Abigail Macbeth was home schooled, according to the Macbeth family tradition, until she was fifteen years old. She was home schooled, just as her older sister, Kate, had been before her, and their younger sister, Madeline, would follow suite. Upon this point, their parents, and their grandparents were firm - no Macbeth left home before they were fifteen.
The Macbeth girls, each two years apart in age, were raised in their family name. They each were born with huge tufts of black hair that would one day become the flowing dark manes they were recognized for at Hogwarts. They each had their own identical room in The Macbeth House, a towering estate on the moors in rural Scotland, and each possessed an identical quick wit and unmistakable sense of superiority. For generations, their family had been in attendance at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - a proud family of Ravenclaws. Bookish, smart, and devilishly hard to outwit, Macbeths had long adorned the portrait galleries of Hogwarts as Prefects and Head Girls and Boys. They were outstanding, the Macbeths were, in everything their attempted.
And so were Kate, Abigail, and Madeline raised. They were to be excellent, well refined women who could duel with the best of them and pull their weight in the classroom.
But not before they were fifteen.
It goes without saying that this forced home schooling was not exactly desired by the girls, who watched their friends leave at age eleven for school, and were forced to continue their education as witches in the privacy of their manor, with the family's ancient but remarkable tutors.
Thus, the Macbeth girls became reclusive, hard to read, and fiercely loyal to each other. They lost contact with their childhood friends, retreating into each other. The morning Kate left for Hogwarts to begin her fifth year, Abigal and Madeleine (aged 13 and 11 at the time) wept openly in Kings Cross. Kate, petrified of getting on the train, clung to her younger sisters while their parents tried to get the girls not to make a scene. Kate's first year at Hogwarts was rocky, both for her and her younger sisters, Abigal in particular. Kate was sorted into Ravenclaw, where she excelled academically, but not socially. Tear soaked letters regularly arrived for Abigail and Madeleine, instilling a deep fear of school in Abigal, who would be the next of the Macbeth girls to make the perilous journey to Hogwarts. She began to dread her fifteenth birthday, dread the school she had once dreamt of, even if it meant being with her sister again.
The summer before Kate would go back to Hogwarts for her final year and Abigail would begin her education there in her fifth year, Abigal found herself unable to leave the house at all, spending full, beautiful and sunny days inside and in bed. Her parents whispered, concerned about the scene she would make upon leaving in the fall. Staying home, for a Macbeth, was not an option. Abigail disappeared into herself more and more as autumn approached, losing the fire that burned in her from a young age. As Kate ran ahead of the family to greet her now fast friends at King's Cross, Abigail solemnly held Madeleine's hand as they approached the Hogwarts Express.
Abigail was a delicate fifteen year old. Her jet black hair was plaited neatly into a french braid that hung halfway down her back, and her pale skin (even more pale that it regularly would have been that September) exacerbated both the color of her hair, and the pale and piercing grey eyes that hid behind thick eyelashes. Her mother always told her she was "pretty" - a compliment that Abigail failed to acknowledge past the frequent exclamations over Kate's beauty. And Kate was really and truly beautiful - this was lost on no one, especially that September day at King's Cross, where Kate's black hair danced freely in the sunlight, and Abigail openly scowled.
Her trunk already aboard, Abigail turned and looked at her parents. Kate stood at the top step of the compartment, waiting for her sister. Madeline ran forward and hugged Abigail, terrified of another one of her older sisters leaving her. Elizabeth and Andrew Macbeth looked expectantly at their middle daughter, who's eyes were intensely searching them for a reason to stay. Andrew cleared his throat and stepped forward, grasping Abigail's shoulders in his broad hands and kissing her on the forehead. "You'll be fine" he whispered, stepping back. Abigail turned to her mother who nodded curtly. The whistle blew.
"Abby?" Kate called from the top step.
"Abby?" said Madeline, tears threatening.
"Abigail." Said Elizabeth, firmly.
Abigail turned around, and climbed onto the train.
The whistle blew again, and Abigail Macbeth, fifteen years old, said goodbye to everything she had known for her whole life.
Kate took Abigail's hand and lead her to a compartment full of seventh year Ravenclaw students. Excitedly, Abigail was introduced to an endless row of smiling seventeen year olds. She felt extremely out of place, even with her sisters fingers interlocked with hers. She felt young, stupid, and painfully homesick. Biting back tears, she forced a smile as she was seated in between her sister and a tall, tan, gorgeous blonde girl. "Carolina," the girl said, flashing a smile at Abigail and extending her hand. "Carolina Dawes."
"Hi," Abigail managed, immediately embarrassed by how shaky she sounded. All she wanted to was to fade into invisibility - a luxury that her sister and friends soon afforded her by gossiping loudly about all of the people they hadn't seen or talked to or hadn't wanted to see or talk to all summer. Glumly, Abigail glanced out the window, watching London fade into the distance, and the English countryside begin to whip past them. She caught snippets of conversation - stories of kisses and fights and dirty letters, and heaved a sigh. Next to her, Kate animatedly talked to the boy across from her. Abigail was resigned. She would live her life this way for the next two years: at her sister's side, invisible, and pretending not to exist. She would be fine with that, she reasoned to herself. There were worse things in the world than being Kate's accessory. This was easy. This was safe. Kate would be bubbly and loud and smart as she had always been and Abigail could be her side kick - her silent mini-me and companion. She would be sorted into Ravenclaw with her sister and would be happy to once again be at her side. She would -
"Abby?"
Abigail was snapped out of her silent reverie by her sister, whose large brown eyes were searching her, concerned. "Abby?"
"Yes?" Abigail answered.
"Oy, she's alive."
Abigail snapped her head up to see a tall, and tanned boy standing in the doorway of the compartment. His long brown girls hung over his forehead and eyelids lazily. He was exceedingly handsome, and staring straight at her.
"Abby," Kate said, "This is - "
"Terrence." The boy smiled, leaning it and extending his hand to Abigail. "Terence Higgs. And you're Katie's younger sister, huh?"
Kate rolled her eyes and shot Carolina a look across Abigail. "Terence, this is Abigail. Abby, this is the most obnoxious boy in my year."
Still holding onto Abigail's hand, Terence turned his attention to Kate. "Most handsome, Katie. Most charming, most fuckable, but certainly not the most obnoxious. Certainly that's reserved for -" her made a silent gesture towards Henry, seated opposite Kate.
Kate stared back at him, but spoke to her sister. "Abby, Terence is in Slytherin. You shouldn't have to worry about him."
'Higgs!" came a shout from another compartment.
Terence smiled, finally releasing Abigail's hand. "Coming, lads!" he yelled back. "Abby, I think you'll find me a perfect gentleman, should our paths cross."
"Higgs, you wanker!" came the same voice.
"And I would very, very much like for our paths to cross."
"Higgs!" The owner of the voice, a handsome boy with an incredibly striking jawline appeared.
"Very, very much." Terence concluded, turning to his friend. "Zabini. Have you met Katie's younger sister? Abby, this is Blaise. Blaise, this is Abby."
Blaise didn't move, but his dark green eyes flashed to her. "Abigail." She said quietly. "Only my sisters call me Abby."
"Did you hear that, Zabini? Only her sisters call her Abby. It's Abigail to you." Terence said, in faux-seriousness. Blaise nodded at her and looked at Terence expectantly. "Right, right. We're almost at Hogwarts, chaps. See you on the other side." with that, he saluted the compartment. "Oh and Carolina - Rooke'd love to give you his regards if you have a moment."
Blaise and Terence disappeared, the door sliding shut. Kate sighed heavily and took her sister's hand. "Sorry about him, Abbs."
Henry nodded in agreement. "They're harmless, really, those boys. A lot of talk and not much action. We ignore them, mostly. They're not all bad," he said, glancing at Carolina quickly. "Especially Rooke - you didn't meet him but he's always with those boys - alright lad, really - he's - "
He was cut off by an icy stare from Carolina and the compartment went silent.
From the window, Abby saw the silhouette of Hogwarts appear.