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booksmarts and broomsticks
act iii , turning tables
chapter thirty-seven, isn't that brilliant?

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➖TESS ROBBINS ➖
september 1993

"HOW WAS THE ORGY?"

"Oh, for the love of God." Penny groaned as she slipped back into the compartment, as Jackie let out a wicked laugh from where she sat beside Dria. "We were just discussing the plan of action for the upcoming year, Jackie."

"That does not help your cover." The Hufflepuff tutted, as Penny closed the compartment door behind her and took her seat beside Tess, who was gazing out the window of the train as it sped along the tracks. "I find action planning very sexy."

"Here, here." Dria smirked, stroking the cat that resided in her lap, as Penny let out another groan however a light smile played on her lips. "So has the power gone to your head yet?"

A small smirk settled on Penny's lips as she shot a sly glance down at the brooch that now rested on her lapel which read: Head Girl.

"Of course not." She replied, replacing her smirk with a very unconvincing attempt at a humble smile.

"Be honest."

        "Maybe a little." The Ravenclaw gushed, her smile widening into one of giddiness and sincerity. "I get to boss people around for extra credit, I'm living the dream!"

        "Have you told the prefects that you and Percy are dating?" Tess asked, arching an eyebrow as she pulled her gaze away from the window.

        "No." Penny answered quickly, straightening up a little as she spoke. "We've agreed we're going to keep our relationship strictly professional this year when it comes to our duties."

       "Bullshit."

       Jackie's sudden remark was met with a scowl from Penny while both Tess and Dria burst into laughter, from where they were curled up by the window.

        "I'll bet ten galleons one of the prefects finds them out before Halloween." Tess chuckled, raising her eyebrows at the Head Girl.

        "Before October!"

        "By the end of the week!"

        "You guys are so supportive." Penny silenced their childish antics with a playful glare at the three of them.

        While the three girl continued to laugh at their friend's expense — and discuss the terms and conditions of their bet — the train began to gradually slow before grinding to a halt, causing their laughter to fade as they looked between each other with expression of confusion.

"Why have we stopped?" Penny's eyebrows furrowed as the train came to a standstill.

"Are we not there yet?"

"Tess, it's only half four, we're still three hours away." Dria interjected, her eyebrows raising in slight incredulity at Tess' assumption.

"My concept of time is fucked, okay?"

"Well, you have spent the entire journey so far wallowing." Jackie chuckled, as Penny stepped over her legs in order to peer out of the window. "Una looked like a war widow waving off her husband when the train left."

"She's so cute." Tess mumbled, as a light smile crossed her lips at the thought of the red-haired girl.

"You're both sickening."

"Please she's just sad she won't be able to get any until Christmas." Dria chuckled, arching an eyebrow in the Robbins girl's direction who simply let out a low groan before burying her head in her hands.

"I hate you all."

"I think someone's coming aboard, you know." Penny spoke up from where she stood by the window, her eyes squinting as she tried to make sense of their surroundings through the heavy rain that fell down from the sky.

"Who?" Jackie asked, sitting up a little in her seat. "If you miss the train, you'll have to hijack a flying car to get to Hogwarts."

"Yeah, I heard that's the custom now." Dria agreed with a humoured smirk after sharing a look with Jackie.

"Maybe the Weasley twins have pulled some stunt." The Irish girl suggested, tilting her head in thought.

"You can't keep assuming they're to blame for everything that goes to shit." Dria scoffed, shaking her head as she felt a gentle shiver go down her spine, suddenly very cold.

"But they're always so flattered!"

Dria noted how Jackie's arms were now wrapped tightly around herself and how her breath had condensed in the air when she had spoken. Her gaze flitted away from the Hufflepuff and looked back to Penny who was rubbing her hands together, as a light sheet of frost spread across the window, obscuring the outside world from view.

Then the lights that basked the compartment in a warmly glow flickered out into darkness, earning a squeal of surprise from Tess as she jumped in her seat, and a hiss from Figaro.

"What the hell is going?" The Ravenclaw asked, her worry evident by the furrow of her brows.

"I fucking hate the cold." Jackie said with frustration as she hugged her knees to her chest, before moving closer to her blonde friend. "Dria, I'm using you as a human radiator. Don't object."

"Use Tess, she's clearly hot and bothered." Dria scoffed, nodding in her fellow Gryffindor's direction, trying her best not to give into her worry.

"Fuck off!"

Tess' response would normally warrant a bold rumble of laughter from her friends but the compartment had fallen silent as soon as her words were said.

Dria felt a horrible sensation in the pit of her stomach and looking around she could tell her friends could feel it too. Her brain tried to think up what kind of magic had such power to make an environment, once happy and warm, feel so unpleasant. But her brain achieved very little as the cold and darkness persisted around them, and all she felt was numb. If she reached any other emotion she only found anxiety, regret, grief—

Dria could feel herself on the edge of somewhere. She was slipping and close to falling, she willed herself to hold onto something, and hold onto it for dear life.

That was when a bright light illuminated the corridor, the blonde could have sworn it was the purest light she'd ever seen, and after acknowledging its appearance she felt it absorb every bad emotion that had coursed through her mind in the moment before.

The light swelled and retracted in brightness for a couple of moments before eventually dulling. As the sheer light faded away, the darkness only persisted for a second more before the compartment lights flickered and Dria's eyes were able to focus on the fear stricken expressions of her friends.

Tess let out a large breath from where she sat across the compartment, trying to regain some spirit as she got to her feet.

"I'm going to see what's up."

The other three girls offered her small nods as she quickly exited the compartment. Penny unsteadily sank into her seat, having been stood for the entirety of what had just occurred, and looking to her right, Dria saw Jackie close her eyes and lean back her head to rest against the seat.

The blonde heaved a small sigh, as her brain leapt back into action trying to make sense of what had happened. Yet, it was still slow, still trying to banish the demons that had re-emerged in the cold.

She tried to say something but her mouth was dry and her words ceased before her lips even parted. Luckily, she could always rely on Jackie to make some stupid comment.

"Well, that was trippy."

While Jackie's attempt to lighten the mood was victorious, Dria could still sense a slight essence of unease hanging over their compartment. But as the train sprang back to life, and began chugging its way along the tracks once more, she decided to pay that unease no mind.

Tess had returned to their compartment some moments later, and plopped down on a seat, before promptly telling her friends that the reason for the sudden turn was due to the fact that the Dementors of Azkaban had boarded the trains allegedly in search for Sirius Black.

The name itself made Dria shiver in her place, making her wonder whether her light hearted jest with her father about the murderer taking his escapade up to Hogwarts had become reality.

But after Penny began offering out pumpkin pasties, any negative thought that consumed the girl was long forgotten.

The rain didn't let up in the remaining three hours of their journey, which resulted in a very chaotic arrival at Hogsmeade station, where students promptly leapt onto the platform and made a beeline for the Threstral-pulled carriages that would provide them some shelter on their journey.

Penny was lost in swathes of the crowd and her requirements as Head Girl to guide the prefects in assisting the younger years, yet the other three girls were quickly to follow suit of the rest of their peers; running along the platform as the rain mercilessly beat down upon them — Tess slipped and was nearly trampled by a stampede of fourth year Ravenclaws — making their way towards a carriage of their own.

The journey was rather bumpy, but it always was, and Dria found herself letting out a low groan when their carriage came to a halt as she realised that the charm she'd just cast, over her clothes to dry them out, would be for nothing and they'd be exposed to the elements once more, as they made the final part of the journey up the steps to the castle.

The blonde was blinking teardrops out of her face and close to collapsing with exhaustion when they finally made their way into the Entrance Hall. She was very happy with the immediate gust of hot air that she felt from the flaming torches hanging nearby, as she and her friends bustled through the large room, leaving wet shoe prints in their wake.

"Dria!"

The blonde was pulling stray pieces of soaked hair from her face when she heard her name called by a familiar voice with a very distinctive accent.

"Oliver!" She replied with a wide grin, as her eyes landed on the Gryffindor Keeper who was approaching her, his hair and robes just as soaked through as hers.

"We'll leave you to it." Jackie spared the blonde a wink at which she scowled, as the Irish girl linked her arm with Tess' and the two girls made their way along the corridor with light chuckles exchanging between them as they left Dria waiting for Oliver.

"That was a bit nuts, wasn't it?" The Keeper chuckled, taking a hand through his wet hair as he fell into step with the blonde.

"Never a dull moment." She agreed letting out a gentle sigh, "But Dementors on the train? What? Did the Ministry think Sirius Black was hiding in someone's luggage or something?"

Dria watched as Oliver stifled a chuckle at her comment but her gaze was very quickly averted away from him — as much as she loved the way his eyes creased at the edges when he laughed. Her blue eyes settled on a boy who was walking along side two of his friends, who were paying great attention to the golden retriever that stood by the boy's side.

Oliver was quick to notice the tension in her jaw as her attention faltered from their exchange and he followed her gaze where it landed upon her brother and his friends.

"Is he doing alright?" The Keeper asked her with a slight look of concern in his coffee coloured eyes.

"He says he's fine but ..." Dria pressed her lips together. "Dementors feed on bad memories and that sort of thing, don't they?"

After the incident had occurred, the blonde had made it her first priority to check in her younger brother but he had been just as dismissive as always. However, her worry still fuelled her, she was concerned at what possible memories the Dementor's visit could have caused Michael to relive.

"I mean I felt the lowest I'd ever felt in just a mere seconds, and I haven't been through half the stuff he has." Dria explained, wrapping her arms around herself as they began walking up the steps towards the Great Hall. "I'm worried it might set him back to ... you know. He doesn't need this on top of everything else."

"He'll be alright." Oliver told her with a gentle sigh, reaching over and placing his hand on her shoulder for a fleeting moment before retracting it and clearing his throat. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine." Dria chuckled in response, with a light shrug. "I think everyone's a bit shaken, mind."

"As long as you're sure." The Quidditch Captain quirked an eyebrow in her direction, "You know you can talk to me."

"As you always make abundantly clear." The blonde replied as she took a hand through her hair, sparing him a fond smile.

"Oh, you've got a bit of—"

At the sight of him stopping momentarily in his tracks, Dria found herself too halting and turning to face him with a curious look as he reached forward a brushed a wet strand of her hair out of her face. His fingers lingering on her skin every so slightly as his gaze met hers.

"Oh, thanks." The blonde cleared her throat as she tore his gaze from his and began brushing her hair through with her fingers.

She shook herself briefly, clearing the thought of his deep brown eyes from her mind before taking a step forward and shooting him an inviting glance.

"Heard that Harry fainted." Oliver spoke up as they fell back into step with one another, after a moment of slightly awkward silence. "Apparently it came into his compartment, the only reason it went away was because the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher was there."

"He cast the Patronus Charm." Dria nodded, her nerves suddenly much more at ease as their conversation distracted her mind from the thought of his touch.

"Is that what it is?"

"Yeah, Tess was telling me. It's the spell that repels Dementors." The blonde explained, as her eyes now picked out Harry Potter in the crowd of students that surrounded them, who was being guided away from the mass of students by Professor McGonagall. "He does look rather pale, doesn't he?"

"He'll get some food in him and perk up." Oliver assured her, sparing a soft smile in her direction. "Don't worry."

"But I'm so good at it!"

Dria found herself grinning once more at the sound of his laughter and the way his eyes crinkled up in sync with the melodic sound, as they stepped through the doorway to the Great Hall.

Most of the tables were more or less full of students charming one another with various drying spells. The air was full of furious mutters as people complained about the weather to one another and desperately hoped the Sorting would pass quickly.

Dria pulled her attention to the Gryffindor where she saw a spare seat saved for her by Tess, who was sat on the left of Amir. The Patil boy was in animated conversation with Hettie and Isolde where they sat opposite him and Tess, and then Dria's eyes landed on the person who would be sitting opposite her.

"Oh my God."

At the sight of his sharp features brought back a thousand sensory memories. She could hear the crash of the waves on the beach, the smell of weed laced cupcakes, the taste of smoke on his lips as they danced against hers—

"What's the matter?"

Oliver's sudden question brought the blonde back into reality where a hundred new emotions fought to overwhelm her. But instead she gritted her teeth and shook her head at him, sparing the Keeper a small smile.

"Nothing."

"Dria—?"

"Nothing." The blonde repeated, maybe a tad harshly as she attempted to convince herself of the same thing while her brain manufactured an excuse. "Just realised we'll be doing our final round of Sorting Hat roulette."

"Ah, I forgot you guys do that." Oliver chuckled, sparing a glance over at the group of Gryffindors at the table. "I hope you win it, I don't think I could handle Lorcan being all smug about it like he was last year."

"How do you know about that?"

"We share a dorm, Dria." Oliver reminded the girl, who nodded in dumb realisation. "It was all he talked about for the whole night."

"Well, we don't want a repeat of that, do we?" She retorted, lacing her tone with an insincere chuckle as they reached the group of seventh years.

"I'll catch you later?" Oliver asked as he moved to sit further down the table with some other housemates.

Dria gave him a tight-lipped smile as she swung a leg over the bench and raised a hand in a light wave.

"Bye."

"Oh, hey Dria!" Hettie greeted as the blonde sank down into her seat, trying to avert her gaze from the boy sat opposite her. "You alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, not bad." She replied, her manner insincere as she felt the desperate urge to crack her knuckles and paying very little mind to the procession of first years that were being walked down the length of the Great Hall.

"Sorry, we didn't get to see much of you at the beach party." Hettie went on with a small smile, which Dria quickly shrugged off as the Sorting Hat began its short welcome song somewhere in the distance.

"Yeah, I don't remember seeing you guys much at all! Honestly, that whole night's a blur!" The blonde told her fellow Gryffindor, making sure to emphasise her words, at which she could see, out of the corner of her eye, Lorcan visibly relax.

"Did you have a good time, anyway?" Tess asked the wider group of Gryffindors but not without sparing a curious glance at the blonde beside her and her strange behaviour.

"Oh yeah, it was great." Amir nodded, with a bright smile. "Lorc had a slight stumble at one point—"

"Bit much to drink, I think." Lorcan quickly cut his friend off, his gaze turning to meet Dria's in a look of understanding. "Can hardly remember a thing."

"Let's get this Sorting started!"

        Dria's sigh of relief was masked by the Sorting Hat finishing his song with a final melodic cry, as Amir cleared his throat and turned his attention to his fellow Gryffindors.

        "Okay chaps, you heard the hat." He grinned, shoving his hands into his pockets and beckoning his housemates to follow suit. "Have your bets at the ready."

        "You ready to taste defeat, Lockaby?" Lorcan arched a brow at the blonde across from him, with a small smirk on his lips.

        "Never." Dria chuckled, narrowing her eyes at him, as she withdrew all her loose change from her robe pockets and turned her attention to the front of the hall where a young brunette girl was walking up to the stool.

        "Acton, Fiona!"

***

NIGHT HAD FALLEN, AS IT always did, by the time everyone began making their way up to their respective Common Rooms.

Tess' arm was hanging across Dria's shoulders as the latter dragged her up the stairs. The incident of the train had given the Robbins' girl quite an appetite and caused her to have three helpings of tiramisu which she now swore was preventing her from ascending the staircase independently.

While the blonde would have normally shrugged her friend off with a roll of her eyes, this time she couldn't care less about Tess' lethargic state as she was more focused on the weight of loose change in her pockets.

A smile had been plastered across Dria's face for the majority of the evening after she beat McLaggen in their final match of Sorting Hat roulette. However, she elected to split the winnings with the blonde boy due to the fact she only won by one point, and she was feeling rather sentimental about it being their final game.

The only time her smile had faltered had been when Professor Dumbledore was making his start of term announcements and told the school that Hogwarts would be playing host to the Dementors of Azkaban for the school year at the behest of the Ministry of Magic. However, it was soon restored at the announcement that Hagrid, the groundkeeper, had been promoted to Care of Magical Creatures professor, and also when Amir had accidentally choked on his pumpkin juice, narrowly missing spraying Hettie.

"You want one?"

Dria's eyebrow furrowed as her attention turned back to Tess who had straightened up a little, as she held out a dry looking brownie towards her blonde friend. She let out a humoured sigh as she shrugged her friend's arm of her shoulder.

"Tess, you're not even coeliac." The blonde muttered, as she pulled open Tess' pocket and saw a stack of at least four gluten-free brownies residing within it.

"What? They taste good."

"They're so dry!" Dria turned up her nose at the sight of them, feeling sorry for the likes of Heidi Wood who had actively sought them out from the blonde's end of the table. "I thought you were full?"

At Dria's question, Tess merely shot her a glare and took another bite of her brownie.

"Leave me alone."

The two girls shuffled onto the next landing as they moved to change onto the final staircase up to Gryffindor Tower, grimacing as people bustled past them and Dria refraining from calling them some very bad names.

"What do you make of the Lupin guy?"

Tess' voice spoke up in the silence that had fallen over them both, as she shot Dria a curious look.

Hagrid hadn't been the only staffing change, as Dumbledore had also selected a Professor R J Lupin the new teacher for Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"He seems qualified enough. I mean, he managed to ward off that Dementor, didn't he?" Dria shrugged, as the staircase connected to the final landing — she had yet to make a full assessment of Lupin's aptitude. "And, anything other than Lockhart, I consider to be a substantial improvement."

"How is he doing?" Tess quirked an eyebrow at the mention of the teacher who Lupin had replaced at which Dria shrugged again.

"I don't really know. Dad doesn't talk about it much what with patient confidentiality and all that, but he seems to be in for a long recovery." The blonde informed her friend, as they followed the masses of people emptying off the atria car and straight into the Common Room. "Man couldn't remember a bloody thing about himself."

Tess let out a light chuckle at the blonde's retelling of events as the two of them stepped through the portrait hole, and began scanning for somewhere to sit.

"Hey, Lockaby?"

Dria's attention was captured by the blonde boy she'd split her winnings with, less than an hour ago, as he approached her from one of the tables at the side of the room.

"Alright, McLaggen?" The blonde replied, plastering on a casual smile, tensing slightly as Tess' face contorted into a confused grimace at their exchange.

"Can I grab you for a second?" He asked, quirking an eyebrows and looking her in the eye with a knowing look.

Dria faltered for a moment. Not one part of her wanted to have whatever conversation Lorcan had in mind, but she knew with Tess standing right by her she'd have no choice, so spared him a quick nod.

"Don't too handsy with her, McLaggen!"

Tess' voice called as she walked off in pursuit of a table, making Dria's eyes widen in horror while Lorcan spared her a nervous chuckle.

Dria took a hand through her hair and let out a low groan, before clenching her jaw and shooting an expectant glance at the boy in front of her.

"Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry about what happened that night. At the beach party." He told her after quickly scanning to check no one around them was listening. "I was really stressed out and drunk, and I misread what you meant by moving on—"

"Oh, you massively misread that."

"We've established that." Lorcan countered, his eyes wincing ever so slightly in embarrassment. "Anyway, I'm sorry."

The blonde spared him a sympathetic smile as she unclenched her jaw, and allowed herself to relax.

"Thanks." She replied, her tone low. "If we could just pretend it never happened that would just be great."

"Yeah, of course." He nodded in agreement, scratching the back of his neck absentmindedly.

"I mean we're in the clear, right?" Dria asked, a lighthearted smile still on her lips. "Nobody saw anything, or knows anything about it, right?"

Lorcan's hand dropped to his side as he gave no response to her question, his eyes widening ever so slightly as Dria's smile fell.

"Right?"

"I mean..."

"Fuck's sake, Lorcan, who did you tell?!" The blonde gave him an incredulous look as she whisper-yelled at the boy before her.

"I didn't tell anyone!"

"Then, explain!"

"Vix Heron saw us and confronted me when I came inside, but she hasn't said anything!" The blonde boy explained, his tone matching her as he tried to convince her of his words. "And I told her to forget about it!"

"Oh, isn't that brilliant?" Dria almost seethed as her eyes scanned the Common Room, only to find Vixen Heron and her friend Alita sat by the fire in conversation with Percy.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realise that making out with me was such an embarrassment."

"Shut up, that's not the reason." Dria scowled at the boy as he brought her attention away from the fireplace.

However, when her gaze fell back to him she found that the exasperated look that had formerly been on his features had vanished and, in its place, a light smile was tugging at his lips as he digested her response.

"So ... uh, you rather enjoyed yourself, then?"

Dria's jaw clenched again as her blue eyes became frighteningly piercing as she shot Lorcan a fierce glare.

"Lorcan, I swear to fuck if you don't take that smirk off your face, I will slap it off." Dria told him sternly, taking a hand through her hair as her anger dropped into worry. "Just assure me that no one else knows."

"No else knows." He repeated, reaching forward and taking her hand in his. "But, just so you know, I'd be down if you ever wanted to—"

Her jaw clenched again as she ripped her hand from his grasp and gave him a harsh slap on the wrist, before turning on her heel.

"I'm walking away before you finish that sentence, Lorcan."

As far as she could see, his smirk didn't fade as she walked away from him — although she couldn't fight the slightly humoured smile that stayed on her lips as she continued on her way.

Tess raised an eyebrow as the blonde threw herself in the seat beside her friend, who had found an empty table at the side of the common room beside another that was full of fourth years that the Robbins' girl had been making idle chatter with.

"What was that about?"

Dria let out a slow breath as she let her mind run, thinking of a plausible excuse that her friend would believe.

"He felt guilty about splitting the winnings, so tried to give the money back but I didn't let him." The blonde shrugged after a moment of deliberation, hoping her tone was convincing enough.

"God, you're dumb."

Dria's chuckle at Tess' response was laced with great relief as she allowed herself to sink back in her seat for a moment, as Tess' attention was captured once more by the group of fourth years she'd been making conversation.

The blonde quite relished the brief seconds she had in her own company, however those seconds were exactly that; brief. As Dria soon spotted another figure walking towards her, who had a resolute look on her face as she took a hand through the fade pink ends of her corn yellow hair.

"Dria?"

"Oh, hi Isolde." Dria replied, candidly enough, plastering on a polite smile and pretending she hadn't seen the determined girl stalking her way, moments prior. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I just noticed you were talking to Lorcan—"

"Yeah, just about bet stuff, you know." Dria cut the girl off, perhaps a little quickly as she let out a nervous laugh and sat up a little straighter.

"Well, I just wanted to say that it's completely cool with me." Isolde responded with a content smile across the face, although Dria was having trouble understanding just what the girl was talking about.

"... Right?"

"I'm moving on from him, so if you wanted to get to know him, I'd be completely cool with that." She elaborated with a somewhat nonchalant shrug, although Dria wasn't completely convinced of her words.

"Oh, I didn't realise the two of you were a thing ..."

"Oh, well, we weren't officially." Isolde replied, her nonchalance never wavering as she shot a glance between the blonde sat before her and Lorcan who was sat at the other end of the room with Amir. "But either way, I've moved on."

"Look I've got no interest in Lorcan." Dria told her, unable to shake the nervous chuckle that continued to lace her tone. "I mean— uh, w-why would you think I had any interest in Lorcan?"

"Don't be daft, Dria." The girl shot Dria an incredulous look, "He's hot."

The blonde couldn't help but shrug in response to her fellow Gryffindor's statement — Isolde wasn't wrong.

"Sure, his personality isn't all that great though—"

"I just wanted to let you know, and you can tell Tess." Isolde cut her off, nodding briefly in the Robbins girl's direction. "He can do whatever he wants, be with whoever — I don't care. I've got my sights on someone else, now."

If Dria's attention had plateaued at the girl's insistence, her final statement had her interest suddenly piqued as she shot Isolde a curious look.

"Oh? And who exactly is that?"

"Oliver Wood."

The slight giggle that followed Isolde's confession caused Dria to involuntarily grimace as her brain tried to process the name she'd just mention — the girl found herself forgetting to inhale as she repeated the name back to the girl, coughing slightly as she did.

"Oliver Wood?"

"You sound surprised?" Isolde countered, shooting a curious look in Dria's direction whose eyebrows had furrowed ever so slightly as her mind still tried to make sense of her words.

"I mean ... I had no idea that you liked him?" The blonde eventually responded, upon determining the appropriate reply.

"What's not to like?"

"Now that's a question." Dria found herself mumbling under her breath in response to Isolde's rhetorical question.

"He's handsome, athletic." Isolde began listing, her eyes wide as though her words were stating the obvious. "You've heard his accent, right?"

"Yeah, of course." Dria nodded, cracking an awkward chuckle. "But I mean this is all very sudden, do you even really know him?"

"Not yet."

Isolde's words had been said with a light smirk as her eyes travelled around the Common Room briefly, before landing on a figure who was leaning against the mantelpiece that hung over the fireplace.

Dria followed her gaze to where Oliver was standing, in light conversation with the Weasley twins — no doubt about Quidditch. The sight brought a light smile to her lips as she spotted the small crease between his eyebrows as he listened to the twins' response, and the way the firelight made his dark hair shine a few shades lighter.

"I suppose I'll have to go and find out, won't I?" Isolde spoke up, capturing Dria's attention as she smirked at the blonde, before patting her lightly on the arm and turning on her heel. "Thanks Dria."

"I—"

Any words that Dria had intended to muster in response fell flat as she opened her mouth. Her blue eyes followed Isolde's retreating figure, watching as she sidled up next to the Gryffindor Keeper with a flirtatious smile on her lips and they fell into instant conversation.

"You alright?"

Dria had only just realised how tightly her hand had balled itself into a fist at the sight, and winced slightly as she shook it out, spotting fingernail marks in the bed of her hand.

At the sound of Tess' question, she gave a light sigh and decided there was no point in being dishonest with her friend.

"I assume you overheard."

"That's why I asked."

Dria let out another sigh, willing her eyes to look away from the sight of Isolde resting a hand on Oliver's bicep as she let out a light laugh at something he'd said.

"I'm fine." She stated, bluntly, plastering an extremely unconvincing smile on her lips.

"Okay, now say it like you mean it." Tess countered, arching an eyebrow at the blonde, whose anger was clear as day.

"I am." Dria repeated, trying to convince herself as much as Tess, her own eyebrows furrowing as she tried to find the logic and reasoning behind her sudden anger. "I'm seeing Nate, what's it to me whoever he sees? It's really none of my business."

"Then, why do your nostrils keep flaring?"

Dria shot Tess a sharp look before letting out another tiresome sigh, her eyes travelling back together the couple by the fireplace.

"Because I think he could do a whole lot better than Isolde Crawley."

"Thought it was none of your business?" Tess smirked from where she sat opposite the blonde, arching an eyebrow as she crossed her arms over her front.

"It isn't." Dria plastered on a tight-lipped smile, before letting out another huff at the sight of Isolde and Oliver, and rising to her feet, painfully aware of her nostrils flaring. "I think I'll be going to bed."

Tess didn't say another word to stop the blonde from removing herself from the situation, but instead watched her go with a knowing smile as she shook her head and kicked her feet up on the table.

"Over him, my arse."

𝖙𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖆 𝖘𝖕𝖊𝖆𝖐𝖘!
excuse the belated update,
there always seems to be
something else that gets
in the way when at uni

but everyone peep the
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