Do You Like Waffles? [Duke]

[lyka cruz malkin]

▲

November 26, 2028

Less than a month was left in the fall term and things were not going well at all in school for the younger Malkin. Lyka was struggling, to say the least. Better than the previous spring term, of course, but even with the assistance of a couple different tutors, she was not improving fast enough in the classes that she needed to be. It was unbelievably stressful, and her parents were none the wiser. Their mid-term ‘check-up’ letter as she called it, which was different from their normal correspondence, had been responded to with a tiny white lie. One that said she was above the line in all of her classes. At the time, that was almost true. Her Potions, the offender this year once again, was just a little below a passing grade. The silver lining was that she still had an entire term to get it in good standing. On the flipside, she wasn’t positive that she would be able to do that. Final exams would absolutely decimate anything she built up before then. There was no skirting by this time either. She either graduated or she did not. So yeah, she was incredibly nervous about what was going to happen. The fact that her worrying was starting to affect her other classes was worrying as well, and she knew that the possibility of completely tanking her year was barely a Quaffle throw away. This wasn’t good.

Today was a Sunday, so no classes and no Quidditch practice. Which brought up a whole host of other questions, like why wasn’t she studying already? Or why was she still trying to fool herself that she had any kind of professional prospects when she had only played as a reserve thus far. A seventh year reserve was like, one of the saddest things in the world, and Lyka knew that. No scout worth their salt would want her. Her teammates put up with her because she could trash talk, which very few Hufflepuffs did, and she knew strategy better than most. If her playing capabilities had only been better, she more than likely had the makings of being a good Keeper or Captain. Currently, she was a glorified equipment manager at best. She still loved practicing and going to all of the matches. Just getting into uniform made her feel proud of that one little success. It would have been better if she actually played, but it sort of made her days better when she was able to get on a broom regardless of her position on the team.

Wandering out of the Hufflepuff common room while thinking about her failures, Lyka headed towards Flobberworm & Lettuce to try and find something to eat. According to her watch, it was half-past eleven. So still morning, technically. On the weekends, they usually had some sort of brunch special, and she was unbelievably hungry from stressing out so much over school. Now that it was almost all done (or not, depending on if she graduated), she had realized that it probably would have been smarter if her parents had made her live from home these two years and commute in. That would have forced her to pass her Apparition exam and then they could have watched over her shoulder. Whether or not that would have been more effective was unknown, but at least they could see that she was working. She simply sucked at it.

Finding a seat in the crowded student pub was tough, and she was starting to see why. Brunch was an American-style breakfast. Lyka could feel her mood start to shift immediately. She missed the breakfasts that Ilvermorny had prepared. Waffles every morning. Unlimited mini sausages too. They were to die for. Copping a seat at the corner of the bar, she made her order. Her legs swung happily between the rungs of the stool as she waited. That was how to make up for a relatively shitty day! Eating away her feelings always worked. And the amount of sugar she was about to ingest would definitely help with her study session in an hour or two. Before the crash, of course. But she could worry about that when it happened. For now, waffles!

Duke Daniel Jones ● 706 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Duke Daniel Jones]

Duke had just about settled into the school. There was some aspects he still struggled with of course; he was yet to be fully ingratiated to the Wizarding world, and being back in an academic setting had proved difficult. He had dropped out of Muggle school when he was 16 and had private tutelage for basic magic control instead of attending Hogwarts, and had the same again when he had decided he wanted to be a Healer. But none of it had been in an academic setting; it was weird having a schedule and having to stick to it. He had somewhat of one when he worked as an Electrician but that was working, it wasn't quite the same, there had still been a level of flexibility. None of this was on 'his' timing, he had had to adjust to it all. For the most part it had been fine, but there was still the odd thing that set him slightly off kilter. Being out of the loop on the wizarding world and being slightly older than his fresher faced peers in his classes had made him feel a little out of place; but then he had just reminded himself of how much he wanted this, and made himself refocus.

Today was fine, he had an extra-curricular class later today, but other than that it would be mostly relaxed for him with a little catching up on his studies later. Another thing that sucked about trying to reacquaint himself with the wizarding world, was realising how much he had missed. As he hadn't done any of his education in actual magic facilities; he had never learned how to apparate. He felt like an idiot a lot of the time, but at least he was taking strides to fix it; that was the lesson he had later, but like learning how to drive later in life it was proving a little more difficult.

To cheer himself up and make sure he wasn't learning on an empty stomach, he had come along to the Flobberworm and Lettuce to treat himself to Brunch. Hopefully it would set him up well for the day.

Unfortunately; it did seem everyone on campus seemed to have a similar idea. Shit.

Fortunately; after a minute of hovering by the door, a stool at the bar was being vacated. He made a beeline, suddenly quite aware of just how hungry he was now. Now there was no turning back; he needed to eat. Another round of hovering ensued as the person vacating his stool put their coat on. Duke wasted no time slipping up onto it as soon as he could. He didn't even notice the girl sitting alone on the next stool down. Too focused on his stomach. He was already scanning the menu when the wait staff reached around him to clear the previous occupants empty coffee cup and plate. Half apologising he glanced up and then noticed Lyka.

"Oh shit, you weren't holding this seat for someone, were ye?" his Manchester accent was fairly strong, but his tone was low, apologetic as he frowned. "I can move if you want..." he offered, but once he glanced around his frown didn't lift. He didn't really want to move, it was busy and he was unlikely to get a seat anywhere.


lyka cruz malkin

[lyka cruz malkin]

▲

It hadn’t come to her attention until now that over the last few months, she had spent a lot of time eating on her own. Glancing around the pub, she saw plenty of friendly faces, even half of the team camped out at a table in the opposite corner, happily eating their brunch together. Her intense focus on making the team and practicing, and her studies, over the last year and a half had really driven a wedge between her and those she had considered her friends. The others in her year that still lived on campus had other things to do, some even with part-time jobs now that it was allowed, so there were times where she really was alone outside of class periods. The same sinking feeling she’d had when waking up was starting to creep back into her, making her chest tighten up anxiously. It was sort of sad now that she thought about it. She really didn’t have friends and the ones she did have, it always seemed like they simply put up with her. Because where were they right now? So many texts went unanswered nowadays. Considering she was the common denominator here, maybe it was her after all.

In the middle of her existential crisis whilst waiting for waffles, she heard the stool next to her scrap along the ground as someone sat in it. She had a feeling it was going to be a small group of friends, and eventually they’d ask if she could move to make space for them. It happened all too often to her. She almost flinched when the voice came, as it sounded like a question right from the start. Looking up at the owner, she was surprised to hear him asking if she was holding it for someone. As if. ”No, no. Just me today. It’s all yours.” And she had hers until one of his friends came along and crowded her out. That was how it went. Lyka decided to test her theory. ”Hard to find a seat on its own today, isn’t it?”

Duke Daniel Jones ● 348 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Duke Daniel Jones]

Duke nodded to her response, but didn't exactly relax. He was an idiot, to just assume the seat as his own. But then again, she hadn't told him to shove off either. So for now he stayed where he was regardless; his stomach too empty and narky to leave off and go elsewhere. He offered her a small smile, in an attempt to be obliging, hopefully not too imposing. His energy rebounded after putting the menu down on the counter and nodded "Cheers, yeah. My own fault really I had planned to be up and out earlier, get in before the afternoon brunch crowd. But bed wouldn't let me go eh?"

He held her gaze for only a moment after he spoke. It was in his nature to be friendly, outgoing. He often only saw the good in people, usually to his own detriment. He had been slightly more on guard since adopting the Wizarding World as his new home, and trying to move amongst it's people. He had already had a gaffe or two, giving himself away as an impostor and knocking his self esteem just enough. Instead he was trying to learn to suss out situations before he spoke. Too bad that was never something he was good at. Sometimes he could work things out easy enough and tone himself down enough to pass relatively unnoticed; however sitting beside the dark haired girl, he found it difficult to get a read on her. Just as difficult to reign himself in; the weak winter sunshine that had blessed the day was feeding him an energy that was building him up to his usual bubbly self, threatening to boil over.

He should probably leave her alone, she had her own shit to get on with and didn't need him annoying her. He forced himself to focus on the menu for a few seconds; it's own exercise in futility, he would for sure just get what he always did. But it wasn't long before he felt himself being tugged back to grin at her again

"I'm Duke by the way, cheers again." his hand shot out awkwardly to give an almost cliched handshake, his eyes dancing with mischief. "If you do decide you're sick off me, don't worry you can tell me to piss off all the same. I won't take offence, well not too much anyway" Taking the mick out of himself, he half laughed, but did hope she wouldn't tell him to piss off. Waffles to go never did taste quite the same, and it wasn't like he really had anywhere else to go right now.

lyka cruz malkin

[lyka cruz malkin]

▲

”I get that,” Lyka agreed. There were a lot of days where she felt exhausted by everything, the only things that pulled her out of her slump being Quidditch and food. That was a huge factor in her utter failure as a student and she knew she needed to make a change fast. At the same time…hiding away in her bed all day was amazing. No one to bother her, all she needed was her phone to watch matches on and she was set. Always being caught up with the league was an impressive feat, if she could be completely honest. Not even the journalists could be in two places at once, relying on details from their colleagues. Lyka enjoyed the illegally recorded matches though, and if she could spend all day every day watching Quidditch she would do just that.

He introduced himself as Duke and held his hand out to her. Lyka didn’t recognize him at all, so that probably meant he’d either never gone to Hogwarts before now or was older and only now returning for more education. It was hard to tell with a lot of the current LIFE students. Her own NEWT studies course was more or less the same, but apparently all of the years after the old seventh year were a mixed bag of those her age continuing and actual adults trying to take advantage of what the school was offering now.

”Lyka,” she shook his hand. ”Nah, you’re fine. If there’s a look on my face it’s only because I haven’t eaten yet.” She didn’t necessarily get hungry, but she did become a useless sac of dead weight if there wasn’t something put into her stomach before noon. Flying on an empty stomach made her sleepy, which was always funny because she thought it should be the opposite after shoveling down a large meal. ”So what are you here for?” she decided to ask, referencing his studies.

Duke Daniel Jones ● 325

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Duke Daniel Jones]

"Lyka" her repeated back with a nod, as if cementing it in his mind "Like the space dog? They told us about them in school one day" his head tilted to the side and his expression turned to a puzzle one "Err...Actually you might not get that reference I guess. It's a muggle thing" with a sheepish shrug he brushed it off, hoping it was sufficiently brushed under the carpet before deciding to move things along himself anyway. "Anyways, nice to meet you Lyka"

At her admission, he gave a small smirk. He got Hangry too sometimes, everybody did, but at least she was honest enough to admit it. Alright that made her cool. Nodding, smirk spread he gave a quiet laugh "I get that, makes sense and I'm probably the same to be honest so I wouldn't blame you"

He reached for the glass of water the wait staff had placed in front of him, and listened to her next question. Duke was an easy going guy like that. Though sometimes he didn't think before speaking, which led him to put his foot in it, he didn't really feel the need to fill silences with needless chatter either. He was happy to just sit and be, but if someone talked to him he would easily chat back. "Oh uh..." his cheeks flushed just slightly, and he became slightly less easy going. The idea of him studying was always a bit of a sore spot for him. He hadn't had traditional magical schooling. He was a little late to the game in that way, doing his NEWTs a year or two after everyone else his age; just so he could start his healer studies.

"I started my Healer training there a little while ago. But I'm actually going to my first apparition class later on" He gave her a sheepish smile, hoping she didn't laugh at him. Or if she did that he could play it off easy enough "I'm a bit of a late comer to all this..." he added lamely as a way or trying to give an explanation, but it would likely just actually add more confusion. He started to scramble and decided to turn things back around "How about you?"

lyka cruz malkin

[lyka cruz malkin]

▲

Lyka most certainly did not understand the reference Duke was making. There was a dog in space with the same name as her? That was pretty awesome, actually. He decided to change the subject before she could tell him the actual origins. She had never actually truly delved into why her parents chose the name, aside from the fact that it wasn’t all that popular in the Philippines and was easy to pronounce in English. The last thing they wanted to saddle her or her sister with were impossible names. Luckily there was a wide range to pull from which would suit a life in London or the Philippines. Trying to explain all of that to a stranger would take time. A lot of it.

Duke went on to explain that he was in the Healer training program, which made her ears perk up. She didn’t know anyone in that school yet, and often times forgot it even existed in the first place. It sort of made sense to have introductory courses set on the campus. There were enough students almost accidentally killing themselves with spells or Quidditch that a constant supply of live subjects were available. Not that she’d ever been treated by one of the students. She always ended up with the old witch with insane hearing that actively disliked having to fix every little problem Lyka rolled into the Hospital Wing with. Which was often enough but not to the same degree as some of her housemates. For example, Tilly Poole was in there every other day following Quidditch practice, because the girl was a complete psychopath on the broom.

”Happens to the best of us,” she shrugged at his comment about being late to schooling. Merlin, she was already barely passing as it was. She wasn’t one to be talking at all. ”Second year of LIFE…so seventh year by the old numbers,” Lyka answered. ”But I think after this, that’s it for me. School isn’t really my thing, you know?” Her dad had given her the option to not finish and work at the shop instead, but that didn’t feel right. Something about the struggle to graduate and prove herself made her want to continue. So far, she was wondering if that was a smart idea or not.

Duke Daniel Jones ● 382

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Duke Daniel Jones]

Glad that Lyka had allowed him to smooth over his nonsense about her doggie counterpart he continued to relax bit by bit. She was an easy enough person to be in the company of. Most people around here made him feel on edge, or at least on edge as his laid back demeaner would allow him to be. There was a self-placed pressure to always be on top form these days and it was exhausting in a way.

The corner of his mouth quirked at the mention of 'old numbers', before his brow creased in a furrow. He had heard some of his classmates talk about how the years used to be set out. He had even asked someone to explain to him how it all worked, he had gotten a half explanation before from his tutor sure, but hearing it from people his own age would have made a lot more sense to him in some ways. Too bad the person he asked just looked at him like he had ten heads and scuttled off, giving some half arsed excuse for having to meet a professor. It made him feel even more like a fish out of water. Trying to relax his face, he forced an easy going smile again. "Yeah, I've heard things used to be a little different around here. I didn't get to experience it. I was in Muggle school until I was sixteen, with a little private tutoring for magic, but moreso to keep it under wraps. I had actually dropped out and completed most of my apprenticeship to be an electrician. Then last year I decided I wanted to be a Healer, so me da paid for some fancy tutor so I could learn everything I needed to know to do me exams. What were they called again? Oh yeah,, the NEWTS? I think I sat em with everyone who studied here, but I dunno I never got talking to anyone..." to his own detreiment he thought as he trailed off, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. What an idiot he had been about it all.

Still, it was enough to get here he supposed.

"I get watcha mean though, about being done with school. It's not for everyone" Reaching for his glass again he gave a little nod, not quite sure what to say other than that "You'll find your thing sometime though, doesn't have to be right now I guess"

lyka cruz malkin

[lyka cruz malkin]

▲

Over the last few years, there had been an influx of different kinds of students coming to Hogwarts. Those that transferred due to school destruction (the Americans) had partially stayed and then returned the favor when Hogwarts needed assistance too. But there were others as well: a handful of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, and the occasional stray from Uagadou or Mahoutokoro. Lyka really only interacted with them if they were interested in Quidditch though. Which most weren’t, because they were here to study and not fool around in sports. Anyone worth their salt was getting recruited prior to heading to Hogwarts for extended studies. But homeschooled up until this point? She couldn’t recall hearing that before from anyone. ”Yuuup. The NEWTs are supposedly the worst. Barely got enough OWLs myself…” That hadn’t been a fun conversation with her parents. With the way everything had been going with the different schools and whatnot, they cut her a break. Still made them question everything that came after though.

Lyka wished what he was saying was true. She did technically have options: work for her parents or find a job elsewhere. Her shot at going pro in Quidditch was long gone. No interest from recruiters – not even as a benchwarmer – and she critically lacked the grades to get hired at the Ministry for anything other than janitorial work. It was seriously looking like she was going to be a seamstress just like the rest of her family. ”Maybe,” Lyka frowned.

The slight distraction of her plate of waffles being slid in front of her was welcomed. She asked for syrup as well, which seemed to perplex the bartender for a moment, before he turned away to find some. ”Dry waffles aren’t normal, right?” she asked Duke as she organized her utensils next to her plate. Once she had syrup, she was finally going to be able to dig in.

Duke Daniel Jones ● 315

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0