บท 19: Scavenger Hunt
Meeting Rabastan in the library 10 minutes after dinner proved to be a bit hard because Potter was so excited for the Hunt that she completely forgot she had to leave in a hurry. Therefore, when Ophelia arrived at the meeting table 5 minutes late, Rabastan's scowl was scary.
"Sorry I'm late." She apologized in a low voice.
He didn't move or blink or breathe if she were to be sincere. Eventually, with her book open in front of her and quill ready, he finally opened his mouth.
"Tell me the ingredients for the Forgetfulness Potion."
His voice was just like back when they first met. It was so strange how their tutoring classes were now compared to then. The first time they had a lesson was the first week of March and then another on the last week of the month. Now it was early-mid April.
"I thought that we already passed that. Lately we are studying the Wideye Potion..."
Rabastan raised an eyebrow and leaned over the table.
"Can you do it?" He asked coldly.
"Well- if you mean the Forgetfulness Potion, it's getting better and-"
"Is it perfect?" He asked again, staring at her intensely.
"N-No." She admitted. "Add 2 drops of Lethe River Water to your cauldron and gently heat for 20 seconds. Then add 2 Valerian sprigs to your cauldron, stir 3 times, clockwise, wave your wand and leave to brew for 45-60 minutes. Next add 2 measures of Standard Ingredient to the mortar, add 4 mistletoe berries to the mortar and crush into a medium-fine powder using the pestle. Add 2 pinches of the crushed mixture to your cauldron, stir 5 times, anti-clockwise, wave your wand and that's it."
She couldn't believe she learned that by heart but with the way Rabastan was staring at her while memorizing, it was hard not to. Actually, he seemed quite content at the momemt which only eased her worries.
"What about the Wideye Potion?" He asked after leaning back against his chair.
She sighed and peeked at her book. She tried to remember some ingredients but it was a blur.
"Well, add some Standard Ingredient and crush something and stir probably clockwise, wave your wand and-"
"Memorize it by the end of this lesson. I'll be watching."
"Yes. You always are." She mumbled grumpily.
Ophelia sighed and felt her mind getting filled with too much information for one person.
For the whole hour and a half, Rabastan Lestrange stood there, his eyes dropping from time to time but always sharp when it was about her. Ophelia was done memorizing in half an hour but when he ordered her to tell him everything, she forgot the most important part: the wolfsbane. Luckily, the time for bed was in fifteen minutes and Rabastan seemed very submissive to rules.
"Let's meet on the Sunday before the Hunt. Same hour." The boy announced before hurrying down towards the dungeons.
Ophelia blinked, the whole way back to the common room walking in a haze. She was in front of the Lady when she met Sirius.
"Molley. Done with your tutoring?" He asked nonchalantly.
"He's evil. He only orders me to memorize how to make the potions but never really does something." She explained, visibly mentally tired.
Black raised an eyebrow, a boyish grin threatening to appear. It was funny to see her loosen up. It was probably one of the rare moments her eyes were showing her true feelings.
"You shouldn't talk. You're barely holding on because of Remus." She sneered at him which was quite funny.
"Right. Tell me that during the exam when you will have goo at your feet while I will be waving from the Great Hall."
"How would I even see you? We won't be in the same room." She grumbled.
Those dark eyes widened with bemusement as he poked her nose.
"Exactly." He started to laugh loudly, drawing the attention of the Lady, "Cherry tart." He said and the portrait opened.
Ophelia followed closely while scowling at him from behind.
"You should do something about your sense of humor, Molley. Even Littlewood is funnier than you and her funny is strange."
Ophelia couldn't argue with that. Cissney had a very strange sense of humor and most of the time it was really hard to understand if she was joking or if she was serious.
----------------------------------------------------
The next days passed incredibly fast and even her tutoring seemed shorter. Rabastan looked excited unlike other times and she was sure he let her go easy that afternoon.
Monday morning during breakfast, Dumbledore rose and silenced the whole Hall.
"I'm sure everyone is excited for this week. I am too. Let me tell you, however, that there are rules that you have to abide on or you and your house will be disqualified. Under any circumstances, you shall not harm someone from another team or house."
As soon as he said that, the whole Slytherin table started to mumble in between themselves.
"Also, do not steal the eggs from other teams and do not ask the house heads for help, that includes bribing, Mister Barney." Dumbledore added, throwing a sharp yet amused look at a certain Hufflepuff. "Now, the tasks are simple. You have to use everything you have learned until now to find the silver eggs. Each egg will indicate the next task but beware that each egg has a different hint that may lead you to a higher or lower leveled task. We tried to keep a balance between the years and the places each year has to search for but some of us may find more difficult tasks by coincidence."
"Why does that sound so suspicious?" Potter asked the rest but none could respond.
"You may find the maps hung in the Entrance Hall. Good luck to each and every one of you!" Dumbledore finished his speech before retreating.
"We should hurry and check out the First Years Map. I think I saw some Hufflepuffs slipping out while Dumbledore was speaking." Pettigrew mumbled, his eyes always coming back to the Slytherin table.
Potter nodded and stuffed his face with toast before he grabbed a boiled egg and pointed at Longbottom.
"Dwon't forweet he pulewn." He spoke with his mouth full but Longbottom seemed to understand.
In the end, the first years had only the castle while the fifth years and up had the grounds around Hogwarts. The fourth years had the Quidditch pitch and gardens, leaving the second and third years in the castle as well.
"So, we have to be careful if we find an egg for the second or third year. We may get stuck with it for a while." Cissney mumbled, her eyes searching everywhere.
Ophelia was behind with Lily and both of them were keeping an eye out for intruders.
"Should we search around the second and third floor? Should we go in the bathrooms as well?" Ophelia asked seeing how she couldn't understand where they could hide so many silver eggs.
"Do you think some of them are in paintings?"
Everyone stopped and stared at the redhead. Lily had a very good point and that was probably how one could tell if it was a difficult or easy task.
"Should we check the Fat Lady?" Alice asked shyly but that was not a bad idea at all.
The Fat Lady was singing when she noticed four little girls standing at the bottom of her portrait, watching her warily.
"Do you not like my singing? Don't you have something else to do?!" She screamed since no one said anything about her voice.
"Do you have a silver egg?" Ophelia asked bluntly.
There was a small pause in which Ophelia's green eyes glinted.
"No... Why would I have one?" The Fat Lady finally responded.
Alice looked everywhere when Lily saw something shining a few feet down, at the feet of a statue.
"There!" She shouted before everyone moved to the egg.
"We found one! Wow! It only took us what...20 minutes!" Cissney shouted excitedly. "What does it say?"
Lily tried to open it but it wasn't budging. She turned it on all sides before she realized something.
"Maybe it will open if we use magic. Let's see...Alohomora."
Lily waved her wand and something clicked which meant she was right. Inside was a piece of parchment.
"All shining and silver, With a beautiful face, You look into me, And find this place." Lily read out loud, the whole group making a circle around.
"Will all of them have riddles?" Cissney asked annoyed.
"Well, I don't think Dumbledore would use difficult riddles for first years."
"I think we underestimate Dumbledore." Ophelia mumbled, silence falling in the group. "What's the answer?" She changed the subject quickly.
"All shining and silver...something precious? And when you look into it you find this beautiful place. A crystal ball?"
"It would be shining and silver, wouldn't it?"
"We can find some of them from the former Divination classes. I think there are some upstairs, but they probably look dusty." Alice pitched in, excited that they found the answer so quickly.
"I don't think it's a crystal ball..." Lily mumbled but Cissney suddenly started to smile and move towards the stairs.
Ophelia blinked, dazing off for a moment. It should have been more exciting than this but she felt tired for some reason.
Lily was looking at the silver egg, now empty and tilted her head to the side, mumbling something to herself.
"Can it be a mirror instead?" Lily said out loud but only Ophelia turned to her.
"A mirror...but what beautiful places can you see in it?" Ophelia asked confused.
"Ourselves? Whatever it mirrors?" Lily had just as much clue as Ophelia but it did sound more like something Dumbledore would mean than crystal balls. "Should we tell them we're searching for a mirror? What if I am wrong and they are right about the crystal balls?"
Lily Evans usually had more answers than questions but it seemed she wasn't ready to work under pressure. Ophelia sighed and drew her wand, waving it at a particular spot slowly. Under their eyes, a pretty little creature materialized.
"It's a fox. Wait- is this a Patronus?!" Lily's eyes widened, taking a step forward.
Ophelia nodded feeling a bit smug, why lie. It seemed Severus' strict training was good for something unlike Spinnard's, who'd never actually let her use the spells but only learn them. That was pretty much what Rabastan was doing in their tutoring lessons too: memorizing but not actually using the information.
"Tell them we have to split because we have two answers. We need to check them both. If they find something, we meet in the Entrance Hall in two hours." Ophelia told her Patronus, which nodded bravely now that it wasn't facing a Dementor.
As the little fox was walking towards the second floor, Lily pointed towards fourth floor. The stairs were moving more often than usual which probably was also one of Dumbledore's ideas.
"How are your tutoring lessons?" Lily asked randomly while ascending. "Did you really tell Rabastan that you're not a muggle born?"
"No. It's not like it matters. You are one and we're friends."
Lily truly appreciated Ophelia's bluntness sometimes. She could easily say stuff that were difficult to say for a normal person.
"He's watching me study and eventually asks me questions here and there about potions. He made me memorize the ingredients and the creation process for every Potion we have done."
She sounded a lot like she was suffering immense torture every time they met but looking at it from Rabastan's point of view, it was probably the only way she would study.
"Then, if there is a task about potions, will you be able to make it?"
"Not at all. I don't practice as much as I learn." Ophelia answered before opening the closest door. It was leading inside an old empty room which was equal with nothing.
"Maybe we should have a group study at the end of every week. Cissney has troubles with Potions too." Lily said, genuinely contemplating their options.
"Tell that to Spinnard." The brunette witch mumbled under her breath, quickly trying another door that ended up being locked.
----------------------------------------------------
They spent half an hour going around the fourth floor, meeting a lot of students from Ravenclaw, searching for silver eggs all around. While going to the fifth floor, they met Remus and Frank who looked very worried.
"Sirius and James found one and have been trying to catch the clue." Remus said eyes wide and red.
"Have you even slept last night?" Ophelia asked, taking his appearance in. "Are you alright?"
Frank chuckled and patted his class mate on the back.
"We found two eggs and one of them was a riddle. The answer was really easy but Potter hurried and said the wrong thing. The parchment just flied towards Remus and threw some kind of powder into his eyes."
Frank's explanation only made the two girls worry. They glanced at each other before they ran down the stairs towards the Entrance Hall.
"What if they tried answering and it did the same to them?" Lily asked worriedly but something caught Ophelia's eye. "What?" Lily asked seeing how the green eyed witch stopped.
"Bathrooms. Bathrooms have mirrors. Let's check it."
"But don't we need the riddle to give the answer to? What do we do? We take it off the wall?"
Ophelia didn't respond before running down the corridor on the first floor's bathroom. She just turned around the corner when she collided with someone that was running her way.
"Molley!"
Ophelia's eyes widened at the familiar face of the poltergeist. Compared to her, Peeves looked like he might have gotten a very bad idea.
"Molley, foxy Molley. In a hurry during such a nice day?"
"You won't help me if I ask, will you?" Ophelia asked warily, partially turning towards the corridor she came from.
Peeves chuckled and flied closer to her face.
"What do I get if I help?" He asked.
Ophelia blinked twice, thinking just what she could give a ghost that loved nothing but to mess with the students.
"A free pass?" She blurted out without thinking it through.
Unfortunately it seemed that Peeves genuinely liked that idea. His smile widened, looking like someone was stretching it from behind, and nodded.
"Mirrors can be found everywhere in this castle. Foxy Molley didn't even search inside her own pocket, did she?"
That was everything he said before he started to laugh and flied up into the ceiling. Ophelia checked her pockets but, just as she expected, she had nothing inside.
"That was pointless." She concluded after staring at the ceiling for a few minutes. He was not coming back and he did not help.
----------------------------------------------------
Turning around, the way back to Lily felt a lot worse than she wanted to admit. She had a hunch but it ended up being only Peeves.
Lily was in the same place Ophelia left her but not alone; the greasy haired boy was speaking to her, trying to make a point but it looked like Lily didn't want whatever Severus was pushing towards her. The brunette witch slowed down until she stopped a few meters from the two. She was far enough not to be seen but close enough to hear them.
"That's against the rules, Sev. If they catch us, our teams can be disqualified or even worse, the whole house will lose points."
Ophelia heard Lily reason but Severus was a very stubborn child.
"My team already has four eggs and not all of them were found by us."
"Sev. I can't."
"It's alright, Lily. I found this and my teammates don't know about it. Take it." He said, stubbornly pushing it towards her.
Ophelia watched how no matter what Severus would do for his best friend the redhead wouldn't take anything for granted, not even from him. Lily had certain values that she seemed to stand and live by, which were not uncommon for Ophelia. Yet, at the same time, the brunette saw people who immediately gave up on those values for a greater price.
Seeing how interrupting the two would be a mistake, especially with Severus getting angry so quickly, Ophelia took a long look around before going up the stairs towards the fifth floor.
She was halfway when something flew right past her. Her eyes widened when she saw Potter flying after something, impressively fast and focused.
"Hey Molley! Have you seen Jam-" Sirius Black stopped when the boy he was looking for ended up coming back with a winning smile on his face.
"Caught it! Little bugger thought that it could escape me but neah." Potter boasted, flying towards the ground. "Let's see what's inside!"
Once he opened it, all of them frowned. Potter turned it upside down and shook it but nothing fell out.
"Are you telling me this was a waste of time?" Black asked, his eyes narrowing at the yellow ball.
"What is it exactly? This pretty yellow flying ball."
Potter was so shocked that he almost fell off his broom. Black didn't seem surprised by her question since she probably didn't know how to have fun at all.
"This is the Golden Snitch! In Quidditch, if the Seeker catches this pretty little flying ball, that Seeker's team wins. It's very important Molley so you better cheer me up when I'll tryout next year."
"So that's why you seemed so good up there? You want to play seeker in the Gryffindor team?" She asked seeing the sudden change in his expression.
"I did look good up there, didn't I?" Potter snickered, "Anyway, since this has nothing, here-"He dropped it in her palm and jumped back on his broom, helping Black get right behind.
Ophelia watched the two boys fly only for three feet maybe before the broom fell on the ground. She froze when she heard heavy footsteps walking closer rapidly. The brunette didn't have to turn around to know who just arrived since the atmosphere became grim.
"Potter and Black, as expected you have stolen the brooms from the cabinet." Spinnard started coldly.
The professor raised his hand and the broom rose up to their knee level before whizzing to the stern man. However, he didn't look content and his expression darkened even more at the sight of Ophelia's green eyes.
"Having fun, Molley?" He asked one eyebrow raising smugly as if he was getting ready to embarrass her in front of the two boys.
She didn't answer him which, in Spinnard's mind, was an act of defiance. Those cold blue eyes narrowed at her, from afar making him seem as if he was cursing her. Potter raised an eyebrow appalled by the length the professor could go to just to make Ophelia feel like a piece of mud on the back of his shoe.
"Molley! Let's go search for that clue already!" He screamed before he actually ran to her and snatched her away from the evil professor. "
Spinnard didn't move one foot until he saw the three children jump on the stairs towards the Ravenclaw common room. He scoffed yet at the same time he felt melancholic. If only he didn't have to return to Hogwarts then his life could move on without having all these memories coming back in waves. It was all Dumbledore's fault but Spinnard could not defy the headmaster even if he wanted to.
----------------------------------------------------
"You should tell McGonagall about the way Spinnard treats you. That's not normal." Potter started murmuring, though it was loud enough for her to catch the message.
"I will if it gets worse." She answered, looking ahead instead of looking at the boy.
"He almost set you on fire last week." Potter combated stubbornly, his eyes sparkling behind his glasses, "I know he stopped giving Remus extra lessons so why does he continue with you? Even if you did something, Spinnard's overreacting." He added, stopping in front of a scenery painting. "What really happened anyway? Littlewood was whining before Christmas, in the train that you missed it. You, who never misses a class and comes right on time,"
Ophelia blinked, taken aback by the sudden worry especially coming from a person she would only watch than speak to. It was strange how close Potter seemed to be acting when he would only talk to her when they were forced to or under special circumstances. Suddenly, her sight moved on the dark haired boy who didn't utter a word the whole time.
"Why does Black only blame me for everything? I only know one Slytherin and he doesn't do much. How am I to blame for what other Slytherins do to anyone?" She asked coldly, surprising black with her bluntness once more.
"I don't hate you or anything." He answered quickly, looking angry for some reason.
"That's not what I asked."
Green eyes were staring into the depths of a pair of dark eyes, none aware that from the shadows; someone was watching everything and taking notes.
Of course, maybe it wasn't important at the moment but he has been instructed to watch little Ophelia and report any changes that might affect her at a higher level.
----------------------------------------------------
By the time they arrived in the Entrance Hall, Lily already met Cissney and Alice. One of them had the same kind of teary eyes as Remus when Ophelia met him a while ago and she didn't have to be a genius to understand what happened.
"The answer is not a crystal ball." Cissney started as soon as she saw Ophelia, tearing up from whatever has been thrown at her face.
"It's a mirror, like Lily said. Of course, we got your message a bit too late." Alice explained, patting her friend on the back in comfort.
Black and Potter glanced at each other before they laughed, making Cissney narrow her eyes at them and scream. It was a peculiar sight, especially with the way she seemed to tear up after every word thrown at the boys.
From the corner of her eye, Ophelia saw Lily look down at her hands before fidgeting nervously. The green eyed girl walked to her redhead friend and stared at her expectantly. When Lily didn't say anything, Ophelia decided she might as well admit what she witnessed.
"You didn't accept it, did you?"
"What do you mean?" Lily asked yet one look from Ophelia and she knew it was alright to speak about it, "He should have known I would refuse."
"I know."
Those two words seemed to have quite a big effect on Lily because she smiled and nodded, content with how their conversation finished. Suddenly, Ophelia's pocket started to buzz and she remembered she placed the golden snitch inside when Spinnard busted Potter and Black for taking the broom. Actually, the professor said something about brooms and they only had one.
Anyway, the witch took the snitch out and looked the way it was squirming in her hand. It was a pretty little thing and very precious in Quidditch yet it didn't seem to really arise any desire to learn how to play the sport. Ophelia could only see her reflection in it, her green eyes staring at it without a thought in her mind. It was as if she wanted to remember something and she was searching for that particular piece of memory but she couldn't find it. Her eyes seemed to have dilated and unconsciously, she pulled the snitch closer to her face. The whole world seemed to disappear leaving her alone in a dark and humid place where one voice was echoing yet only she could hear it. Ophelia frowned, unsure what was happening yet she couldn't look away from her reflection and the voice was incoherent.
"-you alright?"
She heard from distance but the the more poignant the echo was getting, the harder she could form the words in the background.
"Ophelia!"
She blinked and realized she has been thrown aside, falling on her back painfully. The golden snitch was rolling towards Alice's feet while everyone was watching her in confusion and worry. Her head was aching and the incoherent voice faded away but she still felt cold. Looking down at her hands, she saw little sparks flow through her palm, unnoticeable to others just yet but still a reason to panic.
"What were you thinking!?" McGonagall's voice rung through the hall, everybody freezing in their spots.
Ophelia thought that her professor was going to scold her for something or another, it was really confusing altogether with how she couldn't shrug off that trance and that search for a certain memory. Instead, McGonagall helped her up and glared at Sirius.
"In my office right now!" She didn't scream but it wasn't well intended either.
Just when McGonagall addressed Sirius did Ophelia notice the wand in his hand and the position he was in. Sirius Black used a spell on her to make her come back to normal and unfortunately for them, it was the stunning spell.
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