All her life, Ophelia Wood has played third fiddle to her more popular brothers - Duncan and Oliver. Both were always louder, more popular. Gryffindors to boot. And Ophelia had always been in the background. A quiet Hufflepuff content with her small...
"Ah, right. Did Oliver really sock your ex-boyfriend?" Charlie then asked. Ophelia rolled her eyes, sighing heavily.
"Aye. Did Duncan then tell ye how he got the whole thing wrong? Thought the poor lad broke my heart when it was the other way around. No sure how he made it as an auror if he couldnae get that right," she grumbled.
Charlie chuckled as he continued to glance over at her.
"So, you've become a heartbreaker, is it?" he asked.
"No! Just... there was no... fire," Ophelia said dumbly, suddenly becoming all too aware of what they were talking about.
She spun on her heels and started walking towards the edge of the clearing, anxious to get away. She then stopped, realizing that Charlie wasn't following and she had no idea what it was they were meant to do next. Turning, she looked back at him, finding that he had been watching her with that odd look in his eye again. He then shook his head and grinned, jogging to catch up to her.
"I'm sure he'll live," Charlie said.
Ophelia huffed, though found herself smiling.
"Och, so now I'm no worth gettin' broken up over, is it?" she jested in return, finding it odd how easily she could joke with him while she was still feeling a bit embarrassed at the topic.
"I'd say you're plenty worth getting broken up over. Just he wasn't the right one," Charlie replied, though he kept his eyes trained ahead, red starting to creep up his neck.
Ophelia turned her gaze forward, her heart suddenly racing slightly.
"Suppose that makes sense," she said.
The two fell into awkward silence, neither sure where to go from there. Ophelia was desperately searching her mind for what to say next.
Thankfully, a spectral fox appeared at that time and bounded towards them.
"Horntail eggs about to hatch. Could use some help," Adara's voice said from the creature.
Ophelia's eyes widened as she started grinning, all thoughts of the awkward conversation flying from her mind. She turned to Charlie, who was smiling as well.
"You want to help hatch some dragons?" he asked, holding his hand out.
"Definitely," she replied, grabbing hold as he pulled his wand out.
A jolt of electricity flew through her at the contact, but before she had time to think about it, they had disappeared.
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Ophelia stood away from the grouping of three eggs, long ago shedding her jacket and rolling up her sleeves. The hatchery was rather warm, considering the eggs needed to be kept heated at all times.
There were rows of small areas sectioned off, though only a few contained eggs at the time. They were found abandoned, the parents killed, or sometimes they were unable to look after them. Either way, it was a rare occurrence that anyone got to assist with or even watch a hatching, as Charlie explained to Ophelia.
