Through Her Eyes

Chapter 18

"This is the worst outcome that could have happened. Why didn't he ask Remus or Evans? Even Snape was a better choice!" Surprisingly, the one whining was Potter. Ever since he eavesdropped during dinner, he went on and on about the unfair lives of Gryffindors.

"Professor Slughorn asked Rabastan Lestrange because he's older than us and probably very experienced. I'm sure it's for your good." Remus tried to ease the suspicion but it wasn't exactly assuring.

"He looks even tighter up than Professor Spinnard and that can be an achievement." Cissney mumbled, staring at the Slytherin table without even trying to hide it.

Rabastan Lestrange was one of the faces you wouldn't notice at a first glance, which was the reason many Gryffindors didn't even know Rabastan existed. Everyone turned to watch what that mysterious character was doing, expecting him to scowl at everything and eat in a corner.

"He's laughing. Isn't that a strange sight?" Potter asked, completely poker faced.

"He's a normal boy, having a normal dinner with his normal friends." Remus added, seeing how there was nothing suspicious about the Slytherin.

"He looked scarier when professor Slughorn introduced us. He was there but at the same time, his mind was wandering elsewhere." Ophelia explained, turning back to the table and grabbing a cherry tart. "But he does look very elegant compared to other students." She added, not really thinking in depth of her answer.

Potter and Black scoffed loudly and narrowed their eyes at her.

"Is that supposed to be an insult, Molley? Are you insulting us, your house mates, your partners in good and bad?" Sirius asked, Potter having a more offended look than his best friend.

"I'm offended. Aren't you, Sirius?" Potter started, wrapping one hand around his friend.

"I'm offended. We are offended. All of us, right?" Black asked, mainly looking for an answer from Remus and Pettigrew.

No one answered him; Remus decided to grab a tart and stuff his face so he wouldn't have to respond while Pettigrew nodded vigorously.

"Well, it doesn't really matter now, does it? It's not us that have to spend two hours with him but Pheli. Moreover, I think he's looking this way." Lily told everyone, making the whole group turn towards the dark haired student.

Indeed, just like Lily said, Rabastan was staring at Ophelia in particular, making her shudder under his intense dark eyes. It was strange how she has never heard of that boy, especially with Snape looking them up just in case he needed the information later on.

Just after dinner, Ophelia decided she should retreat into the library for at least an hour of studying. She was walking through the shelves, searching for the answer to Spinnard's latest assignment: thestrals. She was confused why she had to write an essay about something that didn't seem useful in Defense against the Dark Arts.

"Knowledge is salvation of one's life." She quoted Spinnard as she searched for a particular book about magical creatures. "If only he wouldn't be such an arse, he'd actually make a good professor." She whispered, feeling like he was going to appear from around the corner if she were to say something else.

Surprisingly, someone did hurry over, scaring her when they almost collided. She didn't drop anything but he did, her sharp eye catching the title before he took it and hid the title with his hand.

"Ahem, what are you doing here so late?" Severus asked, trying to sound less suspicious than he seemed already.

"Studying thestrals, and you? Sneaking in the Restricted Section?"