sunlit meadows, waning brooks

prologue // the fool

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Sunday, September 1st, 1991

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          "Leo Beresford... RAVENCLAW!" The sorting hat announced from the front of the Great Hall.

          "It's not real, the ceiling. It's just bewitched to look like the night sky. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History." A curly-haired brunette girl bragged while staring at the starry view above.

          "Did they really assign that on an eleven-year-old's summer reading list?" a girl with shoulder-length black hair questioned sarcastically.

          A brunette with questioning emerald eyes was eavesdropping on Sitra, the ravenette, rather than the curly-haired girl. Sitra, now standing to the right of a blonde in line, heard the brunette ask, "Are you eleven too?"

          The blonde who was between Sitra and the green-eyed brunette interrupted, "All of us are. You have to be eleven to get your acceptance letter, didn't your parents inform you?"

          The other two adolescents looked down at their newly polished dress shoes, creating an awkward silence.

          "I turned eleven in March, when are your birthdays?" A girl, who looked quite similar to the brunette girl—only with deeper, viridian eyes—chimed in, breaking the awkwardly long pause.

          The raven-haired girl turned to the brunette, "Same here! I was born on the thirty-first." Sitra raised an eyebrow in question.

          "Get out! Me too!" the two girls that looked similar shouted simultaneously.

          "What are the odds we are all born on the same day? We must have similar last names too since we are all next to each other-" the blonde rambled before being interrupted by an older lady with an extremely large witch's hat.

          "Charlotte Meadowbrook!"

          Professor McGonagall called. The emerald-eyed girl slowly walked up the steps, sitting down on a stool in front of the other professors. She sat there patiently for a moment until the hat was finally placed on her head. She shut her eyes, not being able to bear all of those people staring at her. 

          "...SLYTHERIN!" The sorting hat's voice boomed as the Slytherin table erupted with cheers. Charlotte proudly walked over to sit with her fellow Slytherins.

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          "Evangeline Meadowbrook!"

          The blonde quivered as she carefully walked to where the sorting hat resided. She made sure to watch her every move since her legs felt like jelly and she was scared of tripping and making a fool of herself. Professor McGonagall patted the stool lightly with a smile. Evangeline took a deep breath in and sat down.

          Anything but Slytherin. Evangeline thought, still holding her breath as the very ancient hat was placed on her head.

          "...HUFFLEPUFF!"

          Evangeline finally exhaled the breath that felt like it had been held in for an eternity. She hopped off the stool and moved her hair out of her face as she walked towards her house's table. Her prance slowed down pretty quickly as she thought, the green-eyed girl had the same last name as me, didn't she?