Luna and Xander Firebolt
It was July 1, undoubtedly the hottest day of the summer. The Firebolt children, Luna and Xander, were sitting in the shade of a weeping willow as ancient as the house it belonged to. The Firebolt Manor stood three stories high, and made of rugged stone. The mansion had belonged to the Firebolt family since 1890, when the family started making brooms. The kids had lost count of how many "great"s had to go before the name of the grandfather who built the house, they just knew this house was ancient.
Ramona Firebolt, the kids' mother, had kicked them out of the house with a "get some fresh air!" Luna and Xander knew better than to cross their mother, and ran out the door, getting stuck in it when they both managed to reach it at the same time. They fell out into the front lawn, and the heat quickly enveloped their bodies. It didn't take long before the sweat started to make them feel uncomfortable, even under the shade of their favorite willow tree.
"Why couldn't we live on the coast?" Luna whined after rolling over in the grass, wishing she could go for a swim.
"Lots of people live on the coast, Luna. We wouldn't be able to fly our brooms." Xander replied. They lived in Northern England, in the middle of the countryside. No neighbors, no NOTHING. The isolation is what made Luna and Xander so close; there were literally no other children near them to play with. When they were eight, their father, Aleksander, made them their own broomsticks. He took them to the back lawn and showed them how to fly, and the rest was history. The two kids were almost never on the ground after that. For their ninth birthday, they were given a set of Quidditch balls from their uncle Dean, who played for the English Quidditch team. The gift, which was remarkably well-received by the twins, made their mother furious. The kids lost count of how many windows they broke with stray Bludgers. They even knocked the weather vane off the top of the house thirteen times, and it would come rolling down the roof and crash through the window right above the kitchen sink, always while their mother was making a meal.
There was now way to count how many times these kids were in trouble with Ramona Firebolt. She came from a very strict family, and didn't have very much tolerance for trouble. Aleksander, however, loved how carefree his children were. He was always the person to talk Ramona out of drastically punishing the kids, and they were thankful for it.
Luna rolled over again, and looked at her brother.
"What do you say we hit the Bludger around? Maybe we can find a breeze up there." Luna said, desperate to get out of the stifling heat.
"Sure."
They went out to the garden shed, where their brooms were stored. They lugged the Quidditch chest out into the grass, and pulled out the beater's bats. They mounted their brooms before releasing a Bludger. It flew straight up into the air, and the kids took off after it. They hit it back and forth to each other for about an hour, the breeze cooling them off.
"Kids, lunch is ready!" Ramona called out the window above the kitchen sink. Luna hit the Bludger back to Xander one last time. He whacked it with his bat, but instead of going back to Luna, it veered off-course, and flew right into the weather vane. The metal rooster cracked off its base and rolled down the roof. Glass shattered, and their mother screamed.
"What is that now? The fourteenth time?" Luna asked.
"Yeah." Xander said with a laugh. They put everything away, and went inside to face the wrath of their mother.
----
The kitchen reeked of tuna sandwiches, and their mother was fuming with rage about the window being broken again.
"Wait until your father hears about this." She said. Luna and Xander knew their father wouldn't do anything, so they weren't scared at all. They bit into their sandwiches, and were startled by the screech of a barn owl. It flew through the broken window and dropped two envelopes on the table in front of the kids. They were addressed in emerald green ink. Luna picked them up, and read who they were for:
Ms. L Firebolt
Firebolt Manor
Northumberland
Mr. X Firebolt
Firebolt Manor
Northumberland
Luna handed Xander's to him, and they both opened them.
"Oh, how exciting!" Ramona cried when they pulled out the parchment in the envelopes. Xander chose to read his silently, but Luna read hers out loud:
"Dear Miss Firebolt,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl no later than July 31."
"Oh, I was waiting for this day!" Ramona gushed, giving her children gigantic hugs.
"We'll go to Diagon Alley tomorrow, so your father can come with!"
Luna and Xander were excited. They'd heard such wonderful stories from their family members about Hogwarts, and couldn't wait to go.
----
September 1
"Be good, you two. No getting into trouble, you hear?" Ramona said to her children. They had carts of their luggage nearby, the family owl in a cage on Xander's, and Luna's cat in a carrier on hers.
"Ramona, let them be children." Aleksander said, before looking at his kids.
"Have fun, but keep up with your studies. Write home every so often, okay?"
"Yes, Dad." they both chimed, itching to get on the train. They said their final goodbyes and boarded the train, ready to start their first year of school.