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booksmarts and broomsticks
act iii , turning tables
chapter thirty-six, milkshakes and murderers

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➖DRIA ( & KIPPER ) LOCKABY ➖
august 1993

        DRIA HAD HEARD DREADFUL things about the effects of alcohol — she'd even seen it firsthand on that New Year's Day when her mother had been practically bed bound after having the best part of three bottles of wine the night before — however, nothing could have ever prepared her for how she felt when she opened her eyes, the morning after the house party.

The smallest bit of light that cracked through the blinds felt like someone was forcing her to look directly at the sun, and the pounding in her head was very disorientating as she attempted to rise to her feet. Her mouth felt incredibly dry — it was as though she'd eaten sand and couldn't scrape it off her tongue — as she tried to navigate her way to kitchen to grab herself a glass of water.

She sat opposite Penny at breakfast whose head was firmly placed on the kitchen island where they sat, as Dria groaned into her morning cornflakes with Tess' sunglasses placed firmly on the bridge of her nose. She tried to will herself to eat, however nothing quite satisfied her other her glass of water which she'd already refilled four times.

The Lockaby girl had a very adverse reaction to when Millie had creeped down the stairs and began to clear off the island, sweeping cups into a black bin bag, and unveiling some leftover cupcakes from beneath a tea towel. The blonde could have sworn the mere sight of them had her stomach doing somersaults. With a large exhale, and turning her head away from the baked goods, she flared her nostrils and boldly stated:

"I am never eating cupcakes again."

        After another spoonful or two (and another glass of water), to Dria's great displeasure, Jackie came bounding down the stairs with a bright smile on her face and skipped over to the island.

        "Morning!"

        "For the love of Merlin, shut up!" Penny's muffled words soon sounded out across the kitchen to where Jackie was stood by the open fridge, drinking some milk from the carton.

        The Irish girl paid very little mind to the Ravenclaw's comment and instead turned her gaze to her blonde friend.

        "You look rough."

        A small scowl and quick flip of the bird were enough to get Jackie to quieten down and take a seat beside the other two girls. The scowl remained on her face for a good while as the mess around her began to get cleaned away by both Millie's efforts and a flick of Penny's wand ("Thank God for magic, eh?"), yet the expression quickly wavered off her face upon seeing two more figures descend the stairs.

        "Morning guys." Tess shot the three girls a quick smile, as she wrapped her arms around herself — no doubt being cold as a result of the fact she only wore an oversized t-shirt — before shooting a quick glance to the red head that stood beside her.

         "I best be off." Una turned to the Robbins' girl, her voice still thick with sleep as she took a hand through her tangled hair.

         Tess gave her a quick nod, before the ex-Head Girl took a step forward and placed a light kiss on her cheek. Dria hadn't noticed that their hands had been holding each other's until they came apart with a final squeeze. Una turned her attention back to the three girls and shot them a bashful smile, before striding across the kitchen and making her way to the door.

        "Great party, by the way." She said suddenly, turning around abruptly in a final gesture of farewell before she headed out the door.

         Dria, Jackie and Penny replied with mere nods and muffled words of agreement, as they raised their hands in lazy waves watching the red-head walk out onto the deck and Disapparate.

         Almost in sync, the three girls sat by the island turned their heads to look at the rapidly reddening cheeks of their friend.

        "Thought you could sneak her out, eh?" Jackie's cocky tone rang out before she was quickly silenced by Dria who gestured for her to lower her volume.

        "I—I didn't think you guys would be up this early." The Robbins girl fumbled over her words as she fiddled with the hem of her t-shirt.

         "It's 11:30, Tess." Penny countered, her head slowly lowering back down to rest on the counter.

         "What did she make of your sleep apnea?" Dria chided as she shovelled another spoonful of cornflakes into her mouth, beginning to feel her headache ebb away as a smirk grew on her features.

         "Oh, piss off."

        "Got to say I'm relieved." Jackie chuckled, as she took another swig of milk from the carton.

        "Relieved?" Tess responded with an arched eyebrow, as she manoeuvred her way over to the fridge.

        "I mean the walls are very thin, and I was little concerned by some of things I heard last night but now that I know you were with Una—"

         The sound of the fridge slamming shut caught Dria's attention as she brought her head up to see Tess' face flushed red as Jackie's sentence was cut off.

        "Please stop talking."

        "Hey, all I'm saying is that I'm relieved."

        "Stop."

         With a quick glare, Tess silenced any more words that could have fallen from the Hufflepuff's mouth before she directed her attention towards pouring herself a bowl of coco pops.

        The four girls sat in silence for a few minutes more with only the sound of muffled chuckles coming from Jackie and Dria as they exchanged knowing looks and the light crackling of Tess' cereal.

         "So ... was it good?"

         "Penny!"

***

        THE NEXT DAYS STAYING at the beach house were considerably less chaotic than Jackie's first night had been. As soon as Millie had left — informing the four girls that she would be in Magaluf should they need her — they found themselves falling into a far more relaxing routine as the days rolled by.

       Dria was surprised to learn after a surprise visit from Percy Weasley some days after the house party that he'd actually been in attendance, having returned from Egypt sooner than Penny had originally thought.

        "You told me, and I quote, that 'my hair reminded you of carrot and swede but not to take it as an insult because it's your favourite part of a roast dinner'."

        "I do love our chats, Percy."

        As the summer neared its end, Dria quickly found herself back in Westminster and having to prepare for her return back to Hogwarts. Her trunk had been sat in her room waiting to be packed for a solid three days before she manage to place the first item in — something in her refused to believe it was the last time she'd have to pack.

        Still, she gritted her teeth, put on a brave face and, with two days to go, just about managed to pack her whole life into a trunk just as she'd done every August for the last six years. With the emotional exhaustion and the physical ("Packing is tiring, okay?!") she was simply glad when the time came for her to shut her eyes and let the day slip away into the night.

        However, as it so often does, whenever we require a long sleep, it seemed to pass in a blink. At least, that's how Dria felt as she found herself being pulled out of a peaceful slumber by the repetitive booming of a dog barking and an uncomfortable weight on her stomach.

        "You know if I knew you were going to replace my alarm clock, I'd have kicked you to the curb." The blonde girl groaned as she willed her eyes to open, only for them to land on the form of a large golden retriever that had settled on her stomach, looking at her with bright eyes and a wide grin.

       A small chuckle left Dria's lips as she shuffled into a sitting position, causing the dog on her lap to shift a little at which he gave an objectionable bark. The blonde pursed her lips as she looked on the canine before her, before a wide smile spread across her face as she reached forward and began ruffling his fur.

         "It's very hard being mad at something so cute!" She told him as he rolled into her lap, allowing her to rub his belly with a content woof.

However, it appeared that belly rubs would only satisfy the golden retriever for so long as, within a few seconds, he was back on his feet and jumping off the bed, making his way to the door and beckoning the girl to follow him.

"Okay, up we get then!" Dria responded with a gentle enthusiasm, as she willed herself to get out of bed, trying her best to shake off what remained off her sleepy haze before following the excited dog out into the hallway.

Grabbing her dressing gown as she passed through the door, Dria stifled a yawn as she began descending the stairs, careful not to trip over the dog that kept manoeuvring round her feet.

The sound of animated chatter filled her ears as she entered the kitchen, the dog at her feet announcing their arrival with a happy bark.

"What do you know? He actually got her!"

Dria's eyebrows furrowed at her mother's statement, as she looked between the dog and where Julia stood at the hob, swirling pancake mix around a frying pan.

"You sent Kipper to get me out of bed?" The blonde asked incredulously, as the dog in question bounded over to where Michael was sitting at the table and resting his head in the boy's lap.

"Yep!" Maisie called out happily from where she sat beside Michael, drizzling lemon juice onto her pancake. "Turns out he's quite smart."

"Well, obviously." Dria quipped, crouching down and beckoning Kipper back over to her once more, ruffling his fur as her voice adopted a childlike tone. "You're the smartest dog in the whole wide world, yes you are! Yes, you are!"

        "He doesn't appreciate that condescending tone." Michael told her with a knowing smirk, catching her attention only to earn an eye roll as his older sister rose to her feet and the dog went back over to him.

       The blonde stifled another yawn as her mother made her way over from the hob, and tipped a pancake onto a plate that sat opposite Michael — no doubt, for the older Lockaby to occupy.

       "Morning, sleepy head." Julia greeted her daughter once more, pressing a quick kiss to the top of her head.

        "Morning, Mum." Dria replied amidst another yawn, leaning into her mother's brief embrace but she was quickly summoned back to the hob.

       "Was your sleep alright, trouble?" Dria directed her attention to her younger brother as she slid into the seat opposite him.

        "Only woke up a couple of times." Michael shrugged, with a weak smile on his lips as he stroked Kipper's head where it rested on his knee. "Kipper was there though, so I'm alright."

        The golden retriever that loyally sat by her younger brother was a relatively new addition to the Lockaby household, having been prescribed as a means of keeping Michael's night terrors at bay and helping to rehabilitate after the horrific incidents of his second year.

         Since returning home, the boy had seemed to be much more himself but Dria still couldn't help but worry about him. The dark circles under his eyes only told her the truth of the situation, the boy was terrified to close his eyes and lose control of his subconscious, where Tom Riddle continued to play with his thoughts.

        The doctors at St Mungo's had also prescribed him a Sleeping Draught which succeeded in knocking him out, but the dreams could never seem to be kept at bay.

        It appeared that time was the only antidote for his troubles.

        "I would have thought the Sleeping Draught would have been more helpful." The blonde quirked an eyebrow, as she picked up her fork.

        "I'm alright."

        Dria didn't believe that for a second, and she shot her younger brother a look which told him just that. He let out a large sigh, and spared her a small smile in response.

        "We'll sort it eventually." She tried to reassure him as she mirrored his expression.

        "Eventually."

        After another small smile, Dria promptly sliced into her pancake and shoved a forkful into her mouth as her attention travelled to her other younger sibling whose face was hidden by an awfully familiar book cover.

       "You're not still reading that, are you?" The blonde remarked with wide eyes, as she caught her sister's attention and the young girl placed Quidditch Through the Ages down on the tabletop.

The day before Dria had left for Cornwall, she had found her sister looking through the bookshelf in her room and asking to claim certain books to do some reading over the summer; the older Lockaby had originally thought that her younger sister had some desire to delve more into her studies however it appeared the only text she was interested in was the one that centred itself around the most dangerous sport in the world.

"It's so interesting, Dria!" The young girl gushed as she started flicking through the book's pages excitedly. "Do you know how many fouls there are? There's over seven hundred—"

"Over seven hundred, I know!" The blonde cut her off with a light chuckle, as she ate another forkful of pancake. "And to think you probably seen at least half of them in action, what with Slytherin's tactics."

"You reckon I could try out for the team when we go back?" Maisie asked — although her question seemed open for anyone in the room to answer — as Dria tried her best to hide the fact that she had started choking on her food at her query.

"You've never even played before!"

"Michael." Their mother's warning tone broke out as she shot her son a knowing look at his sudden exclamation, before turning her attention to his twin. "I'm sure you can try out, Mais. Dria can put a good word with Oliver, no doubt?"

Dria had now successfully managed to stomach her pancake after a good few sips of water, however her mother's mention of the certain Gryffindor Keeper caused her to aptly choke on the water she was drinking with a loud spluttering cough.

"Oh, could you? Please, Dria!"

"I'll see what I can do. Not sure he'll want to supply the Hufflepuff team with decent players, though." The blonde nodded, her voice a little scratchy as she dabbed the edges of her mouth with her sleeve. "That's providing you can actually play the game."

"You don't even have a broom—Ow!"

Michael's further exhibit of his unsupportive manner earned him a rough shove from his twin sister, before she quickly turned attention to her mother.

"Could I have a look in the shop when we get to Diagon Alley, Mum? Just a look!"

"Just a look, my arse." Dria mumbled into her glass of water, earning her a sharp look from the younger girl.

"Of course, you can." Julia conceded as she slid into the chair beside Dria, clutching an americano in hand.

"You realise you're going to end up buying her a broomstick." The blonde mumbled in a lower voice to her mother while the twins opposite began a heated discussion over who was Kipper's favourite.

"No, I'm not. I'm very firm." Her mother retorted with a shake of her head, before taking a sip of her coffee.

"If you don't get her a broomstick, then ... I'll cook the Christmas dinner this year." Dria scoffed, a small smirk resident on her lips as she voiced the bet.

"And if I supposedly do?" Julia counted, her eyebrows arched in curiosity.

"I'll get Dad to cook it."

"Oh no."

"Oh yes."

Julia pursed her lips for a second as she scanned her daughter's face, before letting out a light sigh and clinking her cup with Dria's glass of water.

"Okay, deal."

Dria chuckled with a smug grin, before placing her glass back on the table and turning her attention to the twins.

"Burnt turkey again for Christmas sound good to you guys?"

***

         "I REALLY THOUGHT THAT they would have caught him by now. It's been nearly a month."

        Dria found herself sighing as her eyes scanned over the wanted poster stuck in the corner of one of Madam Malkins' windows, as she and her father — who had Kipper on a lead, as the dog sat obediently by his feet — stood by, waiting for Julia to emerge with the twins and their new robes.

        "I wouldn't worry yourself about it." Allan said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder as he spared a quick glance at the poster of Sirius Black. "I hear the Ministry's got every Auror on his case, and the reward money's going up too."

         "Ah, yes. Because money is the only thing that will motivate people into recapturing an escaped murderer." Dria huffed, her arms folding across her front as she wilfully pulled her gaze away from the poster.

         "The world's a very greedy place, Dria." Allan told her with a sad sigh, fighting to keep his gaze away from the face in the poster. "Better him caught than not, no?"

         "As long as he doesn't get any ideas about taking his escapade up to Hogwarts." Dria spared her father a humoured look, as the man stifled a light chuckle and squeezed her shoulder.

        "I'm sure he won't."

        Their conversation fell into a quiet lull as the two of them kept their gazes fixed on the poster; one gaze wary and the other of full recognition.

         "You better stop growing, we can't afford to be getting you another set of new robes!"

        The daze that had briefly enveloped both father and daughter broke upon hearing the dulcet tones of Julia as she exited the shop addressing Michael with a humoured look as she ushered him and Maisie ahead of her.

         "He'll be six foot before you know it." Allan mused as he reached forward and ruffled his son's hair, who immediately groaned in annoyance. "You want me to take those?"

        Julia hesitated for a small second as her ex-husband turned his attention to the bags in her grasp, before offering him a soft smile.

        "Thanks, Al." She replied, before passing him with the bags which he took with ease, before she turned her attention back to the twins. "Where to next, then?"

       "We need books from Flourish and Blotts."

       "To Flourish and Blotts we go then."

        With the twins leading the way, Julia followed close behind them as they maintained their conversation while Dria and her father brought up the rear with the bags, and Kipper happily grinning as he trotted along beside them.

         "This is the first time we've both been here together in six years, you know." Allan mused to her daughter as he shot a glance ahead of them in Julia's direction.

        "I suppose that's something, isn't it?" Dria spared him a small smile, as she looked between him and her mother's figure. "How's the counselling going? I've been meaning to ask Mum."

        Following the events of the previous year, what with Michael's trauma and Julia's vow to do better for her children, she and her ex-husband had elected to begin counselling as a means to patch up their own relationship in a way that benefited their kids.

        "It's been going well, I think." Allan nodded with a light smile tugging at his lips. "There's an argument here and there, but there's bound to be with us having known each other so long — it's awfully easy to press each other's buttons. Still, Annie's a good mediator."

         "She sounds like a miracle worker." Dria chuckled at the mention of the counsellor that had been assigned to her parents.

         "She's even managed to get us talking to each other without wanting to strangle each other." Her father persisted, his smile never falling as a light chuckle laced his tone.

        "As I said, miracle worker."

        Allan stifled another chuckle before his eyes landed on his ex-wife again and his laugher dissipated into a sincere look that he shot his eldest daughter. 

        "It'll take some time, but we're patching up." He assured her, before knocking his shoulder against hers. "Anything for you kids, eh?"

        "As long as you're both happy too?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowing ever so slightly. "We don't need perfect parents, we just need you two, however you come."

        "When did you get all sentimental?" Her father mused after a brief moment of them negotiating their way along the street, weaving in and around various pedestrians.

        "Well, I'm basically a grown up now, Dad." The blonde shrugged nonchalantly, her gaze flirting around her environment. "Last trip to Diagon Alley, tomorrow will be my last time getting on the train—"

        "Oh, God." Allan quickly cut her off, his eyes suddenly wide as dinner plates. "I've raised a child."

       "Sorry, was that a newsflash?"

       "Merlin, you're nearly a functioning adult."

        "Semi-functioning." Dria corrected with him with a light chuckle, as the other members of their party turned into Flourish and Blotts. "You didn't do that good a job."

        "I think you turned out alright." Allan shrugged with a proud smirk on his lips as he age her a light slap on her shoulder.

       "I suppose I'll do, won't I?" The blonde shrugged as she stepped through the threshold of the shop, and gave him a light wave as he once more waited outside with Kipper.

        A few familiar faces were dotted around the bookshop at which Dria offered polite smiles, while her eyes scanned for her siblings in between the various shelves and tables ladened with new texts. It didn't take her too long, before she rounded a corner, to find her younger brother skimming through the pages of a book in the section labelled—

"What the hell are you doing in the loopy section?"

Divination.

"We've got Divination this year." The boy shrugged, as he set down the book and turned his attention to the list in his hand. "Need to grab Unfogging the Future by—"

"Cassandra Vablatsky?" Dria threw a guess out as she began helping him to scan the shelves.

"That's the one."

"Here, hope it doesn't kill too many brain cells." Dria chuckled as she handed one edition to her brother and pulled another out for Maisie.

"Is it really such a bad subject?" The boy asked her with his arms folding across his chest. "For all you know, this could be my calling. What if I'm a seer?"

"Oh, I bloody hope not." Dria's chuckle persisted, as she caught sight of Maisie approaching them from across the shop and waved her over. "Trelawney is, allegedly, and she's an absolute nutcase."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll leave you to figure that one out for yourself, Michael." The blonde shook her head and shot the boy a knowing look.

Her gaze then pulled itself away from her brother and settled itself on their sister who was pushing her way through a couple of other shoppers in order to reach her siblings, with an extremely odd looking book in hand.

"Oh, shitting Norah!" Dria exclaimed upon Maisie arriving a couple of feet before them, and getting a closer look at the book. "What the fuck is that?"

"Wicked, isn't it?" The girl grinned as she held the book out towards her older sister, who immediately began to retreat.

"Why has it got teeth?"

"It's the Monster Book of Monsters." Maisie shrugged, her tone implying that her statement must have been the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, how silly of me!"

"We're taking Care of Magical Creatures too." Michael informed his older sister, his gaze still fixated on the list in front of him.

"Well, be careful of the Bowtruckles that's all I'll say." Dria hummed, her brows furrowing as she tried desperately to pull her gaze away from the book in her sister's hands.

"Aren't those stick insects?"

"One attacked Adrian Pucey in our third year, nearly gouged his eye out — prat deserved it, mind." Dria shrugged, as she stepped forward in the direction of their mother whom she'd spotted flicking through one of the books in the Muggle Studies section.

"I'm not sure they're risk assessing our classes, Mais."

"I don't think Hogwarts is familiar with the term risk assessing, Michael."

Dria could only chuckle at the conversation between her younger siblings as they reached their mother who greeted them with small nods as her eyes traced the words on the page before her.

"I mean just look at Quidditch." Dria mused at the mention of Hogwarts' lack of risk assessments.

"Oh, Quidditch!" Maisie cried excitedly, all her attention suddenly focussing on her mother who dropped her book in surprise at the volume of her youngest daughter's sudden exclamation. "We have to go look in the shop. Mum, can we go?"

Dria only smirked at her mother's wary expression, as she took in a deep inhalation through her nose, before beginning to sniff the air around her and shoot her mother a look of faux confusion.

"Can anyone else smell burning?" She voiced, earning a chuckle from her younger brother and light scowl from Julia. "Mum? Can you smell that?"

"Come on, Mais, let's go." Julia replied in protests to Dria's statement, a resolute smirk settling on her lips. "Give Dria your books."

Maisie didn't need to be told twice and almost instantaneously threw her books into her older sister's grasp ("Oof!") before darting out of the shop with her mother not too far behind her.

Dria grimaced lightly before sparing a look at Michael and holding the books out in front of her.

"Can you take the toothy one?" She asked, her grimace never faltering, as she nodded at the book in question which she swore she heard growl. "I'll swap you."

"Fine."

        The queue to pay for the books was surprisingly short and in just a few short minutes — and a brief conversation with Mr Flourish about the book with teeth, as Dria had elected to call it — the two of them were exiting the shop and reuniting with their father, who was crouched on the ground, eagerly ruffling Kipper's fur.

        "You guys fancy some ice cream?" Allan asked, arching a brow as he rose to his feet. "I think Kipper could do with a rest."

        "I don't think Tess is working today, so chances are the food won't kill us." Dria replied with a small smile after a moment of quick thought.

        "Come again?"

        "Yeah, let's get ice cream."

         After a little persuasion, Kipper — who had been very happily basking in what was left of the afternoon sun — rose to his feet and followed Allan's lead as the family began weaving their way back up to the street.

        "Why's everyone stood around the window?" Michael voiced suddenly as the four of them passed by Quality Quidditch Supplies.

       The Lockaby family stopped in their tracks where they stood a couple of metres away from the growing crowd of people that were bustling around the display window of the store.

        "Probably seeing Maisie completely destroying Mum's will and watching her buy out the entire shop." Dria shrugged with a light-hearted chuckle, as she craned her neck in slight curiosity.

        "Good guess but no."

        The Scottish lilt that laced the words she'd just heard could not be mistaken as the blonde girl promptly turned on her heel, and came face to face with a certain Gryffindor Keeper who seemed to be thoroughly amused by her guess as to why the shop was so crowded, as he took a drink of a chocolate milkshake in his grasp.

        "Oliver!"

"Alright, stranger?" The boy replied with a broad smile as she whipped around to face him.

"Not bad." She shrugged, her own smile widening as a light chuckle left her lips in peasant surprise at his sudden appearance.

"Dria, we'll see you up the road, alright?" Her father called over, sparing her a small nod as he began taking a few large steps up the street with Kipper by his side, and Michael following not far behind.

"Okay, see you in a bit!" The blonde called in response, her eyes landed on her brother who wore a knowing smile on his lips at which she quickly shot him a harsh warning look.

After sparing them a quick wave, she folded her arms across her chest and plastering a smirk on her lips as she turned back to face the Gryffindor Keeper.

"So what's all excitement about if not my mum's nonexistent backbone?" She mused, tilting her head a little, earning a hearty chuckle from the boy opposite her.

"The Firebolt."

"Of course, how could I be so stupid?" She gushed in faux embarrassment before Oliver abruptly rolled his eyes at her reaction. "What's so special about a Firebolt then?"

"I won't bore you with the details." He replied with a light shrug, a small smirk playing on his own lips.

"Oh, but you know I love it when you do."

"Shut up." He chuckled, a smile breaking out across his features as he shook his head at her. "It's pretty much the greatest broom ever made."

"And here I was thinking we were anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Nimbus 2002?" Dria asked, her smirk never fading as she quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Nah, I think Firebolt will easily put the Nimbus out of business."

"Oh damn." Dria exclaimed, her eyes widening at his brazen statement. "That must be one hell of a broom."

"It can accelerate to 150 miles an hour in ten seconds, and it has this unbreakable Braking Charm on it!" Oliver began to gush in response to her seemingly intrigued statement. "They're saying it's been honed to aerodynamic perfection—"

Dria pressed her lips together to suppress a light laugh as the words suddenly stopped tumbling from his lips, the Keeper winced a little before looking back at her.

"I'm boring you with the details, aren't I?"

"You get so excited, I can't bring myself to stop you." Dria chuckled, with a sympathetic look in her eyes as she nudged him teasingly in the shoulder, before abruptly changing the subject and nodding in the direction of the shop. "So, you reckon you'll be splashing some Galleons for one?"

"Don't think so." Oliver shook his head, with a light grimace, before taking another sip of his milkshake. "It's not exactly a Keeper broom. Mine's never failed me yet."

"Aside from when you're falling off it."

"Okay, that's only happened twice." The Quidditch Captain abruptly cut in, although the smile on his features told the blonde he found her comment just as humorous as she did. "And both times we were playing against Slytherin, it's a miracle I didn't die."

"It would be very inconvenient if you did." Dria mused, a smirk playing at her lips once more. "Who would I have to tell me about aerodynamic perfection—?"

"Very funny." He cut her off once more, shoving her playfully in the shoulder, before shoving his hands in his pockets. "Good summer?"

"Yeah, it's been alright. Got back from Cornwall a few days ago." Dria told her with a small smile before shot him an inquisitive look. "I thought you might have turned up? Tess sent you an invite to the beach party, didn't she?"

"Uh ... yeah, I got it." Oliver replied, his gaze averting hers all for a second as he overcame the slight awkwardness. "Something came up and I couldn't go. Sorry I missed it though, did you guys have fun?"

"Not sure fun is the word for it." Dria chuckled, furrowing her eyebrows as she tried to remember certain parts of the night.

"No?"

"I'm more inclined to say chaos." She told him with a light smile, pursing her lips as she tried to remember more of the night.

Aside from various incidents including Penny throwing up in the toilet, Millie pawning off pot cupcakes onto her and Nate being an overall dreamboat — the rest of the night was a black-outed blur.

"Maybe I dodged a bullet then?" Oliver asked with a wary chuckle, as he arched an brow, bringing her out of her sudden daze.

"No!" She objected suddenly, before stifling a humoured chuckle. "It was good chaos, it would have been nice to see you there."

The Keeper shot her a fond look which she reciprocated, and just as she was about to ask how his summer had been in return, a loud call cut her off, bearing the same Scottish lilt as the boy opposite her.

"Oliver!"

Dria's attention was immediately caught by the sight of a brunette girl with a pink milkshake in her grasp, waving in the direction of Oliver, as she made her way towards them.

"Who's that?" The blonde quirked an eyebrow as she looked back at Oliver who had winced again, his cheeks beginning to flush as he let out a low groan.

"Er ... that is my sister."

"Your sister?" Dria repeated incredulously, her eyes widening as she looked between him and the girl approaching them.

"Heidi."

"Heidi?" Dria repeated dumbly once more, her brows furrowing as she tried to digest the information. "Your sister?"

"Yep."

"You have a sister called Heidi."

"That's her."

"How did I not know you had a sister called Heidi?" Dria whisper-shouted in his direction, her tone laced with incredulity.

"I don't talk about her much." The boy simply shrugged, as he began stirring his milkshake with the end of his straw.

"Still!" Dria objected before taking in a deep breath and reclaiming some sudden calmness. "Okay, it's not so bad. I mean, what house is she in? Slytherin? Ravenclaw?"

"She's Gryffindor."

"Come on!" The blonde cried in exasperation, "Where on Merlin's green earth have I been?!"

"Don't stress about it, she's not that interesting." Oliver told her, as the girl was all but a few steps away from them.

"Well, that's just rude."

Oliver didn't seem to acknowledge her statement as he turned his attention to his younger sister that now stood opposite them, while Dria plastered on a wide smile to mask her confusion.

"Hey, have you got the money Mum gave us?" Heidi asked, taking a sip of her milkshake as she shot her brother an expectant look.

"Yeah, what do you need?" Oliver replied casually, digging around in his pocket, while Dria continued to smile aimlessly.

"Just a few Galleons for my books." She shrugged, her face contorting into a confused look as her eyes caught the ever-smiling girl at her brother's side.

"Um, Heidi, this is Dria Lockaby." Oliver quickly jumped to the blonde's rescue before his sister made some comment that may accidentally insult the girl beside him. "She's my ... um— friend from school."

"Don't be daft, I know all about her." Heidi replied, causing Dria's face to morph into another expression aside from intense smiling, as she stifled a light chuckle and made to respond.

"Just like I know all about you."

"No, you don't." Heidi countered with a knowing smirk, and Dria let out a light groan.

"No, I don't."

"Oliver never talks about me." Heidi shrugged off the awkwardness between them with instant ease, before quirking a brow and shooting a smirk in her brother's direction. "Same can't be said for you though."

"Okay, that's enough from you." Oliver cut in, his face suddenly stern as he looked on his sister and placed some coins into her grasp. "Here's your money, piss off."

"I'm rather enjoying our conversation actually." She protested, her smirk only growing as she looked between her brother and the blonde beside him.

"Likewise." Dria agreed, mirroring her smirk, before turning her attention to the Keeper. "Your sister seems like a delight, Oliver."

Oliver gave a light groan before burying his face in his hands at the tiresome antics of the two girls stood with him.

"What did I do to deserve this?"

"So what's Oliver been saying about me?" Dria smirked, folding her arms across her front, quirking an eyebrow at Heidi. "All good I hope?"

"Oh you know, Dria this, Dria that." The younger Wood mused, pursing her lips in thought. "I think he even called you bloody amazing at one point. No offence, but it got a bit annoying. You can't be that great."

"Oh hell no, I'm a mess."

Heidi only smirked at the blonde's statement, before nodding along in approval.

"You know what? I quite like messes." She replied, her smirk never fading. "Far more interesting that anyone squeaky clean."

"Are you done now? You're ruining my day." Oliver chimed, narrowing his eyes at his younger sister whose only stifled a chuckle before patting him on the arm.

"Oh, that only means I'm doing my job right."

Dria joined in with her chuckle and was slightly taken aback when she noticed Heidi's gaze falter and focus itself on a sight behind them, and her smirk transition into an expression of intense anger.

"Are you alright?" Dria asked, her eyebrows furrowed in slight concern at the girl's sudden change in mood.

"Yes. Just seen a face I need to punch." She replied, her jaw clenching and lips pursing, her gaze still fixed beyond them. "Nice chatting to you."

Before Dria could say so much as goodbye, the younger girl had barged past them and was making a beeline up the street towards the ice cream parlour.

Oliver let out a light sigh at her sudden change of mood and shot Dria an apologetic look.

"I should probably go and—"

"Yeah, yeah. Go!" She encouraged, her eyebrows still furrowed as she craned her neck to see just where Heidi had gone.

"I'll see you at school!" Oliver told her, his hand resting on her arm lightly in a gesture of farewell.

"See you there!"

The boy quickly broke into a jog and pursue his sister up the street, while Dria continued watching from afar, slowly making her own way up the street to reunite with her brother and father.

A break in the crowd of people walking along the street allowed her to see Heidi in a very heated conversation with Roger Davies — the captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team — and Isolde Crawley. Craning her neck to witness more of the exchange, only allowed her to see the strawberry milkshake that had once been in Heidi's hand promptly collide with Isolde's face, covering the girl in the light pink liquid.

Dria slapped a hand over her mouth in shock as she let out a surprised laugh at the sudden incident. A thousand questions ran through her mind and she continued up the street, only for the scene to further play out as another milkshake was thrown in the face of Isolde — this time, chocolate and from the hands of Oliver.

       The blonde let out another chuckle at the seemingly out of character nature of his actions, before she watched the two of them walk briskly towards the Leaky Cauldron, leaving only the spilt milkshakes in their wake.

         "Never a dull moment." Dria mumbled to herself, as she tried her best to stomach her chuckle.

        Bustling through the awestruck spectators, the blonde maneouvred herself towards the table her father and brother had secured outside the ice cream parlour. Her brother was looking on in the same awe as many of the bystanders had as Isolde and Roger ran away, while her father was wiping a napkin across Kipper's head where it seemed part of the milkshake had splashed — much to the golden retriever's delight.

         "Dria, did you see that?!"

         "Oh, yeah." The blonde chuckled as she slid into the chair beside her brother, who gave a light shudder.

        "Girls are scary."

        "Better to learn it now than later, Michael." Allan chuckled as he scrunched up the napkin and patted Kipper on the head, before placing a pot of ice cream in front of his daughter. "Got you apricot."

        Dria's light smile quickly faltered into a very unimpressed expression, her eyes narrowing in the direction of her father who cracked a smile in response.

        "Kidding! It's Butterbeer."

        "Never fail to crack me up, Dad." The blonde rolled her eyes before claiming the pot of ice cream and promptly eating a large spoonful of it.

        "Oh, look, here they come!"

       At her father's sudden exclamation, Dria quickly whipped around — spoon still in mouth — to see her mother and sister advancing up the street towards them.

       "Where's the broomstick?" The blonde exclaimed in slight horror, as she met her mother's gaze which was awfully smug.

       "Mum says she'll get me one if I make the team, but she's got me these to start off with." Maisie grinned, as she held up a pair of Keeper gloves as Dria continued to look on in horror. "I think I want to be a Keeper."

       "Of course you do!" Dria scoffed, tragically as she fed herself another spoonful of ice cream.

        Julia's smirk remained in place as she slid into the seat beside the blonde and Allan passed her a pot of Ginger Newt flavoured ice cream, and shooting Dria a curious look.

       "So, remind me, what's on the menu for Christmas, Dria?"

𝖙𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖆 𝖘𝖕𝖊𝖆𝖐𝖘!
dria is the definition of
a smart dumb person

also, shameless shoutout to
heidi and kipper for making
their b&b debuts! as well as
kristy's accidentally-on-purpose
in which you can read all things
heidi! as well as elyse's black
magic which is now published!

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