note: This was a deleted scene from Dark Tranquility discussing Jocelyn and Chloe's backstory. It was originally written in chapter 8 or 9, but removed due to disrupting the flow of the chapter. At Lucasjan's request, I'm providing that missing scene for anyone who may have missed it the first time. Hopefully this provides more context into Jocelyn Carmichael and Chloe Duffy.
Jocelyn could remember the day that she first met Emma. It stuck out in her mind as if it had happened just days prior.
Jocelyn and Chloe were placed in St. Nicholas Children's Home when their father remarried. Their mother was an older witch, a very devoted woman who spent her time devoted to working in St. Mungo's while their father was a Muggle. He never seemed to enjoy magic as much as his two daughters did.
The two Able girls loved their mother more than anything, but they loved magic even more. They relished in the stories their mother would tell them about a magical school called Hogwarts and read stories such as The Wizard and the Hopping Pot and The Warlock's Hairy Heart. The two sisters enjoyed the stories very much, though Jocelyn found herself captivated by The Tale of the Three Brothers. She vowed that she would become the most invincible witch in all of the world.
When their mother passed, the two girls were destroyed. At five and six, they didn't understand death, but they could understand the fact that their mother never came home. Their father wasn't abusive, but he didn't care for the two as well as he should. It was only months later that their father remarried to another Muggle woman, and they were placed in St. Nicholas Children's Home. He didn't know how to take care of magical children and felt it was best they be placed elsewhere.
It didn't take long for the two to feel like something very important was missing from their lives; they just didn't know what.
Being the newest members of the home, Jocelyn and Chloe were picked on by the older children. They made fun of how the two were of different ages but were born within a year of each other. They made fun of how they looked – Jocelyn with dark brown hair and a darker complexion and Chloe's hair more auburn with pale skin. A girl, slightly older than themselves, stepped in to calm the situation down, time and time again, but Jocelyn grew to resent the girl. Instead of being appreciative of the girl's efforts, Jocelyn went on the offensive.
The moment Jocelyn decided to be mean, she never stopped. She would take care of herself and Chloe as best as she could. Every time the girl would try to help, Jocelyn made sure to let her know that her help was not needed.
Years later, when Jocelyn was ten and Chloe was nine, they were moved from their open-air room with the younger children to a shared bedroom with two other girls, Tracey and the overly helpful girl, Emma.
It wasn't until the two sisters were forced to spend more of their waking time with Emma that Jocelyn realized she really couldn't stand the girl. While Jocelyn quickly bonded with Tracey, Emma never made it into their friend group. Jocelyn supposed it started off innocently enough, a shove here and there, or a snide comment that would make Emma give her a confused look. Eventually, Emma stopped trying to be nice, but Jocelyn never stopped being mean.
Emma always seemed to be happy, no matter what. She carried herself with an attitude of not caring much for what was going around her but continuously made it a point to try and help people whenever she felt the need. It aggravated Jocelyn to no end – there was no way that anyone could be happy all the time.
Jocelyn hated the way that Emma seemed to dominate matching events, prospective parents gravitating the girl. She hated the way that the couples would comment on how open and joyful she was. Of course, Emma would never wind up going home with a family, but the idea that she could leave haunted Jocelyn after each event. Jocelyn hated the way Emma would come home from school with passing grades and glowing end-of-term reports. Jocelyn was just as smart as Emma, but her reports were never as favorable.
When Emma seemingly disappeared overnight, Jocelyn was even more frustrated. The only reason the girl would have vanished so quickly was she was finally placed in a family. Jocelyn found herself stewing over the situation, angry that she had never seemed to be able to crack Emma the way that she had wanted. She wanted Emma to hurt, but she never had the opportunity.
A year later, Jocelyn and Chloe finally remember what it was they were missing – magic. One morning the sisters were given letters brought by an owl, and it was as if their world made sense again. However, the girls were devastated to learn that they would be placed in two separate families. Jocelyn felt that she failed as a sister, unable to keep their small unit together, which added to her resentment. She felt as though she would never be happy.
As much as Jocelyn loved her new family, she found herself missing Chloe more and more each passing day. She was grateful that they were both placed with magical families and could reacquaint themselves with the lives they knew, but it was never the same. Instead of having a younger sister, Jocelyn had an older brother that was in Ravenclaw. Even though both families made sure that the sisters got to see each other and made sure they kept in touch, it was never the same.
The first day of Hogwarts was exhilarating for Jocelyn. She was excited to be going to the school that her mother had always spoken about. More importantly, she was excited to be reunited with Chloe. The two sisters met up on the train, talking excitedly about the things they had been up to during the rest of their summer. They spoke about the houses they wanted to be sorted in, chatting idly about how perfect their first year together would be. They rode the same boat over to the castle, marveling over the location of many stories for the first time ever. For the first time, Jocelyn felt as though she was home, and she was happy to be walking through the castle. But Jocelyn's happiness didn't end there.
To Jocelyn's delight, she spotted the very person she had been secretly wanting to see. After a year of daydreams and over-thought scenarios, Jocelyn was finally in the same place as Emma again. With glee, her thoughts began to wander, her eyes remaining fixated on Emma as she stood in the Great Hall, and even after she was sorted.
Jocelyn would do everything in her power to make sure that Emma was miserable, but this time she would succeed. It was going to be a great first year.