the non-fiction days [lea]

[lyka cruz malkin]

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July 7th, 2028

What even was summer anymore? A non-existent span of time that only served as the midway point for the year. Her dad had finally gotten sick and tired of her whining about classes that he posed an offer to her: if she wanted to stop with school, she could, but in return she would have to work at the shop and continue to do so for the next year until when she would have normally 'graduated'. That alone made Lyka shrink back into her chair at the dinner table, and she remained silent for the rest of the meal. She knew she was going to end up working there anyways, her prospects of playing Quidditch professionally shrinking with every year. Even if she did make the house team come fall, unless she gave a stellar performance all season it probably wouldn't be enough. She was a nobody.

So that was how her life had been during the first week of July. The constant turmoil of deciding whether finishing out her seventh year at Hogwarts was actually necessary or not. The pressure to attend the summer term, which she absolutely wasn't going to be doing. Why did she have to be the one that struggled in school and always had Quidditch on her mind?

Lazily sitting on the tiny back patio behind the Malkin residence in almost near darkness wasn't helping either. Only the soft yellow glow from the indoor lights dared disturb her sulking. They attracted the occasional bug, always bouncing off the windows with a hard thunk before flying off again aimlessly. That was exactly how she felt too. Head laid across one of her arms on the wrought iron garden table, her phone was propped up in front of her face but off; it had died in the middle of a highlight reel she'd been watching. Dustin Bainbridge of Falmouth had just made an impressive play and then the screen went black. She constantly forgot to charge her phone, which frequently led to her forgetting the time and missing texts from her mum. But they knew where she was right now. The only harm that could come to her right now were bug bites and the deep impressions the table was going to bruise into her arm.

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[lea cruz malkin]

Walking around

With my little rain cloud

July 7, 2028
lyka cruz malkin

Lea peered outside, lightly chewing the inside of her cheek as she decided whether to step outside. Neither the weather nor the insects warded her off, but mainly, she did not know exactly what mood her younger sister was in. That last argument over dinner had been energetic but with a heavier subject. School and the future. As a recent graduate, Lea didn’t feel any different—however, the early morning panics when she didn’t hear her alarm and believing she still had classes to attend over the summer haunted her.

As the eldest, Lea seemed poised and ready to work in the shop. Her final years of school were likely not required, but Lea had attended nonetheless. Earning a fair amount of NEWTs—nothing spectacular. To nobody’s surprise, her highest marks were in Charms. She felt proud, not that it had dramatically altered her life. Lea felt the phone cable and small brick in her pocket but left it there as she gently pushed the door open. Sometimes Lea wished she had more in common with her sister, the harmony often disrupted by their vastly different hobbies and other things.

”You alright?” It was strange how she arranged herself. Lyka, with her head down and a phone in her face, was not abnormal, but the blank phone screen certainly was. Lea sat beside Lyka, peering off into the dark night. Nighttime only reminded Lea of how many hours she had left before work in the morning. She had been working most of her life in the shop—at least there was a paycheck now, but there went her free time. ”Mum asked me to check on you. But I was going to check on you anyway.” Lea admitted softly. She hardly ever contradicted their father, especially in front of her girls.

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[lyka cruz malkin]

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The squeak of the back door opening to the garden told her that someone was finally coming to investigate what she was up to. It made sense that it was Lea, who seemed to always be the mediator when it came to disagreements with their parents. Those had become more frequent over the last few years. They called it her rebellious streak. Lyka called it unfair. Everything that had happened in recent years had been decided for her. Going to Ilvermorny. Continuing with school. Having to be tutored. Warnings about not being able to play if her grades dipped. Where she would inevitably work. None of it was ever discussed with her input realistically listened to. She knew she would never play Quidditch professionally. She had known for years that she lacked the capabilities and skill to do so. Yet they had to remind her of that as well. Wasn’t she allowed to have one dream to hold on to before she was forced to sew for the rest of her life?

”You know I’m not,” Lyka grumbled back to her sister in response, not moving at all. Her cheek had melded into her arm, and that into the table. Watching her sister approach and take a seat in the reflection of her dead phone screen, she maintained her unmoving pity-party. Hiding away behind her locked bedroom door was more her sort of thing lately, but at least this way her parents couldn’t complain about her not being outside enough. Sure, the sun was down, but considering how hot out it had been for the past month or so, doing things at night seemed appropriate. This still counted as getting fresh air, even if they didn’t like it.

”Why do they hate my happiness?” Maybe that was a tad dramatic but what happened in the moment, happened. It constantly felt like she was being ganged up on by them, always with the excuse that she would thank them later for getting her on the right path now before it was too late. That made it sound like she was addicted to potions and partying every night of the week instead of attending Hogwarts. All she wanted to do was play Quidditch. Was that too much to ask for?

lea cruz malkin ● 378 ● Song by Artist

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[lea cruz malkin]

Walking around

With my little rain cloud

July 7, 2028
lyka cruz malkin

Lea didn’t know how to respond. She hardly fought with her parents but also didn’t put up much of a fight. It wasn’t really in her nature—that had all fallen on Lyka for some reason. Still, she didn’t like to see her sister unhappy. ”They don’t hate your happiness…” They were their parents, after all. It wouldn’t make sense. But Lea knew their family was probably different. ”Here—“ Lea pulled out the portable charging device. One of her friends had shown it to her during the previous school year. Portable and convenient, who wouldn’t want one? ”For your phone.”

Gently, she placed it on the table in case Lyka chose to grab it. Or maybe she would grab it after Lea left. Usually, she could tell when her sister didn’t want company, but Lea always gave it a shot. The portable battery had a very simple design, indicating a branded item of the Falcons. Lea had seen it and thought of Lyka. While Lea probably needed one of these, she knew that working meant she could easily buy another one soon. ”They probably don’t understand—at least Dad doesn’t.” Lea knew that for a fact. Working at the store felt like some chosen path for the girls since they were born.

And while Lea liked working at the store, other choices would have been nice. ”Working at the store isn’t bad. It's nice to have a paycheck now.” Years of hard labor for free—how times changed. However, she also figured that their dad didn’t want either of them to end up like Benny Ollivander. Simply working at the bookstore and doing nothing like either of his sisters. Lea often overheard what people said about him.

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[lyka cruz malkin]

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Lyka knew that her parents didn’t actually hate the things that she liked; it was more like they dealt with her insane chattering and nodded along like they cared. She absolutely came on strong and sort of ridiculous with her passion. But to tell her to stop with school or Quidditch, or to move on? It was constantly happening at this point, and she didn’t know what to do. The last thing she wanted was for them to push her into something that she didn’t want. ”Yes they do,” she grumbled. Once again, being way too dramatic about the whole thing.

She took the portable charger that Lea had brought out for her and mumbled a ‘thanks’ to her sister. The screen was still black as she plugged it in. It was dead, dead. The kind where it would be at least ten minutes before the phone realized that it had a charge again. Once she went up to her room it wouldn’t matter since she’d plug it in and watch more matches in her bed. Lyka could waste away entire days doing that.

”Of course he doesn’t. They didn’t have to worry about almost getting killed at school and then being sent to a completely different country the next year.” She hated that decision so much. Why couldn’t they have gone to Beauxbatons instead? It was closer to home, and they had Quidditch there. Not to mention the prestige of the school. Obviously Ilvermorny was easier because of the language and that was also where the majority of the displaced Hogwarts students ended up as a return favor, but still.

Lyka gave her sister a look that said she really didn’t want to hear about how ‘okay’ or ‘fine’ it was to work at the shop. They both knew that it wasn’t her calling. Doing so would end up with her in worse shape than she currently was. ”Maybe for you it is. I don’t mind working the till once in a while, but I can’t do that my whole life Lea. It’s just…boring.”

lea cruz malkin ● 345 ● Song by Artist

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[lea cruz malkin]

Walking around

With my little rain cloud

July 7, 2028
lyka cruz malkin

Lea sighed, not wanting to also start an argument with her sister. As the oldest, there was always a responsibility to watch over and protect her. However, the one person Lea could never protect Lyka from was herself. Plus, it wasn’t helpful that the sisters had such different interests. While Lyka wanted to watch the players for their moves and strategies, Lea was much like other girls her age, giggling at the sight of the cuter players. But then her sister brought up a point not even Lea could argue.

”Yeah...that’s true.” Lea slumped a little in her seat at the thought. While she had been unharmed, the visuals remained in her mind. Plus, finding out what had occurred to her sister in the Great Hall and waiting to see or hear from her afterward had been terrifying. While Lea had always been a proud Ravenclaw, the towers were not the greatest place to be that day. ”I wish they had sent us to Beauxbatons. We would’ve been closer to home, too.” That part never made sense to Lea. A portkey home or even hopping on the muggle train was far more accessible than arranging travel to the States.

”No--I know.” Lea chewed the inside of her lip. Growing up, she’d obsessed over the fashion magazines sold in Diagon Alley and marveled at the styles and changes. The styles and fashion in her family’s shop were not boring by any means, though they weren’t Twilfitt and Tattings either. But Lea had never expressed any other desires to her parents, either. The thought made her uncomfortable.

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[lyka cruz malkin]

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”Right? I still don’t get it. I think they just wanted us as far away as possible so that if there were issues, they wouldn’t have to come get us because of the distance.” Her theory was completely ridiculous, because she knew that their parents would drop everything they were doing if something serious actually had happened at Ilvermorny. She had originally been worried that their mum wouldn’t even let them go back to any school after the way Hogwarts ended up. Lyka didn’t add that Beauxbatons would have been better for a multitude of reasons, namely Quidditch, but also because their uniforms were to die for. She’d heard her grandmother grumbling about not having the chance to finally work on them. Apparently, they were a big deal. Ilvermorny was okay, but not too different from Hogwarts. Either way, that was all done with.

The unfortunate truth about the shop was that it was their parents’. Not theirs. Lyka would have no problem helping her sister run it if it came down to that. But waiting twenty, thirty years? No thanks. She wanted to do something with her life. ”Trust me, if I can’t find anything else after school, I’ll be right alongside you there. But I can’t do it forever.” Repeating herself somehow helped solidify her decision. There was still no telling how this was all going to pan out. She had a year of school left, and that was rough enough on her as it was. Her worries lay more with having the grades to graduate, the alternative being dropping out. Then she’d really be stuck working at the store. ”I don’t have the talent to be a seamstress either. I just screw up everything I try to do.” That had been a reoccurring theme over the last few years. Always barely scraping by with her grades and being a general fuck up in life. She could hear her own uneasiness in her voice. It hurt to admit it.

lea cruz malkin ● 331

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[lea cruz malkin]

Walking around

With my little rain cloud

July 7, 2028
lyka cruz malkin

Lea frowned, opening her mouth to respond but stopping herself momentarily. She couldn’t really believe that could she? ”Lyka…” She didn’t want to argue with her sister, but their parents had always been there for them. Sometimes, they were a little tough during their breaks as they never had the same free time as their friends, always helping at the shop. Then again, Lea and Lyka had also seen that from their peers in Diagon Alley. It was normal for them. Still, Lea hadn’t figured out the logic to send them so far away for school. And she hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask either, not even when alone with her mother at the shop.

While Lea would have loved to work side by side with her younger sister, she knew it wasn’t where she belonged. Lea? Well, it was a natural fit, and she couldn’t picture anything else. Plus, it felt wrong to do anything else at this point. With the natural talent inherited from her father and grandmother—why would she work as a seamstress anywhere else? There was an exasperation that Lea had not heard in Lyka’s voice in a long time, which made her feel bad. ”Don’t say that…everybody has something they’re good at.” Even if it wasn’t like the rest of their family.

She thought of some of those Diagon Alley peers, how Benny worked at the bookstore instead of a wand shop, or how only one of the Fortescue’s ran the ice cream shop. Wait—why hadn’t she thought of that before? ”Don’t work at the shop.” Lea slowly spoke as if her thoughts were forming as slowly as her words. She peered thoughtfully into the night. But after pausing a moment, Lea realized she should probably clarify. ”Maybe Quality Quidditch Supplies will need to hire some help?” Lea looked at her sister, still feeling shocked that such a statement had come from her mind. Merlin, what would their father think? But Lea knew her younger sister wouldn’t be happy working at their family shop, and she supposed being a big sister trumped her family’s expectations.

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[lyka cruz malkin]

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Being unreasonable had been the name of her game over the last few years. She’d heard her parents mutter to one another when they thought she wasn’t around. About ‘teenage rebellion’ and whatnot. There was even one point where her dad had said how maybe failing at a few things would be best for her. That seemed to be part of the approach they were taking with her now. Like she’d suddenly realize it once she totally buggered up her chances at life by failing all of her classes and never advancing past a support role as a reservist for the house team. And then she would be beholden to them and the shop. ”Don’t tell me you didn’t think about that too,” she huffed, still stuck on the topic of being sent to Ilvermorny. ”You know they took longer to respond to my letters too once I started complaining about there not being any Quidditch there.” Lyka knew that was because of the distance and time it took more than anything else. They also simply ignored those parts when sending their own back to her. Because who would honestly want to deal with her being unreasonable the entire year? Even she wouldn’t want to be stuck with someone like herself. It was annoying.

”Then what’s mine?” she asked. She could fly, but that was a useless skill unless she could play Quidditch with it, and even that she was bad at. She was only on the team because they felt bad for her and needed someone to take care of the equipment. There were barely any classes in school that she could call her best, let alone one where she excelled. She could do menial tasks to help with the shop, but no matter how hard she worked at it, she wasn’t anywhere close to Lea or the rest of the family. Nothing else came to mind.

Lea offered up the idea of working at Quality Quidditch, and Lyka rolled her eyes to look up at her sister. ”I already asked Mr. Santini last month when we got home. He did one of those awkward laughs and then asked me if I needed more polish.” She had always had the feeling that he only dealt with her because she’d spend all of her allowance on ridiculous things. Mostly in the hopes that a different polish or handle grip might help her get onto the team. Sure, she was ‘on the team’ last year, but she wasn’t on the team. ”No one wants me. I-I’m useless,” she felt her voice crack and her eyes start to get watery. Lyka knew that wasn’t completely true. At least not the first half. That didn’t stop her from feeling like she was all alone in this though. It always felt like she was battling against the inevitable. Slowly, it had been chasing her for years. Now, it had finally caught up to her.

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