𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 ; regulus black

01 ; family matters

❝ sitting, waiting, wishing - jack johnson ❞

↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺

"i'm awake, god." ophelia murmured, pushing james' hand away from her as it had been poised to shake her awake, her eyes instantly greeted by the glare of the sun as they shot open. "jesus christ, don't do that unless you want your fingers amputated, got it?"

the mock-innocent grin on james' face tempted her to strangle him. she didn't though, as her parents were in the vicinity and murdering their firstborn son would surely mean that she wouldn't receive a christmas present that year. "someone woke up on the wrong side of the cabin." he teased, reclining in his seat.

oh right.

her brief nap seemed to have shaken her more than expected, because it had completely gone over her head that she was on a train. she'd been on the train before her nap, of course, people didn't tend to teleport when unconscious, but it still took her a moment to come to. a common misconception that she had come to defile was that people did not really look pretty when they slept, and she was sure her mahogany hair was flattened on one side, like a downwards cowlick– a sliver of drool at the corner of her mouth was not a reach, either.

"where's–" she cut herself off with a yawn, causing her brother to snicker. "mum and dad?"

"they're looking out the window."

"what window, james."

"dunno." james shrugged, prodding the mass of leather and messy black hair next to him, causing it to grunt. "padfoot, where did my mother say that they were going?"

the disgruntled haughty cheekbones of sirius black graced her eyes like a bubbling brook being splashed directly onto her sclera. for a sinfully blissful moment she had forgotten that sirius had been temporarily adopted into their family as a second son, much like the stray dog he was (she held no remorse), but alas, even dreams of dancing in an empty ballroom, slowly filling with water could not offer her permanent respite.

"mmh?" sirius murmured, squinting at his best friend as he pushed himself into a sitting position. "to look out the window, no?"

they must've been doing this to take the piss.

"god help me." ophelia snorted, slumping back against the wall of the train compartment. the sun was high in the sky, indicating that a few hours must have passed from their departure from paris, perhaps four? three? it was hard to tell.

the summer holidays had always been her favorite time of year when she was at hogwarts, offering her a much-needed break from the early risings and the oddly depressing stone hallways that had tried to become her second home; alternatively, the potter manor would always hold a place in her heart. this summer was somewhat different, however, as she was poised to start auror training (a gryffindor trying to become an auror...so cliche, she was aware) the following december, after taking a year after finishing hogwarts to continue her studies of defense against the dark arts from home. it was funny how unproductive she could be without professor mcgonagall breathing down her neck with that quill she liked to use to mark out every mistake she made on transfiguration essays– for her future's benefit, of course, no matter how much a foul grade had irked her.

her father, fleamont potter, had the spiffing idea of taking their family out to toulouse, france, for a change in scenery. one could only live in the west country of england for so long without the seasonal depression catching up with them, and france, despite the stereotypical rudeness that marred the population, did have beautiful scenery. one last hoorah before she was confined to being an adult, she supposed.

and all the words that her father's work friends had whispered were not in vain, mind, the blur of colours that made up the french countryside were vivid, a cacophony of green trees and flowerfields, interrupted by the occasional small cottage with trickles of smoke joining the clouds in the sky from the chimney tops. if anything, it was not a lie that the rural regions were alive with charm, the extent of which was to be judged upon their arrival in toulouse.

her mullings were interrupted by a pointed cough from sirius, causing her eyes to focus back on the two lads, and the apparent conversation they were having.

"did moony say that he'd be able to make it?" sirius had inquired, a badly masked interest present on his features as he awaited james' response. james however, seemed to shrug without much conviction. he'd been like that since they'd left, the lovesick bastard. "he said he might, sirius. 'might' indicates that he would like to join us, but he has somewhat more important things to do."

sirius scoffed.

"what would be more important than a summer with the boys? french girls? getting shitfaced in french clubs? c'mon, he's got to be mental!" he muttered, causing ophelia to raise an eyebrow. "right, nothing of french culture and art, just a good ol' pint with the lads." ophelia contended, lacing her fingers together; sirius' reaction was less than enthused.

"yes, ophelia, i know you're a woman. no need to reiterate it for us."

"i-" she paused, about to retort, before aiming a playful kick at his shins, missing by an inch and accidentally rattling the cabin seats, causing james to start laughing. "oh shut it." ophelia flicked her eyes slightly, withdrawing her slightly tender booted-foot, albeit masking slight chortles of her own. "as i was saying, you can't just be hungover the whole time, there's actual things to do here."

"let's be honest," sirius conceded, propping his hands behind his head as he leaned back, the wolfish grin back on his face. "james is going to drink away his nights to lament not being around his ladyfriend," james made a sound of what ophelia assumed was denial. "-i simply enjoy the delicate aroma of smooth french liquor, and you," he pointed at her with dramatic flourish, "are going to get blackout drunk for the fun of it. mark my words."

"uh huh. fuck off." ophelia decided, the bridge of her nose creasing much like a cat who had just been prodded.

sirius' smirk widened at that notion. "come on, we all know you're capable of it, remember that one party in the-"

oh, fuck.

ophelia shot sirius a warning look, as james' whole demenor perked up, his eyes narrowing slightly. "what party?"

"no party." ophelia breezed, suppressing the slightly impeding blush that was surely visible under the rays cast on her cheeks from the train window. "black, here, has been hallucinating. from muggle drugs, no doubt."

"oh yes, you know me, always twisting the narrative." another boy she would gladly slap if it was socially acceptable.

james looked unconvinced, but any further protests to glean more information out of the smug dickhead who happened to be dressed in a leather jacket were quashed when the train whistle blew, and footsteps could be heard outside the cabin.

the door was wretched open by the kindly looking euphemia potter (her beloved mother), a glowing smile on her face at the prospect of having time to spend with family. though, if ophelia was honest with her about the conversations being had, she'd probably be lucky to have the three of them all in the same place at the same time. "alright darlings, we're here," she mused, pulling a wide-brimmed sunhat over her dark hair, somewhat obscuring ophelia's father from view due to the sheer breadth of it. 

"get your bags, if we leave something behind, that's too bad. that includes you, james."

hah.