"Alright, Pheebs?" Cory popped his head through her window.
"Mhm," Ophelia hummed.
She was sitting crossed legged on the floor, her focus entirely on the papers in front of her.
"What're you up to?"
"Uhm.." she sighed, "just trying to make sense of all this."
"What's all this about, then?" He climbed through the window, putting his hands on his hips and looking down at the papers.
"My dad's having these meetings, but the invitations are all in code," she picked one up, "see this, for example. It says Malfoy Manor, but the message is all messed up and I can't make out the order in which the letters are supposed to go."
"That's.. actually pretty weird," Cory frowned, "who encrypts their messages?"
"People who've got something to hide."
"Hey," Cory nudged her shoulder with his foot, "what do you say we leave the mystery solving for another day and go get pissed tonight?"
Ophelia pursed her lips, then nodded, "yeah, okay."
𖠇
They clinked their glasses together before swinging their heads back and downing the contents.
"Let's take another one," Ophelia opened the tequila bottle and refilled their glasses.
"Slow down, you'll make me barf before it's even ten," Cory said, but took the shot with her anyway.
"You were the one who said you wanted to get drunk."
"Yes, but I also want to remember getting drunk."
Ophelia rolled her eyes and took one last shot before filling her cup with some sort of concoction Margot had mixed together.
"Where's your girlfriend?"
"Broke up."
"I didn't even get to meet her," Ophelia scoffed, "and you complain about me."
"Hey, don't compare me to you," Cory flicked her nose.
She smacked his hand but then she froze. In the corner of her eye she could see Teddy and Margot making their way over. Ophelia hadn't really thought about what she should do about the whole Isaiah situation. Should she tell Teddy? Warn him? She didn't know him that well, however, and without context it was hard to betray her father, despite what he asked of her.
"Hey, Ophelia," Teddy smiled, "where've you been?"
"Oh, I've been.. around," Ophelia answered, her voice two octaves too high. "I gotta go refill my cup," she smiled awkwardly and then made her way to the kitchen.
She had come to the conclusion that she had to stay as far away as possible from Teddy, the less she knew about him, the better. Ophelia looked around at the bottles. What she had learned was that every time Margot was in charge of choosing the alcohol, Ophelia always ended up black out drunk.
"Having a hard time choosing?" His breath on her neck made her shiver.
Ophelia glanced over her shoulder. He was slightly taller than her, hair short and blonde, and ice-gray eyes. His sharp features were so similar to Vincent's it actually took her breath away.
She nodded slowly, "seems that way."
He stepped up beside her, picking up a bottle and looking it over.
"They've got some good stuff here, but nothing beats the good ol' fire whiskey."
Ophelia stood up straighter, "wait, you're a wizard?"
"And so are you," he grinned, "are you going to Hogwarts?"
She nodded, "you?"
"Graduated last year."
Ophelia hummed, filling her cup with vodka.
The boy laughed, "that's quite a lot, for a good mix you should add like half of that."
She frowned and swatted her hand in the air, "that's just a recommendation, you know? Like it's recommended to get ten hours of sleep a week."
"A night," he said and took the cup from her.
"What's that?"
"Ten hours of sleep a night."
She frowned, "I'm sorry, who are you again?"
"I am but a simple boy, looking for simple pleasures, Ophelia," he smiled, and god dammit if it wasn't one of the most charming smiles she'd ever seen.
She frowned at the use of her name, she was just drunk enough to not be frightened.
"That's right, I know who you are," he said, not taking his eyes off the liquid he was pouring into her cup.
She eyed him carefully, "right."
He handed her the drink he'd been mixing, "do you want to get out of here, Ophelia?"
She took a sip, "what did you have in mind, simple boy?"
He smirked, looking from her lips to her eyes, "I have a few ideas."
𖠇
Severus watched the others rise from their seats and one after one disappear. The Delisle's were the last to go.
"Severus," Tom said as he approached him, his wife by his side, "I have something urgent I would like to discuss with you."
Severus put his hand up, "not tonight, it is late and I am tired, it will have to wait until tomorrow. I will come to you."
Tom nodded, "my children will be home."
Severus took a deep breath, "they haven't bothered us before."
He eyed Severus carefully before agreeing, "tomorrow, then."
Severus bid the pair goodnight and then joined Lucius in his living room.
"I, too, would like a word," Lucius smirked.
"The answer is no," Severus said.
"I haven't said anything yet!"
"I know that face, and I know you're going to ask me to do something insanely stupid that most likely would get us both killed, all for the sake of some quest that doesn't make any sense to anyone but you. So the answer is no."
"Merlin, Severus.." Lucius rolled his eyes and took a sip of his whiskey.
Severus looked at him with one raised eyebrow, "you were, weren't you?"
Lucius cleared his throat, "...maybe."
Severus chuckled, "so, where is Draco tonight?"
"Who knows," Lucius shrugged, "he's barely spoken to me since the war."
Severus hummed, "I shall take my leave."
"Do you have somewhere to be?" Lucius raised his eyebrows, keeping his drink attached to his lips.
"No."
Lucius smirked, "you're lying."
And it was true. Severus did have somewhere to be, or rather, somewhere he wanted to be. Every time he met her, she made him want to strangle her and understand her all at the same time. It infuriated him to the point of absolute insanity. And he would see her tomorrow.
Hopefully.
When Severus didn't say anything more, Lucius rolled his eyes.
"Fine," he took another sip, "I won't ask about her."
Severus scoffed, taking out his wand and preparing to apparate, "goodnight, you fool."
𖠇
"There are rumors about you, you know?" He said as he buttoned his dress shirt.
"Oh, yeah?" Ophelia breathed, looking at him from Margot's bed.
"Mhm," he smirked, "want me to tell you about them?"
She scoffed and looked away. Her stomach turned and she put her shirt over her head, her heart beating in her ears.
"Ophelia?"
She quickly looked at herself in the mirror before turning to him.
"I'm good," she gave him a fake smile and walked out of the room.
He followed her.
"Come on, don't be like that," he chuckled, quickly catching up to her.
Ophelia pushed herself through the crowded living room and stopped by the open front door, turning to face him.
"I am not interested in whatever crap you, or anyone else in this town of miserable motherfuckers have to say about me, alright?"
He pulled his lips into a thin line, narrowing his eyes at her, "I don't know what's happening right now, but I feel like I've made a misstep somehow."
She rolled her eyes and shook her head before walking outside. Thankfully, he didn't follow her this time. She had thought him charming at first, and god was it a relief to meet another wizard. But Ophelia was not a fan of rumors, or those who spread them.
She took a shaky breath, her heart feeling heavy. The walk down the road made her feel more alone than she'd felt since they buried her brother. She brought her jacket closer to her body and swallowed thickly, tears blurred her vision and she decided to sit down on the grass. She laid on her back and looked up at the stars, feeling a bit better.
But her heart was still aching. She missed her brother, she missed her friends and she missed her home. She missed the first boy she'd ever fallen in love with, and she wanted nothing more than to have the company of the man she hoped could be the second. And she felt guilty because neither of them was the one she'd just shared a bed with.