𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 | 𝐡. 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫

𝟕𝟖 - 𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙯𝙯 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙙𝙖𝙮, the whole school was hyper for the adrenaline rush of watching their peers fly around on sticks for balls and if Ophelia wasn't one of those peers she might have found it odd that it was so popular.

Looking at herself in the mirror, dressed head to toe in her Quidditch Gear she wondered what it was exactly about the uniform in particular had her stomach doing backflips when she saw Harry wearing it, she hadn't seen it in months but whenever she looked at the jersey she saw Harry and then she would feel guilty all over again.

Sitting down on a stool in the bathroom she ran a hand through her hair, she'd never felt this nervous before... she felt sick with nerves and guilt. This was Harry's position not hers, and now she felt like she was taking something from Harry that he beloved dearly, she thought back to all the quidditch practices she attended wondering how she could ever match Harry's natural raw talent on a broom. Sure she was half-decent, but Harry had a lot more experience as a seeker than she did, and Hufflepuff was no team to turn your nose up to.

There was a light knock at the door, before it opened to reveal Ginny, also dressed in Quidditch robes.

Ginny took one look at Ophelia's anxious bouncing leg and closed the door behind her as she stepped in.

"Honestly, I thought I only had Ron to worry about, but you too?" said Ginny crouching beside Ophelia, "Come on, you've got this. Out of everyone, you're the most prepared for this, you've put in so much work in practice that it'd be a shame for you to luck out now because of nerves... come on, what's bothering you?"

"That I won't live up to Harry... he's so good, and I feel like I've taken this from him... it feels wrong." said Ophelia burying her face in her hands momentarily before lifting her gaze to meet Ginny's.

"Trust me, Harry is glad you're the one replacing him, out of everyone... he's proud of you, even if he doesn't show it... has he said anything about it to make you feel like that?" asked Ginny resting her hand on Ophelia's bouncing leg to make her focus.

"No... not necessarily-" uttered Ophelia and under Ginny's pointed stare she clarifed, "No, he hasn't."

"Then you've got nothing to worry about, trust me, you'll know if he's mad when you go downstairs and I will bet my right foot that he isn't." said Ginny, moving to stand up, Ophelia let out a breathy laugh as she stood up.

"Still don't feel quite like myself," said Ophelia, gesturing to herself, her clothes, "This feels like Harry... not me."

Ginny looked around the bathroom, for anything that could be of use to boost Ophelia's confidence. Her eyes landed on a lipstick that was left out on the counter, a deep red lipstick.

"I'm not putting that on," said Ophelia taking a step back, "I'll stick out like a sore thumb, who glams up for a match?"

"I'm not slamming you, I'm putting war paint on... think of it like you're going into the Ministry... you have this intense focus that I need you to have right now, so we can bring that Quidditch Cup home... now hold on keep still." said Ginny, grabbing Ophelia by the shoulders and shoving her back against the counter roughly, that if it wasn't her friend, and if she wasn't already trying to repair things with Harry that she might have considered that to have been a move made on her.

Ginny leaned lightly on Ophelia as she spread the lipstick in a straight line across Opheila's eyes and nose to her hairline, one line in red, the line.

"Go on, have a look." said Ginny, tossing the lipstick back on the counter.

Ophelia turned and realised Ginny was in fact a genius, she was looking at herself properly now... a more dramatic version, it was a wonder what one line of lipstick could do to boost a girls' self-esteem, she grinned at herself and gave Ginny a thankful yet blazing grin in return.