Hollow Between Hearts

Aldric's Hollow was a small village, known among wizards alone as the birthplace and resting place of the famed Wizard: Aldric Redbriar. A few wizarding families lived in that village, tucked away in secret among the muggles. Out of them, three notable families were the chief ones history would later remember. The first were the Vales. A British woman had lost her heart to an American wizard and, together, they had an intelligent and gentle daughter. Their nearest neighbours were the Ashdowns. They were a family of five, with three lively children and two Gifted parents, all living in harmony. Last came the Vosses, of whom only one woman still remained in the old large house at the edge of the village. They were the only wizarding families in the area and, because of that, they made a point of keeping in touch with one another. While Tamsin Voss spent most of her time as a historian with her nose buried in books, the Vales grew close to the Ashdowns. The eldest child of that couple, Lyra, was only a year younger than Lucan, their oldest. They did not truly get along from the very first day, but with time they began to enjoy one another's company. Maris Ashdown often asked young Lyra to stay for dinner, knowing the child had lost her mother in childbirth and had no other woman in her life. Lyra would never forget that kindness, and it was part of what later pushed her to offer the same in her own relationships, especially with the three Ashdown siblings. Lyra, in particular, often ended up accompanying young Nella into the village or simply spending time with her, playing games and reading stories together. Still, fate had been reaching with dark fingers for a long while, and the time had come for their lives to be changed forever and for their futures to take shape. One day, 6-year-old Nella and 9-year-old Lyra went out for a walk to collect some spring-blooming flowers for their parents. Lyra was a metamorphmagus and could change her appearance at will. Naturally, being so young, she did not yet have the remarkable control older ones possessed. Because of that, her hair often shifted colour and she had to wear a wig outdoors. But around the Ashdowns, she could be herself. Nella was her biggest admirer and always delighted in seeing her older friend use those shape-shifting abilities. That day, Lyra was concentrating hard on her feelings and her imagination. Her hair swiftly changed from its natural black to green and then purple before settling into a neon blue. Nella clapped happily, a small basket of flowers in one hand. She laughed at the display, and that burst of joy stirred something inside her. The young Ashdown girl had always been Gifted with strong magic, something that had appeared early, earlier than it did for most. Whenever she felt happiest, she found the nerve to attempt small things. For instance, she would focus on a red tulip in Lyra's hands and turn it orange. It was their favourite little game, and Lyra would always encourage her to go on, telling her how extraordinary she would be once she attended Briarwood Academy. Yet that day they were not by themselves. Three boys from a nearby muggle village had come around to stir trouble once more after already vandalising fields and houses. They watched the two unsuspecting girls, meaning only to prank them, but their plans stopped short when they realised both of them were different. "Witch!" one of them yelled, stabbing a finger toward them.