otherside | yas

[diana eoina bainbridge]

i tear it down

and its born again

March 9, 2027
YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED

Kindred spirits appear in many forms. Diana had always mostly kept to herself or could be seen reliably in the company of her twin or one of her many siblings. Technically she was the eldest Bainbridge girl, but just by a minute or two. One might not even know it with Cara’s just slightly louder personality. But Diana had a few friends she’d made during her time at school. Other students with inquisitive minds but in different subjects. While she poured over books on charms for fun, ignoring the actual boring charms assignment assigned to them that week—Diana had found herself growing closer to another student doing much the same but doodling instead.

The Ravenclaw with the ever-changing hair became fast friends with the Hufflepuff. Yas had told Diana stories of muggles and how they survived without magic and the items they used that were not common for Wizarding Kind. It was fascinating, to say the least, and the girl was happy to go along with Diana’s hundred questions. And then, sometime around the beginning of fifth year, Diana’s perspective began to change. It was the age many friends were beginning to date and realize who they liked and all that, and Diana was very much still trying to figure it all out. Plus, controlling her reactive emotions was tricky when it was clearly visible in her hair. If there was even more of a reason to hide in the back of the class.

But on a day where the weather allowed them to be comfortable outside. Diana lay in the grass on a small hill near the forest’s edge. It gave them some light, but the sun wasn’t beaming on them. Yas scribbled intently on her notebook, looking up every once in a while. Maybe it was the angle or just how the light came down through the branches. Diana pretty much knew that she was attracted to both men and women by that point. And her hair shifted from the playful green color in an attempt to match the grass but back to its natural Bainbridge blonde. Yas was far more beautiful than she gave herself credit for, and Diana hadn’t really thought about it till then. It wasn’t some huge revelation but something she noted. They were just friends, after all.

Sixth year was…tumultuous. Diana ended up in a situation with Elaine Dupree. Yas was busy with her boyfriend and boys. Diana hadn’t had the heart to tell her the rumors she heard or the outright flirting she’d seen Emrys engage in with other girls in their year. They hardly spoke, which continued on into seventh year while Diana existed as an invisible prisoner in her own life. And then they graduated, and Diana hadn’t seen her since. But things were different now. The shy girl was much the same, but Diana still alternated from a skittish girl to a hardened one because of her experiences. But as she worked on rebuilding her connections with her family and finding legal work, she decided that perhaps reconnecting with friends and like minds would not be a bad idea either.

Diana had run into Yas at the Hounds and Harriers, and she’d had promised to stop by again when it was less busy. So, here she was. She tried her best to sit calmly on the stool, though her leg was restless. The girl had always been fidgety, but spending almost four years on high alert made added to that. ”Are you still drawing?” Diana asked, trying to make conversation. Anything that felt remotely normal was what she needed.

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[YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED]

Time passed, and wounds healed.

Yas had suffered from Emrys' love, and even to this day, thinking of the time she had wasted on him made her cringe. She had thought he was her first love, her last love, her everything. He always knew exactly what to say to pin her under his darkly seductive thumb. He had slowly culled away her close friendships until she relied on him and only him - and Yas was so lovestruck, she didn't notice herself drifting.

In the years following this disastrous relationship, Yas spent most of her time repairing the relationships she'd cracked. Her naturally effervescent personality helped wonders, and Yas was able to regain much of what she'd lost. However, there was a missing friend, one that Yas had thought was lost forever.

Diana and Yas had found solace in one another not by common personality traits, but more the absence of focus. Yas would dawdle and the clever Diana would find herself reading something completely off track from their coursework. But after sixth and seventh year, Yas had noticed a serious change in Diana, as if her friend wanted nothing to do with her. And so wounded, Yas had let their friendship fall to the wayside.

It came as a shock when years later, Yas looked up from stocking the coolers to find an achingly familiar face looking back at her. Diana had changed - there was an innate sadness to her eyes, like something inside her had shattered. They'd barely been able to speak, what with the drunken customers pushing and crowing for attention, but they'd arranged for Diana to return when the pub was less busy.

And so here they were. Yas knew she would be too distracted to work today, so she called in a favour from one of the other bartenders to cover her. She'd beaten Diana to the bar, mostly because she'd been too restless to stay at home. Yas ran her fingers through her thick, dark hair, rising from her stool when Diana entered. She wasn't sure if she should hug her or not, and settled on sitting back down, choking down a gin and tonic and sputtering. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, and grimaced. "You still changing your hair to match your mood?" asked Yas, attempting to tease but she worried about it falling flat. "Yeah. Don't think I could stop if I tried."

diana eoina bainbridge

[diana eoina bainbridge]

i tear it down

and its born again

March 9, 2027
YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED

Telling an introvert to go seek her friends out again was anxiety-inducing. Let alone to one who didn’t know what trust meant anymore. All Diana wanted to was some semblance of normalcy in her life. She wanted to feel fifteen again, where the most stressful thing in the world was the Potions assignment she’d procrastinated and had to finish during breakfast. Slowly but surely, she was finding and replacing those lost pieces. Broken glass and crumpled paper would never be whole again, but one could get close. It was better than leaving it in its current state of disrepair.

Yas was still the same. That friendly and gentle Hufflpeuff demeanor who agreed to another meeting. Diana still felt nervous, but that wasn’t new. And her hands fidgeted once she wasn’t holding her wand in them. Yas had arrived before her, and Diana took the stool next to hers. ”Not on purpose.” She responded with a shy grin. ”Dustin still tries to startle me so it can turn purple.” Which he found absolutely hilarious, but Cara had smacked him upside the head without explanation the last time he’d done it over the holiday break. Thank Merlin Cara had because Diana had very nearly had a heart attack. But to prove she could still have some control over it, Diana left her hair shift back to its natural blonde from the brown she had been sporting.

”You always drew well. I imagine you’re even better now.” Unfortunately, art, like herbology, had not been a strength of Diana’s. Colors fascinated her but give her a pencil and paper, and you might get a lopsided box that wasn’t actually a box. There was a slightly awkward pause, and Diana brought her hands instinctively into her lap, her fingers fidgeting as she picked at her nails again. ”I—um—I wanted to thank you for agreeing to meet with me. I know it's been a while.”

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[YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED]

Yas breathed out a sigh of relief, an unexpected weight lifting off her shoulders as Diana replied to her easily. A grin spread across her face, her dark eyes catching Diana's. "I think purple would suit you. But I feel like a light blonde to pink would really bring out your eyes," said Yas, tilting her head slightly as she appraised her old friend. "I've never been brave enough to try any other colours. At least, not on purpose," she added, echoing Diana's earlier sentiment. Her jet black hair was more difficult to work with, especially considering she wasn't a metamorphmagus like Diana. The only time any colour found its way into her hair was when paint had splattered all over her.

"How is Dustin? And your other sisters?" asked Yas, her eyes searching Diana's for the source of her pain - was it a family thing? Would she bring up hard memories? Yas had never been particularly close with Cara, having found Diana's company much more amenable. Yas remembered that Diana also had three younger sisters as well as an older brother. Yas couldn't imagine such a large family - hers was big enough between her personality and Yara's.

With a sigh, Yas fidgeted with the straw in her empty glass. She glanced up, fishing for time, silently signaling to the bartender for another round of drinks. "I dunno, I mean I've tried selling my stuff and it's well... it's not going as well as I hoped," she admitted. "So I tried another medium, digital art. But my heart's not really in it, you know?" said Yas quietly. They lapsed into silence as their drinks were delivered. Yas watched Diana quietly fidget. "What have -" she started at the same time that Diana spoke. She grinned, the tension broken. "Yeah. It has. It's really good to see you again," said Yas, and she found that she meant it from the bottom of her heart. She reached out and grabbed one of Diana's hands, giving it a squeeze. "Really good," she reiterated.

Leaning back, Yas took a sip of her drink. "What have you been up to since... well, since the past few years? Changing hair colour for a living? You'd be amazing on the fashion pages," said Yas, meeting Diana's gaze.

diana eoina bainbridge

[diana eoina bainbridge]

i tear it down

and its born again

March 9, 2027
YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED

As an artist, Yas had a different viewpoint of the world and especially with colors. Diana could only wish to be able to see the world through those lenses. But she had her own perspective she carried. Seeing the world through a lens of curiosity for knowledge rather than where things stood on a moral scale. It had gotten her some strange looks over the years. Professors pausing at a question or speaking to her after class about her submitted essay. Knowledge didn’t pick a side, but the user of that knowledge usually did.

She was a friend, and yet the compliment made Diana feel shyer. There was an urge to crawl back into her shell, but she tried not to show it. Diana had been trying her best to undo the past few years. So far, she had focused on her family. Interacting with the triplets more, though Penelope knew the truth. Even Kinsey with all her antics. Dustin, the typical goofy older brother, and her twin—her rock. Shutting down had been easy. Reversing that was the challenge. ”I think I know a charm for that.” One of the good things from working in a field where charms, hexes, jinxes, and other items were magically misused. But at least a hair color-changing charm wouldn’t harm anyone.

”Dustin’s still in the league. Everyone is good.” Well, as good as one might be surviving what they had the past year. The larger the family, the higher the probability something would happen, though the girls had made it out of school in time. But she didn’t want to dwell on that. Things were better now. Everyone was safe. Fortunately, Yas responded to her inquiry, and Diana's eyes brimmed with curiosity at the mention of digital art. ”Well I’d like to see it sometime. And this digital art.” The introduction of modified muggle technologies into their world had been like a gift from Merlin himself for the girl who wanted to learn and know about anything and everything.

Her hand was reassuring. Reconnecting with her family had been wonderful, but Diana realized that she had grown so accustomed to not trusting any of the ‘friends’ around her. But Yas had never been anything but genuine with Diana or anyone. It wasn’t in her nature. Their eyes connected for a moment, and Diana grinned, though a little wearily. But as Yas removed her hand, she asked Diana what she had been up to, and immediately, she felt a slight weight in her chest, and her eyes looked away quickly. Clearing her throat, she sipped her drink, willing her hair to not shift color. The true curse of her ability was that her hair was loud despite what words she didn’t speak. ”Just working odd jobs here and there and…traveling. I work at the museum in Wales now.”

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[YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED]

Yas tilted her head, letting the dark curtain of hair fall around her shoulder. "Is there? Can you show me?" asked Yas with bright eyed interest. She politely asked after the rest of Diana's family - with so many brothers and sisters, it was hard for her to keep track. She'd forgotten about one of the siblings - it was much easier with just one sister. Even if Yara had been so busy with her studies that Yas had rarely seen her around the flat. "What position does he play?" she paused and sighed. "I ask as if I know what any of it means. I only remember getting the ball through the hoops. Athletics were just never for me," said Yas.

A warm flush creeped up Yas' neck as Diana stated she'd like to see her digital art. It was a bit different from what she typically liked to create, but Yas had been desperate to break into a career in art. And this digital stuff seemed to be where the success was. "I'll be sure to show you next time you come round mine," she offered kindly.

Diana offered up a wary grin, and Yas drew away, questions in her gaze. Had she overstepped? Yas had always been very tactile as a person. Yara had tried to instill in her to ask before touching people, but it had never quite made it through her thick skull. "Sorry, Yara's tried to teach me to ask before touching but I keep forgetting," said Yas with a sheepish grin. Diana looked away from her quickly, looking as if she was concentrating. Yas knew immediately that her friend was hiding something from her - but what, she couldn't discern. "Which museum? I've never been to Wales. Or to Scotland outside of Hogwarts for that matter," said Yas, frowning. For someone from such a far distant land, she certainly didn't travel much. "Do you like it there? The accent is a bit funny, no?"

diana eoina bainbridge

[diana eoina bainbridge]

i tear it down

and its born again

March 9, 2027
YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED

Diana’s eyes lit up without even realizing it. The spell was fascinating. Everybody thought it was a simple charm, but it was much more than that. ”It's not terribly difficult.” She placed her glass back on the counter and retrieved her wand. Leaning forward into Yas’ space, she asked quietly. ”May I?” Yas’ hair was so long that she didn’t have to reach far to gently grab a bit of the end of her hair. Focused on that, rather than their proximity, Diana muttered the incantation, and the end of her hair was an auburn color. ”See?” Diana sat back and waited for Yas’ lead on reversing the effect.

”Its actually transfiguration. It works differently than a charm.” Diana explained but stopped herself before going on a tangent. In their school days, she wouldn’t have stopped herself. But Diana had just spent years hardly being seen nor heard. It was a habit now. She drank more and tried to remember the last update Dustin gave her, though he’d been talking very quickly. ”Erm—I think he’s still playing Chaser.” He’d played the same at Hogwarts, so it was a safe assumption. Diana was curious about Yas’ work and her art. It was good to look forward to something these days.

”No—it's fine. It's not that. I—“ Now Diana was jabbering for no reason. Growing up with 6 siblings, personal space quickly became a non-issue. Plus, she’d shared a room with her twin for almost her entire life. It didn’t bother her as much. ”I’m sorry…” An apology of habit, really. And Diana fidgeted slightly in her chair. ”I’m just getting back on my feet, really. I don’t like to talk about it.” It wasn’t Yas’ fault. She couldn’t have had any idea what the years had put Diana through, nor would she explain it. ”Merlin’s Mystical Museum of Magic in Caerleon.” Working in Wales had been fascinating, though she did have to learn to pronounce Caerleon correctly when she arrived. ”Yes, it's quite lovely. They say it's where King Arthur ruled. I enjoy the stories I hear.” Working part-time allowed Diana to explore a little bit. It was calm and wonderful. The people were friendly and happy to answer her questions when she had them. There was peace there, a peace she craved so dearly.

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[YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED]

Yas's breath caught in her throat as Diana leaned forward, asking if she could perform the charm. Yas couldn't manage any words, but a slight incline of her head was enough. She watched as Diana changed a lock of her night dark hair to a soft auburn colour. Yas examined it with a smirk on her lips. "Not what I was expecting. But you've always made things seem so easy," said Yas easily. Diana went on to describe it as transfiguration rather than a charm. "Where is the line drawn? When is a charm a charm, and when is transfiguration that?" she wondered, more to herself than anything.

The depth of Yas' interest in Quidditch started and stopped with James' involvement. She'd never been very keen on the sport, and nor had Emrys in their school years. Naturally, Yas had drifted more towards the artsy sort, those who didn't concern themselves with sports. She reached out to lay a reassuring hand on Diana's but her friend gave her a wary look and Yas withdrew. Yara kept drilling into her the concept of consent in all areas of life - though Yas forgot sometimes where it mattered. "Don't apologise," she added with a sad smile. "What sort of stories do you hear?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

More than anything, Yas yearned to hear Diana talk. It had been a long time since they'd had time together, and Yas always liked drawing her friends out of their shells. "Mostly magical artefacts then? Or any sneaky paintings done by the great Morgana?" asked Yas with a grin, taking a sip of her drink.

diana eoina bainbridge

[diana eoina bainbridge]

i tear it down

and its born again

March 9, 2027
YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED

It was nice when Diana could use her knowledge for something good, something simple. It wasn’t modifying an item with a trap or creating some potion variation with damaging effects. Cursing items for the unsuspecting. She was slowly letting go of that life, but she couldn’t stop thinking about how much blood was likely on her hands. Diana paused and then responded with a slight grin, pushing her hair back behind her ear from where it had fallen as she leaned forward. Most of her classes she’d excelled at, at least in theory, perhaps not in her grades.

”Um—well, its form versus function, really.” She paused again, really out of habit. ”Changing the color is changing the form.” One of the triplets was usually kind enough to let her go on a tangent while Cara would playfully throw a pillow at her. Diana didn’t mind. She knew they all had vastly different interests. But, Diana was still not the excitable bookworm she once was. Even Cara noted it, asking questions just as Yas had just done, but it was like stepping out into the light after being inside for so long. ”Just the legends and about Sir Cadogan—since he was in a painting and all.” She wished she could remember them all, but she just liked listening to her coworkers.

”No, no paintings that I know of.” Diana chuckled lightly and remembered her drink. ”The Museum receives items from Cursebreakers or Collectors usually. At least the Cursebreakers that don’t work for the bank.” The goblins giving up anything precious from their vaults was simply not going to happen, even for the purpose of history and education. Diana wondered what they hid from the world, what items were still left to discover. ”The goblins are mainly interested in gold and jewels, so the Museum has a lot of items like books, scrolls, and those types of artifacts.” At least from what she’d observed, not that she was allowed to go near them before they were put on display. Slowly she felt as though she could relax, her posture softening. Yas had always been remarkably calm, though perhaps the drink was just getting to her.

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[YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED]

Though in truth, Yas was still rather perplexed at the form versus function thing, it was a relief how openly Diana spoke. After all their years apart, all the years cautious around one another, she was pleased that they could fall into such easy camaraderie again. Her dark eyes scanned Diana's face as she spoke, searching for a clue as to why their friendship had been so sharply cut off. But Diana's gaze was shuttered, and Yas knew not to push it, despite the thickness to the air between them.

"He was real then? Not just a fabled knight? I wonder how his fellows were able to manage his... boisterous attitude," said Yas, snickering behind her hand. She glanced at her colleague, nodding for a further drink for the both of them and she was immediately obliged. Yas mulled over Diana's comment about how there were cursebreakers who didn't work for the bank. "Widening my world view, you are," she murmured, shooting Diana a grin. "There's so many things I didn't even think to think about. Like the fact that there's a difference between charmwork and transfiguration. Or that there are cursebreakers out there who are not working for goblins." Yas shuddered for effect.

Wrinkling her nose at Diana's point, Yas shrugged. "Books and scrolls and scribblings in ancient tongues we can't even begin to decipher. It's a shame that we as humans moved away from communicating through art and went for something a bit more literal instead," mused Yas. With the keen eye she'd kept on Diana, she noticed her posture relax, her features soften. Yas beamed at her, taking a deep drink. "Does it make you happy, Di?" she asked quietly. "Working there?"

diana eoina bainbridge

[diana eoina bainbridge]

i tear it down

and its born again

March 9, 2027
YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED

Some of this felt comfortable—normal. But Diana didn’t know how to put down her guard still. The icy exterior had been slow to thaw. The habit of essentially suppressing herself to survive still lingered, the byproduct of not only Occlumency but of the things she had seen and done. She struggled. Even at home, surrounded by her family, she had to remember that she was supposed to smile every now and then, not simply stand in the corner hunched over with her arms crossed. What she would give for the innocent existence she lived before ever running into Elaine Dupree.

But the drinks helped, though it took energy to not continually scope her surroundings. This was far from the seedy places she’d frequented. Diana couldn’t help but also giggle a little. Every student at Hogwarts had encountered the knight at some point. Fortunately, his portrait had been saved along with many others. ”They say he knew Merlin and Godric Gryffindor himself, but I’m not sure how true that is.” It was hard to wrap one’s mind around such legendary individuals in their world being real. At this point, they were almost deified. She gave a small nervous laugh, however, when Yas grinned at her. The girl hadn’t changed one bit. ”There aren’t many.” She added, though the thought did seem a little blasphemous considering their reputation as fearless adventurers in search of gold.

Not many people outside of new colleagues at the Museum or her former fellow housemates liked to participate in a conversation regarding the differences between Charms and Transfiguration. It was refreshing though she’d stopped explaining purely out of habit. Diana drank more, they were certainly drinking faster than she thought they would, but it simply felt natural with the conversation. Diana preferred the written word and the knowledge learned through books, but Yas was always the artist. Drawing in her Potions book while Diana made notes on her own of ingredient substitutions to try at a later time. ”I think so.” The alcohol was creeping up on her. ”Its calm, and I like to walk around the Museum.” She thought aloud. Far calmer than her other line of work. Unfortunately, getting back on one’s feet had proven quite expensive, so she couldn’t leave it entirely behind for now. But at least she had some serenity in her life for balance.

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[YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED]

Yas gave Diana a skeptical look. "Hmm, I dunno about that," she replied, grinning. "Bet Gryffindor would have run him through rather than deal with him," she added with a snort of laughter. Everyone knew about the legendary sword of Gryffindor, even more so since Harry had retrieved it in his battle with the basilisk. He hadn't told her much of his time at school, but had corrected some of the urban legends that drifted through the chatter of the pub on less busy nights.

"I feel like... sometimes it's hard. To meld the Harry I know with the Harry he was at school. He just seems so normal," said Yas suddenly, exhaling. "Like, I reckon if he'd been at school with us, right. Couldn't go up to him and be like hey Harry, fancy a pint and a cheeky snog? Nah, I'd be bricking it," said Yas with a giggle. The prosecco was quickly loosening her tongue and she was rather enjoying Diana's company. It had been a long time since she had spoken to anyone from school, apart from James. Yas hadn't liked the girl that Emrys had made her become. Yet Diana had her own trauma, and somehow that cancelled out this shitty way they had ended up treating one another.

At last, Yas asked the question that had been burning on her tongue. Was Diana happy? She looked healthier and fuller than Yas had seen her in years. Not that they'd had much interaction in that time. At Diana's reply, she smiled, her heart soaring for her friend. "Well, that's all we need then," she replied firmly, raising a glass to Di before downing it. "Do you... do you want to go somewhere else? We could dance or sing or just... celebrate more privately?" Yas found herself asking, her dark eyes taking Diana's joy in like oxygen to the lungs.

diana eoina bainbridge

[diana eoina bainbridge]

i tear it down

and its born again

March 9, 2027
YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED

Diana giggled as well. It was difficult to picture such a character in the company of someone as valiant as Godric Gryffindor. Though perhaps it wasn’t that far off if Sir Cadogan had been a Knight alongside King Arthur. But all of Diana’s experiences so far had told her not to underestimate anybody. Both sides of the moral compass could control their appearance and put on whatever mask they chose in public to hide their true intentions. Diana was one to talk, able to change part of her own at her will. But her head tilted curiously, her glass suddenly empty as Yas brought up Harry.

She didn’t know him as ‘Harry’. But growing up in Godric’s Hollow, it was Mr. and Mrs. Potter down the road. Between their own children and the constant Weasley presence and children from various other families, the neighborhood was far from quiet. ”My parents didn’t really tell us those stories until we were old enough to find out for ourselves.” It felt like the opposite for Diana. Harry had seemed like someone normal. A neighbor and a father who enjoyed his family. ”Sometimes James would say things when one of the older boys was picking on one of his cousins.” Leave it to James to swoop in and try and fight a much taller Mickey McLaggen when the Quidditch stakes were high enough.

Diana found herself feeling nostalgic at all those memories. Even if she hadn’t joined the matches or much of the ruckus they caused, she was happy to watch as James, Dustin, and Benny joined forces to prank his younger brother. It was a warm feeling, or that could have been the relaxation from the drinks. Yas suggested a change of scenery and while Diana was fine in this pub, she supposed she didn’t mind leaving either. ”You know i’m not one for singing.” She chuckled, though she wasn’t one for dancing either. She’d been perfectly content as a wallflower then and she still was now. ”But what’d you have in mind?”

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[YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED]

Yas hummed her acquiesce. "I didn't know anything about it until I came to Hogwarts. My parents just told me that Hogwarts was the best school. That's why I didn't go to Uagadou. It's not like any of us knew any better... but Hogwarts was just the most famous I suppose," said Yas with a shrug. She didn't speak much of her early life in Egypt. For some reason, her muggle upbringing didn't seem to hold a candle to her formative years in Hogwarts. It was almost like her real life began when she placed the sorting hat on her head and she was placed into Hufflepuff. Before that, she'd been in a fever dream.

Growing quickly bored of the pub she spent most of her time, Yas was quick to suggest they go elsewhere. She suggested as much and it took Diana just a moment to agree. "Well, the brilliant thing about London is that you can become anyone you want. Including one for singing," said Yas, a sparkle in her eye that spoke of mischief and adventure. Yas summoned the bartender and ordered two shots of limoncello - heaps milder than her go to of tequila, but alcoholic enough to heighten the buzz they were both feeling. "One for the road," said Yas by way of explanation, before draining the drink.

Yas took Di's hand and led her from the pub. Her palm was warm in her own, and Yas tried to ignored the clamminess of her own hands. "Right, try not to be sick, Di. I like these trainers a bit too much," said Yas with a smirk. She twisted on the spot, clutching Di's hand as they popped into existence in a deserted, dark London alley. Yas didn't let go of Diana, instead leading her out into the light. They stood across the road from a neon sign promising karaoke. "This place does private rooms. So only I get to see you at your finest," said Yas, glancing over at Di. "Is that okay?

diana eoina bainbridge

[diana eoina bainbridge]

i tear it down

and its born again

March 9, 2027
YASMIN ZARA EL FAYED

Diana listened to Yas curiously. Maybe it was all the alcohol letting her loosen up for once. Despite the radical shift, her life had taken after the Hogwarts fire, she still struggled to relax at all. Something in the back of her mind was simply waiting for the other shoe to drop. But then again, perhaps it already had. Diana’s encounter with Ondina, not even twenty-four hours after the fire, had shaken her badly, which had its consequences. There was no way that woman was a Weasley. Diana and her family had grown up as neighbors to the Potters, who always had the extended family visiting. The rest of them were not so cruel. There wasn’t some void where their heart was supposed to be.

Despite how close the two had been during their earlier school years, there was still much that had never been discussed. Not that it had been an issue, but in moments like this, Diana realized she didn’t know much about Yas’ earlier life, especially since she was muggle-born. Quickly, Yas ordered them two last drinks—shots and Diana quickly drank hers. And as she hopped off the stool, she made sure to check her balance. It had been quite some time since she’d drank like that. Since returning home, her urge to drink had lessened as she wasn’t alone. ”It’ll take more than that.” Diana chuckled. They weren’t school kids sneaking firewhiskey from older boys anymore. Diana had done that once and returned to her quiet school life of reading in the Common Room.

Very quickly and like a blur, they arrived in London. It took a second for her eyes to adjust to the dark, but it also bright signs. Yas looked over and confirmed if that was alright. Diana paused, processing everything of the last few minutes. ”Y-Yea, that’s fine.” She grinned at her. This felt good. It had been a long time since Diana had just some simple fun, although she’d enjoyed all the time she’d gotten with her family. The alcohol let her relax and say yes more quickly, whereas anxiety might have kicked in before. Part of her would have liked to sit and chat, but Diana also wanted to enjoy this feeling before returning to her life.

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