For the next week or so, nothing truly happened. Rosier did not appear uninvited, Snape kept leaving for hours but would still return in time for dinner, which was quite nice, and Dobby didn't really help Ophelia learn how to cook. However, she did start to be more involved in housework, especially since she was still thinking of ways to get the Order over without Death Eaters finding out. That was a challenge since they couldn't use magic and she had no idea what her address was.
She started to spend quite a bit of time on the front porch, looking ahead at the view, and thinking about her future. She was going to enter her last year at Hogwarts, her last year of freedom before her father would actually take action. Spinnard was good enough to convince Tom to allow her to have a more or less normal student life, but what about afterward? It was worrying.
While she was contemplating life, she noticed something appearing out of nowhere near the gate to the cottage. She furrowed her eyebrows and realized it was a person approaching the gate and stopped. She chuckled and walked over, her eyes narrowing at the man who stood just outside her house.
"I thought you forgot about me. It's been over one week since you promised to rush my apparition skills," she sneered at the man.
"I was busy. But I'm here now, and I don't plan on disappointing you," Rosier said, his words polite although from his eyes alone Ophelia could see he wanted to drag her through mud.
"Well...why don't you enter then?" Ophelia asked knowing the land would not accept him.
From the way he glared at her, he knew that too.
"For your first lesson, you'll have to come with me." He replied.
"Why would I ever do that? I know how Death Eaters teach. I've had enough torture, thank you very much."
Rosier seemed to lose his calm quickly and sighed instead of cursing her.
"We both know that if you don't follow my advice, your father will be very angry."
"Yeah. With you."
"Are you sure? What about if he asks you to go to him? How will you do it? Moreover, you don't even know how to get here or go to the station. If you ask me, you cannot move freely anywhere."
Rosier was right and it pissed Ophelia off. It was a constant problem going from one place to another, and apparating didn't need an address nor did it take hours. She bit her lip and decided whatever he had planned, she could fight him if she needed to.
Ophelia opened the gate and followed Rosier for just a few feet.
"How's your sister?"
"You know better than me. You spend more time with her than I do "
"Of course. That's the first thing I do when I go to breakfast and the last thing I do before going to sleep: check on Katie." She said rolling her eyes at the stupidity of such an idea. "Don't you live in the same house?"
"I am busy."
"Right. Being a Death Eater is hard work. Always have to be on the Dark Lord's top list, even if that means volunteering to teach little old me apparition."
Rosier didn't respond but she could see how hard he was trying not to hurt her or say something bad. Instead, he grabbed her harshly by her arm, and in a matter of seconds, Ophelia found herself in an alley.
"Where are we?" She asked looking around with worry.
"London."
Her eyes widened so much that they looked like Peverell's as a kitten.
"What you have to do, Molley, is return to the cottage by apparition. If you don't, well, too bad. You'll be stuck here, with nobody to help you and with no money." He said, feeling pleased with how shocked she was. "Nights in a big city are not easy, so it would be in your best interest to get back before nightfall."
He said that and left. He disappeared and left Ophelia all alone.
"London?!" She repeated still not grasping the severity of her situation.
To be honest, once Ophelia stepped out of the alley, she was mesmerized. The only times she came to London were for King's Cross Station and that was for a very limited amount of time since her father killed the Molleys and cut any type of muggle interaction she had. But being all by herself actually gave her time to look around.
London was big, she knew that much, and it was crowded and some areas smelled awful, but it was intriguing. She took her time to look at everything and anything she could land her eyes on. It was summer and luckily it wasn't raining so it felt like a break. But how long could she do that for was problematic.
Rosier arrived around early-mid afternoon, which meant darkness was slowly creeping in and the city was different by night. Ophelia sat on a bench and heard her stomach rumble in hunger. The truth of the danger of her situation seemed to grow and become more real. She sat there, watching people hurry here and there, passing her with no second glance.
"What now?" She asked rubbing her hands together as she started to grow a bit cold.
Apparating home could potentially be dangerous, splinching was not to be taken lightly. So then...was there anyone she knew who lived in London and could help her? Ophelia sighed and went back through her memories to find something helpful. And then she remembered that Sirius mentioned having a relative who had a flat in London.
Ophelia took a deep breath and closed her eyes. It wasn't easy, it was actually extremely loud and using legilimency in a city full of people was not the brightest idea. She could feel her mind vibrating, so many thoughts and so many voices, it was worse than being in the middle of a party. But in that noise, she heard him. He wasn't that far but he seemed to be out for some reason.
"Sirius, I need your help," she whispered hoping he would hear her. "I don't know where I am but I'll wait for you here." She finished creating an image from her memory so he could find her. Once it was done, she opened her eyes and sighed.
An hour passed and nothing happened. It was already dark and breezy and from the looks of the sky, it was going to rain. Ophelia looked to the right and the left and sighed heavily. Another hour passed and she felt something hit her straight in the eye. She looked up and rain poured down, forcing her to close her eyes before she looked down at her hands. It was cold and wet and she wanted to go home but she was scared to apparate.
"Why are you here, Molley?"
Ophelia looked up and saw Sirius standing in front of her with an umbrella covering both of them. He seemed confused and worried.
"You already know..." She mumbled shivering when a gust of wind blew right into her face.
Sirius shook his head in disbelief and grabbed her hand.
"Come on, my flat is not that far."
She followed him without saying a word but kept really close to his side, holding his hand for dear life. It did not help that even in that situation Sirius couldn't help but blush.
He was right, it was a few streets away and they didn't even have to take the bus. As soon as they arrived, Sirius gave her a towel and a robe to change in.
"I didn't know you use robes," she muttered with a chuckle.
"It's my uncle's. Shut up and go sit on the couch or go take a shower." Sirius mumbled, feeling his cheeks flare up.
"It's fine. I don't want to impose for too long." She said wiping her hair. She didn't get that wet since he arrived in time.
Sirius glanced at her before he entered the kitchen and started to prepare some tea. He couldn't believe that his crush was in his home and how easy it was for her to find him. Once the tea was ready, he returned to her and handed her a hot Gryffindor-ish mug.
"So, how did you do it? How did you reach my mind and do that?" He asked sitting next to her.
Ophelia shrugged. It was difficult to explain in words. She looked up at him and noticed how messy Sirius looked.
"I am a pretty good legilimence. Besides, I remembered you mentioned your uncle's flat in London and I just...searched for you." She said before taking a sip. "You definitely didn't hurry."
"I was in the middle of a thing...if I left too early, they would have seen me."
"Who's they?"
"..." Sirius looked to the side since she stared at him with such intensity that he almost felt guilty.
"I can read your mind, you know,"
"Don't." He said glaring at her. "It was Death Eaters, alright? I've been trying to find out what they are doing in London." He explained with a pout. "What are you doing in London anyway?"
"Trying to apparate. Rosier volunteered to teach me apparition so in classic Slytherin way, he left me all alone, far from home, knowing I have nothing and no one to help."
"What if something happened to you?"
"I don't think he cares."
Sirius couldn't believe what he heard. Looking at her, she was dressed in light home clothing, without her wand, without money, and completely helpless. Sirius also knew that she could take care of herself but still...
"Thanks, I can take care of myself indeed but it's not like I can use magic as I wish." She said already reading Sirius' mind, making his blush persist. "Ah, that reminds me. I found a wardrobe in the cottage and I went in and when I walked out, I was in Hogwarts." She said her eyes bright and excited.
"You've done a lot and the break has just begun," Sirius stated with a chuckle.
