Downtown Christmas Eve [Felix]

[lyka cruz malkin]

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December 24, 2028

’Lyka, love, you have a tutor. How are you still failing Potions? And your Charms marks are barely above passing too. It’s like you aren’t trying, even with the extra help.’

She could feel the burning shame start to build up in her face, unsure of what to say next, if she was even allowed to say anything. Her mum wasn’t yelling at her, but the guilt of continuing to be a failure had fully set in now. They probably weren’t even expecting a mid-year report, yet they got one. And of course it had to come in on Christmas Eve. When the whole family was there to witness it. She really was trying to get her grades up. They technically had. She was passing Charms and Herbology again (or barely as her mother put it), and even her Potions was markedly higher than it had been the year before. But failing was failing, and she needed to not be failing in order to graduate the following spring.

”I don’t know…” she answered quietly, her head down, eyes staring down at her feet. Her parents would help her if she asked. They already, which was why she had a tutor in the first place. She also knew where this conversation was going to go next, because it always turned to it: Quidditch. As if on cue, her mum continued,

’I think you might need to leave the team. Clearly you aren’t able to study and play at the same time.’

That hurt. She opened her mouth to protest, but no words came out. Because her mum wasn’t wrong in the slightest. It sucked so much being a reserve player and still not passing her courses. Talk about being a failure.

Mentally beating herself up and fighting back the tears that wanted to come out, Lyka did the second worst thing she could do. She stormed off without saying a word, not wanting to admit that her parents were once again right about her. Grabbing her jacket, mittens, and the first wool hat she could fish out of a drawer full of assorted winter garb, Lyka slammed the door behind her and ran out into the cold night air.

Christmas Eve in Diagon Alley was active, but not nearly as busy as it had been the previous week. Hands shoved aggressively in her coat pockets and hat pulled tightly around her head, she moved as fast as she could away from her home and the family shop. The first stream of tears was quickly wiped up by her mitten, but they continued as she bolted down the street.

There wasn’t really a place she had in mind, as most of the stores were already about to close for the holidays. Flourish & Blotts came to mind, but as she passed by, she could see through the windows that there was a line wrapped around inside. Poor Mina. There was someone that seemed like a screw-up and still managed to graduate and have a job. Lyka liked talking to her. They vibed together well.

Avoiding a small pack of carolers that had a sizeable audience, the glowing lights of Fortescue’s lay before her. Fishing around in her pocket, she found a few coins. Enough to eat her confused feelings away. It would ruin her dinner, but that was better than saying anything she’d regret to her parents. Sniffling to herself as she pushed the door open, she immediately made her way up to the counter and stared into the available flavors. There didn’t seem to be anyone else there eating ice cream. But who would on Christmas Eve? Just her and other sad, lonely souls. Dabbing at her eyes again, she looked around to see who was working today.

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[felix valentin fortescue]

December 24, 2028

It was Christmas Eve and a Sunday, yet Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour remained open for anyone who had one last hankering for a frozen confection before Christmas. Though it was hardly the busiest day of the year, there had been more customers in than Felix had expected when he had started working that morning. It just went to show that sometimes even he was wrong about when people would and wouldn't want ice cream, despite years of experience.

Having been proven wrong once already that day, Felix kept the ice cream parlor open for its usual hours instead of closing up shop early. There probably weren't that many customers who would come in, but making money during the coldest months of the year was hard enough as it was. If a few more people wanted ice cream, then he wasn't going to turn them down.

With an obvious lull in customers as the day went on, however, Felix had stepped into the back to prepare what he could for closing. It would save him some time later on, hopefully, though he knew he couldn't do anything with the available flavors of ice cream until the ice cream parlor was officially closed. Merlin forbid that they didn't have a flavor in that somebody wanted; as the only one working that day, he'd be on the receiving end of their frustrations.

After a while, he heard the sound of bells tinkling as the door to the shop opened, which was undoubtedly the signal of another customer entering. Felix returned from the back of the ice cream parlor as quickly as he could, and he saw a familiar face across the counter. Like him and his siblings, Lyka Malkin was another one of the children who had grown up in Diagon Alley. With its status as the major shopping district, the principle of everyone knowing everyone in magical Britain was even more evident among the families that ran businesses there. What caught Felix by surprise was that Lyka looked as though she had been crying.

"Hey, Lyka," Felix started calmly. "What's wrong?"

lyka cruz malkin

[lyka cruz malkin]

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Thank Merlin the viewing window for the ice cream cooler wasn’t reflective, because she really didn’t want to see what her face looked like. Merry Christmas to her, she supposed. Why this couldn’t wait until after was beyond her. But now it was out there, and she was going to have to field questions and yet another plan on how to correct her studies. She knew where it was going to eventually end up at too. Quitting Quidditch, successfully killing off the last hope of maybe playing in a match at school and impressing a scout, was the answer. Because not having practice would make her want to study that much more. It sucked that Lea wasn’t still at school because she definitely could have vouched for how much effort Lyka was putting in right now. She let out a long exhale as she continued to stare at all of the different flavors available. Did they have a sad girl sundae or something?

The sound of someone moving around from the back area brought her eyes up. She wasn’t completely surprised to see that Felix was working, as it was sort of his shop at this point. And if it wasn’t him at the counter, it was the older Bainbridge girl. ”Oh…you know,” she sniffed again. She must have looked like hell if he could pick up on it right away. ”School stuff mostly. They just had to send an owl home today of all days.” Lyka let out a long, frustrated sigh. It was sort of ridiculous. The worst part was that she had been fairly certain her Potions grade was borderline. So not something that would have warranted a letter home. Obviously, she was wrong.

”It’s just…they don’t see how hard I’m working and that I’m not goofing off. But that doesn’t matter when the school says I’m not passing classes.” Her arms went up in a defeated shrug. There really wasn’t much she could do now except triple down on studying. ”Sorry. You weren’t about to close were you? I kind of ran into the first place I saw open without a line and that was here…so yeah…” She didn’t want to impose on anyone else today. If Felix was closing up, she was pretty sure she could wander around the bookstore until she got kicked out. From the looks of it, it was going to be another hour at least until that.

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[felix valentin fortescue]

December 24, 2028

Lyka sniffled as she replied, though it wasn't immediately clear to Felix what was the matter based on her response. The good thing was that Felix didn't have to ask again and look ignorant, because Lyka clarified the situation for him. Some sort of owl had been sent home to her family from Hogwarts, and Felix took it that it hadn't been good news for her. He bobbed his head in acknowledgement and continued to listen to what Lyka had to say. She sighed and went on with her explanation, which was that she wasn't passing at least one of her classes.

After telling him about her problems, Lyka apologized and asked if he was about to close, since she had gone to the first place she could. Felix shook his head. He hadn't planned on closing up the ice cream parlor for a little while longer. Besides, even though Lyka wasn't family, she was still sort of like a little sister. The last thing he was going to do was turn her away when she obviously needed some ice cream and a break from reality.

"It's alright," Felix assured Lyka, waving his hand slightly. "I wasn't closing just yet, but you'd be welcome here anyway." He smiled a little at her; he meant it, too. Honestly, he didn't even know if Lyka wanted ice cream. If she had come there just because it was convenient, it probably hadn't been the first thing on her mind. There were plenty of tables available if she just wanted to sit down and ignore the rest of the world.

Felix figured that he would check with Lyka to find out what she wanted. "Do you want some ice cream? Or just some company? Some space?" he asked. She didn't have to have any ice cream if she didn't want it.

lyka cruz malkin

[lyka cruz malkin]

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Lyka had a bad habit of talking at people, not to them, and in her current state was somewhat aware that she shouldn’t be doing that right now. The last thing she wanted to be doing while vulnerable like this was saying the wrong things and having Felix give her the boot. Realistically, she knew he would never actually do that. But it didn’t stop her from thinking. Rationality was a mixed bag currently. Plus, she sort of felt guilty for spilling her personal problems onto Felix abruptly like this. This ultimately was an issue between herself and her parents. Nonetheless, venting felt kind of nice in the moment…

Felix explained that it was okay that she was there, and that the shop wasn’t closing yet. She couldn’t tell if he was saying that because he was nice or if it was actually true. Not that many people were going to buy ice cream on Christmas Eve, were they? On the flipside, her family’s store had been bustling since she got back from school. Nonstop repairs and sales, and she had practically been thrown behind the cash register to free up her father so he could help on the floor. The stress of the holidays definitely hadn’t helped with what went down earlier either. Everything kept replaying in her head as she listened to Felix. As if she could have done it a different way. There was no way to go back and fix grades that she was already putting her absolute best into.

”The peppermint bark doesn’t make you actually bark, does it?” she asked, pointing at the flavor through the glass. Knowing wizarding humor, it would. ”Two scoops if it doesn’t, I guess.” Reaching for her pocket, she realized that she hadn’t grabbed any money while storming out of the house. Fishing around in her jacket pocket, she did produce a few sickles. Leftovers from a lunch she bought the other day and forgot about. ”Know any families looking to adopt? Or maybe a place to get a gravestone? Because if I don’t graduate, I’m dead.”

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[felix valentin fortescue]

December 24, 2028

Lyka asked about the peppermint bark ice cream, questioning if it would make her bark—like a dog would—upon eating it. There were plenty of confections with side effects of that sort in the magical world, so Felix didn't find the question unusual. The peppermint bark flavor itself had come into existence because of the many Americans who had become customers of the ice cream parlor over time. Peppermint bark was apparently a big deal across the pond, and Felix had began to understand why ever since putting his first batch of it together.

"It's not an enchanted flavor, no. It's like a layered chocolate bar. It's dark chocolate, white chocolate, and then bits of peppermint," he explained. Although he didn't know exactly without checking, Felix was pretty sure that the confection was called "peppermint bark" because the peppermint was slightly jagged, and it sort of looked like tree bark when it was broken into pieces.

Given that its potential to make her bark was Lyka's sole concern before requesting two scoops of peppermint bark, Felix nodded. She hadn't specified beyond that, though, so he checked, "…Cone or cup?"

"Know any families looking to adopt?" Lyka asked him. "Or maybe a place to get a gravestone? Because if I don't graduate, I'm dead."

Coincidentally, Felix could give her information about gravestones if she really wanted it; his father had died back in April of 2026, but he didn't think that Lyka actually had a desire to get on that subject. As for adoption, though, Felix didn't have a clue, especially not when Lyka was of age and legally an adult.

"No, sorry. You can stay here for a bit if you'd like," he offered her. It was one of the benefits of living above the shop with Vasilia. Since their entire family, including their older sibling, had lived there when they were younger, there was space if Lyka needed it. Being that it was Christmas Eve, her family probably expected her to come home before morning, but Felix knew he could inform the Malkins that Lyka was safe if that was going to be a concern.

lyka cruz malkin

[lyka cruz malkin]

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Maybe her calling was actually coming up with ice cream flavors, because she was honestly surprised the one she asked about wasn't magical. She wasn't really much good at anything else according to everyone else around her, so that would be all Felix could get out of her. Talk about being useless. All her parents saw were grades on a piece of paper. Apparently those were more important than what she was clearly going through. The memory of the offer her dad had given her the prior summer had come back a few times tonight, where she was given the chance to stop attending and work at the shop instead. Seven years at Hogwarts wasn't required anymore. What was the point in struggling through to the end when this was the result she was getting?

"Cup please," Lyka answered as she stared through the display to watch Felix scoop. It was one of her favorite parts about getting ice cream. Especially with the more unique flavors. Not breaking eye contact with her soon to be ice cream, she frowned at his response about not knowing anyone looking to adopt. As if such a thing were possible since she was turning eighteen in May. A sugar daddy would be more apt at that point...

"Thanks." She would probably leave after she finished the ice cream. None of this changed the fact that it was Christmas Eve, and she probably should go home eventually. Even though she was currently at odds with her parents, worrying them about her safety on top of everything else wasn't what she wanted to do. She didn't hate them, just disagreed completely with the way they were going about it. "Why do adults always think their way is right?" Lyka said aloud, speaking her thoughts. "Like, I know they think what they're doing is supposed to be what's best for me...but it isn't. And I don't know how to make them realize that." She was beyond frustrated at this point too. Hopefully the ice cream would help.

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[felix valentin fortescue]

December 24, 2028

Lyka requested her peppermint bark ice cream in a cup rather than a cone, and Felix got to work scooping it. Even though there were decent pieces of the chocolate bark in the flavor, it actually wasn't one of the worst ones that he'd had to scoop. Flavors without various bits of other things besides ice cream mixed in actually weren't his least favorite most of the time. What was the worst was when the freezer froze the ice cream a little too solid. Nobody wanted ice cream with freezer burn on it unless they wanted to suffer.

"Why do adults always think their way is right?" Lyka asked him as he worked. "Like, I know they think what they're doing is supposed to be what's best for me… but it isn't. And I don't know how to make them realize that."

Even though they were both adults themselves and though he had a few more years of adulthood under his belt than she did, Felix understood what Lyka meant. Being a teenager wasn't always fair, and a lot of that unfairness came from the same people who should have known better because they were that age once, too.

"I don't know," Felix answered Lyka honestly as he got her second scoop put neatly into the cup. The good news for her was that she was an adult. From the standpoint of the Ministry, she could make her own decisions about what she wanted to do with her life. That didn't mean that Lyka's concerns about her parents weren't valid; they were, but she had the final say.

Felix set Lyka's ice cream cup on the countertop for her and continued speaking. "If I knew, I'd be rich," he commented, though it was really more of a guess that cracking the code to intergenerational miscommunications could make someone a good bit of money. Having the experience of having been in the working world for a while and knowing what it was like to lose a parent already, he could give Lyka some advice. He hadn't been in Ravenclaw for nothing.

"It's sh*tty, though," Felix said upon washing his hands and coming back from behind the counter. "Especially if they don't see you as being responsible enough." He drew his mouth into a line that hinted at a smile, wanting it to be clear to Lyka that he didn't think that about her. "I don't think you should ignore it, because that's only going to make things more stressful for you," he advised, "but I don't think your mum and dad will be angry if you tell them you'd like to put off that conversation till after Christmas." They had never seemed to him like the kind of people who would be unreasonable in that way. "Then you can talk about it with them in a few days, once you've had some time to think over what you want to say."

lyka cruz malkin

[lyka cruz malkin]

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Lyka stared down into the scoops of ice cream as Felix talked, nodding along. She did understand where her parents were coming from, to some degree. She knew they wanted the best for her and that most of it was coming from a place of concern. That was easily the most frustrating part about all of it. As much as she wanted to place blame on the last few years being filled with discord and academic moves that put undue stress on her, she had never been that great of a student to begin with. Throwing her desperate, last-ditch attempt to make it onto the house team, and the perfect storm had brewed. The only problem was that she was trying. They just didn’t see that part of it because they weren’t there to look over her shoulders the entire time. And that was what frustrated her the most. Quidditch was not interfering in that at all, as much as they wanted to make it be the reason.

She took her first scoop of peppermint bark and felt the cool mintiness of it envelope her whole mouth. As contradictory as it should have been to eat ice cream on Christmas Eve, it felt right. Warm cookies would probably be better, but she would take what she could get right now. Anything to distract her was honestly great, even if she and Felix were actively discussing her home issues. ”The thing is, they could have waited too!” she pointed her spoon at him. That was part of what frustrated her so much. There was no need to do it today or tomorrow, of all days. They had an entire week to talk about it, in which she would have been one hundred percent on board with it. Except maybe the quitting Quidditch part. That was still a touchy subject.

A few more silent bites of the ice cream and she could feel her anger starting to melt away. She swore Fortescue’s poured calming draughts into their product. There was no other explanation for it. ”I think I’ll do that. No discussions on it until Tuesday.” She really didn’t want to get into another row tonight, or even tomorrow morning. It just wasn’t worth it when the conversation was already as heated as it had been. ”This is really good by the way,” Lyka added as she jabbed the ice cream with her spoon again.

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December 24, 2028

For a moment or two, Lyka was silent as she listened to what Felix was saying and began to eat her ice cream. She soon jabbed her spoon in his direction as she drew his attention to the fact that her parents could have waited to bring up the contents of the letter, too. Felix nodded. Lyka was right; they could have waited, but he couldn't really say why they hadn't. Waiting to address the contents of the letter from Hogwarts would have been hard for them for other reasons, he supposed, but they probably hadn't thought that far in advance. The letter had come, and they felt the need to address it.

Lyka, though, agreed that it would be better to wait to discuss things with them further in that regard until after Christmas. More specifically, she said that she wouldn't bring it up until Tuesday, which would be Boxing Day.

"Yeah, that'll give you and your family some time to just… relax." That sounded good from Felix's standpoint. It seemed like a fair compromise, and he hoped that Lyka's parents would be similarly agreeable to putting off the conversation until then.

Unrelated to the issues she was facing, Lyka complimented the ice cream flavor and said that it was really good.

"Thanks," Felix replied with a smile. Peppermint bark wasn't traditional Christmas fare for either of them, but it did make for good ice cream. "I'm glad you like it. And there's no barking." Trying to figure out ice cream flavors for during the winter months was always an interesting process. Some of the possibilities were too savory or too heavy, and others were too posh to attract the majority of the customers who came into the shop. Florean Fortescue's wasn't known for being fussy, and spending too much time and money on flavors no one would buy would be a waste.

lyka cruz malkin

[lyka cruz malkin]

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Felix’s comment on her family relaxing really made her wonder if that was possible. Every free moment that she was home that wasn’t consumed by them actively watching her do schoolwork she owed following a break or doing chores for them was then occupied by questions regarding her grades. It felt like it never ended. All Lyka wanted was to be done. If anything, they should be glad that she and Lea made it out of the castle alive and were still functional human beings. Many of her classmates had to seek help for the things they were forced to see that night. She didn’t know why they focused so much on her grades, aside from being able to brag to customers about how smart their children are. Or maybe it really was just that. A superficial marker of ‘look how great we are as parents because our daughters did so well on their own!’ Like a muggle bumper sticker. She couldn’t be reduced down to a bumper sticker.

Lyka decided not to discuss that one any further. She had to return to it eventually, and the more time she had away, the better. ”I mean,” she said as she shoved another scoop into her mouth, ”The barking wouldn’t be too bad I guess. Maybe a little weird?” Even stranger would be if the ice cream made the person eating it bark for a period time after. There were candies that already did that though.

She continued to eat her ice cream silently, wondering what to do after it. Head home immediately? Wander some more? Felix was right about not making her parents worry too much. But just a little wouldn’t hurt them. It wasn’t like they couldn’t punish her any more than they already had. ”What’s your family usually do tomorrow?” Lyka decided to ask. Talking about Christmas seemed like a good enough idea.

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[felix valentin fortescue]

December 24, 2028

Lyka reconsidered her thoughts on how she would have felt if the ice cream had made her bark, saying that she didn't think it would be too bad but "maybe a little weird". It would be noisy, too, though that would have been Felix's concern more than hers. Having to listen to people barking like dogs all day wouldn't be all that fun.

Changing the subject to Christmas, Lyka asked, "What's your family usually do tomorrow?"

The holiday had lost its luster for Felix once his father had become too ill to enjoy it, and then it just became another reminder of something else that he wouldn't be there to witness in the future. Since his father's death, Christmas hadn't gone back to what it had been when he and his sisters were younger, but it had normalized, he supposed. He didn't really want or need anything for Christmas in particular, and he wasn't still of the age where he had to ask for toys because he couldn't pay for them with his limited pocket money.

The more exciting occasion was Flossie's birthday, which was earlier in the month, though it was easier to take time off at Christmas than during the rush leading up to it. Since his eldest sister had returned from living in the States, it had become more of a family affair again, instead of just sending her something by owl post and hoping it got to her in time.

To answer Lyka, meanwhile, Felix shrugged. "Nothing much, really," he told her. "I mean, we'll go over to our mum's"—which still felt strange for him to say instead of "parents'" or "mum and dad's"—"and exchange presents and have Christmas dinner and all that." It would be a quiet Christmas, not extravagant or posh in the slightest. "Have your family got anything big planned?"

lyka cruz malkin

[lyka cruz malkin]

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The problem with the Malkins was that they were a completely normal family. Boringly so, even. She was easily the odd one out in the family, no thanks to her unique obsession with Quidditch and inability to function like a normal human being. Lyka knew she had problems with school and didn’t need to be reminded of it constantly. The nagging from her parents had become relentless despite it occurring less and less. They were seemingly catching on that she really wasn’t slacking off. That didn’t stop today’s blow-up from happening though.

Listening to Felix explain how his family did the normal stuff made her realize that she was wasn’t that much different from everyone else. Current situation aside, of course. ”We all live together, grandmother included, so no. It’s more of the same, just gifts added into it,” she explained. Another spoonful of ice cream was shoveled into her mouth, and she chewed it down despite the sharp sting in her teeth the cold caused and the subsequent brain freeze. Contorting her face as the chill spread, she pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth to fight back against it. She’d learned that trick years ago in this very shop.

”Before Lea and I were in school, we sometimes went to the Philippines to celebrate with our mum’s family. But we haven’t done that in years…” Too much had happened, and with their grandmother getting up there in age, her parents didn’t want to leave her behind during the holidays. It didn’t seem fair to them at all. One day they’d probably all make the trip again. They were definitely overdue at this point. Aside from a trip here or there during a summer break, it had been years since Lyka had last visited. ”But it’s just more of the same, really. I like it more for the time off from school than anything else. Except when it turns out like this,” she gestured broadly at what she was currently doing.

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[felix valentin fortescue]

December 24, 2028

Lyka didn't seem to think that her family's Christmas plans were that interesting. They all lived together under one roof, she noted, so the difference was just that gifts were added into the mix. To Felix, though, that would have been just fine. He couldn't remember the last time his family had celebrated a proper Christmas, with everyone together and everything normal. He had been younger than Lyka presently was.

A bout of brain freeze put their conversation on hold; however, Lyka soon recovered and continued speaking. "Before Lea and I were in school, we sometimes went to the Philippines to celebrate with our mum's family. But we haven't done that in years…" Felix, who hadn't realized that (probably because he had been a kid himself at the time), nodded. Flossie had lived in New York for a while, but he had been busy with life back on the other side of the pond. "But it's just more of the same, really," said Lyka. "I like it more for the time off from school than anything else. Except when it turns out like this."

"Yeah, I understand. You only get so much time not focused on assignments and exams." Felix didn't get school holidays anymore—and didn't really take time off from work if he could help it—but he understood the feeling of what that had been like. Some days, he felt older than he was, like some old curmudgeonly git who was ranting about "children these days". He knew he wasn't, really; he'd grown up around the Malkins and the Ollivanders and the rest of the established Diagon Alley families, and there were a lot of people around his and his sisters' ages. "Sometimes, I think about what it would have been like if LIFE had existed when I was at Hogwarts," Felix chuckled. "I wouldn't go back to Hogwarts, not now, but I was a Ravenclaw."

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[lyka cruz malkin]

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Lyka nodded her head as Felix voiced his thoughts on lack of free time at school. That was her biggest issue with all of it. The school to life balance was absolutely shit. The professors seemed to think that they needed to make up for lost time over the last few years and were overloading their classes with meaningless work. She had decided to try and take one of the higher-level Transfiguration classes this year, not because she was good at the subject but because it felt like the right thing she needed to do, and the professor was unbelievably strict about everything. Here she was, just trying to get her NEWTs, and was practically failing everything. Professor McGonagall didn’t want to hear it though. She was apparently too occupied sucking face with one of the trainers in the Crusebreaker department. At least that was the rumor that had been floating about.

”I don’t know…maybe you’d do another year at most? I feel like continuing to go after seven years already just seems exhausting. Even if they do let you pick your field and schedule.” Strangely, Lyka sort of liked that concept more than what she had to do for her program. She scooped another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth now that her brain freeze had subsided. ”I’m just done with it all. Honestly? I was done with it when I had to go to Ilvermorny for that year.” And when she almost died in the fire, paralyzed and scared. Her parents had tried to understand, but they could never unless it happened to them. She didn’t want to blame that as the root of all of her problems, as it most certainly wasn’t. The fire did play a role though. Watching classmates being saved while she laid on the floor of the Great Hall, frozen and incapable of calling out for help. Why would she want to actively continue her schooling when she’d almost died for it? Lyka dashed the awful memory away with another large bite of her ice cream.

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