In Lightning
| ────── | 12 September 2025 #2C0359────────────────────────────────────────── Outfit_________________________________________________________ Come alone to the Courtyard at 11pm tonight. — I.B.
Sophie had found the note on her desk at the end of the class, as the rest of her classmates left the room in a loud cacophony. Textbooks thumped into bags, students called cheerfully to one another, and chair legs screeched as they were pushed along the floor. It was impossible to find the deliverer in the chaos. She had frowned in disappointment, but the contents of the note had caused her to forget the chagrin and her heart to thump loudly in her chest. Two weeks ago, Sophie had known little of her sisters but for their existence. Her grandfather believed it best to separate her true family after the destructive death of Sophie’s father many years ago. Her grandfather was a stubborn, powerful man, to be sure, but even he could not prevent the sisters from meeting one another once they started school. The initials I.B. could only belong to Sophie’s sister, Imogen. They had first met by chance a few days earlier, on a chilly Saturday morning in the Great Hall. Imogen had promised to arrange a meeting with their other sister Charlotte, and ever since, Sophie had spent the week in restless anticipation—daydreaming in class, waking in sweats at night. She had scoured the crowds at every meal, desperate for another glimpse of her older sister, but Imogen had remained maddeningly absent, as if she were no more than a dream too perfect to be real. But finally, on the last day of class, Sophie has been given a sign. Sophie spent the rest of the day in a strange trance. She had a bite of dinner before declaring herself full and making her way to her bed long before dusk fell. Her homework remained untouched beside her bed, and she ignored the comings and goings of her dormmates. She instead peered out the window beside her bed, in deep thought, until the dormitory fell silent but for gentle snores and stirs. Only then did Sophie scramble out of bed, shrug on some comfortable clothes, and quietly make her way out of the Slytherin dungeons. Many hours spent creeping through forest undergrowth and thick moorland to be adequately adept to make her way unseen through the empty halls of Hogwarts. Thankfully, the teachers seemed as tired as the students, and she met no-one on her journey. She slid out to the Courtyard without incident, and stood in the centre. Shadows enveloped the corners and passageways around the yard, and no matter how hard she squinted into the darkness, Sophie could not glimpse a single sign of movement. She shivered, suddenly aware of the night’s chill. Then— “Sophie?” Sophie turned to the direction of the noise, and from the shadows two figures emerged. _________________________________________________________ |
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Last edited by Sophia Brown on 28 Nov 2025, 05:16, edited 3 times in total.
In Lightning
| ────── | 12 September 2025 #2C0359────────────────────────────────────────── Outfit_________________________________________________________ Imogen stood on the left, Charlotte on the right. Even in the night, Sophie could see they were sisters—tall and wiry, sharp-featured, and long, smooth hair falling past their shoulders. But here the resemblance ended. Imogen had eyes tawny brown and flecked green, large and round and attentive; and hair of sunlight, brushed smooth and shiny. Charlotte had eyes narrowed and suspicious, coloured indigo blue; her hair thin, tangled, and darker than onyx. Imogen’s face had a softer fullness to her cheeks, and her skin had a healthy bronze to it; Charlotte seemed pasty pale, and her angles sharper and more defined. Imogen smiled as the pair advanced toward her; Charlotte’s expression remained expressionless and still. “I thought, perhaps—” Sophie said as her sisters met her, the words tumbling out unthought of, “perhaps you’d forgotten, it had been so long.” Imogen smiled—Sophie could not quite tell if it spoke of kindness or pity; she hoped the former—and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “You did good,” Imogen told her, and Sophie smiled gratefully. Beside Imogen, Charlotte stood silent, and kept sharp eyes upon Sophie. It made Sophie feel quite queer and unsettled, but she had the curious urge to not be frightened by this stranger. “Hullo, I’m Sophie,” she said. “I’ve been told,” Charlotte replied, the shadow of a scowl upon her lips. Though her voice sounded rougher and more rasp-like than Imogen’s, it had a lighter quality to it, and betrayed her younger age. “Slytherin, is it?” “Yes, splendid, isn’t it? Nearly a full set,” Imogen said, craning her eyes down to meet Sophie’s as she said—”Charlotte’s quite a patriot of Gryffindor, but don’t let that bother you; I’m sure she’ll soon learn house competition is best left on the Quidditch pitch.” Charlotte caught the sharpness in her elder sister’s tone and frowned. She reached her hand deep into her robes, brought out a wand, and for a moment Sophie thought she would point it at her... but she simply said “Lumos;” and light filled the courtyard. “Lovely, Charlotte,” Imogen praised, her disapproval gone. “Let’s take a seat, shall we? And turn to more pressing matters.” _________________________________________________________ |
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