Melancholy [Calliope]

[cara june bainbridge]

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04.12.2025

The ice cream shop should have been busy today since it was a Saturday, but somehow Cara seemed to have completely missed the memo that it was going to be a dead day. If she had to take a guess, it was probably due to the impending rain that the clouds had been threatening to drop all day. They had been menacingly dark all afternoon and as evening approached there was quite literally no change in the light coming through the front windows of the shop. The lack of business had sent everyone but her home. Being the new hire meant that she drew the short straw whenever something like this happened and she was responsible with operating the front all by herself until one of the Fortescue’s appeared from the back and locked up at the end of the day. Thankfully there was always one of them around to help in case the entirety of Diagon Alley decided to get ice cream at the same time. There were strange trends where that would happen from time to time. A rumor here or there about some new flavor being released would draw the hordes and give her an instant headache. Especially when the ice cream they had stocked for the day were the usual drab flavors.

The last customer Cara had seen was about two hours earlier, so she had shifted gears completely from work mode to lazily leaning in a chair behind the counter whilst reading a book she brought from home. She had already cleaned the entire shop from top down in anticipation that there wouldn’t be anyone else for the rest of the day. Now all she had to do was count down the last few hours’ worth of minutes until it was time to clock out. There were two ways that the end of the day could go: she would either quietly finish the book she was reading, and then go home, or she would get a slow trickle of customers coming in. And knowing her luck, those would be the kinds of customers that would bring in two screaming toddlers who only wanted manila (vanilla) ice cream, and then throw it onto the floor once they got it. The only respite from a situation like that would be if it started raining, because no parent in their right mind would drag children around in the rain just to get ice cream. At least she hoped now. Hoping for the soft patter of rain drops against the windows was the only thing Cara currently wished for as she stuck her nose deeper into her book.

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[calliope ivory fleming]

the rush of wind and falling leaves.

SINCE CALLIOPE’S LAST TIME IN the ice cream parlour, the metamorphmagi had always found her way back to it, trying new flavours she had no idea others liked, and at times let her nose scrunch at the particularly odd flavours that were supposedly fan favourites. Like Mint Chocolate Frogs. Yuck. How could anyone stomach the taste of it? With each passing time, Calliope hadn’t particularly paid attention to the clerk serving her until she paid more attention looking up at the person rather than down at the flavours. Though there was this one girl she had always seen in moments when the Fleming was passing by, or had already obtained her ice cream and the girl was taking on the next shift. But Merlin, she was pretty. Usually — in seconds, the metamorphmagus’ hair would be stripping of a natural colour and taking on a light pink, the same colour her cheeks would be just from looking at the girl. What an odd crush.

From across the street, where the Ice Cream Parlour was located, Calliope poked her head out, trying to get a glimpse through the window. She couldn’t see much, considering the decorations splattered across the window to attract in customers, but given the weather and how somewhat empty Diagon Alley was, the Fleming guessed no one was inside. How odd how the store hadn’t closed for the day. Cal stood, brushing at the ends of her suit jacket — which was odd considering she was a record keeper, not a bloody Ministry worker — before moving her hands to brush back at natural blonde ends. Crossing, her hand extended, pushing at the door once she got there, the soft jingle from the bell giving away her presence.

Calliope couldn’t see anyone at first, just like from her observation, but the moment she walked closer, she noticed a girl, head slightly down as she appeared to be reading something. ”Ah, hello—“ Cal began, until she realised it was the girl.

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[cara june bainbridge]

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The jingle of the bell from the front door was so foreign to Cara’s ears that she didn’t even register what was going on until she heard a voice acknowledge her from somewhere in front of the counter. The absence of customers and the lack of the general din from Diagon Alley outside had led the Bainbridge girl into a deep downward spiral into the world her book had created. It was a muggle creation, an old one at that, but it was fun nonetheless. Something about clowns in storm drains, which was completely absurd and could most likely be attributed to a boggart – but what did muggles know about that? Their fears were so innocent compared to the things she knew. And she knew a lot just from school. Still, her family’s insistence to be raised on muggle fantasy and other media had allowed her to have little escapes like these every so often, and it always ended up being fun when she could rationalize all of those terrible, horrible things that befell muggles with occurrences in the magical world. If only they knew everything they were scared of was actually feasible…

But that train of thought had been completely ripped away from her when the voice from the girl on the other side of the counter cracked through the silence. “Hello…good afterno-” she cut herself off when she realized that her wrist watch was actually telling her it was well into evening already. Merlin, had it been four hours already since the last customer? She could have sworn it had only been two… “Err…evening, I suppose now?” Cara closed her book gently in her hand, reaching out for a scrap of paper to notate where she was in it. A sizeable chunk was finished already, and based on her pace, she was due to finish by the end of the week if she kept at it and work continued to be slow. Not now though, because there was finally a customer. Earlier she thought it would be terrible to be interrupted again before she closed for the night, but some human interaction other than her bosses or her parents wouldn’t kill her.

Luckily, she recognized the girl as a regular customer. Cara had never personally served her before, but the girl stuck out because she had pink hair. Or at least she usually did. Today was different. It was more normal looking. “Not pink today?” she said casually, sliding on disposable gloves as she moved over to the ice cream cooler. “Let’s see…Cookies n Scream or Peanut Butter Bats?” Those were the usual flavors she got, at least when her hair was pink. Maybe different flavors were meant for different hair colors though?

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[calliope ivory fleming]

the rush of wind and falling leaves.

THE MOMENT THE BOOK WASN’T covering that pretty face anymore, Calliope knew she would freeze up in that moment. She had seen the pretty girl so often and at least nine times out of ten, her hair had turned into that stupid pink colour. Merlin, Calliope hated being a metamorphmagus. With the girl revealing that it was already the early evening, the trail of thought slowly allowed Cal to process things yet again. Since when did time pass that quickly? Surely it was only three when she had left her…legal work…The Fleming swallowed now, throat dry from the lack of salvation. Breathe, Fleming!

”N-Not pink?” She repeated in a stutter, head cocking to the side in confusion. But the minute the Fleming realised what the girl meant, her cheeks were already flushing red while her hair. Ah her hair…Streaks of pink were on the uprise, starting from the ends of her naturally blonde hair before settling in the roots. She had noticed? How? When? ”Haha..No pink..” Yet — anyway. She watched as the girl moved to the ice cream cooler and hoped the pink strands weren’t as…noticeable as they usually are, giving Calliope the chance to cough and move in the same direction. The girl already knew the Fleming’s usual choices and it felt like a matchmake in heaven. Could she marry her?

”C-Cookies n Scream please…” It was one of the few flavours Calliope was completely and utterly obsessed with. ”In a small cup-tub…If that’s okay?”

cara june bainbridge

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[cara june bainbridge]

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Cara almost thought she had the wrong person with the pink hair, but it didn’t take too long for her to understand what was really going on. The girl was a metamorphmagus! The slight change from blonde to a light pink would have been unnoticeable at first by anyone not paying attention, but Cara was positive that she had the correct pink-haired girl so she was looking at her closely. The subtle changes in hair and eye colors wasn’t foreign to her in the slightest since she had grown up watching Diana do them daily. Her twin had more of a violent flash with her eyes, whereas this girl seemed to do the same with her hair. Or something like that.

She kept it to herself as she nodded her head to the choice of Cookies n Scream, swiftly scooping the appropriate amount out of the container and into the cup, the eerily screech from the ice cream coming out at her as she cut through one of the cookies in the larger tub. That was the secret to this flavor: the cookies liked to be vocal about their destruction. Normally she would have thought that to be rather morbid, but seeing some of the other flavors brought out by the Fortescue’s, this was one of the more tame ones. The blood flavored ice cream and toppings tailored to their vampire customers was far more gruesome in her opinion.

Bringing the ice cream back over to the register, Cara slid it across for the girl, fingers idling above it. “You’re a metamorphmagus, aren’t you?” She had half a mind not to charge the girl because they had that in common, in a way. “My sister is too. And since you’re sort of a regular, this one is on me.”

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[calliope ivory fleming]

the rush of wind and falling leaves.

OH MERLIN, THIS WAS IT. The girl Calliope had developed a crush on was here, actually speaking to the Fleming. Well, it was expected for a cashier to do so, converse in small talk with their customers, but Calliope hadn’t been expecting this girl to somehow remember her. And they had never spoken before. How odd. Quietly, the metamorphmagi’s colour shifting eyes watched as the girl scooped up the ice cream, a faint scream coming from it — as usual before the cup was slid across the counter. Cal hadn’t prepared her wallet to pull out the right change to pay but the girl was being…generous today, stating that the ice cream was on her.

The question though. It left the Fleming dumbfounded for reasons she couldn’t even piece together. Yes, of course she was a metamorphmagus, her hair had bloody shifted from blonde to pink in seconds, but why was Cal hesitating to even respond? Her hand reached out, fingers brushing against the girls before she lifted it, an uneasy smile on her lips. ”Uhh…No.” She began, but then began to process how stupid she sounded. ”Yes? Kind of?” Ah fuck, here came the rush of embarrassment. The blonde streaks that remained on the Fleming’s head was instantly replaced with the flush of pink and soon enough, her hair: roots to ends was covered in the pastel like colour. ”Y-You have a sister! T-That’s cool.” Why on Merlin’s grave was she stuttering? And was she gonna thank the poor girl for the free ice cream anytime soon?

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NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[cara june bainbridge]

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No, she wasn’t a metamorphmagus? Cara was confused, because unless there was some new hair product on the market that could also make your hair color change with emotions, she was almost certain this girl was one. And even if it was that, how could she explain the eye color change too? The Bainbridge girl was honed in on her customer now, watching for any little change like the hawk she was. She didn’t relish being wrong, and this was something that she was absolutely, positively certain that she was correct about. And then the girl said she was kind of a metamorphmagus, which didn’t make sense at all. As far as Cara knew, this was one of those things that was all or nothing. Not like veelas or vampires, where they could have all sorts of percentages and potential inherited traits. She had seen plenty of those kids during her years at Hogwarts. Metamorphmagi were always whole power users, nothing more, nothing less. Diana had shown her the full gambit with what could be done with it too, so she knew better than anyone else.

By this point, the girl had taken her ice cream and was bumbling on about how it was cool that Cara had a sister. She was certainly the nervous type, which explained the hair color change. Maybe it had been wrong of her to call out the girl’s usual ice cream choices? Being presumptuous was a common trait in the Bainbridge, but this time she had sort of thought it would be a nice conversation starter. And the same could be said about asking about the power. “Five sisters, actually, but the metamorphmagi is my twin so I’ve seen it a lot more than the normal witch or wizard I’d hazard.” Cara cracked her a smile as she closed out the purchase with her own account, internally feeling the weight of less money on her next paycheck. It was worth it once in a while. Biting down on her lower lip, she continued, “Sorry if I freaked you out by knowing your usual. I’ve noticed you’re here often so thought it would be a safe bet that you’d go for one of them…”

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[calliope ivory fleming]

the rush of wind and falling leaves.

WAS SHE SCREWING THIS UP already? She hadn’t uttered more than fifteen words to the poor girl and now she looked confused. Merlin! Why was it always the pretty ones that racked her mind? To anyone with functioning eyes and a brain, would be able to tell that Calliope was a metamorphmagus, one that expressed their emotions fairly easily at that rate as well. She just couldn’t explain why she had told the girl no. It wasn’t as if she would understand the shifting colours that her mess of hair or eyes went through. Unless someone…did their research or something. Calliope swallowed in this moment, throat dry yet again, but with the ice cream finally in her hands, she could take the time to process things and blame the wait on eating! Brilliant.

Lifting a small scoop of the ice cream to her lips, Cal’s eyes widened at the girls revelation of how many sisters she had. And that she was a twin..? Holy Hell. It wasn’t that much of a surprise considering Calliope was the second child out of four but still. Five sisters seemed to be a lot. The Fleming had always pictured her life as if she had a twin. Completely and utterly chaotic, Eli would definitely hate her then. ”If she wasn’t a metamorphmagus I bet it would be…Hard to tell the two of you apart…” No shit Sherlock. Digging for scraps in order to keep up a conversation could now be included in Calliope’s top ten things she would do while nervous. ”O-Oh.” The Fleming felt relief hearing that, the bright pink in her hair dulling out and even some strands turning to a deep violet. How considerate. ”No…Not at all. It’s quite…comforting actually. Somewhat gives me less time to panic on what flavour to pick.”

cara june bainbridge

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[cara june bainbridge]

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The girl brought up a very interesting point: if Diana wasn’t a metamorphmagi, what would she actually look like? Diana had always played around with her image, and the one she had settled on before entering Hogwarts had pretty much stayed the same all the way through. There were definitely times where people could tell they were twins, but more often than not Diana had something going on with her appearance that made her markedly different from Cara and the rest of the Bainbridges. Personally, Cara liked being separate from Diana – it allowed both of them to do what they wanted. She wasn’t as book smart as her sister was and her aspirations were certainly in the complete opposite direction of Diana’s, but those were the unique features she wanted to have. All of her siblings had some special thing about them, so one of them had to be normal. So she was the normal Bainbridge. No amazing skills or magical abilities that were out of the norm. Just a plain old witch. Even her writing ‘skill’ wasn’t anything special.

“Maybe? I think anyone would be able to tell we’re sisters, but we’re certainly not identical when she looks like her normal self.” Speaking of, her curiosity was piqued about the girl in front of her. Obviously Cara had seen the pink hair before, but was this what she looked like unchanged? From how Diana had explained it, even the littlest detail could be changed, like a freckle in an odd place, or if one finger was slightly longer than the rest. At the same time, her sister had said it would be rather vain to become the perfect version of yourself. Cara didn’t really see anything wrong with that though, but she had been called vain by plenty of people over the years.

The color of the girl’s hair had continued to turn as they talked, from the pink Cara had seen plenty of times before, to a darker, almost purple color. “That’s a new shade, I think,” Cara pointed out as she leaned forward on the counter to get a better look at it. “But yeah, I understand what you mean when it comes to choosing. Tuesdays are the worst. When they have all their test flavors out? The only reason I work those is so I can have Wednesdays off.” That and nobody wanted ice cream the day after having their taste buds assaulted by every flavor known to mankind. And she certainly didn’t want to be anywhere near the clean-up the next morning.

calliope ivory fleming ● 427 ● Lie Alone by Blanco White

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[calliope ivory fleming]

the rush of wind and falling leaves.

CALLIOPE PERKED AN EYEBROW UP in interest then. She hadn’t really seen twins that weren’t identical before, and instead was mainly lucky to see many twins that looked exactly like one another, even if the twins at hand didn’t see it themselves. ”I still think you would be the cuter one…” It was an absent-minded comment and luckily Calliope was somewhat mumbling (from how attractive Cara was after all).

She pointed out the colour change in her hair and Calliope couldn’t help but blush a faint pink shade across her cheeks. Explaining the different colours in regards to the Fleming’s emotions would take hours for sure, but explaining a few at a time…She didn’t mind the idea at all. ”Y-Yeah..! A rare one…It’s when I feel…genuinely calm and happy…” Cal’s free hand soon ran through the strands, looking at the deep shade with a small smile on her lips.

”That’s…A smart move actually. I envy your smartness.” Cal had some more of her ice cream then, smiling over at her. ”But why Tuesdays of all days? Wouldn’t Thursdays or Friday’s be…a better day for test flavours? More customers then no?”

cara june bainbridge

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[cara june bainbridge]

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Cara was absolutely positive that she had misheard the girl amidst her mumbling. There was no way she had just said that she was the cuter one of the twin Bainbridges. A thought like that was unreasonable, and most certainly because the girl on the other side of the counter was talking quietly, despite being the store being empty aside from the two of them. Still, Cara felt her pulse quicken and she leaned away from the counter, clearing her throat as a way to fight back the sudden appearance of the nervous knot in it.

At the same time, Cara wasn’t stupid. The rapidly changing colors of the girl’s hair and the mumbling were like pieces of a puzzle - and she just placed them together to complete it. She had been like this before, and probably wouldn’t have picked up on it so fast otherwise. Cara suddenly felt embarrassed herself, now aware that everything she had been saying or doing could definitely come across as flirtatious. The fact that she knew the girl’s favorite flavors of ice cream without ever having served her before certainly seemed like she had been paying attention over the last few months (which she did with regular customers!). And maybe she had been because she noticed the girl was a metamorphmagi. And that made her infinitely more interesting to Cara…because reasons.

The compliments were adding up, because the girl had moved onto how it was smart to work the busier day in order to get the next off. “Tuesdays because they tend to be the slowest in the food industry, supposedly. So this counters that issue every week,” Cara repeated verbatim what Vas had told her a few months earlier about the reasoning behind Taste Test Tuesdays. It was more than just for the catchiness and alliteration.

“I’m Cara, by the way,” she said, extending a hand across the counter. “I know my name tag already says that, but then we won’t be strangers anymore when you come by.”

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[calliope ivory fleming]

the rush of wind and falling leaves.

CALLIOPE CLEARED HER THROAT AND truly prayed to Merlin that Cara hadn’t heard her mumbles. She had a habit of doing that and an even worser habit of changing the topic so sudden, especially when the Fleming was drunk. Dear Merlin. Calliope raised a brow at her next point though. ”Tuesdays tend to be the slowest in all food places? So not just for you guys?…” Odd but interesting. Cal liked it.

But what the Fleming wasn’t expecting was the girls hand extended nor Cal’s own cheeks to go bright red. Curses, she hated the pretty girls (no she didn’t). Raising her own hand and gently shaking Cara’s, Cal forced a smile on her lips. ”Yeah…” Not being strangers sounded nice. ”I’m…Calliope…But everyone calls me Cal…” She was still shaking the poor girls hand. What a love-struck fool.

cara june bainbridge

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[cara june bainbridge]

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“Supposedly,” Cara shrugged, not actually knowing why Tuesdays specifically were slow days. They certainly weren’t around lunchtime at Fortescue’s. It was usually absolute pandemonium once the popular flavors slipped out into the public forums. Cara assumed it was only going to become crazier as the summer months arrived and the students were back home. When she had started back around the holidays, it was hectic. And that was in the middle of winter. Throw a dash of sunshine and warm weather into that mix, and she would no longer have slow, boring evening shifts like this. Thinking about it further, she made a mental note to ask about what it was like during the summer. Because this was only supposed to be her part-time job until she figured out the whole writing thing. Which definitely wasn’t happening as much as it should have been right now.

Upon extending her hand out, she realized that maybe that would be too much for the other girl. The sudden flush of red in her cheeks as she shook Cara’s hand gently said more than words would ever. “Cal is short and sweet. Loads easier than calling you Cookies n Scream girl forever,” Cara let out a small laugh. Unfortunately that was how she and the other employees identified most of their regular customers that were otherwise nameless. When they deviated from their usual orders, it was typically a cause for concern or time to get to know them better. Apparently with Cal, that was changing her hair color. “So, if I had to guess, you either work in Diagon or live nearby, right? I know our ice cream is good, but I wouldn’t go completely out of my way as often as you do just to get it…” And definitely not for Cookies n Scream. Not knocking Cal for her choice in flavor, but it was always available. Trying out the seasonal (or even weekly) flavors would make sense for the amount that she showed up for, but not such a normal one.

calliope ivory fleming ● 340 ● Deep End by Holly Humberstone

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[calliope ivory fleming]

the rush of wind and falling leaves.

WHY DID ONE WORD HAVE such an impact on the poor Metamorphmagus’ heart? Cara’s tone, the shrug and the small scrunch of her facial features as she did so pulled at Calliope’s heart-strings. Merlin, did she have a terrible crush on the mere ice cream girl. ”How odd…” She muttered, rather intrigued in both Cara and why businesses weren’t as popular on a normal day like Tuesday. Shaking Cara’s hand was enough to prove Cal’s head was in the clouds, her eyes clouded as she looked at Cara all love-struck the same way a cat was swoon for fish or treats. Calliope laughed softly with Cara’s joke, finding it more funny than usual considering how whipped the Fleming was for the girl. ”I wouldn’t of…minded that either.” What could Cal say? For a complex person with a vibrant personality and the ability to change her appearance? She had a simple taste.

With a small hum, Cal began to nod, looking down before up at Cara once more. ”A little bit of both I guess…I work at St Mungos. Hospital but live not too far from here…So getting ice cream is just a daily thing for me before I have to snap back into reality I suppose…” Plus. Cal got to see the pretty girl. The pretty girl whose name she now officially knows. ”You could always just…recommend me a different flavour each time I pass by..Depending or not if you’re in I suppose..”

cara june bainbridge

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[cara june bainbridge]

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A hospital worker! Cara hadn’t exactly pegged her new friend as working at St. Mungo’s, but she also realized she didn’t really know anyone that worked there yet. There was probably someone that she graduated with that did by now, though she really didn’t follow up with anyone from school anymore. Usually they just looked at her funny when they came in to buy ice cream. She understood that completely. The bossy Ravenclaw turned ice cream girl. Karma had come screaming at her with a vengeance after graduation, and Cara totally deserved it.

“I’ve heard the hospital is a pretty decent place to work,” she said rather lamely, unsure of how to follow up to Cal’s statement. Cara knew nothing about healing spells, nor had the ambition to be a mediwitch. That took too much caring, and she really little of that to spread around to sick and injured strangers. It gave her unwanted flashbacks of her sisters sniveling and crying all the time, and dealing with them was hard enough as it was.

Cal went on to explain that ice cream was how she wound down every day, and Cara nodded her head that she understood. There were probably healthier choices out there, like drinking tea or exercising, but everyone needed their vices. And there were definitely patrons of Fortescue’s that were at the store more than once per day. The true regulars really had an issue with eating ice cream, and Cal was far from getting to that point. “I think I could do that…” Recommending the normal flavors was easy, she knew which ones sold best and had tried a few of them. But the flavors that changed daily depending on which Fortescue was managing that day? Cara usually strayed far from those ones, afraid they’d turn her off of the frozen treat forever. She could only go by sales throughout the day to be able to accurately recommend something to Cal. “How about I give you my number, that way when I’m in I can let you know which ones I think you should try? I’ll be able to give you the daily line-up so you can give it the whole day to decide on what you want.” That seemed fair enough to her, and she pulled out her phone from her back pocket and placed it on the counter between them.

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