ELDERS
Evangeline sat softly to the right of her brother as a brisk fall wind settled over their family home. The leaves of the small orchard danced in the late evening sun, their quiet rustling soothing over the pricks and bristles within her. Theodore fiddled with a small branch in his hand, eventually pulling out a knife to smooth it. They were both propped up against the oldest tree in the orchard - an elder tree that shaded the area with its bright leaves and light flowers. Evangeline looked up toward what little sky she could see through the trees.
“Were you scared your first year?” Evangeline muttered. Theodore adjusted his square glasses, feeling the rough edges of what he had whittled on.
“Not exactly,” he replied, “I think I was more hopeful than anything.”
Evangeline grinned and leaned her head against the tree, “Get out of the house?”
“Something like that I think,” Theodore chuckled. His small branch had shaped into something long and slightly pointed - the shape of a small wand. He threw it to the side at the base of the elder tree and made a move to stand, grappling with the tree for balance. Evangeline stood slowly and offered the cane that had sat beside him. He muttered a gruff, “thanks,” under his breath and grabbed onto it to pull himself up. Evangeline frowned.
Their gazes both drifted slowly to Theodore’s left leg. It was bent at a slightly awkward angle - with very little weight resting on it. He gulped, twisting his carved wooden cane in his right hand, then he brought his left hand to rest on Evangeline’s shoulder.
“My situation wasn’t exactly normal Eva. You’ll be fine. Everything will be fine,” he said gently, stepping away from under the tree and towards their house, “Hogwarts is a home.” As they walked their eyes traced the outlines of their home, the stern walls of the Dox house - present, binding, and unchanging. It cast a dangerous shadow on the bright leaves of the orchard.
“You know,” Evangeline smirked, “They say that Dox kids never get sorted in the same house twice” She thought of the warmth of Theordore’s Hufflepuff scarf, the way the yellow danced around his room and painted his quidditch uniform. The dazzling badger his team painted for him last year. Everything was so soft and gentle and kind. And then her eldest brother came to mind - the dark doorways and deep emerald green. The fearful cunning and the shadowy snakes that fit the curve of the house of Dox. Theodore grinned.
“My bet is Ravenclaw. Don’t think Griffindor would suit you,” his cane tapped as he walked, “And, I mean, I already took the best house so-” he was cut off by a light punch to the arm from Evangeline as they grinned at each other - advancing the stairs to the back of the Dox family home for the last time before they started the year at Hogwarts - school of witchcraft a wizardry. Evangeline would be in her first year while Theodore would be in his fourth.
Theodore’s cane clicked across the threshold and the stale tiled floors. Their trunks waited for them nearer to the front door, nestled between the stairs and the entranceway. Evangeline stopped to stare at them for a moment, lost in her worries for the new year before being awoken by the whistle of a kettle and the clink of two glasses together. Glancing back over her shoulder, she saw Theodore pouring steaming water into two white mugs, backlit by the almost set sun. He slid one of them toward her slowly and brought the other to his lips to blow.
“Hot chocolate, settles your nerves,” he muttered, the steam from his drink fogging up his glasses.
“It’s the middle of Summer, Theo,” Evangeline teased, taking a seat on a bar stool near the cup Theodore handed her. He shrugged and leaned his elbows on the counter across from her.
“So what? Tastes good.”
Evangeline chuckled to herself and took a sip. Hot chocolate was always better when Theodore made it, she never did see what he put in it, but she suspected he poured something special in it. For the life of her she hoped it was some sort of liquid luck - not that it would last long enough for it to be effective at school. Of course, then again, it could have just been cinnamon. After a big swig she swirled the liquid in her cup.
“Do you think Clark will see us off?” she asked. Theodore paused for a moment and hummed to himself.
“If he’s home and not in Romania or something.”
“He hasn’t been home in a few weeks,” Evangeline replied a bit too quickly and with a bit too much venom.
“I know.” He watched her closely and quietly before picking up his mug again and taking a small sip.
There was a subtle tension in the room now, only eased by the warmth of the hot cocoa and the settling darkness. The eldest of the Dox siblings, Clark, had graduated Hogwarts three years ago. Afterwards he started work for the ministry as an analyst (mostly of runes and ancient symbols) - he tended to go to what needed translation rather than having it come to him. And, based off of their family’s history in meddling in dark objects and creatures, this was met with suspicion from many. They both sat there in that awkward silence until Theodore stared into the remains of his hot chocolate for a while, as Evangeline watched him through her glasses and the sun finally fell beneath the orchard. He downed the rest of it, now cold, and placed his cup on the counter near the sink where one of the family’s house elves would see to it later.
“Sleep sometime soon, Eva. Staying up ‘till 3 won’t do you any good,” Theodore mumbled, resting a hand on Evangeline’s shoulder and making his way up the stairs to the left of the kitchen, his footsteps slowly climbing the small stairs. Evangeline threw her half finished drink into the sink, placing the mug next to her brother’s. She went back through the door to the orchard, weaving her way until she was back at the elder tree on the farthest reaches of the property. She felt its rough bark and stared up at the sky through its leaves. Her wand had been made from this one’s wood.
An old family tradition required a Dox child choose their tree before they got a chance to talk. This was the oldest in the orchard and its elderly wisdom had always made Evangeline feel safe. She sat back in the dirt, this time facing away from her house, and this time all alone - tracing the deep patterns in the bark and counting the stars. The summer winds called her to sleep, but she didn’t return to her bed.