Summer Correspondence

Number 14 ½, Woodthrowe Lane, Godric's Hollow, was home to a very peculiar family. Two young children could be seen sitting on broomsticks, rather than holding them upright. One girl seemed to have steam blowing out of her ears, making her face as red as her hair. Another boy was holding out his hands to two owls, one with four envelopes tied to its feet, and the other holding a newspaper that if unrolled would be covered with moving pictures. The owl nipped at the boy until he paid the owl by slipping a coin into a soft leather pouch tied to its clawed foot. A pair of teenagers were gazing down into what looked like an armadillo hole. The tall boy stuck his hand down into it and pulled out what appeared to be a very ugly potato with limbs attached at uneven intervals. He laughed as he launched it across the lawn casually, acting as if this was a perfectly normal activity for a Sunday morning. This would have been a very odd scene for a muggle to see, if a muggle had been able to see it, of course.

Albus could be heard chatting excitedly in the kitchen from all the way upstairs. His feet were bouncing up and down on the floor, and then up the creaky stairs, causing quite a racket. James scowled as he looked up from his Potions homework. He was in a foul mood and there was still so much homework to be done. Of course, he had waited until the last few days of summer to even glance at it. James found himself rather troubled recently and could use a distraction, even if it were a dull one. As James's thoughts returned to his latest predicament, his door flew open admitting his brother, Albus. His eyes flashed with anticipation as he waved his arm excitedly, brandishing a letter in the air. James smiled at his brother's exuberance.

"Guess what came from Hogwarts today?" Albus sang.

"Well, I'm guessing not a toilet seat." James replied, ruffling Albus's mop of hair, tangling it even more.

Albus couldn't conceal his lopsided grin. He was looking forward to Hogwarts just as much as James had been the previous year. Maybe even more. James sincerely hoped he had not resembled an exploding lunatic when he had gotten the news of his acceptance, as his brother currently did. Albus had it down, even to the nervous laughter. He did a few energetic laps around the room before he started firing questions at James, apparently expecting the castle to have revealed all its secrets after only a year.

"Do you really have to fight a troll? Is the giant squid friendly? Is it poisonous? What should I pack? Has anyone ever died in the Forbidden Forest? Is the food as good as they sa-" Albus interrogated.

"Yes, sometimes, probably, I don't care, most likely and it's better. Now, if you ask me one more question I swear I'll tell the troll not to be gentle with you. We're on very good terms." James threatened.

Albus gulped nervously before darting from the room, his footsteps echoing on the stairs. Then, James heard them coming back up again and rolled his eyes. His door slammed open once more and Albus tossed a letter on James' bed.

"Almost forgot, one came for you, too."

James broke the seal gingerly, looking at his new letter and required items. He saw he'd be needing a more advanced standard spell book but other than that, must of the other required volumes were the same as last year's. His brother, however, would need to pick up the entire lot. While it was fun the first time, he didn't envy his brother. Last year, he'd had a rather unfortunate encounter with a set of vicious hemming pins and several seriously annoyed wands. Needless to say, he had no desire to relive the experience.

He was a little surprised his parents were even letting him go back at all…he had caused such a fuss last year. James had half thought he might be shipped off to Ilivermony or worse. He had heard his mother and father discussing it at the beginning of summer. They whispered about it and what to do with his new theory of the Dark Lord's fleeting return for the better part of an hour. They decided he had just wanted to do something important, like his father, and had landed himself in a bad situation. His father had agonized about whether waiting to tell him and Albus and Lily about the wars had been a good idea but in the end, they figured something like this had probably been inevitable no matter what they had done. At least it was over.

James was a little disappointed to see that Bel had not replied to his last letter yet. The unlikely confidants had been writing back and forth over the summer, trying to deduce where the missing pages from the Book of Necromancy were going to turn up. James hoped that his father, being the auror investigating the Jacob Zagyva case—he had died using a spell from the book—would eventually figure it out but if he had, he had kept it secure from all of the younger generation's snooping. Bel had not heard a thing from their snooping in the Malfoy Manor either. Halfway through the summer, everyone had become convinced it was probably no use, but they all continued to search regardless.

As the summer advanced, they began corresponding about other things that happened. James often telling Bel some funny prank he or Teddy had pulled, or Albus's latest antics. Bel was glad to hear from him, she, Scorpius, and Cat had been shut up in the Manor for most of the summer, and being nosy could only fill so many hours. She would send James news of Cat's newest skirt burning incident or something beef-headed that Scorpius had said or done. Both of them were glad to have some outside interaction, especially James who had been feeling rather isolated lately.

The summer had changed James's two best friends. Victoire and Teddy had started spending a great deal of time together, just the two of them. At first, James hadn't really noticed…the two had always been close. However, after the first two and a half weeks, the excuse of "herbology tutoring" just wasn't cutting it. James wasn't as thick as they thought. Maybe that was actually how it had started, but the dynamics between the two were rapidly changing. First it had been their little tutoring sessions, then it had evolved into private moments talking under the apple tree together. James had seen how happy they looked, laughing and smiling at each other without a care in the world. Recently, they had started disappearing for hours at a time, talking to each other in someone's room or taking long walks.

A few days ago, James had seen Teddy wrap his arm around Victoire, blushing madly. She'd grinned up at him, looking like it was Christmas morning. In that second, any doubts he had clung to evaporated, they fancied each other. At first, James had been happy for them. They made a decent couple. James still spent time with them, but they were too absorbed in their new relationship to really notice he was there. In fact, he could've thrown a pile of dung bombs at them, he doubted they would've lost the dreamy look. After a few days of this, he began to scheme ways to embarrass them in front of the adults. They had opened a giant can of worms in James's opinion, he didn't want to deal with the eventual break-up. Soon however, James began to feel lonely. They had hardly spent any time with him that summer and whenever they did, it felt uncomfortably different. James started to worry they would never have the same friendship again.

The loneliness never really left James, but soon he became bitter. He was angry at the two of them for leaving him out. He was angry at them for seemingly forgetting about him. Mostly, he was angry at them because they still hadn't bothered to tell him. It wasn't like he was an idiot, but they seemed to have no idea that he the slightest clue. It didn't look like they planned on telling him any time soon either.

James soon slid into a state of perpetual annoyance, being vexed had just taken too much energy. Writing to Bel had been his salvation, she was a wonderful person to vent to. For whatever reason, he felt like he could put every pent up aggression into his letters to her. She understood being left out as well as anyone, having been locked up in the Malfoy Manor for most of her life. They also had both grown up under a shroud of secrecy adults had smothered them under, keeping them from knowing much of anything. Speaking of the adults, none of them knew about Victoire and Teddy yet. They had all been too busy to notice. As James finally managed to return to his Potions essay, his door burst open for the third time in a span of ten minutes. He was starting to understand how the Fat Lady must feel.

Teddy appeared in the doorway. "Dress robes? James! They're making me get dress robes this year! They weren't on Torie's list, I was wondering if they're on yours."

James shook his head. He was glad he did not need the things, he had heard one too many horror stories from Uncle Ron.

"Well then, I reckon they're for the Solstice Ball since it's fourth years and above."

James nodded, still not speaking. Teddy smiled, proud to be entering his fourth year at Hogwarts. Teddy, James, and Victoire were so close at school that he often forgot they were all in different years. This summer alone, Teddy, who was already tall for his age, seemed to have shot up two inches. Victoire had grown a little as well but not as noticeably. She had always been beautiful, in the way that made other girls jealous.

"You all right mate?" Teddy asked turning his hair green. James gritted his teeth. "I'm fine."

Teddy raised a lime green eyebrow. "All right, if you say so."

In that moment, he was glad Teddy had left. He was starting to lose patience with the pair of them. When were they going to bother to tell him? What else were they keeping from him? He began to wonder if they really wanted him around anymore. It certainly didn't feel like it.

Yet again, James's bedroom door opened. At least it wasn't quite as violent this time as the previous three attempts at entry. In the door was his mother, a smudge of dirt on her nose. She smiled gently at him as she took a seat at the foot of his bed.

At least she's happy to see me, he thought.

Ginny stuck out her hand. "This just came for you."

James tried to grin. "Thanks." James stood up to leave, his Potions homework already forgotten, suddenly feeling that the walls of his room were closing in.

"Who have you been writing to so secretively?" his mother asked. "Should I worry? Do you have some girlfriend you haven't told us about? You know, if that's it, we'll find out eventually!"

"No." James laughed dryly. If only you knew the half of it.

James's bad mood persisted all the way down the stairs, through the hall, and all the way out to the back lawn. It seemed Teddy had gone back to de-gnoming and moved behind the house. There was just one gnome left. James was just too riled up to let this opportunity go to waste. He slipped the letter in his trouser pocket and took the last gnome left by its feet, swung it with a vicious strength, and chucked it as far as he could. It wailed in protest. He waved while he watched it fly away.

Teddy whistled, "Nothing's a better solution for anger than watching a gnome fly." Teddy morphed his face to resemble that of a gnome and James couldn't help but laugh. Between the gnome and Teddy's remarkably potato-like face, his bad mood was temporarily forgotten.

James seated himself under an apple tree in the yard and pulled out Bel's letter. The envelope carried his name in Bel's handwriting, though it was sloppier than usual. The quill marks were scratchy and blended between letters, making it appear as if Bel had sent it in a hurry. It read:

Dear James,

I'm sorry to report that barely anything has happened since my last letter. Your letters and Cat's new attempts at arson have been our most reliable sources of excitement here at the manor. Since I wrote you last, Scorp decided it was a good idea to shove a load of peppermint imps in his mouth at once. It was not a good idea. Cat then decided to try and outdo him. It was an even worse idea. I have barely seen Uncle Lucius, Aunt Narcissa, or Uncle Draco this week. I assume that Uncle Lucius is spending a great heap of time traveling and in his study but I am not sure of the other two. All conversations they have are behind closed doors and have become even more secretive. I think they actually caught on to us, because they charm the doors behind them so we can't hear their conversations.

Letters from Hogwarts must be coming out any day now. Until then, we wait. I imagine we might go and get our new supplies the day after we get our letters but I'm not sure. The adults may go without us. So, with luck I'll see you at Diagon Alley and if not then, we'll all try to meet in the back corner of the platform.

See you soon, Bel

Bel paced around her room. She had almost gotten caught! It was getting harder and harder to send letters to James. She'd already been almost caught in the act, this was the third time. If it was anyone else, even another Gryffindor, it would probably be different, but it was James Potter who shared her secret. And Uncle Lucius would implode if he found out about the letter let alone that all of the Potters had figured out who she was at the end of last year. She wondered if the Potters would've cared but did not know much about them. Of course, she knew the stories about Harry Potter, any educated witch or wizard would, although she had been forced to find them out piecemeal last year. She had even met him one afternoon but from the impression she made, she wasn't sure he'd want her hanging around with his son anyway. They had not met in good circumstances, to say the least.

The last two times she was caught she said she was writing to her fictitious friend, Rina, but she felt that they were growing suspicious. She always had to scrawl his name on the envelope at the last minute, a nerve wracking process. This was yet another reason she was looking forward to next term starting so soon. The professors actually encouraged friendships between the houses.

The inhabitants of the Malfoy Manor had never been more secretive. They hadn't been able to find out anything at all. Even the summer meeting of the ex-Death Eaters had failed to happen. It was almost as if they had halted their mission until the children returned to school. But this couldn't be true, the elder Malfoys were barely ever seen, meaning the children were often confined to their rooms, the tutoring annex, and the dining hall. Bel felt the effects of extreme boredom inside the huge, empty house. All three of them had finished their homework for the summer within the first week, so there was just nothing to do. James's letters had been the highlight of their summer. Often Bel read them aloud in the garden.

James's letters, besides being the only contact the three had with the outside world, was their best source of entertainment. He was a very comical prankster and seemed to be constantly in some sort of trouble. Bel was surprised how much he shared in the letters and when reading them to Cat and Scorpius, often left some parts out that she wasn't sure he would want read by others. Bel didn't know why she did this, it just felt like it was the right thing to do.

Bel felt bad about his being in the middle of the Teddy and Victoire situation. She understood what it was like to be the odd man out. At least he had a family to fall back on, not to say she didn't love the Malfoys or anything. They were family technically —aunts and cousins—but it just wasn't the same. Bel continued to be astonished with his openness when he shared how he felt about the situation. Bel enjoyed being the one to know what was going on for once. She felt that she knew him now, at least a little bit. This was something she was nervous for when the term started. She didn't know how things would go when they went back. Would they even speak to each other? Would they be friends now? Cat and Scorpius seemed just as nervous as she was.

Cat was currently lying face down on Bel's bed. Her brown hair flared out around her as she made an annoyed noise that was muffled by Bel's mattress. Cat was taking their confinement worse than Bel. She had grown accustomed to freedom after her year at Hogwarts, it was hard to return to their little world agin. She longed for any excuse to leave their rooms, even if it would get them stuck in them until the end of the summer. Cat just couldn't take another second of board games and rehashing the same arguments.

Cat turned over on Bel's bed. Her Persian, Snowball, nipped gently at her feet. Her fluffy tail sent a shower of white hair onto Bel's black silk sheets. She wished she could repel the hair with magic but she very well knew she was not allowed to use magic over the summer, and had decided charming her sheets were not worth the risk of using the loophole she had found last year. This proved to be the bane of her existence.

Cat growled. "I just want to burn the bloody idio-"

"Ouch!" Scorpius howled.

Cat had accidentally rolled off the bed and landed on, Scorpius who had been napping on a fluffy rug. He groaned in protest and clutched his stomach where she had accidentally elbowed him. He looked a little green.

"Sorry Scorp." Cat whispered gently.

Scorpius sent her a deathly glare but she could tell he wasn't really mad. Cat giggled, not finding his glare even the slightest bit menacing. She actually thought he looked more constipated than fearsome. Bel tried not to, but failed, clutching her stomach as she howled with laughter. Scorpius grunted and stalked off into his own room.

After much coaxing, they managed to make Scorpius join them again. They busied themselves with a game of Exploding Snap. Fortunately, it was an unusually long game and lasted the better part of an hour. In the end, Scorpius won, lifting his spirits considerably. He then became engrossed in a copy of Quidditch Weekly, and transitioned into a long and incredibly dull rant about broomstick handles that Cat and Bel only half listened to. Bel and Cat were just about to start another game when Astoria entered the room.

"Hello, children." She beamed, handing each one a letter. "These came today and I thought you might like to see your new lists. Lucius and Narcissa will take you into Diagon Alley first thing tomorrow."

She kissed Scorpius on the cheek before exiting and then made her way down the hall. Though there was only a minuscule number of new items to be retrieved, the three were overjoyed by any excuse to leave their confinement. They beamed at each other delightedly, cheering, as a card exploded by Bel's foot. She couldn't wait for the following day.

Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor had always been a Potter family favorite. While their parents were off doing some routine shopping, the Potter children, including the cousins Rose, Hugo, Victoire and Teddy (as always) were enjoying a break with their new supplies in parcels at their feet. Albus and Rose were admiring their new wands and chatting under their breath about how excited they were for the coming term. Victoire was focusing on her new books, Homelife and Social Habits of British Muggles: Updated Edition! Now featuring Modern Muggle Technology and Slang by Wilhelm Wigworthy for Muggle Studies and All About Ancient Runes: Dictionary, Translations, and Extensions by Gonnorick Gorenhall (which was bigger than her head), and All About Hieroglyphics and Logograms Gonnorick Gornehall for Ancient Runes.

James neglected his dripping cone of Triple Chocolate Crunch ice cream as his eyes wandered towards a beautiful broomstick that was calling to him from a store window. It was a relatively new make, a Windbreaker. The particular model he was oggling was the astoundingly sensitive Windbreaker 2.0. His eyes practically glazed over as he imagined flaunting it inside the Gryffindor Common Room. He wanted a new broom more than anything. He currently shared a household one with his two siblings which was an outdated Clean Sweep. He knew he wouldn't be able to bring it to Hogwarts. His parents were no help either. He had never been allowed to so much as touch either of their Firebolts.

The more James longed for the new broom, the more he could imagine himself riding it, all the way to the House Cup. From the corner of his eye, James could see Teddy admiring it too. Although he actually owned a broom, it paled in comparison. James noticed that Teddy and Victoire's chairs had been pushed close together. Their knees brushed under the table and their hands hovered exceedingly close to each other. James scoffed.

"What's up with you, James?" Teddy asked. "The two of you, that's what." James lowered his voice. "Trying to act all secretive. Look, elf's caught the sock, I already know you two fancy each other. It's obvious."

Both Victoire and Teddy turned crimson. They were frozen in the hot summer air. They looked like they were about to start projectile vomiting blast-ended skrewts. "How'd you know? How long?" asked Teddy.

James scoffed again. "It doesn't matter. I just picked up on things. And since the first-second week of summer."

Victoire turned to James. "Oh no, you're mad. Teddy, I knew he'd be mad! Please, try to understa-" James cut her off. "I'm only mad because you gits didn't tell me. You know how annoying it's been? You guys running off without me all summer? I don't care if you guys get all cozied up and act all couple-like around me. It's better than not seeing you guys at all. Marginally."

Teddy focused on the ground, looking guilty. Victoire spoke in a low mumble. "I'm really sorry James. I thought you would be upset about us. Well, I guess you are now, but that was our fault. Please don't stay mad." Victoire looked into his eyes. She looked so sorry, and so did Teddy. He felt a tight knot in his chest being released. He could only stay angry at his best friends for so long. "Alright, alright, I haven't actually been mad for a while. Just don't pull anything like that again. I'll help keep everyone put off it, just don't keep me out, okay?"

This time it was Teddy who spoke. "Thanks. Sorry again, mate. Should've known we couldn't get anything past you." He winked. James saw Victoire and Teddy intertwine their fingers under the table. James winked back, knowing things would be different now but hoping it would be for the best.

Bel, Cat, and Scorpius wound their way through Diagon Alley. They had finished their necessary shopping and had been sent away by Lucius and Narcissa who went to talk to some business correspondents in The Three Broomsticks, something they would have desperately liked to hear. The triad took to the street, meandering through the stalls, looking at all the enticing things to buy. Scorpius was holding a large sack of gold filled with a very small portion of his inheritance. Though he had his own broom, his eyes swept to them wherever they went. It was an old child's broom and besides, Scorpius didn't believe in having too many brooms.

Cat busied herself with a wand cleaning kit, comparing it to another model she'd seen last year. She scowled as this one, it did not have the same polish as the one she had seen last time. She moved on to looking at cosmetic potions, one for hair regrowth was stocked closest to the front. The bottle showed an ugly old hag with flowing blonde locks down to her ankles. When Cat and Bel saw this, they collapsed into a fit of laughter. Next to that potion was one that caught Bel's eye. It was a silver substance in a small blue vial. It said hair tamer.

Bel's dark disorder of hair was the farthest thing from tame. Her curls often swallowed small household objects, including brushes and combs. She picked up the blue vial and brought it to the front of the stall. A young witch who was very pretty read the vial and then looked Bel up and down. She looked just like a person who would run a cosmetics line, with perfect hair, makeup and the most stylish robes on the market. She handed the clerk a few silver coins to pay and the clerk gave her a bag. "Nice choice," she whispered.

Bel trudged back to where Scorpius was now attempting to buy Dungbombs. As he was about to pay, Cat and Bel shared a look. Bel held Scorpius back as Cat extracted the weapon of nasal destruction and carefully put it back in the stack.

Scorpius looked enraged. "What was that for?"

Cat's face carried a look of wariness. "Because, as much as I love some good mayhem, I like the current smell of our common room more. Especially because when Filch finds out about this, your guts will be splattered all over the corridors."

Scorpius whined. "CAT! NO! Don't cross over to the side of reason! That's what we have Bel for. We can't afford to lose you, such a crucial member of whimsicality."

Bel grinned evilly and looped her arm around Cat's. "Sorry Scorp but seeing you desperate is just too much fun. I'm afraid we'd better lie low for a while."

Scorpius searched the streets, looking for the large gang of Potters and Weasleys. He wasn't actually sure if they were going to be there…they hadn't had time to send a return owl. As the three had nothing left to buy and were done with their light—and potentially foul-smelling—shopping, they went to search for James, Teddy, and Victoire. After dissuading Scorpius from both his attempts to buy a portable swamp and to enter Knocturn Alley, they found themselves outside an ice cream parlor. They couldn't believe their luck when they saw a boy with bright purple hair waving to them. Bel noticed that Teddy and Victoire were sitting very close together and she grinned.

"How's the happy couple?" Bel whispered.

James positively beamed at Bel. Teddy and Victoire, however, found this far from entertaining. They turned bright red and subconsciously moved farther apart, looking around frantically to make sure none of the younger additions of the family heard.

Victoire glowered at James accusingly. "You told her?"

James held his hand over his mouth, pretending to look guilty. "Oops!"

Cat shrieked. "I KNEW IT! I knew it! I knew it! Scorpius, pay up!"

At this point, Scorpius looked from Teddy to Victoire, and down at their twined hands and sunk down in the wicker chair. Cat nudged Scorpius, putting a hand on her hip and holding the other one out in front of her. Cat looked quite pleased as Scorpius rolled his eyes and emptied five galleons into her hand. Cat was waving her winnings in all of their faces when a tall man made his way toward them.

Lucius was not happy, to say the least, when he saw who Bel, Cat, and Scorpius were fraternizing with. He forced a cruel smile onto his face as he strode over to them. His eyes flitted from James and Albus first, then to Lily and the other Weasley children. "Do I see two Potters? And what a surprise! Oh look how many Weasleys! It seems that history has repeated itself. Your family has always had more children than could be…well…financially supported."

Lilly rolled her eyes, resigned to being being grouped with her cousins instead of her elder brothers. Victoire looked offended, clearly not pleased with the man's assumptions about her family, although unsure if she had been included in the statement or not. She was usually not confrontational, so it came as a surprise when she stood. She had a dangerous look on her face. "You must be Lucius Malfoy. Don't you worry. I assure you, we get along just fine. Mr. Malfoy, why don't you sit down? You aren't looking well… I'm sure no one would think any lesser of you if you took a brief minute to relax." She offered her chair to him.

Bel was fairly certain she saw a vein popping on her uncle's forehead. For a brief moment he looked murderous, but he quickly changed his expression. Scorpius realized the fingers he used to clutch his walking stick were white. "Thank you for your concern, Dear, but I assure you that a rest will not be necessary. I have come to collect these three." Lucius pointed to them with his cane. "Come along now, children. We must be getting on our way. Say goodbye to your…friends."

Scorpius, Cat, and Bel, slightly embarrassed by their guardian's behavior, waved sheepishly as they scrambled down the alley. The family waved to them, all slightly taken aback. Teddy muttered some nasty words under his breath and Victoire burned a hole in the back of Lucius's head until he disappeared from sight.