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ONE THE FIRST OF SEPTEMBER
"Right then, everyone's trunks packed and ready to go?" Eleanor Blackwood asked her two sisters as they shoved breakfast in their mouths. Theodora Blackwood had woken up late and was still wearing her pajamas as she shoved a piece of toast in her mouth, her younger sister Helena grimacing at her as she tenderly took bites of her piece of bacon.
"I don't know how you can eat like that, reckon I'd throw up from that large of a bite," Helena scoffed as she finished off her breakfast and picked up her plate. She handed it off to their house-elf, Plunky, and brushed her hands on her skirt.
"I don't know how you can eat such a horrible thing at all!" Theodora fired back, "Meat's disgusting, at least I have ataste."
Coming between her two younger sisters, Eleanor glared at them, "All this ruckus and not one of you answered my question. Trunks? Ready?"
"Yes," both girls droned as Theodora left the breakfast table with her last bite still between her teeth, rushing to at least pull on her skirt, button-up, and tie. She could worry about her sweater and robes the closer she got to Hogwarts. Calling down the stairs as she struggled to get the right knot in her tie she asked, "Where's mum and dad? They usually see us off."
"They're off doing business, told me to make sure you two made it to the station without biting your heads off," Eleanor explained as she observed her sister's uniform with a cursory glance, "Buttons are skewed. Knot looks good, though. Anyway, mum and dad give you their best and they'll see you at Christmas. After the stint with the Quidditch Cup, all of the old pureblood families are under fire. Ministry's trying to find out who exactly was under the masks."
"Wouldn't be surprised if it was our parents," Helena joined the conversation with a huff, "Did you even brush your hair? Ridiculous, let me see it."
Theodora huffed as she stood straight so Helena could braid it as she often did. She was the only girl in the family who had picked up how to french braid as Theodora never bothered to learn and Eleanor often opted for a loose ponytail to get her dark locks out of her face. This was how their mornings often were when it was just the girls — organized chaos is what Theodora often chose to refer to it. Yes, there was animosity and rudeness, but neither would let the other fall behind or fail to uphold anything that would strengthen the family name. The Blackwoods were one of the infamous Slytherin pure-blood families and it was imperative that all three Blackwood girls represented it to the best of their abilities.
"All right then, enough talk about that," the eldest brushed off the subject with that typical knowing twinge in her voice. Now that Eleanor had left Hogwarts, she got her share of all the family business and gossip the girls had been hidden from since they were children. Theodora thought it was rather unfair, though, since she knew the dealings of her family would affect all of the girls, not just the ones that were of-age. For years, Helena and Theodora had been forced to endure the rumors and speculation of their families' dark beliefs and Theodora didn't even have the authority to know if it was true or not. The dark mark's appearance at the Quidditch World Cup certainly wouldn't help things either as they headed into the new school year at Hogwarts — after all, rumors only grow.
