Emmeline Elaine

Backstory

Emmeline was born in a small village surgery in the English Cotswold’s as the first child to her young parents, Thomas and Lucy. She grew up on a modest farm where her family carried on the typical Cotswold’s tradition of rearing sheep and raising chickens. As she became older, Emmeline found a true affinity to caring for her sheep and tending the family’s vegetable garden.

As the years passed, Emmeline’s small family grew and grew as her parents added on an additional seven children. Twin boys, Cohen and Cooper, were followed by two additional boys named Benjamin and Ollie, before another girl, Juliette, was finally born. That little girl was followed by one more boy and a baby girl, Samuel and Piper, respectively. By the time she was eleven years old, Emmeline was the oldest of eight young children.

Her passions quickly grew to include reading, tending the sheep, tending the garden, taking care of the family sheepdogs, and taking care of her younger siblings. Young Emmeline lived a very simple, charming, rustic country lifestyle with her family. The family attended a local church in the small village where Emmeline and several of her siblings attended school. She enjoyed school and always seemed to pick up skills and knowledge faster than her schoolmates.

The summer following her eleventh birthday, Emmeline received a mysterious letter in the family’s postbox. Addressed, very specifically, in emerald green ink, it read: “Emmeline E. Bray, The Smallest Room in the Attic” followed by the family’s home address. Emmeline gawked at the oddly addressed envelope, curious how the author had known her bedroom was located in the small, shabby attic after her family had kept growing. Inside was her admissions and invitation to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, along with the list of supplies and books required to attend in September.

Emmeline’s parents were most certainly non-magical, and she knew of nobody in their family who had even one magical gene. Her parents, after their initial shock and surprise, began to reflect on Emmeline’s life. Somehow, her plants in the garden always seemed to bear bigger fruit more quickly and of higher quality than the other plants. The sheep and sheepdogs had always obeyed her commands more willingly than anyone else in the family. She had a special gift at quieting crying siblings. She also had always been ahead of her classmates and siblings with basic milestones such as walking, reading, talking, and mathematics.

Her parents inquired among the family as they shared their incredible news to discover that Emmeline’s great aunt, Emogene, had attended Hogwarts nearly 50 years prior as a student in Ravenclaw house. She was the only known magical relative of Emmeline’s. The family paid Great Aunt Emogene a visit that summer as Emmeline anxiously awaited the beginning of the next school year at Hogwarts.