I don't wanna get bashed for some of the things I'm going to do to these characters. I know that everyone loves all of them but please respect my story, it's my first. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. This is another Voldy/Tom POV! Please enjoy:)

December 17

Lord Voldemort swallowed as he made his way around his manor. It had been a stupid idea, a spur-of-the-moment decision, in fact, to let the girl wander about. He truly didn't understand why he had decided to allow it. Oh, but he did, because she had invoked a sense of pity in him that he hadn't known still existed. Her big green eyes were begging him to do something, and he had simply... acted.

He sighed, running his hair through his thick hair. He had no idea where she was, and his Manor was anything but small. He was sure she was somewhere in the damn place, the problem was, she could be anywhere. The bracelet he had conjured was only meant to keep her in, not to locate. It was no matter, he would be sure to fix that.

Then, he heard it. A cry, maybe a yelp. It came from the gardens. He knew by the sound that it was her. Voldemort stormed through the grounds, a scowl fixed upon his face. The cool winter breeze blew his dark cloak through the air as he walked, taking the descending steps of the courtyard two at a time, yet still not seeing any sign of the witch. Then, up in the tree, he saw a flash of red.

Upon further inspection, he found her small form about twenty feet in the air. She was barefoot, and it seemed that she was trying to pull herself up higher, to make it to the top. Lord Voldemort was quite confused. Perhaps she was trying to escape, or search for the ends of his wards. Or perhaps she was simply insane. It seemed a good possibility, he reasoned as he took a few steps forward and into the sight of his nemesis' sister.

"What the bloody hell do you think you are doing?" He called up to her. She whipped her head downwards to meet his gaze. He was sure he had caught her, that she would yell, jump or even groan at being caught, but instead, she simply smiled crookedly down at him.

"No one told me you had Hiverfrais fruit," Ophelia grabbed onto another branch of the tree, using all her weight to pull herself up onto it, and grunting softly as she did so. "And, Tilly said she didn't have the time to gather it yet. So, I thought I would make myself useful." She grabbed onto one of the royal blue fruits and tossed it into the awaiting basket by the ground, right next to her shoes, sitting herself down on the branch and swinging her legs.

"Really?" He said, skeptically. He was dumbfounded, for her reason was quite... odd. She must be insane, he rationalized.

"Well, I suppose I also wanted to taste some." She said, a faint blush rising to her cheeks. "I have never had it before."

Voldemort simply stared at her. "Come down," He ordered, "I refuse to be subjected to healing injuries made by such a childish exploit."

His tone was firm and slightly derogatory, a tone he had used many times before in addressing his followers. The effects always held nicely, ending in his desired result- an obedient witch or wizard. However, the witch above him did not make a singular move to get down, instead of plucking another fruit from a nearby branch and fiddling with it.

With her eyes still on the blue skin of the produce, she said, "I'm not stupid, I'll get down when I wish. Unharmed, thank you."

Her tone grated on his nerves, but the Slytherin within him simply dined to respond with a sly, "I wouldn't be so sure. You Potters seem to have a way of botching up even the simplest of things."

Her brows furrowed at this, and she called back indignantly, "We do not! How dare-"

He cut her off, "Just get down before I come and make you get down!"

She huffed and started to decent the tree. She had made it nearly half down, when one of her reliant branches snapped, causing her to plunge straight towards the ground. Quickly whipping out his wand, Voldemort pointed the yew wood at her and slowed her fall just enough to be able to catch her before she hit the hard ground. She gasped when he caught her, and clung onto him for just a moment. Voldemort felt his irritation melt away as she gulped for air in his arms, his irritations morphing into satisfaction and arrogance.

He smirked at her as she gazed up at him, and then set her on her feet. She wobbled only a bit before running over to slip her shoes back on, turning from him in embarrassment. Once she had grasped her basket, and she had finally faced him once more, he cockily said, "As I said, even the simplest of tasks."

He found her in the Library, reading one of his older books on Magical Philosophy. The book was quite informative and he almost nodded at her in approval of the choice. He had planned to grab a tome and simply retreat back to his office until he became tired, however, upon realizing her obliviousness to his presence, he decided to walk quietly beside her. Scarring her had become quite amusing to him. Smirking, he said, "Signeors Tallwater, he had quite an informative book for his time."

He thoroughly enjoyed watching her jump on the small sofa, nearly yelping at his presence.

"It is quite informative." SHe said, quietly. Her hair had been brought up in a ponytail, but quite a few of her cherry red locks found themselves flailing about, framing her face. He brought up his hand and brushed a strand of hair out of her face, to better see her eyes. Those glowing green orbs that he was taking quite a liking to.

He turned and sat in his own chair just opposite the sofa, settling into the dark leather. Voldemort called to him a smaller book, which he charmed instantly to change the cover. He decided he needed to research into marriage rituals a bit more, especially if it was to be used on him. This marriage ritual needed to be thought out, useful to him but not overly binding (because he refused to be bound, he was Lord Voldemort for Merlin's sake). As it stood, he had only read upon such rituals as a pastime before, seeing no reason to pay any special interest. Obviously, that had changed.

As the book landed in his lap, the engraved letters on the cover changed, forming a Charm's book cover. Satisfied, he cracked it open and began his study.

They sat in silence until she looked up suddenly, blurting out. "Are you busy tomorrow?"

She seemed to be as shocked by the question as he, her eyes wide in shock as he cocked his eyebrow at her. He slowly closed his book, never once letting his eyes leave her. "I am always busy." He replied, and as he watched her deflate a bit, he asked, "Why?"

"Oh, it's nothing..." She trailed off, her eyes looking down. This time, the blush on her cheeks was quite noticeable, making the Dark Lord question his decision.

"Tell me."

"It was really nothing." She attempted to bury her nose into the old leather-covered book, lowering her head so that only her eyes were noticeable as they showered the page. Voldemort lifted his hand a wordlessly summoned the book from her hands and into his own. The Potter girl squeaked indignantly, before crossing her arms over her chest and scowling at him.

"Tell me." He said again, this time waving the book just a bit in his hand, taunting her with it.

"No," the witch said stubbornly, "Give it back!"

The Dark Lord growled a bit, his temper flaring, "Either tell me or I will search your mind for the answer myself."

"I just, well, I suppose I wondered if you would wish to try the cake." His face must have shown his surprise because she quickly began to ramble, her dark eyebrows furrowing as she spoke. "It's perfectly fine if you don't, I simply wanted to offer. I mean, it is your wedding, so you should at least get to try the cake too. That is if you even like cake. I mean, Narcissa said it would arrive in the evening, but Tilly can easily perform a stasis charm to make it last long enough for you to arrive, only if you wish. I have never been much of a cake person, and I would hate for so much to go to waste but-"

"Ophelia," he said, his deep voice was calm. She shut her mouth immediately and bit her lip. "I should be back before the sunsets. And... I suppose I would not mind cake."

Without another word, he dove back into his book, and she followed in suit, but he did not miss the strange smile that graced her face, even if it disappeared quickly.

Ayeeee, I am back guys! I'm so so sorry for the wait but I hope you guys like this chapter. I will try to have another up soon, as I have more free time with summer here. Please, please review, I love to hear thoughts or even ideas. I am going to work on the next chapter now, as it will cover a lot of Ophelia's background.

Also, lmk in the reviews how you guys feel about another fic with VoldemortxOC, except when I say Voldemort for this one, it is not the traditionally hot one.

Anyways, I love you guys and please please please review!

-ijustlovelove 3