selenophile || remus lupin

chapter thirty three

3 July, 1776
3:23pm

Ophelia and Regulus Black were sat in the library, each with a book open, neither one having read a single word since sitting down.

It had been two long days since Sirius had been killed, and those two days felt like hell. Walburga and Orion weren't at Grimmauld Place very much, and when they were, they refused to speak to Ophelia. She had not been allowed to eat dinner with the family, but she didn't have an appetite anyway. In fact, she hadn't been allowed to eat for the past two days. Her parents had locked the kitchens, and forbidden Kreature from letting anyone in. If Ophelia was being honest, she didn't mind. She enjoyed no punishments from her parents, even if it came at a price, unbeknownst to her yet.

She kept telling herself that she would've been able to truly feel if Sirius had died. Her mind kept going back to that twin connection. But each time her mind wandered too far, she stopped herself. If Sirius had really just run away and he was completely safe, wouldn't he have sent a letter, or given any indication that he was safe or of his whereabouts?

"Reggie," Ophelia asked suddenly, looking up from her book.

"Yeah?"

"What's going to happen when we go back to school?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like Remus, and Peter, and oh god. James. What are we going to say to them?"

"I don't know, Phee. It's going to be hard. But I'll go with you, you've always got me."

15 August, 1776
7:38pm

Ophelia was in pain. When was she not?

Today, it was mainly pain from hunger. Incredible hunger.

It had been one and a half months since Sirius died, and the pain was still unbearable, but she was getting used to it.

Ever since Sirius died, however, Walburga and Orion completely shut her out. She had not been allowed to eat meals with the family, hell, her parents wouldn't even talk to her.

Her parents had only said one thing to her for the past few days, telling her to get out when she tried to enter the dining room for dinner that evening. She went back to the library, her main place of comfort in their house other than her bedroom. She had been in the library for about an hour before her parents walked in.

"We told you, Ophelia, you are not to eat with us." yelled Orion.

"It's been three days! I need to eat!" shouted Ophelia. This summer, her parents would go days at a time without allowing her to eat, and when she did, it would be very small portions every few days.

"You can go more than three days without food, girl. And Salazar knows you need it." snarled Walburga.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, defensively.

"You are a lady, Ophelia Callidora," hissed Walburga. "You need to be fit and slim, and eating all of that excess food doesn't help at all."

"That 'excess food' you're talking about is the healthy, normal amount any human being should eat! You're starving me!"

"You ungrateful bitch!" Orion slapped her, her first physical punishment in weeks. "Idiot girl, you need to become thin, otherwise no one is going to want you!"

"No one is going to want me? Are you already planning on shipping me off to a husband? I'm 15 for merlin's sake!"

"It's the only way to keep the bloodline pure, Ophelia. You know this, you have known this since you were born. What else did you expect? That you were going to marry a filthy half blood or god forbid, a mudblood!" said Walburga.

"I don't give a damn about the bloodline! I'll marry who I want to, and I'll marry when I'm ready! Not when I'm 15-"

"Fine, girl. We'll give you something to eat if you're so desperate." Orion said, a little too calmly.

"Orion-" started a confused Walburga.

"Come with me," and the couple turned around and left, only to return in just a few minutes with a plate of two rolls and a glass of water.

"Eat, if you need to so badly." Orion spoke, Walburga now looking content.

Ophelia was too hungry to notice the sudden change in attitude from her parents, or the way they spoke so calmly to her after yelling at her. She immediately ate one of the rolls, swallowing it quickly. She then took a large sip of water, so very thirsty after so many days without. She took a big swig of the drink, expecting to become instantly refreshed. This was not the case.

Instead, her insides burned, as if she was on fire from the inside out. She dropped the glass, shattering it instantly onto the hard marble floor. She couldn't control tears from streaming down her face, the result of such a harsh burn. It didn't stop, it wouldn't stop. She looked up at her parents, begging them to help her, but she only received cruel laughter in return.

They had given her the drink of despair.

27 August, 1776
8:29pm

"Phee? Fia?" asked a voice from the dark.

"I'm here, Reg," answered Ophelia, who had been laying in her bed. "You can turn on the light."

Regulus did as she suggested, quietly closed the door behind him, and walked over to the side of her bed.

"Hey, how are you?" he asked, concernedly.

"I'm doing fine, don't worry about me."

"No Phee, you're obviously not. Look at you! You're sickly skinny, you can't be healthy!"

"I'm alright, it doesn't even hurt!" Ophelia said, knowing damn well she was wholeheartedly lying. The truth was that she was in constant pain. Her parents sent Kreature to give her one glass of water every couple of days, and only fed her a small plate of food about once a week. She was so incredibly hungry, but the thought of so much food made her sick to her stomach to even think about.

"Well, I stole a bit of food from dinner for you," Regulus pulled out a few bread rolls, along with a few carrots. "It's not much, but It's the most I could take without mother or father noticing."

"Thank you, Reg. Honestly."

"Of course. It's completely unfair what they're doing to you!"

"I know, but I'll be alright. I always am." she smiled gratefully up at him.

1 September, 1776
10:43am

"Regulus and Ophelia, hurry up! We don't have all day and we will not be late!" shouted Walburga, who was waiting for her two children in the grand foyer.

Ophelia sighed deeply as she brushed her hair in the bathroom mirror. She had put on a large shirt, her last attempt to hide her frail body. She was glad that she didn't have too many physical punishments that she needed to cover up, only a few bruises or cuts here and there.

She finished putting her toiletries in her trunk and carried it out to the hallway for Kreature to take it downstairs.

She met Regulus, who was doing the same with his trunk, in the hallway.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Not at all," she replied, her eyes welling with tears. "I'm not going to be able to face them. I'm not going to be able to get through this year without him."

"You have me. We'll get through this together, day by day."

Ophelia only nodded as she wiped a few stray tears away and grabbed his hand as they walked downstairs to their parents.

"Hurry up, and make yourself more presentable, Ophelia. Stop sulking all the time, it's not pretty," snapped Walburga.

"Yes mother," said Ophelia, quickly wiping any remaining tears away.

Orion paced up to the other three Blacks and grabbed onto Regulus and Ophelia's wrists tightly, before apparating to Kings Cross Station.

a/n
reunion with siri next chapter :)