On September 1st, Ophelia and Severus apparated at King's Cross with the help of Dobby. Snape made himself clear that he would not, under any circumstances, apparate with her, just the two of them.
"Thank you for spending summer with me, Dobby," Ophelia said, feeling bad that this nice elf had to return to the Malfoys. "I wish I could do something for you, free you as I did with Dylis. Then you could come and live with us, or you could go anywhere else but to the Malfoy Manor," she added, hearing Snape scoff behind her.
Dobby watched her with big blue eyes and smiled.
"It's enough for Dobby that Misses treats Dobby like a friend,"
"Of course!" Ophelia said and hugged the house elf tightly. She let him go when she heard Snape cough loudly, urging her to move faster. "Thank you, Dobby. If anything happens, if Lucius is terrible to you or the others, tell me. I'll try my best to scare him into being nicer,"
"How would that even work?" Snape asked, confused and disgusted by her cheesiness. "Let's go. The train will leave without us if it takes you longer," he said and grabbed her wrist, forcing her to leave. Dobby smiled and waved before he disapparated. "He's not your child. He can take care of himself," Snape added as they got on the train.
"Still...I spent enough time there to know how awful Mr. Malfoy is," she mumbled allowing her best friend to drag her through the corridor. And then, just as suddenly, he let her go. "What's wrong?"
"I'm going to sit with my housemates. See you at school," he said and turned around, walking towards the Slytherin compartment.
Ophelia stood there, watching him walk further away and she sighed. She had hoped that she would be able to convince him to turn against her father but they didn't see that much of each other during summer. But they always made sure to eat dinner together, which Ophelia appreciated very much.
"So you did make it back home," Katie's voice came from behind her. "You're blocking the way," she said gesturing Ophelia to move to the side.
"I admit that your brother's method was inadequate but still, it worked," she said, complying with her gesture. Katie scoffed and passed her quickly,
Right after Katie Rosier and her two friends, Ophelia heard the loud and boasting sound of Potter's voice. She smiled as she saw her housemates approach her.
"Oh, badge! It's been so long," he said grabbing her in his arms and lifting her off just a tiny bit before he let her down. "Why are you so heavy?"
"We saw each other a week ago," she said with a chuckle.
"Too long," he said shaking his head. "Come on, let's find a cosy compartment. We're seventh years now. We have priority," he said with a wink.
Seventh year at Hogwarts...Ophelia's last year of freedom.
They ended up in an open compartment, the one where Slytherin usually sat but this time they preferred the intimacy of a closed cabin. Ophelia looked around and noticed that not everyone in the Order returned to Hogwarts. She could see some Ravenclaws, several Hufflepuffs, a few Gryffindors but most of the students were below fifth year.
"We'll have to go back into training. I want to be able to defeat some Death Eaters by the time we graduate," Potter started, more mellow than he usually was at the beginning of a school year. "We're almost adults."
"He's been saying that for the whole summer," Lily said with a roll of her eyes. "We won't just finish our exams and go straight into battle."
Nobody commented which only made Lily scoff.
"We won't." She repeated with more emphasis. "We'll have to search for jobs and this year we are supposed to visit the Ministry and have discussions about our future. I'm sure that we can even get recruited if we are good enough,"
"Into what? Death Eaters?" Sirius asked sarcastically. "Everyone at the Ministry is working with...him. If anything, we need to clean this up before thinking about our future careers." He added feeling grumpy.
It wasn't Lily's fault that he was in a bad mood. It was the idea that Ophelia wouldn't have a reason anymore to stay away from her father. She didn't seem to think about it, but Sirius knew that it was always there in the back of her mind.
"I wonder if Zabini will return this year as our DADA professor," Peter asked what everyone was wondering.
They all looked around but he wasn't there.
"Maybe he's staying with the Slytherins. Or who knows, the train is big. He could be anywhere," Remus tried to be reasonable.
"The DADA post is definitely cursed. Have we ever had a professor spend more than a year? Except Spinnard?" Peter asked knowing he was right.
"Spinnard disliked teaching but if Dumbledore would have asked, he would have returned even if it killed him on the inside."
"Well, it really did kill him," Sirius joked yet nobody laughed, but shook their heads in disappointment. "Come on, it wasn't that bad. He's fine,"
Ophelia glanced bemusedly at Sirius.
"Just because he is a painting, that doesn't mean he is fine. He is dead. Whatever that painting is, it's not the real Spinnard."
"Spinnard has a painting? Is it at Hogwarts?" Frank asked confused. "I haven't seen it. He seemed to hate the school. And us."
"He does. It's in my house," as soon as she said that everyone but Sirius stared at her weirdly.
"I've been to your house, Molley. There is no painting."
"It is now. I...went back in time and had a chat with Spinnard before he died. When I returned, he had a painting. He did it for me. He left me a bit of himself," Ophelia said, a thankful smile contouring her lips.
But for everyone else, it was just very weird.
"He's actually a lot nicer," Black said with a nod.
"Right, because you two spent summer together secretly," Alice said with a knowing smirk.
"We only spent a day and a night. I was kicked out by Snape as if it was his house," Sirius mumbled feeling grumpy once again.
Ophelia chuckled remembering how adamant Snape was that Sirius left as soon as possible. He wouldn't even go to his Death Eater meeting because he was stressed that Sirius would still be there when he returned.
"It was funny," she said
"It was not funny," Sirius grumbled.
The train ride to Hogwarts felt very short compared to all the other times, and not just for the Gryffindors but for everyone. As they got off and into the carriages, the whole sight of Hogsmeade and the land around the castle was surveyed by Dementors. The kids were more rushed to Hogwarts rather than welcomed. But stepping inside the Entry Hall was like stepping into your family home, where no matter how hard life is, you feel safe.
Ophelia looked around, not for Snape this time, but for Zabini. He couldn't see him so she hoped he would be in the Great Hall during dinner. As soon as Ophelia entered the dorm, she sat on her bed and fell on her side on the pillow. She wrapped her hands around the pillow when she felt something. She grabbed it and read the note, confused but also filled with relief. It was an address in Romania, oddly enough, but it was written in Knowingall's handwriting.
Filled with curiosity, she rushed out of the dorm and into the corridors, straight to the professors' rooms. She already knew where Zabini would sleep since Spinnard used the same room before. However, when she got there, she found someone else.
"They allowed you to return?" Ophelia asked seeing Eynon unpacking.
"Not a pleasure for me either, Ophelia," he said although he did not look displeased. "You should knock before entering. I might have been undressing," he mumbled grumpily.
But Ophelia only tilted her head to the side and briefly pictured that in her mind.
"Does that mean you will teach us DADA?" She asked shaking the image out of her mind.
"Not quite. I will teach, but not you. Dumbledore asked for the grades below the fifth year to be taught by a different professor while the others will be taught by Zabini. You already know why," he explained neatly arranging his clothes in the dresser.
"Because of the Order," Ophelia muttered understanding the plan. Since most people in the Order were fifth-years and above, it made sense that they would try and practice even during school hours. "How is your condition?" She changed the subject.
"Not your business," he replied curtly. Ophelia chuckled, feeling this sense of familiarity. In some ways, Eynon resembled Spinnard.
"I found a note under my pillow. It's an address."
"It's Knowingall. He has been moving a lot, from one side of the world to another. Your father has a particular desire for his mind."
"Does he know where the stone is?" She asked with no second thoughts.
Eynon stopped and sighed. He glanced at her and could see the snake in her eyes.
"It's such a disappointment that you resemble your father so much. But that is the same reason that saved your life. He sees a mirror of his youth in you." Eynon said coldly although there was pity in his eyes.
"Is that why he is so adamant about making me a Horcrux? Why not someone else, someone more willing? Like Bellatrix," she asked not feeling at all offended by his words.
"...maybe," he answered after a few minutes of complete silence. "You remind him of himself. He sees the thirst for knowledge and affirmation in you. But he also sees that in the eventuality of a loss, you won't be killed. Because you belong on both sides, you will not be sacrificed by either."
"So what? I'm a safe zone?"
"Exactly. A vague, in-between individual, protected both by love and hatred." He finished before he turned his back to her. "You can go now."
Ophelia wanted to ask for some more clarifications but Eynon's stern look made her retreat silently. She walked back to the Entry Hall with a heavy heart. So that was it. She was a tool for her father and for Dumbledore. Both knew that the other would not allow anything to happen to her so they used her with no remorse. It was...disappointing.
"Is there really no adult that truly cares for me?" She mumbled under her breath. In such times, she wished she could have been a muggle and lived with the Molleys a regular life.
