tw: mild prejudice

BREAKFAST WAS ANOTHER HIDEOUS AFFAIR. Oh well, no matter how much Malka despised the meal, it was still required. Her trunk was already packed to the brim and boarded upon the train, as they were instructed to leave their things in the common room, so the elves could magick it onto their transportation.

Her and Cass caught the eyes of one slouched Clorfan Greengrass as they made their way out of the castle. First years streaked past their waists as they ran to hug each other before they all departed. Some people were even crying, which Malka thought was a bit much.

"Is your family gonna be okay?" Malka asked as the train rolled in front of their view.

"Yeah. Florean's got a huge revenue lately, if he carries on like this for another month he might expand his shop," Cass said.

"Good," Malka said, patting Cass's arm as they boarded to find a compartment.

Malka always felt a bit guilty about Cass's family's situation, especially when she lived in luxury in one of Milan's most coveted villas overlooking Lake Como. Malka would need to work to make money to support any of her future childrens' spendings, but the money she had now was more than enough to suffice for a comfortable life of her own spending.

After all, Leonis Rowle, Malka's grandfather, only ever had two children; Melite and Thaddeus. So it was devastating when Malka's mum and uncle first grew apart, with constant fights over their disagreements in beliefs. And it broke him when his own father disowned Melite for being with a mudblood. He spent years trying to get her back, but he grew sick himself, and he was never truly able to before he died. 

The hefty donation was his gesture of love, and Malka's mother always said that leaving her father was the hardest part about running away from home. Now, Thaddeus Rowle was Head of the House, a man who knew about her existence but not much else. Malka was pretty sure that he wasn't so sadistic, and that he wouldn't purposefully hurt her for play, but also that he would prefer not to let their lives cross to prevent the public shame. There were some quiet nights where her mother would have too much to drink, and Melite Rowle would speak about her big brother with regret in her eyes.

Malka brushed the sad thoughts away, as she found an empty compartment. Tigress the Barn Owl managed to stay asleep the entire boarding process, an astonishing feat. Malka took her out of her cage, setting her scarf down so Tigress could sleep in it and not behind bars. Meanwhile, Fergus the Cat chased a chocolate frog across the floor of the compartment.

Cass flopped down, flipping her blonde curls over one shoulder. "Wonder what mum will have to say to me. Oh, Cassana, dear, your cheeks look so full! Do you still fit in the dresses I sent you?" Cass scoffed.

"Didn't your mum send you dresses in third year? Of course you've grown out of them," Malka said, thumbing a page of her new book, Asiatic Anti-Venoms.

"That's what a sane person would think. But no," Cass sighed.

Tigress gave a squawk, something that startled Fergus and the two girls, before ruffling her feathers and sinking back to sleep.

"I dunno why you named that thing after a tiger," Cass muttered. "It's barely the size of a Bludger,"

"She can be fierce," Malka hummed in disagreement, running a finger down Tigress's spine. 

"Sure. Oh, I think I see the trolley. Do you want any Cauldron Cakes?" Cass brightened.

"Sure. Two, please," Malka said gratefully. She did want a snack, since they would need to apparate to the Ministry, Portkey to somewhere in Italy and only then apparate to Como. International traveling wasn't hard, it was just more steps and more dizzyness.

The train whirred to life, and both Cass and Malka were able to take naps before they reached King's Cross. They kept their school clothes on as they departed, Malka putting Tigress back in her cage, before closing the glass sliding door. Stepping onto the platform, Malka hugged Cass goodbye with a promise for them to see each other in a week. 

She could spot two pale hunched figures wearing robes and gloves at the end of the platform, beaded eyes looking around anxiously. A wizard in pitch-black robes and a gold cane walked by, sneering at the sight of house elves present outside of their designated homes. Out of the corner of her eyes, Malka saw the Greengrasses depart, heads of sandy blonde hair Disapparating at once. 

And she saw Regulus Black, walking over to a few sullen looking family members. She could pick him out in any crowd, as he saw him and his brother walk towards the rest of the Blacks. Regulus looked neutral, and Sirius looked angry.

There were three pale, pinched figures standing to greet the boys; Orion and Walburga Black, and another man that could pass for a brother or cousin. And next to them was a woman that also looked like a Black, but with a serene expression on her face, almost like a smile. And there was a smile on the face of the man next to her, clearly her husband. He was tanned, freckled, and had reddish hair. There seemed to be some tension between the nice couple and the rest of the family as all of them Disapparated away.

"Mistress Malka!" Bitsy called, and Malka set her trunk down on the floor before kneeling and giving both Itsy and Bitsy a hug.

"Hello," Malka smiled and laughed. "How have both of you been?"

"Well," Bitsy replied, her small blue eyes welling with water. "Though it has been much too long, Miss,"

"Yes," Itsy said in her squeaky but authoritative voice. "We must go, there is quite the line at the Ministry, and Itsy can tell Miss has not had a proper lunch. Come, come." Itsy levitated Malka's trunk. "Who knows what Mistress Melite would say, we must put some pastina in you!"

Malka giggled as she placing her hand in Bitsy's outstretched one, and felt the odd twisty jolts of Apparition before her vision was filled with the inside of the Ministry. They were in the Atrium, a wide black room with a huge security desk at one end and the Fountain of Magical Brethren at the other. The first time Malka came here, her and her mother had both thrown a Sickle into the fountain. After that, Malka hadn't thrown any more coins, since her mother said that this stuff was only luck the first time, and that any more gold was just wasting precious money. 

Malka strained her eyes and spotted Zeynep Shafiq and Daphne Lu also heading towards the elevators behind her, as they all took it down to Level 6, or the Department of Magical Transportation. That was where they would Portkey internationally.

It was now noon, and they bought a Portkey that would take them to Pompeii that would leave in exactly five minutes. It was a shame Malka still couldn't Apparate. Ministry Portkeys were not expensive, but definitely not cheap. They could've gotten other ones at Diagon Alley if they really tried. It was a dusty old pocket mirror that Itsy held, as they all joined hands, with Bitsy holding Malka's trunk and Malka holding her bag and Tigress's cage. And they were off, all three of them landing on their feet when they arrived in Italy; used to the method of travel.

They were in a designated spot; a Wizarding storage house in the ancient city of Pompeii; though to Muggles it was disguised as a Terme Suburbane, or an abandoned bathhouse with erotic wall art. The Muggle city was around them—they were in protected historical areas according to Muggle laws. A few maps of the surrounding areas were available for them, but they didn't need them.

"Let's go home, Miss," Bitsy said as they apparated one more time from Southern to Northern Italy, back to Lake Como.

Malka knew she was home the moment she smelt coffee and spice in the air. She opened her eyes and she saw yellow and pink concrete houses with terracotta tiled roofs sitting around windy streets. The main town of Como was still a fifteen-minute walk away; they'd apparated right into the Wizarding neighborhood of about six or seven villas on the shores of Lake Como. Protected by shielding charms, the villas were a popular summer vacationing spot for some rich pureblood families, but since it was still the frosty winter, the only active residents there were Malka and the two house elves.

The neighborhood was connected via a windy road, and Malka's trunk made painful jolting noises every time it slipped between each cobblestone tile. She hoped its wheels came out decently unscathed; it was such a short walk that she didn't want Bitsy to levitate it. Some of the families, most notably the Greengrasses, Shacklebolts, Macmillans (occaisonally), and the Blacks (very occaisonally) would come live in their respective villas over the summer. But they never lingered too long, and never strayed at the most decorated villa of them all- the former designated Rowle vacation house and Malka's home. 

They rolled up to the front door, a double birch arragement with gold knockers. The walls were peach-toned, with dark forest-green shutters around the windows. The roof was slightly slanted in similarity to the Muggle villas, with terracotta tiles in colors ranging from tamarind to yellow. The villa had five bedrooms and six baths on the second floor, and there was a ballroom and formal dining room she never used on the first floor, as well as the kitchen, garden, and drawing room, which she practically lived in. 

Although if she were being honest, she spent the most time on the beach; one that she could access straight from the garden yard. "I'm going to the shoreline, can one of you take my trunk and Tigress?"

"Of course, Mistress. We will have your things unpacked and some pastina ready when you return," Itsy said as Bitsy took Malka's trunk, eyeing Tigress with mild distaste.

"Thank you," Malka said, buttoning her long velvety green coat as she walked to the beach. She passed by the green drawing room, and waved to a still portrait of her mother. It had been done back when she hadn't met her father yet, and hadn't been disowned. Her mother never charmed it to move, claiming it was quite unsettling. But Malka liked to look at it sometimes, staring at the face that was so alike her own, and wonder what her life was like before she had a child.

Itsy and Bitsy always replaced the white sand with smooth gray pebbles whenever winter came- it did not do good to have fine sand blowing about the garden plants all the time, especially when winter winds would make it two times worse. 

The pebbles crunched underneath Malka's boots as the wind whipped about her face. She didn't feel like taking a swim at the moment, even if she was used to swimming in icy water. She sat down next to a small daisy blooming under the pebbles, letting out a sigh. It would be a week before Cass came, and an entire month before school was back in session. But she would take her time off, and enjoy herself in Como or Milan whenever she felt like it. 

Besides, she did have someone else to keep her occupied. She felt a tinge in her cheeks just at the thought of him, as she wondered what he would send her in his first letter. Or if she would write first. Time would have to tell.