Guinevere grew up in the countryside of China, where her family lived with her maternal grandparents. In a small valley along the Yangtze River delta, she helped her grandfather cultivate the fertile soil and grow crops of millet each year.

When her father, Thomas Brand was called to be a professor of Edinburgh University (where he had completed his thesis), he brought his wife and children to Scotland for a new chapter. A scientific minded muggle, Thomas was keen for the family's relocation in order to be closer to his childhood home and to share his experiences with his three children and wife. The Brands adjusted well to the northern climate and continued to live their ordinary muggle life.

Gwen's mother, Yan Zhelan Brand, was a Chinese half-blood witch. As her oldest two sons had showed no sign of magical ability, Yan chose never to reveal the enchanting but confusing wizarding world to her family.

Being the youngest of three children, Gwen had always been outshone by the sporting achievement of her much older brothers while she had a greater affinity for academics. Sucked into the world of athletics by her brothers Wilhelm and Jack, Gwen took up running, and was quick to find a group of like-minded friends on the school track team. But the joy of the girls' shared mischief was short-lived when the young witch was granted a partial sports/academic scholarship to a private boarding school in London.

Being half Chinese and half Scottish, Gwen stood out remarkably in her predominantly white cohort. While the privileges of private schooling had provided her with even more opportunity to learn, she had trouble fitting in with a more affluent crowd and couldn't help but miss her friends and family back in Edinburgh, and her grandparents in China. More than ever, the school athletics team provided her with an outlet for her energy.

It was the day of her first inter-school carnival. Tensions were high; or at least as high as they can get in the eight-year-old girl's division of relay racing. Her first real race, her debut in the world of sport; her one and only chance to prove she belonged at this prestigious new school.

Take your marks: Gwen stretched in place, toeing the white line that marked her starting position in the race. She was the third runner for her team in the 4x100 relay.

Get set: looking to either side, Gwen eyed each opponent with a nervous smile. Met with a mixture of glares and grins, she turned her focus forward. She checked her shoelaces for the hundredth time. A reminder to herself: 'All you have to do is take the baton and run. That's all you have to do.'

Go! The starting gun sounded, and the first runners took off at a lightning pace. Her heartbeat in sync with their heavy footsteps, Gwen watched as the batons were passed to each team's second runners and the race continued. A girl on the far side of the track lagged behind, but the others kept pace. As the runners rounded the first bend, two clear leaders emerged from the pack; it was her own teammate and a lanky girl in the adjacent lane.

Feeling a subtle tug at her feet, Gwen opened her hands and was met with the cool touch of the metal baton on her skin. But as she tried to bound forward, her foot caught on her loose lace and she went sprawling onto the rough track. With a smug expression, the third-runner in the adjacent lane whizzed past her, baton in hand.

Oh, the injustice. A tumble and fall in her first race was embarrassing enough, but sabotage a different story altogether. Gwen had a long way to catch up.

Leaping to her feet, she rejoined the back of the race. The blonde saboteur still had a clear lead, but some of the other teams were gaining on her. As her adversary approached the fourth-runner, Gwen felt a pang of anger and just like magic, the lead runner let out a sharp squeal and dropped her baton to the floor.

As the group stampeded past, Gwen glanced at the girl in confusion and noticed that her hand had gone blistery and red. The metal baton lay on the track beside her, and the metal shone white with heat.

Ultimately, Gwen's team came in close third and the event went almost forgotten until the young witch received her Hogwarts letter three years later.