August 31st, 1938
Late summer in the Wiltshire countryside was always serene. Birds flitted about the trees, singing their sweet melodies, and young children ran through the fields, laughing and shrieking in delight as their friends chased after them. The perfectly manicured gardens of the extravagant mansions dotting the land smelled sickly sweet and brought color amongst the ever-present greenery, and sunlight glittered off the tall, towering oak trees, mixing with the mist that rose from the river and the grass that was still damp from last night's rain shower.
The warm yellow sun cast its beaming rays down on an small, overgrown clearing tucked into a larger thicket of trees, near the edge of the Wiltshire bounds. Two girls lay sprawled out on a thin wool blanket in the middle of the clearing, an open basket of half-eaten baked goods tipped over on its side between them. The taller girl with waist-length brown hair hummed to herself as she ran her fingers through the fur of a sleeping Border Collie, occasionally speaking up as she pointed out an interesting-looking cloud looming above her in the sky to her companion.
The other girl kept her eyes closed despite her friend's cloudgazing observations. She ran her nimble fingers through the warm grass, and had kicked off her flimsy beige flats so she could dig her toes into the dirt. Her strawberry-blonde hair was mussed but still had small daisies weaved into the unkempt curls, and she picked one out and twirled it around her finger as her eyebrows furrowed together in thought.
"Hey, that one looks like Olly!"
The blonde's eyes fluttered open in slight annoyance, squinting up at the bright sky. Instead of asking the other girl if she could kindly be quiet, like she intended to, her lips split into a soft smile as her vision finally adjusted to the sunlight and she could make out the fluffy, animal-shaped cloud her best friend was referring to.
"It does." She murmured amusedly, looking over at the still sleeping dog curled up close by. It was silent for a few moments.
"Are you okay, Lina?" The brunette asked. She cast an inquisitive stare over to her companion. "You've barely said a word all afternoon."
Lina's soft brown eyes opened again at her friend's question. She bit her lip in thought, before sitting up and slowly bringing her knees to her chest, fingers locking tightly around them. Lina sighed.
"Aren't you worried what will happen, Eden?"
The other eleven year old girl rose an arched eyebrow at this.
"Tomorrow, I mean. What if we don't get sorted?"
"Of course we'll get sorted. Everyone does."
"No, I know that...it's just...what if they don't sort me into Hufflepuff? Everyone expects me to be a 'Puff...Mother already knit me scarves in the House colors and keeps telling me all of these stories about the Common Room and about how I'll just love it there...what if I get sorted into a different House? Mother and Father would be so disappointed..." Lina let out a huff of air, burying her head between her knees.
"The Sorting Hat won't put a Fawley anywhere but Hufflepuff, Lina. You know that. And besides, the Hat takes what you want into consideration, too. You're mad if you think the Hat'll put you in Slytherin just because." Eden replied, turning her attention back to the clouds above.
"That's just it, I don't know that." Lina said quietly, dragging a finger across the rippling, soft surface of the wool-knit blanket. "Merlin, can you imagine? What would Father say?" She shuddered.
"Olly, tell her she's mad. She's mad, isn't she?" Eden cooed to the sleeping dog. Olly opened one droopy eye, squinting up as his name being called sparked his attention. He snorted, readjusting his position as he curled further into himself. "Hm, good enough." Eden remarked.
