A little girl was running around a wide garden full of bloomed flowers. She was smiling happily, giggling whenever she’d see something that she found amusing or entrancing. Nature was so pure and beautiful and the little girl adored spending time outside. It was sunny and she was running around after a butterfly when suddenly the whole scenery changed. Dark clouds filled the sky as if somebody purposefully breathed in the air and pushed them above her house. The girl looked up with no idea what was going on, thinking that it was just a storm. Lightning struck and thunder followed but it did not begin to rain. The girl couldn’t move, she was entranced by what she was seeing until lightning struck again. Yet something was different now. It struck close to where she was standing and the colour was not white as she had seen before; it was green and it looked like it hit slower than normal.
The little girl gasped when lightning struck again, even closer. She left for the house in a hurry and locked the door behind. She ran upstairs when the house started to tremble as if there was an earthquake. Once inside her bedroom, the little girl went into bed and hid under the blankets. She stayed there as she heard rain dripping hard on the window sills. It wasn’t as bad without the thunder but she couldn’t relax either. She stopped breathing for a second when she heard the front door open although she was sure she locked it. Step after step, she could hear him and literally feel tension following him. He stopped in front of her bedroom’s door and opened it with a squeak. The blanket was slowly pulled off her and she came face to face with a snake. It was huge and didn’t seem to want to harm her. With slow movements, the girl approached the snake and that’s when he opened his mouth and launched at her.
Ophelia’s green eyes opened and she waited a moment to fully comprehend it was all a dream and nothing more. And then she remembered she was not at home nor at Hogwarts but at Malfoy Manor for the Christmas party which was allegedly going to be fun. With a heavy sigh she got up and went into the bathroom. Looking at her reflection she couldn’t help but wonder if her nightmare was induced by Peverell. When she returned in the room she found Rosie and Dobby whispering to each other until they saw her and stopped.
“What’s wrong?” She asked as she sat on her bed. "Come on, out with it. It's about the party, isn't it?" she asked as if she was speaking to two close friends. Rosie was like the elf counterpart of Alice and Dobby was just as mischievous as James at times.
"Miss has to wear a dress chosen by Master and-" Rosie stopped and glanced at Dobby before she continued, "Except Young master Lucius, there won't be an adult in the mansion."
"And why are you so worried? It's not like we're going to destroy the house while trying to kill each other." Ophelia answered making both house elves froze in their spots. "I promise, I won't instigate anyone."
Dobby looked up at her with wide eyes and almost flinched at what he was about to say.
"Dobby heard Master talk to young master Lucius and...there will be an announcement at the party regarding Miss Ophelia's boyfriend. The Rosier and Lestrange have decided to marry their youngest children to each other..." Dobby stopped and swallowed nervously as he watched Ophelia's eyes go empty. It was like staring into the eyes of Voldemort, one glimpse and you knew death was just around the corner, waiting until it could seize you and eat you up slowly and tortuously. Dobby and Rosie took a few steps back in sync, fumbling with the hem of their ragged clothes.
Ophelia looked up at the wall and chuckled darkly.
"I guess we'll see about that."
Breakfast was incredibly relaxed seeing how Mr. and Mrs Malfoy were already out of the house. Lucius seemed happier too, he was reading the Daily Prophet with a soft expression and he wasn't even bothered by the house elves working around him.
"Someone is enjoying their freedom," she teased him as she sat down. Rosie was the one to come and pour her tea and bring the toast and her little hands were trembling after their little announcement in the bedroom.
"And someone scared the precious house elves." He retorted noting how most house elves were incredibly wary of her. "You do seem a bit rough, today. Are you nervous?"
"About what?" she asked as if nothing was wrong in the world.
"Being in the same room with Evan and Rabastan, mostly." She didn't say anything so he continued, "You don't have to worry about the Rosiers. I will be there and I am the host. Besides, your friends the Blacks, Littlewood, Snape and Zabini will be here too."
Ophelia didn't even look up from her plate. She ate and drank in silence which for some reason made Lucius wonder just how bad the party will eventually turn. It wasn't even an event that he wanted to be part of, he was literally forced to accept because it made the Dark Lord happy. Besides, he was quite sure Malfoy Manor was the only one where Ophelia felt safe among all the pureblooded houses.
"How many people died this week?" She finally spoke.
Lucius rolled his eyes and put the newspaper aside, his whole mood sinking to what it usually was.
"You shouldn't speak like that when you don't know what goes on in the world." He said returning to the imitation of his father.
"5? 10? 20?"
Lucius scoffed and leaned back in his seat.
"Narcissa prepared a dress for you so be nice and thank her tonight. Also, do not enter anyone's mind and do not start a fight. Try and enjoy it." He said and got up. As he walked out of the dining room he couldn't help but wince at how troublesome Christmas could be.
"M-maybe Miss should try a different approach tonight," Rosie started seeing how Ophelia was ready to set fire to the table with merely her eyes. "Maybe she should just make sure she looks her best and young mister Rabastan will not make any announcement."
"But what if that potty mouth Katie or her annoying brother says something?" Ophelia asked her tone growing softer as she turned to the house elf.
"Rosie wouldn't worry about that, Miss." She answered with a smile making Ophelia feel really sorry for being so snappy all morning.
Rabastan was in his room when he heard a knock on the door. He barely had the energy to get up and open it, his blood freezing as he came face to face with Voldemort himself.
"My lord," it was all he could say. Those cold eyes of his were watching Rabastan cautiously as he entered and stopped in the middle of the room. He took a very long look around before he set his eyes back on the young man.
"How is my daughter?" He asked making Rabastan swallow nervously.
"I'm sure she is getting ready for tonight."
"Did you break her heart yet?" He was very direct.
"N-no, my lord. But-" Voldemort raised an eyebrow and that was enough for a young Death Eater to freeze and imagine his death. "Whether I do it or not, she will still react in a reckless manner. The announcement about my marriage, I'm sure you didn't approve it officially, my lord."
"What if I did? Will you beg me to let you off? With Ophelia out of everybody else?"
"No but at least she won't kill anyone, especially your followers. We both know if she will take revenge on someone, it will be you."
"Are you threatening me, Rabastan?" The calmness in his voice and the manipulative charm he had made the Lestrange boy look down at his feet. He was pushing it with unnecessary bravery but he did not want to hurt Ophelia and he didn't want to die either.
"N-no, I am merely placing my input. You and your daughter, sir, you two are very much alike in many ways." Whether he realized how he subtly called his Dark Lord reckless or not, at least he got his point across.
"You will break her heart, Rabastan. This relationship was a good experience for her and so will be the disappointment that will follow. She needs to learn that emotions only slow her down." He said and left swiftly.
The room suddenly became quiet but a bit warmer. Rabastan sat on his bed and moaned in his hands. How could he break her heart when while doing so he was also breaking his own?
"Well, how do I look?" An excited Ophelia asked two house elves as she twirled around.
Truthfully, after she heard that Narcissa Black chose the dress she was to wear for the party, Ophelia was curious if that was a way of getting on her father's good side. But now that she was in it, it was simple and comfortable and for some reason all her bad thoughts about the night vanished.
"Miss should sit down for Mildred to do her hair," Rosie said, watching a different Ophelia than she had seen for the first half of the day.
"Right, sorry."
Mildred's eyes widened at her apology and glanced warily at Rosie. One nod was enough to encourage Mildred and she jumped on the bed, her hands working diligently on Ophelia long black hair. It didn't take even 30 minutes, and maybe there was some magic involved, but the outcome was above her expectations.
"Miss looks beautiful. Rosie is sure young mister Rabastan won't be able to look away from Misses." Rosie said with a proud smile. Ophelia looked carefully at her body before she moved up her face. She was not the person to prepare so much for anything and maybe that was the main reason why she had so many boy friends. If Sirius thought she could be an easy target for a love potion then she probably never gave them the impression that she was, after all, a young woman. No, no, she shook those ideas off as she remembered Sirius should not had used her in any way...and yet everyone around her father was using her as a safety card.
A knock interrupted her, thankfully. She really didn't need to delve deeper into her mind.
"Are you done?" It was the soft voice of Narcissa. She came early in order to make sure everything was done correctly by the house elves, and probably to make sure Ophelia didn't run. The future Mrs. Malfoy opened the door and smiled at the sight. "I knew you'd like it. You seem to like simple things."
"Is that a compliment or an offense?" Ophelia asked narrowing her eyes in confusion. Narcissa laughed and leaned against the door frame.
"You'll look better than Katie, if that's what you're worried about."
Ophelia rolled her eyes at Lucius' lack of secrecy.
"Come down whenever you feel ready but do come down." Narcissa said after she heard noise downstairs.
Ophelia glanced at herself for a bit longer and with a heavy sigh, she walked out of her room.
"I'm surprised you actually came, Enzo." Rabastan started the conversation, being also one of the first guests to arrive.
"How could I not when your father almost threatened my family if I dared deny this invitation." Zabini answered with a sarcastic smile. "I don't think this house has ever looked so full before."
"I'm sure Narcissa interfered. Lucius is not someone to get ready for anything. Not even becoming a Death Eater." Rodolphus Lestrange commented as he approached the two.
"Not even one Death Eater was ready for what was to come." Rabastan said before he gulped down his whole glass of brandy. "I'll go take another one or three," he added feeling like shit after his brief discussion with Voldemort.
In another corner of the room was Cissney Littlewood, all alone and embarrassed to speak to anyone. She clearly didn't want to be there and Zabini understood the feeling. He excused himself and left Rodolphus for the Gryffindor.
"So you did come," he started awkwardly.
"I had no choice. Father kept going on about how I need connections to live in this world and whatever nonsense he added...anyway, I came because I knew Ophelia will be here too. That's the only reason." She explained herself as she looked up at her former boyfriend.
Enzo looked incredibly handsome in his dark blue suit and his hair slicked back. He was wearing glasses for some reason and he looked like a model. He noticed her gaze and chuckled to himself. Ashamed of how obvious she was, Cissney looked down at her drink and swallowed nervously.
"I expected less outsiders and more Slytherins, to be honest." Corban Yaxley, Death Eater and former classmate of Rodolphus and Lucius said to none other than former Beater of Ravenclaw's Quidditch team Eileen Rosebud.
"Well excuse me for not being a full pure blooded asshole like you," she said rolling her eyes.
"I heard you and Bellatrix went on a brief visit to Durmstrang last week. How interesting." Yaxley continued, "I didn't expect you to return alive."
Eileen scoffed and tried her best to behave nicely.
"Bella is not irresponsible. We were in the same year at Hogwarts, but what do you know? You were still a kid back then." Yaxley rolled his eyes at her comment which only made her go on, "Many students and former professors of Durmstrang have decided to fight for the Dark Lord. One of them is here,"
"You mean Igor?" Yaxley asked and signed with his drink at the mean looking Bulgarian that was sitting with his legs spread on the couch. He was drinking straight from the bottle because as he put it, a glass takes from the raw taste of the alcohol. "Well, he is definitely a beast."
"Don't say that around Greyback. He takes pride in it."
"Of course he does," Yaxley mumbled to himself as he took a sip from his drink.
Many Slytherins arrived one after the other and even more former Slytherins arrived in between. The party was not about them, though, because Death Eaters that were usually working abroad or were students of other schools than Hogwarts were half the number of the guests.
Snape arrived with Nott, both being some of the youngest guests. Sirius and Regulus were late, as usual, and Sirius ended up staying with Cissney and Zabini. Regulus, on the other side, was being a social butterfly.
"You should take some notes from your brother, Black." Zabini said jokingly.
"I don't think I ever saw him talk to so many people before." Cissney added truly fascinated by how different the Black brothers were. "It's like you traded personalities once you entered."
"I hate being here and I hate having to breathe the same air as Greyback." Sirius said with a frown, underlining the most uncomfortable guest in the room. "I can't believe I am supposed to socialize with a murderer like him."
"Everyone in this room is a murderer." Zabini's words hit deep, seeing how even if some have not yet killed anyone, they will at one point or another have to do it.
Sirius' eyes did a full check of who came and who didn't and his eyes stopped on Rabastan Lestrange. He was talking to some girl who seemed to not like him much. Actually, he wasn't talking as much as he was nodding his head with a bored expression. He didn't like being there either. Then Sirius searched for Katie Rosier and saw her by her brother's side, talking to Avery.
"Where are you Molley?" Sirius mumbled to himself.
That was the same observation that Lucius had while entertaining his guests. Everyone was there except her and he was genuinely worried.
"Are you in there?" He asked after he knocked loudly on her door. No answer. "Ophelia, you better open the door and get out!" He said getting louder but there was no reply. He sighed and forced his way in but then he realized she was not there.
Walking down the stairs he noticed Dobby coming with a nervous expression.
"Where is she?" He asked as he stopped the house elf with his cane. It seemed it wasn't just a nice accessory but also a good place to hide his wand in.
"D-Dobby d-doesn't know w-what M-master means," he stuttered in fear.
Lucius raised an eyebrow menacingly which Dobby knew was really bad.
"I'm not about to ask twice, Dobby." He said, his tone sending chills down Dobby's spine. But Dobby didn't say anything which angered Lucius even more. "You won't have Ophelia around for longer. She will leave and you will still be in this house, with me. I assure you, it will be a torture for you if you don't do as I say."
"Wow, Malfoy, you are really transforming into your father, aren't you?"
Lucius glared at the person that walked in on him. He would have said something nice if it was someone, anyone, but Sirius Black.
"Take care what you say, Black. I can easily throw you out." Lucius sneered at the younger boy. Dobby saw his way out and ran, but Sirius didn't.
"Would you really? Imagine how that would look. You, the high and mighty host, respectable among pure-blood families, getting so low as to throw out my humble self." Sirius said with a wide smirk.
Lucius scoffed but couldn't really fight against that theory, mostly because it was right. He grunted and returned to the party by himself. Sirius felt quite brave but not enough to go and share his true opinion with all the guests. Therefore he decided to take a break and sit on the stairs. It was just him and his thoughts and the soft music coming from the living room. He stood there for a while until he heard steps.
"Tired already?"
Sirius opened his eyes and gasped at the sight.
"Is that really you, Molley?"
Ophelia rolled her eyes and genuinely felt like punching him, particularly after what he has done.
"I haven't forgiven you yet."
"I know. You avoid me more than Regulus." He said with a chuckle.
"Why did you come tonight?"
"I was forced to, as you already know."
"Is Regulus here too?"
"Yes."
"...Are the Rosiers here already?" She asked after a small pause.
"Yes."
"Is...Rabastan here?" She asked softly feeling like she didn't prepare herself enough.
Sirius watched her for a bit until he got up, realizing how Ophelia was almost his height.
"You look beautiful, Ophelia. I'm sure he'll think so too. He is a man after all." He said in a tone that he rarely used in houses like Malfoy's.
"That's not very encouraging," she whispered to herself before they both turned to enter the party space.
