Chapter Two; Rocky Rum
Shadows surrounded her, as the vent swallowed her body whole. Seconds felt like minutes. Ophelia was squeezed, pinched and pulled in all kinds of directions until finally she landed in a heap on the floor of another chimney. She rubbed her face and grunted, "Damn floo, I can never manage the landing." Ophelia looked up, and realised she wasn't alone. There was a crowd full of people, all thoroughly amused at the entrance the young girl had made. Ophelia's face flushed scarlet, so much so that she could easily blend herself into the walls of the ballroom she had landed herself in. Quickly standing away from the chimney, she ruffled her dress and fixed her hair in attempt to recover from what was a purely embarrassing moment. She should be used to humiliation by now, she thought, remembering the various occasions her parents scolded her in public, and even once went to the extent of punishing her while in the company of her family.
She strode around the room slowly, mustering up the friendliest face she could, despite her current situation. She smiled at onlookers who simply observed her with a look of disgust. Ophelia couldn't help but look back towards the chimney every few seconds in hope Sirius would appear, to ease such an awkward situation with his annoying jokes or poor humour, he always seemed to make her feel better, after all, he was the only person who truly cared about her while she was growing up. However, something seemed to be delaying them, not one of her family members had turned up yet. Using the floo never usually takes this long, he's probably fussing over his hair; typical Sirius.
The ballroom she found herself in was extremely large; it had solid dark wood floor and blood red walls. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, which was congested with thick white candles. Antique pieces of furniture placed neatly around the room, followed by two large scarlet cushioned chairs, which were a similar style to thrones. One wall was covered in books; it looked a lot like the Hogwarts library. It was something she always dreamt about having in her own home once she left Grimmauld place, she had a burning passion for books and knowledge. The room had a large area in the heart of the room, presumably for dancing, where everyone else seemed to be gathered. She was amused at the thought of her cousin Bellatrix, the family Death Eater, dancing, in this very room. Ophelia let out a small giggle.
A tall, blonde haired man placed his hand on the small of Ophelia's back and she leapt forward, clearly startled at the unexpected act. "So, Orion decided to bring the animals out to play today, I see?" he mocked, with a smirk on his face.
"Walburga and Regulus are on their way Lucius, so to answer your question, yes, I believe he did." Ophelia spat and turned away, unexpectedly bumping into her brother.
"Touché Pheeli!" Sirius laughed, and at the sound of her brother, Ophelia immediately smiled. Sirius continued by pulling his sister away from the man and left Lucius looking rather annoyed. Forgetting where she was, she hugged him tightly and the feeling of embarrassment that resonated soon vanished. "Calm down, I've only been gone for ten minutes." He joked.
Ophelia pulled away and observed her brother. She saw that his eye was rather raised and swollen. It looked red, and a cut was positioned on his eyebrow. "Sirius, what happened to your face? Why you were so late? What happened?" Ophelia whispered her voice full of concern, she stopped and reached up to his face, Sirius responded by moving her hands and carried on walking. "Nothing that I can't handle lil' sis', don't worry about me." He reassured her.
She rolled her eyes, but decided here wasn't the place to discuss it, so she dropped the subject. Together they walked towards the bar, ignoring the vulgar looks from Lucius and his lady. As she reached her destination, she leant on the side of the bar and beamed at the house elf that was the stationed behind the bar. "Hello miss," Ophelia greeted the elf, who looked taken aback to be addressed in such a manner, "Please may we have one Toffee Tequila Treaty with butterscotch cream and, one..."
"Rocky rum on ice." Sirius rolled his eyes and his sister's behaviour.
"And one rocky rum with ice, please." She asked the elf, who still looked shocked. The elf smiled and scurried off. Ophelia looked more content than she had all night. "I don't understand why you don't give them a chance Sirius, they are lovely people."
"Elves, Ophelia, they are elves. And no, they aren't lovely; they are spineless creatures that are good for nothing. Kreacher is enough to put me off looking at one for a lifetime." Sirius sighed, rather fed up of another elf speech. Every time they encounter an elf they have the same conversation. "Kreacher is lovely, you just treat him badly. I remember he brought me sweets when I was ill, and he smuggled me those lovely muggle stories about princesses, which mother never allowed me to read because 'the parasites' wrote them." Ophelia ranted. "And when you went to Prongs' house for the entire summer holidays during second year, he was the only person I had who I could talk to at Grimmauld place. He's risked a lot for me Sirius. If you actually spoke to him like a person, then I'm su-"
"Alright, alright, alright. Shut your trap. Enough of the Elf lectures." Sirius said totally un-amused, as he stared onto the crowd. She pouted and glared at Sirius, but she quickly noticed the elf had brought back two drinks as asked and an attractive smile graced her face once more. One non-alcoholic tequila drink, with added cream sauces, finely decorated with a little pink umbrella and a straw, which looked rather magnificent. It even had a thinly cut, heart shaped chunk of toffee placed on the cream. The other was, a rather shabby, basic looking, rocky rum. Which wasn't decorated, and only had one lump of ice. "Thank you very much Miss! Have a lovely evening." She took the drinks and handed one to Sirius, who looked mildly annoyed. "See, I told you. It pays to be nice, you know." She giggled at her brother's un-amused facial expression, while sipping her drink out of the straw.
A couple of minutes passed and Sirius spoke, in a rather stern voice, "Ophelia, what you said to Lucius Malfoy was inappropriate. You know that I value jokes aimed at the old trolls, but this is not the place to do so, even if it was a witty retort. You must hold your tongue here; this place is swarming with Death Eaters and people who hate us. The majority of our family are here tonight, if word gets back to him you said what you did, well, it's not worth thinking about. You want to pray Lucius keeps his mouth shut. You are lucky it was me who heard. You are lucky he waited to use the fl-"
"I know, I know. I can't help it; I hate it here, with these... people. I despise being involved with this bloody family. The thought of what they stand for makes me feel sick. And don't even get me started on Lucius, the smug git." She pouted, which made Sirius laugh in response, "Merlin knows what Narcissa sees in him, he has the face that looks like an old hags rear end."
Sirius howled in laughter, and then said, "Ditto, little sister, ditto. I feel your angst. But here you must hide your stubbornness, sarcasm and pride, as hard as that is for a Slytherin." He winked and continued, "Don't respond to their taunts, that is what they want."
Ophelia laughed, "I will try. Merlin I wish I could just get rid of the lo-"
"Mother! Regulus! Can I get you a drink?" Sirius shouted cheerfully over his sister's shoulder, blatantly saving her from being overheard.
"Yes, 2 Fire whiskeys and a Butter beer. Hurry up; your father will be along any minute now. He's just speaking to Mr Malfoy." Walburga stated. A response which startled Ophelia, she turned to look for Lucius and her father. No doubt he already told her father about her little joke. Oh how she was in for it tonight, maybe sweet talking them would win him round; she was in with the cunning Slytherin after all. Finally she saw her father in the corner of the room, who was talking to Lucius' father, Abraxas. Ophelia always liked Abraxas, he was always nicer to her than any other of her father's friends, and Abraxas seemed to favour Ophelia, over her cousins at least. Maybe Abraxas would soften the reaction of her father if he was to find out. Her whole body relaxed upon noticing this, then she turned back to engage in a mind-numbing conversation with her mother and younger brother.
Sirius strode across the dining hall towards the bar, taking his time to observe the other guest's in the room. He got to the bar and recalled the situation with the drinks earlier, then laughed to himself. "Two Fire Whiskey's and a Butter beer, now! You filthy animal." He scolded as the elf scuttled off. He laughed to himself. As he planned, the elf returned with three drinks in rather poor condition. One of them even had a hair floating on the top, this pleased Sirius. He smiled at the elf, and whispered, "Thank you very much Miss!" On his return, he collided with a young woman who was dressed in a black corset type dress. She had a long, curly black mane and looked familiar to any of the Black family. "Sorry, precious Bellatrix. I mustn't have seen you there. Merlin knows how I missed you with that uncombed mop of yours." Sirius laughed and looked at her hair, swiftly turning to leave before he could hear her response. She looked as though she was to explode with anger, and Sirius couldn't look more pleased with himself. His happiness came to an abrupt end when he walked towards his mother and siblings.
"...Which reminds me, I heard about your entrance Ophelia, and as usual, I am utterly ashamed. You can't even manage a simple floo landing without embarrassing the whole family? You are an absolute disgrace." Walburga spat as she grabbed the Fire Whiskey's from her sons hands, "Ah yes, thank you Sirius. Please ensure your little sister doesn't embarrass me any further this evening." Walburga turned and sped off in the direction of her husband, leaving the siblings alone. The three may be related to one and other, they may share the same blood, and live under the same roof but each of them was very different from the other.
Regulus was a young faced boy, aged fifteen, though mentally, he acted a lot older. He held himself with the utmost pride, which evidently showed by the way he stood. He often stood with a strong grimace in the presence of Sirius and Ophelia, looking at his siblings as though they were dirt. He was dressed in a black suit, white shirt decorated with a dark green bow tie, which he appeared to be fiddling with. His black hair was combed back flawlessly, not a single hair out of place. Regulus carried a black cane, which had a solid gold handle. The handle was carved into the shape of a snake's skull and engraved the words, "Toujours Pure" down the spine, mimicking the writing of the Blacks family emblem on his suit jacket.
It is clear the Black's good looks passed onto Ophelia too, as she was rather beautiful. She was medium curvy build, and had lengthy, thick, brunette locks. She was average height, although compared to her brothers she looked like a dormouse, not even measuring up to their shoulders. A hot mess, everything seemed to go wrong for her, her makeup was smudged, her hair was chaotic from the floo landing and soot on the hems of her dress but yet she still managed to look elegant, and her family members despised her for it. She could wear Elf clothes and still pull it off. She wore a blue dress, decorated with a silver dove necklace which she was gifted to her from her favourite cousin, Andromeda Black-Tonks. Andromeda was the sister of Bellatrix and Narcissa. She was, like Ophelia and Sirius, born into a family she despised and who forced certain barbaric expectations upon her. Disowned for marrying a muggle-born wizard, Ted; she stood up for what she believed in. Ophelia admired her deeply, always hoping that she too would succeed in life the way she has, because she knew one day, she was going to be outcast from her family. Disowned for choosing a different path, and though she hates them, the thought scares her. Also, like Andromeda, Ophelia had inherited the same hair, brunette curls which had strands of auburn and blonde.
Finally, Sirius: he was a man of tall stature, and he was quite the opposite of his younger brother, which was proven to be the norm. He held a very welcoming pose, with a smile often on his face, if he wasn't in the company of his parents. Tonight he was dressed in formal black trousers, a white shirt which had half the sleeves pinned up, and a maroon waistcoat which was buttoned half way. Sirius was a very handsome man. His beard was unshaven, which gave him a very rugged look and his hair was combed, but not what they would consider neat. Sirius seemed to stand out like a sore thumb, considering most of the crowd were wearing green, black or brown; except for himself and Ophelia.
The crowd seemed to neglect their presence, only glancing over in their direction briefly to check the time on the grandfather clock which situated behind them. They stood rather awkwardly, and the tension could be cut by a blade. "It's such a wonderful feeling, being appreciated and accepted by your parents and your family, wouldn't you agree, Sirius?" Ophelia laughed sarcastically as she turned to stare at Regulus. "Oh I wonder what it must be like to be their golden child." Sirius shot her a warning stare, and nudged her in the ribs.
"It's a whole lot better than knowing I'm not their biggest regret, I'd imagine." Regulus sniggered, as he saw his sister trying to hide her frown, "But I suppose you will come of use at some stage. Do tell me, Ophelia, has father told you his plans for you after Graduation?"
Ophelia looked from Regulus to Sirius, and confusion consumed her. "I'm afraid I have no idea what you are talking about Reg. Please, care to enlighten me?" She said, rolling her eyes.
"Be patient, my dear sister. Time will reveal all." He laughed sarcastically. He picked a handful of peanuts off the buffet table they were standing aside of, and walked off into the maze of people that stood before them. Sirius looked entirely lost. "What the hell..."
"...was that about?" Ophelia interrupted him. She took a sip from her glass and replied, "I have no idea Sirius, but what did I warn you about? We need to leave Grimmauld Place as soon as we can. Something just doesn't..."
"...feel right." Sirius finished the sentence for her. "I know, I've felt it too, for a while now."
"I'm going getting some air. I'll be back in five minutes, if the old Troll asks, I'm using the ladies room." She faked a smile and turned to face the door before he could oppose. Ophelia made her way slowly across the giant ballroom and entered the archway out into the garden, which was lit with candles, enchanted to float above their heads. She wondered what her brother could have meant, but in truth, she already knew; marriage. That has to be it, she thought. She had anticipated it for a while now, it only makes sense. Most of the Sacred Twenty Eight families had their daughter's marriages planned out since they turn sixteen, and she was almost Eighteen; two years late. The Sacred Twenty Eight were the only families left who were pure of magical blood, and they usually organised their children's marriages to take place as soon as they became of legal age, which was seventeen for marriages. She tried to take her keep her mind occupied, trying to ignore what Regulus had told her. She stopped to observe her surroundings; she took a deep breath and sighed. She noticed a golden harp playing in the corner of her eye and glitter fairies charmed above the veranda which lit up the garden.
She walked along the path of the garden to a water fountain, which had a magnificent rose bush growing around it. Ophelia sat on the side of the fountain and ran her hand through the water, parting the waves with her hand. She swirled her hands until a watery creature that resembled a snake, motioned its way around her fingers. The more she swirled her hand, the larger the snake grew. The snake slithered to the top of the fountain, glided around the mermaid statue which was placed perfectly at the top, and then suddenly it jumped head first into the pool, leaving nothing but ripples in the water.
Ophelia looked around at the bushes, flower beds and rows of lavender lit by enchanted candles and smiled. "I may despise them, but they sure do have a nice place." She muttered under her breath. She picked a red rose from the bush, and smelt its aroma. She strolled in the moonlight down the path to the glistening lake and began humming a tune, to which the night owls sang in response. She was watching the rabbits playfully chasing each other then perched herself under an old oak tree. The three rabbits ran happily to her side and Ophelia smiled. She began to ponder her thoughts, wondering what topics she will be covering this year in Hogwarts, the friends she hasn't seen in weeks, and then her thoughts landed on one individual in particular. One young man she's secretly been infatuated with for many months now. He didn't know of her feelings, of course, she didn't want to ruin the great friendship she had with him; not to mention her brother would go barmy if he found out. But that would be the latter of her problems, if her family found out her feelings, well, she may as well purchase her own casket now. He was a brilliant friend, and she missed him terribly so.
Pulling out a quill and a piece of parchment from her purse, she looked out onto the lake for a moment, considering her thoughts then started writing. It wasn't long until she started to get lost in her letter. She finally finished writing and sighed, putting the letter to her side; she rubbed her eyes and yawned. She stood and as she turned she was startled by two robed figures that crept up behind her.
"Lucius! Bella! You gave me a fright. How long have you been stood there? Get out of my way." Ophelia shouted, trying to catch her breath grabbing her belongings and attempting to walk past them.
"Not so fast little cousin, what is that you have there? Who on earth could you be writing to at this hour?" Bella taunted, laughing at her.
"That is none of your concern, Bellatrix." Ophelia spat.
"Oh but I disagree. You are on the property of my dear husband, or did you forget that? "Accio letter!" The woman laughed and waved her wand, catching the letter in her other hand. "Hmm, let's see, shall we?"
Suddenly her eyes shot to the young woman, who was tall and had long black hair that was held in ringlets. "Bella, hands off! That's private!" Ophelia bellowed and threw herself at the woman.
"Stupefy!" Bella shouted and flicked her wand towards Ophelia, sending her shooting back, crashing into the oak tree. Blood started to pour from Ophelia's face, and she tried to balance herself against the tree as she stood. Lucius laughed at the scene which unfolded beneath his eyes.
Bella started to pace the area, and began to speak, "If you don't mind, it's rude to interrupt when somebody is talking Ophelia; didn't Aunt Walburga teach you some respect? Maybe I should speak to them about that. Let's see... Hmm..." Bella grasped the letter and read it aloud, with a mocking facial expression, "Mooney, I've missed you dearly. I'm aware it is full moon, so hopefully you'll read this in the morning and know I was thinking of you. Stock up on chocolate and be safe, don't forget your potions. Sirius sends his wishes. See you in two days. All my love, Ophelia'... Well, well, well, it sounds to me like somebody has been communicating with filthy half breeds. Full moon? Mooney? Is this a friend? Or your lover? Oh dear, I wonder what your father would think of having a blood traitor daughter?" she laughed hysterically throwing the letter in Ophelia's face. "You're no better than my damn sister, Andromeda. The pair of you are nothing but vermin, just like your little friend." She sneered.
"He's not filthy, and he isn't vermin! Shut your vile little mouth! You've got what you wanted, now if you don't mind putting your wand away and letting me get back to the party." Ophelia spat trying not to be sick as the injury to her head started making her awfully dizzy.
"I don't think so. You weren't welcome tonight, but your precious father insisted. He seemed to think you wouldn't make a fool of yourself this time, how wrong he was. We all saw your amusing entrance, and now this. What would he do upon finding out the news that you're in contact with filthy half breeds, Ophelia? I can't wait to see if he burns your pretty face off the wall too." Laughed Bella, "and what is that you are wearing? Why, it's my dear little sister's locket. Does Uncle Orion realise you are wearing a blood traitors pendant? I thought not. How disappointing it must be for him to have you as his only daughter."
Anger built up inside her and before she could stop herself, Ophelia's whole body tensed and shook with anger, "Not as disappointing as having a death eater for a daughter. Tell me, how is Tom recently Bella? Lucius?"
The two looked stunned, shocked to the very core, then finally anger grew in the young woman and erupted like a volcano. Ophelia seemed to realise what a terrible mistake she had made as she started to back away rather quickly. Bella raised her wand. Anger and hatred filled her eyes and she smirked. Ophelia reached into her bag and panicked as she realised her wand was in Sirius' pocket, she never usually leaves his side at these events. She was unarmed and she was pretty sure she was about to be killed on the spot. She noticed Lucius had sealed the area with the Muffliato charm so people couldn't hear the chaos. That was when she knew it was serious. Panic filled her veins and Bella let out a vicious cackle. "HOW DARE YOU SPEAK HIS NAME? How dare you! You filthy, horrible blood traitor! You aren't worthy to speak his name! Stupid girl! CRUCIO!" She screamed and aimed her wand at a defenceless Ophelia, who screeched in agony as the curse hit her. She hit the floor with a thud, and tears poured out of her eyes.
Ophelia felt like her very skin was a blazing fire, as if her core was an inferno ready to erupt. Screams echoed around the area, surely someone would hear this. Surely someone; anyone would come to help. She had a taste of the Cruciatus curse before, from the hand of her father, but it was a tickle compared to this. Bella was known for casting a powerful Cruciatus curse, and now Ophelia knew the rumours were true. She knew Bella hated her, but didn't realise she would cast an unforgivable on her cousin; her own flesh and blood. She started to feel sick with pain, dizzy and her cries became silent. A ringing sound in her ears started, and everything became barely audible. Ophelia was disorientated. She opened her eyes and saw the blurry outline of the witch who was casting the unforgivable, Lucius and a familiar man behind them.
"STUPEFY!" Sirius shouted and shot a spell so powerful it threw Bella into the tree and knocked her unconscious. Before Lucius could turn around, Sirius fired a string of hexes at him, which led to being shot back onto the grass, immobilised and knocked into a sleep like trance. Ophelia didn't seem to realise the curse had been lifted, as her whole body still felt as though it was being punctured with blades. She managed to recognise her brother as he came close and sighed with relief. The one person she needed, as always, came to the rescue. A teary eyed Ophelia begged him for help. Sirius looked down at her and with anger and pity in his voice, he said, "I left you alone, for fifteen minutes and look at you." He pocketed the parchment and he helped her to her feet, though it was no use. She collapsed under the weight of her body, the curse took all her energy, and she struggled to string a sentence together.
"Sirius, I ca-"
"Hush, don't speak." He scooped her up over his shoulder and quickly followed the path around the side of the manor. "Merlin Pheeli, you really need to cut back on the pumpkin pasties." He laughed and sped up a little, hoping to slip past the crowd's inside.
"Maybe... you... need... build more... muscles" Ophelia mustered up all the energy she could, until finally, all went dark.
