Through Her Eyes

Chapter 34

"Do you want to send it with my owl?" Ophelia asked after they finished writing and folding the letter. Sirius was walking alongside her and had a shock for a moment.

"Aren't you being suspiciously nice today, Molley?" He asked her with a smirk playing at the corner of his lips. It was a joke for him, he only wanted to tease her but she actually tensed. "You don't have to take it seriously, badge. Relax for Merlin's beard, it was just a joke." He added quickly when he saw her posture.

"I'll give it to Willy and he'll probably deliver it correctly." She answered to her question in his place just to change the atmosphere.

"What do you mean probably? Doesn't he send any of your letters to the right people?"

Ophelia bit her lip, containing the bemused smile that was widening on her face. Seeing her eyes scrunch a bit as if she wanted to sneeze, he tilted his head to the side in curiosity.

"Are you laughing at me, Molley?" He asked with a tint of amusement.

"No," But anyone could see the smile widening more and more until she couldn't contain it anymore. "You're being nice to me too."

Black felt like laughing and scoffing at the same time, "Is that reason enough to make you smile so happily?"

The brunette witch nodded, feeling relieved for having him there to change her mind off what happened earlier that day.

"If you want to know, I never wanted to make you believe that I hate you or something." Sirius added as assurance, maybe for him more than for her. It seemed a lot of their colleagues had the impression they weren't on good terms.

"I know. I'm sorry for being such a sour grape every time."

"See?! Why are you making me look like the bad guy again?" He whined making her cover her chuckle in case someone could see. "Come on, Molley. We're going to be partners for a while so better keep your attitude for the letters."

"Is the letter for your parents? Or maybe a sibling?" She asked curiously, her eyes widening a bit making her look exactly like Potter characterized her before.

"You're suddenly very talkative, aren't you?" He teased but her response was an innocent shrug, "It's for my mum. She will probably send a howler in a few days, scolding me in front of the whole school. Look forward to that, Molley. It's going to be a real show."

The grim expression on his face and the ironic words were light compared to how much anger he had inside his heart.

"Are your parents purebloods?" She continued her questioning nonetheless.

"Yes, they are. My family is really bad, Molley. Almost every member was sorted in Slytherin for centuries. I'm the exception; a Black in Gryffindor," Even he started to chuckle at the irony of fate, "I'm not complaining, though. It gives my mother another reason to hate me."

Silence filled the space between them as Sirius' stopped talking and Ophelia didn't bother comforting him in any way. Each had their own lives and own burdens and they had to confront their families by themselves.

They were close to the Fat Lady portrait when Ophelia remembered something he said that she was confused about.

"What is a howler?"

Black laughed loudly, waking up the Lady. Even after they entered the common room Sirius was still laughing which confused Ophelia even more.

Next day bright and early, the Gryffindors had Potions with Slytherins. Usually the lessons go smoothly granted to the amount of energy and concentration they had to put into their potions. However, it seemed Slughorn had a great revelation last night and came up with a dreadful idea.