it's a roller-coaster kind of rush [dom]

[Deleted]

dear dom,

Hey! I hope that your summer's been going well so far. I'm sorry that I didn't get to see you graduate - my parents pulled me from school as soon as they heard about the explosions, because they thought that maybe the terrorist group was going to target the school next. I'm glad that didn't happen, though, and I hope that despite the sad circumstances, you still got to enjoy your graduation a little bit.

The reason I wrote you this letter (other than to say hi and apologize) is because there's an amusement park opening up near my house, and it seems like the sort of thing that you would like. Did you take Muggle Studies? Did you learn about roller coasters? Well, basically they're adrenaline machines, and that seems to be something that's very you. I was wondering if you'd want to visit sometime so we could go together! I'm also going to be inviting my friend Edmund, but I'm not sure if he'll be able to come, so it might just be you and me. Anyways, yeah, sorry that this letter is so weird and ramble-y - rambling is kind of like my stutter, but for writing. (Also sorry if any of the letters are backwards - I do that sometimes.)

yours,
shay

@dominique

[Deleted]

Shay!

Hey back at you! My summer is starting out fine. I don't really have a lot going on so far except for job hunting ... I don't like any of my options so we'll just have to see what I do. Oh, don't worry about missing graduation. It wasn't a big deal at all, they made it small (probably so there wouldn't be an attack). I enjoyed myself pretty well. You know me. No need to apologize.

An amusement park?! No, I didn't take muggle studies, but I've heard about amusement parks and roller coasters a bit. I haven't been to one, other than the ones they had at the carnival this year, but YES! I want to come and visit it, if you don't mind. I also don't mind hanging out with you and Edmund (is that Susan Windsor's brother?) if he can come. Just tell me when and I'm so there!

Also, thanks for the owl. It's nice to hear from you.

~Dom
@seamus

[Deleted]

dear dom,

What sort of jobs are you looking for? Nothing that would keep you out of the country for too long – I like getting to actually see you in person, and if you were always travelling that would be harder, especially when I go back to Hogwarts and can’t go places all the time. Kind of sucks that your graduation was small – it’s supposed to be one of the happiest days of your life, after all. I’m glad that you still enjoyed yourself, though.

Yeah, an amusement park! Okay, I’m glad that you know what they are – I don’t think I did that great of a job trying to explain them in my last letter. Whatever you’ve heard, though, it’s still not nearly as cool as the actual thing. Roller coasters are about the only scary things that I can do – otherwise, adrenaline is just not from me. Edmund is Susan Windsor’s brother, but I just got word back from him that he can’t come. He had to attend some function with his family. How does the second weekend in June sound?

Any time, Dom. I wanted to hear from you, too.

yours,
shay

@dominique

[Deleted]

Shay,

Oh you know me ... I actually have no idea what kind of job I want. Still. I've been thinking about maybe taking a year and exploring before trying to make a decision. Or maybe I'll just keep looking through wanted adds until something jumps out at me. I'm just having a hard time finding something that fits just right. If I do travel, I'll probably wait until summer is over though. There's too much to do at home to leave now. 

Well I'm excited to have you show me a real amusement park then! Second weekend in June is perfect. I'll make sure I'm free that day, no problem. (Ha! Since I'm not working anywhere I don't have to clear it with anyone- good job me!)

So how has your summer been so far? Any exciting news (other than the amusement park, which you'd better not be enjoying too much without me)??

~Dom
@seamus

[Deleted]

dear dom,

It’s okay not to know what you want to do. Not everyone has one big passion that they want to keep exploring. Are your parents getting on you about finding a job? I know mine would be, but then again, they’d probably just ask me to come work at my da’s bakery until I could find something else that I wanted to do more permanently. Finding something that fits is important, though – you don’t want to spend your whole life miserable because you decided to do a job that you don’t really love.

If you were still a student you wouldn’t have to clear it with anyone, either, you know! The thing I love most about being in school is the breaks. Is that a bad thing? Well, you know how tough school is for me. Not having to force my brain to work all day every day is really, really nice.

Summer’s been okay. My parents are talking about whether or not they’re going to let me go back to school again. I’m hoping that they’ll let me come back, but since they pulled me right after the explosions, I’m not sure that’s going to happen. I’m trying not to worry too much about that though.

yours,
shay

@dominique

[Deleted]

Shay, 

No, my parents aren't bothering me about finding a job, but I can sense their curiosity ... and maybe even disappointment. I guess they're probably a little surprised because my sister knew exactly what she wanted to do and went straight after it once she got out of school. I'm just not in a rush. I'm even thinking about maybe just taking a year to explore, maybe wander the world a bit, or just relax or something? I don't want to be a burden, so I'd find a way to take care of myself, of course, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for a real job. 

I think being excited for the breaks is normal. Even Ravenclaws like me need a break from all the learning. Everyone likes to have a break and be able to spend their time the way they want for a bit. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself though.

I'm sorry you're parents are debating about school. Hogwarts is the most secure place possible for students (I believe) but I can understand them wanting to keep you safe and near them. I hope things work out. If they end up not sending you, I can always come visit! If your parents wouldn't mind, that is .... still, I hope they'll let you go to school. Hogwarts is important.

~Dom
@seamus

[Deleted]

dear dom,

I didn’t know that you had spider senses. (It’s a joke about you being able to sense your parents’ curiosity – I don’t know if wizards know about spidey senses). You don’t have to be your sister, Dom. Not everyone is ready to be the Minister of Magic when they’re, like, twenty. And like I said before, if you don’t know what you want to do, it’s fine if you take a little bit to figure out what you want. And not rushing is probably better – if you put too much stress on yourself then that’s going to make you not want to find a job ever. Taking a little bit to relax or travel sounds like fun. You could write a travel book, maybe, and then use the money from that to pay for your expenses if you don’t want to be a burden.

I never would have thought I’d see the day when a Ravenclaw said that they needed a break from learning! I’m going to save that letter forever just so I have proof of it. And I don’t exactly have my time to myself, since I’m helping my da in the bakery for most of the day, but I understand what you mean.

I don’t think that they believe that any school that had students killed and kidnapped at it is secure. I’m trying to explain to them that if something bad did happen, I’d need to be around other wizards who know how to protect themselves. If someone came to our house to try to find me for some reason, then I’d have to protect my parents all on my own, and it would be… hard. I’m hoping that they’ll let me go to school, but I’ll tell you what happens.

yours,
shay

@dominique

[Deleted]

Shay,

I thought you knew that I know everything! Haha, of course I can tell when my parents are curious! (that's probably because they don't do a very good job about hiding it) Thanks again. I know you're right, I don't need to know what I want right away. I just ... I know it's stupid, but I do feel judged by anyone that knows I'm Vic's sister. I feel like I have a reputation to live up to, but at the same time I don't want to live up to it. I'm not Vic and I do things entirely different than she does. Hmmm, writing a book is an interesting idea. Maybe I'll travel a little and then write and then travel again if I still haven't come up with something I want to do.

Yeah yeah, keep that letter forever. You officially have my permission to keep it as proof. Do you wish you had more time to yourself? If you need, I can give you an excuse to leave home a bit.

Have you told them that? About how hard it would be if someone came for you at their house? Not that I think you should threaten them ... but schooling is very important, especially when things like this are happening. You need to be able to protect yourself and school is how you learn that. Sorry, I'm not trying to preach to you about it. I just want you to be safe.

~Dom
@seamus

[Deleted]

dear dom,

You can know about everything magical, but everything Muggle? Doubtful. Maybe after I teach you about roller coasters we can go see an action movie or something. I bet you’d get a kick out of those, too. There’s a lot of explosions… but it’s a lot less scary when you know that everyone is just acting, and no one’s actually getting hurt by them. It’s not stupid to feel judged – people judge others for stupid things all the time. I guess I should reiterate, it is stupid for people to assume you want to be like your sister. Living up to a reputation is hard. I’m not exactly your stereotypical Slytherin, so it’s hard for me to live up to that reputation… even though I don’t really want to, either. Sorry – this isn’t about me. But if it makes any difference to you, I don’t have any idea of who you should be. I learned about your family, because we kind of had to, but that hasn’t made me think that you need to be anything other than my friend.

Thanks for your permission. And yeah, I do wish I had more time to myself, but you really don’t need to go out of your way to come and see me. I don’t want to bother you just because I get a little bored sometimes.

I haven’t. I guess I don’t think it’d really work – if anything, knowing that there are people who would attack us would make me want to go to school even less. Their idea of safety is to keep everything that you love close… which I guess is why it’s so hard for me to be away from Hogwarts. Most of the people I care about are there, at least during the school year. I know you’re not trying to preach. It’s hard.

yours,
shay

@dominique

[Deleted]

Shay,

I like movies! I mean, I haven't seen a lot of them, but I have seen a few and I enjoy them. Explosions sounds like fun too, so just let me know when you want to do something like that. And ... thanks. Thanks for not judging me or expecting me to be my sister or anything. It's nice to have a good friend like you and I appreciate that you let me just be me.

Well, don't worry about me going out of my way because I do that all the time for my friends. So if I decide to do that for you just get over it because I want to. I don't like being bored either and it's really no bother. Haha, I mean, it's not like I have a job or anything really "important" to do. Spending time with a friend is probably good for me.

Well, I can't really tell you anything else to do there. Just ... try to be honest and tell them how much you care about school and how important it is to you?? Good luck with being able to go back though. 

~Dom
@seamus

[Deleted]

dear dom,

I didn’t realize you had seen movies before – that’s cool. The explosions are really great, too – some places spend literally millions of pounds on their explosions and special effects and stuff like that. I don’t think I really need to be thanked, because that’s the sort of thing that friends are supposed to do… but you’re welcome anyways. You’re a good friend, too, Dom. I’m going to miss you being in school with me all the time. You’ll have to visit when on Hogsmeade weekends.

Okay, I’ll try not to let that get in my way. Maybe I could visit you sometime, too? I think it’s a little more difficult to visit a Muggle town, since there’s the whole ‘no magic’ thing. But there are plenty of things to do that don’t involve magic, I suppose. I could show you the bakery!

I’m trying to be honest, but it’s hard when I don’t really know what I’m feeling about a lot of things. Do I want to go back to school because I want an education, or because I want to see my friends? Do I want to learn more about magic because I want to be responsible, or because I want to be powerful? I just… don’t know.

yours,
shay

@dominique

[Deleted]

Shay,

Yeah, I haven't seen a lot of movies, like I said, but I like the ones I have seen. It's a fun way to spend your time when you don't have a lot to do (which I don't right now). Of course I'll come and visit you. Probably not every Hogsmeade weekend, since I don't want to take up all your time, but I'll definitely come sometimes!

Good. Oooh, I like the idea of you visiting ... though I do have to say that your comment about 'no magic' being not as easy sounds like a challenge to me and makes me want to come even more. Just wait. One of these days I'll just show up and you won't know what to do with me.

Your feelings don't have to be one way or the other, you know. You can want to go to school to learn and see your friends, learn magic to be responsible and powerful. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I went to have fun, make friends and learn, so I can definitely tell  you it's possible. I'm sorry things are so complicated right now though.

~Dom
@seamus

[Deleted]

dear dom,

Movies are a great way to spend a lot of free time. If I ever had to stay home from school when I was a kid – which didn’t happen very often – I got to lay on the couch and watch movies all day long. It was really fun, and my parents sometimes thought I was faking sick just so I could watch them. I didn’t ever pretend to be sick though, don’t worry; I may be a Slytherin, but I’m not that devious.

I’ll see if I can visit sometime, then. And if you’re taking it as a challenge, then I guess I can’t stop you. I definitely won’t turn you away if you show up on my doorstep someday. But I do know what I’d do with you – I’d laugh and then we’d go find something entertaining. You don’t like being bored.

I know that they don’t have to be, but sometimes it feels that way. Especially because it seems like there’s only one “right” answer. Like, if I say I want to go to school so I can see my friends and learn more, then people are going to think that I’m doing something wrong because school is for learning or whatever. I don’t know what I’m doing, really, Dom. I wish I got to talk to you more.

yours,
shay

@dominique

[Deleted]

Shay!

Watching movies all day long actually sounds really nice. I might have to try that sometime ... though I'd have to ask you for good movies first so I wouldn't get stuck with stupid ones. Ha! I would definitely have taken advantage of that if I'd been allowed to watch movies just because I was sick, so even if you did (I believe that you didn't) I wouldn't judge you for that.

Well I'll look forward to your visit ... and to seeing what you'll do with me when I show up randomly. I can't help but wonder what you'd do to entertain me ... hmmm.

Don't worry about it. You don't need to explain your wants or reasons for them to anyone. (haha except me because apparently I'm helpful with this sort of stuff!) It's okay to not know what you're doing and I'm always here for you if you need to talk. Also, if you'd rather it be face-to-face, just let me know and I can do that too. You're just fine.

~Dom
@seamus