Hogwarts: Shadows of Ascendancy

Chapter One: Beneath the Starlit Sky

It was a grey afternoon as fifteen-year-old Adelina Elissa Moreno made her way down the sidewalk. Her long, wild, and wavy warm-chestnut-colored hair blew softly in the wind. Her hazel eyes and freckles were made darker due to the weather and the shadow of her hair. She walked with purpose and confidence towards the park to meet up with her friend. It was her last day before she left for her fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and she knew she had to see her best Muggle friend before she left for the school year. She carefully pushed open the old, rusted gate of the entrance and made her way towards the playground.

Adelina was confused, as she could not see her friend anywhere. She looked down and sent a text, "im at the playground, where are you?" She looked all around her, but he was nowhere to be seen. A small ding came from her phone. "Look up >:)," the message read, sent by her friend. Adelina rolled her eyes and looked up to meet the dark brown hair and warm brown eyes of seventeen-year-old Samuel Turner. A bright smile was on his face as he hung upside down on a bar, his fluffy hair being tousled rather violently by the wind. Adelina and Samuel share a laugh before Samuel makes his way down to Adelina.

"Excited to be going back to school tomorrow?" Samuel asked while weaving in and out of playground equipment.

"I'm going to miss being here of course, but yeah, I'm happy I get to go back," replied Adelina with a small smile. Samuel swung around a pole and smiled at Adelina.

"Aw, not gonna miss me, Addy?"

"Of course, I'll miss you, you doofus."

"Mm, debatable," Samuel jokes with a laugh as Adelina simply rolls her eyes. Samuel was always sarcastic, cracking a joke what seemed like every thirty seconds. It sometimes annoyed Adelina, but she's gotten pretty accustomed to tuning out Samuel.

"So," Samuel starts, "anything planned for tonight?"

"Just dinner with my family. You can come if you want."

"Free food? I'd never pass up on that!" He has come to every farewell dinner since Adelina's first year of going to Hogwarts. Initially, he was confused, even with Adelina's explanation, but he eventually understood the concept in his own humor-based way. He thinks of it as a fun magic academy with card tricks and the sort. Adelina hopes that one day he'll understand what the exceptional school she goes to is really like.

As the sun started to set after a few hours of talking and playing around, Adelina and Samuel made their way back to the Moreno household for the farewell dinner. Samuel has been a regular at every birthday party, Christmas, and dinner for many years seeing as he had first met Adelina in primary school. They were inseparable as children, doing almost everything together, refusing to leave each other's sides. As they grew and matured more, they naturally made more friends. Adelina went to Hogwarts and Samuel started playing sports, and they both spread their wings, but no matter what, Adelina and Samuel never stopped being friends.

Adelina and Samuel entered the Moreno home to the sight of Mr. and Mrs. Moreno frantically trying to set up for the farewell party. The house was very quaint with nice, cream-colored walls and numerous family photos plastered all over them. Every summer they went on a family trip, hanging a new picture up every time they did so. The dining room had a small chandelier above the dark and sturdy table. Five sets of utensils were neatly placed next to plates and cups, aligned as close to perfect as possible by Mrs. Moreno. Adelina's parents began placing food out on the table as she and Samuel took seats next to each other.

"Emilio Ezekiel Moreno! Get down here!" shouted Mrs. Moreno before smiling graciously at Samuel. After a moment of silence, loud footsteps came fumbling down the stairs. Emilio Moreno, Adelina's ten-year-old brother, came hobbling into the dining room, eyes glued to his phone. He reached for the dining chair and missed it a few times before finally grabbing it and sitting down.