Severus' shoulder against hers while her father was cutting the cake, his breath in her ear as Draco watched from a distance, his hand gripping her arm as Ana turned to see her sister gone.
"What are you doing?" She tried to pry his fingers away but tripped over her own feet. Severus' hand was the only thing keeping her from hitting the ground as he pulled her up and around the corner of the house.
Severus' grip was strong, almost leaving bruises on her skin. The crease between his brows was deeper than usual, he was determined, perhaps.. stressed?
"Where are we going?" She asked, looking back to the patio where all the guests were still gathered.
"It is time for you to learn legilimency."
Ophelia frowned, trying to pull back while her heart was holding on. Because if she went with him then maybe, just maybe, he would kiss her again. But she could hear Peter's voice in her head telling her she was being selfish.
"Can't it wait? It's Ana's birthday and I want to be there," she said, trying to loosen his grip but he only held on tighter. He did not care at all about what she had to say.
"It has to be.. tonight."
"School doesn't start for another month, it does not have to be tonight," she retorted.
"For once," Severus breathed, "would you just shut up and trust me?"
Ophelia blinked, "but.."
He stopped to stare at her, "what?"
"I wanted cake."
Severus rolled his eyes and pulled her behind the side of the house, one hand around her waist and the other gripping his wand. Ophelia realized she wasn't winning the argument this time. They apparated to the forest again.
"Sit," Severus said.
Ophelia sighed and sat down with her legs crossed, "yeah, yeah."
The forest was dark, but the warmth from the day was still lingering in the air. Severus sat down opposite her, their knees brushing against each other. Ophelia straightened her back and looked at him expectantly, a small smile making itself visible in her features. It always started in her eyes, even before the corners of her mouth moved upwards.
"Couldn't wait to get me alone, huh?" Her smile was in the lilt of her voice.
Severus thought he could spend a lifetime finding new ways to see her smile, he wanted to know them all by heart, to see them every time he closed his eyes. But that was not the reality of his situation. He knew the risks of letting anyone get too close, but he couldn't deny the pull he felt towards her, the way her presence softened the harsh edges of his world.
"Time and space matter in magic," he said and distanced his knees from hers. "You can learn legilimency like any other spell with enough practice," he pulled out a deck of cards from his robes, "now try to read my mind and see my card." He picked a card from the deck, careful not to let her see.
"You're acting strange today, Severus," she said, "well.. more strange than usual."
He glared at her, "I am leaving a very small window open in my mind.. don't make me regret this."
"Fine." Ophelia stared at him, pulling her lips into a thin line and her wand at the ready, "legilimency."
Nothing happened, Severus didn't even feel a push.
"Uhm, eight of Clubs?"
"You're not trying." Severus turned the card around; King of Spades.
"I am!"
"Staring is not trying."
"What do I do then?" She threw her arms out in the air.
"You read.. my mind."
"Oh gee, thanks!"
Severus' eye twitched, "try again.. and focus."
Ophelia tried again, and again, and again. Severus shook his head, a flicker of impatience dancing in his dark eyes as card after card was discarded after every failed attempt.
"Concentrate, Miss Delisle," Severus' voice was clipped, his tone demanding. "Legilimency requires discipline and control."
"I'm trying!" She responded, her voice tinged with frustration.
On her seventh try she caught a glance of a red card, it was foggy and distant, but she could see it.
"Four of Hearts!"
Severus nodded, "that was.. adequate."
"Adequate?" She burst out, "it was awesome, I read your freaking mind!"
"You got lucky."
"Oh, come on, now," she tilted her head to the side and smiled, "give me some credit."
Severus tried to suppress a smile, "..yes, nice work."
Ophelia's face lit up, "again?"
Severus nodded and picked another card, she got it wrong this time.
"Fuck! Why is it so difficult?"
"You need to focus."
Ophelia groaned, "if you say focus one more time I swear I'll throw myself off a cliff!"
"Go on, then," Severus smirked.
She glared at him, "you know, it's less fun for me when you play along."
"I know."
Severus regarded her for a moment, his expression unreadable, before reaching out and gently grasping her hand, his touch warm against her skin.
"Legilimency is not simply a matter of skill, Ophelia," Severus' voice was softer now, laced with a hint of vulnerability. "It requires trust... intimacy."
Her breath caught in her throat as she met Severus' gaze, her eyes locked with his in a silent exchange. As they sat there, hand in hand, Ophelia's heart fluttered, a warmth spreading through her chest, a tingling sensation at the tips of her fingers. And in Severus' eyes she saw a reflection of her own emotions, a mix of longing, hesitation, and something deeper, more profound.
But the moment shattered like fragile glass when Severus felt a sudden intrusion in his mind, a gentle probing that sent a shiver down his spine.
"What are you doing?" He demanded, his voice tinged with panic as he tried to shield his thoughts.
But it was too late. In an instant, she saw everything; the memories that haunted him, the love he lost, and the pain that consumed him.
Ophelia heard him call out for her in the green grass.
Lily!
It was all red hair and tenderness. A young woman with the greenest eyes Ophelia had ever seen. Her laughter echoed through the corridors of his mind.
Ophelia saw the bullying, the loneliness, the slipping away. That word from his mouth. The animosity, the heartache, the desperation. Losing Lily forever and pleading for forgiveness.
The weight of Severus' unspoken sorrow crashed down upon her to the point where she couldn't breathe.
"How dare you!" Severus was panting as he secured the walls around his mind.
Ophelia's eyes widened, "I didn't mean-"
But he was already in her head, poking through every memory of the last few months. Dinner with Isaiah Bentley and the Minister of Magic, the parties, the dancing, the boys and...
Draco bloody Malfoy.
The scene changed.
"I was with Snape."
He saw her talking to her father, making him a promise.
"Make friends with him, get him to invite you to his home, and find out what you can about his affairs."
Snape's blood began to boil.
"Do you think me a fool, Miss Delisle?" He asked coldly.
She frowned, shaking her head, "you know I don't."
"I'm sorry that your parents don't love you, and that you believed being involved with an older man would fill the void your father created.. but you and I are nothing," he spat, "and you'd do well to remember that."
Ophelia glared at him, her chin quivering.
"You don't mean that," she said with bitterness in her voice, because she was only human, after all. Perhaps more human with him than she'd ever been with anyone in her entire life.
He turned his back on her, walking away in hatred and rage. Because she had used him, and he was sick of being taken advantage of. She had pushed him in with force, dragged him deeper and deeper, and then left him to drown. She had made him weak for her on purpose.
"No, you don't get to just walk away from me, Snape!"
He stopped in his tracks, shoulders moving up and down as he breathed.
"I didn't mean to go through your mind, at least I didn't do it to be cruel! But you, you came into my mind out of spite," she spat. "I don't know who Lily was, but she must have been something really special if she left you so utterly broken!"
He turned around to face her, hands shaking in fists by his sides.
"How.. dare you speak to me that way."
"No, how dare you! You treat me like a child that needs scolding when you supposedly care for me."
"I don't have to explain myself to you," he sneered.
"Then let me explain; it wasn't about you!" She said desperately.
"I don't believe you."
"Why?" She breathed, "because you've already made up your mind? You're just gonna walk away?"
"Because you are my student and I am your Professor, nothing more."
"Do you treat all your students like this?" She asked quietly, "kiss them, ask for them?"
"I haven't asked for you!" He barked and she winced.
He wanted to tell her that he would, if he was allowed to, but he turned away from her instead, leaving her alone in the forest.
And Ophelia couldn't help but feel so incompatibly, inappropriately in love with him.