Through Her Eyes

Chapter 20

As soon as they entered Professor McGonagall's office, the two children jolted when the door slammed close. Even from afar, the elegant Transfiguration professor looked ready to curse both of them or even worse, give them detention.

"Prof-"

Sirius was stopped as soon as he opened his mouth.

"What were you thinking, stunning your own housemate Mr. Black?" She started, her voice rising in volume and pitch since she was annoyed, "And what were you thinking, letting him do it, Ms. Molley?"

Ophelia's eyes widened before she linked her arms in front of her, as she learned in the orphanage during a scolding. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Sirius frowning and avoiding looking at his classmate. From McGonagall's point of view, Sirius was at fault and he will probably get the punishment which in return will bring no benefit to their house's teamwork.

"Professor, it wasn't his fault. I couldn't wake up and that voice-" She stopped, still hearing the faint traces of it.

That simple, unfinished sentence made a big difference in the whole situation. Black looked at Ophelia with a mixture of offence and at the same time, surprise. Whether she was telling the truth or she was lying to cover up for him, it wasn't making him feel any better.

"Mr. Black, you can go back for now. You will receive your punishment soon. Molley, wait here,"

Professor McGonagall opened the door and waited for Sirius to walk out before she followed closely. Standing all alone in the office, Ophelia couldn't help but think she shouldn't have spoken about the voice. Moreover, she's been feeling very strange as of late and more and more things were growing blurry in her mind.

Since McGonagall seemed to take a while, Ophelia took the freedom of walking around the room, looking here and there but not touching anything. Finding nothing entertaining, she moved towards the fireplace and sighed. The flames were dancing together, entangling the red and yellow into an embrace of colors. It looked pretty and relaxing, even going as far as inviting. Ophelia bent in front of the fireplace and reached out to touch the flames, her green eyes looking like they were made of glass.

The door suddenly slammed shut and the girl retracted her hand quickly, jumping on her feet and spinning around to meet her professor. Unlike the stern woman she was waiting for, Ophelia met the cold blue eyes of Luce Spinnard. He didn't look happy to be there and it was obvious she wasn't happy to see him either.

"I wasn't expecting you, professor, to come and have a normal chat with me," She started before she realized there might have been a second option to his arrival, "Are you here to punish me for being stunned?"

"No. I'm not here to deliver any punishments, to my disappointment." He spoke, his tone just as venomous as ever.

The cold professor stared into her eyes for a few long minutes, making Ophelia feel exposed in front of him. It happened before but it didn't send a chill down her spine, like now. Spinnard took a few steps towards her but for some reason she decided not to back off. The dark wizard chuckled and stopped in front of her before he grabbed her face between his hands and forced her to look into his eyes.

If she was exposed before, she was opening up her mind in front of him at the moment and she couldn't stop. Every memory she had, recent or incredibly old, came back to her and unfolded once more before Spinnard's eyes. He was seeking for something, for that piece of information he wanted and he found it easily.

"You and I, we're the same, Ophelia. We belong to a world far above what usual people can see. We have magic; old, strong magic and we can do wonders with it. You just have to trust me."