My name is Lauren. My family (my grandmother, parents, and 2 siblings) and I live in the countryside outside of Cardiff. I'm a bit nervous to attend school at Hogwarts, not only because I have no idea of what to expect when learning magic, but also because I haven't had much experience around other people. I've been home-schooled my entire life, same with my younger brother and sister, so besides venturing into the city during the summer for farmers markets (our family has a booth every year where we sell our honey, bundles of flowers, and bread), I've never really had to spend much time with people outside of my family.

I'm quiet most of the time, but I do enjoy a nice chat. Most of the time this ends up just being with my grandmother over an afternoon tea (a nice break from my chores on our property), but sometimes my mam joins us. After tea, I typically help my mam clean our kitchen before taking a pail of scraps out to feed our chickens. This is typically the only time I'll have to myself during the day--and don't tell my parents but I have taken this time to nap in the coop on especially exhausting days--because the rest of the time I typically have to keep an eye on one (or both!) of my siblings.

Getting the letter from Hogwarts was startling, but not a total surprise because my grandmother had always told me that there was a twinkle in my eye that reminded her of a friend she'd had when she was a child. I don't really think that I have any special twinkle in my eye, but learning about a school of witchcraft and wizardry might explain why the bees are always calm around me and why my "sticky fingers" have never been caught.

I mentioned the farmers markets earlier, but part of that, that I neglected to mention is that I can be a bit of a thief. Never anything too serious, but sometimes if I think hard enough strange things happen and suddenly I'm walking away from the sweets booth with candy I didn't pay for. Maybe that's magic. Or maybe it's just me.