And a few more letters...

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella moved up to the owlery after her latest Herbology class, having been on her way to Ravenclaw tower to maybe find another book to get lost in and make her forget her current problems. Sealing the three letters and putting them into their envelopes, she tied them around Harper's leg, giving the irritated owl a treat, a pat on the head, and then bid her off. She watched solemnly as the barn owl flew off into the horizon, and her heart feeling like a block of lead, she left the owlery.

Hey Morgan,
How's school been going for you?  How was your summer?

I just wanted to let you know that your brother and I have broken up, but I'd still like to be associated with you and your family, if possible.

Estrella 

Luke,
How have you been?  Aren't you graduating this year?

Is Carlisle doing okay? I have a feeling that he's not using his potions to control his- Issues. Tell everyone I say hi. 

Estrella

Dad,

Grandfather was an interesting character.  I have no idea what to think of him- But I'm pretty sure that two months of living with someone isn't going to reveal everything about his personality.  He isn't the type of person to open up.  And I don't think I know enough about the family either. And no- I did not get wind of any training, as you are saying.  Care to elaborate? 

Actually, would you mind meeting somewhere next Brightstone Village Weekend? I need to talk to you about something.  It may sound weird, but it cannot be done over letter.

I know what being a prefect entails.  And yes, I am still taking all of my electives.  I just do not have any of them this term.  I am particularly looking forward to Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. 

Please reply back about Brightstone Village.  It would really mean a lot to me.

Estrella 

 

[Luke Bennett]

Luke had been sitting at home when he received an unexpected letter from his cousin. He had just been looking over pamphlets from the military, and was quick to begin writing a letter. Luke was more accepting of Estrella's situation now, as he had grown up a bit over the past year, although he was eager to get out of the house and out of craziness.

Estrella,

I'm doing alright, kiddo.  School's a drag, of course- Although that was always more your thing.

You're right!  I'm graduating this year, and I'd invite you to my graduation but I don't think there are enough tickets in any case and I don't know if you'd be able to make it.  I'm looking into joining the Air Force.

How was your Grandfather's, by the way?  He was decent to you, I hope?

And I have to apologize for how I acted the last time you were here.  I was kind of an ass.

Dad's a recluse lately.  But I think he's getting the hang of whatever disease he's got.

And now the question is, how have you been?

Luke

 

[Tristan Drage]

Tristan was quick to reply to Estrella's letter, although his mood had been worsened considerably lately. Giving his owl a treat, he sent Alexander with a letter back to the library. It was short and concise, but it contained much purpose.

Estrella,

Where and when?  I believe most of these things would be more easily discussed in person.

Ancient Runes was my favorite elective class; I'm glad you enjoy it.

Love,
Dad

 

[Morgan Thomas]

Morgan had been sitting in the lawn of Hogwarts enjoying the weather when all of a sudden a letter dropped from the sky from a barn owl, she looked down at the letter and noted that it was Hogwarts New Zealand. Is it from Kale? she slowly ripped open the envelope with her finger nail and read the letter.

Hey Estrella!

It's crazy hearing from you, considering my brother hasn't written me a single letter since school has started. I'm sorry to hear about you two breaking up. Kale is an idiot. I would definitely like to be assosciated still, you're really cool. Ma won't care either, from what I noticed she really seemed to like you staying with us.

Things are great here. I just bought myself a new Magical Camera! It's amazing! School is going good too. I just got a new book on Ancient Runes, I find it fascinating! What classes are you taking this year??

Anyways, how have you been recently Estrella?
Morgan

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella trudged up to the owlery to look and see if she had any letters, and she was pleasantly surprised to find out that all three had returned. Grabbing the first one that Harper had, she noticed that the handwriting was quite feminine, and that it must be Morgan's.

She grinned broadly at seeing that Morgan did not care a bit that she was no longer dating her brother, and could not surpress a chuckle when she made a comment about Kale being an idiot.

Writing a letter back quickly, she was glad that she had another friend outside of school.

Morgan,

That's great to hear- You have no idea how stressed I've been lately.  I've just been trying to get over the break up still, although I think I'll be okay.

Um, I'm doing alright.  School is going okay, I guess, although I've been sticking to Ravenclaw tower.  I hope we win the House Cup again this year!  Not to brag, but I was top points earner for my house last year!

Cameras are awesome.  Are you interested in Photography?

I love Ancient Runes!  That's one of my favorite classes!  I don't have it until next term though- I'm also taking Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures for electives.  Arithmancy is intriguing, and Care of Magical Creatures is just- Blah.  Same with Astronomy, although I'd rather spend five hours in COMC versus ten minutes in Astronomy.  I hate that class.

How did your summer go?  I spent mine at my grandfather's.

I'm so glad I found you as a friend!

Estrella

It was odd how happy she seemed in the letter, contrary to the sultory mood that she exhibited to everyone else every day. Sighing, she turned to Luke's letter.

Hey Luke,

Grandfather's was okay, I guess. I can't decide if I'd rather be bored in Minnesota or in Norway.

I've been fine, I guess.  Kale and I broke up so I'm still getting over that. 

You were an ass, but I still love you!  I hope you can get into the Air Force; that would be cool!  So no college?

Please tell me if anything goes wrong with Carlisle.  Even if he's acting funny.

Love,
Estrella

Lastly, she tore open the letter from her father, which she found regrettably short. She scrawled down a quick letter, handing the letters to Harper when she was finished and then leaving the owlery.

Dad,

Hog's Head, in two weeks is the next Brightstone Village Weekend.

yeah, Ancient Runes is cool.

Thanks,
Estrella

 

[Morgan Thomas]

Morgan walked up to the owlery expecting to be recieving a letter from her Ma, but was pleasantly surprised when she saw that she had a letter from Estrella. Morgan ripped it open with a smile on her face and unfolded the letter so that she could read teh contents inside. Shes having a tough time? Morgan frowned for a moment and continued to read. She was happy to see that her and Estrella had so many of the same ineterests.

Morgan grabbed a clean piece of parchment and flattened it out before beginning to write back to her friends letter.

Hey Estrella!

I know its really tough, just be sure to keep yourself busy and don't sulk on it! Go out and have some fun. You're a pretty girl, theres got to be better guys out there! Seriously! I was dating a Gryffindor in the beginning of last year until about Christmas break, when you came over. He ended up being a real jerk! I should have guess considering he is one of Roger & Lee's friends.. Just continue with your studies and forget about him for now.

That's so cool that you guys won the house cup last year! Hufflepuff won over here. Its better than Slytherin winning, I suppose.. You don't like Astronomy?! Ha, I find it fascinating! Maybe it's taught differently at Hogwarts New Zealand. I've never really taken Arithmancy, but I hear that it is very difficult! You must be very, very smart. 

Yes! I love photography! It's definitely something that I get caught up in quite a lot. I bet people think I'm crazy because I have my camera slung around my neck 25/7! What are your hobbies? We didn't really get to talk much when you were over!

My summer was really good. I stayed at a friends house. She lives in California! It was really weird to be there considering it was full of muggles! Sort of scary to me being around all of those people...! It was a lot of fun though! How was your summer? Where is your grandfather from?

Write back soon!
Morgan

 

[Luke Bennett]

Luke was filling out an informational form so that he could apply for Basic, something that he would turn in at school. He smirked a bit as the owl swerved through his window, dropping the letter on the table and looking at him with her cold ember eyes.

"You know, one of these days a normal person like me is going to see you and start asking questions," he commented to the owl, throwing the bird a treat and turning to the letter.

Estrella,

Break ups suck.  A lot.  I just broke up with Jessica, although she was kind of a ditz so it wasn't too terrible.  Sorry to hear about that.

If he gives you too much trouble, I can come to the school and kick his ass for you.  Just kidding, of course.

Nah, I'm not sure what I want to do yet so I figured I'd go into the service.  I might go to college through one of their programs if I feel like it later.  I'm just going to let everything play out.

Don't worry, Carlisle will be okay. I'll let you know if anything happens.

Peace out,
Luke

 

[Tristan Drage]

Having been quite stressed lately, Tristan's letter was even shorter than last time, not caring to give the owl a treat, much to her disdain as he watched her fly off with his reply, sitting back in a chair and placing his head in his hands. He was still unsure what to think of the future meeting.

Estrella,

That works.  See you then.

Love,
Dad

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella smiled broadly as she made her way up to the owlery a few days later, a rare occurence that was not frequently crossing her expression these days. She grabbed the letter from her father, tearing it open, and deciding that she should burn his letters later. She may not be on the best terms with him, but she did not want him caught by the ministry either. Pocketing his letter, she moved to Luke's, sitting down at the rather rickety desk in the owlery and ignoring the swear words carved into the surface of it.

Luke,
Thanks, but no thanks.  I can handle people on my own.  I'm glad that I have you there to look out for me, it means a lot.

I think I already know what I want to do, although most people don't.  I kind of want to be a Professor.

So, has anything exciting been going on in the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes lately?

Love,
Estrella

Estrella moved to Morgan's letter lastly, unable to keep from smiling as she read it. She was glad to have someone outside of Hogwarts that seemed to care about her.

Heyah Morgan,

I'm trying not to think too much about it.  The world would be so much less complicated if there weren't boys!  I haven't talked to him since we broke up, so I have no idea what to think about it at the moment.  Afterwards a friend and I decided to try to forget about it and went shopping down in Bleak Street(which is like Knockturn Alley) and we got into some trouble there.  I wouldn't advise shopping there!

Yeah, I hope we win again.  I just find Astronomy so drab and boring!  I don't mind the mythology behind constellations and planets and such but when you start talking about parsecs and light years I'm totally lost.  Arithmancy isn't as hard as people say it is, but maybe that's just me.

You're not crazy!  You're an amazing person!  Are you thinking about going into Journalism?

I grew up with muggles for part of my life so they aren't too bad for me.  Did you have fun there?  My summer was a blend of both intrigue and dullness, I suppose.  My grandfather lives in Norway.

Write back soon!

Estrella

Turning on her heel, Estrella left the owlery swiftly.[/color]

 

[Luke Bennett]

Hey Stray,

Hell no!  What would you expect?  It's so boring here, especially considering we live on a farm.  I'm so glad to get out of here, it isn't even funny!

Just hang in there, okay?  Relationships are stupid; I know firsthand.  You just have to let it go.

Oh, by the way, I'm going off to Basic as soon as I graduate!  Three months of training... should be fun.  If you can't tell I'm being sarcastic, of course. 

My hand is cramping up!  I wish you people had email or something.  All these letters are killing my hands!

Peace,
Luke

 

[Morgan Thomas]

Hey Estrella!

Sorry it's taken me soo long to reply to you, I have been VERY busy with school work and doing extra assignments. I'm hoping to get Ravenclaw the house cup this year!
How have yuou been since the last time I've written to you?

Woah, why in the world would you go in a ny place that is like Knockturn Alley? I don't think i will ever step foot into any place like that, theres a reason why I wasn't sorted into Gryffindor. Did something happen there that makes you not want to go anymore or something?

I get what you're saying about Astronomy, theres not much you can do with it unless if you're planning on doing something that involved the feild after school. I just find it very interesting, I want to get a telescope real soon but everywhere I go they're out!

I would love to get into journalism for the Daily Prophet.

Are you still playing quidditch at school?

Sorry, I've gotta get going now!
Hope to hear from you soon!
Morgan

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella's mood was no less than terrible as she trudged up to the owlery, the spat she had had with Kale still weighing heavily on her mind, although she was trying to focus on the tasks at hand. Why couldn't she shut him out, if she really hated him so much?

This time, the letters did not serve to make her happy, but just made her feel worse, her dark eyes narrowing as she read both of their letters. Two people connected to Kale in two totally different ways. She still looked forward to being friends with Morgan and she loved Luke as her cousin, after all, but it was hard when they were connected to such strong memories.

Planting her backside in one of the rickety desks that the owlery had to offer, she wrote two less lengthy letters, being careful not to say much about Kale in them.

Luke,

Go figure.  But I'm glad that you're going to get into the Air Force!  Hopefully!

Too bad we don't have email, huh?

Later,
Estrella

She decided that she was not going to mention anything about her spat with Kale to Morgan, as she didn't want their conversations to focus on him, of all people and on the other hand she didn't want to burden her either.

Morgan,

Long time no talk.  I can understand; I've taken on more dedication to my schoolwork; it makes me forget things and betters me as a person, while I can focus more on my future, so it's good all around.  But go Ravenclaw!

Um, the shopkeeper there basically attacked me and one of my best friends.  We got out in time though; I think the guy might be facing charges.   He had a TON of illegal stuff in his shop.  I kind of wanted the flying motorcycle that was there, though.  Go figure for me to want something stupid.

That'd be cool if you were a journalist!  I'm not too great at journalism style myself.  I think I'm too long winded for it.

Yep!  I still play Keeper.  Hopefully, House teams can get off the ground again here.  Do you play Quidditch?

Estrella

 

[Luke Bennett]

Hey Estrella,

Everyone wants me to say hi for them.  Things are going pretty good here.  And Tommy is getting huge!  You should see him.  I think he's going to be a football player when he gets older.  Keeps ramming people over.

Yeah, I've been accepted!  I'm seriously psyched for it.

I agree with you- emails don't bite you.  Your bird is impatient!  She scared the crap out of Grandma June- I had to chase her out of the house.  The owl, I mean.  The rest of the family still has no idea what you really are.  Told her the owl must have gotten lost.

Peace,
Luke

 

[Estrella Drage]

Hey Luke,

That's hilarious!  I want to see everyone now.. Won't Tommy be going into kindergarten in a year or so?  Isn't he in preschool now? 

Good for you!  Are you going to get free college and stuff for that then?

Poor Grams!  How have Grandma and Grandpa been doing by the way?  And Aunt Alaina and Uncle Matt and their kids?  I haven't seen them in forever.  You have to watch out for Harper- She is very impatient. 

Estrella

 

[Luke Bennett]

Hey Stray,

Yeah, the little guy's in preschool.  Absolutely loves it.  It's great how he prints all of his letters backwards, but he's got most of his name down pat.  I sometimes wish I could be that cute and innocent (I'd get away with more) but on the other hand being older is cool too.  I'll be moving soon.  I'm thinking about moving to Duluth or maybe Wisconsin. I might be able to persuade Dad to let me take the cabin.  It's not like we use it too much anyway, and I'm considering going to college there after the Air Force.

Yeah, the free college is gonna be nice.  I just have no idea what I want to do.  What do you want to do, by the way?  You never really mentioned it.  What kind of jobs can you have in your world anyway?

Impatient is an understatement for that bird.  I think you should rename her Killer or something violent, no kidding.  She was decent this time around, although you can never predict what a barn owl's gonna do.  She doesn't seem entirely all that tame to me.

Family's been doing fine.  They're always wondering what you're doing at that private school- It's hard to imagine that after all these years your secret hasn't been leaked out. I wonder why Dad got to find out at all sometimes.

Take care of yourself,
Luke

 

[Estrella Drage]

Luke,

Duluth would be sweet. I've always loved that city.  If you got the cabin I might have to come visit you every once and a while- Gives me even more of an excuse to come to the States.  I'm glad Tommy's doing well with preschool!

I'm unsure as of now but I have wanted to be a Professor for the longest time.  I thought I might want to teach Charms but it has been kind of weird lately- I have no idea what I want to do with my life anymore.  I can't decide what my real calling is.

Killer?  Nah, I still like Harper much better.  Got that name from a book, can't remember which one.  It was good though.

I think Carl found out on accident, but I'm not entirely sure.  It couldn't really be hidden from him when you guys took me in, though.  It would have been extremely hard to hide.

Estrella

 

[Luke Bennett]

Stray,

You should find an excuse to come to the States no matter what, dork.  What are you doing over your Christmas Break?  It'd be nice to see you again, even if for just a few days.  What do you want for Christmas, by the way?

A Professor, huh?  You've always seemed the teaching type to me.  But at fourteen, you don't have to decide what you wanna do.  Heck, I don't even know what I wanna do.

I finally found some of those treats and that stupid bird stopped attacking me.  Why does it seem like animals from your world have personalities?  I swear she's mocking me.

And what an accident it was.  I remember when he first told Mom, he thought she was nuts.

Luke

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella opened Luke's letter eagerly, quite sad that Morgan had stopped writing but she figured that she was busy. Luke's letters had been a lifeline to the outside world, the one she had left behind. While she was not all that sane, he was at least keeping her somewhat so.

She frowned as she read his inquiry about the break, her lip pouted out a bit as her expression became a bit uncomfortable. She did not like lying to Luke, but she had to in this situation. She knew that he would not be happy with her for even contacting her father. No one would, she knew, and thus had attempted to keep it a secret.

Luke,

I totally would, but I have to go to my grandfather's for the Holiday Break.  I would love to see all of you guys, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.  Everything is still so confusing here.

Once I'm an adult everything is going to be so much easier!

You know, don't kill yourself getting anything expensive.  But I haven't had any muggle candy in a while- I could so go for some twizzlers at the moment.

And what do you want, Mister?

Well, you took a while accepting it too- And Aunt Maggie was an adult when she was told that, too.  Most people would find it insane.

Estrella

 

[Luke Bennett]

Estrella,

No worries.  Twizzlers? You were always an odd one, Stray.  I do not understand how you like those things- I find them nasty and disgusting. There's no flavor!

I have no idea what I want yet.  Maybe something cool from your world?  Just as long as it doesn't like, attack me or anything.  But seriously, you don't have to worry about getting me presents.

And how has life been for you lately?  Your letters are not at all like they used to be.

Luke

 

[Estrella Drage]

Luke,

They're by far the best candy in the world!  I have long since run out of my stash- They don't have licorice to speak of here, at least, not from what I've seen.  And they are not bland, as you claim!  They are delicious!

I've been fine?  Why do you ask?  Just a lot on my mind lately.

Estrella