Swiss Miss (Riley)

[Deleted]

The Fudge family had gone to Switzerland to skiing in the alps for their family summer vacation. This was usually a happy and upbeat time, but the only problem was that her and Riley weren't exactly speaking... but he would just have to get over it. This was family time! She was his sister! Well, she hadn't been a big help either... telling their parents about Kinsey yesterday... but, it was for his own good. He really didn't need to be seeing a girl like that.

They were at the lodge, drinking hot cocoa and getting all warm and cozy when Lydia moved to sit next to her brother. "Before you walk away, just try this cocoa. It's delicious!" she said, handing him a mug.

@riley

[Deleted]

Riley wasn’t sure how he felt about this whole holiday that his parents had planned and forced them to go on. He normally loved traveling and he normally loved being with the family, well, at least being with Lydia. Normally he was able to withstand whatever his parents were making them do because he and Lydia normally had good conversation and a few laughs to offset his feelings. However, he hadn’t said more than a few words to her since he told her about Kinsey. And she didn’t seem to be making anything better for herself by telling their parents about Kinsey. Riley had been planning to do so, but he was waiting until the right time and didn’t want it to ruin their holiday. They hadn’t said much about it. Which kept Riley on edge. He knew something was coming.

They sat in the lodge, snow fell outside, however, the fire roared inside and created a wonderfully cozy environment. It was hard to be mad with rosy cheeks and in such an extravagant local. Lydia sat next to him, and at first, he didn’t look at her. She spoke to him and he turned his head to her. He supposed being mad at her wasn’t doing anyone any good. Sure, she had done something that he didn’t like, and she had done so for her own selfish reasons, but she was still his sister, and he could always go back to not talking to her later. Sitting in silence for the whole holiday would kill him. He rolled his eyes and took the mug, taking a sip. “Yeah it’s good.” he agreed without much emotion, still debating in his head.

@lydia

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Riley rolled his eyes but took the mug anyway, taking a sip and saying it was good. "Good," she didn't take the mug back. She shifted uncomfortably, looking around the lodge. "Such great decorations here, right? Stunning," she said slowly. She had no idea what to say next. It was rare that Lydia Fudge was at a loss for words. She wasn't going to apologize, because she didn't feel like what she had done was wrong... but she didn't like this awkwardness between them either. Maybe their older brother could help her figure out how to talk to him... but Riley may not care for his advice either. Riley was... different. "Are you excited to ski?" she asked, at least that was a safe topic.

@riley

[Deleted]

Lydia didn’t take her mug back, and instead of keeping it, Riley leaned forward and set it on the coffee table in front of the sofa on which the two younger Fudge siblings were sat. he didn’t necessarily want anymore. He didn't necessarily want to be here, but he felt bad for not wanting to be here since it was a very lavish vacation and he knew he should be grateful that his family was as well off as they were. But knowing that their money had stayed with them by keeping people who were seen as less than them out of their family was almost enough to make him not want to have anything to do with it. “Great decorations.” he nodded. It almost didn’t feel like summer, it felt more like the Christmas Holidays since they were surrounded by snow in a cozy lodge. “Yeah, skiing’ll be fun, I’m sure. It’s been a while so we’ll see how well I remember the technique.” he shrugged. He wasn’t really sure what to say. He wasn’t really sure what Lydia wanted him to say. Did she want him to thank her for telling their parents about his girlfriend before he was ready? Did she want him to realize that he was making a mistake in their eyes? He knew they thought he was, but he didn’t have to agree with it.

@lydia

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Riley set the mug down on the table, which made her frown for a second but she didn't complain. She didn't reach for it, either. He said that the place did indeed have great decorations, but it didn't seem like his heart was in it. He said skiing would be fun, just that he had to remember the technique. She looked away from him, looking at the mug on the table. She was silent for a few moments, not sure what to say next. It was horrible, this silence growing between them. But... she didn't want to apologize because -- "I'm not sorry, Riley," she said firmly, her voice soft in volume. her eyes set on the mug. "You need to think about what's best for everyone, not just want you want. You don't have to be selfish," she said. Her voice confident and firm, but not necessarily harsh and rude. She was lecturing, more than scolding. "Some of us look up to you, you know. You should keep that in mind," she added.

@riley

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Riley wasn't trying to ignore the issue, he certainly wasn’t going to bring it up. However, Lydia brought it up, slowly, then all at once. There was a pause and then she broke it by saying that she wasn’t sorry and explaining to him that he was acting selfishly. Selfishly by being in love? Selfishly by finding someone who understood him? Someone who needed him? Someone who made him happy? She was acting selfishly by insisting that he get rid of someone he loved just because it made the family unhappy. And the only reason they didn’t like her was because of her bloodstatus. He couldn’t understand it. Not anymore. Not after getting to know Kinsey like he had. Her last sentence cut like a knife. She looked up to him, he knew that. She looked up to him the way he looked up to their older brother. But Riley had stopped looking up to their brother when he disappeared - he knew he didn’t want to be like the older Fudge. “Wouldn’t you rather look up a brother who stood up for himself?” he asked.

@lydia

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Lydia was not expecting what came next. The mention of bravery. Of standing up for yourself. Those qualities were all well and good, wonderful, really, but not things that she valued over duty and power. She wasn't in Gryffindor, after all. Still, the way he phrased it gave her pause, and the sound of his voice made her tense up. Did he really think that this, this standing up for himself and being with an unsuitable person for their family, was the right thing? Did he really want to fight, and fight, and fight for that? She shook her head a little, breaking eye contact from him after a moment and looking away. She stayed silent for a few seconds and then turned back, resolute. "I would rather not lose you, too," she said firmly. Their brother barely paying them any mind was bad enough, not too mention childhood pureblood friends who had defected from their families.

@riley

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“You’re not losing me, Lydia.” Riley said without wasting any time. He sighed. How could he make her understand?! “My dating Kinsey and her blood status has nothing to do with you and it’s not going to change the relationship that I have with you unless you’re the one changing it.” he attempted. He felt so stuck. He loved his sister. She was one of the few people in his world that he genuinely liked talking too. He and Lydia had always gotten along and he did feel a duty to protect her and keep her safe and taken care of, but he just couldn’t see how him falling in love with a half-blood girl was going to change any of that. He was still her brother. He wasn’t going to disappear like their older Brother. Riley had his suspicions on where the older boy went and what he was up to, and Riley Scott Fudge had no desire to follow any of that. If Lydia did than that was her decision, but Riley knew he wanted more from life than to be one of them. He never felt the same necessity to keep the bloodline pure, but he knew that it was expected of him. He felt so conflicted, so torn. “I know you like the Bainbridge’s, you’re friends with some of them, are you not?” he asked.

@lydia

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Riley assured her that she wasn't losing him and sighed, making her look away again. He said that his relationship had nothing to do with her and that it wouldn't change their relationship unless she changed it. Lydia just shook her head, not sure what words to get out yet. She felt ears prick at her eyes. He was the one who didn't get it. The one who didn't understand. Their family was important to the wizarding world, and he didn't even care about that. He cared about himself and Kinsey. In all honesty, Lydia had always thought she was pathetic, and that didn't make this any easier. But then... then he brought up Peyton and every bone in her body stiffened. She slowly turned to look at him again, her eyes burning. 'I'm not trying to marry her, Riley. I know where the boundaries are," she didn't realize it at first, buts he was starting to stand, her hands shaking. "I would never do anything to hurt this family or what we do for wizardkind. I would never. Not even for love," she said, her voice catching a little on that last word.

@riley

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Lydia’s response to him bringing up that she was friends with some of the bainbridge siblings was that she wasn’t trying to marry them and he sighed, “Well I’m not sure I’m trying to marry Kinsey either, Lydia. We’re just dating, okay?” he shrugged. He didn’t see why this was such a big deal. They had only been dating for a few months and marriage was a really big concept to be thought about at another time. He did like Kinsey, no, he did love Kinsey. But hearing the word marriage come out of his sisters mouth got him a little choked up. He wasn’t thinking about marrying Kinsey. Not yet at least. Was there no in between for this family? He was young, he was having fun with a girl that made him happy to be around. They hadn’t talked about their future, he didn’t even know if they wanted the same things. He didn’t even know what he wanted if they tried to have that conversation. Riley stood up and began pacing around a little, the stress taking over him. He took a few deep breaths. “And what is it that we do for wizardkind Lydia?” he asked, throwing his hand as he spoke.

@lydia

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Lydia scoffed at him, rolling her eyes. She could feel those same eyes welling up with tears. Maybe she was just jealous that he was dating anyone, and maybe that's why it was so easy to take out her feelings on him because Kinsey wasn't eligible for marriage. Lydia thought marriage was the number one priority, so dating but not having it in mind seemed like a waste. "I just think there are priorities you're looking past," she said quietly.

Then he was pacing and questioning what she had said. She shook her head, her brow furrowed at him "We keep the blood pure, and that keeps us safe. Why doesn't anyone understand that? The muggles will kill us if they find out we exist. The safest thing to do is avoid them as much as possible. Especially avoiding intimate relationships with them like dating their kid," her voice was low as raspy, and the tears were almost ready to break forth.

@riley

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Priorities. His whole life revolved around these priorities that were thrust upon him at his birth. Regardless if he wanted them. Riley had never once thought about how important it was to keep the bloodline pure. He had thought a lot about how he was supposed to be thinking about it, but he could never get himself to care. He knew it was important to his family, and he knew, especially now, how important it was to Lydia, and so he had always kind of just gone along with it. He never thought about the times that would come where he’d have to make a choice. He had almost assumed that he would just fall in love with a pureblood girl by accident, or just because he didn’t want to cause any drama and then he wouldn't have to deal with it. But that was before he met Kinsey. When he first met the girl, sitting alone and crying on the bench by the pond, he hadn’t thought once about what her blood status was. “What if those aren’t my priorities?” he asked, just offhandedly, not necessarily carrying any kind of weight behind them, he wasn’t challenging her by asking, but simply stating in the form of a question. “I don’t care about all of that. I know that it’s important to you, but that doesn’t mean it has to be important to me. Kinsey’s parents already know about wizardkind, they have a whole horde of kids who are magical, they’re not going to kill any of us.” and of course, only one of her parents were muggle, but still. “Look, I’d understand if she was a muggle born, but a halfblood isn’t too bad, she still carries the magical genes. She still has magic in her blood from somewhere.” He shrugged.

@lydia

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He questioned if those were his priorities, but clearly didn't want an actual, verbal answer from her. he said he didn't care about all of that and her heart started to pick up in pace. She felt the tears welling in her eyes and finally, when he said they're not going to kill any of us, she stood, turning away from him. He said he'd understand if she was a muggle born but that half bloods weren't that bad. She turned to face him again, her eyes firey and the tears spilling out. "The Half-Bloods are worse," she said harshly. "I don't f*cking care what kind of blood she has, Riley. I care about who she's associate with and any magical being that marries a muggle on purpose is endangering our kind more than anyone else. The muggleborns did nothing wrong. It's not their fault. But her parents did," she couldn't remember which of her parents was the magical one, but she hated them, just as she hated all half blood parents. "It's their fault any muggles know about us. It could easily be prevented if we just saved the muggleborns from their homes and stupid witches and wizards weren't going around sleeping with the f*cking enemy!" her voice was raising and then she realized where they were. They weren't at home, no one was around, but still she steadied her breath. "And you're just as bad as they are," she said before turning on her heel and marching away from his as fast as she could until she got outside, vanishing into a crowd of people.

@riley
(the end, welcome to the real lydia XD)