It all began, out of the simplest of things, with a letter.
Lily—
Gary! Go away! Errg—look what you are making me write!
Pardon the above; that damn cat is trying to use my leg as a scratching post and I have no spare parchment rolls easily accessible (aka: I'm in my room and our paper supply is all the way through the corridor and down the stairs and at the opposite end of the house, which is an extremely tiring distance to walk when all you've eaten in the past day is four bars of chocolate—scratch that, five bars—so don't give me that look! I know it's on your face right now! All disapproving and eye-rolling and such!).
First: I am sorry about the horrible quality of your pitiful summer so far. I fully intend to liven things up for you, Lil! Just tell me when and I'll floo over, all right?
Second: Give your sister a good punch in the gut for me, will you? No—scratch that, I'll do it myself when I arrive.
Third: Pardon the briefness—I need to go and hex my cat into oblivion. Or possibly drop it out my window...where it can mysteriously find its way into the pool and drown...mysteriously….
Much love and loveliness,
—Maggie
P.S. I've enclosed a chocolate bar. Dad bought them from Honeydukes last time he was in the village and I've eaten about ten of them so far. Please spare me the obesity.
P.P.S. You realize I'm joking about the cat thing, right? (At least sort of….)
-...-
Mags—
I would be absolutely delighted if you came to stay for a few days! Absolutely bloody delighted, Mags. In fact—I beg you to come as soon as possible. I believe my sanity is already gone out the window, so please arrive before my hair begins falling out. I am far too young to have bald patches.
Shall we say Friday night? Or sometime over the weekend? Petunia's on holiday with Vernon until Monday, and I'd rather have you arrive and settle in before she returns.
Owl me,
—Lily
P.S. The chocolate was delicious—tell your dad I say thanks!
P.P.S. I certainly hope you weren't actually considering drowning your cat and making it look like an accident, for cats are extremely hydrophobic, you see. Unless you plan to frame the dog, I am afraid you'll be an instant suspect.
-...-
Lily—
Damn it, Gary! Oooh, I actually have a spare bit of parchment this time. Er—that's right, I stuck my gum in it. Ah, oh well.
Friday…is a bit of a snag. I've just found out my cousin is coming to stay while our parents go on holiday together for the week. This is the problem with my family—lack of communication! They've only got one child! Christ—Gary!
[Giant Ink Splatter]
Scratch that—one child and one exceptionally attention-seeking, hair pulling, damn well annoying cat!
Anyway, as I said, my cousin is coming to stay, and they've—my parents, that is to say—have forbid be from visiting anyone. They said I have to look after him, which is completely absurd if you ask me. Hire a damn baby sitter, yeah?
Eh, so, that's that. I'll come over as soon as I can; they get back on the Sunday of next week, so keep in touch until then, all right?"
Love and chocolate,
—Maggie
P.S. I've enclosed another bar of chocolate. Its sole purpose is comfort food, so don't feel bad, just eat.
-...-
Maggie—
Would your parents consider allowing you and your cousin to spend the week here? My parents have no problem with it and we have the extra space, not to mention your presence will cause my mind to think coherently and not about what program is on the telly at two in the morning when I'm bored out of my mind but should really be sleeping. And if they do happen to say no, confound them for Merlin's sake! You're a Witch!
—Lily
P.S. I was only joking, of course—please don't really confound them!
-...-
Lils—
They've said yes! Oh—I could kiss them! Actually, I did. Not on the lips or anything, Lily, they're my parents!
We'll arrive Friday night, around five, I expect. Don't lose anymore of your sanity until I get there, you hear?
—Maggie
P.S. My cousin is bringing a friend that's been staying with him for the summer. Hope that's not a problem?
P.P.S. I'm bringing loads more chocolate with me, so don't eat anything until I see you!
Author's Notes:
The chapters to follow may be longer, may be shorter, may be orange, may be extremely hilarious, or extremely angsty. Okay, they won't really be orange, I can at least promise you that. Thanks for reading!