Hero.
Three
After waking from another restless night, Ophelia Andrews sat quietly in her bed. Red and blue car lights and screams of fear haunted her mind. Ophelia’s body was soaked in her own sweat; the pajamas glued to her like a second skin. Her finger was absentmindedly taping on the sheets. The other hand ran its way through her thick, auburn hair. Sighing, Ophelia moved to grab the white package daunting her.
With one intake, relaxation flooded her body. Ophelia felt more comfortable in her own skin. It was funny how much nicotine affected the teenager.
Twenty minutes later, Ophelia was showered and dressed, ready for the long day ahead of her. She quickly stopped at Madam Malkin’s covered in a pair of black jeans and a maroon shirt picking up the new pair of school robes.
Humming softly to herself, Ophelia walked down the sidewalk, trunk in tow. For once, the brunette was content. Her mind was empty. The September wind blew past causing a shiver to run down Ophelia’s spine. Taking another drag of the cancer stick, Ophelia turned onto a busy road that would lead her to King’s Cross Station.
The gray sneakers squeaked against the clean, polished floor. Ophelia’s eyes locked on a large, brick wall. Ophelia ran a hand through her thick locks while pausing. She watched with a slight smile as a young girl, a first year no doubt, looked at the wall with an apprehensive look. The smile faded as an older gentleman came into her view, explaining to his daughter what lay behind the bricks.
Sighing, Ophelia moved closer to the passage. The gray barrier was the only thing in between the fifteen year old and a safe place.
Nerdy as it sounds, Ophelia loved the school. Though she had struggles with her schoolwork and always ends up missing her brother deeply, the castle seemed comforting to the young girl. Nothing, no one, could get to her there…except her mind.
“Rosey!” Ophelia let out a little chuckle as she turned to see her best friend waving like a manic. Juliet was clad in her usual old woman like attire. Ophelia watched as Juliet quickly said one last goodbye to her parents before running over and grabbing her sweatshirt covered arm.
“Let’s go before the train leaves without us.” Juliet told her in an impatient tone. Ophelia snorted at the teenager but let Juliet drag her anyways. Minutes later, Ophelia found herself comfortable and warm in a small compartment; her legs stretched across the seat. Running a hand through her hair, she focused on the book lying on her lap greeting it like an old friend.
The once white pages were yellow with use and the edges were torn in various places. No matter how many times Ophelia read the classic, she never seemed to get bored of To Kill a Mockingbird. The smooth words gave Ophelia peace every time she reread them.
Her brown orbs never left the page until a loud clatter was heard from outside the compartment. Ophelia looked over to Juliet who had been napping for the last few hours. The two girls got up and glanced out of their compartment to see the back of James Potter’s famous head.
Rolling her eyes, Ophelia recognized the other two teenagers that were standing next to the arrogant chaser. Sirius Black was helping the boy bully some Slytherin; the other boy, Peter Pettigrew stood by silently and watched as they caused terror.
Seconds later a fiery redhead appeared. “Potter!” She yelled already fulfilling her prefect duties. Behind her was the fourth member of the quartet, Remus Lupin. He looked more run down and shabbier than last year. Ophelia felt a twinge of pity understanding what that was like.
It was as if he knew. His green eyes turned to meet her brown orbs. He gave her a soft smile causing the scars on his face to stretch. Ophelia did nothing in response; ignoring the scene playing out in front of her, she went back into the compartment.
Hogwarts itself was the same as Ophelia remembered it. Only the auras of the people filling it were changing. The world around them was growing darker and the students of Hogwarts can only push the worry and fear from their brains for so long.
Ophelia sat next to Juliet, clad in her uniform, at the Gryffindor table with a bored expression clearly written on her face. Three feet away sat Remus Lupin and his friends. Ophelia noticed a slight sparkle in his eyes as he conversed with James and Sirius; she also happened to see a proud smirk on Black’s face.
Remus looked over and caught her gaze. The connection was broken when James grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the conversation. His thick hair fell into his eyes and he hurried to brush the light brown strands out of his view. Remus glanced back at mysterious girl, but she had already diverted her attention to the sorting.
Even thought Ophelia was in the same year as him, Remus never really talked to the brunette. She had always seemed so distant and detached; it was as if she was in her own world. At the same time, he could not deny his immense attraction to the gorgeous female.
After a filling Hogwarts feast, Ophelia and Juliet made their way to their dorm room. The gold and red clad room was the same as Ophelia remembered it. “How does it feel to be back Rosey?” Juliet asked before changing into her night clothes.
For a few seconds, Ophelia said nothing but sat on the end of her bed and stared at nothing. Shaking her head, she looked over at her best friend sitting in her bed reading. “It’s quiet nice actually.”
With that, she quickly got rid of her uniform and replaced them with her pajamas. “Now, I think I’m going to spend my first night back sleeping.” She told Juliet causing her to chuckle before slipping underneath the warm covers.
“Night love,”
Unfortunately, her dreams of relaxing for the first time all summer came to a crashing halt. Laughing obnoxiously, Lily Evans decided to make her entrance. Following her, came the bodies of Marilyn Gray and Evangeline Rossberry. Letting out an annoyed sigh, Ophelia lifted her head to meet the gaze of Lily.
“Oh…sorry Ophelia,” the redhead said with a smile on her face. Ophelia said and did nothing in response except raise her eyebrow at the group. For a few seconds, everyone else in the room awkwardly watched the two girls not knowing what to do. Marilyn and Evangeline shared a look of worry, and Juliet just sat on her bed waiting for Ophelia to respond.
Ophelia and Lily never really got along. To Ophelia, Lily was just an overrated, annoying overachiever who always had to be right, but to Lily, Ophelia was just an arrogant, lazy girl who had no idea of what respect was.
Deciding that she was bored with situation, Ophelia turned to lie on her stomach ignoring them. She could hear Lily’s scoff but choose to close her eyes and try to go to sleep. Being sent to see Professor McGonagall wasn’t on Ophelia’s top ten things to do.
With one intake, relaxation flooded her body. Ophelia felt more comfortable in her own skin. It was funny how much nicotine affected the teenager.
Twenty minutes later, Ophelia was showered and dressed, ready for the long day ahead of her. She quickly stopped at Madam Malkin’s covered in a pair of black jeans and a maroon shirt picking up the new pair of school robes.
Humming softly to herself, Ophelia walked down the sidewalk, trunk in tow. For once, the brunette was content. Her mind was empty. The September wind blew past causing a shiver to run down Ophelia’s spine. Taking another drag of the cancer stick, Ophelia turned onto a busy road that would lead her to King’s Cross Station.
The gray sneakers squeaked against the clean, polished floor. Ophelia’s eyes locked on a large, brick wall. Ophelia ran a hand through her thick locks while pausing. She watched with a slight smile as a young girl, a first year no doubt, looked at the wall with an apprehensive look. The smile faded as an older gentleman came into her view, explaining to his daughter what lay behind the bricks.
Sighing, Ophelia moved closer to the passage. The gray barrier was the only thing in between the fifteen year old and a safe place.
Nerdy as it sounds, Ophelia loved the school. Though she had struggles with her schoolwork and always ends up missing her brother deeply, the castle seemed comforting to the young girl. Nothing, no one, could get to her there…except her mind.
“Rosey!” Ophelia let out a little chuckle as she turned to see her best friend waving like a manic. Juliet was clad in her usual old woman like attire. Ophelia watched as Juliet quickly said one last goodbye to her parents before running over and grabbing her sweatshirt covered arm.
“Let’s go before the train leaves without us.” Juliet told her in an impatient tone. Ophelia snorted at the teenager but let Juliet drag her anyways. Minutes later, Ophelia found herself comfortable and warm in a small compartment; her legs stretched across the seat. Running a hand through her hair, she focused on the book lying on her lap greeting it like an old friend.
The once white pages were yellow with use and the edges were torn in various places. No matter how many times Ophelia read the classic, she never seemed to get bored of To Kill a Mockingbird. The smooth words gave Ophelia peace every time she reread them.
Her brown orbs never left the page until a loud clatter was heard from outside the compartment. Ophelia looked over to Juliet who had been napping for the last few hours. The two girls got up and glanced out of their compartment to see the back of James Potter’s famous head.
Rolling her eyes, Ophelia recognized the other two teenagers that were standing next to the arrogant chaser. Sirius Black was helping the boy bully some Slytherin; the other boy, Peter Pettigrew stood by silently and watched as they caused terror.
Seconds later a fiery redhead appeared. “Potter!” She yelled already fulfilling her prefect duties. Behind her was the fourth member of the quartet, Remus Lupin. He looked more run down and shabbier than last year. Ophelia felt a twinge of pity understanding what that was like.
It was as if he knew. His green eyes turned to meet her brown orbs. He gave her a soft smile causing the scars on his face to stretch. Ophelia did nothing in response; ignoring the scene playing out in front of her, she went back into the compartment.
Hogwarts itself was the same as Ophelia remembered it. Only the auras of the people filling it were changing. The world around them was growing darker and the students of Hogwarts can only push the worry and fear from their brains for so long.
Ophelia sat next to Juliet, clad in her uniform, at the Gryffindor table with a bored expression clearly written on her face. Three feet away sat Remus Lupin and his friends. Ophelia noticed a slight sparkle in his eyes as he conversed with James and Sirius; she also happened to see a proud smirk on Black’s face.
Remus looked over and caught her gaze. The connection was broken when James grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the conversation. His thick hair fell into his eyes and he hurried to brush the light brown strands out of his view. Remus glanced back at mysterious girl, but she had already diverted her attention to the sorting.
Even thought Ophelia was in the same year as him, Remus never really talked to the brunette. She had always seemed so distant and detached; it was as if she was in her own world. At the same time, he could not deny his immense attraction to the gorgeous female.
After a filling Hogwarts feast, Ophelia and Juliet made their way to their dorm room. The gold and red clad room was the same as Ophelia remembered it. “How does it feel to be back Rosey?” Juliet asked before changing into her night clothes.
For a few seconds, Ophelia said nothing but sat on the end of her bed and stared at nothing. Shaking her head, she looked over at her best friend sitting in her bed reading. “It’s quiet nice actually.”
With that, she quickly got rid of her uniform and replaced them with her pajamas. “Now, I think I’m going to spend my first night back sleeping.” She told Juliet causing her to chuckle before slipping underneath the warm covers.
“Night love,”
Unfortunately, her dreams of relaxing for the first time all summer came to a crashing halt. Laughing obnoxiously, Lily Evans decided to make her entrance. Following her, came the bodies of Marilyn Gray and Evangeline Rossberry. Letting out an annoyed sigh, Ophelia lifted her head to meet the gaze of Lily.
“Oh…sorry Ophelia,” the redhead said with a smile on her face. Ophelia said and did nothing in response except raise her eyebrow at the group. For a few seconds, everyone else in the room awkwardly watched the two girls not knowing what to do. Marilyn and Evangeline shared a look of worry, and Juliet just sat on her bed waiting for Ophelia to respond.
Ophelia and Lily never really got along. To Ophelia, Lily was just an overrated, annoying overachiever who always had to be right, but to Lily, Ophelia was just an arrogant, lazy girl who had no idea of what respect was.
Deciding that she was bored with situation, Ophelia turned to lie on her stomach ignoring them. She could hear Lily’s scoff but choose to close her eyes and try to go to sleep. Being sent to see Professor McGonagall wasn’t on Ophelia’s top ten things to do.