The following week was tense. Ophelia couldn't focus in her classes, her magic was unpredictable, and even when she was with her friends, it felt as if she wasn't there mentally and spiritually. Everyone noticed her sudden change, it clearly wasn't because of Black because even he was worried.
"You should ask her what's going on, Padfoot," Potter started the conversation one night while they were lying in bed. "She's been off the entire week, she's even worse in Potions than before,"
"Maybe Snape said something last weekend," Peter pitched in, remembering how the Gryffindor and the Slytherin pissed many people (Potter) off by simply spending time together. "Isn't it so weird? Malfoy was sighted in Hogsmeade too. Do you think Death Eaters had a secret meeting?"
"I don't think so. Malfoy is one of the three Slytherins that Ophelia is close to." Remus, the voice of reason, interfered. "Whatever she talked about with him and Snape, it must have been about her father. One way or another, it always comes down to Tom Riddle,"
"Lord Voldemort, please," Potter said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "He changed his name, he created a mark, he has followers, he's very dramatic,"
"I'm not so sure it's about him. When I found her in the common room Saturday night, she seemed to have a nightmare, but then I'm pretty sure I caught sight of her kitten before she woke up."
"What was her nightmare about?"
"Spinnard, I guess. She said she wants to have a chat with Spinnard."
"But he's dead," Remus said, making everyone hum thoughtfully.
A whole month passed since then. Spring came and flowers bloomed. The nature around Hogwarts returned to life and so did the news.
"Not even one day passes without a new death in the paper," Longbottom said with a sigh. They were all having breakfast at the same table and they all looked grim.
"It's concerning how much their numbers have increased."
"They must have clear orders for who to kill. Some of the victims were squibs and some were just against Voldemort," Remus explained.
"No, I mean the Death Eaters. They don't care about age anymore, it's dangerous. Kids sign up without knowing the length of what they're doing. I heard second and third-years talk in the corridors about secret training with Death Eaters. And many are not even Slytherins." Potter mumbled, glaring at his plate. "We're not enough."
"Maybe not, but we only need to destroy their leader in order to destroy everything he owns, including his followers," Black replied looking around the Great Hall.
Ophelia was not at the table with them, she was not in the Great Hall and she wasn't at the lake either, he checked. It was annoying knowing that she could be with anyone else but him, doing something dangerous nonetheless.
Which was right. Ophelia was in the girls' bathroom, with Rabastan. He looked in desperate need of sleep, he lost weight and he was overall sucked out of life.
"Is this it?" She asked, holding what looked like a medallion from its string.
"Yes. Be careful with it, I had a hard time sneaking it out of the house."
"You have a Time Turner at home?"
"I never said it was my house," he added with a smirk. "Anyway, you need to be careful with it. Set it for a specific moment in time, when he was alone so that you won't meet someone else."
"Oh, I already know when." She said with confidence fumbling with it before she eventually wrapped it around her neck.
Rabastan remained staring at her with a blank expression.
"What?" She asked.
"You seem to trust me a bit too much. What if this method doesn't work and something bad happens?" Rabastan asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest with an eyebrow raised.
Ophelia glanced at the Time Turner before she looked up at Rabastan with a shrug. He chuckled and shook his head, not believing that someone could enter the unknown with such ease.
"What are you planning to do this summer?" He asked out of nowhere.
"Go home. Hopefully, meet Knowingall and Dylis. Maybe rehearsing how to apparate," she didn't mention her true plans, which were still in the form of theory.
She knew she will meet with the Order, and she was thinking about having several training sessions during their break if somehow she could hide their trace of magic. But Rabastan didn't need to know that.
"Turn it over five times in order to get there. Luckily, nothing happens and you don't get stuck there but you only have one hour and no more. I risked it enough by enhancing it to get you five years instead of five hours." Rabastan changed the subject before he took a step back. "I'll see you when you return. You will have to come back to this place, and try not to change the timeline."
She nodded and followed his instructions. It didn't seem like anything truly happened until she looked up and realized Rabastan was gone. She carefully walked out of the bathroom and noticed that the corridors were unchanged. Hogwarts looked the same and from what she could see, it was dark outside. She hoped she was in the moment she wanted so she made her way to the Entrance Hall.
"If I remember correctly, this should be the first time father entered my mind while at school," she muttered. She was ready to turn the corner and go down the stairs when she saw herself and turned around, hiding behind the wall.
Ophelia watched as her 11-year-old version took a deep breath in and checked for anyone in the Entrance Hall before opening the front door very, very slowly. Spinnard seemed to have come from the Great Hall, or at least from that direction.
“The curfew is an important factor in the life of a student, especially a first year, Molley.”
The cold, ice-dripping, authoritarian voice of Professor Spinnard stopped Ophelia from making another move. She closed the door and turned around warily but kept a hand on it, just in case she had to make a run for her life.
“It’s empty so I just wanted to take a look around,” The little girl muttered.
The teenager watching chuckled to herself at the poor attempt to look innocent.
Professor Spinnard narrowed his icy blue eyes at her, visibly remembering some memory from his childhood, if not even Tom himself.
“Why did you come to Hogwarts, Molley?” He asked out of nowhere, the whole atmosphere around him growing tense. “Is it part of his plan? Does he want you to report everything Dumbledore does?”
Ophelia leaned forward, wanting to see them better. It was rather odd hearing him ask questions to which he already knew the answers.
Spinnard took a few steps towards her, forcing the girl to take a few steps back, hitting her shoulder against the door. He leaned in, tilting his head to the side in a way that looked like he was a maniac, scanning his victim for later evil purposes.
“You should have been killed not rescued. Your blood will curse everyone who ever comes in contact with you. They will all die and it will be your fault.” He said, emphasizing every word, anger filling his whole being as he continued to look straight into her eyes.
Teenager Ophelia looked down and sighed. She had so many questions and so many conflicting emotions.
Little Ophelia was scared but there was another feeling that slowly filled her body and mind. Teenage Ophelia knew exactly what she felt at that moment, it was this intense desire to prove Spinnard wrong. Her family was still such a sensitive topic and Tom, back then, seemed like a hero to her, like the only person who could understand her and make her happy. He was all she had, all she wanted...back then, she genuinely trusted and respected her father. She wanted to know more about him, to spend time with him...so silly, considering all he ever wanted was to use her.
But little Ophelia didn't know that yet. Having these kinds of thoughts running through her mind, she felt a sudden burst of energy that was bubbling up inside her, crawling up and down her arms. Her eyes darkened considerably before her whole face became paler and strangely enough, looked like a pissed-off snake. Her lips shifted into a very ugly scowl before she grabbed him by the front of his robes and pulled him close enough to touch his nose.
“You know nothing about me or my family.” She hissed.
Spinnard chuckled, his eyes widening, making him look like a madman.
“I know your father. I know who he is, unlike you.” Spinnard whispered, his facial expression turning even more chaotic. “Why do you think Dumbledore asked me to teach you extra spells? Those spells are not for first years but it seems you should know them before your dear father decides to pop out of his rabbit hole and recover what is rightfully his.”
Ophelia sighed once more, recognizing the truth in Spinnard's words.
“That is enough, Luce.”
Dumbledore's voice drew Ophelia's attention. He arrived at the right time, almost as if he waited to see what could potentially happen. Ophelia also noticed a little dark figure near the stairs, hiding in the shadows.
Spinnard raised an eyebrow, visibly annoyed with the interruption but little Ophelia didn’t seem unnerved by Dumbledore’s appearance. The blue-eyed professor turned towards the headmaster, a few words on the tip of his tongue that might end his career as a teacher. But he didn't utter a word in his defense.
In one quick and very sly movement, Ophelia grabbed Spinnard by the back of his head and pulled him in front of her, tilting it enough to have a partial view of his face. Dumbledore’s eyes widened when Ophelia started to speak to the former Hogwarts student in a language that he personally wanted to forget.
Parsletongue. She remembered Tom mentioning how she had the legilimence skills from Lillian and the skill to speak to snakes from him.
Little Ophelia was definitely not aware of what she was doing and someone else was controlling her from the shadows. Dumbledore drew his wand and swayed it elegantly before Ophelia fainted.
“This is your fault, Dumbledore. You should have left her to rot with her mother not care for her safety.” Spinnard hissed at his employer, his neck throbbing with pain. "You shouldn't have brought me to Hogwarts," he added before he wandered off, probably to his room.
Ophelia was ready to follow him when she saw Dumbledore turn to the hiding child.
Severus Snape witnessed everything, especially the sudden change in his friend. It made so much more sense now, why he grew interested in her family life.
Moving silently towards the Slytherin, Dumbledore smiled softly and told Severus to approach him. Being just a first-year student, Severus swallowed nervously and complied.
“I won’t tell anyone, I swear. I-“
Dumbledore raised his hand, silencing the young boy before he could say something more.
“I know. That’s why I have a favor to ask of you, Severus. Take care of her when she doesn’t need it and watch her when no one is watching. Make her trust you more than anyone in her life.” The elder man spoke, so softly and caring that Severus couldn’t help but interrupt with one curiosity.
“Is it because of her father?”
Dumbledore sighed but nodded nonetheless. Severus turned to the unconscious body of his friend and Ophelia could see his interest reaching new heights.
"How fitting," she mumbled before she went in search of Spinnard's room.
If she remembered correctly, Zabini was moved into the room of a former professor and she hoped it was the same one that Knowingall and Spinnard used. If not, she could use legilimence and search for him but that was tiring. Therefore, she hoped that after all the turns she took, she finally arrived at a wooden door that was still slightly open. Just in case, she knocked three times, before she opened it wider.
"I really don't want to hear your explanations, Dumbledore,"
"Good, because I'm the one in need of some answers," she replied, closing the door behind her.
Spinnard glanced at her over his shoulder and sighed heavily.
"What are you doing here?"
"You recognize me? It's been five years," she said a bit disappointed that he wasn't as surprised as she expected.
"You look just like him,"
"That's incredibly disheartening," she mumbled as she walked closer to him. Now that she took a good look around, his bed was unmade, he had papers, books, quills, and many other things spread around. It was messy and it reminded her of his old room in the cottage. "Aren't you curious how I managed to come here?"
"Using an enhanced Time Turner in the most irresponsible way," he replied, his eyes as cold as always. But he did look exhausted as if he had this huge burden on his shoulder and it was wearing him down slowly. "What do you want from me, Ophelia?"
Instead of answering him, she smiled softly and, to his utmost shock, she hugged him.
"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry," she said hugging him tightly.
