"Excuse me?" Ophelia asked after a few minutes of complete silence. "I was not lost in the forest? Then what happened?"

"If you'd have let me in for longer, I would be able to tell you. But you blocked me."

"Well, it hurt like hell," she said with a scoff. "It's not a day that I think about often. If someone tampered with my memories, we know it's Tom,"

"Or Spinnard," Snape added quietly, surprising her. "Spinnard worked with your father before, maybe this was part of his plan. Or maybe it wasn't your father the gentleman that helped you that day."

"Are you insinuating that it was Luce Spinnard who saved me? It sounds very unlikely," Ophelia muttered but she couldn't help but doubt everything now. "Was I even in the orphanage? What if my whole childhood was fabricated by Tom and he's actually raised me from when my mother died?" she asked, growing anxious.

"No. You're overreacting," Snape added, drinking his beverage slowly. "Besides, you said that Peverell brought you to that memory too. Why don't you ask for his help?"

"He's a kitten, Sev. How much can he do?" 

Severus shrugged and sighed. Although they were crammed in that small space, it truly wasn't that bad. That was until they heard two very familiar voices.

"A table for two please, Madam Pudifoot," 

Ophelia's head rose as if she caught the sound of Voldemort nearby. She got up and peeked from behind the wall just in time to see the lovely Malfoy couple sit down. Snape chuckled at her eagerness.

"What are you going to do? Ask them to come and sit here?"

She bit her lip and looked at her best friend with innocent puppy eyes. Snape should have shut up.

"You know what-" Severus started and drank his whole drink before he got up, "I have some things to speak with Narcissa. It won't take long, so keep it brief too," he said and walked to the couple. 

Ophelia leaned back and waited. A few minutes later, the platinum blond hair of Lucius Malfoy appeared and he took Snape's seat. He didn't have time to say a word before Ophelia hugged him tightly.

"I missed you," she said in his hair, happy that he looked fine. 

Lucius couldn't help but give in. She was the only person who could coerce him into trouble with a flick of her finger, which was both exciting and annoying. 

"I'm glad you don't look overworked or wounded," she stated once she let him go. "Tom must take good care of you now that you're married."

"I work at the ministry, actually. And no, he doesn't praise me and pat my back. I'm not his puppy,"

Ophelia tried her hardest to not reply in a smart-ass manner but it was obvious what she was thinking.

"Anyway, you can return home whenever you want. Rabastan and I took care of all the remnants of darkness around the cottage so it's safe." He announced her with a smile but she didn't seem happy.

"What about Dylis and Knowingall?"

"Dylis is fine. He and Dobby meet quite often, apparently. My house elf has too much free time, it seems," Lucius said with sarcasm and a venomous expression. "Knowingall is hiding. Last I heard of him, he was in America." 

"America? Was he the guy Rabastan had to kill?" 

"Knowingall is full of information that we need. Besides, he seems to know something precious, otherwise, the Dark Lord wouldn't have kept him aside for so long."  Lucius commented and saw her eyes narrow, "What?" 

"Did anyone enter the cottage? Except for you and Rabastan,"

"No. Some tried but the house repelled them as soon as they stepped on the land. It was quite funny actually," he said with a chuckle, remembering what a fright Dolohov got when he believed that the ground was eating him alive. 

"What about him?"

"Want me to give you a full report on what he's been doing?" He asked sarcastically but Ophelia nodded. "Even I don't know. There are times when he locks himself in the study and only speaks to his snake. Other times he simply vanishes for a few days. Nobody asks him where he goes, but he always returns angry." 

"Since he hasn't called for me, I guess he still doesn't need me yet." 

"No. Not until you finish school, at least. For some reason, he wants you to be at Hogwarts. But it's better than training with Bella," Lucius joked, laughing by himself since Ophelia was not amused. "Did Snape tell you?"

"Yes. I saw it too. He's been branded like an animal," 

Lucius scoffed and crossed his hands in front of his chest.

"That mark offers a sense of power that you can't imagine. And Snape is slowly getting into Voldemort's inner circle, which is not bad for you. That means Snape can protect you."

"Pff, sure. It's a mystery how you two admire that selfish manipulator with red eyes that resemble a serpent rather than-" She stopped knowing that she sounded just like him.

"Rather than you? You can't protect everyone, Ophelia. Just focus on your freedom for now. Enjoy school, time with your friends, having Enzo as your professor, and Rabastan watching over you. Believe me, you are the best-guarded person in the world right now." He said softly, caressing her head like an older brother. 

"I'm not afraid to die, Lucius. What I am afraid of is that others will die because of me. I don't want protection when I know that it's not genuine."

"Snape, Rabastan, and I protect you because we care. Otherwise, we wouldn't have this conversation, to begin with." 

Ophelia looked into his eyes and realized this was a perfect opportunity.

"Vow to me, then. Vow that you will never abandon me in the favour of Voldemort. You will not blindly do what he says knowing that it will cause me pain and you will remain loyal to this friendship." She said grabbing his hand tightly. 

Lucius believed at first that it was just a childish request, but then he noticed the sparkle of magic come from her fingers and turn into bindings that reached around his forearm. He looked up, into her eyes, and saw anxiety, and fear, but also the need for him to prove that he wasn't just helping her out of greed to become closer to Tom. She wanted him to put his life on the line, which was risky.

"What do you vow then?" Lucius asked, thinking about his wife and the future of his family.

"I vow to protect you and your family in return, no matter in which form. I will die before anything will happen to Narcissa or your future children." She replied very seriously.

"You're still just a child, Ophelia," he said shaking his head. But she still held onto his arm, her grasp very tight.

"But I am Lord Voldemort's child."

Lucius sighed and once again, knowing that it was a bad idea, he gave in. 

"Fine. I vow to it." 

Thus another unbreakable promise was made. Lucius took many bad decisions in his life, but this was not one of them. 

---

By the time Severus returned and Lucius left, Ophelia was feeling more at ease than before. Two of the people she cared about, and two of the people who could equally hurt her the most, were now bound to her with an unbreakable vow. Trust, when it came to her father, was questionable, so it was better to have some type of leverage. On the other hand, she knew that she was better at legilimency than her father which she hoped could also protect the minds of her friends.

"Hey, Sev, do you think that maybe I could hide some of your thoughts from others? Or build some vaults, so that Tom or other Death Eaters cannot use legilimency on those particular memories," She started as soon as they left Madam Pudifoot's. 

The Slytherin raised an eyebrow but genuinely thought about her crazy idea. 

"I don't know, maybe? We could try something, you're very good at bending the rules," he said with a witty smile on his face, which in return got a push. "Is this idea for Malfoy?" 

"Yes. It would be safer for him and his family. Although Tom is not the best legilimence, he isn't the only one, and memories with me would put Lucius' life in danger. I don't want his future children to grow up without a father," Ophelia replied.

"What about me then? What about my future children?" Severus asked with an offended tone.

Ophelia glanced at him with an amused expression, as if the idea of Snape having a family was so funny.

"Why are you giving me that look? It's possible,"

"I don't see you as a...fatherly type of guy. At least not now, not yet. It's just really hard to picture it." 

Severus scoffed and glared at her. 

"I don't picture you being a mother either, it's fine." 

"I think it would be best for me not to be one. I'd prefer not to have my children forced into this family, to be cursed with this bloodline. It's best if it all ends with me," she explained, not wanting anyone to go through a life such as hers. "Just imagine, having Lord Voldemort as your grandfather. That would be-"

"Amazing. I'd like that,"  Severus interfered making Ophelia shake her head in disbelief.

"Of course, you would,"