipped into Harry's hand, Ophelia managed likewise alongside a few others such as Draco, Eric, Ron, and Delphini.
Ophelia received a sharp glare from Hermione. The brunette had laughed when the bushy-haired girl's broom had rolled over on the ground.
Neville too was blushing a deep red in embarrassment, mistaking that Ophelia's laugh was directed at him as his broom hadn't moved at all.
Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their broom properly and demonstrated the correct grip, scanning the rows of Gryffindors and Slytherins to make sure they'd followed her actions.
"Now. When I blow my whistle," Madam Hooch announced. "You kick off from the ground, hard."
The flying instructor explained further. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, then come straight back down to the ground. On my whistle, three, two, one."
Neville, sure enough, had risen prematurely, pushing off the ground hard as he lost control of the broom, corkscrewing awkwardly as he sailed twenty feet into the air.
"Come back, boy!" Madam Hooch desperately called.
It was no use however, Neville panicked upon viewing the ground below him and in his startlement lost his grip, slipped, and descended towards the ground.
Smack! Neville's flailing form hit the ground, a crack echoing the impact.
"Broken wrist." Madam Hooch muttered as she inspected the boy, colour slightly returning to her shaken face as she spoke again to herself and muttered. "Thank god for cushioning charms."
The flying instructor then turned to the rest of the class and voiced.
"None of you are to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing. You can leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say Quidditch."
"Come on dear." Madam Hooch said softly to Neville, who was cradling his broken wrist gingerly, tears openly pouring down his cheeks.
It seemed Draco Malfoy had something to say as soon as Madam Hooch and Neville disappeared out of view.
"Did you see his face, the great lump?"
A few Slytherins joined in the chuckles of laughter alongside Malfoy.
Parvati Patil, a Gryffindor, however, came to Neville's defence. "Shut up, Malfoy."
Eric seemed to think this was his queue to chip in and called out.
"Malfoy you ponce, I'd listen to Parvati. I wouldn't be surprised if your broom handling skills were as bad as Longbottoms."
"Oh, really Potter?" Draco said, giving a glare at Eric before asking venomously. "Why don't we just test that then?"
A shine in the grass seemed to have caught Draco's eye as he decidedly strolled forward and snatched a glittering ball from the grass and gave it a twirl before he piped up.
"This is Longbottom's Remembrall, the one he'd lost in the transfiguration lesson earlier, why don't we play a game of finders keepers with it?"
Eric gave Draco an inquiring look and asked cockily. "You're challenging me Malfoy?"
Draco smiled back nastily. "Obviously Potter."
Draco then pointed to Ophelia and continued knowingly with ridicule.
"Black's supposed to be a quidditch prodigy, I'd like to put her skills to the test as well. I want to show her how a proper pureblood scion can best any girl. Let's say ten Galleons each winner takes all."
Eric responded smugly. "I'm in. The Dark Witch has got nothing on me anyway. I could use a few extra coins to weigh down my pockets."
Ophelia gave Eric and Draco a calculating stare before she shrugged and voiced casually.
"Should be easy, you two numbskulls could use a good beating."
The brunette then idly asked. "So say, how do we play?"
"Like this. First to find the ball wins." Draco said simply.
The pale-haired boy then tossed the Remembrall into the hair and called out "Ascendio."
Draco's spell hit the Remembrall violently, causing the shiny ball to arch high into the air before it disappeared out of sight.
Draco then leaped onto his broom and sailed upwards into the air.
"Coming Potter, Black?" The pale-haired boy called out above them mockingly.
Eric and Ophelia made to grab their brooms but Hermione butted in.
"No!" came the shout of Hermione Granger. "Madam Hooch told us not to move, you'll get us all in trouble."
Eric scoffed. "Ease up Granger, you'll get your knickers in a twist if you continue. Besides it's just a bit of harmless fun, nothing wrong with knocking down a Slytherin a peg or two."
Eric not waiting for a reply swung onto his broom in a likewise fashion to Draco and surged upwards to meet the pale-haired boy in the air.
Hermione gave a huff, giving up as she muttered idly how immature people could be.
Ophelia made to follow but Harry broke in.
"Ophelia," Harry whispered in warning. "I think you should let this one go. You've never been on a broom."
"Oh. Harry." Ophelia said warmly, it was clear to the girl he was only looking out for her wellbeing. "I'll be fine, someone needs to teach these two brats a lesson anyway."
Harry sighed as Ophelia's words settled the matter.
The Brunette, unconcerned, mounted her broomstick and rose from the ground to sit at eye level with Draco and Eric.
The brunette then arched an eyebrow and spoke condescendingly. "Well, boys we haven't got all day best get playing."
Eric sneered at Ophelia. "You'll be eating your words soon Dark Witch."
With that, the prideful Gryffindor shot off higher into the sky in search of the Remembrall.
Draco replicated a look of derision at Ophelia before he followed after Eric, the pale-haired boy seemingly in no mood to be beaten by a Gryffindor or a girl for that matter.
The first year Slytherins and Gryffndor's watched on as Eric, Draco, and Ophelia soared through the air.
Eric in his search twirled through the air in fanciful spins and corkscrews aiming to incite gasps of awe and whoops from the Gryffindors.
Draco, not wanting to be outdone by Eric, tried to replicate the feats that Eric showcased with ease. It seemingly failed, however. The pale-haired boy tried to weave through the air with the same flare Eric gave but ultimately gave a rather poor showing.
Ophelia though was rather economical in her movements, looking quite comfortable on the broom as she scanned through the ground methodically for any sign of the Remembrall.
Harry however knew something was wrong as he viewed Ophelia from the ground. It was evident to him the brunette wasn't entirely comfortable.
Her usual passiveness was bereft, replaced with a concentrating face that while seeming ordinary and not out of place for the average viewer, it did signal to the raven-haired boy her general uneasiness about the situation Ophelia found herself in.
A short while later Draco glided towards Eric who was several hundred feet in the air.
Eric had finally stopped his antics on the broom and was now hovering the air surveying the ground for the Remembrall.
Draco seemingly saw this as an opportunity to hinder Eric as he pulled alongside.
The pale-haired boy's search hadn't been fruitful and he had quickly changed tactics, realising he was outclassed by Eric. Draco decided it was better to try to exchange barbs instead of continuing his search for the moment.
The pale-haired boy spat with disdain. "I see you don't have much luck Potter. But being the Boy-Who-Lived I suppose you used it all up."
Draco then continued snidely trying to create doubt in Eric.
"Why don't you leave it to us Purebloods to demonstrate why a half-blood weakling will never measure up to us in the air."
"Keep talking junior Deatheater." Eric shot back with contempt. "Your Daddy's money will be mine soon."
Before Draco could formulate a reply about 'how his father was a great man.'
An "Ahhhh!" could be heard reverberating from Ophelia above them.
The brunette was now heading towards the ground at breakneck speed, yelling all the way.
Eric and Draco mistook this for a scream of victory.
"Damn," Eric muttered to himself as Draco listened within earshot. "The Dark Bint has seen the Remembrall."
Eric wasted no time in falling onto the trail of Ophelia's death-defying descent.
His shoulders were hunched compactly together as he chased downwards after the brunette.
Draco, not to be outdone, swiftly followed Eric in hopes to snatch the Remembrall away from him and Ophelia and proclaim his superiority.
Ophelia, Eric, and Draco could now be seen bolting towards the ground rapidly gaining in speed. Their three compacted forms upon broomsticks in an audacious display of aerial acrobatics.
Eric began to sweat and panicked as the ground began to verge before him. Both he and Draco were half a broomstick away from Ophelia desperately giving chase.
Ophelia herself was the picture of determination, appearing to try to wrangle her broom in submission to ensure it was streamlined in the wild nosedive towards the ground.
"She's not faking it!" Eric screamed now taking in the brunette's determination.
The air was whipping his face in the plummet as the sheer lunacy of the descent he was in started to occur to him.
"This is insanity!" Draco responded teeth gritted as his once sleek hair was ruffled back unscrupulously by the sheer current of the wind blaring into his face.
The pale-haired boy replied further. "I can't even see it, Potter!"
"There's no turning back now!" Eric yelled with resolve, deciding to go for it. "It's now or never. Just watch Malfoy, victory will be mine, you and Ophelia will eat my dust!"
Draco snarled as the dive clipped the threshold of 50 feet. The pale-haired boy's ego was now fuelled by Eric's determination to see it through. His pride wouldn't allow him to pull out.
Hermione's scream started a chorus from the Gryffindor's and Slytherins. The screams began to break out as it dawned on them that the resolve of the three was clear. Neither of them would break away from the daring descent. Their Dunkirk spirit was evident.
Ophelia's eyes were stinging and salty from the sheer whiplash the wind caused. The brunette's vision strained for sight as she tried in vain to pull up from the perilous plunge.
The dive wasn't even her decision! The girl thought hotly. She'd been taken by surprise when the broom had malfunctioned and dipped into a descent.
Ophelia had been cursing all the while as she barrelled downward, terror beginning to whiten her eyes as the ground was veering towards her at an astonishing rate.
40 feet, 30 feet, 20 feet, now 10 feet.
The Slytherins and Gryffindors watched on nail-bitingly as Ophelia almost at the cusp of the ground finally gave a mighty heave, the impetus of the dive assisting her as she managed to pull up centimetres from the blades of grass.
Relief settled in the Slytherins and Gryffindors before terror sprung up again as they watched Draco and Eric desperately try to break out of the descent.
Eric and Draco however could only stare in shock at the brunette's escape from the looming ground.
Realisation ate away at them; they'd been juked. Their attempts to pull up were feeble.
"I just want you to know Potter!" Draco wailed into the air as the two braced for impact. "That I blame you for this madness!"
No words were spoken from Eric as the ground replied with a resounding thump!
Thankfully their brooms bravely bore the worst of it. The brooms shattered upon the crash into a pile of twigs and splinters, mostly protecting Draco and Eric from serious harm as they were knocked out cold.
All eyes were upon Ophelia however as her broom came to a halt. The brunette getting off her broom a little shakily appearing no worse for wear.
Ophelia, broom in hand, resumed her nonchalant attitude as if the descent was of little consequence.
The brunette strode towards them, idly stopping to pick up a glint of silver that caught her eye. The Remembrall made its appearance.
The sheer magnitude of the feat now unfolded within their minds.
Finally, in the gobsmacked silence, Ron Weasley exclaimed. "Merlin's balls! That was a bleeding Wronski Feint and on a school broom no less!"
"Aye." Seamus Finnigan piped up in acknowledgement. "Wronski's spirit lives on in her, it seems Cerridwen has blessed her with good fortune."
Draco and Eric began to stir, their groans of pain audible as they began to shuffle uncomfortably.
Ophelia ignored the sound, not even bothering to look behind at the two scowling boys and grumbles of pain as she walked over to Harry and handed him the Remembrall.
Harry gave her an incredulous stare at Ophelia as the brunette then whispered a little shaken.
"Never again Harry, never again. Promise me that next time I attempt something so stupid you'll remind me of today."
Harry just chuckled and tried to reassure her. "I'll try Ophelia, for my sake if anything."
The raven-haired boy then admitted. "I was honestly a little scared I didn't think you'd come out of the dive unscathed."
"I didn't either," Ophelia admitted glumly.
Before Harry could reply however the shriek of McGonagall became evident in the background.
"Mr. Malfoy! Mr. Potter! and you certainly Miss Black will be coming with me. Of all the irresponsible behaviour I've seen in my many years at Hogwarts, this trumps them all in sheer recklessness."
Harry winced upon hearing the voice of the irate Minerva Mcgonagall, It was becoming too familiar for his liking.
It seemed Ophelia wouldn't be getting away unscathed after all...
Ophelia however just sighed. As long as it wasn't another meeting with Dumbledore the brunette was sure she could weather whatever tirade the Transfiguration Mistress threw at her.
I await a guardian: another chapter finished! Will be posting another one shortly within the next week or so. Thoughts, queries and reviews are always appreciated.
A side note: I will be taking applications for a beta reader as this story commences. Feel free to send a pm on what stories you've worked on. No beginners please. I'd like experienced feedback as I continue to explore the Odyssey of the Arcane universe.
