Letters from home...

[Violet Bellamy]

A great tawny owl swooped in to the Great Hall at breakfast, dropping a letter in the lap of Violet Bellamy. Swallowing her last mouthful of her toast, on which she had scraped the Vegemite she had brought from home (she was running out of that, too), Violet stood up and wandered towards her common room with a sigh, to grab a quill, ink and parchment. She and Angus had been fairly slack with letters - Angus more so - and Violet felt they ought to respond to the letters. Judging by the owl, there was undoubtedly a letter from their grandfather, and possibly from Antoinette, and probably from their mother and father. Sighing again as she passed the Slytherin table, Violet poked Angus in the back of the head, and whispered, "Meet me in the Owlery. Don't avoid the family." Before Angus could retort, Violet quickly walked on and headed up the stairs towards the Owlery, via the Hufflepuff common room. She wondered what the letters would have in store for them.

 

[Emery Winters]

The first letter was obviously a letter from Emery, the address and names of the recipients written in his elegant script (in bottle-green ink), and the stamp of Minister of Magic on the envelope. As much as Violet and Angus did not wish for their friends to know what exactly it was their grandfather did, Emery loved the feeling of power, and liked to show it off wherever possible. He was a Slytherin at heart, even now, about 50 years or so after graduating from Hogwarts.

My dear Violet and Angus,
I hope this letter finds you well. I am very worried about Hogwarts New Zealand, after the kidnapping of Headmistress Barker. I have faith in Professors King and Rambolt - but they are only two people, and they do not have the absolute power over the school. The Death Eaters could strike again at any time. The Ministry in New Zealand, as well as the Ministry here, is greatly involved with trying to find Headmistress Barker, and to put a stop to the Death Eater activity, but they are well hidden. The Death Eaters are starting to rise back up here, too, and I do not like this one bit. They will come to an end if it's the last thing I do!
...Also, I'm worried that they may have infiltrated the school system and/or the Ministry. If that is the case, I must urge you two to be extremely careful. I'm sure you already are, but you must keep on your guard.

On another note, I was wondering if you would like to come to England for a couple of weeks. Your aunt and uncle would be most willing to host you and I would like to see you two again - particuarly Violet, as I haven't seen you in years! If you would like, I could show you around the Ministry. Perhaps you could even be of some assistance to me - it will be good for your future careers in the Ministry of Magic, be it England or New Zealand. I have asked your mother, and although she is somewhat reluctant, she is seemingly willing to let you go for a couple of weeks - although she, too, is worried about the goings on in the wizarding world. I told her that you would travel by aeroplane, in muggle fashion. We shall work this out once you are on holidays. Which is extremely soon! Violet, you will be a 3rd year, and at Hogwarts New Zealand, I believe prefects are picked in their 3rd year, so Violet, I hope you follow in my footsteps and make prefect. Angus, you need to follow your sister's example, and stop being so lazy so that you, too, can be a prefect. Also, Violet, your mother tells me you are taking 4 electives. That's my girl! I know you can handle it. They only let Antoinette take 3, at Hogwarts - I suppose it is for the best she is at Beauxbatons, where they let her fully express herself. Ignorance. Hogwarts Scotland doesn't seem to be the reputable academy it was back in my day, anyway.

But I shall talk to you about this over the break. I am anticipating your visit, I'm looking forward to seeing my granddaughter and my only grandson.

Love, Grandfather.

P.S. Violet, I am not aware of the subtleties of teenagers - is it normal for a teenage girl to profess her love of a so-called 'attractive' Professor? I'm worried about Antoinette. At least, Beauxbatons is reasonably safe from the Death Eaters. But is it safe from my granddaughter? Please allieviate my fears.

 

[Antoinette Greenwood]

The second letter came in a very pretty paper envelope, and with the pale blue paper and fancy handwriting in golden ink, it could be none other than Antoinette. Plus, it was scented with her signature perfume. Antoinette had gotten in to the habit of doing such to her letters, lately - she believed that you always had to look your best, even on paper.

Dear Violet (and, well, Angus, I suppose...)
Grandfather wrote me and told me that you were to be coming to England for the holidays. It should be grand! I can show you all around London, and we can look around the Ministry! I wonder what secrets are hidden there...

I must confess, I am rather less than overjoyed to be heading back home for the holidays. Why, you may well ask? Well, I suppose you ought to know - recently, Professor Bernard, my beloved Charms professor, retired, as she was losing her eyesight, the poor dear. Naturally, I was somewhat distraught...that is, until her son took the job. Oh my Lord, he is beautiful. He's tall, he has this gorgeous smile, and such a glorious voice! Honestly, I could listen to his Charms lessons all day, every day. He's only 20, too. And, I do believe he has taken a liking to me - isn't it wonderful that I happen to have a knack for Charms? Even having four different Charms teachers hasn't tarnished my ability. I'm seeing Professor Bernard (the son, of course) for extra lessons - he's teaching me extra Charms because I persuaded him. And, it means I get to spend more time with him...

My goodness, I shouldn't go on about this. Angus is probably reading this. Anyway, I heard there was a Death Eater attack at Hogwarts New Zealand? What's up with that? It's insane. Grandfather has told me a little about it but he promised he'd explain more later. Please stay safe, I don't want you getting kidnapped by Death Eaters.

Apologies for the short and dreadfully boring letter, but I must go. I've got some tutoring with Professor Bernard. I shall see if I can convince him to come for a swim with me! Oooh, I wish!

Much love, Antoinette <3 xoxo

 

[Rachael Bellamy]

The third and final letter was not in their mother's recognisable hand, but rather, in the messy handwriting of a doctor - their fathers. Wrtten in a muggle pen on plain printer paper - of course, Chris Bellamy didn't know how to use quill and ink, he was a muggle. It would have surprised Violet and Angus greatly not to recieve a letter from their mother, but Chris had insisted on writing.

My dear Violet and Angus,
I hope you two are alright. Mum told me about some strange goings on at your school which she heard about from your Grandfather. I don't quite understand it all but it doesn't sound good. I hope that you two are safe, neither your mother nor I, nor Rose, for that matter, could bear it if anything was to happen to either of you. Please stay safe and be vigilant, and if you ever want to come home, you know that I'll be perfectly happy to have you back, and if you want to stop going to Hogwarts and go to a normal school, that's fine with me too...

...your mother just told me to stop. Who am I kidding, you two belong at Hogwarts, and I suspect Rose will too, and I'm perfectly happy for the pair of you to be there.

Anyway, I wished to write to you about your mother. She isn't very well at the moment, she's confined to her bed - just like you've been, Angus. She told me to write to you, and I was only too happy to oblige, and I wanted to tell you that I hope you can come home as soon as possible. She really wants to see you, and so does Rose - she's getting quite lonely with only me to play with. Mum also said that you could each bring some friends over if possible, she'd be happy to accomodate them, and also she'd love to meet more people who are wizards. The next door neighbour's son is a wizard - mum's been teaching him, but she's sick at the moment so the poor boy's studies are halted. He's about your age, Violet. You'll have to meet him. He's a nice boy.
(That's what your mum told me to write. I haven't really met him.)

Grandfather has also expressed a wish to see you. I also would like to go to Melbourne so we can catch up with my family, if that's possible. I know, it'll be a busy holiday, but hopefully we can fit it all in.

Rose wants to say that she loves you both and she wants to show you her dolls and how well she can swim and jump on the trampoline when you get back, and she doesn't want you to stay away at boarding school. She's in prep at the moment and her teachers say she's lovely to work with but can be extremely headstrong and stubborn. I wish she was more like you, Violet, sometimes. Oh well, she's a lovely girl and I love her very much, as I love you both very much. I do hope Mum will be better by the time you get home, but it will be nice to have you to help out, even if she's not.

Must run, Rose is calling me. Love, Dad
(and Mum and Rose) xoxo