The house was spacious, good enough for a family. Pictures of the Molleys were still left around, which Sirius couldn't help but look at. Gloria and Richard looked like a happy couple and all the pictures with Ophelia made them seem like the perfect family. Sirius chuckled at one particular photo of Ophelia pouting while Richard was giving her a piggyback ride through the park. If only his father had been at least once a loveable man, then maybe his life and Regulus' would have been different. 

"For how long do you plan to hide in here?" Sirius asked, putting back the framed photo and turning to her. 

Ophelia was on the couch looking ahead as if she was in a dream. Her fingers were twitching but the rest of her body seemed relaxed. The truth was that she couldn't get over how it felt to kill someone. The spell was still so fresh, the magic was still in her hands and it was almost exciting. But then, Knowingall's face appeared in her mind and she shrugged that thought away.

"Ophelia?" Sirius placed one hand on her shoulder and she turned to face him very slowly. She blinked twice before she regained herself. "Are you alright?"

"...no," she replied honestly. 

"I think we should go have a look around. Maybe a walk among muggles will make you feel better, take your mind off of-" he stopped when he saw her look down at her still twitching fingers. 

Unfortunately, they were dressed for a Christmas Ball, and all of Ophelia's clothes in the house were too small. That only reminded her that she was just a kid when Tom killed her adoptive parents and Spinnard. He made sure to cut her from everything normal and bright and joyful and keep her where he could control her disposition. Luckily, Gloria and Richard's winter clothes were perfect for them. Seeing Sirius in her adoptive father's coat and boots, Ophelia realized she had very few Christmas memories with the Molleys. 

"I like your father's fashion," Sirius commented looking up and down at his reflection in the mirror. He almost looked like a young adult. 

Ophelia chuckled and looked at herself but once her eyes set on her face, she suddenly saw her father and quickly turned her head aside. 

"Let's just go," she muttered, already searching for her boots.

Birmingham was a busy city, but it seemed to be so silent during Christmas. Families were probably inside their houses, next to the warmth of their chimneys, opening presents and eating, drinking, laughing, and living their lives in peace. There were shops still open but not until late at night, as on a normal weekday, and a few teenagers and kids were playing outside but it was still relatively quiet. Sirius turned to Ophelia and sighed heavily, realizing one important detail.

"We have no money,"

Ophelia tilted her head to the side and grabbed a wallet from inside her coat. 

"That's not our money," Sirius said, feeling like he was taking advantage of the two dead adults.

"They're mine. Gloria used to give me an allowance every month. I never quite got around to using it since I was shipped to Hogwarts quickly after they adopted me," Ophelia explained, although she knew this was Gloria's wallet and there was more money than she actually saved.

"OK then. Well, what do you want to do? I haven't been here before,"

"I haven't either...it's been so long since I could walk around the neighbourhood," she admitted with melancholy, "Oh, we could go to Gloria's favourite tea shop. They had really good chocolate parfaits and brownies," she started, her eyes full with excitement. 

That was exactly what they did. They needed to take the bus, which for Sirius was an interesting experience. He rarely used muggle transportation, even when living in his uncle's flat. Ophelia paid for both of them and they sat quietly by the window, looking at the passing scenery. It felt good, almost like they fit with the others. The tea shop was open, to Ophelia's joy, and they chose a table near the window before Ophelia ordered what she liked. 

"What do you want to try?" she asked turning her attention to Sirius. He was confused and overwhelmed by the number of options so Ophelia chuckled and decided to order what she had. "You'll love the parfait,"

"There are so many to choose from," he said, amazed by the palette of tastes. "I usually eat whatever the school gives us. I don't really ask for much in Hogsmeade either," 

"What do you eat when you're alone?"

"What I can. I'm not picky about my food. As long as I can cook it, I can eat it." he said, almost looking like his animagus form. "What?" he asked seeing the way she was looking at him with such amusement.

"You and James are such a good pair," she said knowing that Potter was the opposite of Sirius when it came to food. James Potter was a foodie, but thanks to Quidditch, he never gained weight and had an athletic build.  Apparently, Sirius wasn't eating that much since he was still rather skinny. 

"I feel like that's not a compliment," Sirius said narrowing his eyes at her.

"It isn't. It's just a note. But it's becoming very clear that sometimes opposites attract," 

"Like you and Snape?" Sirius asked leaning in. 

"Me and Snape aren't opposites," Ophelia said before the sweets and tea were brought to their table. "We do have different views over my father and his ideals, but at the core, me and Snape want the same thing,"

"Power?" Sirius asked with a boyish smirk.

"A normal life. A quiet, common life, where the worst that can happen is lose my job, not my life," she explained before she dug into the brownies. 

After Ophelia paid for their order, they decided to take a walk through the park. Now that it was a few hours past lunch, it seemed like more couples had the idea of a romantic stroll in the park, with all the snow around, creating beautiful scenery. 

"Did you have the careers discussion with McGonagall?" Ophelia asked.

"Yeah. She already knew what job I had my eyes on, and, as she perfectly summed it up 'no other job would fit your grades,'" Sirius explained, imitating her voice when he quoted her. "Apparently, my grades in Potions are good enough for an auror. What about you?"

"I've been thinking about it."

"You'd be a great auror, Ophelia. You're the best duellist of our year," 

"Of the school. I beat Zabini, remember?" she corrected with no trace of modesty.

"If I remember correctly, it was a spare," Sirius said with a grin. 

Ophelia rolled her eyes and scoffed. If only she didn't want to hide her potential, maybe she could have openly declared her win. 

"We'd work in the same department. You, me, Prongs, and probably Frank and Alice. That would be nice, we would meet after work and complain about dark wizards, society, our bosses," he trailed off, already imagining how perfect that would be, "A quiet, common wizard life." he added.

"I don't want to be an auror and I don't want to work for the ministry," Ophelia said, breaking Sirius' perfect future. "I didn't become such a good duellist because I wanted to. I was tortured into becoming a good soldier. There aren't good memories connected to my skills. If I'd have any future, it wouldn't be in the wizarding world."

"Then what would it be?" Sirius asked with a frown. Ophelia stopped and looked around, at the calmness of the muggle world. 

"My mother wanted to be a professor at Hogwarts. I can understand why. It involves magic but it's far enough from it, in a way. Far enough from the ministry," she said before she looked into Sirius' dark eyes. "On the other hand, I'm pretty rich. I can just live without having a job at all," she said with a playful smile, making Sirius gap at her hypothesis. 

"Wow, Molley. Money does change a person, huh?" he said playfully nudging her. Ophelia laughed enjoying the day.

From the park, the two teenagers entered a bookstore. The shelves were tall enough to hide them, but the corridors all led to the front of the store. Ophelia spent a while searching through the titles but Sirius noticed two familiar heads passing the store. He frowned and pushed her more towards the back but she was confused.

"What are you doing?"

"I think I just saw two Death Eaters," he whispered, glancing behind him just to make sure they didn't enter. But they did and they were walking towards their direction.

"They won't kill me," she said trying to take a peak over his shoulder.

"We don't know that. You just killed one of them," he said and tried his best to hide her with his body. But Ophelia wasn't short so it wasn't easy. In the end, Sirius got another idea. He grabbed her face and positioned it so that it looked like they were kissing. Ophelia was stunned, and all she could focus on was Sirius' breath. She stared at his eyes, which were set to one side so that he knew when the Death Eaters passed. And then she looked at his lips and swallowed nervously. She never got so close to him, she never even had time to focus on him although she was aware of his crush on her. But now, they were super close, their nose touched and their lips were insanely close to each other. If she moved a tiny bit, their lips would touch. Ophelia was genuinely considering that but he suddenly let her go.

"They're gone," he whispered, his shoulders relaxing as the danger walked away. 

But Ophelia was left confused about her thoughts. She leaned on his chest and smelled the cologne, which was Richard's but it smelled differently on Sirius. She couldn't move and needed a moment to regain herself. 

"You said they won't kill you so why do you look so scared," Sirius teased her but Death Eaters and fear were subjects that were far from her mind at the moment. 

"Let's go visit the Christmas market," she said placing the book she was still holding on a nearby shelf and hurrying out of the bookstore. "What has just happened?" she whispered to herself as the winter wind chilled the blush covering her cheeks.