Rumour Has It

Thursday passed with nothing interesting happening. It was rather peaceful compared to how much of a fuss Severus made. Friday came around and during Potions, Ophelia let her partner do most of the work while she stared shamelessly at her professor.

Slughorn felt her intense gaze from the moment she entered the classroom. He knew what it was about but he didn't want to speak about it. Ophelia was not even close to the last of his favorites but something about her was making him tremble.

"Is there something wrong, Molley?" He asked, a fake smile plastered on his face.

Ophelia nodded, surprising Slughorn with how upward she was.

"About my tutor, I haven't had the chance to arrange anything with him. I thought he might have told you when and where we should meet?" She asked, making sure that her fellow classmates won't hear but Severus will.

"I suppose the weekend? He is a busy student, he may not have enough time yet."

Severus rolled his eyes but Slughorn didn't even notice him. Ophelia's eyes were so familiar yet Slughorn couldn't understand why.

"If you don't want to fail class, you better listen to that tutor of yours instead of daydreaming," Severus mumbled once Slughorn left their table, "It's Lestrange that's tutoring you, you should take the chance and ask him about his older brother." The greasy haired boy added.

Ophelia threw her friend a skeptical look from the side and scoffed, unconsciously adding an unnecessary ingredient into the cauldron, changing its color. Severus's chin tightened as he grasped the edge of the desk in annoyance. She could be a handful on more than one occasion.

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Unfortunately, just before dinner, a bulky and seemingly bothered Rabastan Lestrange entered the Great Hall, his eyes searching for one dark haired girl. Once he found her, his eyes narrowed as he walked towards her.

"Um- you may be in danger, Pheli," Cissney mumbled, noticing the Slytherin stare at their table, "Big trouble is coming towards you." She added, looking down at her plate when the boy reached them.

Ophelia turned around in time to see the Slytherin glowering at her, making Lupin who was standing next to her shift in his seat uncomfortably.

"Every Saturday afternoon, in the Potions classroom. Don't be late." Rabastan announced grumpily before turning around and going towards his table.

Ophelia watched the bulky boy curiously until he sat next to one of his housemates. A few seats down from him was the blond that was giving Severus a hard time. Malfoy was throwing glances at Rabastan, glances that looked too pleased to mean well.

"Will you be alright? He seems a bit uptight." Lupin whispered, his eyes too following Rabastan as he sat and ate with a stiff expression.

Ophelia couldn't take her eyes off Malfoy, making it obvious that she was staring at him. A housemate must have told him about it because Malfoy's head turned towards the Gryffindor table with a scowl.

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Nothing else happened, except the usual Potter-Black duo which became louder than before.

"You two have become like two peas in a pot." Alice commented in the Common Room.

"If only you would shut up and let us do our homework, everything would be better." Cissney added, throwing an annoyed look at Black. It didn't seem to reach him- nothing did.

Lupin chuckled before he turned to the brunette that was trying to memorize the Potions lesson for her tutoring lesson tomorrow.

"Are you sure you will be alright tomorrow? He seems a bit different from last year."

"Rabastan is the least of my worries at the moment." Ophelia mumbled, reading Severus' notes. She grabbed a piece of parchment and copied them down several times before sighing heavily.

When the students entered that Friday in the DADA classroom, they found it empty. For the first time ever, Luce Spinnard was late and that sole detail made the class whisper in between.

"Do you think he got sacked for messing with his students?" Frank asked when ten minutes passed and the cold professor was still missing.

"I think you're dreaming too high. There's a rumor that Dumbledore insisted that Spinnard comes back and teaches at Hogwarts." Black answered nonchalantly, his eyes wandering from the mates close to him to the ones in front.

Ophelia was sitting at her desk, looking down at her hands in what a stranger would say was disappointment. But once she raised her head enough for her face to show, Black knew she was in a state of happiness.

"Maybe we can take the evening off and do something productive," Potter mumbled, grumpy that after such a long day he had to wait instead of resting.

"I dare you say that again, Potter."

The icy tone sent a chill all through the classroom. Students straightened up in their seats and some moved from their friends and sat as far in the back as possible.

"I'm sorry professor but you are late and-" Potter's eyes widened when Spinnard threw him a glare. It was different from other times as if his control cracked and wanted nothing more than to skin his students alive.

Passing Ophelia's desk, he threw something in her lap. It was incredibly subtle as nobody even imagined he would pass her a note. Reading it slowly, Ophelia had to stare for a bit at the handwriting. The note was written by someone with a certain elegance; definitely not Spinnard whose writing was more messy than elegant.

"Do not be afraid to ask for my help." She read with a frown. What was that supposed to mean? Was it from Dumbledore or maybe...

It was one of the few lessons when Spinnard forgot he had Ophelia in the class. He taught like he had rehearsed the lesson over the past weeks and didn't say anything even if he noticed the notes going from Potter to different students.

When his eyes fell over Ophelia, he saw her writing silently while taking quick glances at the note he gave her. He sighed heavily, feeling like a puppet thrown from one man to the other. He was confused why Dumbledore had Cerberus write something so silly.

[Flashback]

A seemingly angry Luce hurried up the stairs towards the headmaster's office, checking his watch every five minutes because really, he hated to be late even if that meant seeing Potter's face grinning during his lesson.

"What is it so alarming that I have to witness?" Spinnard yelled as soon as he entered.

Cerberus was there as well and he looked even more confused than Luce. Dumbledore sighed, which was never a good sign before a conversation, and he rose, walking around his desk towards Cerberus. The headmaster gave him a piece of parchment and forced a polite smile.

"I would like you to write down a few words. It is very important at the moment to make it as elegant as possible." Dumbledore told Cerberus before he took the rest of the steps towards Luce, "I'm afraid there is a spy amongst the students. I have been informed that Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Lestrange have been incredibly angry that the philosopher stone they have gotten is not the real one."

"And why should that bother us? They have nothing but large mouths, good to bark but not bite." Spinnard stated coldly, only remembering Lestrange's face and growing annoyed.

"Not them," Dumbledore whispered, his blue eyes sparkling from under his spectacles. Luce raised a eyebrow, curious what else there was that Dumbledore was not telling him.

[End of Flashback]

So, from that brief intense look, Spinnard could guess it had something to do with Ophelia and her connection to her father. It didn't look like she was aware how important were the details she had caught glimpse of in his memories but he was adamant that she figured out enough to search for Tom by herself.

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

"I cannot believe he came late and talked for the whole remaining time like a broken record. I don't know if I should be content or angry," Potter started, lightly leaning against Sirius who looked like his soul has been gone and recently returned in his body.

"I cannot believe he still gave us homework. A mountain of it for Monday~" Sirius added, also leaning slightly against his friend.

By the time they arrived at their table, Cissney was first to take the seat next to Lily while Alice grabbed the other side, making Potter stand on his feet for a few minutes, thinking what he should do or say to make one of them move. In the end, nothing worked and he gave up for the day.

"Wasn't Spinnard suspicious today? I heard that-"

"If Littlewood begins a sentence with <I heard that> it must be definitely true," Black mumbled, rolling his eyes at the short girl. Cissney scoffed loudly and turned to Lily while kicking someone under the table. Unfortunately, the one hurt ended up being Pettigrew who was sitting next to Sirius.

"Anyway, rumor has it that Dumbledore bought another staff member, one that is an animagus. A lot of people have seen a black kitten roaming the halls and corridors and everyone believes that's him." She continued, throwing a proud look at Black, who suddenly became curious.

"Why would someone choose a black kitten as an animagus form?" The dark haired boy mumbled before he filled his cup with pumpkin juice.

"True. An animagus should be far greater than a fur ball. Something big and proud, turning every eye when strutting down the halls." Potter added with a bright smile, puffing out his chest as he reached for another dessert.

Lily rolled her eyes and scoffed at the childish infatuation of being highly recognized by everyone. Taking a closer look, Potter was not even close to her image of a respectable wizard.

"I'm not so sure about that. What do you think Remus?" Alice asked the brains of the groups, knowing he would give them a legit answer.

"Wouldn't a smaller form be more beneficial than a wide one? You'd be agile and able to enter and exit anywhere without being noticed. A large creature is hard to handle and hide." Remus added, his eyes falling over his plate.

Potter narrowed his eyes thoughtfully at his mate but granted to the space between being taken suddenly, he broke his gaze and focused on the girl next to him. The thoughtful expression didn't change, though.

"Where have you been, badge?" Potter asked in a serious tone.

"Bathroom." She answered without taking her eyes off the table. Since Potter's narrowed eyes only intensified, she innocently turned to look at him, "What?"

"Would you prefer a smaller form or a larger form as an animagus?" The glasses boy asked making the petty question sound life threatening.

"What's an animagus?" The brunette asked, having no idea what they have been discussing before she arrived.

Potter sighed and leaned back, "Should have expected it,"