forgotten | nova

[octavian archimedes vector jr.]

When the paper's crumpled up

it can't be perfect again

January 4th, 2026
nova hypatia vector

It was chilly, but that was to be expected of a January day. Archie had finished up his preparation for the Spring term, his lesson notes all put neatly for each respective year of students. However, the notes specific to OWL and NEWT level coursework were in a different folder. Everything was ready and slightly ahead of schedule, just as Archie preferred it to be. His almost five years as a Professor had taught him that not everything would ever go exactly to plan as unexpected events occurred, so he did have notes for deviations from the plan. It was one of the more important things he picked up from Cursebreaking. Archie shoved his hands in his jacket pocket. The cold used to never be a problem for him until he started traveling to warmer climates in his youth. As he pushed open the door of his family’s shop—he knew his Aunt Decima would note that Hogwarts was not feeding him well enough, and he could stand to gain a few pounds. Perhaps then he would not be so cold.

The bell sounded over his head, followed by the sound of the door closing behind him, but he didn’t spot anyone right away. The smell of baking hit his nostrils, and a warm feeling came over him, letting him know he was home. Usually, his Aunt was in the front or his sister, depending on who was baking these days, but his Aunt was getting on in years. ”Nova? Aunt Decima?” Archie called out, waiting a few moments before bending over slightly in front of the charmed glass display to the familiar list of items the shop baked and sold. He noted a few new items, probably something that had been developed over the past term. He tried to visit on the weekend or when the students were in the village with his work, but teaching classes kept him busier than even when he was working at the Museum sometimes. Archie’s mind wandered to pie, his favorite was…well, he didn’t have a singular favorite, and at the moment, he was hungry enough for a slice of all of them.

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Finally a break. Hectic holidays. That was what she had always called December. Even though there were less walk-in customers at the start of the month, the orders for specific pies and pastries piled in. Literally. The amount of letters with specifics and people stopping by to have things done by certain dates was unreal, as usual. Thank Merlin she and her aunt had magic, because they were producing enough baked goods to make entire muggle factories look like nothing. She was sure that part of it was due to their unique nature and family ability – and decades of committed work in the shopping district. The lead up to Christmas (and day of) was a nightmare as per usual, and then all the parties that followed until the start of the New Year left very little time to breathe. Her wand hand still hurt from the amount of charms she had cast over the last few weeks, and her aunt had left early for her start of the year vacation already.

Nova didn’t blame her at all. Once she got back, it was her own turn to rest, and then get prepped for Valentine’s Day. That was its own beast entirely. Damn Blishwick was always ordering exorbitant amounts of heart shaped cookies. Her aunt once said that if he spent less time picking out his wardrobe every morning and put it into learning how to bake, he would probably be able to make them on his own at this point. He was the gaudy sort, but also their neighbor, so they always slapped on smiles and went about their work as per usual.

She decided today, for the sake of her wand hand, to bake like normal – no magic. The Sunday morning rush was already gone, and families weren’t really coming in now because they were busy with their children before heading back to Hogwarts. Nova was perched on a stool in the kitchen doorway so that she could hear the front door if someone came in, head leaning back against the cool tiled wall, her eyes closed. The bell alerted her of someone entering, and she was about to stand up when she heard her brother’s voice call out. That was a relief. “Kitchen!” she called back, eyes still snapped shut. She had a couple more seconds of rest until Archie wandered in.

octavian archimedes vector jr. ● 394 ● Tarnished Legacy by Beneath the Massacre

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[octavian archimedes vector jr.]

When the paper's crumpled up

it can't be perfect again

January 4th, 2026
nova hypatia vector

It was quiet in the shop, but it was usually like this in the post-holiday season. Plus, Archie had read the paper and their vague updates on some island that had appeared, the part of him that missed being a Cursebreaker was immensely curious. So, instead, Archie had sat down and tried to find some significance to this island's appearance and the numbers surrounding the event. New Year’s Eve of the year twenty twenty-five…but so far, he hadn’t found anything. So, there were obvious gaps in his attempt to understand the island, but with the Spring term beginning that week, he didn’t have time to research it further. It would make sense that the shop was a bit empty, as was his walk over from Diagon Alley. There were plenty of students with their families but still less of the usual crowd. From what the paper had indicated, Ministry employes and Cursebreakers and all sorts were swarming this event.

Archie heard his sister’s voice come from the back, but she didn’t come up to the front. Glancing once more at the display, he stood up and walked around the counter he had stood behind as a boy. Walking a short distance, he spotted his sister’s blonde hair, but it seemed her eyes were closed. ”Did Blishwick put in his order already? Every year he orders earlier and earlier.” Archie remarked, remembering his Aunt commenting on it and, of course, when he would help her as a boy. Baking, however, had never been a skill that he had excelled at as Nova or his Aunt did. Perhaps just another similarity to his late father that he didn’t care to share. Aside from his name, he was happy not to have anything in common with the man who’s only contribution to Archie’s livelihood was existing long enough to conceive him. But, he was long gone now from all of their lives. From what Archie could tell at his post at Hogwarts, the triplets were the most affected, while even the twins hardly had the same attachment. ”Tired?” He asked. It was an obvious question, but as the sole sibling he was close to he wanted to know how she was doing.

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Timing the sound of Archie’s footsteps as he came around the front display and towards the kitchen was fairly easy to do – she knew every inch of the bakery as if it was an extension of her own person. That was necessary on days like today where she was the only one working. In this instance, it was more so that she knew when her break was finally over. Her eyes flicked open as he brother asked about Blishwick. That alone was enough to give her a headache. “Sort of. He sent an owl over with one of his fliers for his Valentine’s special,” she groaned while straightening up on the stool. “I can only assume that’s his way of warning us about the impending order.” Every year varied, though eventually he’d come strolling into the bakery with his gaudy cane and flamboyant suit. For him, the entire month was treated as a business special and the Vectors were simply part of his advertising campaign. Not that Nova particularly disliked the buzz it generated in the long run, but it was certainly a pain to have to shut down the shop in order to bake everything that the matchmaker requested.

Archie asked if she was tired and she nodded her head slowly. Baking by hand, as exciting as it was, and different from her norm, was exhausting and time consuming. The advantage of magic often made her forget what doing things the regular way was like, but it was also reassuring that she didn’t solely need the assistance of her wand. “Once Decima is back and Blishwick is taken care of, I’m taking a real vacation,” she sighed. Especially now that they were allowed to leave the country again. The lockdown ending lined up with the fall term of Hogwarts and then the holidays soon after, and it had become almost non-stop since then. “Do you have to be back for the start of term feast this year?” she asked, finally starting to get up from her seat. There was still some work to be done, mostly cleaning, but that could be expedited with a few swishes of her wand.

octavian archimedes vector jr. ● 360 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[octavian archimedes vector jr.]

When the paper's crumpled up

it can't be perfect again

January 4th, 2026
nova hypatia vector

Even though this was a shop, a place of business—but to Archie, he knew he could walk around with his eyes closed and not even bump into a corner. It even smelled the same as the first time he’d been brought here at the age of five. It smelled like home. Archie nodded. He remembered before he’d gone off to school and helping his Aunt with what he could when the season arrived. Unfortunately, he had not been blessed with any great cooking or baking ability, so his work was relegated to manual labor and cleaning. This included operating the front counter when he was much older and free for the summer. Nova’s reaction was noted. She looked she’d been working all day, and with their Aunt taking a vacation, that was likely the case. It wasn’t that Decima was too old or slowing down by any means, but there was the occasional comment about her knees or her back, and he was glad Nova was around to help her. It did make him wonder if any other of their various half-siblings had inherited the skill, but he’d also never bothered to ask.

”Blishwick never slows down, does he?” And he expected anyone that was in his business somehow to also keep up. Nova answered that she was due for a vacation once their Aunt was back and Blishwick’s order taken care of. ”Going somewhere fun?” Archie’s interest peaked. If only because his Cursebreaking day shad let him travel quite a bit during those four years before he left to work at the Museum. Even then, he had been able to travel but with much less risk involved. ”Costa Rica is nice and warm this time of year.” It was a small country and had better weather than the current cold of England. Nova asked Archie if he had to be back for the feast, typically the beginning of the fall term was the more important one, but he knew that this time was different. ”I usually don’t attend the start of spring term feast, but I hear we have new Professors.” It was the rumor he’d heard but not one that he had bothered to confirm yet. ”They’ve finally found someone to fill the Muggle Studies post.” Unfortunately, the last holder of said post had passed away in the Quidditch Final accident, and it had been vacant since. Still, he’d heard a name but wasn’t sure how true such a rumor could be.

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Blishwick was like a kid in a candy store that needed to pop an Adderall or two to get himself back on track. Somehow people didn’t find him absolutely insufferable to deal with, and she supposed that was part of the charm that he tended to put on. Especially with the crowd he catered to; the rich and elite. In a different lifetime where her father wasn’t dead but still an asshole, and the Vector name still had something to it aside from the bakery and a professor at Hogwarts, she was sure that she and her siblings would have eventually been pushed into a Blishwick arrangement. It made way too much sense to do, and it would honestly remove a lot of the problems that came with dating. Her relationship was with her kitchen, which had sadly sucked up semblance of her social life since graduating from school. Constant work and few breaks, even with her aunt trying to scale back the amount of time she spent working.

Having the option for a vacation almost felt like a tease now that it was almost within her reach. Archie brought up Costa Rica – in which any warm location sounded great to her – but that was a tad too far for her liking. Realistically, she wanted to go around Europe since that notion had been nixed the previous summer. “I think Belgium or Germany…I really want to see a proper chocolatier. That’s the only area I’m still not confident in.” Mostly because they were a bakery, not a chocolate shop. Magic made marvels, but there still needed to be a guiding hand behind the wand. If she wasn’t absolutely positive in her skills it was bound to not turn out well.

Good old muggle studies. Nova remembered taking it for a few years before realizing that it was about a fifty-fifty on the accuracy of information that was being given out. She was sure that all depended on the professor though. If she had her own way, it would all be home economics based and surrounding cooking. Food was the best way to understand muggle culture, especially for the uninitiated. “Seems like Hogwarts enjoys going through professors these days. Maybe it’ll be another ex-Cursebreaker so you can share war stories with them,” Nova joked, moving her stand into a lengthy overhead stretch. Her short break was enough for the stiffness to settle in.

octavian archimedes vector jr. ● 402 ● The American Nightmare by Ice Nine Kills

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[octavian archimedes vector jr.]

When the paper's crumpled up

it can't be perfect again

January 4th, 2026
nova hypatia vector

Archie did not miss those days when he wasn’t old enough to attend Hogwarts but old enough to help with non-baking tasks around the kitchen. This included cleaning, sweeping, and things of that nature, and all done by hand since he wasn’t yet old enough to use magic. Sure he had his bad days as a kid, and his magic had manifested young, and flour would cover all the countertops after a disappointing day with his father. But, that happened less when he got older and learned to not have such high expectations. Still, they were always there, but it seemed pointless to hold onto them after their dad died. Nova had the bulk of the work in the kitchen now, and while Archie was proud of his little sister, he did not envy the work and the hours.

Somedays, he missed his job at the museum. It was a lot more peaceful than teaching but also a lot slower. Somedays, he missed working for the bank, but he remembered how close to death one ended up so often. Thankfully, she would get a break soon though they had different ideas for a vacation. ”Belgium is nice. I’ve passed through there a time or two.” There were various museums around the country, and Archie had visited a few to deal with cursed paintings and items from muggle wars a century ago. Plus, it was common knowledge that Belgium was known for its chocolate. ”There’s a large museum in Antwerp you would enjoy.” The museum was literally called ‘Chocolate Nation’ and likely something Nova would enjoy.

Archie could only shake his head and shrug. There was a high turnover rate for Professors, which was interesting considering the age of the staff when he’d been a first year. It seemed they had been there a century unless that was merely his perspective as an eleven-year-old. ”I’d be more confident if they were filling the Ancient Runes post rather than Muggle Studies.” There was a rotation of substitutes and volunteers teaching that course. Archie happily did from time to time, and since more Cursebreakers joined the staff, that meant more volunteers. ”Then again, I suppose we have become the final resting place of retired Cursebreakers, haven’t we?” He said with a chuckle.

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Oh she knew exactly what museum Archie was talking about. She had even done a virtual tour of it because when she had planned to go fell directly in the middle of the lockdown. That was only a visual experience though, and she really wanted to have the whole thing. And then maybe even find a chocolatier that would be willing to give her a lesson or two. That became slightly more difficult because she couldn’t give away where she currently worked unless the other person ended up being of magic origin too. Now, one could argue that she could pop on over to Honeydukes and have them give her the grand tour, but that seemed too easy. She wanted to real deal and to see how the muggles did it. Wavering her wand around to get past the lengthier steps was like cheating, even if it did produce a higher quality product. “I know…” she sighed at the museum comment. “Like I said, only a few more weeks and I’ll be free to do whatever.” Maybe. There was no telling if someone would blast her with a big order in late February for mid-March, and then she would have to nix any plans to escape. Decima would be fine on her own, but Nova still felt like she had to prove herself even though she really didn’t.

“Now that you mention it, that’s a bit of a strange position to take up.” Unless they were specifically trying to put a muggle history spin on it? She could see that working out fairly well for certain sections of the class. Personally she felt like she never got anything out of the class, specifically the sections that focused on lifestyle and cooking. She wanted muggle knowledge, not how to cook a meal or how muggles drove cars. While that was a bit on the extreme end of some of the lessons she had been subjected to, the fact remained that there were better things that could be taught in the class. “In terms of life experience, your lot definitely has the most. You’re world travelers, explorers, and pretty decent with magic. I think it makes sense.”

octavian archimedes vector jr. ● 365 ● Abigail by Motionless In White

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[octavian archimedes vector jr.]

When the paper's crumpled up

it can't be perfect again

January 4th, 2026
nova hypatia vector

Nova seemed absolutely ready for a vacation, and in his mind, she had earned it. While she’d been a pain in his class during his first year teaching, she worked hard. They all did, he supposed. Like there was some Vector inner drive that knew that results would gain them some sort of recognition—even if it was too late to receive it from the one they wanted. At least for Archie, he strived to do his best for his Aunt. She was a kind and sweet woman who worked hard and took on a responsibility that she never had to. She raised her niece and nephew as her own. Archie grinned. ”Well, when you do return, you should stop by the village on the weekend and tell me all about it.” Perhaps not a Hogsmeade weekend as the village was filled with students tripping over one another to reach Honeydukes or The Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer, but he could usually escape on the weekends.

His sister had a point, and Archie thought about it a moment. Cursebreakers required identical academic scores as an Auror trainee candidate. The difference was how the magic was used. Aurors required much attack and defensive magic—dueling while in his mind Cursebreakers required patience for puzzles though both careers would require observation and thinking ahead. He shrugged lightly. ”I think we have better stories than anyone that comes from the Ministry.” That part had to be true. Stories of paperwork and chasing down a criminal got old, while Cursebreakers had a different story for every experience.

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Right. Hogsmeade. There had been a point where she dreamed of opening a bakery there, but remembering back to her own time as a student made that all go away. The once a month trips to the wizarding village were enough to drive any business person mad, bar maybe Jimbo Blishwick, who was already fairly crazy in his own right. He had been muttering during their last meeting regarding Valentine’s Day about looking at shop locations in Hogsmeade and she couldn’t imagine what that meant for the town. Drawing children into his weird matchmaking business didn’t seem likely. He had also been asking loads of questions about how it was to run the bakery and what the pros and cons were of it, as if she had any other choice of career. Baking was perfect for her. “You’ll have to let me know which days work. I haven’t looked at the Hogwarts schedule in years…” The mere thought of it made her yawn. It was one thing dealing with the students during the breaks, mostly because there was part of her job. Willingly finding her way to Hogsmeade on a trip day was not her idea of fun unless it involved directly dealing with one of her siblings.

“Mmm that’s true.” Another yawn. “Unless you want to put your class to sleep with something other than numbers. Some of the Ministry workers that come in every morning for coffee are boring old duds.” All they ever talked about were the ‘good old days’ when there was less oversight in their departments or how procedures in dealing with cursed muggle toilets were much more fine-tuned than they were in the eighties. She was happy to just nod her head and hand over their coffees with three pumps of liquid sugar and pastries as long as it meant getting paid and them out of her shop. “I wouldn’t want to hear about how many times you’ve almost died, but I could see how students would over doing math equations,” Nova laughed through a third yawn. She really needed coffee now too.

octavian archimedes vector jr. ● 349 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[octavian archimedes vector jr.]

When the paper's crumpled up

it can't be perfect again

January 4th, 2026
nova hypatia vector

Archie nodded. The schedule for students visiting the village would hardly be the same as when she was in school. More often than not, Archie depended on the charmed board in the staff lounge that held important dates regarding the student schedules. Otherwise, he was mostly on autopilot when it came to his work. Which wasn’t a bad thing, but then he’d wonder why the Castle was so empty on a Saturday and realize they were all down at the village.

A small smile crept onto his face when he mentioned the old Ministry members. That was incredibly true. There existed the rare old Cursebreaker who still recounted his glory days from decades past. They’d stop by the Museum and tell the same story of how they narrowly escaped a Peruvian Vipertooth when they were young. ”There is such thing as over-telling a story.” Archie didn’t have many stories to share as some of his colleagues. ”I trained with our Potions Master. I have a few stories of those days.” Meric had been a year behind him, and they’d seen a lot of work together before Archie left the field.

But Nova had a point. They couldn’t share all of their stories. They simply were too horrible or gruesome of an experience to share with children of that age. No sense in traumatizing them into liking the equations and number theory that he taught. It made him frown slightly. Those were definitely the stories he didn’t tell his family. ”You know I don’t share those stories.” But seeing Nova yawn, he knew she was exhausted and had a lot of work to do. Plus, just then, the bell from the front rang, indicating a customer. ”Well, I’ll let you get back to work. I stop by again soon.” Archie gave his sister a smile and walked out to the front.

[ end archie ]

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Potions had been one of her better subjects in school, and rightfully so. Having to take exact measurements and timing with everything that went into a cauldron was basically like cooking and her skills with that absolutely kicked in. With all the attention on her potions as examples of what perfection looked like had driven her a little crazy during her first few years of school but it got easier when lessons were more complicated and nuanced. Her NEWTs went about as expected though, and she passed with flying colors. The amount of potioneers that had come to her, chomping at the bit to get her to work for them had only finally died down a year ago. She was a baker, not a potion-maker. Scores on a practical exam absolutely did not translate to a professional career and she was more than happy to continue under her aunt’s tutelage for the time being. She enjoyed being at the bakery, even if it left her exhausted like this sometimes. Managing breaks was definitely something to think about going forward, especially once the shop was passed on to her.

Nova had always assumed that the Cursebreaker career had brought out the adventure stories, though had heard different opinions from her brother’s former associates on what was deemed appropriate. There had definitely been a few that wandered in and gave everything out in explicit detail. Not every job was a life or death situation but she had heard enough over the years to know that it happened often enough. “Near death experiences and calculus are basically the same thing for teenagers,” she reasoned with another yawn, knowing that Archie would never actually bring it up in class. It could lead to interesting test questions though, like calculating how much surface area of a poison-tipped punji stick would have to puncture the skin for it to cause life threatening paralysis or instant death.

“Send me the Hogsmeade schedule, alright?” she called after her brother as he went to leave the store. Visiting would do her some good, especially once Decima was back and could handle the weekend morning crowd. Voracious sweet fiends that lot was. And here she thought her special customers were a bit demanding. It made them look like normal walk-ins. Before she could return to the kitchen to check on what she had baking, the bell over the door jingled and she knew it was a customer walking in. A quick exhale and flourish of her wand around her to remove any remaining baking powder or ingredients, Nova put her customer face on and stepped out into the shop. Back to the grind it was.

[THE END]

octavian archimedes vector jr. ● 445 ● Malediction by Shadow of Intent

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