FROM THE DAY SHE GOT sorted into the wrong house, Ophelia Malfoy had trouble fitting in everywhere. Her brother had completely abandoned her, and ordered all his friends to steer clear of her, whilst the Gryffindors looked at her like she was a rat that accidentally got in the house. Which was true, in the sense that she had been written down for Slytherin since before her birth, but somehow ended up in the very opposite of that.

Neither did she blend in, nor fit in, in aspects of both her looks and personality. Of course, she was one of the only Gryffindors with blonde hair, but hers was a shade of platinum blonde, leaning towards the whiter side, and very distinguishable and easily noticed. She was the splitting image of her mother, with a petite figure, sharp features, and almost pale, milky white skin. Except for her eyes. She had her father's eyes, which were her most striking feature. Icy blue, almost grey, cold and expressionless. 

Her eyes matched her persona. She was cold, and expressionless, most of the time. Ignored everyone around her, friendless and rude to anyone that dared speak to her.

To say that her years at Hogwarts were exciting was an understatement. In her first year, she had to share a dormitory with Ginny Weasley who kept on having some weird seizures and disappearing during the night to write in some stupid diary of hers, that magically wrote back.

 Somehow, the Chamber of Secrets had been opened, and mostly everyone thought it was her, or Draco. Not that it was either of them. It was actually the Weasley girl, who nobody suspected, but everyone was quick enough to point fingers at her, since apparently she was bad blood. When she was wrongly suspected of opening the chamber, and the knowledge that a Weasley, of all people, had opened it, nobody had bothered to apologize to her for blaming her.

 Although, she couldn't help but admit, none of it would have happened if it wasn't for the fact that it was Lucius Malfoy, her father, who slipped the diary, which belonged to You-Know-Who, previously, into Ginny's cauldron, which caused the chamber to open. This only added to her unpopularity shown to her by the other students, resenting her for her father's doing. Naturally, she was quick to defend her and her family's honor. 

Her first few days at Hogwarts were spent crying, but after her father sent a letter to her, telling her 'to be proud of who she was', she eventually ignored everyone around her, but the Professors, and walked with her head held high. She couldn't wait for the year to end, and when it did, and she passed her First Year with flying colors, finishing at the top of her year, her father agreed to her pleas to go on vacation to France for the summer.

She felt much more confident about her second year. With a newfound French confidence in her step and speech, it was only fair that she let the arrogance of being a Malfoy get to her head. 

No, she didn't have any friends, at least, not yet, but she did at least try to make a name for herself, mainly by looking down on the first years, and walking around with pride. She spent many of her hours in the library, or on the Quidditch pitch, where she practiced her flying skills to at least try to get on the team.

What with Sirius Black escaped, and supposedly after famous Harry Potter, Ophelia was forced to apparently stay safe since Sirius Black was her mother's cousin, and considered as armed and dangerous. She knew the truth though. Sirius Black was harmless, and he wasn't even on You-Know-Who's side. 

Her second year was slightly better than her first. Gryffindors had somewhat stopped looking at her like she didn't belong; rather, some of them kept to themselves and didn't interact with her. That didn't stop people staring at her with disgusted expressions on their faces, and frankly, it did get to her, but she stood no chance against the fourth and fifth years, to actually snap back at them. There was no way in hell she could sit in the common room and not end up arguing with someone who'd send her a snide remark or make fun of her, so she took the liberty of settling down in the library.

From then on, she spent her free time in the library, in a specific spot she'd found in her first year. It was all the way at the back, behind the restricted section, somewhat like a narrowed, deserted corridor. 

When she first stumbled across it, it was dusty and unused, by the looks of it. It was dark, and deserted, about ten feet long, and three feet wide, with a small table and loveseat to occupy the space. And of course, three empty shelves, layered with dust, which after getting her house elf to clean, she put her secret collection of muggle literature books. She was sure nobody knew of this place, since nobody ever ventured behind the restricted section. Not to mention, the entryway to the corridor was barely noticeable.

Again, she passed her Second Year at the top of the Year once again, making her father immensely proud of her. After that, he bought her the latest, brand new broomstick; the Firebolt. 

She was due to start her Third Year in almost three weeks, and she wasn't looking forward to the end of what was the best summer yet. Her father had taken them to Georgia for the month of July, courtesy of Narcissa's insistence. She had wanted to go to France again, but her mother, being French, wanted to try someplace new. So Georgia it was.

But Lucius, who couldn't say no to his daughter, took her aside on the last day of their stay in Georgia, and whispered to her in her ear that he'd take her to France for a week. Just the two of them. Which is where she found herself now.

A week in France was almost too good to be true, let alone a week all alone with her father all to herself. He took her to all the famous sights, and gave her his muggle Black Card, to go haywire and buy whatever she wanted. 

When she got back home from France, her mother had not spoken to Lucius for three days for spoiling Ophelia, and Draco looked at the three, full suitcases of clothes and accessories with jealousy. 

Although Lucius didn't mean to get his wife upset, he didn't regret letting his daughter buy whatever she wanted, and would happily agree to let her spend more if she asked him.

A week back in England, her father announced at the table that he had gotten tickets to the Quidditch World Cup, and seats in the Private Minister's Box. Ophelia was elated, since her father had promised both her, and Draco autographs from Viktor Krum himself, the best seeker in the world, much to the envy of all of Draco's friends and acquaintances.

"Ophelia, we'll be late," her father told her, hovering at the entrance to her room. "The Portkey leaves in an hour."

"Yes daddy," she hummed, trying so hard to put her hair into an updo like her mother's which was proving to be more difficult than she thought. "I'm almost done."

Lucius observed her with amusement, before calling for his wife. "Narcissa, help Ophelia with her hair."

"I don't need help," she said, insisting that she was old enough to do her own hair. 

Narcissa entered her daughter's room and took the brush from her hand, brushing down her daughter's soft, blonde curls. "You twist the hair this way first," she showed Ophelia, "then this way, and pin them together," she continued. "And then, tuck the remaining hair in, and pin it."

"Thank you, mummy."

"Let's go, your father is waiting. And make sure you wear a sweater, you'll feel cold."

The Quidditch World Cup proved to be entertaining and enjoyable, despite the fact that Bulgaria, the team she supported, lost. Although Krum catching the snitch was the highlight of the match.

After the match, her mother took her home immediately, and when she asked why, Narcissa told her that Lucius had business and it wasn't safe for her.

Later on, she found out that there were Death Eaters who showed up at the site, and someone had cast the Dark Mark. Although she knew that Lucius was a Death Eater, and supported You-Know-Who, and had done terrible things, she couldn't bring it to herself to hate him. He loved her so very much, and she loved him more than anyone else on the planet.

She was daddy's little girl.

On September the First, she was on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, with Draco, accompanied by her owl, Obsidian. 

"Draco, take care of your sister," Lucius told his son. 

Draco rolled his eyes. He got the same speech every single year, but in all honesty, never did well to abide by it. "Yes father," he said monotonously, before kissing his mother goodbye and boarding the train.

"Ophelia, make sure you write to me every week at least," Lucius demanded. "And take care of yourself. Be proud of who you are. Wear the Malfoy name with pride. Both of you."

"Yes Daddy," she replied, before wrapping her arms around her father's torso, rubbing her cheek against his chest. "I'll miss you," she whispered softly, her eyes watering at the prospect of leaving him after once again, getting used to his presence over the summer. 

"Any time you want to see me, write to me," he told her softly, away from the eyes and ears of Narcissa. "I'm on the school board of governors, I can easily come and 'check up on the school'," he told her with a small wink. 

Her lips formed a small smile, and she embraced her father once more, before going to hug her mother.

"Bye Mummy," she hummed. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Ophelia. Make sure Draco doesn't get into trouble, okay?" she whispered quietly. "And this year, please try not to get into any fights or arguments."

"I'll try," she sighed. "But Mummy, it's really not my fault, you know that."

"I do, my dear. But the world is a cruel place. You have to show your power over everyone. And stay away from Mudbloods, Bloodtraitors and Half-bloods."

"I will," she agreed, before boarding the train, with a final wave to her parents.

This would be her year, she was sure of it.

{ first chapter. i am trying out a new writing style, and i really really hope you weren't bored with the lack of action here. i promise that will come in the next chapters. i didn't start from the beginning, so i felt the need to add some sort of background story. anyway, please, please leave your comments, as i'd love to know your thoughts and feedback. on a plus note, we've already reached 100 reads, despite there being only a prologue, so thank you for that support, i hope it grows. share this story please :) love, jasmine. }

{FEB 15. 2023}