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Heartbroken

Ophelia glanced over at Charlie as they hiked through the woods to check on an injured Welsh Green. Her feet slid slightly in the mud from an overnight rainfall, though she caught herself before she fell.

A few more days had passed, and she continued to chicken out on speaking to him about, well, everything. Overhearing the speculations - the fact that she wasn't dating Marcus Flint. It wasn't as though they had much time alone, but every time she got a chance and opened her mouth, determined to finally address the dragon in the room - so to speak - she found the words catching in her throat.

"What happened to being an adult, Ophelia?" a voice in her head griped.

"This is my older brother's mate," she countered.

"So? THAT has nothing to do with why you're pansying out of this," the other voice said, sounding far too much like Daria. "Just admit you're scared and get over it. Time to put on your big girl knickers. In fact, you don't have to say ANYTHING. Just snog the bloke."

Ophelia grimaced at that, knowing that Daria was most definitely in her head.

"Everything alright?" Charlie asked.

Ophelia looked over at him, worried he had seen her previous expression. Merlin, she did not want to tell him about the internal conversation she was currently having with herself. He'd think her mad in a heartbeat.

"Fine," she said quickly, smiling.

"Just... you seem a bit quiet today, is all," he said, turning to look back at the trail.

"Oh, ehm, nothing. Just tryin' not to fall on my arse," she said. "Trail's a bit treacherous." Charlie chuckled.

"Yea, suppose we should have apparated," he said, running his hand up the back of his neck, scratching it.

For a moment, Ophelia wondered what it would be like to run her fingers through his hair and if it was as soft as it looked. Her face then reddened as she almost stopped, slightly taken aback by the thought.

"Focus, Ophelia," she scolded herself.

"Yes, focus on what it might be like to kiss him," Daria's voice countered.

"Fuck's sake," she lamented, hearing Daria's cackle in her mind.

"We're just about there," Charlie said, thankfully pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Oh, good," Ophelia said, climbing up onto a log in their path. She then hopped to the ground and suddenly her feet slid out from under her. With a shout, she went down, landing arse first in a large puddle of muddy water.

Despite how it looked, the only thing smarting at that moment was her pride as Charlie barely concealed a laugh. Well, this was perfect. She was sitting in a pile of mud in front of the man she fancied. Who likely thought she was dating Marcus Flint. Lovely.

"Like you said, bit treacherous," he said, holding his hand out to her.

Ophelia glared up at him a moment, before the idea popped into her head. Before either side of her mind could comment on it, she reached down and grabbed a handful of mud and then slapped it into his hand with a smug smile.

"True, really should be more careful," she said.

Charlie's eyes widened a bit as he looked down at their hands and then suddenly, he was grinning as he bent down, seemingly as though he were going to lift her up. Instead, he reached down to her side and then Ophelia felt a plop on the top of her head as muddy water trickled down her cheek.

"Really gotta watch out for those mud puddles, Phillie," he said with a wink.

"Oh, ye're so dead, Charlie Weasley," she said.