'Cause every night, I lie in bed
The brightest colors fill my head
A million dreams are keeping me awake
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The Past In Another Land Label | No one blinked when an ambitious son of a struggling Pureblood family went to make his fortune in the African colonies. Eyebrows were raised when he never sent for his wife and daughters to join him. Polite Society was abuzz when this ambitious son didn’t return home upon the death of his wife or send for his daughters. Everyone talked when he returned three years later married to a much younger, wealthy, muggleborn African woman. It’s said his mother fainted when she learned her son had taken the woman’s name to build his own empire. But that was years ago. |
1883
| January 8, Desmond and Georgianna are born. The family joke is that Desmond was so eager to take on the world that he was born feet first, with Georgie joining him three minutes later. Georgie jokes that she pushed him out to scout ahead while she stayed behind to consider her entrance. Once she'd thought it over, she agreed to be born. As a baby, Georgie was alert, happy, and very curious about her surroundings. She built confidence to explore early but rarely strayed far from her twin. If you were missing Georgie, look for Desmond. |
1884-1887 Childhood | Desmond was the first to walk, but Georgie was the first to talk. Even before she had words, Georgie was known to self-soothe by making sounds. As a toddler, Georgie would often babble along happily to music and was constantly around the piano, trying to understand how to replicate the sounds her mother made with it. Gia spent many afternoons on her mother or governess's lap begging to "help" them play. Gia would light up whenever she got to press a key.
Georgie lives in a safe, magical world where she and her twin are loved and treasured by their mother. Georgie learns early that father is more interested in results than closeness. He loves her, in his own way, she assumes, but his praise is mostly saved for Des. Georgie finds that if she focuses her efforts on assisting her brother, some of father's praise reaches her. As she sees it, she and father have a common interest in the twin's success, but she would never seek him out for emotional support. She does show promise in languages, the one area of their education father takes the most interest in. Georgie enjoys playing languages with father but knows never to use Igbo around him. During a French lesson, Georgie structures her sentence in Igbo, which earns her harsh criticism for her mistake. Father lectures her on the superiority of European languages, and while Georgie listens, she silently disagrees. It's the first time she mentally questions just how smart father is. Maybe he's just sad because he didn't find the time to learn the language.
Gia takes great interest in her mother's language and culture, absorbing whatever she can about the magical land far away called Freetown. While her mother insists that Britain is a far superior place to be and the best place for the twins to succeed, Georgie resolves to visit this faraway place someday and decide for herself. She has no idea that her mother is estranged from her muggle family. Georgie notices how few people there are who look like her in her world. This doesn't upset her, as she believes mother's assurance that she and her brother are special and destined for a glorious future. Her uniqueness is part of what makes Georgie so special.
Georgie fully intends to be a stunning success when she is old enough to debut. She loves what she dubs "Lady Lessons." Georgie adores dancing, even if she needs to count under her breath so Des doesn't step on her toes. She prefers crocheting and needlepoint to knitting and has beautiful penmanship. When given her choice, Georgie spends extra time on her writing and music. She nearly always has a pencil and folded sheets of paper tucked into her sleeves for capturing interesting observations and ideas during the day. She thinks as she writes, preferring a sort of free association type of writing until she decides what decision to make. She journals religiously, the practice a part of her daily routine that soothes her. She loves sketching and watercolors but finds oil painting tedious. She enjoys portraits but tends to put her own interpretation into the painting, unconsciously preferring magical realism.
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1888-1889 First Magic and Hard Lessons |
Georgie is not anxious about her magic appearing; she knows it will come. Magic is emphasized in their home. Father is pureblood which means he has magic. Mother is muggleborn, but by Georgie's estimation, that makes her magic even stronger. What could be more powerful than wanting to be a witch so bad, that your blood obeys? That's Georgie's estimation of the situation. She pities muggles, though. The idea of a life without magic makes Georgie very, very sad for them. She's had little exposure to them, of course, but she can still pity them. Georgie's magic presents itself gently. She feels a bit tingly when the people around her use magic now, a feeling like static electricity but pleasant and inviting. Almost as if there is some energy asking her to come and play. Georgie doesn't understand this invitation, but her magic knows what to do. In a rare night of poor sleep - Gia sleeps like the dead but tends to rise early with the sun - Georgie finds herself at the piano. She's been working on a new song, her new favorite, but her small hands have difficulty reaching the keys. Frustrated that Ode to Joy is not making itself a joyful experience, Georgie's annoyance and determination coalesce into a different sort of harmony. Instead of losing her rhythm when her left hand reached for the next chord, the keys played themselves. When Georgie wasn't in her room the next morning, she was found curled up beneath the piano, the instrument still playing a gentle lullaby.
Desmond isn't far behind. At a garden party, Desmond asks rudely for a balloon animal and is denied. Instead of asking appropriately, which Georgie expected, Desmond has a rather spectacular tantrum that even Gia can't stop. Crying hard enough, he starts hiccupping. Georgie is alarmed when her twin begins to expand and then float away. The normally temperate Georgie quickly becomes distraught at the idea that something bad could happen to her brother. Desmond is returned to earth and praised for his first display of magic. Georgie takes longer to calm.
Now that both twins have shown their magic, mother is adamant that lessons in control and rudimentary magic begin. While neither twin has a wand or any real control over their growing magic, Georgie does her best to memorize the wand movements she sees the adults around her practice. Mother's control over wandless and non-verbal magic inspires Georgie and she is very disappointed to learn she isn't yet capable of the same. She makes plenty of notes on what she cannot wait to try as soon as she gets the chance to practice.
Georgie has been protected from the worst of the racist backlash from her father's birth family and society at large. The only negative experience she's knowingly had is with her half-sisters. Georgie thinks little of her father's first two children. Georgie knows they exist, but both are off to Hogwarts before Georgie is old enough to know them. During the summer, both Claribel and Eugenie are compelled spend at least part of the summer living with their father instead of their grandparents. As Gia gets old enough to remember, these summers seem less and less pleasant. Claribel is openly hostile to the twins, and Gia's attempts to build a connection with her oldest sibling fail spectacularly. Not that this keeps her from trying new methods of friendmaking. Georgie is six when, trying to be helpful at tea, her enthusiastic reach for the teapot knocks scalding tea into Claribel's lap. Claribel, dressed for an afternoon outing with her betrothed, becomes hysterical, slapping Georgie in her rage and calling her every slur she's obviously learned from her grandparents. Father has to physically separate mother and Claribel. It is the last day Claribel spends at her father's house and Georgie, who only wanted to get along with the older girl is left confused and shaken by the experience. If she had the words for it, it would be the first time that Georgie learned she wasn't safe from the world around her.
Eugenie, usually preferring to ignore her younger half-siblings, does make an effort after this occasion. While Georgie accepts the older girl's attempts to be kinder than her sister, there is no joy or warmth in their interactions. To spare them both the awkwardness, a feeling Georgie firmly dislikes, Georgie does the avoiding when Eugenie is present. She is polite and will engage in conversation, but Georgie can disappear from a room so stealthfully you may assume she's apparating. |
1889-94 Preparing for Hogwarts | Lessons for the twins become more specialized, Gia spending more time with her mother as she prepares for Hogwarts. Lessons in hosting and home management become essential for Gia as she prepares for the future. Gia adores the work of event planning and takes to her lessons with gusto. Parties are fun and Gia likes all of the details that need her attention for success. She feels very proud of the teas her mother allows her to plan for the immediate family. While unorthodox, Georgie asks permission to prepare a meal for the staff. With the help of the housekeeper and chef, Georgie plans her first dinner party. She is very proud of her accomplishment.
For their eleventh birthday, Georgie is extra excited. She's been counting down the days in her journal until the most important letter of her life arrives. When it does, Gia has the greatest birthday of her life. Gia's letter to Hogwarts is framed and hung in her room, where she can see it every day. The wait until September feels impossible, Georgie badgering her parents into getting their supplies as soon as possible.
Georgie patiently waits her turn for Desmond to be matched with his wand, even though something in the store is calling her name. The longer she has to wait, the more her eyes are drawn to a certain box on the wall. When she steps up to the wand maker, Georgie politely asks to try the special box that sings to her. The wandmaker initially ignores Georgie's wish and has her test other wands before; after a shower of broken glass; he finally takes the singing box down. As soon as the wand touched her hand, Georgie cried. Being matched with her wand feels like meeting another part of her heart. Her new wand, silver lime wood with a unicorn hair core, 11" and slightly yielding flexibility, graced her with a shower of purple sparks to signal its approval.
After multiple incidents of the twins attempting to practice their magic, their wands are locked away until they leave for Hogwarts. Georgie is devastated by the separation from her wand but is encouraged by Desmond's assurance that this is just a part of their destiny. Georgie takes comfort in this but is still upset. She spends her last months before Hogwarts highly restless, the promise of her destiny just on the horizon. |
1894 First Year | To be continued. |