𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 | 𝐡. 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫

𝟔𝟔 - 𝐠𝐫𝐲𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐫 𝐯𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘿.𝘼 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙊𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙖'𝙨 𝙪𝙩𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮, as Harry worked on the logistics of finding them a classroom, she worked on lesson plans as she had seen her father write out over the summer of her second year before he started. She smiled to herself at the memory of her father sat at the kitchen table with several books prepped up on bowls and the toaster as he wrote down possible essay topic. She remembered specifically handing him a plate of warm banana bread and a coffee and suggesting he ask Hagrid for any Dark Creatures he needed to speak on.

She seemingly embodied her father in that way, as she wrote down everything that needed covering, both for their exam and useful spells for defending oneself in the back of her notebook during dinner, she had enchanted it so the words disappeared once she finished her sentence, only reappearing when she permitted it to.

"What are you working on the moment?" asked Harry, peering over her shoulder to read the blank page.

"It's enchanted, but at the moment non-lethal defensive spells... increasing in skill and their effects?"

"Oh like what?"

"Blinding spells, temporary ones... as well as other spells to misdirect people... I'm also thinking we could teach some minor dark art spells that I read in the dark arts page-"

"No, no dark arts." said Harry with an alarmed expression on his face.

"Not ones that will kill people Harry, just maiming ones to give someone an advantage if they were being chased, like this spell that binds their ankles in chain-"

"No, no dark magic." said Harry firmly, "I'm not stooping to their level-"

"But they will Harry, they won't hesitate to use these spells and worse... they've got to know what they're up against so they can defend themselves-"

"Phee no."

"Harry it's-"

"No, I don't want us to use dark magic whatsoever, and I don't want to hear anything else about it either."

"Harry, if someone is cornered and it's them or their attacker and the only way out is to kill them then surely that's a decent judgement call-" she argued, as Harry looked at her with a perplexed yet angry expression.

"There's always another way." he bit back.

"No... not always, Harry." she said levelly.

"My mum did, she used an old love spell to protect me-"

"And she still died Harry... I'm sorry but would you want every person to die protecting someone they loved? Because my mum didn't have that, she didn't know that spell and it depended on who lived and who survived and she was going to kill Peter. If it meant she lived, you saw it... she was going to murder whoever stepped through that door, whether she wanted to or not." argued Ophelia, her voice calm and within reason yet Harry couldn't see past the fact she was suggesting murder above mercy, there was always a choice, and he hoped that Ophelia would choose what was morally right.

"No, Phee... the price for killing someone is too great, and if I can avoid getting blood on people's hands then that's what I'll do, but no Dark Magic... don't make me regret suggesting you." he said, gathering his bags as he left the Great Hall without another word, leaving Ophelia sat by herself watching him leave with a irritated yet conflicted expression plain on her face as she too gathered her things.

Ahead she could hear Angelina talking to Harry about Umbridge, as the two of them moved to outside the great hall, but she really couldn't care, her attention was now split about her morals, perhaps she was truly wicked after all.