Rabastan stood there, completely taken aback by her sudden request. He couldn't believe she asked him right there, where anyone could hear.
"This is not a good place to talk about something like that," Rabastan mumbled before he left for the dungeon.
"I'd like an answer," she said, following him closely.
"No," he said quickening his pace so he could get as far as possible from her. "Now go back to your classmates."
"No." Was her clear answer which both annoyed and brought a smile to Rabastan's face. "Rabastan, I need to know that you will not-"
"Not what? Get you killed? I believe it is quite the other way around. If anyone will end up dead, there are higher chances it will be me."
"Last time you sided with my father, although you said you love me. If something happens and you will have to choose...now that we are just two separate individuals, what will stop you from doing it again?" She asked stopping, knowing she touched a sensitive subject.
Rabastan looked down and felt bad. She had a way of using the worst events in order to either make a point or get what she wanted, just like her father. But he also knew that she was right.
"Although you don't love me anymore, or maybe you haven't loved me from the beginning, can't you at least protect me? Don't you think I deserve that much?"
"You will not die, Ophelia," Rabastan said, very assured of his affirmation. "You will not die. I don't need to make a vow in order to protect you." He said and hurried away.
Ophelia stood there, both angry and disappointed that her plan didn't work. She was about to turn and go up into the common room when she saw black hair from around the corner of the stairs. At first, it looked like it was Sirius or maybe Nott but this person was too short.
"Aresto Momentum," she whispered and the boy got stuck in his running movement. "My, my, aren't you just like your brother, Regulus," she said shaking her head at the young Slytherin. "I'm surprised you returned to school, I thought your mother would have already given you as a sacrifice to the Dark Lord," Ophelia added sarcastically as she let him move once more.
"It's not sacrifice," he mumbled wiping himself off shame. "I can't wait to be a Death Eater and have him trust me,"
"What do you find so attractive to his ideas? He believes in the supremacy of the purebloods, alright, but he doesn't have to kill innocent people just because he can or because they are inconveniences. Is that what you want? To enslave muggles just like your family has enslaved house elves?"
Regulus stared into her eyes with a strong belief that she was wrong but at the same time, he couldn't quite deny what she said. He knew that Voldemort would kill immediately if he felt disrespected or disrupted by anyone or anything. His plan was to unify the wizarding world and not hide anymore from muggles...but Regulus also knew that many muggles have died and many half-bloods and muggle-born wizards have disappeared.
"You don't have to follow in Sirius' footsteps and fight against your family and their values but you could tell me what happens at these Death Eater meetings." she suddenly said, giving him a chance to do some good.
"What? You want me to rat everything to you? Are you insane? I could die in a second!"
"No, you won't. I'll protect you. If something happens to you, I will get very angry and I can make my father very angry as well. If that happens, we both know he won't hesitate to murder."
"Yes. Murder me," Regulus said already feeling the chill in Voldemort's eyes.
"What if I vow to you? If by any chance you get hurt because of me, I'll die. We can't have that happen, can we? Father would go crazy if his precious tool dies and he has no host to continue his vile life." She said with such fire in her words, she didn't even sound ironic.
"Why this sudden proposition? Why not ask Snape? He has more influence than I do,"
"But he's not a Black nor does he have to prove his loyalty to the family after a brother abandoned them. That way you'll always be safe from other Slytherins as well and Voldemort will not be able to kill you anytime soon." Ophelia explained, knowing that Regulus' position with his classmates and Death Eaters was still insignificant.
Regulus knew she was serious because she looked very sure of her actions. But there was so much he could lose and nothing gained but a constant state of anxiety. In the end, Regulus gulped and ran away without giving her an answer.
Remus was quietly reading near the fireplace, feeling good about himself when someone sat next to him with a brooding look.
"Am I being too intrusive?" Black asked.
"Yes," Remus replied with honesty to which Sirius pouted like a child. "Ophelia is not like your other crushes, is she?" He added with a smirk.
"I thought that with time I will get bored and move on. But every time I see her my heart goes crazier and crazier. Maybe I'm sick. Maybe it's only an illness," Sirius explained with wide eyes.
"Yes, the illness called stupid in love."
Black narrowed his eyes at Remus and huffed before he left. A few moments later, the spot next to Remus moved again. He was ready to bark at Black but when he looked up from his book he realized it was not him.
"I guess I lost my charms," Ophelia said with a dejected expression.
Remus would have preferred them to complain to each other and leave him out of it. Surprisingly, Ophelia then took something from her pocket, a familiar mirror that was big enough to retouch your makeup but not enough to see your whole face in it.
"You keep that with you?" Remus asked surprised that she actually care for it.
"This...is it truly foe glass?" Ophelia asked remembering what Rabastan said before. "I definitely can't see my reflection in it,"
"What else if not that?" Remus asked moving closer to his friend. They both stared at the square little mirror, seeing nothing clear, only a foggy, blurry image that could be anything.
Ophelia then turned to her friend, the one that was probably the best to keep a secret although she had already made the choice to tell Potter everything, more or less. No matter how loud and nosy he was, James was very loyal. However, Remus had a clearer head on his shoulders, he was someone she could ask for an opinion.
"Would you do an unbreakable vow if that meant you could protect yourself and your friends?"
Remus stared at Ophelia with thoughtful eyes. It was obvious that she didn't just ask out of simple curiosity, there was more to her question.
"Honestly, I'd try everything else before committing to a vow. It is quite dangerous for both people involved. If one of us is tricked into revealing the secrets of the other, that means death." He started, his eyes narrowing at the guilty expression she had. "But if I'm hunted by dark wizards, then I guess a vow is not that bad."
Ophelia sighed and looked down at her mirror. She wiped it again, thinking that something might happen but nothing did.
It was later in the night when Ophelia was still in the common room, in front of the fireplace, staring at the fire as if mesmerized by it. She couldn't help but let her mind wander to curiosities that bugged her, such as Snape's reasons for entering her mind, Nott's reasons for talking so nonchalantly to her after bullying her before or simply ignoring her existence, Katie's silence, Rabastan refusing to make a vow and of course, Regulus running away after denying to give her an answer. She sighed loudly and rubbed her face, tired and disheartened.
"Is Miss ok?"
Ophelia jolted at the sudden voice.
"Dobby...you scared me," she said, trying to calm down her heart.
"Dobby is sorry, but the young master would like to speak to Misses," Dobby said, approaching Ophelia.
"Is he allowed to leave the house? Is he even back from his honeymoon?" She asked with a roll of her eyes. After all the adventures they have been through, it was disappointing to have him so close and yet so far. Actually, no, it felt like a gap in her life.
"But young master Malfoy has given Misses a two-way mirror. Misses should write something on it," Dobby said and disapparated.
Ophelia sighed and looked around for something to write with. In the end, she breathed on it and wrote Hello. She waited for a few minutes and nothing happened. She tried again and wrote Hello, Lucius. Another ten minutes and there was no answer. She was ready to give up and go to sleep when suddenly she saw the image in the mirror change and a familiar eye came into sight.
"You don't have to write, I can hear you if you speak into it," Came Lucius' voice, a sound that she hasn't heard in too long. That was probably why she didn't think twice about what she replied.
"I missed you," she said, Lucius' eye widening before it almost looked as if he was smiling.
