All her life, Ophelia Wood has played third fiddle to her more popular brothers - Duncan and Oliver. Both were always louder, more popular. Gryffindors to boot. And Ophelia had always been in the background. A quiet Hufflepuff content with her small...
Ophelia woke up entirely too early the next morning, but she was far too excited to get to work to stay in bed another second longer. She quickly showered, braided her hair, and then dressed in sturdy clothing that would keep her warm and comfortable before pulling on her worn hiking boots. Seeing she still had a good 45 minutes before she was meant to be in the main office for that day's assignment, she checked the small kitchenette and found the fixings for a small, but decent breakfast.
Upon finishing that, she still had about 20 minutes, but decided to head over early anyway. She pulled on her trusty hiking jacket that was strong enough to ward off the chill of the Highlands without charmwork and took a final look in a mirror that hung on the wall.
"Here we go," she whispered to herself excitedly.
She then grabbed her wand and stuck in a special pocket inside her jacket and headed out to the main office where there would be a morning briefing.
Ophelia was grateful for heading out early upon arriving at the main meeting room. It seemed a good third to half of the tamers and admin staff were already there. She stopped and looked around before Charlie waved her over.
"Saved you a seat," he said, smiling up at her.
"Thanks," she said, sitting next to him and turning to the two people who were in charge of keeping things running at the reserve - a married couple named Andrei and Elena Dascalu - at the front of the room.
"Sleep well?" he asked.
"Oh, like a babe," Ophelia replied, looking over at him. "Suppose yesterday took more out of me than I thought."
"Well, good thing you got plenty of rest because today is sure to give you a good workout," he said, winking.
Ophelia laughed softly and looked back to the front as Andrei shouted for everyone to quiet down.
She sat up at attention, listening closely as Andrei went through some housekeeping announcements that had them chuckling here and there. He was a generally likeable bloke, Ophelia found. Always smiling and jesting, though still got to the point and kept the meeting on track.
"As you all know, we are hosting Ophelia Wood from the Dragon Research and Restraint Bureau at the British Ministry of Magic for a month. I expect you all to be kind and help her learn the ropes," Andrei said, his gaze falling on Lazlo. "Behave."
"Not me you have to worry about, boss," Lazlo called out boisterously. Andrei rolled his eyes and looked down at a clipboard.
"For today I've got you with Weasley," Andrei said, looking up at Ophelia. "Figure he's the best to keep showing you around and how things work around here. Though if you've got any questions or complaints, feel free to find myself or Elena."
"Of course, sir," Ophelia replied.
"Please, Andrei is just fine," he replied warmly.
He then moved on down the list through a few other announcements before taking a few questions and such from the tamers. He then dismissed the meeting as he and Elena walked out, heading towards their offices.
Ophelia stood and turned to Charlie, who was already grinning.
"You ready to get to work on some real dragons?" he asked.
"Absolutely."
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