tolerate it | oliveira fam

[mina pandora oliveira]

▲

If looks could kill - and Mina was positive Sarah wasn't a basilisk wearing her sister's skin, as much of a snake she could be - that was easily one of the harshest she'd ever received from the now oldest Oliveira. Obviously that wasn't the smartest thing to say in front of Evy either, but it was said and done with. The look on the younger girl's face told Mina that she screwed up there. The thought of Sarah conveniently being the one to find Evy amidst the fiendfyre flames definitely hadn't sat well with her since she heard the news. Not because Mina felt like it should have been her at the school trying to find her younger sister, but because it just smelled wrong. It didn't matter that Sarah's supposed job put her right in the middle of it. So did Callisto's.

Unfortunately nothing she said now was going to matter, because she just made an accusation of the highest kind. Wriggling her way out of it and playing dumb was her only shot of keeping on Evy's good side. At least she was good at that. "Weren't most of the Purifiers ex-cons? I don't know, just figured they probably tried recruiting people that were in Azkaban," Mina mused as she slid off the couch. Her dog followed at her heels, nudging up at Mina's hand as she lifted them to stretch above her head. "I need a drink." And to go for a smoke. Removing herself briefly would probably lower the tension a bit, maybe even buy time until their parents got home. Then she could use them as a distraction for the rest of the night. "Want anything while I'm up?" she asked her sisters, idling near the entrance to the kitchen. Once she had that drink, maybe she'd take all the dogs out into the yard. They liked playing with her because she'd let them play fetch for hours.

evelyn rhea oliveira & sarah jane oliveira ● 324 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[evelyn rhea oliveira]

While you were out
building other worlds

where was I?

December 23, 2026
sarah jane oliveira
mina pandora oliveira

Evelyn was never known as one that was quick to anger. While stubborn in her own right, she mainly kept calm and preferred to watch what happened. But Mina’s accusation brought up emotions that lay dormant. But what Evy couldn’t separate were the feelings of protectiveness for her family and those attached to her experiences that day. Sarah spoke up quickly to calm Evy, and Evy didn’t say anything further. Callisto and her know-it-all attitude usually passed judgment on the rest of them. Sarah had always been the easy target in the family, and the events of the past years only complicated that further.

Evelyn still didn’t speak as Mina explained her logic. If Evy had been calm she might have wondered the same thing. But that just wasn’t possible, was it? ”No…” She mumbled as she squeezed herself back into the corner of the couch. She was tired of remembering that fire and smoke and helpless feeling. There was no way that Sarah would have put her in danger right. After a moment she shook herself from her thoughts. ”The paper said she was dead—that Elaine was dead.” Evy spoke. She had read the article herself in the weeks after everything. ”And they caught more of them.” It was less of a question and just speaking out loud to comfort herself. Pausing again, she let out a slow breath before her eyes finally moved from the floor to Mina. ”Actually, some wine before Callisto and Mum drink it all.”

template by vee

[sarah jane oliveira]

December 23, 2026

The abysmal mood that had taken over the room wasn't even her fault, Sarah knew; it was all Mina's. Her bringing up Azkaban was obviously making Evelyn squirm, and it was the sort of thing that Sarah wished she could respond to as she wanted to, rather than how she had to behave. Sarah was glad that Mina chose that moment to excuse herself, lest she do or say something that would have Evelyn looking at her as a monster. She had to keep her youngest sister under her thumb, and Mina was risking the success of that.

With Evelyn requesting wine from Mina, Sarah almost laughed. Since when had she become the relatively sober one in the family? "I'm alright. Thanks," she called. Given the opportunity, she'd gladly take some wine, too, but not without testing it for poison first if Mina were the one serving it to her.

"I don't know what her bloody problem is," Sarah grumbled to Evelyn once Mina had left. In truth, she knew, but she couldn't let her precious little Evy know that. "Hopefully things aren't completely rubbish at Beauxbatons?"

mina pandora oliveira
evelyn rhea oliveira

[mina pandora oliveira]

▲

The look on Evy's face told Mina that she'd screwed up in saying what she said. But she disliked the weird worshipping of Sarah. There was nothing good about her. At all. Hell, she had probably spent more time raising Sebastian than his own mother had so far. Mina shouldn't have been raising any children! The fact that they were all cool with it (except Sarah) said a lot right there. She kept her mouth zipped about that though. Sebastian didn't deserve it at all, and was merely a victim of his mother's poor decisions. Evy, on the other hand, was different. There was nothing that Sarah had done in her life that was admirable, aside from popping out Sebastian, and that was a cold, hard fact. Getting kicked out of school for an assault, killing Dakoda, ending up in Azkaban. The list was literally endless, and she really didn't want to know what else her older sister had done. Mina knew she wasn't the definition of exemplary behavior either, but at least she kept her illegal dealings solely to drugs and public intoxication. And that right there was what frustrates her the most. Why she was trying to be buddy-buddy with Evy now that the Hogwarts incident had happened. Somewhere in there, she thought she could prove that she was better than Sarah and should be trusted more. But she also may have just dashed any hope of that with her idiotic comment.

"Wine it is!" she cheered, though the grin on her face disappeared the second her back was to the living room. Taking her time to get two glasses and pop a bottle of the cheaper stuff open, she didn't want to hear whatever was being said in the other room. Titania was dancing around the water bowls that were left out for the dogs, apparently looking to have it filled with new water despite the fact that it looked fresh still. Doing that, the sound of the bowl touching the kitchen linoleum alerted the family dogs and they shoved their way into the kitchen to get a drink as well. They were appreciative of the things she did for them at least.

evelyn rhea oliveira & sarah jane oliveira ● 366 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[evelyn rhea oliveira]

While you were out
building other worlds

where was I?

December 23, 2026
sarah jane oliveira
mina pandora oliveira

It was too much to ask for some harmony and peace and quiet. Things that Evy hadn’t known for much of her life. A house full of five children of various ages, personalities, and energy levels meant quiet was a pipe dream, and sisters at each other’s throats meant there was never harmony. She’d watched it all from a distance or from the top of the stairs where nobody could see her big gray eyes peering through the railing. It only seemed to worsen with time, though sometimes Evy actually forgot until they were all in the same room.

Mina left the room after Evy requested some wine, and after a moment, she picked up her phone again. Her arm lay over the armrest as the charging cable was not long enough where she could curl up as she had been before. But she looked up when Sarah spoke again. Evy gave a light shrug. She didn’t want to talk about it. Rather than respond to the question about school, Evy gave out a dramatic sigh at first. ”I don’t know anyone there except a couple of people.” She began. ”Everyone’s gone and graduated or dropped out and joined a Professional Quidditch Team.” A hint of bitterness entered her voice as Luna had left her behind. Evy had had only had a couple of chances to visit her in Belfast. ”Or they transferred to Ilvermorny.” It wasn’t great, but at least less than half a year was left there.

Looking back at her phone, she responded to some messages before locking it again and placing it back on the side table. ”I miss being able to see you and Mina on weekends.” At least when they were permitted to visit Hogsmeade.

template by vee

[sarah jane oliveira]

December 23, 2026

Beauxbatons wasn't all it was cracked up to be, apparently, because Evelyn heaved a sigh before responding to her question about how things were going over there. She said that she didn't know anyone except for "a couple of people" because everyone had either graduated or dropped out of school to play Quidditch professionally. (Sarah wasn't a Quidditch player, but she couldn't blame whoever had gone and done that.) "Or they transferred to Ilvermorny."

Why so many people had sent their children across the pond if they hadn't started off as Ilvermorny students to begin with was sort of puzzling for Sarah, but she guessed that Ilvermorny was more similar to Hogwarts than even Beauxbatons or Durmstrang. Especially after everything with Elaine, she wasn't sure that many families would be too inclined to have their offspring pick up the Dark Arts unless they were already into that. If Sebastian were ten years older, Sarah thought, that probably would have been her decision. Better than his going to the States.

Surprisingly, Evelyn also brought up that she missed being able to see her and Mina on the weekends. Sarah understood missing Hogsmeade weekends, but she was more shocked that Evelyn had mentioned her specifically. She wasn't going to question it, though, and ruin a good thing while she had it.

"I work for f*cking Magical Interpol," Sarah reminded Evelyn with a grin that flashed the smiley piercing that hung down just before her front teeth. Working as part of an international organization had its perks, including when it came to becoming the favorite sibling. She lowered her voice so that Mina wouldn't be able to hear that she was scheming and glanced in the direction in which she'd gone before looking back at Evelyn. "If you want an excuse for me to come to France so you can skive off, Evy, just tell me."

mina pandora oliveira
evelyn rhea oliveira

[mina pandora oliveira]

▲

Catching the tail end of Sarah reminding all of them that she worked for Interpol made Mina roll her eyes hard from the edge of the kitchen. Neither of them would have caught the look, as Sarah had her back turned and Evy was staring at her phone again. Literally no one in the family cared that she worked for Interpol except Sarah. No one. Some of the things that had come out of Callisto's mouth when that news broke has been horrid, and Mina was almost positive that she had started a petition to send to the department. In the hopes of getting their sister booted. That hadn't happened yet because someone was good at placating higher-ups despite being a murderer. Apparently that was all one had to do to get the good jobs these days. Kill a sibling and pretend it was an accident. Mina refused to look into the reasoning Sarah had officially given because it was only going to upset her more.

Taking a deep breath at the edge of the kitchen to remind herself that she wasn't here to be a wet blanket about Sarah's horrid criminal history that they all seemed to have forgotten about, Mina plastered her stupid smile back on and stepped into the living room again. The wine bottle was dangled above her head as she moved back towards the couch, beaten there by the dogs flying out of the kitchen after her, and all jumping at the open spots. Brand new water apparently gave them the zoomies. Excellent. "Here you go," she said excitedly as she put the wine glasses down and held the bottle over Evy's. "Tell me when." As she started to pour, a dog snout appeared under the arm that held the bottle, aggressively sniffing it. Of course it was her own dog. Titania had a nose for good wine, just like her owner.

evelyn rhea oliveira & sarah jane oliveira ● 317 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[evelyn rhea oliveira]

While you were out
building other worlds

where was I?

December 23, 2026
sarah jane oliveira
mina pandora oliveira

It wasn’t easy for Evelyn to admit that she was jealous and a little bitter at feeling left behind. It was far easier to act indifferent and detached. To shove down what she felt instead and hope it would just go away. Evy had been doing that for so long it was a natural habit. It was also easier to combine that with whatever distractions she could find. The path of least resistance was her choice. But Sarah was right and had a very valid point. Realization appeared on Evy’s face. Sarah could pretty much travel where she wanted to with those credentials—maybe she could see her more often for the remainder of her time at school. It made Evy feel a little better.

”I suppose they can’t really argue with an Interpol badge, right?” Evy tried to think through the reasons why Beauxbatons would tell Sarah to turn back around and try again later. And as long as their parents didn’t know about it, what was the harm? Evy was passing her classes. While her grades were not outstanding by any means, they were enough for the internships she had thought to apply for. Mina came back in right as she’d finished her question with a glass for her and the dogs all jumped on the couch excitedly around Evy. Her eyes watched the liquid fill up the glass until it was about halfway. ”When.” She spoke so Mina could stop.

”Thanks.” Wine was a funny thing. It didn’t look like it would be an alcoholic drink. It could pass as juice if not for the specific glasses used. Somehow, Evy had not gotten into consuming as much firewhiskey as a few of her dormmates or the older girls, but the holidays with her family were already making her tense. Speaking of—their parents weren’t home yet. ”Mum doesn’t usually take this long when she’s out.”

template by vee

[sarah jane oliveira]

December 23, 2026

The situation that Evelyn had been put in wasn't her fault, and Sarah knew that—in spite of her involvement with Elaine—it wasn't her fault, either. There was nothing that she could have done to keep Elaine Dupree from doing what she had, but she didn't regret her being a Purifier. Maybe she should have, but it had gotten her what she needed to get out of it. Elaine had gotten what she had wanted, too, and Sarah owed nothing more to a dead woman. That made it even easier to slide into Evelyn's life, Magical Interpol badge in hand.

She didn't mind pulling her little sister out of her classes for a day if it made her into the "cool" one. "I suppose they can't really argue with an Interpol badge, right?" Evy asked her.

"No, they can't." Not if she came up with something that was believable enough that someone would buy it and not think to check it, Sarah thought. Besides, there was always some sort of family emergency excuse on the table, though that would require getting around their parents.

Speaking of, neither of them had returned home yet, though Mina had come back with Evelyn's wine. (And Titania seemed ready to try to lick it out of the glass or to knock it on the floor—maybe lick it up off the floor.) With that situated, Evelyn brought up that their mother didn't usually take so long when she was out.

"It's the day before Christmas Eve. If the shops aren't closed already, the queues are probably out the door," Sarah guessed. "And Dad probably got a memo or something on his way out the door." That was typical for the Ministry. She wasn't really worried. Their parents would show up.

mina pandora oliveira
evelyn rhea oliveira

[mina pandora oliveira]

▲

It was amazing how difficult it was to actually pour into a glass whilst sober. Most of the time she just yanked the cork or stopped out and drank straight from the bottle, which typically sent Callisto into a very specific kind of fury. Did backwash really matter between them at this point, They'd been forced to share everything throughout their lives and it wasn't like Mina was spitting back into the bottle after drinking from it. Silly health professionals being paranoid. Mina knew she didn't have anything that her sister needed to be worried about contracting from her. Maybe during the Hag's Fever days but that was essentially over with now.

Stopping when Evy gave her the word, Mina tilted the bottle up just enough that the flow wouldn't fly out when she started pouring into her glass. Splashing was seriously annoying, and she was not giving her dog a chance to lap any spillage up today. While she did this, she listened to the conversation going on quietly. Sarah had gotten it away from her, and the two of them were now discussing their parents. A masterclass at diversion, who now had the tools of the government. That was excellent.

"It'll be lines," she finally spoke up from inside her wine glass. A long sip followed. Checking the label, she realized she'd grabbed the cheap one. It tasted horrid. But wine was wine, and her mum would probably kill her if she popped open one of the higher quality bottles without permission. That was a risk she would be willing to make though, for the sake of her and Evy's tastebuds. "Today and tomorrow are our busiest days aside from the first weekend after Hogwarts letters go out. Usually Flourish & Blotts didn't even have the required school books in stock yet at that point, and it ended up becoming a nightmare. Parents should have known this after a few years but they still tried to shop immediately. This year, she didn't have to worry about the final Christmas scramble. The new employee had that luxury.

evelyn rhea oliveira & sarah jane oliveira ● 348 ● Way Up On The Mountain by Ye Vagabonds

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[evelyn rhea oliveira]

While you were out
building other worlds

where was I?

December 23, 2026
sarah jane oliveira
mina pandora oliveira

Titania seemed to be on a mission to join them in drinks, but fortunately, she backed off the couch when Mina stopped pouring. Sarah confirmed that the school staff wouldn’t dare get in the way of an Interpol badge. Well, at least that was something that could work in Evy’s favor if she needed it. Already thoughts were running through her mind of when this might come in handy. Maybe toward the end of the school year. Their mother wouldn’t be pleased with such behavior. Unlike other families where the youngest child of so many got away with murder—her mother was a hawk, and if her back was turned, Callisto watched in her place.

Unfortunately, long lines were frustrating and not something that magic could easily fix. It was a toss-up on how it would affect her mother’s mood and on the eve of the full moon, no less. Evy sipped the wine, it wasn’t anything special, but she was merely hoping for that numbing effect she sought. Just a distraction from all this. Not that Evy knew anything about wine, at any rate. ”You got lucky this year?” Obviously, Mina wasn’t working. But it didn’t sound appealing to want to work such a public-facing job during such a busy time. It was one of the hesitations she had with a possible internship where she could write—the Prophet. Her application was half-filled out, but Evy doubted herself.

But, there was time to worry about that. Evy didn’t have to be at school till just after the new year. ”When does Sebastian come back? I want to see him before I have to go back.” While Sarah wasn’t the friendliest of the bunch (she was nice enough to Evy) and she couldn’t recall ever interacting with Sebastian’s father—that little boy was a consistently positive presence in Evy’s life. Evy wanted to inquire further, but the dogs all stood up at once and ran toward the door, their nails loudly scraping against the floor. Speak of the devil—their mother walked through the door looking a little frazzled. Her purse under her arm, no doubt full of whatever she’d gone to the shop for—it was charmed, of course. ”Merlin—those lines.” She bent down to pet the dogs and looked up at them. ”Cal—Mina, which bottle is that?” It wasn’t the first, nor would it be the last time the back of Mina’s head was confused for Callisto’s. The two girls had similar dark hair, while Sarah and Evy’s hair was lighter. Dakoda's hair had been dark as well. But without waiting for an answer, she strode into the kitchen where Evy heard her bag hit the countertop.

template by vee

[sarah jane oliveira]

December 23, 2026

"When does Sebastian come back? I want to see him before I have to go back."

Sarah was prepared to answer Evelyn's question, but the sound of someone else entering the house—and the dogs all running to see who it was, of course—kept her from giving her a response. In came their mother, who mistook Mina for Callisto as she asked her and Evy which bottle of wine they'd opened up. She was probably hoping that it wasn't one of the more expensive ones, not that Sarah thought that any of the wine their parents had purchased in her lifetime was particularly quality wine. (Then again, maybe they had been hiding the good stuff from them… It wouldn't have been a surprise if they'd been hiding it from her.)

"Mina poured it. I didn't see the label on the bottle," Sarah called as it was clear that their mother had set her bag on the kitchen countertop. Trying to avoid being held responsible for whatever bottle of wine Mina had grabbed was the better way to go. If it was some bottle that their mother had actually cared about, Sarah didn't want to be the one dealing with that with the full moon in mere hours. "Why?" she asked, even though she could probably guess the reason. She also could have gotten up and walked into the kitchen to avoid hollering, but she had stayed put. "Titania hasn't licked it yet, Mum, if you want some?"

mina pandora oliveira
evelyn rhea oliveira

[mina pandora oliveira]

▲

Before Mina could respond about work and the perceived 'luck' that came from it, the spinning of all the dogs as they headed towards the front door grabbed her attention. She missed the question about Sebastian, though, too intent on trying to get a glimpse at who was entering the house. If it was Callisto (which was highly unlikely yet based on the conversation Mina had with her the day before), she was going to come in grumbling about the dogs being all over her. Growing up with them and then living with Titania in the flat had not changed her opinion much on dogs, which was honestly really strange. Her adverseness to anything happy was sort of sad. After every shift it was grumbling until a glass or two was poured. Mina often wondered if she had been viewed the same way during her worst days, but at least she was having fun. For Callisto, only emptying the bottle did that anymore...

It wasn't Callisto though, and instead their mum back from shopping. Watching the struggle she went through trying to get her shoes off while all the dogs were underfoot was sort of hilarious until Mina was mistaken for her absent sister. It was an honest assumption, really. Who else would have jumped straight into drinking the second they got here? "Its a cheap one," Mina's voice came from behind her wine glass. "Tastes like shit. I'm saving you the trouble." The usual sound of aghast that came from her mother whenever there was swearing in front of the family, came from somewhere within the kitchen. The dogs trotting around on the tile almost muffled it, but Mina could still hear it. The real question was whether or not she'd be in trouble for giving it to Evy. Who was old enough to drink now. If she was intent on being the cool, totally awesome sister, serving up drinks definitely helped her out.

evelyn rhea oliveira & sarah jane oliveira ● 325 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[evelyn rhea oliveira]

While you were out
building other worlds

where was I?

December 23, 2026
sarah jane oliveira
mina pandora oliveira

Evelyn didn’t get an answer to her question as her mother finally arrived and distracted all of them—even the dogs. Instinctively she sunk a little lower in her seat with her wine glass as her mother inquired which bottled Mina had opened. Sarah quickly noted that she had nothing to do with the wine. Evy sipped her wine. While she hardly knew anything about wine or alcohol in general, this was not the best wine she’d ever had. She made a mental note to ask Luna which wine she had served her last summer when she’d visited her in Ireland. It had been quite good and very sweet.

”It's not terrible…” Evy remarked, though she assumed she wasn’t loud enough for her mother to hear. There had always been the unwritten rule that as the youngest, Evy was still treated at times as if she was barely entering her first year. Their mother exited the kitchen, she face a little flush but settling as she took off her winter coat. And very quickly, her eyes scanned her daughters, lingering on Sarah for an extra millisecond before quickly tracking back to her youngest. Her mother quickly raised an eyebrow, a look of clear disapproval on her face as she crossed her arms. Evy wasn’t supposed to be drinking wine—not even the shitty cheap stuff.

”What?” Evy asked innocently. She had turned eighteen this past September, and if she’d just been born three weeks sooner, she’d be graduated and a proper ‘adult’, which was her mother’s fault if you asked her. Stella walked toward the couch, and Evy let out a frustrated sigh as she rolled her eyes and handed the glass to her mother. ”Fine.” And nobody had told her when her nephew was coming back either. Evy crossed her arms as she curled up in the corner of the couch again.

template by vee

[sarah jane oliveira]

December 23, 2026

Mina had to reassure their mother that the bottle of wine that she'd taken and poured for Evelyn was a cheap one and not very good. Evelyn countered her, saying that it was okay, and Sarah wished that she had some of the wine just to watch the conversation about it. If it tasted as bad as Mina suggested, though, she was probably better off without it.

Their mother apparently didn't think that Evelyn was old enough to be drinking anything stronger than butterbeer, however. Sarah, trying to be sympathetic, didn't laugh in the way that she wanted to as Evelyn handed off her wine glass. If she were still her age, she definitely would have been more openly frustrated—if not outright angry about that.

Trying to make the situation a little bit better for Evy, Sarah turned her head and mouthed to her, "Full moon." Once she and their parents were transformed and asleep, Evelyn could break out the wine again if she wanted it.

Not wanting to leave it hanging that Evelyn had gotten her wine glass confiscated from her in order to remind her family of what a great person she was becoming after such a rocky start, Sarah looked to their mother. "Dad should be home soon." He wasn't running the risk of transforming in public without a final dose of Wolfsbane Potion, but still. And there was also Callisto.

mina pandora oliveira
evelyn rhea oliveira