Owl Never Move to New Zealand

[Reisha Messier]

The world did not revolve around her and Reisha had known that for a very long time indeed but her world had revolved around her father and her uncle. Her mother, she had never known personally though her beloved father and her uncle had kept her alive in every way possible for her. Carragh had died during childbirth and at times, Reisha had felt her fathers gaze upon her as if he saw his wife in her or at other times when she thought he looked at her with an overwhelming sense of grief and loss but never regret. He had adored his little girl with every ounce of his being and Reisha had loved him so completely too. Her life had been idyllic, there was no other way to describe it. They were not ridiculously rich, they were comfortably off - her father and her uncle Leon worked hard but they also gave of their time willingly to her.

She knew that when she went to Hogwarts it was difficult for them both to return to an empty house without laughter and constant chatter. Their letters tried to hide how much they missed her about but they never completely succeeded, both men had wore their hearts on their sleeves and at times, Reisha invariably did the same. Staring out the window of her dormitory she sighed heavily, her fingers rubbing over the 'P' of her prefect badge as a tear slid down her face. A letter lay crumbled on the floor nearby, her father was dead all of three months now and her uncle was finally breaking it to her that her father's last wish was for them to go to New Zealand. What had her father been thinking? She knew she had family there but she didn't know them! Her life was here, had been here when he had been alive ... now, now it was simply the walls of her beloved school that seemed to protect her, to comfort her.

Reisha loved her uncle dearly but she could not fathom moving to New Zealand and knew she had to convey this to him somehow but for now she was far too emotional, far too distraught and knew that anything she penned would be cutting to the bone and she could not do that to the man who was practically a second father to her. She would give it time, let her pain settle but fresh tears began to fall and she buried her face in her hands, how could her father do this to her!​

 

[Leonidas Rigel Messier]

It felt hard trying to move on without his brother, the brother that had reared him and done all he could to make sure that he had never wanted for anything. Their life had not been an easy one but Gregory had made it a good one and now he was gone ... and Leon had to take care of Gregory's daughter the way his brother had once taken care of him. He wasn't bitter about it at all, he loved her like she was his own, he had moved to live with them after Carragh had died and so felt more like a second father than an uncle to her. She had always had the most amazing laugh, like wind chimes tinkling through the stillness of a snowfall. Her eyes would dance with merriment, dimples showing and her smile would spread from ear to ear. Gregory and himself had always done all they could so that she would spend her days surrounded by things that would make her smile or laugh. Of course she had to grow up, had to go to Hogwarts, had to learn that life wasn't one big wonderment and basket of merriment.

But they had faith that she was made of stern stuff and she proved them right, she excelled in her studies, made friends and participated in different clubs. They had both been in awe of her and weren't surprised in the least when her prefect badge was owled out to her the August of her fifth year. Unable to contain their excitement they bought her ridiculous gifts and a brand new uniform ... Leon wondered now if the uniform would be the same in the New Zealand Hogwarts, would he have to buy a new one again? He sighed as an owl screeched outside his window and then tapped its beak at it. Opening it up he took the letter that was attached and gave the bird a treat, letting it come in and perch itself precariously on the edge of his own owl's perch. The seal was from Hogwarts and he recognised Reisha's determined script on the envelope. Leaning against the kitchen table in the house that used to be Carragh and Gregory's holiday home, now to be Reisha and his own family home, he read the few words his niece had written within.

I am not moving, please don't make me!
Daddy couldn't really have wanted this.
R​

 

[Reisha Messier]

Winter had come and gone though snow still lay thick in parts of the countryside, Reisha tried her best to enjoy the trips to Hogsmeade with her friends but it was all shrouded now in the possibility that this could be her last time. She had not told her friends because in doing so would make it all more real and that she wasn't ready for yet. Leon had invited her to New Zealand for the Christmas holidays, to view the house and see what New Zealand was like, promising her that she would love it but she had refused, wanting instead to stay behind at Hogwarts and spend a lonely Christmas there with the ghosts and the handful of other students that had to stay behind.

It was creeping closer and closer to the end of the school year, already they were in February and she was aware that spring break would be just around the corner and after that ...exams and... she shivered but it wasn't from the cold. Wrapping her arms about herself as if bracing her entire being from what was coming next, Reisha wished she could turn back time or freeze it or make it run slower - anything but this uncontrollable hurdling towards the unknown. When the summer came she would have to pack her trunk and leave ... leave Hogwarts, leave England, leave everything she loved behind.

 

[Leonidas Rigel Messier]

There was a part of him that even now was telling him to just write to her and tell her that she need only come to New Zealand on the holidays, that somehow they would work out that she could stay in England. If he had his own way, then he would have done this for her - it was what she wanted, what she knew. Did her brother really believe that upturning her entire life would benefit her in some way? What had he been thinking? Leon rubbed his temples, work was a headache that seemed to ache all the time. More and more dragon dung and sightings were being reported and more and more arsen attacks supposedly related to dragons but each investigation was leading him to nothing more than a bunch of idiotic pranksters but he was certain they were doing it for a reason, he just hadn't found it out yet. There were actual dragons of course, just not the amount that was being reported in the papers. He was expecting to be called in at any moment to the minister to explain himself, his department and just what in Merlin's name was going on but thankfully that hadn't happened yet.

After learning that werewolves were part and parcel of life at Hogwarts school here at New Zealand, he had found in himself a tendency to be less tolerant than he had always been before. It was one thing for himself but another when it came to the life of his charge Reisha. What if anything happened to her? He had never planned on a child, never planned on settling down. His life, his career was too dangerous for that but now he had to make some kind of home life for her, for his niece because he was all that she had ... besides a set of grandparents she barely knew existed and they too lived in New Zealand. It was May, exams would be starting soon enough and the end of the school year fast approached. She wouldn't visit for the winter holidays but when school broke for the summer and end of year - then Reisha finally had to come. All her belongings were here now, the England home she once knew was gone, sold and the money had been placed into an account for her for when she turned 17.

 

[Reisha Messier]

Reisha stared at the letter in her hands before crumbling it up and tossing it into the fire of the Gryffindor common room. It was May now but the weather was not conducive just yet to ti-shirts and shorts, it was breezy most days and when it wasn't windy it was most definitely raining. It drove many of the students indoors except for the die-hards who enjoyed their quidditch in all types of weather. Reisha curled her legs up behind her on the sofa and sighed loudly, her friends looked at her but she merely shook her head slowly. She didn't want to talk any more about her move, about the huge change that would be her life.

The latest letter was not only from her uncle but from her father's solicitor confirming all that her uncle said about the house being sold and the money being held in a Gringott's account for her in New Zealand until she came of age. All her possessions, all her clothing and belongings had been packed without her consent or knowledge and now were thousands of miles away in a country where winter was soon to begin. She let her head rest on Diana's shoulder and her friend clasped her hand in hers, reassuring her that they would visit, that the year wasn't over yet and that they would all remain friends.

Agatha and Molly came to sit nearby all assuring her of the same things and Reisha smiled at them affectionately but she knew in her heart that it never worked out that way, not quite. They would lose touch of course, it happened even when the best of intentions laid were meant to hinder that. They had taken a break from their studies that evening to just relax and enjoy the warmth of the room, the excellent company of friends and excellent pumpkin juice. What she wouldn't give to include no correspondence into that as well because the letters she had received had put a damper on her mood and that had infected the rest of the group too.