sweetener | nova

[idele venn vector]

━ i move so far in time ━

mid july 2028

BLESSED WITH THE ARRIVAL OF summer, Idele Vector knew this meant she would have to return home for the hundredth time, an situation she always hated undergoing. Moving home after a full schooling year was tiring itself, but going home alongside her brothers back to their wonderful mother made it a thousand times worse. Thankfully, this summer like a few previous summers, she planned to stay outside as often as she could. Wether it meant making up fake plans with different kinds of people from MAGIC or even going to see Nova and Aunt Decima.

For today, it was the latter choice. Throughout the weeks of the start of summer, Idele had contact Nova to beg Decima to come up with some kind of plan to get her mother off of her back. Thus, the idea of helping out in the shop came around and who was the youngest Vector to refuse such freedom? Walking through Diagon Alley and up Horizont Alley, Idele stopped outside of Pi Pâtisserie, hoping to see Nova in the window before walking in.

| nova hypatia vector |

hopefully this works!

[nova hypatia vector]

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The summer onslaught of freshly released children from Hogwarts was finally starting to dwindle slightly, the mid-July slump only indicating that it was only another week or two before the school shopping for the next year would begin. There was technically never a 'slow season' for the bakery. Only brief periods where business became bearable and allowed Nova and her aunt to catch a breath before having to throw another round of cream puffs or cakes in the oven. Magic made everything easier, of course, but there seemed to be no end at certain points throughout the year. She had been committed to her career for six years now, and the sometimes back breaking work really caught up to her. Nova almost chewed out a customer two days prior when they complained about the color of the cream filler for the Hogwarts house-themed donuts. Quite frankly, she was tired of making them at this point. So just because the Hufflepuff cream was 'yellow' and not 'goldenrod' had been good enough for her. But not the customer. Before she could climb over the counter and shove the damn thing down their throat, her aunt called her off and had her take the next day to cool down as well. Which had been beyond necessary. Between her actual work and her side gig, Nova hadn't stopped once in months.

It all worked out though, because she received word that her youngest sister was going to be coming around to help the following day. Meaning she'd get Nova fully rested and reset. There were other things that had helped her reach the level of zen, but what Decima and Idele didn't know, didn't hurt them. With her flat above the bakery soundproofed from the bustle of the shop below, she took her much needed break with her only company being her cat. By the time the next morning rolled around, she had completely forgotten about the pastry filling incident and happily made more of the house banners like the diligent worker she was. Decima had been up for hours already tending to the bread for the day, meaning Nova got her normal baked goods spread.

Only after taking a short break to check the storefront did she realize Idele was out front. The store was technically open, but at this hour there were only a few regulars that stopped in on their way into work at the Ministry. Mostly to get a coffee and crumpet. Plain and standard, but who was she to judge? Flicking her wand at the door so it would open for her sister, Nova called out from behind the counter, "Delly, I've got scones ready to go in if you want to help!" Normal scones, thankfully. She loathed the themed ones that came out around Halloween, perfectly dubbed 'Screaming Scones!' because of the sound they made while biting into them. For trying to be a professional bakery, there were still odd quirks that she couldn't shake out of her aunt's decision making.

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[idele venn vector]

━ i move so far in time ━

NOT WAITING TOO LONG, IDELE'S eyes widened as the door flung open from the influence of magic. Turning so she was able to look inside, Idele's expression softened as she saw her smiley sister from behind the counter.

"'Kay!" She responded as she walked in, grin wide on her lips while she beelined for the back. Decima had given a grand tour to Idele the last time she had come around, telling her where to wash her hands, where to grab an apron and where all the hair ties were kept.

Coming back out no more than five minutes later with red hair tied up and her jacket replaced with a navy apron, Idele held onto the tray of scones Nova mentioned, trying to recall what oven they went to.

"..Which one is it again?" Decima hadn't exactly been..entirely thorough with her explanations, but she knew Nova knew just as much as their aunt did. Being here also allowed the youngest Vector to ask questions she had, but didn't have the exact or right time to ask them.

| nova hypatia vector |

[nova hypatia vector]

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Maybe all of this would work out for the best, was the only thought that ran through her head as she waited for her sister to get cleaned up and ready to work in the kitchen. Nova disliked having Harmony only storefronts away in general, having the glaring veela eyes staring her down was not something she wanted. Decima always did a great job at diffusing any issues though, she had a built in bullshit destroyer, having never allowed Octavian Sr. from getting away with nonsense around her or the kids. When it came to her dear stepmother, Nova wasn't always the nicest in return. She was fairly certain the feeling was mutual.

Watching her sister grab the tray of scones and then pause, Nova couldn't help but laugh. "This one," she waved her wand at the middle oven, it's door opening so Idele could place the tray inside. The fact that her sister picked up the gray was funny too, as that was usually floated in with a charm. Nova's baking was fairly hands free these days, though that didn't keep her from doing it the mundane way on occasion. "And then just hit the timer button for twenty minutes," Nova added. She knew the times for everything. Second nature of doing it day in and day out.

"Was there anything you wanted to make? Or are you fine with just helping with what we have planned for the day?" There was a whole list that she and Decima had come up with at the start of the week, but deviations weren't out of the norm. Sometimes the weather dictated what went out, or even if a sudden special event popped up. When it came to Horizont Alley, those sorts of things were frequent and whether or not Jimbo Blishwick was running blind dating events. Nova appreciated the business, but the man knew no bounds. It was often times scary. "Or I could even show you some of the charms I use to cook? They're sort of like a family recipe at this point."

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[idele venn vector]

━ i move so far in time ━

SMILING SHYLY AS NOVA LAUGHED, Idele quickly fixed her mistake as she lifted the correct tray, pushing it into the open oven that her sister had opened. "Thanks!" She called back, following Nova's next set of instructions to set the timer for twenty minutes. Idele hoped to be like her sister in some sense, to be precise and know almost everything even within a few seconds of 'analysis'.

"I'm fine with just..helping whatever's planned for the day..I'm sure I'll be able to pick up on all sorts of things.." Idele trailed off then, looking across the various trays with different treats and pastries. Decima had mentioned that the products the bakery sold typically were the same on a regular basis, and only alternated between newer things whenever the holidays came around or the seasons went on by.

"Charms?" She questioned, ears perking up at what seemed to be a wondrous opportunity. "I'd love that..Mom doesn't really let me work on charms in most things but..maybe I could convince her that they have more of a purpose.."

| nova hypatia vector |

[nova hypatia vector]

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Nova was almost relieved a bit that her sister was fine with assisting with the day’s work. Not that it would be that much more difficult to whip up an extra batch of cookies or a cake on top of what she already needed to do, but it did help with keeping everything cohesive for the day. ”Fair enough,” she said as she started to get to work on the next set of baked goods. ”If you change your mind at all or become interested in anything else, just let me know. It’s really not a bother to start something new once we have all of the ingredients out.” It was almost like they had magic to do all of the heavy-lifting. She figured that using the early lessons that Decima had taught her would be the best way to go about all of this. Especially with these simple recipes.

She tried not to frown at the mention of Harmony being discontent with her daughter learning Charms. As if being a witch and not wanting to learn more magic was a bad thing. Nova wiped the dour expression off of her face almost instantly, hoping her sister didn’t see it. She disagreed with Harmony on so many different things, and their position on magic usage and learning was definitely at the top. It was frustrating having conversations with the woman about it. ”We run our business using Charms. Without it, we would never be able to keep up with the daily demand,” she stated matter-of-factly. ”Your mom has never really been interested in what Aunt Decima and I do, to be honest. I’m sure if she did what you’re doing today, she would understand that there’s a lot of hard work involved even without using magic.” That and because the bakery was completely safe from Harmony getting her gold-digging hands on it. Nova knew what she was after. It was so obvious.

The chime of a timer from one of the ovens already in use alerted Nova to the fact that the day’s bread was finished baking. Which was perfect because that was easily the most important part of their morning’s sales. ”Alright, ready to levitate some bread over to the front of the shop?” she asked her sister as she waved her wand at the oven in particular, opening the front of it and letting out a blast of freshly baked bread into the air. ”A simple levitation charm is all you’ll need to use. And bring them right over to the front counter, okay?” she instructed Idele, while taking a step back to observe.

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[idele venn vector]

━ i move so far in time ━

NODDING AS NOVA MOVED, PREPPING the next batch of baked goods, Idele felt her smile grow even wider. She was used to being told she couldn't do certain most things because of their lack of importance, how dangerous the proposition seemed to be and a bunch of random other reasons. That was the downfall of her relationship with her mother. Her brothers seemed to have the upper hand in things, always getting away with absolutely everything while Idele was watched like a hawk.

Not noticing her sisters sour expression for a brief moment, Idele looked up at Nova, cheesing hard as she did before listening intently. Charms was one area of magic that Idele wanted to practice on and work towards a better passion, but under her mother's roof it held no immediate importance compared to other subjects. "That's what I've told Mum..countless times. Charms is helpful in almost every area..but she just says 'I don't care!' or 'that doesn't matter right now.'" Raising her hands to show and imitate her mother's responses, the youngest Vector frowned a little.

"I'd love to show her sometime..but I doubt she would ever be interested.." She trailed off a little, before paying attention once the chime from a timer went off. "Levitation charm?" She repeated as Nova moved over, using her wand and watching a flurry of fresh bread leave from the oven. "Yeah!..Okay!.." Shakily reaching into her back pocket for her own wand, Idele waved her wand, quietly but somewhat confidently casting the charm.

| nova hypatia vector |

[nova hypatia vector]

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There was never going to be a breakthrough with Harmony. The woman was set in her ways and would actively reject any attempt Nova or Decima made at this point, even if it was beneficial. Nova still wasn't clear on how she managed to make today a thing, but she would take the little wins that she could get. Harmony had to have realized that isolating her children from their siblings was going to grow resentment amongst them. They would see one another at Hogwarts, Archie included, so it wasn't like this was any different than that. And as she had posed it to her stepmother during their talk about today, this was a good learning experience. Not many young witches and wizards had the chance to utilize their magic in such a way. Fine tuned levitation and directional charms helped immensely with all wand work, and she liked to believe with Potions as well.

"I know. It's probably a bit messy for her to enjoy anyways. Or can be. But I'll show you some easy cleaning spells at the end that are super helpful for almost anything." Especially ink well spills or cauldrons that bubbled over. Saying anything negative about Harmony right now, even though it sounded like Idele would agree with her, wasn't very mature of her, so Nova kept her mouth shut. Taking the high ground happened a lot when it came to that woman, and she sometimes wondered if that was the point. For Harmony to constantly live rent free in her head and keep her on her toes.

Nodding her head at the levitation part, Nova stepped to the side and got her own wand out. She didn't think there would be an accident, but floating cookie trays wasn't the easiest when you weren't used to it. "Don't worry about going slow. Just concentrate on taking it out of the kitchen and to the front," she explained. So far so good...

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[idele venn vector]

━ i move so far in time ━

NOT REALLY HAVING AN UNDERSTAND at the broader dynamics of the Vector family, Idele simply knew her mother was a tough nut. It felt almost rare, to have someone genuinely like her mother, as they were instead intrigued with the older Vector's charm, or turned off by her sharp tongue. Funnily enough, Idele still felt the need to question where she had picked up her own personality, considering she barely felt like she resembled her mother, nor father.

"Oh yes please!.." Idele began rather excited, her smile still wide. "Mum hates all kinds of mess..That's why Midge is always glued to her side." Midge was the house elf in their mother's home. And Merlin was she the worst. Anytime Idele would enter the family home with even the smallest speck of dust, Midge would announce it at the top of her lungs. Like a shrill like noise that always left Idele's ears ringing.

As the youngest Vector stood, feeling confident from her sister's reassurance as she casted the charm, the Ravenclaw's eyes narrowed, watching the bread carefully as it shakily levitated over to the front of the store. Focusing a little harder, Idele set the tray down on the counter, just as Nova had suggested. Turning with a wide grin on her lips, the Vector felt proud of herself. "Is there anything else we need to move?!"

| nova hypatia vector |

[nova hypatia vector]

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Ah yes. Midge. Nova quite enjoyed the company of the house elves that worked at Hogwarts. They had shown her a number of fun recipes and tricks that she still used to this day. But Midge? Merlin. Just thinking about her made Nova shake her head. The more serious and deluded house elves (as her friends at Hogwarts called them) were hard to deal with. Midge was one of those ones, of course, and seriously devoted to Harmony in a way that was incredibly unhealthy. She was the ultimate yes-man, as were the rules of house elves that were in service, but it was gross, and Nova hated dealing with her on so many levels. That sentiment seemed to be shared by most of the Vectors, but no one dared say that to Harmony or her mean little minion. ”Yes, well, Midge only has one purpose in life so far, so I can see why…” Nova secretly hoped the house elf was sneezing like crazy right now.

Watching her sister levitate the bread was simultaneously exciting and scary. It didn’t matter if it fell; more could always be made, and it would be a great lesson on maintaining concentration with the spell. Nova had dropped a number of different foods over the years, and all it really took was one wondering thought while sending it to the front and off it all went. Nowadays that charm was practically automated, so she rarely had it happen unless something got in the way. ”Excellent!” she affirmed as Idele turned around, task successful. Her sister asked if there was more, and Nova nodded her head. ”If you want to do these ones as well? And then once we have something to take out of the oven, I’ll show you where they go to cool before all of this happens.” Pointing at the next set of trays, she stepped back to let Idele do her thing. Once all of this was done, they could probably jump into whipping up a batch of cookies or whatever the front was lacking. Luckily it never took long.

idele venn vector ● 350 ● Song by Artist

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[idele venn vector]

━ i move so far in time ━

FINDING HERSELF SMILING SMALL AT her sister's comment, Idele knew that if her mother saw her, giggling away at silly comments at the ridiculousness that was: Midge, she would immediately be in trouble. There were no doubts that everyone knew the dedication Midge poured into her mother, to show everyone, elf and all where their loyalties stood. But Idele - like everyone else - was completely sick of her.

Using the charm to levitate the bread was indeed both exciting and scary, but it proved various points to the Vector, that she was indeed good at something. Grinning wide at the praise from her sister, Idele listened further and nodded excitedly. Eyes flickered to the other tasty treats that needed to be moved and similarly to before, Idele cast the charm and levitated each of them with her wand carefully. It didn't take much time thankfully, but the youngest Vector felt paying attention to even the smallest detail was key.

By her third cast of the charm - while focusing, Idele spoke up. "Is it the same charm to levitate multiple things?..Or am I getting too ahead of myself?.." Idele didn't mind moving the trays one at a time, but she wanted to be efficient. Just like her sister.

| nova hypatia vector |

[nova hypatia vector]

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Today was what Nova had been waiting years for. She knew that she hadn’t been the most welcoming of her younger siblings when they were first born. It was hard to understand why they had all earned her father’s love after she had essentially been abandoned by him almost instantly following her mum’s death. To have it happen twice too…it took years for her to realize that it was never the fault of her siblings. So the fact that she could get over her own issues and then manage to twist Harmony’s arm into allowing Idele to come over and help like this was a feat.

Watching her sister complete the task at hand, Nova waited to see if she had any questions or issues with it. Levitation was easy, up until it became a balancing act. With three down, Idele did finally ask: was there a way to do multiple at the same time. Nova grinned, ”Sort of. What Aunt Decima and I usually do is cast a levitation charm that automatically brings it to the front. But to get to that one, you have to practice the standard one.” It really didn’t take long when you did the same job day in and day out. If Idele was here every day for a week, she would master it in no time. ”For example…” A flick of her wand with the non-verbal spell cast, two of the trays lifted off of the ground and swiftly made their way to the display case. They then returned after a moment and went back to their place on the counter for their next batch.

”A lot of these are very, very simple spells that you probably already know. But because of everything we do here, they end up becoming a lot more complicated and nuanced. Like if we get to making cookies in a little bit, I’ll show you how to cast a stirring charm.” Which was basically another modified levitation spell with some nuance added to it. With that one, Nova had even managed to master wandless magic with it. The fact that she could do simple casting that way now was amazing.

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[idele venn vector]

━ i move so far in time ━

DESPITE THE DIFFERENCES AND THE initial first impressions of the youngest Vector's extended family, she felt more happier now - knowing she had a brain of her own and a thought process of her own. While she would always love her mother to an extent, Idele was somewhat glad that she didn't always have to rely on her mother, or simply suck up to her to achieve such praise - something that her twin brothers did almost daily. Or even hourly.

Listening to Nova explain the charm and the usual task they would have to do to achieve what the youngest was looking for, curious eyes widened as she watched her sister cast a non-verbal spell. Like a child who had just set foot in a toy store, Idele's lips formed a wide 'o' while eyes glistened out of sheer interest. Listening closely as Nova mentioned that these were easy spells, Idele nodded again.

"Stirring charm?" She repeated, she had heard of it before, but truth be told there were times the youngest Vector found herself more confused in her Charms lessons than actively learning and paying attention. "Can you show me that levitation one again? The one you just did?..Or should I keep practicing first?"

| nova hypatia vector |

[nova hypatia vector]

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Idele requested to see the multi-levitation spell again and Nova complied, finding two new targets for it. She raised her wand and pointed it between both of them. ”The best way I can describe it as that it sort of works like a net? So where you cast it, any of the specific objects you want will be affected. Like so,” Nova repeated the incantation out loud this time so Idele could hear it, and then moved her wand hand around in the correct flourishes to seal the deal on the spell. Both trays levitated like the others previously did, but this time Nova made sure to keep them in place just above the countertop. Letting them hang for a few seconds, she returned them to their spot.

”If you want to try this one, I can find some empty cookie trays. That way you won’t have to worry about spilling anything.” She really didn’t care if a cookie tray or two took a tumble. It happened. They could be remade in the blink of an eye with the way she and Decima typically worked. Deciding on her own that it was a good idea to have her sister practice that way, Nova fished out two empty and clean trays from the rack where they normally sat, waiting to be of use. ”I’ll take those ones first,” she said as she repeated the process on the two she’d just placed down. They floated back out to the front of the shop, where they belonged. The empty ones took the spot on the counter for Idele to practice on.

”I’ll be right here finishing some things up, so if you have any questions or want to see anything else, just yell,” Nova smiled, before turning to take care of her next task. Pretty soon here they were going to have to open the bakery. That meant that all of the breads were next to go out onto the shelves. So she decided to focus on collecting those from the oven and sending them one by one to the front as well.

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[idele venn vector]

━ i move so far in time ━

PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION, IDELE FELT she was picking up the instructions from her sister way easier than any Professor could explain in her classes. Nova was right though, the spell worked perfectly like a net, especially as the trays were swept upwards before returning safely to their spot. Idele focused on her sisters pronunciation, mouthing the words alone so she could practice it when she was ready also.

Eyes lit up at the elder Vector's offer and with just as much enthusiasm, Idele kept nodding. It would've been a better choice to practice with something that wouldn't ultimately...ruin the batches that needed to go out. As Nova went on, repeating the spell and letting the two trays be carried out to the front, Idele continued to watch curiously. Nova then went on, saying she was off to just finish some things and that if she needed help, Idele should just yell for her.

With her sister going ahead, the younger Vector looked down at the trays that were left, clearing her throat and clearly casting the incantation on the empty trays, her wand high. They levitated, floating similarly to how Nova's had, and with careful focus, Idele kept them up. Slowly lowering her wand, the trays returned, one hitting the counter top a little loud but still; the youngest felt more confident.

"Nova? Are there any other trays I can use also?...Or any more?" She called out, before casting the incantation again, aiming to hold the trays slightly higher and for slightly longer.

| nova hypatia vector |