Disclaimer: I do not support Rowling's views. All Harry Potter characters and the Wizarding World, unfortunately, belong to she-who-must-not-be-named.

The end of their first day of classes finally over, Ophelia and the other fourth-year Slytherins reached the entrance hall, which was packed with people queuing for dinner. They joined the line and Draco noticed the people standing in front of them.

He cleared his throat, "Weasley! Hey, Weasley!"

Potter, Weasley, and Granger turned.

"What?" said Weasley shortly.

"Your dad's in the paper, Weasley!" said Draco, taking out his copy of the Daily Prophet he was reading earlier.

Ophelia stifled a laugh, she realized that Draco had been carrying his paper all day, waiting for that exact moment to humiliate Weasley.

Draco spoke very loudly so that everyone in the packed entrance hall could hear, "Listen to this!

FURTHER MISTAKES AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC

It seems as though the Ministry of Magic's troubles is not yet at an end, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Recently under fire for its poor crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup, and still unable to account for the disappearance of one of its witches, the Ministry was plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold Weasley, of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office."

Draco looked up and faked a wince. "They didn't even get his name right, huh, Weasley? It's almost as though he's a complete nonentity, isn't it?" he crowed.

Everyone in the entrance hall was listening now. Draco straightened the paper with a flourish and read on:

"Arnold Weasley, who was charged with possession of a flying car two years ago, was yesterday involved in a tussle with several Muggle law-keepers over several highly aggressive dustbins. Mr. Weasley appears to have rushed to the aid of "Mad-Eye" Moody, the aged ex-Auror who retired from the Ministry. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Weasley found that Mr. Moody had once again raised a false alarm. Mr. Weasley was forced to modify several memories before he could escape from the policemen but refused to answer Daily Prophet questions about why he had involved the Ministry in such an undignified and potentially embarrassing scene.

"And there's a picture, Weasley!" said Malfoy, flipping the paper over and holding it up. "A picture of your parents outside their house - if you can call it a house! Your mother could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn't she?"

"Fucking hell, Draco," Ophelia murmured to him.

Weasley was shaking with fury.

Everyone else was staring at him.

"Get stuffed, Malfoy," said Potter. "C'mon, Ron. . ."

"Oh yeah, you were staying with them this summer, weren't you, Potter? So tell me, is his mother really like that, or is it just the picture?"

"You know your mother, Malfoy?" said Potter, both he and Granger had grabbed the back of Weasley's robes to stop him from launching himself at Draco. "That expression she's got like she's got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?"

"Don't you dare insult my mother, Potter."

"Keep your fat mouth shut, then," said Potter, turning away.

"Okay, that's enough," Ophelia tried to drag Draco away, but he only pulled out his wand.

"OH NO YOU DON'T, LADDIE!" Moody cast a spell, turning Draco into a pure white ferret.

There was a terrified silence in the entrance hall. Nobody but Moody moved a muscle. Moody turned to look at Potter, at least, his normal eye was looking at Harry. The other one was pointing into the back of his head. "Did he get you?" Moody growled.

"No," said Potter. "He didn't cast anything yet."

Ferret Draco looked up at Ophelia with sad eyes. She picked him up and held him in her arms.

"Why do you let them get on your nerves so damn much? I thought you didn't care about these inter-house rivalries anymore. You shouldn't have been turned into a ferret, but to be honest, you kind of deserved it," she spoke softly to him.

He squeaked in response. Ophelia knew that he was trying to say that she was right.

"LEAVE IT!" Moody shouted.

"Leave what?" Potter said, bewildered.

"Not you, her!" Moody growled, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Ophelia.

Moody started to limp toward her and ferret Draco, who gave a terrified squeak.

"I don't think so!" roared Moody, pointing his wand at the ferret again.

Before he was able to cast another spell, Ophelia interrupted him, "Professor, I believe that it's against school rules to use Transfiguration against students. Let alone using Transfiguration on a student. And I wouldn't want to get my father involved. You know that he is a, what do you call it, influential person."

Ophelia absolutely hated using her father's political position. But when push came to shove, she wasn't shy to use anything in her arsenal to get what she wanted.

"I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back is turned," growled Moody as he took another step closer to Ophelia, his forehead almost touching her own. Even though she was beginning to become uncomfortable with the situation, she stood her ground.

Ferret Draco in her hands began hissing and tried to bite the man.

"Professor Moody!" said a shocked voice. Professor McGonagall was coming down the marble staircase with her arms full of books.

"Hello, Professor McGonagall," said Moody calmly, still staring into Ophelia's eyes.

"What, what are you doing?" said Professor McGonagall, her eyes shifting between him and Ophelia until she finally noticed the ferret Ophelia was holding. "Moody, is that a student?" shrieked Professor McGonagall, the books spilling out of her arms.

"It's Draco Malfoy, Professor McGonagall," Ophelia responded calmly.

Professor McGonagall ran down the stairs and pulled out her wand; a moment later, with a loud snapping noise, Draco had reappeared in her arms, Ophelia still firmly able to support his weight after years of playing Quidditch. He scrambled out of her arms and got to his feet, wincing.

"Moody, we never use Transfiguration as a punishment!" said Professor McGonagall. "Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?"

"He might've mentioned it, yeah," said Moody, "but I thought a good shock-"

"We give detentions, Moody! Or speak to the offender's Head of House!"

"I'll do that, then," said Moody, staring at Draco with contempt.

Ophelia studied Draco. His grey eyes were still watering with pain and humiliation and he looked at Moody with malevolence, muttering something with "my father" being distinguishable.

Usually, Ophelia would roll her eyes at his signature phrase, but her anger at the situation outweighed her annoyance.

"Oh yeah?" said Moody quietly, limping forward a few steps, the dull clunk of his wooden leg echoing around the hall. "Well, I know your father, boy. You tell him Moody's keeping a close eye on his son, you tell him that from me. Now, your Head of House'll be Snape, will it?"

"Yes," said Draco resentfully.

"Another old friend," growled Moody. "I've been looking forward to a chat with old Snape. Come on, you," And he seized Draco's upper arm and marched him off toward the dungeons.

She stared anxiously after them for a few seconds, then looked between her friends.

"It's okay, go follow them," said Daphne.

"If you guys don't make it to dinner, we'll bring some food back for you," Pansy added.

"Thank you," Ophelia sighed, then she headed towards Severus's office.

The door was slightly ajar and a familiar voice spoke. "I believe that Professor Snape can set an appropriate penalty for Draco, sir."

She heard a grumble, then the dull clunking of wood became louder as it came closer to the door. A disgruntled Moody left the room, mumbling to himself as he headed back to the Great Hall. ". . . too many Warrington's at this school, the Dark. . ."

Ophelia entered the office. Draco, Severus, and her brother stood around the fireplace.

"Cas, what are you doing here?" Ophelia asked.

"I was speaking with Severus about the Triwizard Tournament, then Draco came in with Professor Moody."

"Oh," said Ophelia, she turned to Severus. "There's something weird about Moody. Cas and I have met him before at some past Ministry events. He was always on edge, but not 'attacking someone if they step out of line' on edge." She refrained from telling him what she heard Moody say while he was leaving. There wasn't enough information to base her argument against Moody on that point.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do anything about it," said Draco.

"I had it under control, Draco, it's okay," she reassured him.

"Explain everything Ophelia," Severus said, wanting to know everything from a reliable source.

Ophelia went into detail about the whole ordeal: Draco taunting Weasley and Potter, fighting Potter, and the eventual stand-off with Moody.

"I'll look into it if the situation is in need of my intervention," Severus declared.

The next day, the fourth-year Slytherins and Hufflepuffs had their first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson with Professor Moody. He taught them and the Hufflepuffs the three Unforgivable Curses and demonstrated the Curses on a spider. After he had shown them the Cruciatus Curse, a few Hufflepuffs had to leave, feeling ill at the sight of the curses.

On Thursday, their second lesson with Moody took a darker turn.

"Dumbledore wants you taught what it feels like," said Moody, his magical eye swiveling around the class. "If you'd like to learn the hard way when someone's putting it on you to control you, fine by me. You're excused."

The class hesitated at his words, but the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs remained. If Dumbledore trusted Moody, why shouldn't they? In turn, each of her classmates was put under the Imperius Curse. Blaise was forced to salsa with a broom, Pansy had to recount the most embarrassing moment in her life, and Draco had to, unfortunately, imitate a ferret.

"Warrington."

Ophelia stepped forward into the middle of the circle, her other classmates around her. Moody raised his wand, pointed it at her, "Imperio!"

She hated the sensation that washed over her, a false sense of peace settled. Not being in control of her own mind or body pissed her off.

Ophelia heard Moody's voice echo in her mind, "do you have feelings for Malfoy?"

Her eyes widened, taken aback by the question. Ophelia focused on Draco, he looked at her in confusion.

"Tell the truth," Moody's voice said.

"There's nothing to confess, we're just friends." A tug in her heart objected to her statement.

She felt her body try to take a step towards her best friend. Ophelia tried everything in her power to prevent herself from moving, unsure if it was the Imperius Curse or her subconscious forcing her to make a move.

Her foot lifted into the air, prepared to step forward, but she willed herself to place her foot down firmly, her knees almost locking from the force of it. The fog in her mind subsided, the only voice in her head was her own.

"Hm. Well done, Warrington," Moody trailed off.

Everyone stared at Ophelia, amazed at her ability but curious as to what her intended task was.

The rest of the class was less serious than the battle between Ophelia and Moody. Draco tried to catch her attention, but she was deep in thought about the suggestion Moody made toward her and Draco's relationship.

After class, Ophelia rushed out of the classroom against the protests of her friends.

Reaching her destination, she knocked on Severus's office door.

"Enter," he said in his droning tone.

However, his discontent attitude dissolved when he noticed how distressed Ophelia looked. "Miss Warrington, what is it?"

"Okay, this is might be kind of embarrassing," she rubbed the back of her neck. Ophelia was skeptical about informing Severus what had happened in the DADA lessons with Moody since he claimed that Dumbledore wanted them to know the Unforgivables. But first, he turned her best friend into a ferret, strike one. Then he proceeded to have a severe lack of both physical and mental boundaries: strikes two and three. Three red flags she couldn't ignore.

He stared at her. If Ophelia was any other student, they would have run out of the room. But Ophelia had known Severus Snape since she was a child, and she knew that that specific face was the one he made when he wanted Ophelia to calm down.

"You probably remember that altercation I had with Professor Moody in the ferret incident. Anyway, you also have probably heard about him teaching us about the Unforgivables in class. And today, he performed the Imperius curse on us."

If she blinked, she would have missed Severus's eyes slightly widening, but she did not. He schooled his face. "And the embarrassing part?"

Ophelia was grateful and mortified by his redirection. "Oh, yeah," she grimaced. "Professor Moody wanted me to confess my feelings to Draco. Which is totally absurd! I mean, what feelings are there? Friendship? You know that there's nothing between us, Severus. I mean, what would be there? It's absolutely ridiculous that he would even insinuate that I-"

"Ophelia."

She drew a shaky breath and calmed down. Her father and Severus taught her better than to be this emotionally distraught over a minuscule problem. "Thank you."

"I'll speak with Dumbledore regarding Professor Moody and the Unforgivables."

"Including the-" Ophelia stopped when she noticed Severus's glare. "Of course not."

She began to leave his office. "Well, that's all, really. See you at dinner, Uncle Sevy!"

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me-"

"What was that, Uncle Sevy? I couldn't hear what you said," she cupped a hand around her ear, attempting to coax a reaction out of him.

He stood from his desk and Ophelia broke into a run out of his office. "Bye, Severus!"

After Ophelia left, Severus sat at his desk, thinking over the growing troubles Alastor Moody was giving him.

30 May 1985

Severus had just flooed to the Warrington Estate, but the distinct screams of children already reached his ears. As he tried to leave the fireplace, a pair of boys ran past him, stopping Severus in his tracks.

He sneered. Although he was already the Potions Professor at Hogwarts, children younger than 11 were out of his comfort zone. After much coercion, Nicholas and Amara convinced Severus to come to their daughter's fifth birthday party.

The man waded through the sea of toddlers, but they moved out of the way for him, his billowing black robes terrified them. All but a few scurred away. The birthday girl skipped up to him and Severus looked down at her curiously.

The girl stared up at him, furrowing her eyebrows as she took in his outfit. "Are you Uncle Sevy? Father said you would dress like Darth Vader, but you're missing the mask."

Severus looked around for her father, if anyone was to compare him to a fictional Muggle character, it was him. All Severus could see was Nicholas dashing out of the room.

He focused on Ophelia again. "No, I am not Darth Vader. And it is Severus Snape, not Sevy."

Ophelia slowly blinked, then blinked again. Severus began to feel concerned, was he too harsh to a child? It was her fifth birthday.

To Severus's relief, the girl began to giggle. "Okay, Uncle Severe Snaps. Thank you very much for coming to my birthday!"

For the second time in his life, Severus Snape was rendered speechless. There was a twinkle in Ophelia's eyes and he realized that she addressed him by that distasteful name on purpose.

He took a deep breath. "You may call me. . . Uncle Sevy."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Uncle Sevy! As you probably know, I'm Ophelia Warrington," She narrowed her eyes, "Ophelia will suffice. For now."

Severus summoned his present to give to her, a beginner's cauldron and a book, Children's Guide to Potions.

Ophelia gasped, then collected herself. "Thank you for the gift, Uncle Sevy. Maybe, in another year you may call me Lia. Enjoy the party! Now if you will excuse me."

She walked away, but as soon as Ophelia thought she was out of Severus's sight, she broke into a run. Even in the other room, he could hear her voice. "Draco, look, I got a cauldron!"

"Did you have to give her a cauldron? She already makes quite a mess cooking with the house-elves. Merlin knows what'll happen if she starts making potions at this age."

He glanced at his friend beside him. "I did not know what to get a young witch."

Nicholas snickered, "Not a cauldron! You know that Amara and I raise our children with some Muggle ideals. A toy or normal book would've sufficed."

"You have a peculiar daughter, Nick."

"Very true, Severus. She's only messing with you. I don't know how, but she remembers you."

Severus was surprised. Ophelia was only one when he last saw her.

"I know," Nicholas said, following Severus's train of thought. "She has so much magical potential at a young age. Anyway! Come along, Cassius has been waiting to see you," Nicholas dragged his friend along, searching for his son.

And so, Severus Snape became Uncle Sevy.

Following Ophelia and Severus's conversation, he displayed overt animosity to Mad-Eye Moody. Whenever the two of them were together at mealtimes or when they passed in the corridors, Severus had a distinct impression when he was avoiding Moody's eye, whether magical or normal.

Similar to how Ophelia and Cassius influence Draco to want to be a better person, their father Nicholas was a guide for Severus. Although he didn't like to admit it, he cared deeply for the Warrington siblings and Draco, as if they were his own nephews and niece.

Contains content from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

- Chapter 13: Mad-eye Moody

- Chapter 14: The Unforgivable Curses

- Chapter 15: Beauxbatons and Durmstrang