Magic (5sos/l.h. Hogwarts AU)

Chapter 76

~A/N~ Anyways I love this chapter because I love using setting as a writing technique so this is just me indulging my own writing style
Enjoy the chapter!
Leila xx

Castle Combe was an tiny village in the middle of nowhere in the rolling meadows of Wiltshire. No one ever thought to visit, no one ever thought to leave, and no one outside of the village even knew it existed. A traditional town, it was so backward in its ways that anyone would choose the big city over a sleepy little area filled with chickens and rows of identical, semi-detached houses.

That was, until the Castle Combe Summer Fair.

This event took place every other year, and it was a fairy-tale experience for everyone. Streamers and banners hung over every archway and street lamp, glimmering in the bright sunshine. Melodies and drumming were audible from every direction, normally played by the villagers that had musical ability. Children ran through the cobbled roads, giggling with cake crumbs dripping down their faces and tumbling into the cracks in the ground brought about by the heat.

People from miles around would visit, clamouring for a cool glass of squash and tapping their feet to samba bands as they made new friends and reconnected with old ones. It was a time of pure bliss, but was simultaneously the most busy and stressful week of the year.

As an inhabitant of Castle Combe, I was required to help out. Between the ages of four and sixty, this service was pretty much compulsory, though many pensioners poured their souls into assisting with the celebrations as a reminder of when they were young. It was the only reason everyone knew everyone, for the meetings in the Village Hall were a great opportunity to make friends and chat with a coffee while carrying out various tasks for the Community Council.

This year was the most exciting year for me, as Calum was helping out alongside me and for the first time, I would be playing music on the stage. Butterflies soared through my stomach every time I thought about it, but I was still excited.

Better still was the permission from my parents for Ginny to stay over in the holidays, something which left Calum and I squealing in excitement for days. As Naadiya had been very ill with terrible headaches all holiday, the Three Musketeers had become only Two, and it wasn't the same. We needed the third presence to feel safe again, and she was soon to arrive.

"Mali always used to drag me to the fair when I was little," Calum said, sitting on the dusty carpet of Naadiya's room as we made paper lanterns to hang around the town square. "It was always so magical and colourful, and now I can't believe I'm actually helping make the magic happen."

"I just think normal fifteen year-olds wouldn't find this much joy in arts and crafts," Naadiya mumbled from where she was laying on her bed, a cold towel draped over her temples to soothe the pain in her head.

"Normal fifteen year-olds are boring," I scoffed and Calum chuckled, which quickly morphed into a stream of swear words as he cut his finger with the scissors.

"Stop swearing!" Sofiyah's voice floated over from where she was reading in the hallway, and Calum turned red.

"How does this girl, age ten, have more morals than me?"

"She's just annoying," Naadiya groaned.

"I heard that!" my youngest sister shouted. "But I'm not going to tell you off because you're poorly!"

"I hope you get better for the fair," I said, and my twin rolled over, whining in pain.

"At this rate, I don't think I ever will."

***
It turned out Naadiya was right, and while Calum and I danced through the streets a week later to the Town Hall, where we would be assigned our roles, she remained bedridden and miserable. Still, I had little time for sympathy as I was so excited - Ginny had told me she would be arriving today, and I was ready to explode. It had been a month without my best friend, too long.