i never told you what I do for a living | cara

[diana eoina bainbridge]

Some other way to continue

To hide my face

May 16, 2026
cara june bainbridge

The silence of her old room was deafening this late at night. The bed on the other side of the room was empty. Cara wasn’t home. Maybe it was the chaos of Diana’s life over the past three years that had accustomed her to the constant noise of Knockturn Alley or seedy bars. Learning how to blend in with the help of her abilities and to not show her anxiety in her eyes. She took a deep breath. It had been challenging to silence her mind after everything that had happened, and even though she knew deep down that she was free, Diana still felt the invisible weight of those chains she’d grown accustomed to carrying around.

It hadn’t been confirmed, but after Penelope had demanded an explanation of why Diana had been so close to the Castle and especially the short exchange with Asher Burke in the Entrance Hall, she’d broken down. Diana essentially word vomited everything, and much to her absolute surprise, she didn’t drop dead right there. Diana shook her head at the memory, tears quickly returning to her eyes. Penelope was always so kind and so loving, and Diana had spent the last three years pushing her away. Diana heard a noise, and instinctively she sat up, grabbing her wand from her bedside table. After Hogwarts had burned to the ground, Diana had decided to stay at her family home for a little while she figured out what to do next. Her mother had been thrilled, especially with Diana’s time away, and Diana supposed she felt better too.

Her heart rate went up, but when the door opened, she realized it was just Cara, and she remembered to breathe again. Something about being forced to be so close to Elaine for so much time reminded her of the effects of dark magical objects on most people if in their proximity too long. Trying to relax and not look so on edge, she put her wand back on the nightstand, and she scooted up to sit against the wall. She couldn’t sleep anyway. ”You’re out late.” Diana commented. Maybe this was normal for her? Really that last family outing to Blishwick’s in March had been kind of rare as sometimes months would go by without a ton of interaction outside of the ‘hey, whatsup?’ text message.

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The flurry of the last twenty-four hours was the sort of situation Cara had secretly been dreading since everything started going downhill a few years prior. An outright attack on Hogwarts. Why couldn’t it have waited a few months until the fall term? She was fine being called callous over that opinion, but she preferred to have none of her sisters at school when it was blown up or lit on fire. Thankfully the triplets had managed to get out in time and were home for the foreseeable future. Cara found the sudden influx of the entire family, including the reappearance of Diana, stifling though, and had left earlier in the afternoon to go to work and then from there to Calliope’s place. She didn’t need to be in every family hug right now – they were all safe and home. It felt wrong to keep talking about last night’s events when there were families with missing children or siblings. She didn’t dare say the obvious, which it seemed like her parents had been daring her to even try over breakfast, so removing herself and going to work was the only answer she had.

No one bought any ice cream though. Maybe that was wishful thinking on her part. Ice cream came with happier times and good weather. Hogwarts had been ravaged by fiendfyre and Purifiers a little over twelve hours earlier. No one was thinking about ice cream when their children were dead or permanently injured. Her stoicism lasted through her shift fine, but not much past getting to Cal’s. Eventually it seemed like it was late enough to head home without seeing anyone awake, and exhausted from a day’s worth of held in emotions, she headed back to Godric’s Hollow.

The Bainbridge home was quiet when she stepped inside, only the wall clock that sat in the kitchen was tick-tocking, every once in a while the sound of a creak on a floorboard from one of the various pets the family owned. Getting back this late was almost unheard of for her, even during the summer months. Usually she was already sprawled all over her bed, awake for sure, but ready to turn in at any moment. The fact that every family member was in bed was a surprise, and aside from a text from her dad asking her when she’d be home, there had been nothing from the rest of them. To be fair, they had other things to worry about than what she was up to.

Creeping up the stairs, making sure to step over the board that liked to bend and groan whenever weight was put on it, her hand found the doorknob to her room. She had forgotten that Diana was here still, and while the line of light from underneath the door should have clued her in that her twin was still here, it was shock nonetheless. Especially because Cara was positive she saw a wand pointed at her at first. “Had work,” she answered, quickly closing the bedroom door behind her. It was only half a lie, considering the ice cream parlour was typically open until eight or so. Not tonight though.

She tossed her bag onto her bed before taking a seat at her desk. “Was there a unanimous decision for a family curfew or something? Mum and dad don’t really police like they used to…” Cara almost added that she would have known that, aside from the fact that she had managed to pull a nice disappearing act after graduation.

diana eoina bainbridge ● 589 ● John Hughes Movie by Maisie Peters

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[diana eoina bainbridge]

Some other way to continue

To hide my face

May 16, 2026
cara june bainbridge

She hadn’t seen her twin all day. Diana thought about the times before where such a thing would feel so foreign, and even now, it didn’t. Seeing Persephone and Peyton had been nice. She’d cried a lot more as she spoke to them. It was still a foreign feeling to feel more like herself after all this time. Seeing Kinsey had been harder. She was the one that Diana had pushed away the most. Dustin had stopped by, but they hadn’t spoken yet, and then there was Cara—her twin. Diana didn’t know what to expect from Cara as she walked into the room and shut the door behind her, saying she had work.

Cara’s tone was short as she threw her bag and sat at her desk. Diana stayed on her bed as she leaned against the wall that her bed was lined up against, and she sat with her legs crossed. Her hair had stayed a dark color the whole day. Her mood was more somber than anything. The way her sister trailed off—Diana knew she had hurt all of them. They’d graduated, put on the smiles, and packed away their Ravenclaw robes forever, and then Diana had just left. ”No…I think they’re just scared, you know, with everything that happened.” The last few years had created a lot of fear, and now the direct attack on the school had just tied a bow on top of that fear.

Diana paused again, staring at her hand as she began to lightly pick at the skin near one of her fingernails. The conversation with Penelope had been difficult enough, but in her desperation, she’d just about blurted out everything. This was different, Cara was technically her younger sister by nothing more than a minute or two, but otherwise, their lives had been lived side by side. ”Cara…I know I haven’t been around. I wanted to say I’m sorry.” Diana kept looking down, a lump beginning to form in her throat. ”A lot of things happened…I couldn’t talk about them before. But I um…I can now.” She paused again, finally looking up. It was a question of where to begin, really. Or did she just blurt everything out all at once and hope that Cara could decipher it all.

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[cara june bainbridge]

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She found it rich that Diana could dictate when and how their parents felt scared, considering she hadn’t been around at all when they realized her little disappearing act was more of a long term type of deal. Everything about this family frustrated her, from Kinsey’s everything, to the triplets being doted on endlessly, to attention being granted to Dustin simply because he ended up being good at Quidditch. Diana was the only one that had truly been her teammate in all of this weird, fuckery that the Bainbridge family consisted of. It sucked to be painfully normal and somewhat of a failure. She was still working part-time at an ice cream parlour for Merlin’s sake! How was that a normal thing that could be encouraged? To say she was jealous of all the attention that the rest of them got whenever they screwed up or needed something, would be an understatement. Even the little things were counted, and Cara had allowed them to pile up way longer than they needed to be. Diana waltzing back in like this without an explanation as of yet (or one that Cara found satisfactory at least) was just another one of those shoulder shrugs from their parents. Because as long as they were all home and relatively safe, then it didn’t matter, right?

Cara crossed a leg over the other, her arms matching it as she braced herself for whatever excuse was about to come out of her twin’s mouth. Her apology was all well and good, though it didn’t really hold much merit without an actual explanation. She was going to give herself a headache with her eye rolling too, especially at the bit about not being able to talk about what had been going on, until now. “So you’re telling me that whatever this has been about, you couldn’t say anything about it until our sisters escaped being burned alive at school? Great idea to trauma dump, Dee,” she rolled her eyes again. Obviously this was going to finally provide an answer for what had been going on, but she was allowed to be frustrated by it too. How was it fair to be kept in the dark and ignored this entire time? That didn’t sound like they were on the same team anymore.

diana eoina bainbridge ● 383 ● the non-fiction days by Band-Maid

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[diana eoina bainbridge]

Some other way to continue

To hide my face

May 16, 2026
cara june bainbridge

Diana watched as Cara shifted in her seat. Those emotions were radiating from her and directed towards Diana. Could Diana really blame her? She looked down into her lap as she picked at the skin around her thumbnail, a nervous habit she’d picked up as a child whenever she was nervous or put on the spot. While Occlumency helped her face those undesirable figures in seedy bars and dark alleys as she pawned off her work for coins to barely make a living—there was nothing like this. The knowing stare of your twin.

She swallowed as she tried to clear the lump that was forming in her throat. Part of her wanted to take a minute and clear her head, calm it so she could remain in that mental control. But what kind of conversation would she have if she was no more emotional than the Inferi she’d read about long ago. It was overwhelming to feel so much when she’d grown accustomed to the numbness of the past two years. Unsurprisingly, Cara wasn’t convinced nor moved. Diana paused before responding, though she finally looked up.

”That’s not fair, Cara.” A wave of emotion came over her. Anxiety? Guilt? Maybe shame. Or all of the above. Nothing about her situation had ever felt fair, and anger had been an excellent emotion to ride for some time to avoid feeling anything that reminded her of home or just numb altogether. Diana shook her head and looked back down in her lap. Her eyes welled up slightly as she fought the anger back. Diana had never been the type to fight much in their youth, generally avoiding confrontation but also not one to really anger. Taking it all in stride. Even as the eldest girl in the family, one might think that Cara was the eldest with her stronger presence. ”I couldn’t I—you don’t know what I’ve been through.” Diana wasn’t angry with Cara, but she was the only target in the room. The one person she was angry at was dead now.

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[cara june bainbridge]

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Not fair? Her? Cara scoffed at her twin when she said that. How on earth was she the one not being fair in this situation? Disappearing for months on end with no communication at all, only appearing every so often to the point where Cara thought she must've just imagined Diana existed this whole time. And then suddenly showing up at Hogwarts in the middle of an attack and pulling the triplets out of it to safety? Unless she was working undercover for the Ministry in law enforcement, there wasn't going to be a good enough explanation that could be constituted as fair. There was very, very little room to allow for that at this point.

Not wanting to completely shout and lose herself to the point of alerting their parents or siblings, Cara tried to keep her voice down as she spoke. That sort of thing was impossible when she was upset though. It'd been awhile since she'd really lost her cool, having learned to control it better now that she was in the service industry. People didn't take kindly to being bombarded with sarcasm when all they wanted was ice cream. Diana though...that was different, especially now. "What you've been through? You literally disappeared and didn't tell us where you went. I don't care if you couldn't tell the rest of the family, but you don't do that to me. You just don't."

There were rules to this, after all. They'd always told each other the things that bothered them. Cara wasn't against helping Diana get out of whatever she'd been into, but she needed to be told what it was first. Waiting until it was supposedly done made it seem like she would have been useless, and that pissed her off because she wasn't that at all. "Okay, fine. I'll listen. But I have every right to be upset at you still," she said after a moment. If she didn't give her twin a chance when she was asking for one, that didn't make her any better.

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[diana eoina bainbridge]

Some other way to continue

To hide my face

May 16, 2026
cara june bainbridge

They were not identical in any way but had been born within minutes of one another, with Diana entering the world first. Between her Metamorphmagus ability and the tattoos she had gained over the past two years, they were merely Bainbridge siblings to an outsider. And that divide between them had only grown. They had always leaned on each other readily, serving as each other’s rock since day one without question—and Diana had gone to and ruined it all. The thought was always a pang in her chest, but lately, Diana felt as though she’d left the anguish of one secret life and come back to the heartache and grief of another.

Diana had never wanted to learn Occlumency, which had been forced upon her. And then she’d closed herself off to push through and survive. The shift back to her old life wasn’t something to ease back into. All at once, her walls had dropped, and the emotions of two years were hard to control. Diana couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so constantly near tears. Not to mention her heart began to race in her chest, and she felt fear—admitting everything felt like being back in that bathroom with Elaine backing her into a corner. She was angry—not at Cara, but at the circumstances, and her twin’s words only stung and irritated that open wound.

Nobody understood. How could they? Diana’s jaw clenched in a futile attempt to keep herself from angry crying. Cara was the one who had the temper, the one who spoke up first in all cases, while Diana reacted much slower. Weak and harmless—is that what Elaine counted on when she threatened her family? That Diana wouldn’t do anything? ”I know…” She mumbled, barely audible. She’d abandoned her twin, her best friend, and her main lifeline in this world. Cara was angry—but Diana heard the pain and hurt in her voice immediately, which added to the guilt Diana carried. Looking up, she opened her mouth and wondered where to start.

Diana took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again. The only reason she was grateful for that Occlumency training was it let her close off and calm down much more quickly. And Merlin knew Diana would need that to get these words out before she reverted back to the blubbering mess that she actually was. What was she, if not just a walking façade, after all? ”She would have hurt you—all of you if I’d said anything.” It still frightened her to say anything, like Elaine would burst through their bedroom door at the mere mention. Diana’s voice wavered slightly, but she pushed herself. ”I-I saw her and Ethan, and she figured out it was me…she knew all of you by name.” Unfortunately, Diana’s constant hesitations didn’t make her a strong Occlumens as some of her former colleagues had been.

She looked back at the bed in front of her. Diana fidgeted even more and ignored the tears waiting on standby. ”I’m so sorry, Cara—you know I’m awful at lying—and she made sure I couldn’t say anything. Elaine is the most calculating person I’ve ever met.” It was hard to think sometimes that she had been in their year at school but leaps ahead of anyone. Still, saying the words ‘unbreakable vow’ felt like a crime. But Diana knew she had to if any of this were to make sense. Slowly looking up, she still sat hunched over like someone trying to make themselves a smaller target. Any resolve Diana had left was fading, cracks appearing in that temporary wall—she was just so tired.

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[cara june bainbridge]

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The fuzz in her head as Diana talked and explained how they all would've been hurt if she'd said anything didn't sound believable. At least it shouldn't have been. But the look on her sister's face said it was. Cara knew this was serious now, and the way her twin hesitated and fidgeted while she talked confirmed it. The thing about Ethan - a name she hadn't heard mentioned in a couple of years now - created a lump in her throat when she tried to swallow. This went back that far? Her entire body started to feel stiff with anger. Elaine had held her sister under her control all this time, and made sure she couldn't say a damn thing about it. Cara could feel her jaw clenched tighter at that. The newspapers speculated that Elaine was dead, but that didn't stop the thoughts about wanting to do it herself if that didn't happen to be the case. Holding Diana hostage and threatening the rest of her family?

She should've kept her mouth shut and listened instead of jumping down Diana's throat. A bad habit that had plagued her that she hadn't gotten rid of yet. Working at the ice cream parlor should've taught her to be more patient. "But you could've told me...written it down or something. I would have helped you," Cara said quietly after her sister finished. Hell, she'd put herself on the line too if it meant getting Diana out of it eventually. She'd spent the last two years serving people ice cream and trying to write a book, ignorant of the problems her twin was going through. Trading those was a no brainer. Even though her body felt heavy with everything that had just been told to her, she got up from her chair and moved next to Diana and pulled her into a hug.

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[diana eoina bainbridge]

SOME OTHER WAY TO CONTINUE

TO HIDE MY FACE

May 16, 2026
cara june bainbridge

Cara didn’t say anything immediately after Diana had finished speaking. There was so much more to explain and more to say, but Diana focused on pushing down all the emotions that were trying to rush out all at once. As soon as she looked up, she looked back down again. Her hands trembled slightly as her heart thudded in her chest so hard she could feel her pulse in her fingertips. Three years she had carried this alone. It was any wonder she was even able to speak. But even with just these words, Diana had that confirmation that Elaine was dead. If there were any chance that she was still alive—then Diana would not have survived that conversation with Penelope that day.

Tears began to slide down her face. It never got easier to explain, and this was the most difficult conversation by far. Cara finally spoke, and Diana could only shake her head ‘no’. She couldn’t have. The invisible chains that bound her silence had not given her any wiggle room to reach out for help. ”I couldn’t…” Diana whispered. And out of nowhere, she felt arms around her. Merlin Diana was tired of crying, tired of needing to deal with these bottled-up feelings. It was far easier when she’d shut herself down and been cold and unfeeling. So much easier than feeling what she had set aside for years. ”I’m so sorry Cara. It was a Vow. I couldn’t do anything.” Diana leaned into her twin’s embrace, she couldn’t stop herself from crying. All she could do was apologize. The bridges with her family had been the ultimate collateral damage.

If Diana had been talking to anyone else she might not have cried so much. Was it possible to dehydrate one’s self that way? But this was Cara—her other half. Diana sniff through the congestion that building up. And there was a pause where she didn’t say anything. Thankfully the summary explanation had been sufficient for the triplets and Kinsey. Dustin essentially had the personality of a pygmy puff so Diana wasn’t too concerned with explaining anything to him. Plus the details were…not fun to speak about. Diana still felt like she was in the middle of everything. And flip-flopping between reticent and sentimental gave her a headache. ”It doesn’t feel like its over…” Diana knew of faces not in custody though Burke was, at least.

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[cara june bainbridge]

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Oh Merlin, she didn't realize that Diana meant it was an Unbreakable Vow that had prevented her from saying anything. The previously forming lump in her throat was blocking the scream she wanted to let out for being so stupid. Of course she couldn't have said anything, the Vow would have killed her faster than she could say anything about her dealings with Elaine. Cara felt selfish for even requesting such a thing now that she knew what actually happened. Everything Diana had done was to keep herself alive and the rest of the family safe. Because even she knew that Elaine wouldn't have stopped there. If the Vow had been broken, there would be no stopping Elaine from making the entire Bainbridge family disappear with the snap of her fingers. The destruction of Hogwarts proved that.

The sobs coming from her twin as Cara held onto her tightly were unavoidable, and she let her own out in unison. Everything came so fast that there was no way to prepare for her flood of emotions to hit too. Most of it breaking through her pent up frustration and anger that had been building since yesterday. She hadn't wanted to show any emotions openly, feeling that at least someone in the family needed to be grounded right now. But that was behind her now. Keeping it all in was impossible, and she joined her twin's crying as she squeezed Diana tighter. "But she's gone now...s-since you can talk about the Vow," Cara whispered after a few moments. "Its all over for her and you're still here Dee."

Cara didn't know what else any of this entailed or what Elaine had forced her sister to do, but it was sure to come out over time. For the time being, she had to be there for her sister. Making sure she knew none of what had happened was truly her fault. Being held hostage like that wasn't a criminal offense. She was positive that the only two options were to either make the Vow or to die. Anyone would take the former. She couldn't blame Diana for that at all.

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[diana eoina bainbridge]

SOME OTHER WAY TO CONTINUE

TO HIDE MY FACE

May 16, 2026
cara june bainbridge

Diana only nodded. Cara was right—Elaine was gone. Elaine was dead and for good this time. She remembered when the papers had the headlines the first time around after the attack at the stadium. And honestly, the feeling Diana had reading the words and knowing that it was not true felt worse than anything. At that moment, Elaine had solidified the grasp she had on Diana because it made Diana fear ever opening her mouth in the event of Elaine’s possible death. The risk she had taken after facing off with Asher Burke in the Entrance Hall and in the face of Hogwarts beginning to burn to the ground—it was enormous, but in the end, it had been a good thing. It was step one toward Diana’s freedom.

She took a last shuddering breath before trying to calm herself. Diana closed her eyes for a moment and tried to slow her breathing and focus. Diana wasn’t used to this. She’d never cried this much in her life, but she’d also never shoved down her feelings so far down for so long. ”I—I haven’t talked to Dustin yet…he’s been focused on the triplets.” Which made sense. The girls had been in the Castle when the Chaos began, and one of the girls had been in the Great Hall and affected by that potion. She’d found Penelope first, then Peyton had been on the grounds, while Persephone later found where the medical tents were staged. ”Mum and Dad don’t know—I don’t want them to know. They worry so much already.” She still wanted to protect them.

Finally, she pulled back a bit. Her hair was back to its natural blonde. That Bainbridge blonde that she’d rarely seen as of late. As to when it had shifted? She had no idea. Somedays, Diana could hardly control the shifts in color as much as she could control the rules of an Unbreakable Vow. She felt exhausted. Breathing and calming her mind settled her for the moment. Maybe that Occlumency training wasn’t so bad after all, but just the thought of it made her head hurt. And she hadn’t even mentioned all those details to anyone—but who would want to talk about their time with such a group or the abuse that took place, let alone the pit that formed in her stomach at the thought of those still out there.

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One at a time. That was how Diana needed to take breaking this news to the rest of the family. Or not at all. The situation she had been in wasn’t the type of thing casually brought up in conversation, especially with siblings. And definitely not with their parents. That, Cara agreed with her on. She certainly wasn’t going to be spilling any of this to them, as they didn’t really need to know about it at all. As far as she was concerned, this information didn’t leave their room. Ever. “Of course not,” she immediately responded, trying to reassure her twin on her decision. “If you do, you know, want to tell him, I’ll be there. But you don’t need to do it immediately.” Too much at once, especially this on top of what the triplets had just gone through, would lead to assumptions. In a fit of emotions, she didn’t want anyone running to the Ministry and giving the wrong account of what Diana had gone through.

Releasing Diana wasn’t what she wanted to do right away, as it felt like she finally had her sister back, but she had to before she hugged her to death. That would probably be slightly more comfortable than death by unbreakable vow. An almost unbelievable series of events had transpired over the past day and adding this on top was too much for a lot of people. Cara had felt helpless immediately following the news of what had happened at Hogwarts and even more so when she couldn’t do anything for the triplets. Diana was different. Being here for her, especially now, was what she needed to be doing. “I don’t want to push…” she began, pausing to make sure she picked her words carefully because she didn’t want to seem like she was digging for too much, too fast, “…so if there’s anything you need to talk about in the future, about this, I’ll listen.”

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[diana eoina bainbridge]

SOME OTHER WAY TO CONTINUE

TO HIDE MY FACE

May 16, 2026
cara june bainbridge

This wasn’t how Diana had pictured this conversation going. Well, she honestly had no idea how it would go. She’d expected more pushback. Her story did sound a little outrageous. At least it did when Diana had formed the sentence in her mind as she couldn’t say it aloud until now. But when one spends a few years in invisible chains telling oneself that nobody will believe you and they’ll hate you for it, it is less painful than having any hope. Diana merely nodded at the reassurance. Cara was so supportive, and it just reminded Diana of something fundamental she’d forgotten.

She was a twin. It was always the two of them. No matter what. If Diana had felt the void she had caused, whatever Cara had felt was probably worse. ”I don’t…I don’t think I’ll tell him. Or Kinsey.” Diana loved her siblings dearly, but she didn’t want to see the same look in their eyes as in Penelope’s. Diana closed her eyes a moment. Penelope knew. ”Pen. Pen knows.” She added. Putting that weight on one of her younger sisters was not ideal, and the triplets were so kind and caring. The one person Diana had intended to tell was Cara because she needed her rock back.

Diana quickly felt the cold as Cara pulled back slightly, but she didn’t go anywhere. Getting a genuine hug after so long was a little surreal. But more than anything, Diana just felt relieved, which brought on her exhaustion. Diana nodded again, but there was still much on her mind. Her face clearly tried to fight back a few more tears. She just let them slide down her face. ”I would never have forgiven myself if anything happened to the triplets.” And that was the truth. And had the rest of her family found out about her involvement, Diana wouldn’t have expected forgiveness. ”I’m just so tired.” She curled her knees up to wrap her arms around them.

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Telling the rest would really be running the gambit on reactions. If her own response had turned out this way, then Kinsey’s would easily be on the opposite end of the spectrum. She liked to think Dustin and the triplets would be understanding, but there were so many unknowns when it came to what Diana had gotten herself into, and thankfully, now out of. This was a group of murderers and dark wizards they were talking about here. Her twin absolutely didn’t fit into that category and she knew that everyone in the family would understand that. The Purifiers had committed enough horrible atrocities over the last three years to make anyone wary of Diana though. That was the real problem. Guilt by association and in fear of death by an Unbreakable Vow. Wouldn’t anyone do the same things Diana had at that point?

Apparently Penelope knew as well, causing Cara to nod her head slowly. Meaning she’d been told at some point between the events yesterday and now. “She probably had it all figured out already, didn’t she?” Cara asked, knowing how their younger sister was. Not that the other two were unobservant, but sometimes it was like they weren’t even there and were stuck in their own worlds.

Watching her twin pull herself up into a balled position as she said she was tired hurt more than it should have. Cara wished she could’ve shared some of that exhaustion, knowing that the mental fortitude to maintain the Vow for however long it had been present, on top of whatever else Elaine had been threatening her with, was too much for anyone to handle. Putting her arms immediately back around Diana, she pulled her into a squeeze again, stronger than the previous one had been. “You’re safe now. It’s okay…”

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[diana eoina bainbridge]

SOME OTHER WAY TO CONTINUE

TO HIDE MY FACE

May 16, 2026
cara june bainbridge

Diana opened her mouth to speak but quickly closed it. Penelope was perceptive and would have done well in Ravenclaw with her older sisters, but her heart was simply bigger than her brain. She pondered whether to elaborate on how exactly one of their younger sisters had come to know such knowledge. It pained Diana to think about it—a story for another day. ”No…but I don’t want to talk about it.” She softly added. ”I feel horrible enough that the triplets were in danger.” It was nobody’s fault but Elaine. And perhaps Asher Burke, but that was the only person Diana had seen aside from Sarah, who was also surprised.

Cara hugged her again, and Diana fought hard not to cry. She’d never been the accomplished occlumens they wanted. Her abilities in that area were better than the average witch or wizard but not extraordinary, and Cara wasn’t about to let herself be shut out again. In the end, she failed, and she couldn’t stop the waves of emotions. Tears ran down her face, and her body shook while she sobbed. Years of refusing to feal, refusing to dwell in memories, and refusing to go home. Merlin, she hadn’t realized how much had built up. While her twin assured her safety, Diana still didn’t entirely feel it.

[ end diana ]

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