Home Sweet Home

"Sev!" Ophelia called for the Slytherin boy but he only threw her a glance before walking out into the entrance Hall.

Feeling like she should follow him, she glanced at Dumbledore before walking out. While hurrying out the Great Hall, she pulled a tart out of her pocket and pushed the stone into it before placing it back. It was safer to have it hidden than have everyone take a peek.

Severus was waiting at the stairs towards the kitchen and he looked paler than on a usual occasion. His eyes widened when he saw her coming his way and urged her to move faster.

"Where is it?" He asked, scanning her face for an answer.

Luckily, though maybe not at that time but later on, Ophelia was very good at hiding her emotions and showing nothing but a blank face that would puzzle the great wizards of the world. Unfortunately, Severus was not pleased with that poker face.

"We have to give Malfoy the stone." Severus said his eyes wide as he stuck his hand out for the object.

Seeing him so worked up over something so small, a sudden desire to let him squirm a bit more engulfed her. It was sadistic especially when that person was her friend yet it felt natural.

"Well? Do you have it or not?" He asked, obviously getting annoyed and impatient.

She nodded and pulled out three tarts from her pockets. Severus raised an eyebrow, not questioning why she had them in the first place but still expecting her to give him the stone.

"I put it in one of the lemon tarts. They all look the same so I'm not sure which is it anymore." She admitted calmly.

Maybe the way she was speaking so easily about it as if it wasn't important or urgent was what made him angry. Or maybe it was the way her eyes were glistening in the light as if she was only messing with him. Anyway, Severus drew his wand and pointed it at her nose.

"Are you serious?! We risked detention and even expulsion for that stone!" He screamed, not caring about passer byes. "We need it. I need it." He hissed, taking a step towards her thus ending with pocking her nose with the tip of his wand.

"I know. But once we got there, the trunk was sealed and had a Dementor guarding it. What happened back then? Who saved us?" She asked, the conversation she had with Dumbledore still fresh in her mind.

"Professor Spinnard did." Severus answered but she didn't look convinced, "I saw your Patronus running deep into the Forest and figured you found the Dementor. I was on my way to you when something hit my head. When I woke up, Professor Spinnard was carrying you into the Hospital Wing and I was in Hagrid's arms. That's all."

"Madame Pomfrey said that you visited me a lot."

Severus seemed genuinely confused which only confused Ophelia.

"I didn't. Professor Dumbledore told me not to. He emphasized not to come, which I found strange at first but he is the headmaster."

Ophelia blinked twice before she pushed the wand away from her face and leaned against the wall. She couldn't think of anything but how a lot of stuff in her life seemed to not connect very well. Dumbledore was saying something, teachers were saying something and then friends were saying something; none fit together and she was only growing more and more confused and frustrated.

"Maybe someone else came to visit and told Madame Pomfrey my name." He added, seeing the change in her expression. It was weird how the glint faded and she looked scared. "Now, can you give me the stone? I have to send it urgently."

Without a second thought, Ophelia gave him a different tart that she had hid in her robes for later use. Severus seemed thrilled when he scooped out the object and smiled widely. But Ophelia was not happy and the halls of Hogwarts became a bit colder because she shuddered.

After Christmas, and that very ugly adventure in the Forbidden Forest, Ophelia decided to study and study only. Severus probably sent the stone to Malfoy because he became very carefree during the next few days. He'd find Ophelia in the library writing about spells and even though he'd like to interfere, he chose not to.

That was how the break came to an end and the semester begun. Many students came during the morning but a few came late at night, one of them being Lucius Malfoy. He entered the Slytherin common room and scowled at most of the first years before his eyes landed on Severus. With a smirk plastered on his face and a very royal attitude, he went straight to the young boy.

"My father was most pleased of your gift, Snape. However, he did not like your lateness." He started, not really waiting for an answer as he strutted away in the next moment.

Severus sighed in relief and went into his room, grateful that his school life was peaceful for now. Once he entered the boys' dormitory, the first thing he saw was Nott being accosted by a brown elegant owl.

"Take him off or I swear I'm going to torture him just for the fun of it before killing him!" He screamed angrily at Mulciber.

But Mulciber was watching the sight with a smile on his face, entertained by the owl and its bravery.

On the other side, once the owl saw Severus, he stopped and flied to him, landing on his shoulder. Severus was surprised and froze under Nott's indignant gaze.

"Was this your way of having fun, Snape? You want to duel? Or maybe you want me to tell my father about it?" Nott spat with hatred.

Severus shook his head quickly and tried to get the owl off. It didn't budge.

"It's not his. It looks too smart to be his." Mulciber noted, already having been acquainted with Severus' ugly old owl.

"Give him to Slughorn. I'm sure he'd like another one to send his letters."

Severus nodded and walked out with the owl not moving an inch off his shoulder.

----------------------------------------------------

"Home sweet home! I missed you sofa! I missed you fireplace! I missed you Evans!" Potter tried to wrap his arms around

Lily as he did to all the other stuff but Lily moved out of the way quickly.

"You've only been gone for a few weeks. What will you do during the summer?" Cissney asked, frowning at the childish boy.

Potter shrugged and walked towards Sirius, wrapping an arm around him as Black did the same to him.

"It's been a hard few weeks without you mate. I thought I'll lose my sense of humor with my mum always nagging." Potter mumbled, winking at Remus even though he was speaking to Sirius.

"How was your Christmas break Black? As uninteresting as Potter's?" Cissney asked, making Potter scoff.

"Fine." He answered coldly. "The family gathered for a festive dinner that didn't end being very festive."

It wasn't what he said as it was the way he was uncomfortable and made the rest feel it too. Luckily, Ophelia walked inside the common room at the needed moment. Her eyes widened when Remus smiled at her.

"I haven't seen you in the train, Ophelia. Did you have a good Christmas with your family?" He asked kindly, completely different from the kindness from Severus during the break.

"No. I lost the train home and spent Christmas here. It was interesting, to say." She answered in the same tone as Sirius.

"You have no idea what fun is, do you Molley? Where are you living anyway?" Potter asked, walking towards her with his tight grasp around Sirius, forcing him to follow.

"Birmingham."

Potter raised an eyebrow, "Are you from a rich family?"

Ophelia nodded before turning to Remus, "Professor Spinnard won't probably ask you to write essays anymore. He told me, and he was very explicit, that he will torture me these remaining few months." She said, ignoring Potter.

"Like I said. No fun at all always trying to be the best in class. Tsk. At least we all know you're bullocks at Potions." Potter joked, making Pettigrew give such a loud and surprising laugh that it scared Alice.

But Ophelia didn't find it offending and definitely not funny. She tilted her head to the side and threw him a look that pretty much meant he was stupid before she turned to Cissney.

"I couldn't give you any presents. I'm sorry. I have something upstairs for each of you." She said, Cissney's face brightening at the mention of presents.

"I have one for you too! Let's hurry!" Cissney jumped off the sofa and grabbed Ophelia's wrist before dragging her to their dormitory.

Once she was pushed inside the dormitory, Cissney waited for Lily and Alice to enter before she closed the door and turned to the brunette with a serious face.

"You're the person that always comes right in time for anything. What happened that made you stay here for Christmas?" Cissney asked, having the other girls stare at her with the same amount of worry.

The girls leaned in, making Ophelia feel stuck in a position that she's never been in before. It was a bit flattering to have them worry for her well being but it was also a bit burdening.

"I had extra work and-"

"You're lying." Lily interfered quickly, "You can trust us, Pheli. Just tell us."

Ophelia sighed, feeling pressure falling down on her heart, making it cringe. She didn't want to tell them anything because they might act rash but at the same time, she really, really wanted to share it and have more opinions.

In the end, she chose what was best at the moment and it took the whole late afternoon for her to explain everything in a way that wouldn't make Severus look bad.

"Why did Severus accept this in the first place? Is Malfoy so bad with his own Slytherin mates?" Alice asked, her and Cissney having the most objective eye in the matter.

Lily looked down at her hands and sighed heavily. She knew Severus and knew he would never endanger someone by his own choice.

"What I find more interesting is that someone used his name to visit you in the hospital. Are you sure Madame Pomfrey was talking about Snape?" Cissney asked, leaning backwards on her hands.

Ophelia nodded, "She said so. Well, it doesn't really matter anyway. Everyone's back so whoever visited me will never be found. I'm more concerned how the rest of the year will proceed. I can't send letters or receive anything because of Willy."

"You can use one of ours or one from the Owlery. I told you, even the store owner advised people not to buy that owl. He's bad news." Cissney mumbled, taking a pause to look after her rat before smiling at the sight of him moving in circles on her bed. "Maybe he ran away."

Ophelia frowned. That owl was meaningful to her because she'd get the same feeling of loneliness that she felt when she was in the orphanage. Besides, Willy looked trustworthy back then.

----------------------------------------------------

The next morning, Ophelia woke up having a very vague feeling of disappointment. She dreamed something about her mother again but couldn't remember when she woke up. Actually, the reason she forgot was the line that woke her up in the first place.

"Come on, Remus! Just one page! I completely forgot about our assignment!"

That was Potter and he was begging Remus to give him his homework in order to copy it down.

"Professor Spinnard will know. He knows how I work on my assignments." Remus tried to combat but Potter was very persistent.

"Having something is better than nothing, especially with Spinnard."

There was a small pause before she heard a grumbled Fine and silence filled the tower.

When she walked down into the common room, Remus was sitting on a chair, watching Potter copying word by word from his lengthy homework.

"We had to write five pages about Transfiguration too." She mumbled, taking a seat near Remus, "But if you show her rather than explain, I'm sure she'll be delighted."

Potter scoffed and glared at her before he returned to writing. Remus chuckled when he noticed the content look on Ophelia's face. It was clear that no matter what Potter was doing to her, she was slowly opening up and getting out of her shell.

With her friends always backing her up and encouraging her, winter seemed to go by incredibly fast and March came around, the sight around the castle coming back to life. Of course, life inside the castle was pretty much the same: Mulciber came to enjoy placing one or two jokes on Ophelia and Remus seemed to have caught his eye too, which only ended in having Slytherins and Gryffindors hate each other more than before. Black and Potter were personally offended when Remus' books transformed into snakes all of a sudden and Mulciber was not even hiding that he was the culprit.

"I'm going to rip his head off, just watch me. I'm going to do it sooner or later." Sirius grumbled while stuffing his face at dinner during an eventful Thursday.

Potter nodded slowly, completely drawn to the book he was reading, which was coincidentally about Hogwarts.

"I'm thinking, maybe during the Scavenger Hunt in April we could create some opportunities." He started, writing actual notes from the book.

"Are you sick, by any chance? You look like you're studying." Cissney whispered, her eyes widening at the peculiar sight.

"I'm a gifted wizard, Littlewood, but sometimes I do have to use the commoner ways." Potter mumbled, getting a high five from his best friend.

Cissney scoffed loudly and turned to Ophelia, "If only this gift of his would be a smaller voice, then my mornings would be so much better." She said out loud, making Potter throw her a glare before returning to his book.

"Why is he reading it? Doesn't that seem suspicious?" Alice asked, trying to take a peek at it over Black's shoulder but he blocked her.

"Haven't you heard of privacy either, Worley? This is men's business." He took care to emphasize that before whispering something to Potter and leaving the Great Hall together.

"By the way, I'm sorry Mulciber has been targeting you Remus. He started with me and somehow, got to you." Ophelia mumbled apologetically.

Remus' eyes widened, surprised that she would apologize for something that she didn't have control of. He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment before he actually answered.

"That is certainly not your fault. I'm sorrier for what Professor Spinnard is doing to you during classes."

Oh yes. That. Ophelia thought that Professor Spinnard was only half joking when he said he will take care of her during DADA classes but he was definitely not. Every lesson had to be properly exemplified and Spinnard took it upon himself to show his students what they were learning so they could know how to react in such situations. Ophelia was always the subject that he would either bully during class or use as punching bag, no matter if it was or not her fault. It was petty and childish but it was already March and he was not showing any signs that he'd stop soon.

"Yes…that is a problem I provoked by myself." She answered, the girls' eyes staring at her knowingly. "At least everyone's having good grades and they're enjoying themselves." Ophelia added quickly, knowing Spinnard was being vile only to her.

"Well, Longbottom does for sure. He's been improving a lot these months after Christmas." Cissney mumbled, catching a glimpse of the boy she spoke about.

"And it's only the first year." Alice added in a small voice, playing with her food while listening to her dorm-mates.

Ophelia felt tired already. Many things happened and it was only the first year in Hogwarts.