Ophelia gulped down her tea and then looked down at the pile of paperwork on her desk, blinking blearily. She had gotten into the office a couple hours early so she could go over and then submit her final report as soon as her boss got in that morning, but she already felt as though she had been working all day.
Her arm ached a bit and she looked down at it, though her scar was hidden underneath her work robes. It had faded to a faint pink, but still smarted here and there when her clothes rubbed against it. Immediately she was taken back to Romania and a soft smile came over her face for a moment.
Charlie's smiling face filled her mind, though it then shifted to that day when he took her to catch her portkey and the smile faded slightly. She was still kicking herself for not bucking up the courage and telling him. But no matter, she'd get to it sometime soon. Hopefully. Truthfully, she had no idea when she would get to see him again. And it wasn't as though they had been in contact since she returned. She had tried to write him last night, but wasn't sure what to say so instead worked on her report.
"Ophelia!"
Ophelia looked up, seeing her co-worker, Leanne Greene rush into her office, her brown eyes bright with excitement. For the longest time before Ophelia finally joined the dragon research team, Leanne had been the only woman. However, she held her own and done a lot in the way of research. She was a studious girl a few years behind Ophelia in Hufflepuff who loved dragons and all creatures with the same passion that Ophelia did, though she rather spend her time in libraries or a lab than out in the field.
That she was eager to leave to Ophelia.
"You're here early. Trying to make a good impression now that you're in the office?" Leanne asked, walking over and sitting in a chair on the other side of Ophelia's desk, an eager look on her face.
"Wanted to get this final report ready before Mr. Larkins showed up," Ophelia said, smiling a bit tiredly.
"Really top-notch work while you were away. It's going to go a long way in the final proposal," Leanne said. "But... how was it? Working with real dragons?"
Ophelia chuckled as she looked down at the photos she had brought in with her that morning. As she left shortly after being promoted, she had yet to decorate her office and decided today was as good as any to change that.
There was one of her and Daria, then another of her, Oliver and Duncan - miraculously they were smiling and laughing and not trying to kill each other. But it was the last one that had her attention and her heart fluttering - she had taken it with Charlie while they were at Dragon's Head Ridge, the two of them laughing at the camera and then gazing into each other's eyes.
"Rather magical, actually," she said, looking back up at her co-worker.
Leanne grinned and then glanced back out the open door towards the main office. She turned to Ophelia once she saw they were alone, leaning towards her.
"And... the tamers... are they really as handsome as everyone makes them out to be?" she asked, her voice in an excited whisper.
Ophelia chuckled again, shaking her head slowly, though she once again thought about Charlie. Merlin, it had only been a few days, but she missed him like crazy. She then looked back up at Leanne, who was still waiting on her answer.
"Some of them, yes. But they're just there to do a job. Same as the rest of us," Ophelia said, though a faint blush came over her cheeks. Leanne eyes widened, catching it.
"You met someone, didn't you?" she asked excitedly. Ophelia blushed more.
"Not important right now," she said, hearing the others starting to come in. She reached out and straightened her papers. "And I need to get this to Mr. Larkins."
Ophelia then stood and straightened her work robes, wishing she could go back to wearing denims and flannel every day. Far more comfortable than the work attire she normally wore.
Picking up the papers, she strode out of her office and over to Mr. Larkins', seeing his door open.
"Oi, Wood! Good to see you didn't get eaten by a dragon!" one of her co-workers, Miles Bletchley called out from where he stood near the tea trolley. She stopped and looked over at him, raising an eyebrow.
She had known him since school - they had been in the same year and he was in the same house as Daria - but he had also been one of Flint's cronies, so she hadn't been around him all that much. She still wasn't sure if she would like him or not, considering she had only come into the office to get everything for her trip before and had spent very little time there or talking to anyone outside of Leanne who helped organize the trip.
"Nearly got roasted savin' another tamer, though," she couldn't help but say.
She was the newest member of the team and felt she had something to prove, especially providing the rest of the team outside Leanne was made up of about 15 blokes. Bletchley's eyes widened slightly, almost as though he was impressed.
"By a Hebridean Black."
"Merlin," he said, a note of awe in his voice. "Seems you're more like your brother than I thought."
Ophelia rolled her eyes slightly at the mention of her twin and turned to go into Mr. Larkins' office. She figured there would be some mention of him at some point - she knew for a fact that at least half the office was made up of quidditch fans.
"Sir, I have my final report," she said.
He turned to look at her and motioned her over. Ophelia held out the papers to him, watching as he quickly browsed through them and waiting to be dismissed.
"Really good work," Mr. Larkins said, smiling at her. "Your reports were most excellent. Very thorough and the exact reason why I brought you onto the team and sent you to Romania."
"Thank ye, sir," Ophelia said, pride flooding through her. Merlin, this must be what Oliver feels when he wins a match - the rush and satisfaction over a job well done.
"And exactly why you'll be heading up the proposal team," he continued.
Her eyes widened slightly. While she had expected to be on the proposal team, she hadn't thought she would be leading it.
"But... sir... I'm still rather new to things," she said. "I thought one of the more senior members would be leading it."
Larkins put the papers down and smiled at her.
"We both know I did not bring you over to make you a junior member, not with your work record," he said, sitting at his desk. "You'll head up the team with Greene and Bletchley helping, though let me know if you need more. We present to the head of the magical creature department, the head of finance, and the Minister of Magic in two weeks."
"Are ye sure that's enough time?" Ophelia asked, her mind suddenly flooded with all the work it would entail. Maybe she should ask for more people. Larkins just chuckled.
"More than enough! You've already done most of the work. Just need to do a bit more research, I think, and then put it all together in a way that the others will understand. Make them see why we need to re-open Hebrides," he said. "Then once we've been approved, the entire department will be working on getting it up and running though we'll need to set up a separate team just for that. A team that will need a leader as well."
Ophelia had frozen in her place, still not quite believing what she was hearing. They had two weeks to come up with a way to convince the Ministry of Magic that they needed to invest thousands if not millions of galleons into a dragon reserve. And there was a chance she could be heading up that team as well. It wasn't until Mr. Larkins chuckled that she came back to reality.
"You're more than qualified to do this, Wood," he said. "Now... get to work."
"Aye, sir," Ophelia said.
She then turned and walked out, a grin spreading across her face. Though she then frowned. While she was excited and eager to take it on, it wasn't going to be easy. There was a lot of work to do if she were going to prove to not only the heads of the magical creature department and finance department but also the Minister of Magic that they needed to re-open the reserve and that the Ministry could afford it.
She looked up, seeing Bletchley joking around with some of the others that had finally arrived.
"Bletchley," she called out. He stopped speaking, looking over to her. "I need ye and Greene in my office, please."
She was surprised at the authority in her voice. Merlin, she had been head of the team a manner of minutes and she was already sounding like her brother when he led quidditch practice.
Bletchley gave her an amused look but then followed her into her office, Leanne walking just behind him and shutting the door after them. Ophelia turned to face the two of them.
"Right, so Mr. Larkins has made me head of the proposal team for Hebrides with ye two helpin'. We have two weeks until we bring this before the heads of magical creatures and finance and the Minister of Magic," she said.
"Blimey... two weeks? Not enough time," Bletchley said, frowning in worry.
"We can do it," Leanne said firmly.
"We have to," Ophelia said. "I'm sorry, but the next two weeks are likely to be a bit mad. But I believe we can do this." Bletchley sighed.
"Need to refund my tickets," he muttered to himself.
Ophelia couldn't help but roll her eyes. She knew he had played quidditch for Slytherin and it seemed no matter where she went, she'd never get away from the sport.
"Blaise'll be pissed..."
"I'm sure ye can make it up to yer mate later," she said sternly as she channeled her brother giving one of his famous pep talks. "Right, let's get started..."
"You can't seriously think that you're going to work through lunch, Wood," Bletchley said as he smiled at her across the table in the conference room that the three had taken over while they were working on the project.
She looked up from her book and blinked a moment, before checking the time. It was the lunch hour. She then looked around, wondering where Leanne had gone.
"She took off 15 minutes ago. Remember telling her she could go?" he asked, chuckling.
"Suppose I was too caught up in this report," Ophelia said, looking down at it. "Ye can go. I just want to get through this. I can get a sandwich sent up or somethin'."
"Absolutely not. It's your first full day in the office. I'm taking you out for lunch," he said, already standing.
"But really-"
"Not taking no for an answer, Wood," Bletchley said, already pulling his outer robe back on. Ophelia sighed, standing as well. Seemed all Slytherins were pushy. Bletchley reminded her far too much of Daria.
"Where we goin?" she asked, following him out of the office.
"Somewhere close. Don't worry," he said.
Once they arrived at the restaurant, Ophelia had to admit she was grateful Bletchley got her out of the office. She did need a break. She had a bad habit of throwing herself into whatever she was working on and forgetting to stop and breathe from time to time. There were many nights when Daria showed up and literally dragged her out of her office in the past. From the library before that at Hogwarts.
"This is rather nice," Ophelia said, looking around at the chic bistro.
It was a nicer restaurant but didn't come off as pretentious. She wondered how she had missed it in all her years working at the Ministry.
"One of my favorite places," Bletchley said, checking his watch. "Where is the blighter? Always runnin' late."
"Who?" Ophelia asked, unaware that anyone would be joining them.
"Wood."
Ophelia looked over, seeing Marcus Flint stop just at their table, a stunned look that likely matched her own on his face. He must have come straight from the stadium, his hair slightly damp. And Ophelia had to admit that he looked fit though he was dressed casually in denims and a t-shirt with a leather jacket over it. Though she then wondered where that thought came from. This was Marcus Flint, after all.
Flint then frowned at Bletchley, who was smiling smugly. Immediately, she felt the blush come over her face.
Bloody hell, had Flint talked about her while she was gone? What's more, how on earth did she let him down in front of his mate? There was no gentle way about it, but she figured maybe she could navigate through this lunch without turning it into an embarrassing mess.
Right, she was Ophelia Wood. Had spent the last month working with dragons. Could subdue them. Got the battle scar to match. She could handle one lunch with Marcus Flint.
"Thought I'd invite Wood along since it's her first day officially in the office," Bletchley said casually as Flint sat down next to Ophelia, nervously reaching for the menu. "Flint and I have a standing lunch on Mondays since he has half-day training."
"I see," Ophelia said, looking down her own menu. Daria was going to have so much to say about this.
Hell, her own brother would probably want to throttle her though it was no fault of her own. She hadn't known that Bletchley had invited her out with him as a ruse to get her to meet with Flint.
"So... how was Romania?" Flint asked cautiously.
Ophelia put her menu down, deciding it was high time she learned how to be an adult and get over her embarrassment.
"Braw," she said, reaching for her water glass.
"Says she even got a battle scar for her work. Saved another tamer and got burned in the process," Bletchley added.
Ophelia shot him a look, though Flint turned to her, looking a bit worried.
"Merlin, Wood," he said. "Knew it was dangerous, but that sounds serious."
"Och, its no that bad," she said lightly. "Just a patch on my arm." She reached up, lightly placing her hand on her right bicep. "Doesnae hurt."
Of course, mentioning the burn made her think of Charlie.
And that started a different kind of burn.
"You Woods always so modest?" Bletchley asked with a grin. Ophelia rolled her eyes.
"We may be twins, but we're no the same person," she replied, happy that the server had finally arrived to take their orders.
"That's for sure," Bletchely said, glancing at Flint.
Once their orders were taken, she turned back to the two Slytherins, for a moment wondering just how this happened. While she had long been friends with Daria, that was essentially the only Slytherin she had ever stood to be around for any length of time or could really call a friend. And here she was - out to lunch with Bletchley and Flint. Two Slytherins that she was sure would make her twin's head explode.
"What sort of things did you get up to over there?" Flint asked, seeming to have relaxed slightly, though he still shot a scowl at Bletchley every so often.
"Ehm, well, I was mostly there to study how they run the sanctuary and learn the ins and outs of it. So, I followed around various people to observe all aspects," Ophelia said, finding it easier to settle into the facts of her trip.
Though she wondered why he was asking – it wasn't anything different from her letters. Though maybe he hadn't told his mates about them and hoped to keep it that way. She certainly hoped he did.
"Spent some time with the admin staff and clinic. Then went into the field with the tamers a fair amount."
"Truthfully, you preferred that, didn't you? Being out with the dragons?" Bletchley asked, leaning towards her.
Ophelia whipped her head over to him, her cheeks turning pink as she immediately began wondering how he knew about her and Charlie. But just as quickly, she calmed down, unsure of why she would jump to that conclusion or why it mattered if he knew. They were dating. It wasn't a secret by any means, and people would eventually find out anyway.
"It's what I'd want to do," Bletchley continued. "Actually, did an internship there just after Hogwarts for a bit before I started on at the Ministry."
"It's... like nothin' I've ever done before," Ophelia admitted, starting to smile. "I've worked with creatures of all sorts before but being with dragons... they're so majestic and yet completely lethal if ye move wrong." She propped her hand on her chin. "You get this rush, just bein' around 'em. But then there is also somethin' fulfillin' in the work. Helpin' repair a wing or an egg to hatch. Feedin' the wee'uns. Settin' a dragon free after it's been rehabilitated..."
She stopped and sighed happily.
"Sounds like you want to go back," Bletchley said. She looked at him, smiling.
"Well, that is why we're hopin' to get Hebrides re-opened," she said, straightening up in her chair. "No to mention it would go a long way in buildin' up our domestic dragon population. Most have migrated elsewhere..."
As she reached for her water, she caught Flint staring at her out of the corner of her eye, a soft admiration in his eyes. She focused on her water glass a moment, her cheeks heating up.
"Ah yes, nearly forgot. Wood here is heading up the proposal team," Bletchley said, turning to Flint. She mustered the courage to look back up at the two.
"Congratulations," Flint said. Ophelia smiled and looked away.
"Och, it's loads of work..."
As the conversation continued, Ophelia found it less awkward than she was expecting. By the end of it, she had even joked around with the two, finding she enjoyed their sarcasm. And part of her began to worry less about Flint. He did nor said anything that gave her reason to believe he was interested in pursuing anything with her (though she did catch Bletchley appearing slightly disappointed when Flint didn't ask her out before they left).
But with lunch finished up, they had bigger things to focus on, like the proposal, though in her excitement, Ophelia couldn't help but send off a few owls with the news. Then was surprised to get a quick response from Duncan with a place and time, telling her she better be there, or he'd track her down and drag her out to celebrate.
Chuckling, Ophelia put the note aside and then looked up at the photo of her and Charlie again. She sighed and stared at it, wishing more than anything she could share the news with him. She then sat up and looked up at the clock. She could stand to take a short break.
Reaching for a parchment and then her quill, Ophelia found that the words finally came easily.
Ophelia walked into the pub and immediately stopped when Duncan, Oliver and Daria all jumped to their feet, shouting and cheering. She glanced around, her cheeks reddening, as she noticed they were getting more than a few annoyed looks.
"Would ye hush?" she asked, taking a seat, though she couldn't help but chuckle.
"No! I want the entire tavern to know that my sister - Ophelia Grace Wood - is- OW!"
Duncan turned and glared at Daria who was grinning after hitting him in the head with a spoon. She sat back in her chair, grinning smugly.
"Did ye always have good aim?" Oliver asked from across the table.
Ophelia rolled her eyes as Duncan sat back down, rubbing his head slightly as he shot dirty looks at Daria.
"Yes, always," Daria said a bit haughtily.
"Definitely not always," Ophelia countered. A pint popped up in front of her and she picked it up, eagerly taking a drink.
"So, how does it feel to be running your own team?" Daria asked.
"I'm no so sure I'd call it runnin' my own team," Ophelia mused.
"What is it with you Woods and never accepting compliments!" Daria huffed.
"I will always accept compliments," Duncan said.
"By you Woods, I meant the twins," Daria said pointedly. Duncan narrowed his eyes at her as she smirked in return.
"Either way, it's loads of work," Ophelia said quickly, hoping to thwart another argument between the two. Daria nearly always won, which annoyed Duncan to no end. The man was a Gryffindor through and through – always rushing into things and refusing to give up. "We've got two weeks before we take it before the Minister of Magic. And there's only three of us workin' on it."
"They couldnae spare ye more?" Duncan asked.
"Mr. Larkins said I could always ask for more help if I need it, but Leanne and Bletchley are good workers. I think we can manage," Ophelia said.
Oliver spit out his drink rather suddenly, causing the three others to look at him oddly.
"Do not tell me that ye're workin' with Miles Bletchley," he said, looking at her in shock. Duncan appeared thoroughly confused - not knowing who they were talking about - though Daria rolled her eyes dramatically.
"He's actually rather nice," Ophelia said.
Which was true. Outside obviously setting her and Flint up for lunch, she found she got on with him well enough and enjoyed working with him when he was focused on work.
"No so sure just why it is ye feel ye have to hate every Slytherin just 'cause they're Slytherin," she scoffed.
"You like me and I'm Slytherin," Daria pointed out. Oliver looked over at her.
"Aye, of course, I do. Ye're Phillie's best friend," he said, as though it was the most logical thing in the world. Daria rolled her eyes, huffing slightly.
"He's my colleague, Ollie. And I had no choice. Larkins assigned him. But I've no problems with him," Ophelia said, getting Oliver's attention again. He just frowned at her, as though she were some sort of traitor. "Christ, even Flint isnae nearly so bad as ye make him out to be!"
Ophelia's eyes widened as she clamped her mouth shut. She hadn't meant to say that. Bugger. On her other side, she could see Daria grinning as she waited for the inevitable explosion. Duncan appeared relieved he could follow the conversation, finally hearing a name he recognized.
"When did ye meet Flint?" Oliver asked quietly, though Ophelia knew this was when he was most dangerous.
"Oh, ehm... ran into him while the team was out for lunch," she said casually as she reached for her pint.
"The team?" Oliver asked.
"Right... me and Bletchley," she amended, cursing her inability to lie, especially to her twin. "Flint joined us, actually. Was a bit awkward for a bit, but then... no so bad. He's rather decent when ye get to talkin' to him..."
"And then there was the club," Daria chipped in. Ophelia shot her a glare. "They talked there before she left."
Daria was enjoying poking Oliver far, far too much and Ophelia was starting to worry slightly. There was a reason his Patronus was a bear. She glanced nervously over at her twin, who was back to scowling at her.
"I swear, Ollie! It was just random things!" Ophelia said. "We didnae even talk about ye!"
"What would Charlie say?" Oliver asked, the disapproval clear in his voice.
Ophelia stared at him in confusion a bit and then snorted before she laughed loudly.
"Fairly sure he doesnae care who I have lunch with," she replied, though at the back of her mind she did remember that one moment just before they got together that Charlie had thought she was, perhaps, dating Flint.
But then she had assured him there was nothing there. And he believed her. Because there was nothing there, at least on her part.
"Truly, house rivalry doesnae mean so much to him."
"Speaking of which, you heard from loverboy lately?" Daria asked, eager to change the topic, though Ophelia almost wanted to go back to poking Oliver. Her cheeks turned slightly red.
"Can we not call him loverboy?" Duncan whined, though Daria shot him a look.
"I havenae heard from him, but I've only been back a couple days," Ophelia said, trying to hide her disappointment. But it was true, she argued with herself, it had only been a couple days and he was likely busy. "Though I sent him an owl today about the proposal."
"I'm sure he'll floo the second he gets it," Daria said. Ophelia looked up at her, catching her encouraging grin. Ophelia returned it gratefully.
"Now, if we're all finished wi' takin' the mickey out of each other, it's time for a toast," Duncan said grandly, getting everyone to look at him. He held his glass out. "To Phillie! Congrats, little sister!"
"To Phillie!"
Ophelia couldn't help but smile as they all held their glasses up and then took their drinks. For the time being, she put aside her worries. Charlie would write back soon, she knew. Tonight, she was going to celebrate with her brothers and best friend.
Of course, Flint was going to make a comeback in the story. ^_^ And of course, Oliver Wood is still holding on to Slytherin grudges...