Like Fire to Kindle

Surprises

Ah, there it was.

Ophelia looked over as a tall, dark-haired man walked up, scowling, with another bloke with sandy blonde hair. Flint and Higgs. She wasn't sure just why Flint had a problem with her, but figured it was guilty by association - she was Oliver Wood's twin, after all. Which was wrong, in her mind. Not like it was her fault that he was an annoying prat when it came to quidditch. But apparently as she had shared a womb with Oliver, that made her the enemy in Flint's eyes.

As for Higgs, he just had the tendency to be a lech, which Ophelia found far more annoying than Flint's inexplicable hatred of her throughout school. Though it was better now that they were both out and rarely saw each other save for the random run-in.

"Wood," Flint said gruffly, nodding towards her.

Higgs looked her up and down with an appreciative smile. Ophelia wished she had grabbed a cardigan before they left the house.

"Alright, you lot. This is Ophelia's night. You want to stay, you behave," Daria said, jumping up to her feet and striding to Flint. She stopped in front of him, her hands planted on her hips. "If it were up to me, you wouldn't even be here. So be grateful I have a soft spot for my younger brother."

"Fine," Flint said, moving to sit in an open chair next to Adrian, though he glanced at Ophelia a few times with an odd look on his face.

Ophelia couldn't help but find it strange but pushed it aside. She wasn't about to let one Marcus Flint ruin her night.

"Well that wasn't so bad," Daria said, sitting back down next to Ophelia, who only rolled her eyes and finished her drink. Daria immediately grabbed it and started mixing up another.

"So, one month out in the wilderness. How will you survive?" Maria - one of Ophelia's Hogwarts roommates - asked, her eyes wide. Ophelia shrugged.

"I'm lookin' forward to it, actually," she said. "It'll be nice to get away from everythin' for a bit."

"You can't be serious," Roger Davies shouted out. "A month in the wilds of Romania? It'll drive you mad."

Ophelia just smirked as she sipped her drink, though winced slightly.

"Merlin, how much alcohol did ye put in this?" she shouted at Daria over the music. Her friend just laughed.

"You forget, Davies. Wood here grew up in the wilds of the Highlands. And with Oliver and Duncan as brothers," Adrian said. "She'll probably tame every dragon there by the end of the first day."

"Just might," Ophelia said lightly.

The others laughed, though she couldn't help but notice Flint still giving her an odd look. It was as though he had never really seen her before. Whatever. It wasn't her concern. After she gulped down about half of her drink and took a shot that Daria had forced upon everyone, she stood, pulling Daria up with her.

"Let's go dance!" she shouted over the music.

"Yes! This is the Ophelia I wanted to see tonight!" Daria shouted, already starting to dance around as they moved to the stairs. The other girls stood and followed them down to the dance floor.

A nice buzz was going through Ophelia's body as she started moving in time with the music. She wasn't much of a dancer usually, but whenever she drank a certain amount, she would take to the dance floor until someone would have to drag her off. She didn't really care if she looked good or not at this point.

Though she was once again regretting the heels.

"What am I going to do without you!" Daria wailed over the music.