c-c-confidence? | kaylee

[zenevieva mira novell]

new year, new me?.

6TH JANUARY 2025

THE RIDE FROM King’s Cross wasn’t one Zenevieva particularly enjoyed. Especially since she could barely remember it. Especially since she fell asleep. The winter break was a tiring one however, one filled with studies, a few bump ins to friends at the Hogsmeade’s festival…Its down fall…Azkaban’s damage…The villains — whoever they were — surely had a whirl of a time this Winter. But! From a Christmas spent by Steve and Nora’s side as well as some…Bonding with Adèle, came a change to the Novell. More so in appearance and a strive for her…Verbal side too. Many knew of Zen’s stutter, well. Those who spoke to the half-vampire anyway, and while it wasn’t too bad, it was terrible during her most anxious moments. Which was usually all the time. Her second strive for change was her hair colour. Considering her father and mother were dead, their arguments were no longer valid in her choices to change what she wanted.

Adèle was comfortable to help out the young girl, pulling off a bleaching moment, even if she knew the results were semi-permanent anyway. Running the risk of damaging her entire head, Zen cut her hair off too, the long locks she was used to having disappearing to just above her shoulders. She knew there were other ways to present herself differently, using a charm that could change her style and colour but she wanted the result to be more permanent, real than a simple trick magic could play. When all the students arrived that morning, underwent the welcome back ceremony and had their morning classes, Zen couldn’t wait to see her best friend yet again. Kaylee had seemingly been quiet over the break, but the two didn’t really keep in touch. That was what school lunches were for!

Taking Steve’s advice to be…A little more confident in her everyday life, Zen waited around the outskirts of the Great Hall just shortly after the bell for lunch, green eyes observed her surroundings, trying to pick out her short brunette friend from the waves of the rest of them. Once she did, Zen’s own lips curved into a smile, while her hands reached out for the Slytherin, pulling her out of the rush. ”Kaylee!” She breathed before pulling her friend into a hug. ”I-I’ve missed you so much. I have s-so much to tell you a-and to show you!”

kaylee māhealani mahi'ai & hopefully this works!

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

The winter break had seemed as though it had lasted forever. It had started off horribly, with Kaylee’s wishing that she could have gone back to Hawaii for Christmas like some of her classmates got to go home to their families. She had two of her siblings at Hogwarts with her in the same boat, but it was still frustrating that so many people—even people from Ilvermorny—had gotten to go home. It didn’t feel the same, being stuck at Hogwarts, though the situation with the dragons and Azkaban had changed that.

As awful as it was that there were almost certainly escaped prisoners from Azkaban lurking in their midst outside of Hogwarts, it hadn’t been all bad because it meant that her father had gotten the opportunity to work for MACUSA again, bringing her mother and two youngest brothers to Britain, too. She and her brother and sister had managed to see them once, in Hogsmeade, after they had arrived, but it had been relatively short. They weren’t entirely settled into where they would be living yet, and it wasn’t as though their father didn’t have a lot to do. From what Kaylee understood, the Ministry had called in as many foreign aids to help as they could, including the MACUSA presence. It was weird and maybe slightly unnerving, but it also meant that she had all of her family in one place for the first time since she and her next-oldest siblings had left for London over the summer.

It was all a lot to take in—and too hard to explain in a letter—which was why Kaylee was eager to catch Zen and Ellie to fill them in on what had happened since they had parted ways for the holidays. The Slytherin was almost to the Great Hall, prepared to look around for some Ravenclaws, when she felt herself being pulled out of the crowd.

Kaylee let out a slight yelp, not because it had hurt but because she was shocked by it. She hadn’t expected anyone to pull her towards them, and the sight of blonde hair wasn’t what she had expected, either.

“Kaylee!”

It was Zen. Zen, of all people, as a blonde! The Ravenclaw pulled her into a hug, and Kaylee hugged her back. Before she could ask about the sudden hair change, it was Zen who spoke again.

“I-I’ve missed you so much. I have s-so much to tell you a-and to show you!”

“Me too!” Kaylee exclaimed, smiling broadly as she took in Zen’s blondeness. That she had news to share was definitely the understatement of 2025 on her part, as well. “Oh, Merlin, you are not going to believe everything I have to tell you,” she added to Zen. “We should probably go sit down.”

zenevieva mira novell

[zenevieva mira novell]

new year, new me?.

HOLIDAYS USUALLY BROUGHT bliss for Zeneveiva, time away from people she didn’t lie and the necessity to speak for classes. But this winter break was filled with chaos of its own. It was her first Christmas alone with Adèle, since what had happened with her parents, her first year away from home, her first time experiencing Hogsmeade’s festival, only to read of its downfall days later. Alongside the destruction of Azkaban, a prison held for so long, destroyed from something or someone — no ordinary citizen knew. Though, while her parents were buried in America, the Novell spent most of the evening of Christmas Eve strolling amongst the Muggle cemetery not too far from her home. The small pond within the cemetery was where Zen left her gift for her parents, the shared flower the two loved, from the petals that were easy to crush, to the pale pink colour it held.

Pulling Kaylee in seemed to be the best choice, helping her out of a busy crowd while keeping themselves from being trampled or something. Every student seemed to be heading for the Courtyard or even their classes considering lunch was over, but Zen had a free period and she was sure the Slytherin did too. With both of their excitements filling the halls of Hogwarts right up to the roofs, Zenevieva felt so glad to be back by her friend's side. Sixth year hadn't exactly met its end yet, but with some sort of possibility Ilvermorny could reopen, brand new...Zen would have to leave her friends behind. "Y-You're not going to b-believe what I have to tell you!" She parroted with a grin. At least the secret of her hair was out, she liked this haircut in comparison to the dark locks she carried. Nodding in agreement, Zen looked over the swarm that began to steady out, green eyes searching for a nearby bench, not too far from the entrance of the Courtyard, but still inside which would allow the two to remain dry, if it threatened to rain.

"T-There!" She pointed, gripping her friends hand tightly before stepping into the crowd, weaving their way to the place they could sit in.

kaylee māhealani mahi'ai

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

"Y-You're not going to b-believe what I have to tell you!"

Kaylee could barely keep in her own news, and Zen had news of her own to share. If they hadn't had some free time, Kaylee wasn't sure what she would have done with herself. She was bursting with excitement, and the fact that Zen was so excited just amplified the feeling.

Zen managed to spot some open seating available and pointed it out. With as many people as were around, they would have to rush to stake their claim. Kaylee followed Zen closely, trying not to get in anyone's way as they got to the bench, which gave them a view of the courtyard without being in it.

"Okay… You first!" Kaylee laughed, plopping down on the bench and setting her hand down upon the place beside her just long enough so that Zen could sit down without having someone else slide into the spot. "You've gotta tell me everything! And especially about the hair!"

zenevieva mira novell

[zenevieva mira novell]

new year, new me?

THE NEW YEAR ALWAYS brought some form of joy for the Novell, at least as a younger child, before she had met Bianca Daniel and fell to her bullying hand. Now, with the year striking 2025, Christmas spent with the Kolstad’s and Zenevevia’s hair sporting a pale shade of blonde, they were all new memories that the Novell was growing fond of. Excitement was the only feeling the half-vampire and Kaylee felt, filling the high roofs of the school. With the two of them shuffling in the wave of students to the empty seats green eyes found, a breath of relief left her lips the second the two of them sat, a grin spread out across her lips, her hand reaching up to brush her short-cut locks while she gathered her thoughts, thinking of what story to begin with.

”W-Well…M-My date went w-well.” She began, referencing her time with her blind date from Blishwick. She had been luckily paired with Daniel, and their time together in the aquarium was enjoyable, while risky, considering he loved to bring up the subject of magic amongst the No-Majs. ”I-It was w-with Daniel…T-The Seventh year G-Gryffindor.” She added for clarification. The half-vampire tugged at her hair at Kaylee’s mention of it, a smile crossing her face. ”N-No Maj w-way. Me and Aunt A-Adèle bleached i-it.”

kaylee māhealani mahi'ai

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

"W-Well…" Zen began, "M-My date went w-well." Even without the full details, Kaylee was excited to hear it. Her Blishwick date hadn't been bad, either, but she was especially happy for Zen. The Ravenclaw was totally deserving of it. "I-It was w-with Daniel… T-The Seventh year G-Gryffindor."

Kaylee knew who Daniel was. She also wouldn't have thought of him as being Zenevieva's perfect pairing, but maybe she was wrong. Before she could ask anything else about the date, though, Zen tugged at her shorter, blonder hair. She explained that she and her aunt had lightened her hair the non-magical way, bleaching it instead of using a spell or a potion to change its color.

"With Daniel? Really? Was it blonde for your date?" Kaylee enquired. "I bet he thought you looked amazing!"

zenevieva mira novell

[zenevieva mira novell]

new year, new me?

FACE SPORTING A BRIGHT RED, Zenevieva shook her head. ”B-Brunette.” It would have been a good idea, to give the Gryffindor a shock when she saw him, but she planned on doing that tonight, to finally take him up on his suggestion of a midnight stroll. ”Ma-Maybe…I think he liked the dr-dress.” Even though it was a little fancy for a date at Seaworld. The memory of their time together was a nice thought, and even made Zen slightly more relaxed whenever she thought about it.

”I-I spent Christmas with my Au-Aunt and the Kolstads…” And a great dinner it had been. It was also mainly Steve’s words that drove the Novell to the blonde look, giving her the encouragement and booster she needed in order to believe she could actually pull off the look. ”An-And…Now I’m blonde.” She smiled. ”But w-what about you? Your Chi-Christmas?”

kaylee māhealani mahi'ai

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

Zenevieva shook her head and said that her hair had still been its natural brunette color when she had gone on her Blishwick blind date with Daniel. "Ma-Maybe…I think he liked the dr-dress," she added.

"Of course he did," Kaylee emphasized, "I'm sure you looked amazing in it, Zen!" Dragging her to C'est La Vie had been totally the right call. "Not that you don't look amazing anyway," she corrected herself, "but that dress was so perfect on you!"

"I-I spent Christmas with my Au-Aunt and the Kolstads…" Zen continued. Even though she sounded a little bit hesitant, it also didn't sound as though it had been bad. Zen probably would have said something about it if it had been, Kaylee thought.

And then she had gone blonde.

"…The new kids from Canada, right?" Kaylee asked about the Kolstads. It was kind of funny, because the British students all assumed that the brother and sister had come from Ilvermorny, when they hadn't.

”But w-what about you? Your Chi-Christmas?"

Christmas itself had been pretty bad, Kaylee thought, but maybe that was for the better, in the end. It made it all the more exciting that things had taken the turn they had, and she completely bypassed the Christmas question to blurt out her news. "My parents and little brothers are here!" Kaylee squealed, almost bouncing up and down where she sat. "I never thought it would happen—I never thought they would even get to visit—" Money was too tight for them for something non-essential like that. "But my dad got a position with MACUSA again after Azkaban got destroyed," she continued, "and so now we're all here!" Kaylee felt the need to pinch herself. That her father would ever be able to work again with his prosthetic legs was a miracle in itself. "Merlin, I can't believe it! I know what happened was so bad and I know that it's going to take forever to fix, but I just… can't believe it!"

zenevieva mira novell

[zenevieva mira novell]

new year, new me?

HER DATE WITH DANIEL FELT so long ago, even though in all fairness it was just shy of a month. It proved how much time she had spent with the Gryffindor (even if she only saw him a couple of times over the Winter break), but Zen truly liked being around Daniel. The blonde blushed, shaking her head at her friend’s ongoing compliments. She was glad to have someone like Kaylee, with a fashion sense and an understanding to what Zen liked and didn’t like. ”W-Without you I…I never wo-would have went.” Kaylee did provide that extra boost of confidence after all.

Nodding to confirm, Zen smiled at the first memory she had with either twin. With Steve, it had been near the Whomping Willow, chewing away at her monthly consumption of blood, while with Nora it was by the Forbidden Forest, chewing on an extra greedy consumption. It wasn’t like Zen needed it, but her sadness got the better of her and her upset stomach. Christmas had been great by their sides and their Mom. She was a vampire, and cooked the best things for them all and even Aunt Adèle! (Who was just a simple witch). But Kaylee’s Christmas seemed to be more interesting, especially now that her whole family were somewhat reunited. ”C-Congratulations!” She smiled, happy for her friends joy. ”O-One step at a time an-and things will go b-back to normal.” At least that was what Zen liked to tell herself when things were going wrong.

kaylee māhealani mahi'ai

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

Although Zenevieva's being a half-vampire might have made it seem unlikely that a blush would come across her cheeks because of how pale she was, there was no mistaking it to Kaylee. "W-Without you," she said, "I… I never wo-would have went."

Kaylee smiled, glad to have been that little push that Zen had needed in order to put herself out there. It seemed to have been worth it. Merlin, she hadn't even had a hand in the blonde hair idea; that one had been on Zen and her aunt. The Zen with the renewed confidence was definitely a shock, but Kaylee certainly liked it. Her friend really seemed to have come into her own over just the duration of the winter break.

At her own news of her parents' and younger brothers' having joined her in Britain after what had felt like ages apart from them, Zen congratulated her. "C-Congratulations! O-One step at a time an-and things will go b-back to normal."

Kaylee nodded. "That's the hope, right?" Maybe things were going to go back to the way they were, though escaped prisoners didn't really make that seem the most likely. At least she had her family back with her. "Maybe they'll announce that Ilvermorny can reopen for next year?"

zenevieva mira novell

[zenevieva mira novell]

new year, new me?

KNOWING THAT SHE WOULD CHANGE like time and the seasons, Zenevieva only hoped to Merlin that her stutter would disappear too. It would probably mean she would have to focus on her speech a little more, think of the words she wanted to say before…actually saying them. As a child, Zen didn’t stutter as much as she did now, but with the emotional trauma she faced over the years, it somehow only grew. She smiled at the thought, smiling alongside Kaylee, even as the Slytherin’s excitement outshined hers.

It would’ve been nice for all of the transfers to return to Ilvermorny the following year, but Zenevieva knew she wouldn’t be joining them. Her parents were dead now and with no immediate family in the States, she would have to stay here. ”I-It would be ni-nice.” She said, her genuine smile now turning into a rather forced one.

kaylee māhealani mahi'ai

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

"I-It would be ni-nice."

Quickly, Kaylee detected a hint of sadness in Zenevieva's voice, and it hit her again: Zen wouldn't be going back to Ilvermorny, no matter what happened with their school, because her aunt lived in the United Kingdom. As much as she wanted to be able to go back to Massachusetts, she kept forgetting that Zen wouldn't be there. It wouldn't be like it had always been; Hogwarts was Zen's school for real.

"At least we'd only be apart for a year, right?" Kaylee asked Zen hopefully, trying to recover from the mistake that she had made. They only had the one year of school to go, once they had finished up the one that they were in. "And you still have to come to Hawaii, remember?" Kaylee added, recalling the travel plans that they had made when the two of them had first reunited at Hogwarts.

"And if MACUSA says that we can't go back for next year, or if this investigation takes longer than they expect it to, then we're still gonna be here at Hogwarts together." That would be okay, too, Kaylee thought. Hogwarts wasn't so bad, and she had already spent half a year there. What were three more semesters, really?

zenevieva mira novell

[zenevieva mira novell]

new year, new me?

IT WAS A REOCCURRING REMINDER whenever someone brought up Ilvermorny that Zen remembered she could never go back. Sure, it would’ve been for her last year, and then she would be free the following year, she still missed home. It was odd, she missed the vibe of the American Wizarding school, even if her memories of it wasn’t perfect because she was bullied and all but Zen truly missed home. ”Y-Yeah…” She stuttered out, trailing off as she looked away. A year was a long time to miss out on important details amongst her and her other transfer friends, and the Novell couldn’t imagine all the things she’d miss out on. Nor did she want to imagine it. Was it bad she somewhat wished Ilvermorny wouldn’t reopen?

”Ri-Right!” She confirmed, trying to smile for her friend. Hawaii had been a place both Zen and Adele wanted to go to, but feared how badly Zen’s skin would react to the sun. Even if she was a half-vampire, the thought of dying (which was impossible) to the rays was still frightening. ”T-That’s also tr-true.” She murmured and hoped MACUSA would provide that kind of news, no matter how selfish it sounded. ”I d-do like i-it here after al-all.”

kaylee māhealani mahi'ai

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[kaylee māhealani mahi'ai]

It hadn’t been Kaylee’s intention to upset Zen, and she could feel her heart break a little bit for her friend as she looked away from her. She couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for her, knowing that—no matter what ended up happening with the rest of them—she would be graduating from Hogwarts rather than from Ilvermorny. Even if things hadn’t been perfect for Zen back then, either, because of all of the bullying, Ilvermorny still felt as though it was theirs, Kaylee knew.

When she mentioned the trip to Hawaii that they had planned, though, Zen smiled… at least a little bit. “Ri-Right!” she remembered, at which Kaylee nodded her head. They wouldn’t be torn apart that easily, though the thought of Ilvermorny’s not reopening for the next year seemed to make Zen even happier. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if MACUSA took a little bit longer than anticipated to get the school back up and running. The less time that they had to spend apart from one another, the better.

“T-That’s also tr-true,” Zen told her. “I d-do like i-it here after al-all.”

Kaylee smiled, glad to hear that Zen really did like it at Hogwarts. Unless things had been bad for Zen on the bully front and she just hadn’t mentioned it, it seemed as though those problems might have been in the past for her anymore. “Yeah,” Kaylee agreed. “It’s not so bad here.” (She had just been crying a few weeks prior at the thought of staying at Hogwarts while so many people got to go home to their families, and she hadn’t, but that was beside the point.) Things were looking up.

“When do you think we’ll know?” Kaylee asked, on the subject of Ilvermorny and what would happen with their schooling situations. “Has your aunt heard anything? Because I haven’t heard anything from my mom and dad about it yet.”

zenevieva mira novell

[zenevieva mira novell]

new year, new me?

FORCING A SMILE TO KEEP up the good vibes and mood, Zen reached forward for her friends hands, giving them a little squeeze. She didn’t want anyone feeling bad for her, especially when it came to Ilvermorny. Things had happened and this was simply her fate. Nothing could be changed, unless a witch or warlock had discovered ways to bring back someone from the dead without any complications. But all magic had limitations, and Zenevieva knew playing and toying with the strings of death was one of them. The plan to Hawaii was a small idea that both Zen and Kaylee were interested into expanding, but the more Zen thought about it now, she realised she hadn’t done much to bring up the conversation to Adèle, Zen’s only living guardian and aunt.

But alas, the topic returned to Ilvermorny, as expected. Everyone missed home, and the wizarding school that was treated as their second home. At Kaylee’s question, the blonde sent a shrug her way, having no idea how to draw up a response aside from: ”My a-aunt…Hasn’t heard anything either.” It was as if MACUSA was keeping quiet about certain details, but most people said Ilvermorny’s damages were easily replaceable. But who knew, Zen would be graduating at Hogwarts regardless, and the longer she stayed here, the more she didn’t mind it.

kaylee māhealani mahi'ai

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!