Sophia Garcia sat at the bar late at night, needing a break after a long day of unpacking. The twenty-four year old had just moved into a small apartment in New York, choosing the city after getting a job offer from a journalist company. She was an aspiring writer and author, so of course she took the job. Work wouldn't begin for until a few days, so there didn't seem anything wrong with getting a drink or two.
James Montgomery walked in the same bar at the same time Sophia was there, coming in to also get a drink. He also had come in to take a break, tired from a long day of work. The twenty-eight year old man was a doctor in New York who had just had a long day at work. When sitting at the bar, a young lady near him caught his eye. She was definitely pretty, with slick black hair and soft eyes. The man wasn't the one to start the conversation, though. It was Sophia.
After a few drinks, Sophia started to feel a bit more relaxed. And confident. It would be the alcohol that she would later thank for her courage when starting a conversation with James. It was just small talk at first, on something unmemorable like maybe the beer he was drinking. Although, the two definitely flirted as well, more and more after each drink. Nothing scandalous happened that night, no matter how anticlimactic it sounds, but Sophia did give James her number.
The two met up on a date a week after, going out to a nice restaurant for lunch. It definitely went well, causing for more dates to come. About a month later, the two made it official and became a couple. James did not hesitate to introduce Sophia to his parents. They quickly grew love for the girl like James did, and there was no doubt she didn't fit in. Although, it was much different for when it came to Sophia's side. She had told James that she had grown up with a bad relationship with her mother and they didn't talk now. This lost relationship with her family, made Sophia even more happy when she became a part of James'.
The two were engaged after a year and a half of dating. They were a couple who wanted quite a big wedding, so they planned for one. It mostly consisted of James' family and the both of their close friends, but Sophia did make the decision to invite her mother. No matter how distant they were, she knew her mom would be so upset not seeing her daughter get married. Sophia made a call with her mom, who accepted, even deciding to fly out from California a week before the wedding.
James was definitely feeling both anxious and excited for the arrival of Sophia's mother, Andrea Garcia as he had figured out. He wasn't sure what she would be like, or if she would even like him. Sophia felt just as anxious, if not more. Her relationship with her mother was definitely complicated, James not even having a clue. Honestly, the relationship was ruined over a whole different person that Sophia swore away from her life forever.
Andrea arrived at the couple's front door a week before the wedding, as planned. James opened the door to greet the mother, Sophia feeling too queasy to. As soon as he said hello, she gave him a huge hug. The woman was so happy to meet her soon to be son-in-law, reliving James of any fear he had before. It was only Sophia who was left to worry.
The mother proudly walked through the door of their house, not even asking to come in. Sophia noticed her right away, the two silent while they looked at each other, everyone unsure what would happen. When Andrea hugged Sophia, the two almost burst into tears after not seeing each other for so long. It was easy to see the both missed the other more than they would admit.
Most of the visit was quite nice. Sophia and Andrea caught with each others life, quite interested with what each one had been doing. Andrea very much liked James, glad to see Sophia had found someone, since the women had always assumed she would stay a free bird. James really liked Andrea as well, enjoying her crazy stories about California and raising Sophia. The couple also didn't hesitate when Andrea wanted to cook for everyone. The women was a fantastic chef, knowing about to make some of the most delicious Mexican food.
It was only two nights before the wedding when James had overheard the mother and daughter fighting. "Why didn't you invite your sister to the wedding?" he had heard the older women ask. This definitely confused the man since he had never heard Sophia mention any siblings. Answering the question, Sophia said something about cutting off her sister and how her mom always cared for Ana more than her. James walked away after that, but didn't hesitate to ask Sophia when she stepped in bed. She admitted to him that she had an older sister, but they weren't close since she went to boarding school all her life. She also said how her mother always liked her sister more than Sophia. James, being as he was, only nodded and went to bed, knowing Sophia didn't want to talk more on it.
James and Sophia's wedding was more than they could have even hoped for. It was big and exciting, and they were overall just glad to call each other husband and wife. Andrea left back to the Pacific side soon after, the newly weds went on a nice honeymoon to the Bahamas. They already lived and owned a house together, so they didn't have to worry about much. It was just nice and relaxed.
Sophia became pregnant a year later. The couple had been trying for a baby, so it was a huge celebration when they found out they would be having one. Everyone in James' family were excited, and even Sophia called her mom to share the news. A few months later, they found out they would be having a girl. And some months after that, Carolina Montgomery was born.
Upon the baby's birth, Andrea made another visit for her new granddaughter. She stayed for a week, helping care for the baby. Surprisingly enough, the baby seemed to really love her grandma. She seemed to smile whenever the woman held her, and could always fall asleep in her arms. No matter how much she didn't want to admit it, it was extremely hard for Andrea to leave the morning of her flight. Not only for Carolina, but also because of Sophia and James.
Carolina grew up with a pretty typical childhood. She went to daycare and preschool while her parents worked, she enjoyed playing outside, and was definitely a mom’s girl. She was always curious about her mom’s writing and journalism. It was this that started Carolina’s dream to be a writer when she grew up.
It was when Carolina was eight that tragedy struck the Montgomery household. James was home watching Carolina when he got the call. Sophia had gotten in a terrible car crash while heading to work. While waiting in the hospital, James’ mother came and took Carolina home with her. This upsetted the young girl since she wanted to see her mother, but she didn’t have a say. Sophia died in the hospital later that night.
The death was just so out of the blue. James and Carolina were both so broken about it. Sophia was, to both of them, their favorite person, their role model, and someone they couldn't live without. Although James' parents wanted to watch over Carolina while he was coping, but he refused. The two mourned together, and when Andrea arrived a week after the death, she mourned with them.
It was a good coincidence that Andrea was there when Carolina had her first sign of magic, because James wouldn't have known what it was if else. There had been a really bad rainstorm one night, enough to cause the power to go out. Andrea and Carolina were placing candles around the place while James looked for a lighter. When he couldn't, the family thought they would have to go about in the dark. Though, as soon as Carolina picked up one of the candles to put away, it lit instantly. A few seconds after, every single candle in the house lit. The shocked expressions on James and Carolina's face were clear, even in the dim lighting. Yet, Andrea didn't looked surprised at all. In fact, her tone was quite simple when saying, "I guess you're like your aunt then."
Andrea had to explain everything to James then, deciding not to explain to Carolina until James knew something first. Turns out, Sophia's sister, Ana, was a witch. A muggle-born who went to Ilvermorny. Andrea, admittedly, had always been proud of her witch daughter, and it always brought Sophia to be jealous. It made Sophia not only upset in her sister because Ana was magical why she wasn't, but also in her mother for choosing favorites. So even when Ana moved to England to work in the magical industry, Sophia moved away from her family as well. And Carolina was now a muggle-born wizard as well, taking after her aunt.
After hearing the story, James didn't know what to feel. It explained so much, yet it still lead to so many questions. It hurt too, since he couldn't ask Sophia why she never told him. Goodness, how he missed her so much. Although, he did know that she wanted to meet Ana. It wasn't because he was curious about the women that made his wife jealous, but for the fact of his daughter. If she could help explain it all, then he wanted to meet her.
Carolina and James flew to England that summer. Carolina knew she was a witch, as she had been told, and she didn't know how to feel about it. She was curious to learn more from an aunt she never knew about. They met Ana, who picked them up from the airport and drove them to her house. The women lived in a quaint little home by herself, never having married or had children. Ana was glad to meet James and Carolina, always having wanted to know about Sophia's life. It was never her choice to be not apart of it. The father and daughter did enjoy Ana, if they suspected to or not. She was very similar to Sophia, unlike Andrea, and it brought a warming presence.
The women was also definitely happy in telling the two all about magic. She told them about the magic ministry in which she worked in, how there was a whole community of muggle-borns, half-bloods, and pure-bloods, and also on wizarding school. Ilvermorny was the American magical school that Ana went to, so she had a lot to say about it. Carolina honestly loved the sound of Ilvermorny, and started liking the idea of being a witch. Ana then brought up Hogwarts. The British wizarding school that Ana learned much about when moving here, stating it one of the best. James was unsure why Ana told them about the school, until she mentioned for Carolina to move to Britain with her for school. Since Ana was also a witch, maybe it'd be best for the girl. James quickly denied the idea and Carolina was more than glad that he did. She couldn't imagine living with this women she had barely met.
Carolina spent the rest of her years before starting Ilvermorny quite normally. She went to school, and overall just pretended she wasn't a witch. It was the summer before starting wizarding school that Carolina had her second magical incident. A coworker of James' had come over for dinner, and she was definitely not a fan of Carolina's. She clearly had a crush on the little girl's dad, no matter how oblivious James may be. Carolina couldn't even imagine her dad dating someone in the slightest, not wanting some women to replace her mom. It was definitely a scary moment when a whole shelf of books collapsed right where the coworkers stood. If she had been just the slightest inch closer, she would be heading to the hospital right now. James immediately blamed it on maybe a loose nail, but both him and Carolina knew it wasn't that, but the young girl's doing.
After the incident, James wondered if he should have his daughter go live with Ana for school. Carolina begged and begged to not force her to go there, but his decision was final when even Andrea stated it may be a good idea. So, Carolina packed her bags in headed to her aunt's house, knowing she would now have to go to Hogwarts. The whole thing made her want to hate her dad. Although, later, she would spend every summer break and occasional winter break with her dad, the girl would spend most of her year at Hogwarts in England.
Starting Hogwarts, Carolina just wanted a fresh start. Her life, in her opinion, was just a complete and udder mess. Her mother was gone, her dad gave her away to some women in England, and she was a literal witch. And if she could be a totally different person anywhere else, it would be a magical boarding school in a different country then home. This was the reason for her starting to lie. She would lie about little things in her life, to help relate with people or gain sympathy. It became a habit, like if someone were to frequently biting her nails. It became so bad, in fact, you could classify it as pathological lying. Yet, it was hard for anyone to do anything about it, since the girl went to a boarding school most of the year, and only saw her dad for three months at a time. So, Carolina still frequently lies to this day, making up all kinds of stories about her life.
Overtime, Carolina got used to the presence of her aunt. The woman was so much like Sophia, you could almost imagine them as the same person. And it helped that Ana treated Carolina like her daughter. It was the type of love that Carolina needed. Although, as the years went on, the girl couldn't say the same thing for her dad. Their relationship seemed to ruin more and more each year, making it even worse when her dad got a girlfriend in Carolina's fifth year. Although, above all else, Carolina loves Hogwarts. She may lie quite frequently, making hard to make friends when they find out the truth, magic is always something she's loved. She isn't at the top of her class, but she definitely can perfect a hard spell after practicing enough.
