Chương 50: Getting Friendly with the Enemy
Tuesday begun with a lot of moaning from Gryffindors. They had Double Potions, Occlumency, Lunch, DADA and Care of Magical Creatures. Besides, everyone who signed up for the student council had a meeting right after dinner. Now, wondering who wanted to be in the student council, it wasn't a surprise that Lily and Cissney chose it.
"It's like fighting for the needs and desires of the students of Hogwarts. I find it very useful." Lily explained at breakfast when asked.
"I am quite good at interacting with people and have a lot of information up here, about everyone." Cissney explained when she was asked, pointing at her head. "I know every single thing that happens in Hogwarts." She added, boasting abut her social influence.
Ophelia hid her chuckle behind the mug of tea, but Potter scoffed loudly, making Cissney glare at him.
Right after breakfast, Ophelia took her time when walking out of the Hall, having no desire to arrive in the classroom earlier than needed. She was thinking about a lot of things, most of them regarding August and her short time in the Lestrange household. Yeah, she figured out where Tom took her and she was not excited to go back there soon. Passing the Slytherin table, she took a glimpse at Rodolphus and shivered when she saw him laugh.
[Flashback]
"I'm not so sure I want to follow you into the basement," Ophelia murmured, having Rodolphus drag her down a set of stairs. It was growing dark and cold and she was sure that place was not at all the same as Spinnard's basement.
"Shut up and enter." He ordered her coldly, making her swallow nervously.
The seventh year student walked for a few minutes before he arrived in front of a door. The sight Ophelia met was bloody: there were cells on one side of the wall, with an actual being inside, while the other had only one locked room.
"What's in there?" She couldn't help but ask.
"Nothing. But if you don't do as I say, you'll end up like that house elf," he said, pointing at a cell.
Ophelia frowned and walked closer to the bars, wrapping her hands around them so she could lean on them to see better. Inside, in the darkness, was a small creature that had blood dripping from the side of his head, eyes sore from crying and half of his body was burnt. He was dressed in a worn out cloth, not even covering his entire body. The creature looked up at her with its wide blue eyes and whimpered, the pain showing into his eyes. His hands were free but his legs were chained.
"This is barbaric," Ophelia whispered, not believing what she was seeing.
"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" The older boy scoffed before he turned to the house elf, "Why are you in there, Dilys?" Rodolphus asked, his voice resonating on the walls.
Poor Dilys could barely open his mouth to speak but Ophelia did catch the elf's murmur.
"Dilys has cleaned the sheets inside master Rodolphus' room with an ill scented soap. Dilys tried to make the scent go away, knowing master doesn't like lavender but-" the elf had to take a breath of air before he added, "It was Dilys' mistake. Dilys is sorry."
Ophelia's eyes were tearing up at the way that small being was speaking. Those blue eyes of his teared up and he couldn't even wipe them off. He couldn't really move from what she could see.
"There, the reason why he's in here. That's what happens when you don't do your job right. You better take notes, Molley." Rodolphus explained, his eyes narrowing at the elf before moving forward. "Come already if you don't want to look the same!" He screamed, Dilys' eyes widening at the girl that seemed to empathize with his pain.
They walked a few steps more until they arrived in a large hall where Ophelia saw four knight armors leaning against the three walls she could see. Rodolphus pulled Ophelia in the middle of the hall and took a few steps back before he smirked. He whispered some spell that created fog, having Ophelia stand in the middle of an unknown place and taking away the sight from her.
"Protect yourself, Molley." He advised the third year student before he literally vanished.
Ophelia drew her wand out from her back pocket and took a deep breath before letting it out shakily. Looking around, she saw a shadow to her right and quickly attacked.
"Stupefy!" She screamed but the spell bounced off whatever it hit and hit her instead, throwing her against something very hard and cold.
The girl got up and leaned against whatever she fell against before something grabbed her hand and threw her against the wall. Her back hurt like heck and she could barely get on her hands and feet when she heard people walking. Wait, not people but armors. She could hear their clinking and even noticed two pairs of steel boots moving towards her.
Ophelia was horrified what those knights could do to her so she tried again.
"Crucio!" She screamed, hoping a deadly curse would pass through the armor but it didn't. Ophelia's green eyes widened and she screamed in pain, her whole body growing numb until she fainted.
She woke up on the ground in the same hall but the sight was clear and the armors were in their places against the walls. Ophelia rose, a bit hard but she managed. There was no one there to help her or rub her aching back. There was no one and if she wanted to get out of there, she had to walk by herself and eventually face Rodolphus, who will probably send her back for another round.
[End of Flashback]
Ophelia shuddered again at the memory. That cruciatus curse hurt like nothing she had ever experienced before and her back had a lot of bruises. It was a wonder how she could hide it until now from the girls but moreover, from Cerberus.
Walking without really paying attention, when she wanted to go towards the dungeons, she crashed into someone who was running towards her. The boy was short and very skinny; his pointed nose and dark eyes reminded her of someone but not exactly. He looked at her but didn't scoff or push her. Instead, the boy helped her up and apologized.
"I'm sorry. I was-uh-I was in a hurry to-uh-" He was searching for an answer, clearly not wanting to tell her what he was really running from.
"Herbology?" Ophelia asked, knowing no one has Herbology in the morning.
"Right, right. Herbology. That works," the boy said quickly, getting ready to walk up the stairs not outside towards the green rooms.
"Herbology's done in the green rooms, outside," she stated, pointing at the front door. "Are you really alright?"
"Sure." The boy mumbled, wiping the dust off his robes. Now that she was looking closely, he had the Slytherin colors all over his attire. "I have to run now. Sorry again!"
Ophelia watched him leave, still going up the stairs not outside. Well, it wasn't her business, not even when a group of first year Slytherins walked out from the dungeon while she walked down, past them. They were laughing loudly and some sneered at her which Ophelia found amusing.
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"I'm glad to inform you that this year we'll be learning how to prepare Confusing Concotion and Shrinking Solution, which can be very dangerous so please be careful around your classmates. For now you won't work in pairs or groups, we've all seen how that can go, so try to do your best." Slughorn said with a nervous smile.
Working by herself, Ophelia was horrible yet not as bad as she used to be. It seemed that Rabastan's influence worth something and Rodolphus' torturing ways were enough to make her fear failure. She got another shiver when she remembered the moment he made that clear.
[Flashback]
Every day after everyone was going to sleep at home, which only meant Cerberus, Ophelia had to go to the Lestrange household using the Floo Powder and be tortured in different ways by Rodolphus. He'd drag her down into the basement and lock her in there. Walking past Dilys' cell every night, she could feel her heart break piece by piece. It was such a horrible sight and he was the only victim in there.
Once in the hall, the knights would come to life spontaneously and attack her but whatever spell she'd use, it would bounce off and hit her instead. She fell so much that her back was a very ugly purple color.
One night she was dragging herself back after a very long and horrible night with the knights when she fell against the bars of Dilys' cell.
"M-miss shouldn't use magic." Dilys whispered, his voice hoarse.
"If not magic then what should I do? Hit them? Fight with my bare hands?" She asked, her back hurting when she moved.
"Miss can use transfiguration," Dilys advised her, her eyes widening at the idea. She got up, though it still hurt, but at least she had a new idea she could try out.
"Thank you." she said, smiling softly at the creature in pain.
The next night, Ophelia had a lot more energy until Rodolphus followed her inside instead of locking her by herself.
"This is the last time. If you don't win against them, you'll be tortured for real." Rodolphus said coldly, his voice low and tired.
Luckily, with Dilys' help, Ophelia straightened her back and tried her best to concentrate. She could hear the armors pacing around her until she saw a shadow. Instead of screaming some curse, she used transfiguration to change the armor into the first thing she could think of: keys. By the time the fog dissipated, there were 12 keys spread around the floor.
"Finally," Rodolphus mumbled, rolling his eyes. "You're slower than I imagined, Molley."
"Whatever," she muttered to herself, yet feeling a new sense of achievement. "What now? Am I going to fight you?"
"No. Not yet," he said with a sneer.
Instead, the next night, Rodolphus apparated in her garden and urged her towards the forest. With every step taken deeper into it, Ophelia noticed slight differences in temperature. It was August but it became so cold that she could see the vapors of her breath. Her subconscious knew what was there and the hair on her back rose in anticipation. The grass was freezing and silence engulfed the surroundings. It was even more awful when she felt a black creature hovering over her from behind. She was terrified, especially after her patronus form abandoned her the last time.
"It seems you can conjure a clear patronus form so go ahead. Use it so you can survive."
"How do you even know about that?" Ophelia asked, frowning at the older boy. The Dementor behind her flied to the side, in waiting, before she saw three more flying closer.
"Aren't you going to save yourself, Molley? Will you let a few Dementors feast on your soul?"
That was a sight that she didn't want to see but she couldn't think of any happy memory. With Spinnard and her parents being dead, there was really nothing to think of. It was so bad that when the Dementors started to circle her, closing on their prey, Ophelia closed her eyes, terrified that she was going to die.
"Think of a happy memory, Molley. There must be something after all."
"They're gone," she whispered, her heart beating quickly, "They're all gone."
Rodolphus watched her panicking, even bending on her knees and whispering things like I'm going to die or I have no one left. It was a bad sight and no matter how much he liked to see her praying for her life, she wasn't begging for help, she wasn't even considering his help. It was a mystery how and why the Dark Lord came in contact with her and even more surprising was the moment he was asked to train Ophelia. But the Dark Lord said clearly that Ophelia was not to die.
"Think of anything that makes you happy, Molley. Anything and anyone. Snape, for example."
Ophelia's eyes widened and she turned to Rodolphus with her mouth agape. One Dementor flied so close to her that she fell backwards and the others started to feed off her happy memories. There must have been some since they were eating something so with a heavy sigh and a very recent moment in mind, she screamed.
"Expecto Patronum!"
The form that appeared out her wand was a fox, the small animal running around her and scratching the dark creatures. She was saved and the form didn't disappear immediately. It was amazing and with the coldness disappearing, Ophelia could finally relax.
"Good work, Molley. Tomorrow you'll be facing twice as many Dementors and maybe a few more things. It depends on the Dark Lord."
The next week ended up being more of a trap course than anything, with dangerous animals and creatures everywhere and even people cursing at her. It was horrible and Ophelia ended up with a lot of wounds and even scratches on her face. On the last day of August, Ophelia crawled in her bed and slept until lunch when Cerberus came into her room.
"Oi, are you really that tired? You've been-" he stopped and he gasped, seeing the scratches on her face. "What happened to you!?"
Ophelia sighed as her guardian uncovered her and took a look at her body. He frowned and grabbed her face softly, turning her head to each side, analyzing the damage.
"I fell."
Cerberus let her go and looked at her with serious brown eyes. His expression was one that Ophelia had only seen once around Spinnard.
"I'm sorry." Ophelia muttered, looking down at her hands. Her fingers were swollen and she could hardly move her right hand.
[End of Flashback]
The training stopped but the scars remained and so did the memories. Cutting the scurvy grass into tiny pieces, Ophelia cut her finger by mistake. Seeing the blood drip slowly, she remembered Dilys. Poor house elf could be dead by now for all she knew.
Occlumency was next and the classroom was on the fifth floor, facing the gold armor and the portrait of a dog. Cerberus was already inside, his back turned to the door so he couldn't see her. After Ophelia entered Nott, who was careful to scowl at her presence.
"What are you doing here, Molley? This isn't a class for someone like you," he very bluntly offended her.
"I thought Slytherins are trained from a very young age, for example 5, in everything that could favor them in life. Weren't Occlumency and Legilimency among those things?" She asked, grabbing Cerberus' attention yet he didn't turn.
"I'd be careful to change classes if I were you. You don't know who'll get into your pretty head and mess around." Nott added, threatening her even if she didn't feel so.
"I didn't know you thought my head is pretty," she teased him, seeing the boy blush and scoff before he moved as far from her as possible. Ophelia couldn't help but chuckle to herself, bemused by his reaction.
In the next few minutes, almost every third year Slytherin entered the classroom and kept their distance from the only Gryffindor. In the whole class there were six Slytherins, three Ravenclaws , three Hufflepuffs and one Gyrffindor. Cerberus smiled at his 13 students and prepared himself for a year of spontaneity.
"Welcome, I am Cerberus Knowingall and I'll introduce you into the world of one's mind. I'll teach you how to guard your mind against exterior manipulation."
"This is a waste of time. Why not teach us Legilimency. I don't need to protect my mind but use it so that I can be that exterior manipulation, professor." Mulciber spoke for most of his house mates.
"There's a lot more to guarding your mind than you believe. It can greatly help you against a skilled Legilimens and it can protect you when facing the imperius curse." Cerberus explained before he grabbed his wand and walked in front of Mulciber. "Want to try it, Lucas?"
"Mulciber's first name is Lucas?" Ophelia couldn't help but ask the person next to her, which was a Ravenclaw whose name she didn't know.
"Lucas Mulciber, Augustus Nott, Severus Snape and Arwel Avery. The two girls are Katie Rosier, the younger sister of Evan Rosier and Gwen Hopkins." The Ravenclaw boy explained, pointing at the Slytherin group.
"And who are you?"
"Timothy Goldstein. Nice to meet you." The blond smiled and shook Ophelia's hand warmly. "The other Ravenclaws are Rory Jones and Rhys Barnaby. The Hufflepuffs are Thomas something, Rufus McMillan and Dorothy Martinez." Timothy answered, going over everyone in the room. "And you're Ophelia Molley, the only Gryffindor that chose Occlumency this year."
Ophelia blinked, Timothy's face shifting into Cissney's for a moment. It was so strange how two people that didn't know each other could be so alike.
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The first Occlumency lesson was not amazing. No one could really participate and no matter how much Cerberus tried to enter everyone's minds at once, it was challenging. The professor had to come up with a better idea and he had one in mind but may not be the best.
"You're going to exhaust yourself if you do it every week." Ophelia approached Cerberus when the lesson ended. He looked pale and he sat down as soon as the two hours passed.
"I know but I can't risk teaching Legilimency at the same time or else Slytherins will go around entering everyone's mind. Even the others might do it for fun."Cerberus replied, sighing at the end. "Dumbledore should pay me a lot more."
"You do realize you'll have four hours of DADA every week for every house, right?" Ophelia asked, leaning against his desk.
"I arranged with Dumbledore so that I can pair two houses with two houses. Unfortunately, Gryffindors are paired with Slytherins. I didn't make that choice, Dumbledore did." Cerberus added quickly, raising his hands in defense.
"It seems like Mulciber and Avery are the two Slytherins who can't control their desire for chaos. I took a glimpse into their minds and they were both thinking of ways to enter yours. I think they'll try and learn Legilimency by themselves." Ophelia told her professor, getting a playful glare in return.
"They'll learn it in their dark arts lessons. I heard a lot of seventh years came together and will soon begin their lessons."
"Good for them." Ophelia answered simply before she waved at her professor and left for lunch. Cerberus sighed and closed his eyes, feeling his head split in two. He could see why Spinnard hated teaching so much; it was literally a continuous pain.
Ophelia was silently walking towards the Great Hall when she saw Rodolphus Lestrange talking to Malfoy. They both stopped and the more dangerous student glared at her.
"Lucius, be nice and inform Molley where our meeting will take place. I will make sure she won't die on her first day."
Ophelia felt like scoffing. While Rodolphus left, bumping onto her shoulder on the way, Lucius stayed back with a frown.
"If I didn't die while he trained me then I'm not going to die at Hogwarts." The witch assured Lucius. She was slightly taller, easily reaching Lucius' chest now and her hair was reaching her mid back. Her eyes seemed to have elongated even more, or maybe it was the scratch she had on her temple. "By the way, Lucius, will I learn how to apparate during the dark arts lessons?"
"Why? You have plans?" The blond asked, not really caring but still showing some type of curiosity.
"That's why I asked. I need to check on someone." She admitted without considering that Lucius might tell his housemate.
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