Not Your Fate

Engraved symbols on skin.

Even in a life of strife and uncertainty, the shapes scattered across wizards’ and witches’ were a sign, a comfort that there was always going to be something — someone —  waiting for you.

Many people found it to be their motivation in life: no matter how dark living may be, especially during the current war going on, they had something to fight for, to live for.

Maybe even to die for.

Although that opinion was very popular, not everyone thought that way. Other people — albeit only a few — thought that soulmates were limitations, restraints put on humans by fate to keep them from reaching their full potential.

Solene’s opinion was not far off from that. Ever since she was nine years old, she never had much trust in the concept of soulmates. Did she believe that there are people out there in the world that she was destined to be with for the rest of her life? No, not really. Did she believe that soulmates were just a vulnerable gateway to her heart that these strangers can use to hurt her? Absolutely.

She can live perfectly fine without the three strangers whose symbols are embedded into her skin and her unwilling heart. To her, the symbols were not promises of a better future once she met fate’s plans. To her, they were mockeries that the universe etched permanently into her being. 

She can live perfectly fine on her own. 

“Sol! Sol, look what Cal and I did!” Her nine year old brother said loudly as he burst into the room that they shared. 

Okay, well maybe not on her own. She still had her siblings to worry about.

Solene immediately sat up from her bed. A smile rested on her face, one trained to be unreadable and seemingly genuine. None of her brothers and sister could tell the difference. 

“What is it, Tommy?” She asked, looking at him over her shoulder curiously.

He clambered over the bed and grabbed her hand that wasn’t holding the book she was reading moments before. “C’mon, c’mon! We gotta show you!”

Tommy was the third youngest of the family, twin brother of Cal. He was born a mere two minutes before Cal, and he’s been hanging it over his younger twin’s head ever since he discovered that interesting — and ego-boosting — fact. 

He looked nothing like Solene or their older brother Lucas. His hair was blonde, and his eyes were gray, both traits he got from their father. Even his skin was different, a paler tone compared to Lucas and Solene’s slightly darker one. The only thing they had in common was their round faces, his face rounder than the older Maxwells due to his childhood softness. But no matter how different they looked from each other, Solene didn’t love him any less.

Solene chuckled, following her brother’s weak tugs and got off the bed, slipping her feet into her house slippers and walking out of the room. 

They left the room and entered their small living room, where she found a sight that made her smile turn into a genuine grin. “Oh? What’s this?”

Cal, Tommy’s twin brother, was holding on to a card, his gaze focused on his task of painting his design on it. He looked exactly like his twin, but their personalities could not be more contrasting. While Tommy was lively, energetic, and loud, Call was quiet, calm, and nervous. He followed his brother like he was his shadow, especially when they went out. At least at home, he talked more.

She smiled fondly at the sight of her brothers happy, especially during those times. The wizarding war was hard on everyone, even people as uninvolved as the Solene’s family; it was a time when people didn’t know when they could trust each other, where people constantly looked over their shoulder for the terrible sign of the Dark Mark. Solene heard of it through worries whispered between her coworkers during her jobs. It was an issue that was hard — impossible, even — to ignore. 

Despite it all, Solene Maxwell found a way to keep those worries at bay: by keeping life in the house as normal and ordinary as possible.

Ever since her mom died and her father left in the same year, Solene had stayed home to take care of her three younger brothers and one younger sister while the eldest Lucas went to Hogwarts to finish his education.

It was a long and hard six years, but during the struggle, Solene grew into a wonderful young lady at the age of fifteen. Her curly black hair grew to reach the middle point of her back, her brown eyes holding a stern kind of softness in them. She had matured much quicker than anyone her age was expected to, but it was a necessity to do so when her siblings needed her to be strong for them.

Because of her hard work in teaching her siblings to pull their own weight in the house, she was able to have longer hours to herself. She was able to leave the house to work without having to worry about any kind of disaster awaiting her when she got home. She could sleep without having to wake up in the middle of the night to change Soph’s diapers or accompany Tommy to the bathroom because he was afraid of the dark. 

She missed the old routine sometimes, the surety in them. But at least one thing never changed: they always went to her for anything, whether it be because they needed her help or because they wanted to show something they’re proud of, like what was happening now.

She brought herself out of her thoughts and back in the living room. She saw a poster tied to the two old wall lamps on opposite sides of the room. CONGRACHULATIONS! was messily written in multiple colors of paint across the white canvas, accompanied with other designs sprinkled around the word.

Solene laughed at the obvious effort put into it by her younger siblings. “Who is this for?”

“It’s for Jem!” Cal replied, popping his head from behind the couch. There was a splash of red paint on his cheek. “He got into Hogwarts, so we wanted to congratulate him.”

Solene smiled, the corner of her eyes wrinkling slightly to accommodate it. “You do know that it’s quite easy to get into Hogwarts?”

“But you didn’t get in, so it must not be that easy,” Tommy shrugged, leaving his older sister’s side to help his twin paint a smaller poster — Solene couldn’t quite tell what it was, or for whom.

The older girl hesitated, her smile faltering slightly. She never quite had the heart to tell her siblings that she did get into Hogwarts, she just turned down the offer. More copies of the letter kept getting sent the more she burned it, to the point where a professor visited to try and see what the commotion was about, and Solene was forced to tell the lady directly that she wasn’t interested in attending Hogwarts, or any school for that matter. 

She was fine on her own, she explained to the professor. She did well without the education most people deemed vital in life.

Another one of her bigger lies.

No matter. She didn’t regret her choice. She really was fine on her own, focusing on nothing else other than supporting her siblings.

“Well, I suppose,” She shrugged, acting like Tommy’s words didn’t affect her the way they did.

She checked the time on the old clock hanging precariously on the wooden wall. “I’ll be making dinner now, so you both better clean up when you’re done, okay? I don’t want to see this mess still here when we’re about to eat.”

“Yes, Sol,” The two twins answered in unison. Sol left them to tend to the kitchen, passing by Soph who was hunched over the dining table, face scrunched in concentration.

“What do you have there, Soph?” Solene asked, peering over her shoulder. Soph immediately reacted, turning her body away from her older sister to hide what she was doing. 

“Don’t look!” Soph said, looking over her shoulder with a mischievous look on her face. “It’s a surprise.”

Solene raised an eyebrow. “For Jem?” 

Soph nodded, turning back to her work without another word. Solene tilted her head, feeling slightly suspicious, but she didn’t comment on it, leaving her sister be. She still had to make dinner anyway.

She brought out her ingredients and started preparing their dinner; simple fried chicken that she seasoned earlier that day with basic seasoning. Even with their less-than-luxurious lifestyle, food was the only thing they would never get tired of, no matter how simple the meals can be sometimes.

As she started cooking, her body glided around the kitchen like it was her stage during her dance. She didn’t have to look at where her hand was reaching in order to know where each item was. She tuned out all the noises in the house, focusing only on the food in front of her. It was the only place where her siblings knew not to bother her, especially after the nasty oil burn Cal got because he and Tommy were chasing each other and decided it would be a good idea to pass by the kitchen while Solene was cooking.

Soon enough, around an hour later, dinner was ready.

Knock, knock.

“Cal, do you mind getting the door please?” Solene called, not looking up from her work as she put the chicken on a big plate.

Cal sighed but obeyed his sister nonetheless, leaving Tommy to put the finishing touches on his own piece of work as he approached the door.

“Who is it?” He called, peering through the lock of the knob to try and get a look at the person on the other side.

“Me and Jem,” A deeper, older voice responded, sounding amused.

The young boy’s face brightened at the familiar sound of their older brother’s voice, unlocking the door and swinging it open. He didn’t hesitate to launch himself at Lucas, who let out a small “oof!” at the sudden tackle. 

“Nice to see you too, buddy,” Lucas chuckled breathily, ruffling Cal’s hair as he walked forward with a little difficulty as Cal didn’t let go of him just yet. Jem maneuvered around him to remove his shoes and put them in the shoe rack right beside the entrance. 

Lucas and Jem also looked different from each other — Jem had blue eyes, light skin, and dark brown hair. He shared the dark hair quality with his older brother, but Lucas’s skin was a rich brown, and his eyes were like dark wood.

“Welcome back!” Solene called from the dining table, handing the spoons and forks to Soph for her to set while she returned to the kitchen to wipe the dishes she used.

As Lucas and Jem were about to fully enter the living room, Tommy rushed towards them to stop them.

“Wait!” Tommy said, standing directly in front of Jem. “Close your eyes!” He demanded. 

Jem frowned, suspicious. “What for?”

Tommy waved his hesitation away, impatient. “Just close them! Cal and I have a little surprise.”

Jem sighed, closing his eyes.

His younger brother held his hand, carefully guiding him to the living room. Jem stumbled a little, obviously not liking having to walk blind, but he didn’t complain. He didn’t want to make his brother sad. 

Lucas followed behind curiously, Cal finally detached from him as he decided to just hold Lucas’s hand. He saw the banner and laughed, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “What a lovely surprise.”

“Can I open my eyes now?” Jem asked quietly.

Tommy denied his request. “Stay here!” He let go of his hand to grab the cards him and his brother made, then made his way back to Jem. Cal let go of Lucas’s hand and walked over to join Tommy, grabbing his own card.

“You can open them now!” Tommy announced, grinning giddily.

Jem opened his eyes, his usual snarky retort ready on his tongue, but it died when he saw what his brothers were holding in front of him. 

The twins looked at each other, silently counting before turning back to Jem. “Congrats on getting into Hogwarts!” They said in unison.

Solene watched from her spot near one of the dining chairs, smiling fondly. They practiced saying that line, didn’t they?

Jem grinned, laughing slightly as he bent down slightly to embrace his younger brothers. “You did all of this for me, huh?” He chuckled, his eyes softening when he felt their small arms wrap around his midsection lightly.

“We wanted to surprise you with it!” Jem said enthusiastically.

“Do you like it?” Cal asked, obviously scared that Jem wouldn’t approve of what they did.

Jem pulled away, placing his hands on their heads. “I love it. Thank you.”

Tommy held out his card, Cal following suit. “Here! This is for you too!”

Lucas ducked his head to observe their artworks. “You boys really practiced drawing for this, eh? How about me, do I get a surprise as well?” He said teasingly. 

“Nope!” The twins said together. Lucas feigned hurt, but laughed goodheartedly all the same.

“Now that the pleasantries are over, it’s time to eat,” Solene said, wiping her hands on the towel on her shoulder. “The chicken’s going to get cold at this rate.”

Despite their differences in personalities, looks, and ages, the Maxwell family all shared one thing: their love for food.

The boys rushed to the table, taking their own seats on the small, circular table. Tommy cheered at beating Cal in their little race, making Cal groan in defeat, but they sat beside each other nonetheless. 

Lucas kissed Solene on the cheek in greeting. “Thanks for the food, Sol,” Lucas said affectionately, making Solene wave him off.

“Thank me later if the food tastes fine,” Solene said jokingly, giving him a small smile before they sat down.

“I’m sure it will,” he replied confidently, picking up his utensils and digging in.

And so, they all ate, occasionally making conversation in between bites.

The talk started normally, with Solene asking Jem how his little outing with Lucas went and if he had fun (which he said he did), then with Tommy asking a stupid question, to which Lucas respond with an equally stupid answer, but as the chatting died down, Solene watched Lucas from the her peripheral vision.

Solene had a talent of knowing when people’s emotions would change and what it would change into. She didn’t know if it was because she knew her siblings so well, or if she was just really observant, but she made use of this talent at home, especially when she needed to know if any of her siblings were telling her the truth about something. Most of them had obvious tells, anyway.

Based on her observations, her brother was most probably going to say something unusually serious, and she had some predictions.

He had just finished his seventh and last year in Hogwarts. During his time in the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he met his soulmate, a girl named Eliza. They had known each other since their first year in Hogwarts, and have been a couple since their fourth year. She lived around 30 minutes away from their house, and she occasionally visited the Maxwell apartment during summer and sometimes during Christmas. 

Although Lucas never mentioned anything to her, Solene had a suspicion that they were planning on taking the next step in their relationship soon, now that they were free from the restraints that school had presented. He was most probably going to have an income of money in the near future when he gets a job, and from what Solene knew, Eliza was doing on-the-job training as a Healer in St. Mungo’s. 

So, based on those details, there were two things she was waiting for Lucas to tell her: either they were going to get married, or they were going to move in together. Maybe both.

Lucas cleared his throat, pulling Solene out of her thoughts and causing silence to blanket the dining room.

“Solene, there’s something I have to tell you,” he said. Solene saw the fiddling of his fingers beneath the table. He’s nervous, she noted.

“No nickname, huh? Must be serious then,” Solene pointed out, amused. Her attempt to alleviate the sudden tension failed, as Lucas didn’t exactly crack a smile.

“Uh, yeah, it’s pretty serious,” Lucas said. He paused, taking a deep breath, like he was trying to regain confidence. “Ahem — now that I’ve graduated from Hogwarts, and now that I can finally work, I’ve applied for a job in the Ministry.”

The corners of Solene’s lips quirked up slightly. “That’s nice. Congrats.”

He offered her a slightly sheepish smile. “Thanks, but that isn’t what I wanted to tell you.”

Solene raised an eyebrow. Curiosity was one of her biggest traits. She stayed silent, waiting for Lucas to continue.

“Since I can earn money through the job, I can finally support the family, the way that you have been doing for these past years since… the incident.”

Everyone on the table other than Solene winced at the mention of the horrendous event. Most of them barely remembered anything from it, since they were very young when it occurred six years ago.However, they all knew never to bring it up, especially to Solene and Lucas, who could remember the most from what had happened.

“What are you trying to tell me, Lucas?” Solene asked, slightly annoyed from how he kept dancing around the topic, like a fish eyeing bait, debating whether it should bite it or not.

“I’m —” Lucas paused for a short moment, trying to look for the right words to use so her sister wouldn’t have any negative or violent reaction towards the news. “I’m trying to tell you that it’s time to let you rest and live the life you’re supposed to; go to school and meet friends outside of the neighborhood or that job you have at the restaurant.”

Solene sighed, shaking her head. She said her words carefully, aware of the audience that they had in front of them. “Lucas, I thought we'd already discussed this. I’m perfectly fine with our current setup, my current setup, and I don’t plan on changing it anytime soon.”

“But I’m not fine with it!” Lucas said, louder than he should have, making Soph flinch slightly from Solene’s other side. “Sorry,” he said, taking another deep breath to steady himself. “I’m not fine with it, because it should have been me who fought tooth and nail to keep this family afloat while you lived a normal childhood. It should have been me who juggled between jobs so we would have food on our plates.”

Lucas glanced at his other siblings. They listened and watched the exchange with guarded curiosity, occasionally touching their food so as to not get kicked out of the table and miss out on the unfolding drama. Lucas decided to continue in their presence. “It should have been you going to school, learning new things from teachers and from friends rather than second-hand books. It should have been you experiencing the average teenager life and all the events that occur in it in person, not just leaving it to imagination.”

Solene stayed silent, looking at her brother unblinkingly with furrowed brows. She didn’t like where this conversation was headed. “So what? What are you trying to say?”

This time he spoke firmly, like there was no other alternative. “I asked Professor Dumbledore if he would still accept a student into Hogwarts despite being older than eleven into higher grades. And after some time and careful consideration, he finally said yes.”

Solene’s eyes widened. Shock permeated through her body, injecting itself in her bloodstream and making its way to her heart, making it beat faster in disbelief. She didn’t know what to say other than: “Does this mean…?”

Lucas smiled, a genuine, kind smile. “You’re free from being the adult in this family, Solene. You’re going to attend Hogwarts as a fifth-year student after this summer.”

Summer ended in less than a month. 

She was going to school for the first time in her life in less than a month.

Her hidden desires were going to come true. In less than a month.

Soph tapped her arm, pulling her out of her thoughts and back into the present, into the dining room full of grinning kids and the smell of food. Solene turned to look at her sister, only to find her holding up a card.

It read: ENJOY HOGWORTS!!

Solene laughed, feeling tears pricking the corners of her eyes. “And how did you know about this before I did, missy?” She said, mock accusation lacing her voice.

Soph grinned. “Luke left a letter on the dining table about it.”

Lucas gasped, putting a hand on his chest as he feigned offense. “How dare you read my letter without my permission! That’s an invasion of privacy, Sophia!”

Soph laughed, wrapping her arms around her older sister’s neck.

Solene let herself melt into the hug. “Thank you,” she whispered, feeling her body shake slightly from how it was trying not to let her emotions out in the form of water.

“Thank you,” she said again, this time looking at her brother, who smiled widely in response.

“You’re welcome!” Soph chirped, utterly oblivious to how emotional the simple card made her older sister feel.

Dinner ended merrily after that, all of the Maxwells helping with cleaning up for once. Solene couldn’t wipe the smile off her face, even after Tommy accidentally spilled soap on the floor in a fluffy heap or when Jem and Soph argued about how the glasses should be organized in the cupboard.

After the kids were tucked into their beds, Solene and Lucas lounged on the worn-down couch in the living room of their apartment. The apartment that they were able to rent with the money Solene earned from her jobs.

“So… did you like my surprise?” Lucas asked carefully, studying his sister’s face for any sign of hidden emotions.

“I’m… shocked,” Solene answered truthfully, eyes tracing the cracks in the floor. “I’m having a bit of a hard time believing it.” She really did see no other future, no other life than the one she was currently living.

Lucas sighed, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him. She could see the pity in his eyes, the regret. I’m sorry, they said. This should have happened sooner.

His mouth said different things. “Well, it’s real and it’s happening, so you should make the most of it.”

Solene hummed, letting the silence say all the words she couldn’t. 

They just sat there well into the night, the newly-turned adult and the newly-enrolled student who finally obtained the life that she thought could only exist in her dreams. A life that would soon turn out to be less of a fairytale than she might have hoped.