The dining room of the Rosier manor was very quiet this morning. Newspapers filled the table together with breakfast that had been delivered just now by the house elves.
Fila chewed on a toast with marmalade as she read the morning newspaper.
GRINDELWALD'S HEIR CROWNS VICTORY — MERCY OR MENACE?
She snorted softly, turning the page. The French Le Sorcier Quotidien was gentler, calling her "a breath of fresh thunder in a stale sky." The American wizarding papers were predictably proud, and wouldn't stop writing about it. even for Fila it felt so forced at this point.
A smaller article on page four caught her eye. Three unidentified wizards found dead in a Paris floo station. "Apparent internal dispute among known sympathizers of old causes," the report said. No mention of vines. No mention of a blindfolded girl. Just another quiet night in the city.
Fila set the paper down and took another bite of toast. The marmalade tasted too sweet this morning.
Vinda entered the room in a deep green dressing gown, her silver-streaked hair neatly pinned. She glanced at the spread of newspapers and gave a small, knowing smile.
"Busy night?" she asked lightly, pouring herself tea.
Fila coughed, "What?" she tried really had to not look her grandmother in the eyes, since she wouldn't be able to hide it from her. And by doing so said more than anything.
Vinda looked at Ophelia with uncertainty in her eyes, she knew very well that she had been the cause of the ruckus. But if she would punish or give her a pat on the shoulder.
She sat down across from Fila and started eating her breakfast, the silence stretching between them like a thin sheet of ice. The clink of silverware against china felt louder than usual.
After a few moments, Vinda set her fork down and sighed.
"You're a terrible liar, little leaf," she said, voice calm but edged with something between exasperation and concern. "That station incident has your fingerprints all over it. Or should I say… vines?"
Fila's shoulders stiffened. She poked at her toast, tearing off a corner and crumbling it between her fingers.
"Nooo…." saying so she looked up, the face vinda gave wasn't even worth trying to convince of otherwise. "Alright, it might have been me."
Vinda raised and eye brow slowly.
Fila's eyes widened, "Alright it was me." She said in defeat, he shoulders slumped and her head tilted down to her plate. "They were Death Eaters," she muttered finally, still not meeting Vinda's gaze. "Low ones. Following me."
Her grandmother sighed. "Ophelia, you are just a child still. Its good that you defend yourself, but please don't forget to be a child. Your only young ones."
Vinda wasn't trying to scold her for defending herself in a moment like this, she only wanted Ophelia to stop being so 'serious' and be a child who is still going to school.
Fila on the other hand. Didn't quiet agree, she had already won a tournament and killed a dozen or so death eaters combined. And she wasn't the one to tell them to come to her. They did if fact to this on themselves by even trying.
"I know I'm young," Fila said quietly, pushing her plate away. "But they don't care about that. They see the name and think I'm either their savior or their next target. I can't just… smile and wave while people like that follow me in the dark."
Vinda watched her for a long moment, then reached across the table and gently tucked a stray lock of hair behind Fila's ear.
"I'm not saying you should ignore the danger," she replied softly. "Only that you don't have to face it alone, or with quite so heavy a hand. There is power in restraint, my dear. Your mother understood that better than most. She chose kindness even when the world gave her every reason not to."
Fila stared at the crumbs on her plate. The mention of her mother always tugged at something deep inside her chest.
"I'm trying," she whispered. "But sometimes trying feels too slow. And the world doesn't wait."
Vinda gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
"Then we make the world wait a little longer. Together. Now finish your breakfast before it gets cold. And no more late-night adventures in Paris without telling me first, hm?"
Fila managed a small, reluctant smile. "No promises."
Ophelia cared alot, and she wanted to do anything to make sure her grandmother didn't have to worry. This time she couldn't avoid it, but next time she would try to. But these dark wizards and witches really are daring these days.
Stepping out into the floo flame central of Paris isn't just something one does, they had the be either desperate or stupid. Most likely both.
Fleur had sent a letter in the early morning asking if she was alright, the letter Fila had return played something like this. "No clue what your talking about, didn't do anything."
Fila knew fleur wouldn't get tricked by such a simple lie, but if someone would try to get this letter they wouldn't have concrete evidence.
New years. A truly special moment, happines, saddnes all in one moment. For some this day brought feeling of what they had done this year, good and bad. And in some ways, it became depressing.
Ophelia sat back in a chair in the back of the manor, while looking out the still night sky. A lot had happened this year.
Torture that changed her in way to many ways, even changing how she would end up looking at herself and others. But the crazy part about it was that she in some ways almost wanted to thank them for doing it. Seems crazy but if they hadn't done that she wouldn't be where she was today. Braver, more courage and she wasn't scared of showing what she could do if someone stepped in her way. something she would hesitate to do before.
Even winning a championship in dueling, maybe with the help of the crazy dark wizard down in that basement in the summer.
In the background she could hear the warm laughter of guests and children. And yet she often felt that she had a hard time going back in as the celebrations kept going into the night.
What would she talk about? Her dream of making a house of out a giant redwood tree? No one understood her like her friends, and even at the time she thought about it, she might have realised that they don't understand her fully either.
But hey didn't need to, the tried to and that's what's important.
She stood up and walked into the main hall of the manor, kids were running around. Adults stood in groups talking and drinking wine and ate small appetizers from the tables around the room.
Ophelia didn't know any of these people.
Guests and friends of Vinda and Evan.
She lingered by the edge of the hall, with a glass of what she thought was some juice but soon released it was champagne. She didn't return it and instead just drank it, was bound to happen at some point she thought.
After a few moments a boy by one of the tables looked at her and nudged a girl on his right.
And would you know it they soon walked over to her.
The boy, tall, broad, brown hair and he looked very typical French boyish. Most likely among one of the better of families in France. And the girl looked like an elegant flower in comparison, dark wavy hair, model kind of face with a normal build body.
"Excuse me," he began politely. "Ophelia Grindelwald, it's a pleasure to meet you, Im Anton Girard."
The girl beside him actually bowed slightly, "And im Camillie Rousseau, It's a pleasure to meet you."
Fila blinked, a little surprised by how direct they were. She quickly set the champagne glass down on a nearby table before she could embarrass herself.
"Hi," she said, offering a small smile. "Nice to meet you both. Are you… from Beauxbatons?"
Anton grinned. "Second year. Camille's in first. Our families are old friends with the Rosiers, so we get dragged to these things every year. We heard you were coming and… well, everyone's been talking about the tournament."
Fila raised an eyebrow. "I heard the Beauxbatons didn't qualify for the championship, was the team that bad?" she asked without holding back, gently saying 'did you guys suck that much?'.
And well she was partly right.
Anton just shook his head in shame almost. "The team did stand a chance against the Japanese, a shame really."
Ophelia already knew this from the extensive teachings of Professor Hale. He had talked about every match leading up to the tournament. The qualifying matches had been brutal, not championship brutal but still. And the Japanese had in them also dominated most of their matches.
Even beating out Durmstrang easily.
Hogwarts she wasn't as sure about, she didn't even know if the compete. Sure she saw them visit during the competition, but did they even have a team?
The three of the talked for a while, mostly questions about the tournament but even sneaking in some questions about Ilvermorny.
"How does it feel to even win such a competition?" the girl Camille asked.
Fila thought about it, how it mostly had been a pain in the ass after and during the whole thing. "It feels good. It was a fun time, I would have liked it to be a bit longer but other than that. No complaints." A total lie for the masses.
Anton laughed. "You're being modest. Half the school was glued to the results every morning. People were making bets on how many matches you'd win. When you summoned that giant in the final… I think half of Beauxbatons lost their minds."
Camille nodded eagerly. "We tried to replicate something like it in Herbology once. It ended with a very angry mandrake and the Professor yelling at us for a week."
Fila couldn't help but grin. It felt good talking to people her own age who were excited instead of scared or overly reverent. The champagne was starting to make her head pleasantly fuzzy, and the laughter from the rest of the hall felt less distant now.
The three of them spent the next half hour chatting easily, swapping stories about school life, the ridiculousness of some tournament rules, and even a bit of friendly teasing about how much better the Uniform of Beauxbatons was compared to Ilvermorny.
After hearing a spoon hit a glass from the make shift raised platform representing a stage the group turned their gaze towards it..
Evan was standing there with his glass raised, a broad, easy smile on his face. The room quieted down as people turned to listen.
"To family, old and new," Evan said, voice carrying warmly across the hall. "To victories won and battles yet to come. And to my niece Ophelia, who continues to amaze to the world."
A cheer went up, glasses clinking together. Fila felt her cheeks warm under the blindfold as several people glanced her way, including Anton and Camille, who raised their own glasses with enthusiastic grins.
She lifted her (now mostly empty) champagne flute in return, managing a small, awkward wave.
But then Evan waved her to come closer, or even to get on the stage.
Fila froze for half a second, the fuzzy warmth of the champagne making her hesitate just long enough for Anton to give her a gentle nudge.
"Go on," he whispered with a grin.
With a quiet sigh and a reluctant smile, Fila made her way through the crowd. Evan helped her up onto the small platform, one hand steady on her shoulder.
The room looked even bigger from up here. Faces turned toward her, warm and expectant. She spotted Vinda near the back, watching with quiet pride. Anton and Camille were beaming like they'd just made a new friend.
Fila straightened, voice clear and steady, carrying across the hall with surprising strength.
"Thank you," she began, a small, confident smile curving her lips. "For the warm welcome, and for the toast. But if I may… I'd like to say something."
The room hushed completely. Even the children stopped running.
"I didn't come here tonight expecting to speak. I came to celebrate with family old and new." She glanced briefly at Anton and Camille, then back to the crowd. "This year has been… long. Brutal in places. I've faced people who wanted me to fail simply because of the name I carry. I've been called a menace, a monster, the next dark shadow over our world. And yet here I stand. Not because I was born to greatness. But because I chose to fight for it."
Her voice grew stronger, echoing with a natural charisma that reminded more than a few in the room of a certain historical figure, but sharper, younger, and undeniably her own.
"So let me make one thing clear tonight. The name Grindelwald does not define me. I define it. I will not hide from it, nor will I let it chain me to the past. If the world wants to fear me, let them fear what I choose to become, not what others tried to make me. Strength without mercy is tyranny. Mercy without strength is weakness. I intend to walk the line between them. And I hope… I truly hope… that when the next challenge comes, I won't have to walk it alone."
She raised her glass, the champagne catching the light like liquid starlight.
"To choosing our own paths. And to the new year, may it be kinder than the last, but just as full of thunder."
The room erupted. Glasses clinked, cheers rang out, and even Vinda was smiling proud, perhaps a touch worried, but proud all the same.
Fila stepped down from the platform to warm applause, her heart still racing.
She made her way to her grandmother. And when she arrived Fila saw the smile of someone proud. "Your so much like him." She muttered, not loud enough for Fila to hear over the chatter of the hall.
The speech hadn't been prepared, more of a spur of the moment kind of speech. She had never done anything like it before, and not speaking in front of a crowd this size before. and yet, it had felt natural almost planned.
Maybe the Grindelwald blood carries more than just some scary reputation.