The cool water of the lake rippled with each stone that I tossed into it. Any sea life underneath its surface would swim away at each disturbance made by the stones. Sitting at the lake like this was always relaxing to Rune and it occupied his early mornings whenever he didn't have to get ready for school. The cool morning breeze that came with autumn was always the best to wake up to, as well as the many brown and orange leaves covering the grassy floor. His legs hung off the side of the pier that jutted out from the edge of the lake towards the middle and his eyes watched as the fish slowly swam back towards where he had last dropped the stone.
Beside him was a pile of even more stones he had collected a little while earlier to entertain himself as he waited for one of his parents to wake up and make breakfast to start off everyone's day. The stones ranged in size, shape, and color. The next one he picked up was a lumpy brown rock that was about half the size of his palm. It landed in the water with a wide yet average sized splash, causing the water to sprinkle around where it had originally landed. This only lasted a quick second, of course, before the water went still once again.
The next one that he picked from the pile was flat and grey-- disk shaped. He turned it in his hand once and then twice. He wondered if he could skip it. Without much other thought or wonder, he carefully got to his feet with his free hand resting against the wooden surface of the pier to keep himself balanced. As much as he loved sitting by the lake early in the morning, it was not pleasant to take a swim in the chilling water. The sun hadn't even had time to set in the sky long enough to warm up the lake's contents.
His body turned to the side with his arm to be held out in a throwing position. He made sure to have the stone rest in his fingers the way it needed to be in order to get a good spin. With a final reel of his arm, he threw the rock in hopes that it would skip across the water. A small hope that quickly fizzled out at the rock landed in the water with a heavy plop. He gave a slight frown at it for only a moment before giving himself a small shrug. There wasn't much point in worry over something so small.
Besides, he could always try again another time. He'd have to find another rock that would be able to skip-- which none of the other rocks in the pile by his feet are able to do. They were too lumpy and too thick to skip over the water.
"Rune! Breakfast is ready!" The voice of his mother, called out to him from behind. I turned towards the house to see her leaning out from the wooden porch, his father had built a few years ago. He built it pretty well, too-- it remained standing pretty well even after three long years of use. His mother disappeared back into the house, the screen door hitting against the door frame with a light 'BANG'. Though it didn't shut behind his mother harshly, it was the metal that it was made of that made it sound clear from all the way down by the lake.
"Coming!" He called back up to her. He looked down at the rocks at his feet and kicked them into the lake below without much thought with a quick swipe of his foot. Each one hit the water's surface with the sound of splashing to follow close behind. He made sure to not waste time turning around and heading back up the hill with a sprint.
The morning dew stuck to his shoes as he ran through the loose grass, though it wasn't until he got to the door that he realized it and was stopped before going into the home. "Ah-ah-ah! Dirty shoes off before coming into the house." She spoke with a matter-of-fact tone, "You know better." His mother spoke over the sound of the sink water running.
She stood in front of it with the sleeves of her shirt rolled up to her elbows to keep them from getting soaked. In one of her hands was the scrubbing wand and in the other was one of the dishes that needed cleaning. She continued on with her busy work as Rune took off his shoes at the door. They were placed neatly beside the welcome mat before he walked into his cozy home, the screen door shutting behind him as it did for his mother only moments ago.
It could be seen, most of the bottom floor from the back door. The kitchen and connected dining room were immediately in front. To the left were stairs that led upstairs, a broom closet just before the steps. Beyond the kitchen and dining room was the living room, the back of the couch and the side of the love seat easily visible from where Rune stood. The fireplace was against the wall across from the love seat with the tv stand to rest against the adjacent wall. It couldn't be seen, the rest of the house past the stairs, but to the left was a study of sorts-- Rune usually did his homework there.
They also usually set up the Christmas tree there when the holidays come around, as well. Other than that, the only thing left was the small hallway leading to the front door and a half bathroom that was underneath the stairs.
Rune looked at the table, noticing the three plates of eggs and bacon in front of three of the four chairs. His mouth watered at the smell alone, already thinking of the taste as he sat down by the closest plate, that being the one on the right of the three. He picked up the cool fork and stabbed one of the fluffy eggs. He was about to take a bite, too, when he realized one of two family members was missing. "Where's dad and Jenna?" The question came out casually before he finally took the bite.
A hum of satisfaction escaped from his throat, melting a little in his seat. His mother always made the best food. Breakfast just so happened to be one of Rune's favorite meals of the day. "He's gone to get the mail out by the road and Jenna is with him." His mother paused her cleaning to answer his questions, though she shortly went back to finishing them up.
The house was located off of a private road by the main road in Cookham. To get onto the private road, you'd have to get through the locked gate and drive down to the house. The house itself was surrounded mainly by forest, though behind the house was the lake that Rune had come from earlier and to the left was the fields-- his family farm and the source of their profit. Now they weren't filthy rich, but they did have enough money for necessities and then some.
The whole of the Azriel family comes down every year to tend to it. Most gather during the fall-- harvest season-- to pick it all. Some are kept at home and some are given to the other family members. The rest are sent off and sold to the market in town. Then the rest of the year is spent replanting and tending to the crops. Usually, it would be just his parents who would tend to the crops-- with the occasional help from Rune whenever he was able to.
However, twice a month, one of his other relatives would come down and help out for a couple of days during the weekend.
The sound of the front door opening on the opposite end of the house sounded within the quietness, the water from the sink having been shut off now to add to the silence. As his mother sat down beside him, his father and Jenna walked into the kitchen. In his hand were a pile of letters, ranging from long and short to big and small and Jenna had one in her hand. "Looks like we have a lot today." Rune's mother spoke to her husband who sat down as well, passing her the letters for her to look at.
"A few more than usual, it seems." Father confirmed before he began to eat. He would need to build up the energy before going out to the field to check on the crops. They should be just about ready for harvest soon. Though this was also when pests tend to try and get to the cops the most, so he would need to check for any while he was out.
Rune's mother placed down each letter into separate piles. One for them to actually look through and another for junk mail that would be trashed when she was finished. Filtering through them, she stopped on a rather odd looking letter. Rune eyed it as she looked over it in confusion. It was addressed to--
"A letter for me?" Confusion laced Rune's tone, though curiosity was also at its peak at the sight of it.
His mother handed him the letter. It was a short and small letter of a beige color. On the front of it was their address, though what was odd that it went into specifics with his exact location, specifying that he was at the kitchen table. All of which was written in a fancy, black, cursive font. Rune flipped it around to see the red wax seal. Above it was printed on the emblem of sorts in the form of the letter H on a shield, which was divided into four. On each piece, there was an animal: a snake, a lion, a badger, and an eagle.
"There's no return address on it though." His mother spoke, eyeing the letter in his hands as he carefully began to pull the seal off of it. His father had stopped eating with his attention now on him and so did Jenna. Inside the letter were two pieces of paper folded neatly together. The first letter seemed to be the actual letter while the second one appeared to be a list of some sort.
Rune began to read what the letter said out loud:
"Dear Mr. Azriel Rune Black,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
All items can be purchased in Diagon Alley, which can be found through The Leaky Cauldron. The term begins on 1 September. We await your owl no later than 31 July.
If arriving via Hogwarts express, please make your way to Kings Cross Station and onto platform 9 ¾. The train departs at 11am sharp.
Please find an enclosed list of all necessary books and equipment.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall; Deputy Headmistress."
Everyone looked between each other with equal confusion. Rune looked back down at the letter to find the name of the supposed school listed, "Have either of you heard of Hogwarts?" Both of his parents shook their heads , though his mother was a tad hesitant-- like it was familiar but she couldn't quite place it.
"Maybe it's just junk." His father spoke with a small shrug of his shoulders before finally taking a bite of his own food.
Rune looked down at the letter a final time before folding it back up, stuffed its back into the envelope, and tossed it into the pile of junk mail.
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TO BE CONTINUED.....