Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns everything Harry Potter-related. And I'm not J.K. Rowling.
July 23
Dear Mr. Harry Potter,
Hello. I know you probably don't have any idea who I am. So let me introduce myself. My name is Amelia. I am fifteen years old. And I am in grave danger.
Believe me; I would not be bothering you if I thought anyone else could help me. But I fear that you are the only one who can.
I apologize that I cannot give further details about myself or my situation. I am too afraid that this letter will fall into the wrong hands. The Ministry doesn't intercept any owls anymore, but you can never be too careful. I just don't know who to trust anymore.
If you care to, please meet me at the following address tomorrow. I know you must be a very busy man, and again, I apologize if you feel I am wasting your time. But I really do need your help.
Please, Mr. Potter. You are my only hope.
Sincerely,
A.T.
Harry set the letter down on his desk, rubbing his eyes underneath his round glasses. It had been a long day already, and this on top of it all added to the stress.
A small squawking noise came from the open window in front of him. Looking up, he saw the large grey owl perched on the sill. He had almost forgotten about him. Harry absentmindedly fished a silver coin out from his pocket and pushed it into the small pouch on the owl's leg, who clicked his beak once and took off again.
Harry sighed and picked up the letter again. ...please meet me at the following address, it read. Next to that sentence, an arrow was drawn pointing at the side of the page, telling him to flip the parchment over. On the back of the paper, it said this in a messy scrawl, contrasting the small, neat writing on the front:
3682 Rockworth Road
P.S.: you can't miss it.
Harry raised his eyebrow at this. What in the world...? Not only was it an incomplete address, but what did it mean "he can't miss it?" He threw the letter down on the desk again, not knowing what to do. Then there was a knock on the door. "Come in," Harry called softly.
The doorknob turned and the door opened, revealing his wife, Ginny. She was clutching a large cup of tea.
"I brought you some tea, dear," she said sweetly, walking across the room to him, her heels clacking against the hard floor.
"Oh, thank you," Harry said, turning in his seat. She handed him the cup. As he took a sip, she said, "How was your day?"
"It was...fine," he replied, setting the tea on the desk.
"Harry, I have known you for almost thirty years. I know when you're lying," Ginny said, pulling up a nearby chair close to her husband. "So what's wrong? You sound stressed."
He sighed again. "Here, see for yourself." He picked up the letter and handed it to her.
As she read, he stared back out the window again. Somewhere out there, there was a girl who needed his help. Or maybe it was just a prank. He had gotten several prank letters in the past similar to this one. Fake calls for help, phony "important people" wanting to have lunch... the list goes on. However, this particular letter sounded genuine.
"Oh, dear," said Ginny, finishing reading. Harry turned to face her.
"Hm," he said, nodding. "What do you think I should do?"
"Well, this isn't my decision, dear," she said. "But I'm sure you'll make the right choice, whatever you need to do."
He looked at her skeptically. "Ginny, I have known you for almost thirty years, so I know you always have input on everything."
She laughed. "You see right through me. Well, if you want my opinion, I think you should help this poor girl! She sounds really desperate."
"But what if it's another lie? I don't want to deal with another one of those."
"I dunno. The letter seems really sincere," she said, repeating Harry's own thoughts.
"Well, you know my position," Ginny said after a pause. She stood and smoothed out her green skirt. "Anyways, dinner's on the table. Will you join us?"
"Sure, I'll be there in a minute," he said distractedly. Ginny laughed again. She ruffled his already messy black hair and left the room.
A few minutes later, Harry left his study and walked into the dining room. Ginny was walking into the room, holding her wand out in front of her, levitating a big bowl of salad. Albus, James, and Lily, Harry and Ginny's children, were already seated at the table. James and Albus seemed to be greatly interested in something going on under the table, while Lily was fixing her fork and knife so that they were perfectly aligned with her plate.
"Hey, Dad!" James shouted.
"James, please don't yell in the house," Ginny said, setting the salad bowl on the table.
He ignored her. "Dad! Look what Al and I caught!" He proudly produced a large frog from under the table. Lily shrieked as it hopped out of James's hand and onto the table. "Oops," he muttered, and then flung himself over the table, unsuccessfully trying to catch the frog as it hopped around.
Ginny pointed her wand at the table, saying, "Accio frog!" The frog flew into her empty hand. She looked at her sons sternly. Harry stifled a laugh.
"Boys, this is the second time this week I have had to confiscate an animal from you. That's enough 'exploring' for you two," she said.
Throughout the mayhem, Harry had slid into his chair. He looked at his family. It was a wonderful family. Odd, yes, maybe even dysfunctional, but wonderful indeed. He looked at Lily, a spitting image of her mother, who was sticking her tongue out at James. He looked at Albus, who was looking down, silently chastising himself for his misbehavior. And James was trying not to laugh as he watched Ginny put the struggling frog back outside by magic.
Harry had always known how much he loved his children, but had never really thought about it before. He realized in this moment that he would do anything and everything for them. And if they were in any sort of danger, he would sacrifice his life for them at a moment's notice. Just like his mother had done for him when he was a baby.
After dinner that evening, he retreated to his study once more, reading through the letter again.
3682 Rockworth Road
He knew what he had to do. He couldn't miss it.
Author's Note: Okay, so this isn't really my best work. I got the idea randomly one day and decided to try it out. I hope you liked it! Please review and be brutally honest. I love to hear any constructive criticism I can get. I'll upload the next chapter soon. :]