"i know life well enough to know you can't count on things staying around or standing still, no matter how much you want them to. you can't stop people from dying. you can't stop them from going away. you can't stop yourself from going away either."...
"the problem with people is they forget that most of the time it's the small things that count."
- jennifer niven
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The first term went by in a flash. Luna and Ophelia had all of their classes together, and spent most of their free time together too. Ginny was in her DADA, Charms and Transfiguration, where the class was a mix of Ravenclaws and Gryffindors. They had Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, and the rest were shared with Slytherins, some of whom made sure to make the youngest Weasley uncomfortable, snarling 'blood-traitor' at her any chance they got. She learned to ignore them, knowing she'd rather spend time with muggle-borns than the pretentious rats that had the audacity to call themselves wizards.
She loved Defence Against the Dark Arts, it was definitely her favourite, even though Lockhart seemed a bit of a dud. She had been partnered with Ginny for this subject, and for Transfiguration (McGonagall had developed a liking for the girls. Fred and George said the Professor would always have a soft spot for a pair of Weasley twins). For Charms, Professor Flitwick had paired Ophelia with a Gryffindor boy called Colin Creevey. He was a bubbly boy, always having his camera by his side. Most people found Creevey insufferable, but Ophelia found him quite fun to be around, his constant excitement and positivity would always bring a smile to her face. Later on, she figured out she was his only real friend.
Whenever Luna was busy doing, well, Ophelia never really knew what she was doing, something about Nargles? Anyway, whenever Luna wasn't about, Ophelia would head to the Gryffindor common-room to spend some time with her sister. They'd become good friends with a boy called Neville, after they spent an entire Sunday afternoon helping him look for his toad, Trevor. Neville was a clumsy boy, and would often tell the twins how he should've been in Hufflepuff instead, and about his fascination with Herbology. The girls had also enjoyed going to watch the older twins' quidditch practice after being invited down by Oliver. Ginny especially loved these evenings, not only because of her fascination with quidditch, but her fascination with Harry. Ophelia had teased her about this non-stop.
The twins never bailed on a practice, so it was strange when Ginny didn't turn up one night. Or the next. Or the one after that. She'd told her sister she was bored of it and needed to catch up on her studies. Ophelia knew this wasn't true, but decided to leave it alone. She'd never really argued with her sister before, and she wasn't about to start now.
It was Hallowe'en when things began to go wrong. As Luna and Ophelia made their way to the Great Hall for the annual Hallowe'en feast , the corridor had been blocked by a gathering of students. Ophelia was too short to see what was causing the hold up, but could see Percy's head at the front of the crowd. She squeezed through the gaps to her brother's side.
"Percy, what's going on-"
Mrs Norris, Filch's cat, was hanging stiff from a torch bracket. On the same wall, something was written in blood.
