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! chapter seventeen !
─── ∙ ~ ✩ ~ ∙ ───
THE SOUND OF WHEELS skidding against the pavement was all that was to be heard on the quiet street. Haven quickly caught herself, landing on her forearms before she could smack her head against the concrete. Her skateboard rolled on past her, and she felt her lips pull into a frown as she scowled at the moving object. She'd much rather be flying on a broomstick, if she were being honest, but she couldn't exactly do that in broad daylight, so she went with the alternative.
"You're doing great!" Malory encouraged from several feet behind her, jumping up and down. "You just hit a pesky pebble, that's all. You're really catching on, though!"
"You think?" Haven questioned, pushing herself from off the ground, showing the brunette her scraped up palms. Malory's grin faltered, and she lifted one of her shoulders into a shrug.
"I'll go get some cream for that," she told her. "Stay right here, and try not to fall anymore times, alright?"
Haven rolled her eyes with a laugh, walking to retrieve the skateboard. "No promises."
Haven had started staying with Malory and her mother about halfway through the summer. After Harry had started to mysteriously disappear from the house for days at a time, she was sick of being stuck in that hellhole all alone. Instead, she decided to take up Malory's offer from months prior, and she'd been staying with them ever since. She had to admit, the Valentine's were fun people. She'd be breathless with laughter every night at dinner. Plus, it was really peaceful. They were completely surrounded by woods, and there were only a few houses on the street. Most of the neighbors were old, and they didn't make much noise. Haven spent a lot of her days at the small waterfall that was only a couple hundred feet away from the house. She loved it.
Although, she had to admit, she didn't get as many letters from Harry as she wished she would. Haven wrote him once every four days, and he only responded half of the time. If that. She supposed it had to do with Sirius' death, after all, they both tended to cope in different ways. She didn't think she'd ever get over it, of course, but the pain had started to lessen. Even if Haven did cry herself to sleep on some nights just thinking about her dead godfather. It was still so difficult to wrap her head around the fact that he was really gone...forever.
Haven made her way back inside, leaning Malory's beat-up skateboard against the wall next to the door. The Valentine women had a very simple life. Malory's mother—Sydney—was a Muggle. She was one of the kindest people Haven had ever met.
"Oh," Malory breathed, her foot stopping midair once she saw the other girl. "I was bringing this to you."
"Thanks," Haven replied with a grin, taking the small tube of cream from her hands. "It was getting dark out, I didn't want to stay outside much longer."
