May, 1936
𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 it was a sunny day when her father passed away. She could recall how the ray of light through the hospital windows caused the small white room to almost glow, giving it the appearance of heaven. It seemed fitting, having a pure environment for the most kind-hearted person she knew.
She had held her father's hand solemnly, sitting on the left side of his bed while her older sister sat on the right.
Patrick Kennedy had been diagnosed with CAD, known as Coronary Artery Disease. Daisy knew by reading medical books that this disease affected 5% of adults over the age of 20, and that 20% of those adults died before the age of 65. It seemed her father had been cursed with horrible luck.
It seemed ironic that a man who had once been an adored Auror was now in a hospital bed, going from grand places of magic to a mundane muggle setting.
The two girls were all alone, since their mother had died in childbirth to Daisy. Their father never talked about her either. Apparently she had died unnaturally.
But most of all, she remembered her father's last few words to her and Mackenzie, her sister. His eyes were thin slivers of blue then, his body fighting to stay alive, but he had managed to open his mouth and speak in his last moments.
"Remember that you are good. Remember that you are kind," he whispered. "And most importantly, remember where you came from."
And even though she was only 9, she would indeed remember those words for the rest of her life.
When her father's hand in hers went limp, she reached for the one with life, and stared into her sisters eyes, a replica of her own pale brown ones. An unspoken message was passed between them.
They would do everything in their power to follow their father's last words.
˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗
June, 1936
Wool's Orphanage was much more menacing and devoid of life than it had appeared in the photographs. It also didn't help that London always looked like someone had sucked all the cooler and happiness out of it with a syringe.
She didn't say anything however, waiting for her sister to decide what impression it gave off. Even though she was only younger by one year, she still looked up to Mackenzie, and often followed in suit of the older girl's opinions.
"I've said it once, and I will say it again," Mackenzie spoke, cutting into the brisk air with her soft voice. "I don't understand why this awful woman has decided to bring us here. And how are we supposed to go to Hogwarts if we're stuck in a horrendous muggle settlement?"
Daisy rolled her eyes inadvertently. Hogwarts was all Mackenzie had been talking about for the past month. Ever since their father had left this world a month ago, the 11-year-old had been non-stop chattering about following their father's footsteps of attending the school for witches and wizards and getting into Hufflepuff.
"But you're already 11." Daisy tentatively questioned, wincing as the old car hit another bump on the poorly fashioned road.
"Yes, but the term doesn't start until the 1st of September. And I'll get a letter in July! So in 1 month!" Mackenzie smiled brightly.
The younger blonde frowned. "But I'll be alone here for 2 years after you leave."
"You'll be fine. I'm sure this place isn't as bad as it seems. We shouldn't judge a book by its cover."
Daisy said nothing, not wanting to reveal the real reason she didn't want to be left alone. For as long as she could remember, she had felt a sharp edge in her heart, a sliver of herself that was dark. She could feel it tremendously in moments where she felt anger or pain, a growing wickedness that urged her to do terrible things.
And so, the young girl covered and smothered this smudge on her soul with excessive cheerfulness, constantly having a blanket of positivity wrapped around everything she said and did.
"We're here," the woman in the front seat snapped, her sharp accent sounding harsher in the resemblance of their surroundings. "Time to get out."
The sisters stepped out of the car quietly and gathered their things, and then were herded to the front door of the drab, grey building. A tall and spindly elder woman was already waiting for them on the steps leading to the large doorway.
"Welcome to Wool's Orphanage, you may call me Ms. Cole," the apparent housekeeper introduced, sweeping them inside with her long arms.
"I'm Mackenzie, and this is my baby sister Daisy," Mackenzie announced while Daisy grimaced.
She wasn't a baby!
While her older sister and Ms. Cole started speaking, she zoned out and surveyed the dull atmosphere within the large building. In contrast to their old house, there were no rich colourful carpets here, or any plush furniture. Instead, cold hardwood floors and bony-looking chairs in various random positions.
"Daisy, are you listening?" her sister's agitated voice broke my train of thoughts, and she snapped back to attention.
Rolling her eyes, she filled me Daisy on what had been said, including when meal times were, when bed time was, the no bullying policy.
Before she knew it, she was settled into her hard bed, with her sister in the bed next to hers, hugging a teddy bear as she stared at the ceiling. It was cold, and Daisy had asked for extra blankets, but Ms. Cole made it very clear that she would not show any preferential treatment for anyone
"I thought orphanages are supposed to be fun and nice," she spoke into the silence, her unmeasured voice louder than one would like. "It's supposed to be for kids who have just had something terrible happen to them. I would never make an orphanage like this."
"Well Daisy, this is the real world," the older girl snapped, turning away from her. "Not everyone is nice like in those stupid fairytales you read."
The younger blonde flinched, tears filling in her eyes. She said nothing in response though, chalking up Mackenzie's foul attitude to the same reason as hers, even as she remained positive on the outside.
But the truth was, they were all alone now.
˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗
A week had passed, and Daisy was certain that 9-year-olds were not supposed to feel as depressed as she did now. Every day was the same: eating tasteless breakfast, being stuck in consuming all-day lessons, eating an even worse dinner, and being sent to bed. The only exception was the weekends, where the children could go out around the town.
But no one did that unless they had friends, and Daisy had not been able to make one single one. It was as if the other children sensed that she was different, and they resented her for it. It wasn't her fault that she was faster and quicker at learning than them, that she could adapt to situations better, that she always had a smile on her face.
There wasn't one kid she could imagine would like her...except one.
She had seen another boy, around her age, only a couple times in the past 7 days. He skipped some lessons, and avoided any social interaction all together. But he seemed just as miserable as her.
On the start of the second week, something very strange happened, and Daisy was almost certain that it stemmed from the boy. After one of the children had called him a foul name, that same child found a hissing snake in his shoes the next day, his screams echoing.
The boy - she had learned his name was Tom - had been sitting at a table, and the oddest expression had crossed his face. A mixture of glee and apprehension.
Swallowing her nervousness, Daisy walked up to the table and sat down next to him. He looked up at her in surprise, mid-bite into his apple, his soft dark locks falling into his eyes.
"Hi, I'm Daisy," she introduced, smiling at him and giving a little wave, even though she was only half-a-meter away.
"Tom," he said, his voice clipped and offering no smile in return.
While his cheeks were rounded with childhood, being only 9 like herself, and his pale skin gave him an angelic nature, he seemed to act like the exact opposite.
Fine, she would just have to get right to business then.
"I saw what you did," she said in a hushed voice, and his eyes snapped back to her in alarm.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he lied, his words too quick to believe.
Seeing his panic, she put a hand on his shoulder. "Oh I'm not here to tell on you or something. I just wanted to tell you that you're not the only one. I'm like you."
He looked at her hand first, touching his shoulder, and shook it off, revulsed by the physical touch.
Then he looked up at her face again, considering her sincere words. Her face was open and sweet, her expression practically rosy.
"You can make...strange things happen?" he asked tentatively. "I'm not the only one?"
"No, you're a wizard Tom," she confided in pure giddiness. "And I'm a witch!"
He snickered. "Yeah, and I love my parents."
She stared at him for a few seconds, appalled that he would speak about his deceased parents in such a manner.
"I'm not making it up. My father was a wizard too, and in two years we'll get a letter from Hogwarts, the school for witchcraft and wizardry!"
"And do you have any proof?" even though the boy was only 9, his mind was working miles per minute, needing empirical evidence of her claims.
"Other than the unexplainable things you can make happen?" she raised a brow, then huffed in annoyance. "My older sister is going to get a letter next month. Is that proof enough for you?"
"Yes. So I'll see you again in a few weeks," he turned away from her, pushing his chair back to leave.
"Wait!" she shouted. "Why can't we hang out again? Aren't we friends now?"
"Friends?" Tom repeated incredulously, the word sounding foreign in his mouth.
"Yes, all the other kids hate us," she reminded him, and he peered at her in scrutiny, weighing the pros and cons.
If what she was saying was true, he would need a friend that he could use for whatever he wanted when they arrived at this magical school. Yes, she would do quite well. From the books he had read, blondes always were the stupid ones.
"Okay, friends," he agreed complacently, and sat back down.
˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗
July, 1938
The screams of the children incited the giggling fit from Tom and Daisy as they nearly fell on top of each other from laughing so hard and trying to hold it in.
"Shut up!" he hissed after catching his breath and collecting himself, hitting her on the back. "They'll hear us!"
"Oh please, everyone will know we've done this," the eleven-year-old girl scoffed. "Just like we did it last time, and the last time, and the time before that."
They both looked at each other for a few moments, taking in each other's faces. Daisy was amazed at how close her and Tom had become, going against the behest of her sister's wishes. In the 3 weeks Mackenzie had been in the orphanage, she kept trying to convince Daisy that Tom was a "bad seed" and that she should stay away from him.
That's what the other kids thought as well. But they didn't know him like she did. He wasn't a bad person, he was just...misunderstood.
The thought of her sister ignited a growth of sadness in her gut, as she tried to remember the last time she received a letter from her. 2 years had passed without her sister, and surprisingly, it was not nearly as bad as she thought it would be.
She had Tom.
So on the day that Albus Dumbledore came for the second time to the orphanage, he found the 2 children of magic reading together in a little alcove on bare-looking couches.
Tom's doubts were managed to completely wash away as this man told him about the true nature of his blood, and that he was meant to be a wizard. Daisy felt pure excitement as she rejoiced in finally being able to go to a place she had dreamed of for months.
As Dumbledore left them briefly to speak to Ms. Cole, the blonde looked over at the raven-haired boy, searching for any signs of the happiness that was present in her. He looked at her calmly, but his insides were swirling with a whirlwind of emotions.
Eagerness. Anticipation. Plotting. Ambition.
Daisy deflated a little at his lack of emotion, but she was used to Tom hiding his feelings. It didn't matter, he would be as happy as her.
She couldn't wait to show her best friend the world that awaited him.
˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗
A/N: So, as you may have noticed, this chapter consists of their pre-Hogwarts life. Don't worry, the next chapter will jump to their 6th year, with only a few flashbacks here and there. I just wanted to have an introductory chapter :)