Until Then, We'll Have to Muddle Through Somehow (OPEN)

[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

After everything that she had had to get done for her classes over the past few weeks, it was especially disappointing to see so many people who were packing up their belongings to leave Hogwarts for the winter break. It was hard for Kaylee not to feel jealous of the people who got to go home to their families, whether they were from Britain or going all the way back to the United States to visit their families over the holidays. She was frustrated that some people were so lucky; even with her date through the matchmaking service, she and her brother and sister were staying put. Going back to Hawaii, only to turn around and come right back to Hogwarts, was a luxury that their parents just couldn't afford.

No matter how much she wished that she could go home to Hawaii, it wasn't going to happen for her. She hated being so far away from home, as it was, and feeling so left out didn't help matters any. Hogwarts was especially cold now, in winter, which made the darkness of the dungeons even gloomier than usual. All that Kaylee wanted was some haupia and the beach, and her parents and her youngest brothers, whom she hadn't seen in months, and her own bed, and… What didn't she miss? It wasn't fair, though she had tried to put on a brave face for her family's sake.

Kaylee knew that it hurt her parents as much as it hurt her that their whole family couldn't be together for the holidays. They were trying their best, but it wasn't as though they had too much money to go around; they had already spent more than they probably should have to have three of their children at Hogwarts—and in London for most of the summer before that. It sucked to feel as though she was being so ungrateful for the opportunity of a lifetime; it really did.

She had had to remove herself from the Slytherin Common Room. It was too painful to overhear people talking about their plans and how excited they were to be going home. The only place that Kaylee could think to go that wouldn't be full of people was the library. She wasn't going there to read, though she wouldn't mind it if she did find a book up there to distract her. She'd have plenty of free time, being stuck at Hogwarts.

Even seeing the castle as decked out for Christmas as it was was hardly consolation. It was pretty, but it wasn't home. Try as she might to avoid thinking about it, it was all that filled Kaylee's mind as she made her way up to the library, past floors of seasonal enchantments.

When she finally made it to the library and past the line of students who were rushing to get their books returned before the break, she found a desk that was partially obscured by some bookshelves. Kaylee seated herself at it, staring at the rows upon rows of books until her vision began to blur. She buried her head in her hands, letting out a defeated sigh.

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HOPE FOR SOME CHANGE

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DECEMBER 2024

The library was a nice place to sit and read a book, curled up on the floor among all the stacks. It was something she had been doing for the last few weeks as the holiday fast approached. She was excited to be going home to be with her family, even with it being the first Christmas without her mother and father. But she loved the holidays and knew that her parents were watching over all of them, wherever they may be.

That day, she found herself inside the library like usual, hidden behind the stacks and sitting down on the floor. One would think it improper that she was doing this, but she enjoyed it better than she did sitting at the tables—they were usually full anyway. But with the bustle of people trying to return books and barely anyone at the tables, maybe she should have gone and sat down. Placing the book back where she found it, boredom filling her being, she left the stacks that she was sitting behind, just as a sigh was heard.

Of course, Yvette was noise and her head wiped in the direction of the sound, noticing a brunette with her head in her hands, a fan of hair around her, blocking her face from view. Drawing closer quite shyly, she smiled even though the girl couldn’t see her, and spoke. “Are you okay?” she questioned, her voice coming out soft, barely audible over the loud talking being done at the librarian’s table not far from where they stood.

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TAG kaylee māhealani mahi'ai

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[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

Kaylee breathed in and out more steadily as she kept her head in her hands, though she could feel her eyes stinging through closed lids. She remained as she sat, glad for the quiet of the library but wishing that she hadn't chosen a place where it was possible—she didn't doubt—to hear a pin drop. She hadn't really thought about that before she had come, and she bit at the insides of her cheeks. This sucked. This sucked. This sucked.

She soon heard someone else's voice, however, breaking the silence—although fortunately not as loudly as it could have been. "Are you okay?"

Kaylee breathed out again, tempted to keep her head where it was rather than lifting it up to see who had addressed her. It was clearly another American girl, although she didn't recognize the voice until she sat back upright and turned her head in the girl's direction. The girl who had addressed her was one of a set of twins in her sister's year from Ilvermorny, and she wouldn't have known which of the two of them it was if not for the SPMH, which both of them had joined. Kaylee had always thought that the twins seemed very similar, although the twin that she knew—Yvette—seemed much more friendly than her sister. Yvonne, who had been in Horned Serpent with her, and who—not unlike Zen—seemed to have had some negative rumors swirling around her.

"Yeah, I'm… just kind of upset," Kaylee admitted to Yvette, forcing a small smile, "seeing how many people are going home for the holidays."

@yvette

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HOPE FOR SOME CHANGE

[attr="class","next"] Yvette had always been a friendly young girl, but as time went on, she grew shy when it came to others. Especially after the death of her parents and the sudden move to London to live with her grandmother. Of course, going up to someone and questioning if they were okay would be something she did, but her voice sounded more confident than she felt. A few beats passed between them, and she heard the girl breath out once more, and the young brunette feared that she had done something wrong. Had her attempting to talk to the girl upset her more? Would she speak to Yvette? She swallowed, mentally preparing herself for being turned away, but she was quite surprised when she finally drew her attention up from the table to address her.

‘Yeah, I’m…just kind of upset, seeing how many people are going home for the holidays.’ Yvette frowned deeply and nodded her head; she was also returning home—or rather to her new home with her grandmother seeing as her actual home was forever lost to her. Many of those from Ilvermorny were remaining in Hogwarts due to money and lack of time to travel between Europe and America. “I heard a bunch were staying…but there is a good handful leaving. Can you not return home?”

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TAG kaylee māhealani mahi'ai

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[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

"I heard a bunch were staying… but there is a good handful leaving. Can you not return home?" the younger girl asked her.

"No, um… not really," Kaylee shook her head. It wasn't that her parents didn't want for their whole family to be together for Christmas; it just wasn't financially possible. "It's… um, a little too expensive for my parents to get my brother and sister and me home for Christmas this year," she admitted quietly. Sometimes it felt as though they were the only ones who didn't have the disposable income to do that sort of thing. They didn't have the money that the Kowalskis or the Fontaines did, and Kaylee was doubtful that they ever would.

She wished that weren't the case. She wished that she could snap her fingers and go home—Apparate there, even, but she was still learning Apparition and wouldn't be licensed until the end of the year. Even just arranging a Portkey had to be just as expensive as it had been when they had come to London over the summer. Making arrangements for three teenagers to travel back to Hawaii from Scotland for, what, two weeks? "I mean, I wish, but Hawaii's… a little too far for that, you know?"

@yvette

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HOPE FOR SOME CHANGE

[attr="class","next"] ‘No, um…not really. It’s…um, a little too expensive for my parents to get my brother and sister and me home for Christmas this year,’ The brunette’s heart broke at what the girl admitted, and she wanted to throw her arms around her and hug her. She felt pity fill her being, but she also thought about how she would never see her parents again. After her parent’s death and their thrust into London living, the De Snaijer girls entire life changed. Yvette would give anything not to be able to go home because of finances instead of not having a home to go to, but she wasn’t about to say that. The girl said that she wished that she could go home, but that her home of Hawaii was a little too far away. She nodded her head, “I’m sorry—that sucks,” she breathed out truthfully, frowning, “But you’ll be able to go home for the Summer break, won’t you?” she questioned, hoping that at least her family will be back together for the summer. She prayed that the woman wasn’t forced to remain in London with her siblings and wait for graduation to be able to return home.

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TAG kaylee māhealani mahi'ai

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[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

The younger girl nodded and agreed with her that it sucked. "But you’ll be able to go home for the Summer break, won’t you?"

"Yeah," Kaylee nodded. "I mean, I hope Ilvermorny's back to normal in time for next school year," she added, hesitation in her voice. It wasn't really something that she had thought too much about, although they also hadn't heard much of anything about MACUSA's progress back in Massachusetts; she had just assumed that she would be there for the year and then go back. "But we'll go home even if it isn't." She missed home too much not to, and she needed to make good on her promise to drag Zen to Hawaii.

"Plus, I kinda need to get a job to pay my parents back for everything." It wasn't that she had to; they wouldn't force her, but she wanted to. "Especially if we are… stuck here for another school year after this, they shouldn't have to spend so much to keep us here all summer."

@yvette

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HOPE FOR SOME CHANGE

[attr="class","next"] ‘Yeah, I mean, I hope Ilvermorny’s back to normal in time for next school year. But we’ll go home even if it isn’t.’ Yvette swallowed, nodding her head, “Yeah—even if you have to graduate from Hogwarts, there is always time to go home. I can’t, as much as I want to, but maybe after I graduate I can leave my grandmothers and do my own thing…maybe go back!” she said with a smile on her face. Even though she was a fourth year and had three more years to go before she graduated and was eighteen, a legal adult, she still had plans to return to the States and live there. But who knows, maybe before then she’ll have changed her mind – she internally shook her head, yeah, like that would happen.

Yvette nodded her head as Kaylee explained having to get a job to pay her parents back for everything, especially if they had to stay for another year. “Oh—what kind of job would you get?” she questioned curiously.

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TAG kaylee māhealani mahi'ai

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[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

The younger girl agreed that, even if she did have to graduate from Hogwarts after all, there would still be time for her to go home. She said that she couldn't—as much as she wanted to—at which Kaylee frowned slightly. She wasn't going to pry into the girl's home life, but she said something about leaving her grandmother's eventually and doing her own thing someday.

On one hand, Kaylee felt a little envious; at least the younger girl had her grandmother presumably living close by. She also felt guilty for feeling envious, since there must have been some circumstance or another that had led to her being unable to go home at all. She did almost ask, but then the younger girl asked her what jobs she was considering doing over the summer.

"I mean, I'm not really qualified for much yet, and most internships don't really pay…" Kaylee considered, thinking. That also meant that most work related to history—what she really would have wanted to do—would be off the table for a little while longer, unfortunately. "I could probably do a No-Maj job," she mused. As long as she didn't accidentally use magic while working, she thought that might be an option. "I should be able to Apparate after this year, so I could maybe look at options on the mainland, too, if I can get licensed by MACUSA."

@yvette

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'I mean, I'm not really qualified for much yet, and most internships don't really pay...I could probably do a No-Maj job. I should be able to apparate after this year, so I could maybe look at options on the mainland, too, if I can get licensed by MACUSA.' Yvette nodded her head at the older girl's words; she was so lucky to be getting out of Hogwarts sooner rather than later.

She only had this term, and the next before she graduated and could do her own thing, Yvette was trapped here for almost three more years. Trapped in an unknown place, and would never return to her beloved Ilvermorny even if it reopened to the public. Her parents were dead, and they were struck with their grandmother until they came of age.

She nodded her head, "That could be cool...What kind of No-Maj job would you get?" she questioned with a curious glint in her eye. Maybe the girl didn't even know, or perhaps she wouldn't have to and would be able to get licensed before that was forced to happen.

kaylee māhealani mahi'ai •• sorry for the wait!

[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

The younger girl nodded her head at her mentioning a No-Maj job. "That could be cool… What kind of No-Maj job would you get?"

"I don't really know yet," Kaylee admitted. "I don't think anything would be too bad." At least, anything that she could find would probably be manageable enough for her to last the summer in whatever position she could get. She didn't mind the thought of most jobs, and she didn't think that any of them would be too bad for just the summer. "Maybe I could, like, work at a restaurant or something?" she shrugged. "Or in a clothing store?" There was no shortage of either.

"I mean," Kaylee suddenly realized, "I don't really know how I would even be able to apply for anything like that—at least not from over here—but there's gotta be a way, right?"

@yvette

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'I don't really know yet, I don't think anything would be too bad.' Yvette nodded her head; she had never really thought about a job in the non-magical world. Coming from a pureblood family, it meant that she was raised within the wizarding world of America - thus, there was a little bit of a distance between themselves and no-majs. Even though she was still young, she had thought about her future - but her mind had never gone to the non-magical world.

"Oh! That would be interesting! Do you like those types of things? Food or fashion...that is?" she questioned - and yes, she really thought one must like that type of thing to go into that type of profession. She shrugged her shoulders, at the girl's question about there being away, "I'm sure there is. My mother always says - where there is will, there is a way."

kaylee māhealani mahi'ai

[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

The younger girl asked her if she liked those things—food and fashion, like the types of jobs that she had mentioned as being options for her back home. While Kaylee didn’t mind either one, she didn’t really think of herself as being passionate about food or fashion. She liked certain foods—and loco moco was one of her favorites—and she certainly didn’t mind shopping as much as Zen did, but neither food nor fashion ruled her life.
 
Kaylee smiled. “I wouldn’t really call myself a ‘foodie’ or a ‘fashionista’,” she explained. Working in a restaurant or at a cash register in a clothing store were just possibilities, and they didn’t require much experience. She didn’t really have No-Maj educational experience to give a potential employer—not beyond elementary school. “But it’s not like I’ve gone to No-Maj school in years.”
 
“I'm sure there is,” the younger girl answered her when she said that she wasn’t sure how she’d get an application to potential employers from Hogwarts. “My mother always says - where there is will, there is a way."
 
She probably could have come up with some sort of lie, but it was easier to go for something that wouldn’t raise any eyebrows. “If I’m just making hamburgers or—you know—whatever, they’re not going to check my school, are they?” she guessed with a slight laugh. “The owl post office probably has some system for it,” she shrugged. “Or, um, Professor Fawley might know about that, even.” Either sounded like possibilities.

@yvette

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'I wouldn't really call myself a 'foodie' or a 'fashionista.' But it's not like I've gone to No-Maj school in years.' She frowned, not understanding at first what she was getting at before she realized. "Could you not go to No-Maj college? Continue your education outside of the Wizarding World?" She was generally curious about this, seeing as many jobs here involved getting good grades in their examinations and such.

Kaylee went on to talk about more things outside of the wizarding world that didn't look into schooling, and she nodded, not understanding, but it made sense to her. Being raised a pureblood within this world, it had it's pros and cons to the life outside of it. She shrugged her shoulders, "She probably would. I doubt they would hire someone that didn't know the muggle world," she said with a smile on her face. She liked Professor Fawley; she was lovely.

kaylee māhealani mahi'ai

[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

“Could you not go to No-Maj college?” the younger girl wondered of her prospects for the future. Getting a No-Maj education once she had gone to Ilvermorny was something that Kaylee hadn’t really considered at all. Most people didn’t go that route unless they happened to have some other connection to the No-Maj world—a No-Maj parent or a Squib sibling who had integrated into No-Maj life, say. “Continue your education outside of the Wizarding World?”
 
“Maybe? I guess I could?” Kaylee hesitated. She knew that she wanted to study history—mainly the history of her own people—and obviously there were No-Majes who did that sort of thing, but she’d never thought about doing that, too. She would have to think about it some more; there was no sense in making any firm decisions about her future beyond Hogwarts or Ilvermorny yet. “It would be weird, though… Even weirder than coming here from Ilvermorny, I think…”
 
As for the possibility of Professor Fawley’s assistance, Yvette said that the woman could probably help her out with the matter of her less-than-normal-from-a-No-Maj-perspective credentials. “She probably would. I doubt they would hire someone that didn't know the Muggle world.”
 
“Exactly.” It was one thing, too, if she could go in for an interview and make a good first impression on a potential employer, but that wasn’t much of an option from Hogwarts.

@yvette