Meet us at the Hogs Head on the first Hogsmeade trip. The note had said.
At first Ophelia was surprised Hermione had chosen such a dodgy place to discuss their ‘study group’. But here she was, sat inside the pub, nursing a fire whiskey and waiting for the Gryffindor trio.
After Harry had asked for her help during their defence lesson, the topic had not come up for two weeks. Until a couple of days ago, when the owl had come to her during breakfast. Thankfully, Tracey had stayed in the dorm when Ophelia went down to the great hall that morning. Somehow, she didn’t want to involve the other Slytherin with this.
“Why’s she here?” Ron’s voice made her look up. She scowled. Since she had been sorted into Slytherin, the red-head had all but ignored, showing his distaste whenever she was near.
“Harry asked for my help you twat.” Lia replied, raising her eyebrows at him. “And since I know more magic than your bigoted little brain could possibly handle, I think you need it.”
Harry chuckled at Lia’s response. “Chill out Ron, we could use her help.”
Ron slumped into the seat opposite Ophelia. “Fine. But don’t blame me when she runs off to her little snake friends and screws us over”.
“In case you haven’t noticed, the rest of that slimy house despises me Ronald.” Lia retorted, resorting to using his full name, which he hated. “And believe me; you’re far down on my list of people that I want to screw”.
“Now that’s a list I’d like to see.” A voice from behind Ophelia whispered. She whipped round and found herself again uncomfortably close to no other than George Weasley.
Doesn’t he understand the concept of personal space? She cursed in her head. George hadn’t spoken to her since she’d (stupidly, she reminded herself) kissed him in the owlrey. Sometimes in the Great Hall she’d catch him glancing at her, but he always looked away when she looked up.
Guess he can’t get over the stupid green badge on my robes. Ophelia cursed the stupid house system, and the idiots that had come up with it. Her life would be so much easier without it.
“What are you doing here?” She asked him with disdain.
“We’re here for the meeting” George replied, looking down at her with amusement. He still hadn’t moved away from her. She was going slightly breathless with the closeness.
Stop it Ophelia Lily Williams!
She moved back and looked behind George to see a large group of people at the bar. There must have been about thirty students there. She recognised Ginny, Fred, and the dippy girl Luna, but the rest were strangers. And not one of them was another Slytherin.
Lia turned around angrily to face Harry.
“You failed to mention this many people were coming!" She hissed at him, staring him down.
“I didn’t know either!” He replied, looking genuinely pissed off. “Hermione and Ron were organising that.” They both looked sheepishly back at him.
“Well a lot of people were interested” Hermione replied vaguely, looking like she hadn’t expected this many people either.
Harry sat in a stony silence, glaring at Hermione.
This kid definitely has anger issues. Ophelia mused. But for once I am on his side.
“They've just come to hear what you two have got to say” Hermione said in an annoyingly patronising voice.
“Yeah, they’re really gonna listen to me and Harry, He’s a teenage delinquent and I’m in Slytherin.” Lia said sarcastically. George looked on with curiosity. “I’m out of here before I do something I regret.”
Hermione grabber her arm as she tried to stand up. “Just wait, please." The Gryffindor looked at Ophelia with such pleading eyes that Lia just sat down again.
By this time the group of students had gathered around, pulling up chairs and settling into a quiet hush. A few of them were giving her confused looks, quite a few more, dirty ones, Lia noticed.
Trapped in the Lion’s den.
“Erm, Hi!” Hermione squeaked.
Oh darling, never going into a public speaking career. Lia thought.
“Well, you know why we’re all here” Hermione continued. “I erm, had the idea that it would be good if we got together and studied Defence. I mean, practical defence using our wands, since Umbridge isn't going to teach us, we need to do it ourselves."
“Just a coincidence this is your OWL year then?" A boy from the back shouted out to her.
Lia rolled her eyes, was all everyone thought about in this school exams?
“That doesn't matter." Hermionie replied. Ophelia looked up in mock shock. "The main reason is, Harry's telling the truth. Voldemort really is back."
Lia laughed inwardly at the group’s reaction to hearing the name. One Ravenclaw even split her drink all down herself.
“Excuse me but where’s the proof in that?” An ugly boy retorted, looking at Hermione. “All we got told Diggory got killed by You-Know-Who and that he brought the body back. I think we’d all like to know-“
Lia glanced at Harry who looked visibly angry.
“I’m not going to talk about Cedric Diggory. So if that’s what you’re here for you can sod off.” He stated, glaring at Hermione.
Lia had an idea. She raised her hand, smirking slightly at Harry’s confused reaction. Lia was not one for waiting for permission to speak.
“Err, yes Lia?”
"A little birdy told me you can produce a patronus. Is it true?" She asked steadily, smirking at him.
“Yeah…” He asked, not realising what she was trying to achieve.
The group gasped audibly. Easily impressed. She thought.
For the next couple of minutes the group were asking Potter the truth about certain rumours. Lia has to say, she was pretty impressed. Who knew this scrawny speckled boy could have killed a basilisk, won the triwizard tournament, fought off a group of dementors and not let it go to his head? She looked at Harry with a little more respected, and he flashed a quick smile at her, thankful for the conversation change.
“So we're all agreed that Harry's going to be our teacher?” Hermione asked the group, who agreed as a whole.
“No, wait” Harry said. “Yeah it’s true I did all that stuff, but there’s someone here who knows a lot more about Defence than me, and I want her to teach you, too”. He looked at Ophelia, who glared back at him shaking her head slightly. Don’t do this now Potter. I said I’d help you, I didn’t say I’d teach these idiots
“Ophelia Williams.” He finished, smiling at her uncomfortable face.
Again, the group reacted as a whole. Negatively.
“HER?!”
“Doesn’t he know she’s a Slytherin?”
“Why would we let her teach us anything?” The same ugly boy that had angered Harry shouted above the others.
Lia couldn’t take this. She stood up angrily.
“Why should you let me? LET me?!” She retorted. “I don’t even want to teach you poxy school brats. I’m only here because a friend asked for my help. But let me tell you something. For the past five years while you’ve been safely tucked up by Dumbledore, I’ve been out there, in the real world, learning stuff by myself, learning stuff you wouldn’t even dream of doing. I know what it’s like to have to fight off Dark Wizards, I know how to defend myself both with magic and muggle style, and in situations where you’d run off and tell a teacher, I can fight back. Now you tell me why I should LET YOU learn this stuff from me.”
She sat down in a huff. The room was silent. Even the barman was staring at her. George was looking at her with a strange look on his face. Lia suddenly became embarrassed.
“Enough of this, I’m out of here.” She grabbed her bag and stormed out of the pub.
Why had she lost her temper like that? Not only had she made herself look an idiot, she had also blown her cover story. Might as well start calling myself Ophelia Lily Black. She cursed. She sighed.
All she wanted was to get out of this school, out of this village, out of bloody Scotland! She turned on the spot and disapparated.
Remus Lupin was sat in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place, exhausted. This month’s full moon had been a difficult one.
It was easier, yes, now that the Wolfsbane potion was available to him, but it didn’t make the pain go away. Sirius had offered to stay with him, as Padfoot, but Remus refused.
Those days were behind them both.
He sighed, wondering when Sirius would stop being stubborn and talk to his daughter. They were so much alike. Slytherin house shouldn’t come in the way of that.
He hadn’t let it get in the way of bonding with his God-daughter.
He was contemplating this when he heard the front door bang. He stood up, grabbing his wand. Sirius was upstairs with Buckbeak, he wouldn’t have heard the noise. It was just him and the intruder.
Edging quietly to the hallway, he saw the figure approaching. He acted fast.
“STUPEFY!”
The intruder didn’t miss a beat, and conjured a very strong shield charm.
So strong in fact, that Remus’ spell rebounded and hit him.
Sirius had come running down the stairs, wand outstretched, coming up on the intruder from behind. The figure turned round and punched him square on the jaw, before realising who it was.
“Fuck.” Ophelia said.
“Is he going to be ok?”
“Is he going to be ok? What about me?” Sirius replied angrily.
“Oh get over it Sirius, he’s worse off than you. He got hit with his own stunner.” Lia replied.
After the initial shock of realising that it was her father she had punched in the face, Lia acted quickly and levitated Remus’ unconscious body through the sitting room, where she laid him on a sofa.
“Can I ask what you are doing here?” Sirius asked, getting over the initial shock that his best friend had managed to knock himself out.
“Hogsmeade weekend.” Lia said. “And Hogsmeade blows.”
Sirius smiled slightly.
“Plus I might have blown my cover story.”
“WHAT?!” Sirius shouted.
This made Remus’s eyes fluttered open. “Why are you shouting?”
Lia ignored her father and turned to the man lying on the sofa. “Remus, are you ok? I’m so so sorry!”
“I’ll be fine, but can I ask why you’re not in school?”
Lia frowned. “It’s a Hogsmeade trip. I’ll go back before they miss me, don’t worry.”
“That’s beside the point. You can’t just go wandering off from school like that, it isn’t safe.”
Sirius looked strangely at his friend’s concerned behaviour. Why was he acting so parental?
“Forget about that for now. What do you mean you’ve blown your cover Ophelia?”
“You’ve WHAT?!” Remus was the one shouting now.
“Will you just calm down! It’s not that bad. I just got mad at this guy saying he didn’t want me to teach him defence, and ended up shouting some things at him. Might have let slip that my home-schooled story isn’t exactly true” Lia blurted out, looking slightly guilty.
“What are you on about teaching defence?” Sirius replied, looking extremely confused
.
Lia sighed. Harry was going to kill her for not keeping the secret. She told her father and Lupin the story from the start, how Umbridge was not teaching them anything, and how Hermione had the idea of a secret defence club, and Harry had asked for her help. And how that stupid boy had offended her.
“He just bruised my ego is all.” Lia finished.
“So let me get this straight.” Sirius said. “You’re helping Harry teach a bunch of kids defence so you can prepare yourself for the war against Voldemort?”
“Yes.”
“Even though it’s probably against school rules, and you’ll get in a lot of trouble if Umbridge finds out?”
“Yes.”
Sirius let out a bark of laughter, and grabbed Ophelia in the tightest hug she had ever received.
“I’m so proud of you!” Sirius replied, smiling at her. “This is the exact sort of thing me or your mother would have done.”
Lia glared angrily.
“Aren’t you forgetting that no daughter of yours or my mum’s could have been a Slytherin?
Sirius paled slightly. “Ophelia, I’m sorry. I was angry. All my family have been in Slytherin, and practically all of them have turned out to be dark wizards. I was afraid you were going to turn out like them.”
“Well I’m not! I hate the dark arts just as much as you do. Anyone could tell you that. Remus could have told you that!” Lia replied spitefully. “He’s been more of a father to me than you have.”
Sirius looked at Lia with sad eyes, and walked out the room.
Lia’s stomach dropped. “Too far?” She asked Remus, who had watched the whole affair with worried eyes.
“Maybe. He’s really trying Lia.”
Ophelia scoffed. “Trying? I’m sorry but when has that man ever been a father to me? He walked out on me when I was a toddler because avenging Harry’s parents was more important to him than keeping his family safe. Running off to kill Pettigrew with absolutely no concern about the implications it would have on me. And here we are fourteen years later, and now he’s angry at me for how I’ve turned out when it’s his entire fault anyway. Not speaking to me because of what stupid house I’ve been sorted into, and now I’m doing something he actually likes, flipping 180 degrees on me! How dare he talk about my mother? If I haven’t turned out like him or like her it’s his entire fault. Thanks to him I had no parent’s growing up. He might not have held the wand, but as far as I’m concerned, he killed her.” Lia ranted, angrily. She’d had it with Sirius’ behaviour.
Remus stood up angrily. “Don’t you dare say that.”
Lia looked up. “What, it’s true.”
“Yeah and don’t you think he knows that? Do you not think that every time he looks at you he’s reminded of that night? Where he lost his best friends, his wife, and his freedom? Of course he’s conflicted. Give him a break, Ophelia.” Remus shouted at the girl.
Lia looked up, hurt. She’d never been shouted at like that before. She followed in her father’s footsteps, out the door, and then she walked out of the house.
George sighed deeply. He couldn’t sleep. Thoughts about the day’s events kept rushing through his mind. He had been genuinely surprised when he saw Lia at the meeting in the Hog’s Head, and even more so when Harry announced that she would be helping him teach them the spells.
He wasn’t surprised however when she shouted at the boy from Hufflepuff when he had offended her.
She was the type of person who never took crap from anyone. After she'd left the meeting finished quickly, all of them signing the parchment Hermione had brought. He'd tried to find her afterward, but no one had seen her. She didn't even come to the Great Hall at dinner.
He rolled over in his bed. Sounds of the rest of his dorm mates sleeping deeply surrounded the room, accompanied by Fred’s loud snoring. Then, he heard something that sounded like padded footsteps. He sat up slowly. Everyone was asleep weren’t they? He opened the curtains around his bed slowly.
He was definitely surprised to see a pair of grey eyes staring back at him.
“Hiya.” Ophelia simply said. The smell of fire whisky was evident on her breath.
“Lia, what the HELL are you doing in my dorm?” he whispered in hushed breath. “If anyone sees you in Gryffindor tower you’ll be in so much trouble.”
“I like trouble.” She replied, giggling. “C’mon it’s me. Breaking in here was a piece of cake.”
“Let me ask again, what are you doing in here?” George repeated. Lia simply threw back the curtains and climbed into his bed. “Ophelia what are you doing?!”
“In case you haven’t realised I’ve had a bad day. I wanted to see you.” She pouted.
George’s mind was racing. Here she was, in his bed. He wasn’t ashamed to say he’d dreamed of this moment. She’d been so angry at him the last time they’d been alone together. He still remembered that kiss. He’d meant to run after her and say, no he didn’t care she was a Slytherin, whisk her off her feet and carry her up to this very bed. But he was a coward and he didn’t. Yet here she was.
He sighed again, happily this time.
“What happened?” He asked, gently brushing the hair off her face. She’d been crying.
“Stop it with the sentimental bullshit, ok?” Lia said, slapping his hand away. “I don’t want to talk.”
And then she did something that George did not expect. Lia moved towards him and kissed him hungrily. He found himself kissing her back, enveloping her body with his arms. She bit his lip, and moved her hands to his tee-shirt, lifting it over his head. George kissed her again as soon as it was off, and soon her top met the same fate. They never stopped kissing, and soon all their clothes found their way to the floor. George knew he should stop but he couldn’t. As if she noticed his hesitation Ophelia stopped kissing him too look at him and say the words, “I want this.”
George had her approval, and he grabbed her and kissed her again.
The sun was bright. Why was the sun in the dungeons? Ophelia opened her eyes groggily. Her head was pounding. Why were her bed sheets red all of a sudden? And why exactly did she have no clothes on? She slowly took in her surroundings. This wasn’t her dorm in Slytherin house. She looked next to her to see a sleeping George Weasley. The memories of last night came rushing back to her.
“Oh crap.” She muttered.
Quotes taken from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, chapter "in the hogs head" pages 302, 303, 304 and 305, by JK Rowling.
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