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This is a long one so..be prepared.
Serena Jones feels an overwhelming wave of nervousness coursing through her. It's the kind that makes her heart race and her palms sweat.
Desperately, she swallows, hoping to quell the storm of emotions that threatens to consume her.
When the rest of her family enters the room, she puts on a facade, adopting the refined demeanor expected of a young lady. It grates on her nerves, but it's the family's incessant demand.
Her older sister, Nyla, shoots her a sly smirk. Their age gap is a mere two years, yet Serena has always felt a gulf between them. Nyla's constant teasing wounds her deeply, the kind of teasing kids do, but it stings nonetheless.
That perception changed a few months ago when Nyla courageously stepped in front of Serena, bravely confronting their father for his abusive actions.
Nyla got hurt in the process, but Serena saw a new side of her sister that day. It was a profound revelation that pierced through the layers of teasing, revealing Nyla's genuine love and protection.
"Yes, Mother," Nyla chimes in, nodding in apparent agreement with their mother's words.
Serena tunes into the conversation, her attention now focused on her mother, who directs a question her way. "Are you excited for Hogwarts?"
Like you care.
Nonetheless, she manages a nod and replies with a practiced politeness, "Yes, Mother."
Her father looks up from his newspaper, his stern gaze fixing on her. "Do not disappoint your family. Get sorted into Slytherin, or don't bother coming back home."
It's a familiar refrain, a reminder of the family's expectations. Serena merely nods, her resolve strengthening as she prepares to face the challenges of Hogwarts.
~~~
Aspen Ravenclaw's nerves are in overdrive. Today marks his very first day at Hogwarts, and the weight of the occasion presses on him like a leaden cloak.
His mother, ever the worrier, fusses over him with a mix of affection and anxiety, her hands fluttering about like nervous birds.
"Mum, I promise I'll be okay," he reassures her, reaching out to hold her hand.
Lately, his mother has been carrying a shadow of sadness, a heaviness that has settled in her heart after his father's passing just a few months ago. Aspen feels a deep concern gnawing at him, a fear of leaving his mother to face the world alone.
Although she constantly reassures him of her well-being, he knows her promises are meant to protect him. He has witnessed her silent struggles, the nights when she retreats to her solitude and lets her tears flow. She never openly shares her pain, but he has seen it once, and that memory has etched itself into his mind indelibly.
