Prologue
The Caldwell children never could fathom why their mother decided to stop teaching them at home. Mrs. Caldwell always maintained she couldn't cope with five teenagers in the house. Privately though she was despairing at their lack of male company. You see, the five Caldwell children were all girls! No five girls were more different, but every girl loved no one more than she loved her sisters. This is their story from their time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The girls' ages varied between nearly 17 and just 14. Bethany was the eldest. She was blonde haired and very pretty. She could always see the best in everyone, even if no one else could.
Next was Katherine, or Kate as she was known to everyone except the vaguest of acquaintances. She had just turned 16 and was exceptionally proud. She was intelligent but only showed it when she decided that the person she was talking to was worth the effort. She had three loves in life, quidditch, Defence against the dark arts, and potions.
Sophie was the strangest of all the Caldwell girls. She was incredibly intelligent and enjoyed Ancient Runes, Arithmancy and History of Magic. She was perfectly comfortable in a large party situation, a small intimate group, or alone by herself. Everyone found this chameleon-like ability to be odd and said that she was destined for a life tied in the red tape and beaurocracy that was the Ministry of magic.
The three elder Caldwell girls despaired of their two younger twin sisters Lucy and Rose. The twins were giggly, ridiculous, and absolutely boy crazy.
Caldwell was an ancient pureblooded wizard family with a tendency to produce girls. Many families were surprised that the name Caldwell was still around. The lack of a male heir was a very sore point in their family. The girls' father had been the only surviving male Caldwell of his generation, a miracle child. When it had become clear he was never going to have a son he had withdrawn until he was just a shadowy visitor on the fringes of their lives.
While they lacked a father they had no need to worry about lack of a grandfather, or rather, surrogate grandfather. Mrs. Caldwell's parents had both died when she was in her second year at Hogwarts. She had been devastated by the news, but her kindly transfiguration teacher took her under his wing. Professor Albus Dumbledore kept an eye on Mary McDonelly during and after her Hogwarts years. He had been exceptionally honoured when she had asked him to give her away at her wedding to one Mr. Jake Caldwell. Grandfather was the cornerstone the girls had built their lives on and they all loved him utterly and completely.
Bethany and Kate always thought that Grandfather may have had a hand in their attending Hogwarts, but neither of them ever said anything.
When they were told about their places at Hogwarts their reactions were rather predictable. Bethany looked quite anxious, for she didn't take well to change. Kate looked excited at the prospect of being able to play quidditch in a competition, and Sophie's eyes lit up at the mention of the library. The twins began chattering about all the boys they would meet and were beginning to be a real annoyance when Mrs. Caldwell sent them up to bed. They would need to be up early to visit Diagon Alley.
Grandfather stopped her though, and from his bag produced a battered old hat. The girls had heard stories about this hat from their mother. Grandfather called them each forward in order of age, placed the hat on their heads and let it do it's job. The hat sat on Beth's head for about 20 seconds before shouting at the top of it's proverbial lungs, "GRYFFINDOR!" Their mother looked mildly miffed, having been a Ravenclaw herself.
Kate looked slightly apprehensive as she approached the battered hat. It was big, and slipped over her eyes. She was shocked when a voice sounded in her head, "Well, what have we here? Intelligence and lots of it, good. A good dose of cunning too. You're loyal to those you care about and brave to a fault. Oh, now this is rare, a well-rounded sense of humour! You'd do well with those boys, what were there names, oh yes, Black, Potter and Lupin. They'd be in your year as well! An aptitude for defence and potions. You my dear are a puzzle. Where would you like to go?"
Trying to get over the shock of having her personality dissected by a hat, Kate thought as hard as she could, "Gryffindor or Ravenclaw."
"All right dear, no need to shout. Hmm, I don't think you are fond enough of learning to be a Ravenclaw. Yes, far too impulsive. So here you go…" "GRYFFINDOR!!!!!!!!"
When the hat was removed, she saw her mother's face was tightened in frustration. Bethany looked relieved. She watched patiently as her sisters were sorted. Sophie's hair was barely brushed by the hat before it practically screamed, "RAVENCLAW!" The twins landed in Hufflepuff.
Grandfather left after informing them that he could have a student meet them at King's Cross to go over a few details. As soon as Dumbledore left Mrs. Caldwell sent the girls upstairs to sleep. Soon after they had settled in Kate crept into Beth's room. They sat on her bed and began whispering conspiratorially.
"Why did I get into Gryffindor?" Beth asked, "I'm not overly brave! I thought I'd be in Hufflepuff for certain."
Kate rolled her eyes theatrically before saying with conviction, "Beth, you aren't brave in the way that some people are. You couldn't join the army, or jump off as building just to see if you can. You're brave because of the way you treat people, you don't care how it will affect you if what you're doing will help someone else! You are so brave Beth, and I'm not the only one who can see it."
"You think I'm brave?"
"Yes, I do!"
Suddenly the room was swamped with light. The girls were blinded by the sudden brightness. When their eyes adjusted they saw the figure of their mother. Arms folded and foot tapping, known as the rhino pose it meant the girls were in big trouble.
"I told you to go to bed!"
"I only came to get a glass of water," Kate babbled, even she wasn't going to take on her mother when she was in this mood! "My water jug's empty."
"We'll see about that."
Grasping her daughter's ear in a firm grip Mary Caldwell marched to Kate's room. Finding the water jug surprisingly full she promptly upended the contents all over Kate. Then she added insult to injury by hissing acidly, "Now it's empty and in the future go to the kitchen to refill the jug." Looking smug she turned and left.
Kate stood there in the middle of her bedroom, soaking wet. As slowly tears trickled down her face to mingle with the contents of her water jug.
She had never been close to her mother, on the contrary they always fought. Kate never understood why her mother made a point of making her life annoying. She always did a greater share of the housework, and it was incidents like this one with the water jug that made Kate wonder what she had ever done to deserve this hidden humiliation from her mother.
A/N: I've been tossing this idea 'round for a few months now, and am now completely bored and still have 6 weeks left of holidays. Mrs. Caldwell is a bit different to how I planned. You'll meet Mr. Caldwell in the next chapter. PLEASE R&R, I want to know whether to keep posting this here.