TWENTY-EIGHT FAMILIES IN THE WIZARDING COMMUNITY HOLD MORE POWER THAN THE REST. Twenty-eight surnames have enough influence to bend knees and fill banks. Twenty-eight bloodlines are nothing but pure magic.
One of these families are the Capellos. Pic...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
.unedited.
1971
THE MORNING OF SEPTEMBER FIRST IS A BITTERSWEET ONE. A young girl, newly eleven, is snuggled up in her bed, still half asleep.
"Good morning, sunshine," an older woman says. "Today's a big day, isn't it?"
The little girl turns over onto her back, half smiling up at her mother.
"Why don't you get up and get dressed," her mother continues. "Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes."
After her mother exits the bedroom and closes the door, the girl jumps up to the bathroom and brushes her teeth. She then puts on the outfit her mother had laid out, runs a brush through her hair, and runs downstairs.
"Slow down, Solea!" a man exclaims from the table. "We can't have you getting hurt and missing the train!"
"Sorry, Father," she says breathlessly. He cracks a small smile at her over his Daily Prophet.
The dining table is filled with breakfast foods and Solea hops in her chair, shoveling eggs and toast into her mouth quickly.
Her mother, sitting across from her, makes a tsk sound. "Stop that, Solea. Just because we're at home doesn't mean you can behave like an animal."
Around a mouthful of eggs, the young girl sheepishly mutters, "Sorry, Mother." She swallows the food in her mouth. "I'm just starving, is all."
"You aren't starving. You could probably stand to eat a bit less, to be frank."
Solea frowns at this, looking down at her plate, then carefully places her fork down.
. . .
AS THE SMALL FAMILY MAKES THEIR WAY THROUGH PLATFORM NINE-AND-THREE-QUARTERS, Solea's mother notices a frown on the girl's face.
"Wipe that frown of your face, sunshine. Your face will get stuck like that. Do you want that to happen?"
Solea shakes her head furiously, willing a smile to form. "Sorry, I just thought, well..." she trails off, thinking twice about what she was going to say next.
"Well?" her mother prompts.
"I wish Eloi was here today," Solea says softly, worried about upsetting her parents.
Solea watches as her mother's face grows dark, her fear coming true. She stops walking, causing her daughter to nearly crash from the abrupt stop.
"Don't talk about him," her mother whispers, grabbing the young girl's arm. "He's done a lot of... bad things. You shouldn't even bother remembering him."
Solea nods, not meeting her mother's eyes. When she begins blinking tears away, her mother's face softens.
"Cheer up, sunshine," the woman places her hand under Solea's chin. "You're starting your first year at Hogwarts! You don't want to start it by making a scene in front of everyone."
"Yeah..." Solea mutters.
"Come on now, sweetheart." She turns, looking up at her father. "These other students can't see the future Princess of Slytherin looking all glum, can they?"
At this, a grin forms on Solea's face. "No, they can't," she giggles.
"Right," her mother agrees, smoothing down Solea's hair. "Now, we'll see you at Christmas, alright?"
Solea nods, her spirits finally raised. "I love you two!" she sings, pulling both of her parents into a hug. "I'm gonna miss you guys so much!"
"Oh please," her father laughs. "You're gonna be like me; those dungeons are gonna become home to you. You'll be begging to stay at school by the time summer comes."
The young witch laughs and shakes her head. "Never," she says, hugging her parents one more time.
. . .
THE GROUP OF FIRST YEARS STARE NERVOUSLY AHEAD, avoiding eye contact with all the older students. As they pass the Slytherin table, though, Solea's shoulders move back and she seems to grow taller, a soft smile appearing on her face. She can't wait to be in the house her parents often share memories of, and the one her brother had been in.
While the Sorting Hat sings a song about the four houses, Solea listens intently. She finds herself wondering why a hat of all things is able to not only sing, but to see into the minds of each student. Sure, she comes from a magical family, but she's somehow never seen anything like the hat before.
Solea is the second student called on, which catches her by surprise. The first student, who had been sorted into Gryffindor, gives her a quick, encouraging smile as he makes his way to join his new house. She makes her way up to the stool, only slightly nervous. She knows what house she belongs to, after all. Still, as the hat is placed on her head and her eyes are covered, she does find her nerves growing more and more.
Interesting...
Solea jumps at the sound of the Sorting Hat's deep, gravelly voice.
I've had plenty of Capellos before you, young girl, but none of them have had a mind like yours.
This statement leaves Solea confused. Still, the hat continues.
You're ambitious, yes, and eager to please. But your eagerness to learn outshines everything else.
Solea quirks an eyebrow, her anxiety increasing by the second.
Yes, you have curiosity beyond compare. I know where you should go.
Holding her breath, Solea is chanting Slytherin, Slytherin, Slytherin, in her mind as the hat seems to take forever to announce where she should go.
"You belong to, RAVENCLAW!"
Solea is frozen. Professor McGonagall has to come help her off the stool as the Great Hall breaks into polite applause. The woman points Solea towards her table, and she forces her legs to take her there.
When she sits down, still silent, still dumbstruck, the older students welcome her, and some even pat her on the back, but Solea doesn't respond. She can't, for her blood has run cold and her voice has been stolen.
.
⭑
.
I am SO excited to write this story! I have so many ideas and love where it's going so far.
