Nothing odd happened during the next few days. Ophelia kept to herself, thinking about a lot of issues but most importantly about Malfoy. Yes, Sirius' confession was the last of her worries, she was more scared of her father barging in and killing everyone in front of her. It was such a believable plot that she shuddered only imagining it. But then she remembered Idris' advice: there is a way to make sure they will never betray you.
"Will he even accept my terms?" she muttered as she thought about how she could protect herself and everyone in the Order.
She glanced at Potter and Sirius and how they were laughing on the front porch while still working on their bike. They were both glowing in her eyes, probably two of the most precious people in the world right now.
"Meow?"
Ophelia's eyes widened at the cute voice of a familiar black kitten. She was surprised to see him bop down the stairs, careful not to fall before he approached her with big curious eyes. It was so odd how he came to her and crept up her pants before getting comfortable in her lap.
"How long have you been here for?" she asked, petting his head. "Shouldn't you act your age, even if blocked in this form?"
"Meoww," he seemed to have scoffed but it was hard to say for sure.
"What do I do, Peverell?" she asked, her tone changing completely. "It's getting harder and harder to hide from him. I just want to get rid of this pressure. I want to tell him to back off but I know it wouldn't mean anything. He will kill all of them..."
Peverell sighed and he put his little paw on her hand as if caressing her, trying to make her feel better.
When the boys returned, they were muddy and loud, and yet they both stopped to watch how a black kitten seemed to bring a bit of relief to a young woman.
"When did we get a cat?" James asked, not having seen it before.
"That's not a cat, mate. That's...a grown-up man, apparently. I heard him before when I was in my dog form." Sirius explained, narrowing his eyes at the mysterious guest. "Maybe we should have another discussion,"
Sirius said that but the kitten disappeared afterward, and he searched in every shadowy corner and under every surface and even in the attic and around the house. He just vanished. That until the last night before returning to Hogwarts.
Sirius was ready to go to bed when he saw something black standing on the front porch, looking at the moon. He changed into his dog form and quietly joined the black kitten.
What are you doing here?
Guarding you, the same manly voice answered him. He turned to Sirius with a bemused expression before he said, It didn't go too well, hm? Your confession,
How do you-have you been spying on us?
Spying is what I do best. But no, it just reminded me of myself a long time ago. I forced my way into her life and then I ended up being the reason she died, said the kitten, returning his sight to the glowing moon. Sirius couldn't help but watch this creature curiously.
Who are you exactly?
Ask Ophelia. She already knows,
Who died because of you? Sirius continued his interrogation since it was so hard catching this guy.
Lillian Gaunt, Ophelia's mother. Although I was good at a lot of things, quite a brilliant wizard I might add, I was a bad occlumence. Tom searched into my mind and found her. It is my fault that Ophelia doesn't have a family. If only I would have been more honest... he knew that he was throwing a lot of new information at this young boy so Peverell decided to return to things that mattered, Both she and her mother have deeper worries than love, Sirius. You are the last on her to-do list. The problems arise when they leave him, when they realize they are just tools in his quest for power.
Why are you telling me this?
Because I like you? I was in your place before and I vowed to love and protect Lilian and her daughter. And yet, Tom outsmarted me. Spinnard's guilt led him to death and I am honestly scared for Knowingall. Peverell admitted.
She has us. Sirius commented with a little too much reassurance.
You see Sirius, no matter how much I tried she still chose Tom. And for him, Ophelia is not just family but a way through which he can never die. If he places a bit of his soul into her, she will become the perfect weapon. Her blood makes her the perfect vessel so he will not touch a strand of hair from her head. But Ophelia is not worried about herself.
She worries that he will kill us in order to hurt her.
Exactly. He has always been like that. He used Luce against me and then used me against Lillian. I'm not guarding Ophelia. I'm guarding you. Peverell said, getting on all four of his little legs.
She is not like him, nor like her mother. I will protect her.
As a piece of advice, you are already in her heart. All of you are. In order to make more room for yourself, you will have to throw someone out. Peverell said getting ready to leave.
Rabastan?
No. Her father.
The train ride back to Hogwarts was mostly silent. The girls were all in one compartment and Ophelia was looking out the window still thinking about her next moves. However, the others seemed to be quite curious about a little detail.
"So, Pheli, did something happen during the New Year party?" Alice asked, her eyes glinting.
Ophelia glanced at them with a raised eyebrow.
"Did Sirius finally confess?" Lily asked, not able to contain her curiosity anymore.
"He did actually. Did you...expect it to happen?"
"Of course we did. He's been watching you like a puppy for the last two months." Lily replied, the others nodding along.
"It was hard not to point it out to you but Potter stopped anyone from telling you," Alice added. It was really just the three of them since Cissney was more or less forced to hang out with Slytherins.
"What did you say?" Lily asked, both girls leaning in.
"That I don't share the intensity of his feelings,"
"And what did he say?"
"He said..." Ophelia stopped and chuckled at the memory. It was quite funny now that she was taking the time to reminisce. "He said that he will try and seduce me. That's his New Year resolution,"
The girls laughed and couldn't help but taunt Ophelia. It was easy since Sirius was such a flamboyant character. But while they were joking around, Ophelia saw somebody walk by their compartment and excused herself quickly. She looked around but could only see someone in the distance. The corridor was bustling with students but she decided she needed to speak to her best friend. He was walking a bit fast as if hurrying somewhere. It didn't even matter that she ended up among Slytherins until she saw Katie with one of her friends and with Cissney.
"Oh, lookie here, Ciss. Your old friend is brave enough to come to this side of the train," Katie started seeing how they were getting closer to each other. "Are you here to beg for forgiveness? You petrified me," the Slytherin said once she reached her nemesis. "Because of you, relationships between strong families were disrupted. You better apologize properly to me and my brother," Katie hissed in Ophelia's ear. She was ready to pass when the green-eyed girl grabbed Katie's wrist.
"You shouldn't speak so casually to me. You're disposable. I am not," Ophelia whispered in a way that felt as if it was Tom speaking. Katie felt a shudder at how alike the two were, but also how annoying it was because Ophelia's threat was actually the truth. "Ah! And say hello to Evan from me!" Ophelia exclaimed as she passed the three purebloods.
Cissney couldn't help but stare at Ophelia with amusement. She really was the daughter of the Dark Lord, through and through, but there was something about Ophelia that her father could never achieve, a sort of charismatic mischief.
In another compartment, Sirius was contemplating his relationship with Ophelia, but also his life in general. He knew he couldn't stay with the Potters forever so he had to find a new safe house. On the other hand, the words of that black kitten were running through his mind. Apparently, his nemesis was the world's nemesis and he was relieved in a way. Rabastan was Ophelia's first love and he could never beat that, but he could beat a cold-hearted power-hungry father.
Sirius woke up from his daydreaming when he was hit by a chocolate frog.
"What?" He asked turning to his friends. They were watching him with smirks and grins.
"Are you thinking about something? Maybe someone?" Peter asked, one eyebrow raised yet visibly very amused. Echo with O, ends with phelia?" he added before they all chuckled.
Sirius couldn't deny it because he was indeed thinking about her, but also about the advice he was given.
"Do you guys believe that once we graduate, Ophelia will have to return to her father?" Sirius asked all serious.
The atmosphere dropped immediately. In their little tease, they forgot there was a bigger problem in the world.
"She better not," James replied right away, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"It's complicated. He is her father and no matter how much we hate him, she will never be able to do so. You can see it in her eyes and her ring. She wears it even if it reminds her of him."
"Someone told me that in order to make more room for myself in her heart, I should throw out someone else,"
"Who? Rabastan?" James asked leaning in.
"I thought so too but not...I guess she cares for her father more than she wants to admit," Sirius commented.
"Do you blame her? At the end of the day, who can you trust more than your parent?" Remus said, his words ringing in Sirius' ears as he returned his attention to the passing sight.
Ophelia was in the door frame that led to the sixth-year Slytherin compartment but she wasn't so sure that she could go all the way. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to come searching for her best friend but she wanted to speak to him about Dobby.
"Are you going to spend the whole day blocking the way?"
She turned quickly and faced Nott. He looked amused and pleased to see her.
"Is Snape here? I saw him pass by my compartment but-"
"Snape will not return this week to school. He went to Bulgaria with fellow Death Eaters. You probably saw another Slytherin,"
"What are they doing in Bulgaria? Killing innocent babies because they don't kneel to his highness the Dark Lord?" Ophelia asked sarcastically. Nott blinked in shock before he started to laugh loudly. Ophelia glanced at the Slytherins and saw them all glaring at her, more or less, so she pushed Nott into the nearest closed compartment.
"Sorry," she mumbled to the thirds year Ravenclaws that were already there. "Am I right? Is that what they are doing?" She returned to Nott.
"No, blimey. We're not murderers, we don't just go killing left and right," was his matter-of-fact answer.
Ophelia scoffed, knowing that was exactly what they do. She witnessed innocent people dying right in front of her eyes, with Nott there, and he had the nerve to say that big fat lie.
"Anyway, what do you want from Snape?"
"Was there...a Christmas party this year?" she asked, considering how the Notts might have been invited.
"Why does it matter to you? You don't want to be a Death Eater nor admit you are his daughter so...why should you know?"
That was a good question that she preferred not to be asked. Ophelia sighed and looked down at her ring, feeling this heavy burden on her shoulders.
"...did he do it on purpose? Did he send all of them away to cut me from gaining information from the inside?"
"He's not thinking about you these days. When he will want you there, you will go by yourself. It's impossible to say no to him," Nott said with a shudder. He could already imagine those bloody eyes staring down at him, making him feel worthless. "As a piece of advice, Hogwarts will change even more and so will the wizarding world so you should be more honest with yourself. The best place for you, for all of us, is there, on his side. That's the only way for us to live." He said before he slid the door open and went to his colleagues.
The green-eyed girl remained with three terrified Ravenclaws who were trying their best to not stare at her after that conversation. Even worse, Ophelia couldn't deny Tom's charm but she hoped that some amazing inner power will surface at that moment and stop her.
