December [Penelope]

[cara june bainbridge]

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December 1, 2028

Cara was unsure where the rest of the family was. She had gotten back from her job at Spellbucks only an hour prior, and no one had bothered to respond to her family group text yet. Which probably meant the phones her parents had were dead or turned off, and the rest of her siblings were still at work. No surprise there when it came to her parents. Even with her dad being a muggle, he seemed to slip right into the same air headedness that most magical folk had concerning technology. It was sort of silly, really. Who didn’t know how to use phones at this point in time?

Regardless of her concerns, she was home alone which rarely happened these days. She supposed it would be perfect for writing, being quiet and all that. No nosy mum trying to figure out what all the tap-tapping away from her bedroom was, or siblings trying to get the jump on what her next story was going to be. They all knew now, and Cara was still trying to decide if that was a good or bad thing. Her anonymity had been incredibly important to her because she didn’t want this to harm any aspects of professional writing down the road. Whether or not that was something that would actually happen for her was up for debate. Doing what she was doing now was incredibly lucrative, as much as she hated it sometimes.

Still chilled from the cold December air that had decided to creep into her as she traveled from Hogsmeade to home, Cara had secured her laptop from her bedroom and gone into the family room. Lighting the fireplace with her wand and setting the tea kettle onto the stovetop, she collapsed into one of the chairs. She couldn’t bring herself to drink coffee after making it all day for ungrateful Hogwarts students. And tea was so much more relaxing to drink after a long shift.

Pulling her phone out of her pocket after a moment, she debated whether or not to text Calliope about seeing what she was up to later. Cara knew the answer already but was trying to decide how tired she was exactly. The last thing she wanted to do was get there and immediately pass out. She was off tomorrow evening anyways, and that would be better for a date and then some…

The whistle of the kettle reaching boiling point broke her trance and she slid off of the chair and thumped back into the kitchen. Two wand waves and the kettle was pouring itself into the cup she had already prepped. A few minutes of steeping and then she’d be all set. Leaning on the kitchen counter, Cara waited patiently. The silence of the house was sort of nice, only interrupted by the occasional pop and crackle from the fireplace. Perfect for writing.

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[penelope raisa bainbridge]

December 1, 2028

Though Penelope had moved out of the Bainbridge family home in favor of living with a handful of other people her age who were mostly former Hufflepuffs like herself, that didn't mean that she didn't come back home from time to time. She could Apparate back whenever it was convenient for her, and she appreciated having that ability. Since her father was a Muggle, it was usually easier for her to go to her parents than it was for them to come to her. Besides, she loved her parents; her relationships with her siblings were sometimes complicated, but she didn't hold that against them.

Penelope had decided to stop by after work to grab some clothes that she was pretty sure she had left there at some point. Not wanting to show up too late because of the fact that it was already dark outside so early, she had left her job at Forget-Me-Knot and had Disapparated from there without bothering to check her phone.

When she got to her intended destination, she had a general idea of who would be home and who wouldn't be based on their schedules, though there was never any telling for certain. The good thing was that walking into the house generally wasn't as chaotic as it had been in the days when all of the Bainbridge children had been living under one roof, and it wasn't on that day, either. It was actually quiet, though, which it almost never was. Was it possible that she was the only one there?

"Hello?" Penelope called out as she shut the front door and locked it again. If she was the only one there, then that would be a change.

cara june bainbridge

[cara june bainbridge]

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The crack of the almost vacuumed sealed front door as it opened was obtrusive to the silence that Cara had come to enjoy over the last few minutes. While she couldn’t feel the cold of the outside from where she was in the kitchen, merely thinking about the little blast of frigid air that would have entered along with whatever family member this was, made her shiver. She supposed it wasn’t the worst thing in the world to have someone else here, though she had wanted peace and quiet for a little longer. There was still a low buzz in her ears from how loud the coffee shop was. She needed to talk to Blishwick about placing a sound dampening charm or two in there, only because permanent hearing damage was definitely going to happen for anyone that worked there longer than a few months. Not to mention that the customers were frequently upset when their names were incorrect on their cups. As if she can tell the difference between some of them while having music blaring right above her head at the order counter.

”Kitchen!” Cara called back as she stared at her cup of tea longingly. Even raising her voice hurt slightly, the hoarseness finally started to come into play. She needed these next few days off after all. Cara refused to move from where she was though. Getting her tea perfect was sort of a thing lately, and whichever sibling this was, could come to her. She was fairly certain it was Penny, but in her current state, the triplets would all sound the same to her. With almost all of her siblings in various stages of moved out, Cara was starting to wonder if she was the weird one now. Not that they were ever all out of the house at the same time though. Some still crashed when it got too late or had to be up early the next morning. She was fairly certain Dustin only stayed when he wanted to get a free breakfast before a match. Eventually she was going to have to leave too. If only for her own sanity.

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[penelope raisa bainbridge]

December 1, 2028

"Kitchen!"

Penelope recognized the voice that had called out to her as belonging to her sister Cara. It was sort of surprising that she was the one there, admittedly. Between her two part-time jobs and her attempting to make it as an author, it seemed like Cara was always busy with something. "Alright!" Acknowledging what Cara had just communicated to her—that she was in the kitchen—Penelope pulled off her boots and coat, set them aside, and then made her way into the kitchen.

As promised, Cara was there, and she was positioned in front of what appeared to be a cup of tea. Penelope, who wasn't a fan of the taste or smell of coffee anyway, guessed that Cara was probably tired of Spellbucks. If memory served her right, Cara had been working there earlier in the day. "Ooh! Is there enough hot water for a second cuppa?" Penelope asked as she moved to stand beside her sister. It wouldn't be too difficult to put the kettle on for a second time, but she figured that she would ask before assuming one way or another.

cara june bainbridge

[cara june bainbridge]

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Penny it was! Every member of the Bainbridge family sounded differently as they opened the door and entered, some more aggressively than others, not to mention the differentiating noises they made when they got home. It was the same with how she could tell who was walking up the stairs based on the speed in which they did it, and the cadence of the steps creaking. That became more important once she was fully back home after graduation and starting on her ‘writing’ journey. The last thing Cara ever wanted was one of her family finding out about her stories back then. It didn’t really matter now that half of them knew, but she still needed to know if one of her parents was about to barge into her room unexpectedly. They really wouldn’t understand what she was doing at all.

”Yep,” she answered her sister’s question with a yawn. It probably would have been difficult to write under these conditions anyways now that she thought about it. The warm crackle of the fire, the steam from her tea, and the way the chair by the fireplace had a habit of enveloping her in a hug…”If not, it’ll only take a second anyways.” Even though she had just prepared it, she couldn’t remember how much she had asked the charms to do. Tentatively lifting up the kettle by the handle, it felt like enough.

”How was work?” Cara asked as she moved out of the way so Penelope could pour her cup and pick out her tea. Another minute at least until her own was done steeping. Calliope had started to make her like her tea strong as of late, forgoing any additions. Cara knew she was committing a cardinal sin, but she kind of enjoyed it better this way. Not too strong though. Apparently, some Americans kept their tea bags in the entire time they drank it. It was no wonder they broke away all those years ago.

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[penelope raisa bainbridge]

December 1, 2028

With a yawn, Cara replied to her that there was still enough water left for her to pour herself a cup of tea, too. "If not, it'll only take a second anyways," she reminded her. The both of them were lucky, thought Penelope, that it was easy to heat water with magic. Whereas food couldn't be transfigured into being, water could at least be magically created. That meant that tea was also in reach as long as there were tea leaves or bags.

"Brilliant!" Penelope grinned.

"How was work?"

"It was good," Penelope replied as she moved to where Cara had been so that she could select her tea. Finding no reason to use magic just for that process, though, Penelope got herself a cup and began looking through the tea that was available to her. Working under Aurelia Flint was pretty positive.

"How was yours?" she asked Cara as she figured out which tea bag she wanted to use. She didn't need anything very strong at that point, so she went with a green tea instead of a black tea.

cara june bainbridge

[cara june bainbridge]

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How was her work? Exhausting? Mentally draining? Somehow, scooping ice cream was so much easier than making complicated coffee drinks. Both her mindless work, there was no denying that. Cara just enjoyed Fortescue's so much more. "It was okay," she sighed. "I'm already starting to grow tired of it. Makes me not want to drink coffee anymore." The thing about Fortescue's was that she never really ate much ice cream to begin with, so it sort of did nothing to her. It was also how she met Cal so yeah, of course she liked it a lot more as a job. There was actually a benefit to it all. Being yelled at by angry students when they hopped into line twenty minutes before their class was not her definition of an enjoyable job. At all.

She moved to the side to give her sister room to pour her own tea, bringing her own cup up to her mouth but deciding not to drink. It was still too warm for her. Which was funny, considering she had just been sitting right in front of the fireplace. "I wish I could make a little more money from writing. I doubt there's a market for what I've done in book form..." That wasn't totally true. Cara knew there were muggle fantasy authors that had pulled it off. She just didn't know if doing the same in the magical world would be sustainable. As it stood, her numbers were pretty good. Taking the time to write an actual novel in the same vein would mean putting the rest on hold. She had just enough chapters written as it was to hold out for a few months, but after that she would have to decide what was worth her time more. That was what frustrates her the most as of late.

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[penelope raisa bainbridge]

December 1, 2028

Cara said that her workday was "okay", but her sigh betrayed her. "I'm already starting to grow tired of it. Makes me not want to drink coffee anymore," she elaborated.

As a non-coffee-drinker and what some people would have called a "coffee hater"—which she didn't really mind because it was true—Penelope could have told Cara a long time before then that coffee just wasn't worth it. "And that's why I drink tea," she stated, taking the opportunity to plop the bag she'd chosen into her cup and pour the water from the kettle over the top of it.

"I wish I could make a little more money from writing," Cara continued. "I doubt there's a market for what I've done in book form…"

"I mean, someone would probably publish your writing," Penelope encouraged her as she added sugar to her tea. She couldn't promise Cara any sort of book deal for her work, but if it was popular on the WWWW, someone would probably give her some money for it. "I don't exactly know how it all works or how long it might take"—there was probably someone to whom she could submit a portfolio or something—"but you like doing it, and you're obviously good at it."

"You could try Muggle publishers, too?" Penelope suggested as she stirred in the sugar. That was the benefit of having a Muggle father; he could help Cara figure out how to navigate that arena if she was interested. "If you change some of the names and details," she considered, "it won't breach magical secrecy. And then it's just, er… 'spicy' stereotypical fantasy stuff."

cara june bainbridge

[cara june bainbridge]

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Cara laughed at her sister's comment about drinking tea. It was funny because that was the same reason she was making it right now. That and her vocal chords needed soothing. Using the same dull, monotone voice with every customer wore her down fast. Not that she was more enthusiastic sounding at Fortescue's, but it was definitely a more thrilling experience than hearing ridiculous coffee orders all day. She also didn't like losing interest in coffee. Ice cream was more manageable because she didn't had the desire to eat it every day. There were definitely some people out there that did though, and for a while, she had assumed Calliope was one of them. It made a little more sense once she realized that her now-girlfriend was there to see her and not necessarily try every flavor of ice cream that the Fortescue's had to offer.

She had thought about going the publishing route before. It just took an editor that was as equal of a freak as her to figure out how to sell it. Cara knew that there were more discrete 'romance novels' already on the shelves of Flourish & Blotts. She'd read all of them. Merlin, half of her bookshelves were magic and muggle smut, mostly hidden by normal looking fantasy titles. Penny had a point though: if she wanted to change a few things around, she could easily go the muggle route with it too. They gobbled this up just as much as her current readers did.

"Yeah, I know. I think I just need to push myself to do it. Some of them could actually do with a rewrite too, and I think they'd be better with more meat added to them." Cara only realized her poor choice of wording after she finished, scrunching her nose up at it. "Substance in the book, not, you know..." she clarified quickly. Definitely a great thing to be talking to her little sister about over tea.

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[penelope raisa bainbridge]

December 1, 2028

"Yeah, I know," Cara replied in relation to her comment about going the Muggle publishing route instead of trying to get a magical publisher. "I think I just need to push myself to do it. Some of them could actually do with a rewrite too, and I think they'd be better with more meat added to them." She corrected herself before what she had said could be mistaken for a double entendre. "Substance in the book, not, you know…"

In all fairness, Penelope thought, they were probably one and the same with some of what Cara wrote. She understood what her sister had intended to say, though; publishing a physical book was different from just putting something on the WWWW, or even the non-magical internet. Publishers probably wanted a little more characterization, a little more plot.

Penelope went to sip of her tea to check that she didn't need to add anything else to it. Finding that it was to her liking, she resumed her conversation with Cara.

"Yeah, just polishing everything and making it look nice would show publishers that you're serious," she agreed. Whether Cara went for a magical one or not, Penelope felt that would undoubtedly apply. "I've heard of Muggle books getting published because the author got famous online first, too." With the magical world, the situation was a little different; a lot of people were still interested in doing things without Muggle technology, while others were pushing against that. Penelope didn't envy trying to get her foot into any industry without a good idea of what the people making the decisions preferred.

cara june bainbridge

[cara june bainbridge]

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With a lot of her earlier stories, she had gone the route of whipping chapters out as fast as possible. Some were riddled with grammatical errors, others with very little substance. Fine tuning and tightening up a few of them would definitely help if she moved towards publishing. Assuming, of course, that she could even find someone to help her with it in the first place. There was definitely a market though, that was for sure. She wouldn’t have had all those views if that wasn’t the case. Penelope seemed to agree with her though. There were definitely ways to do this, especially in 2028. It would just take a little initiative on her end. And probably a bit of time to get through all the rewrites and decide which stories were worth pursuing as an actual novel.

Sipping on her tea, she closed her eyes for a few moments to think over it all again. It was definitely a goal for the new year. If she put in the effort to do some research on where to go and who to look for throughout December, she could definitely get things going in January. A whole lot of life experience had happened over the last few years. Quite a few of her early stories would benefit from everything she’d learned since.

”The only other worry I have is that I have zero connection to the muggle world. They’re going to ask where I went to uni and all that…appearing out of nowhere definitely won’t be suspicious at all.” The one benefit was that she had a tested audience already. They would bite and buy books if she told them. Guaranteed sales that way would at least prove to any publisher that she had a readership. Would it be cheating? Probably. But it’d get her foot in the door that was for sure.

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[penelope raisa bainbridge]

December 1, 2028

"The only other worry I have," Cara continued, "is that I have zero connection to the Muggle world." Apart from their father, Penelope considered, she had a point. "They're going to ask where I went to uni and all that… appearing out of nowhere definitely won't be suspicious at all."

"There's got to be someone at the Ministry who could fix that for you," Penelope thought aloud. The Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee handled accidents after the fact, alongside Obliviators, but there had to be a workaround for witches and wizards who wanted or needed to be involved in the Muggle world for some reason.

"…Or there's always Knockturn Alley. You know, the actual 'dark side of Diagon'," she teased, referencing her sister's screen name. "I'm joking," she added, feeling the need to mention that. In reality, Diana had probably known someone who could hook her up with some falsified Muggle documents, but that was asking for more trouble. "Don't do anything illegal."

cara june bainbridge

[cara june bainbridge]

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Penelope, once again, had a point. The Ministry had answers to almost everything. When she had contemplated going to muggle uni, she’d held meetings with a few different departments on what she could and could not do or say. Obviously, Cara wasn’t stupid. There was quite a bit of muggle influence within the Bainbridge family already because of their father, so she knew how to act properly out in public compared to some of her contemporaries. She understood the comfort that came with staying within the magical community, but sometimes interacting with the broader world was important too. The fact that she was balking now, when it her career could greatly improve from it, was a bit of surprise to her.

”I’ll have to reach out to them then…” Cara thought on her sister’s idea a bit more. A chuckle rolled out of her at the concept of putting her work forward into Knockturn. They wouldn’t appreciate it there as much as one would assume. ”No…I don’t think that would work all that well. While I think they could learn to lighten up over there, I’m not sure they would find my stories all that thrilling.” Or maybe they would. It was always hard to tell, and considering there was no data showing her where her readership was based, it made things impossible. For all she knew, Knockturn was eating up the smut she was writing and loving every single paragraph of it. Merlin, wouldn’t that be funny?

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