DISTANT GAME ━ charlie weasley

o. out of the hair

prologue out of the hair

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SOMEWHERE IN THE PICTURESQUE LANDS OF THE SCOTTISH COUNTRYSIDE, in a city by the name of Thankerton, a moderate cottage exists overlooking the precious Thankerton bridge and the even more breathtaking River Clyde, flowing smoothly with a twinkling gleam. It just so happens to be the house Valerie Carmichael spent the latter part of her childhood in, having lived in Central Glasgow for her first 16 years, her Scottish parents then deciding they wanted some peace in one of the quieter, smaller cities for Valerie and her younger brother Douglas. (Glasgow was by far not a humble place.) Her parents have reclaimed the old house back in Glasgow, though: a four-bedroom bungalow with two livingrooms and two bathrooms. It often happens to be that Valerie, along with her two children Jeremiah and Avery, would go back to the house in Glasgow on the weekends they knew that Celtic would be playing in their home stadium, as Thankerton wasn't the nearest to Parkhead Stadium. And anyways, it gives her a chance to visit her parents and for her kids to see their grandparents. (Valerie had been a born-Celtic fan, and she obviously had to keep the tradition going with her children. She even had their middle names after some of the most notable players!)

The grass on the banks surrounding the Clyde bear the finest colour amalgam of fern and olive green, and during summers in Thankerton they're seen to compliment both the bank of clear water it surrounds and the vibrant blue sky it basks under. During this time, people are often seen to be relaxing out by the bank, with their trousers rolled up and feet dipped into the cool waters, saving them from burnout of one of Scotland's summer heatwaves. (Scottish weather is never the nicest, but there's often a spot in the summer period where the sun hits just perfect.) One of Avery Carmichael's finest memories on the grassy banks beside the Clyde is when her petite 10 year old legs had perhaps enjoyed being immersed by the brush of the cool liquid a bit too much, that she'd been close to falling inside the Clyde, had a 14 year old Jeremiah not came and hoisted her quickly out by the underarms.

A couple of miles' walk away there's a farm that the three Carmichael's, and sometimes Uncle Douglas too, would take a stroll towards on a nice day. The farm is further up towards the area just before the mountains start, and the walk is the opposing way to where the Clyde flows. It is in this farm, owned by a lovely neighbouring family called the McKinnie's, where Avery and Jeremiah Carmichael learnt how to milk a cow and feed baby goats. They absolutely loved trips to the McKinnie's farm and went there so often during the summers, and they had a daughter the same age as Avery, called Eleanor, who they could play with too. Life in the countryside served them well, and that's not the least of their Scottish life when you consider they still take visits to Glasgow to cheer on their favourite football team.

The cottage in which the Carmichael's stayed in had had a bunch of fine work done to it. Since Valerie's parents moved out and back to Glasgow, she'd spent many hours painting the roof a deep purple colour, (she used magic when her neighbours weren't looking - lucky for her they were never that intrusive) cleaning the moss off the rocks that made up the main body of the cottage, and reapplied the black paint to all the edges and posts leading to the door. She loved her handiwork to the outside of the house so much, that she'd begun planting many beautiful plants in both their front and back garden, cosmos, fountain grass and Busy Lizzie's alike, and the house became a truly warming place to be in in this era and time. There was a living room with a cozy fireplace and armchairs seated all around, from which Valerie had told her two children many stories accompanied by hot chocolates about her times growing up in Scotland and seeing her dad get into a fight with a Rangers supporter one Old Firm match, her mother taking her by the arm firmly and protecting her 15 year old eyes from something she shouldn't have to see.