diamonds & dancefloors | nova

[gehry benjamin ollivander]

vibrations in the atmosphere

its psychological imagination

December 1, 2028
nova hypatia vector

Unfortunately, Benny could not drag Nova away from her work as often as he’d like. Merlin knew it had taken forever and a half the previous summer to consider spending time with him and Mina. Not that she had remained in their company for that long, citing her work schedule. Eventually, Benny managed to keep the workaholic’s company past midnight when the gang decided to have a chill night instead of going out. Unfortunately (for Nova), that was not the plan that night—not exactly.

The Hound’s Lounge was less crowded and noisy than The Indigo Club but hardly as casual as one’s local pub. A change of scenery was nice, and a chance to act classy for however long sobriety still had a hold on them. Benny couldn’t remember if he’d asked Nova to bring any of her special baked goods, but he shrugged it off. The closer it grew to the holidays, the more that unfamiliar, anxious weight pitted in his stomach. Merlin, he hated it. His body was trying to make him smaller from the inside out, like how he felt when his brother glared at him.

The bartender placed a glass with a bright blue liquid in front of him, a light but steady stream of what appeared to be smoke billowing from the top. Before he could ask what it was precisely, Benny heard his name—well, his given name, which made him physically cringe. 'Gehry.' ”Only my mother and Veronica call me that, of which you are neither.” Benny reminded Nova playfully. ”This place isn’t too bad, is it?” It was a shame Mina and Rue were unavailable. Even with Rue remaining unwillingly stone-cold sober, it didn’t mean the gang couldn’t enjoy themselves. But Benny could hardly call his family dysfunctional, knowing what he knew of the Vectors. And this was only what was shared with Benny in pieces and hardly the entire thing. They both would need several drinks to get through the month.

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The calm before the storm. That's what Nova liked to call the start of December. Similarly to the end of August, when all of the families were school shopping, the increase in customers Christmas shopping made daily work tiresome. They wanted themed cookies and warm drinks, and platters of baked goods for office parties. Not to mention that she had already received the full order for the Blishwick holiday bash, or whatever ridiculous name he had come up with this year. It changed frequently, and Jimbo had already strolled by twice in the last week to make edits. He had a few weeks to do so, but it was sort of annoying nonetheless.

Suffice to say, December made her dour. Her aunt had jokingly called her 'Nova Scotia' earlier in the day, her chilly demeanor apparently matching it. She didn't even know where Nova Scotia was, aside from it being cold and in Canada. It sort of worked for her, despite it getting under her skin just a bit. Very few people could get away with that, Decima being one of them. Getting out tonight was good for her though, and she was sure Benny was surprised that she'd stayed out this long. A rare sight indeed.

"Do you think hippogriff cookies as a replacement for reindeer would work?" she was asking Benny as his newest drink was slid across the bar to him. Work was still on her kind, and he wasn't paying attention. "Benny," Nova said a little louder, also semi-entranced by the smoke that was coming off of the concoction. "Benny," she repeated slightly louder. Nova cleared her throat and used a more authoritative tone, "Gehry." He'd hate that.

Almost instantly, he looked at her, immediately claiming only his sister and mother called him that. And now her, apparently. "Not at all. I feel like they sort of pop up out of nowhere all the time..." Only because she never went out if she could help it. Such was her boring life as baker and edible dealer. She supposed her question about the hippogriff cookies could wait until he wasn't staring into his drink like it was a crystal ball. Nova didn't need that to see his future. He was going to be either passed out drunk or high here pretty soon. Hopefully she was too. Merlin knew they both needed it.

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[gehry benjamin ollivander]

vibrations in the atmosphere

its psychological imagination

December 1, 2028
nova hypatia vector

Contrary to what others might assume, Benny was capable of listening and thinking at the same time. So, while he focused intently on the smoke billowing from the glass, he’d caught a few of Nova’s words. Perhaps not the context, but he would take a guess. Cautiously, Benny lifted the drip and took a sip. The fog decreased only slightly. He figured it was due to the amount of liquid remaining. ”They can’t seem to compete, but it’s a busy time of year.” People flocked to such establishments during the holidays for various reasons. Club Indigo was still wildly popular near London and, of course, various other places throughout England.

”I always liked Griffins better.” The words ‘reindeer’ and ‘hippogriff’ had slid into Benny’s consciousness just before hearing his name. That was enough for some context. ”Mina was supposed to join us, but she’s watching her nephew.” Although Benny couldn’t figure out how Mina got stuck with Aunt duty with all those sisters. One of which was said nephew’s mother, but he kept that thought to himself as always. ”What are you drinking?” He asked, looking at the empty glass before his friend. ”I owe you one for letting me drag you out of your bakery.” Benny’s head was not so far in the clouds that he didn’t have some self-awareness of his personality. At least his friends were polite enough not to call him out on it, especially his longtime friends. He supposed it could be worse. Benny could mope around miserably as his older brother did. But the mere thought of him did anything but lift the youngest Ollivander’s spirits.

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”I could do griffins…” Nova mused as the conversation switched to their missing friend. If she were to be completely honest, not having Mina here was better. Nova didn’t dislike her, as they seemed to be getting along fairly well over the last few years, but she tended to steamroll conversations and make everything more intense than it already was. And Benny fed off of that energy. Personally, Nova liked being able to only concentrate on one person at a time. It made her introverted brain happy. Focusing on too many fast-changing topics between two people was only going to give her a headache and make her want to leave earlier than she normally would. It was better this way. ”He’ll keep her on her toes. She brought him by one day a couple years ago and I thought he was going to run straight into the kitchen.” Blind curiosity had killed plenty of witches and wizards over the years. She was not going to become the witch from Hansel and Gretel because another Oliveira committed to action before thought. That seemed to be a running trend with that family.

”Err…” she stared down at her drink, which had been finished a few minutes prior. What was it again? Something gingery. It was pretty good, and definitely a lot stronger than she’d thought it’d be. ”Dark and stormy, I think?” She hadn’t felt any of it yet, making sure to eat a decent meal before coming out. Knowing Benny, this could be a long night and she didn’t want to be hugging her toilet bowl at any point in time.

”I know we’ve got a month and the holidays still, but do you have any plans for the new year yet?” she asked. Hers was always something like ‘make new pastry or cookie that she hadn’t before’, which had come to fruition this year quite a bit. She had never guessed she’d spend part of the summer making blood pudding for the vampires down the street from her. That was certainly an experience. ”Because I’m not doing anything once Christmas is done. Decima gave me the week off to recharge. Merlin knows I’ll need it…” Especially after dealing with Harmony over the holidays. It would be a literal miracle if she was able to see her younger siblings more than once during their entire Christmas break.

gehry benjamin ollivander ● 396 ● Song by Artist

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[gehry benjamin ollivander]

vibrations in the atmosphere

its psychological imagination

December 1, 2028
nova hypatia vector

Mina’s nephew was familiar with Benny by now, given how often he dropped by the apartment Mina shared with her older sister. He had undoubtedly interacted with Sebastian far more than Sebastian’s mother—who, to be honest, intimidated Benny a bit. ”He’s a ball of energy.” But what did one expect of a young boy? Veronica claimed Benny was quite the handful, but he didn’t recall any memories of causing any more chaos than the other kids his age in Diagon Alley. ”I think her older sister usually watches him.” But life as a Healer was hectic. Benny could never imagine working so many hours at once.

Benny had few memories of Sarah from Hogwarts, mainly due to mutual friendships with Nell. But that Slytherin bunch kept to themselves for the most part, though occasionally he’d spot Vasilia’s older sister with them. ”We weren’t that much trouble at that age, were we?” Benny now mused out loud. So many kids were running around the shops at one point thinking of Sebastian, which only reminded Benny how thin that crowd had grown.

Nodding, Benny flagged down the bartender and ordered their refills, prompting him to finish the glass before him. If he was honest, the drinks felt relatively weak. Or perhaps he was used to the low-grade spirits served at Club Indigo. ”Nope.” Benny responded quickly. Thus far, his holidays comprised the usual family dinner, and that was it. The New Year was always a toss-up. ”Sometimes I’ll drop by The Violet Hound. Vas usually has something going on.” That was always an option, although he hadn’t seen much of his childhood friend lately. It seems her breakup earlier in the year had pushed her into the shadows. Placing his finger and thumb on his chin, he thought of different ways to spend the week. ”You have anything in mind?” Their drinks arrived—perfect for a brainstorming session.

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It was almost funny hearing Benny call someone else, a small child no less, a ball of energy when he was the one that seemed to be a caffeine machine running perpetually on borrowed power. Nova didn’t dare ask what else he was doing that could keep him going for days on end, but to suffice to say it was not normal. ”Well, considering Mina is who she is and Sarah is, well, Sarah, it’s probably good to have someone responsible keeping an eye on him and showing him what a good role model looks like,” Nova said without much thought. She realized only after how that sounded, and while Mina probably wouldn’t care, she really did not want to deal with Sarah Oliveira. ”That stays between us,” she added quickly. Everything about Sarah screamed ‘do not fuck with’, and Nova liked to follow those internal warnings as much as possible. She’d almost prefer dealing with Harmony every day of the week over accidentally angering Sarah. But only by a smidgen.

”I wasn’t. At least not once I was at school,” Nova said as she took a long sip of her drink, finishing off the watery bottom of the glass. ”I definitely could have lightened up a bit there. Give me a time turner and I’d go back and do things differently. Live a little. Maybe have a few more friends. I don’t know…” Maybe even understand that the hand she’d been dealt when it came to her father was one that she was always going to lose, and that it was never her fault. There was never going to be any winning Harmony over either, as that had been a lost cause from the beginning. Only her own children counted, apparently.

Her glass was whisked away as a new one replaced it, and she stared into its amber liquid. She twirled around the ice with the straw as Benny talked, listening to his potential plans for New Years. When the question was turned back on her, she shrugged. ”Nothing so far. My aunt wants me to get out more though, so I’m sure I’ll end up somewhere.” Whether it was to make more friends that weren’t Benny and crew or for her to find a potential partner, Nova wasn’t quite sure what Decima was implying. Either would be fine, as long as they understood that she had a lot of work to do on a daily basis.

gehry benjamin ollivander ● 408 ● Song by Artist

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[gehry benjamin ollivander]

vibrations in the atmosphere

its psychological imagination

December 1, 2028
nova hypatia vector

Benny shrugged in agreement. Mina was his best friend in the entire world, but neither cared for such responsibilities. She performed then dutifully, and Benny understood why, having heard enough rants about Sarah. And Benny personally found the oldest terrifying, to say the least. Sebastian always seemed happy to see his aunt, that big smile with teeth now missing beaming every time. How that spawned from Sarah? Well, it was beyond Benny’s knowledge. ”I suppose if you want her to teach him how to take house points from all your siblings.” He remarked sarcastically. Callisto had a reputation at school, taking house points from Mina and Benny at times. Much to the dismay but not surprise of their peers. Benny nodded to Nova, assuring her those words would never be repeated. For all of Benny’s traits, he most certainly was loyal.

He wanted to agree with her, but at the same time, what was done was done. The Ollivanders certainly learn that lesson rather than his oldest brother and sister constantly at one another’s throats. Not that his father helped. Benny tried his best to remain out of these squabbles. ”Well there’s no time like the present.” He remarked enthusiastically, following with a large gulp of his drink. ”Never too late to make up for lost time.” Placing his glass down, he casually draped an arm on the back of her chair.

Again he thought through different options. ”Well, Mina always has some plans with her family after Christmas…” Well, ‘plans’ meant she likely had to deal with whatever family drama occurred at the time. Every year was something new. ”Any place you’ve wanted to visit or see?” Benny asked curiously. The partying could happen when Mina was available, and in the meantime, there was plenty else to do, right? He liked exploring, probably from growing up in Godric’s Hollow with the Potters and Weasleys, who often were in trouble for wandering too far. ”I’m sure you’ll want to sleep for a day or two after?” As he ran through his usual post-Christmas activities, Benny also remembered how often he slept most of the day rather than be productive.

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"I don't have that many, Merlin..." Nova responded in regards to her younger siblings. They were practically all out of school now too. If Harmony wasn't such a raging bitch, Nova would have a better relationship with the younger three. As it stood, only Idele had her head screwed on correctly and seemed to be seeing the whole picture clearly. The Vector family was messed up enough as it was, the added bonus of her 'step-mother' was not necessary. "And anyways, the triplets are almost done. I don't think Mina's nephew is even halfway to being old enough for Hogwarts." But who really knew. Time for the two of them was vastly different than for children. They grew up fast and were suddenly done with school, all while she continued about her day to day activities at the bakery.

Benny wasn't wrong about saying it wasn't too late. It just took so much effort to correct people's perceptions and expectations of her, especially after years of being a hardworking shut-in essentially. Which was hilarious the lore she thought about it, because over the last few years she'd been supplying half of Diagon Alley with pot brownies. If only Vivian could see her when she was like this. Who was the stuffy teacher's pet now? "True," Nova sighed. "It just feels like I have to work harder now than it would have been in school, you know? Because on one hand, I don't want to change too much of my routine, but I also want to break some of my normal habits..."

If Mina was out, that probably meant Rue was as well. The two of them were a packaged deal most of the time it seemed. Even more so now than ever before. "Honestly? I don't know. Nothing in London that's for sure. And I know if I wanted to take a vacation somewhere, Decima would let me. It's like I was just saying, how I need to break some of my habits."

gehry benjamin ollivander ● 335 ● Song by Artist

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[gehry benjamin ollivander]

vibrations in the atmosphere

its psychological imagination

December 1, 2028
nova hypatia vector

”No, he’s still got some time.” Benny forgot exactly how many years the kid had left before his first year, but it wasn’t much longer now. Normally, he didn’t really think about those things, as they reminded him of his age. For example, when Gideon graduated, Benny suddenly felt old. Still, it must have been odd with so many siblings in Nova’s case. Age gaps were not anything new for Benny but things were definitely different on his end. But he knew well enough it wasn’t someplace to pry, especially when trying to relax.

”Why?” Benny asked. Their styles had always been vastly different despite their friendship. He’d always been happy and carefree and not one to fuss too much about submitting an assignment late or even at all. In the end, he still graduated, and people would think what they wanted to think of him, regardless. ”People know you work hard.” They certainly did. The Vectors were often spoken of with kind words in Diagon and Horizont Alley, and the reputation of the shop was high due to the hard work of Nova and her aunt.

Benny finished his drink as he thought through various ideas. ”Well, I suppose it depends on your budget. Is there anywhere you’ve always wanted to see?” Didn’t everyone have a list of sorts? Benny did. ”I’ve always wanted to see Hollywood or New York.” His eyes gleamed a bit. Was it nothing but big cities? Sure, but it would be cool to look around and escape this bubble his life had been in. Mina and Rue had gone to the States at some point, and Benny had always wanted to go.

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Time...they all had varying degrees of it left. Nova knew that getting caught up and worrying about such a thing at twenty-five was silly. Despite her family's relative wealth and 'easy' upbringing compared to others, Nova still had qualms on how she was raised. An absent father, a missing or dead mother, a second missing or dead 'mother', and then of course Harmony. Turbulent was the best way to describe her childhood. A normal Hogwarts experience followed by being plucked away by her aunt and here she was, seven years later. A baker and pseudo-drug dealer. Benny asked her why she felt the way she did, and she honestly didn't know. Maybe because she settled for her job? She loved it, obviously, otherwise she would have ran off years ago to do something else. "I don't know why. It's just something I feel occasionally," she responded. There was no basis in it, other than it popping up every so often.

"That would probably be too far..." Nova admitted. It came back to the fact that Decima would absolutely be fine if she took a week or two off. But the unfounded guilt would eat her alive the whole time. Part of the problem was that Nova had never once had an extended break. She graduated from Hogwarts and started working the next day. Her aunt had tried to get her to at least take a few weeks off after school wrapped up but Nova wouldn't have any of it. Right into work she went. She took a long sip of her drink as she contemplated where she actually wanted to go. Paris wasn't too difficult to get to. "So what's holding you back?" Nova turned the question back on him.

gehry benjamin ollivander ● 292

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[gehry benjamin ollivander]

vibrations in the atmosphere

its psychological imagination

December 1, 2028
nova hypatia vector

Benny never lingered on the thought of which was worse: growing up in a family with an image in the wizarding world or a family beset with constant chaos. Something always reminded Benny that his family was not nearly as chaotic as others—especially when Mina arrived with some new story of an incident. He was lucky that all his immediate family members were also still alive. Despite everything, he couldn’t imagine if anything happened to one of his sisters. He supposed even if something happened to Frankie it would bother him because that was a gap he hadn’t a clue how to bridge.

Rumors had swirled about the Vectors, and he was never one to pry. Benny let Nova share what she was willing to share over the years since their introduction as children. He nodded, trying to be understanding, but truthfully, he never understood that strange drive to work oneself to exhaustion. What was the purpose? Staring blankly in return, Benny had not anticipated the question. Habitually, he shrugged. ”I dunno.” Blinking a few times, he looked away and back to his drink before taking a sip. ”I suppose I wouldn’t know what to do with myself when I got there.” And going alone didn’t sound all that fun. The thought was nice, but figuring out an itinerary and those sorts of things didn’t sound fun.

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It was sort of baffling to hear Benny say that he had no idea what to do with himself once he got to somewhere like New York City. Wasn’t he the guy you went to if you wanted spontaneous fun? That had always been her impression of him at least. But maybe that was something that came along with hanging out with others and wasn’t necessarily what he did on his own. Solitude tended to change things for a lot of people, herself included. Nova sort of liked it though. She could do up two or three people before she became burned out completely socially and had no idea what doing an extended trip with anyone beside herself would look like.

”I always took you for the social butterfly,” Nova said as she stared into her glass. ”Able to make something out of nothing. You know…” She was only good at ruining the mood, according to Harmony. Outside of baking, what else did she have? Quite literally nothing. That thought alone was quite the mood dampener, and she quickly drank to try and make it go away again.

Catching the bartender’s eye, Nova ordered another of her drink, despite not being done with her current one. She was going to need it now that they were going down this road. ”What do they call it when you get a hotel in the city you live in? A staycation or something like that?” she asked Benny as she drank. ”Maybe that would be easier. Do the things I’ve always wanted to do in London, but couldn’t because I was busy.” There was nothing adventurous about it, but she would be able to check off all of those boxes. Museums, tourist spots, maybe even a restaurant or two. Merlin knew she had the money now to actually do what she wanted. It actually sounded like not that bad of an idea.

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[gehry benjamin ollivander]

vibrations in the atmosphere

its psychological imagination

December 1, 2028
nova hypatia vector

Benny shrugged. He supposed she had a point. ”I mean—I am, but I suppose I go with the flow.” Finishing off the remaining liquid in his glass, Benny returned it to the bar while catching the eye of the bartender. She was quite good-looking, but it wasn’t one of those nights. Typically, he followed Mina or Rue’s lead with hardly any protest, leading to interesting adventures. Their dynamic didn’t rely on Benny's decision. He was perfectly fine with that. ”Between Ronnie and Nell…I’ve never been the planner.” Finally, Benny caught the bartender’s attention as he nodded for another drink.

While the purpose of being here was for drinks, Benny couldn’t deny the craving either. The large age gap with his oldest siblings meant Benny learned many lessons early in life. And one of those was that he was much happier not planning ahead. He paused a moment, collecting his thoughts before speaking. Nova was one of the few people Benny felt he could be himself in a different way than in public. While he was usually unapologetically himself, Benny kept his true feelings close to the vest. ”I think…I see the stress my sisters are under and how they try to account for every single detail.” He paused again. Nell’s constant anxiety never seemed to amaze him as much as what she’s been able to accomplish. ”And I don’t know if they’re honestly happy.” Benny hadn’t outright asked, of course, but he had a hunch.

Finally, his next drink arrived. Benny took a hearty sip while Nova asked a question. ”Yep—staycation.” It was more common than people thought. Not to mention far more affordable than traveling to the States. While Benny was an Ollivander with those connections, working at a bookstore was hardly enough to fund tons of international travel. Merlin knew portkeys could cost quite a bit and take a lot of time. ”I think that sounds like a lovely time.” He smiled softly at Nova. If that was what she wanted to do with her time, who was he to stop her? The important thing was she was not working in his mind. ”But are you choosing that purely for its simplicity or because that is what you actually want to do?” Not to mention proximity to Horizont Alley. Benny drank more, hoping Nova would also drink more to enjoy herself.

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