CHAPTER 37: HATE MAIL

Artimus nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He checked his watch, then lifted his eyes to the ornate oak door with gold trim embedded in the brick wall at the end of the small alley. The door was one of the entry points to Haypippil Square from Muggle Washington, the door he had specially charmed so Jenna could use it without having to be accompanied by any magical persons.

The door Jenna would be walking through any minute.

Emotions crashed against his insides like churning waves. One moment he worried how Jenna would react when she saw that horrible article from The All-Seeing Eye, the next he felt nothing but anger toward his father.

How could he do this?

Again he checked his watch. Again he checked the door. In the three years he'd been with Jenna, this was the first time he actually dreaded seeing her.

The door opened. Artimus tensed as Jenna stepped into the alley.

"Hey, Artimus." She smiled at him, though not as vibrantly as usual. Classes, studying for finals, and the preparations for the wedding had put all sorts of stress on Jenna.

And I'm about to add to it.

He greeted her with a quick kiss on the lips. "Um, how was your day?"

"Ugh! We had a pop quiz in Psychiatric Nursing so we could get ready for our final exam, at least that's what that hag I have for a professor claims. I think she just likes torturing us. And I know totally messed up on it." Jenna adjusted her shoulder bag as she walked side-by-side with Artimus toward their apartment. "Then spent about three hours in the library trying to finish up my seminar project. I must have checked every fact and figure in there three times. Maybe four." She then emitted a harsh sigh. "Oh jeez, then I still have to check and see if Samantha's bridesmaid dress is in, and make sure we have enough seats for the wedding and for the reception. I swear, if I don't wind up in a psych ward before all this is over, it'll be a miracle."

Artimus swallowed. He put an arm around Jenna, wondering if he should just hide today's copy of The All-Seeing Eye and not bother telling her about it.

No. She needs to know this.

"So how was your day?" she asked. "Hopefully better than mine. Didn't you have lunch with Rosa, Jared and Tasanee?"

"Yeah."

"How are they doing?"

"Um . . . fine."

Jenna's brow furrowed. "Artimus, are you okay?"

"Um . . . uh . . ."

She jumped in front of him, causing him to stop. "Artimus, what is it?"

He chewed on his lower lip, his eyes darting in all directions. "Um, there's um . . . there's something I need to show you."

Jenna tilted her head. "What?"

"Um . . . it's back at the apartment."

She fixed him with a puzzled look. Artimus expected her to demand she tell him what was going on. Instead she just said, "Okay."

Five minutes later they entered their apartment.

"So, what's with all the drama?" Jenna asked as she put down her bag.

Slowly, Artimus walked to the coffee table in their living room. His eyes narrowed at the copy of The All-Seeing Eye, the copy he would love to turn to ashes with an Incendio.

He reached down and picked up the newspaper. He had to force himself to turn around and walk back to Jenna.

"Um . . . re-read Page . . . Page Thirty-Five."

She gave him a curious gaze. "Okay." She took the paper, sat in one of the living room chairs and turned to the appropriate page.

Tension spread through every inch of Artimus' body as he stared at his fiancé. He found it hard to breathe as he waited for Jenna to get to the worst part of that damn article, and wondered how she'd react.

If she cries because of this . . .

Jenna's nose wrinkled. "Oh my God. Some woman in her thirties married a wizard who's a hundred and eight. Ew! Seriously, this is what you wanted me to see?"

"No. Keep reading."

She did.

"Jeez, they're pretty harsh on Jimmy. All he's doing is . . . is . . ."

Jenna's eyes widened. She gripped the newspaper tighter. "What the . . . what's my name doing in this?"

Artimus shuddered as Jenna kept reading. Her jaw dropped. She slowly shook her head. A minute later she began taking short, angry breaths. Her eyes bulged. Artimus wondered how far she'd gotten in the article.

"That bastard!" She slammed the newspaper on the floor and shot out of the chair. "That lying son-of-a-bitch!" She quickly walked up and down the living room. "How can he say all that? How can that damn rag print all that?"

"Um, well, um . . . I mean, we do have freedom of the press here, just like in the Muggle World."

"And that makes it okay! Jenna flung her arms out to her side. "Your father accused me of using you to influence the Secretary of Magic. He accused me of being a damn gold-digger!"

"No, it doesn't make it okay. He was out of line doing that."

"Out of line! That's all you can say? After all the crap he said about me? About us?" Jenna turned away, pressing her hands against the sides of her head.

Artimus went over to her and wrapped his hands around her waist. He gently pulled her against his torso and kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry, honey. I'm so sorry about this."

Jenna sighed. "It's not your fault. It's your father's fault. It's that damn newspaper's fault."

He continued holding her against him, feeling her rapid, angry breaths. They served to fuel his own fury. A mental image of his father formed in his mind's eye.

Damn that man! Damn him for upsetting Jenna like this. He'd been out of his life for more than five years? Why the hell couldn't he leave him alone? Why the hell couldn't he just let him live his own life and be happy?

Why did he have to humiliate the woman he loved?

Artimus let go of Jenna and stomped over to the fireplace. He snatched a handful of Floo Powder from the urn.

"What are you doing?" Jenna asked.

"I'm going to see my father, and tell him to apologize to you, and to stay the hell out of our lives."

He flung the powder into the fireplace. Green flames whooshed out of the hearth.

"The Rand Mansion."

He stepped toward the flames.

"Artimus, wait."

He nearly stumbled in shock at Jenna's request. He spun around to face her. "Wait for what?"

She stared at the floor for a few moments before continuing. "I don't . . . please, don't go to your father's."

"Why not?"

"I just . . . I just don't want to see this turn into a big fight."

Artimus blinked, shock gripping him. "But what about all the stuff he said about you? All those lies? A minute ago you were mad, and now . . ."

"I am mad. But . . . what if you go over there to argue with your father, and it makes him so mad he does other stuff, stuff to try and ruin our wedding. Artimus, I want it to be a special day for us. I don't want anything to jeopardize that."

Artimus groaned. "He shouldn't get away with this. Dammit, he always gets away with stuff like this."

"Art, please." Jenna laid a hand on his chest. "This is . . . this is just like those supermarket tabloids we have in the Muggle World. They print all kinds of crap about celebrities. Most people don't believe them. It's probably the same in the Wizarding World. And the people who do believe them, well, like we care about their opinions."

Artimus' jaw stiffened. He didn't agree with Jenna. He wanted, needed, to confront his father over this, to get right in his face and tell him exactly what he thought of him, and to never say another bad word about Jenna.

"Artimus, please."

He stared into his fiancé's pleading eyes, recalled what she had said about how an argument with his father could ruin their wedding. That day meant so much to Jenna, to both of them.

Artimus sighed and placed both hands on Jenna's shoulders. "All right."

XXXXX

The next morning, Artimus shuffled into the kitchen. With a few waves of his wand coffee began brewing, oatmeal and toast were made, and grapefruit was sliced. He then went to the door to get today's edition of The All-Seeing Eye. He hesitated for a moment. Did he really want anything more to do with that rag after what they had printed about Jenna? He then thought about the letters to the editor section. Maybe some wizards and witches had written to express their outrage over the article.

Artimus opened the door, retrieved today's All-Seeing Eye, and headed back to the kitchen. He took a bite of his toast and turned to the letters to the editor section.

What a brilliant idea by Secretary Infante. Let Muggles pocket the fortunes of witches and wizards. What's next? Letting them have wands?

The next one read, Many magical families have worked for centuries to acquire the wealth they have today. How can the Secretary of Magic allow for Muggles who happen to know of our existence to just waltz into our world and waltz out with all our money?

And the one after that, Sounds like this Jenna Muggle woman is proving you don't need an Imperius Curse to control the actions of other people. She just bats her eyes at some wizard and he helps undo hundreds of years of law and tradition. I hope Ulysses Rand keeps a sharp eye on his money before the Muggle makes off with it.

Artimus crushed the edge of his toast with his thumb and index finger. A rain of crumbs fell onto the table. Moments later, the entire toast dropped to the table and bounced onto the floor. Artimus barely paid it mind, instead scanning the rest of the section for letters that denounced yesterday's article.

He found none. He had a feeling his father's influence with The All-Seeing Eye had something to do with that.

"Good morning, hon." Jenna walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek. He turned to her, jaw stiffened.

"What's wrong?" She shifted her gaze toward The All-Seeing Eye. Her eyes narrowed and she let out a frustrated sigh. "My God, this is ridiculous."

With another harsh sigh, she took her seat at the table and sipped her coffee.

"I'm sorry, Jenna."

She shook her head. "It's not your fault. It's just a bunch of idiots. Still, I can't believe they'd -"

A tapping came from the window. Artimus saw a brown owl on the window sill, an envelope in its beak.

Brow furrowed, he got up and headed over to the window. Who would send us an owl this early in the morning?

He opened the window. The owl flew inside and landed on the table next to Jenna. She gave the bird a curious gaze before taking the envelope and opening it.

"Oh for crying out loud!"

"What is it?" Artimus headed back to the table.

"It's hate mail." Jenna shook the letter in front of her. "I actually got hate mail. 'Hey lady. How dare you try to rob from one of the oldest and most respected magical families in America? You should be ashamed of yourself.'"

"Who sent you that?"

"I don't know. The a-hole didn't bother signing it."

Anger flared inside Artimus. He couldn't believe this was –

Another owl flew into their apartment. Then another. Both carried hate mail for Jenna. Neither had a return address.

You're the type of Muggle that gives the rest of your kind a bad name. Keep your grubby hands off our money.

The third letter sent a shiver of fear through Artimus.

Hey, Muggle. Go back to your own world, if you know what's good for you.

"You're staying here today," Artimus said in a flat tone.

Jenna's head whipped around toward him. "What?"

"You saw that last letter. 'Go back to your own world, if you know what's good for you.' That's a threat, Jenna. This scum just threatened you, because of that stupid article, because of what my damn father said. There's no way you're leaving this apartment today."

"Art, I can't just stay cooped up here. I have classes. I have finals to get ready for."

"Your life is more important to me than some tests."

"They're just stupid letters. Just a bunch of words."

"And that's how it starts!" Artimus flung out his arms. "First it's words, then people act on those words. How do you think the Death Eaters got started?"

Jenna rolled her eyes. "Now you're overreacting."

"Dammit, Jenna, I'm not gonna let you get hurt. If one of these lunatics comes after you, what are you going to be able to do about it?"

"Oh, well forgive me for not being lucky enough to be a Muggle-born like my sister." Jenna got to her feet. "I guess without a wand I'm useless."

"That's not what I mean. I . . ." Artimus bit his lip. Is this what his father wanted? For he and Jenna to fight? For that damn article to drive a wedge between them? Threaten their relationship?

No. I'm not letting that bastard win.

He took a calming breath. "Jenna, I'm sorry for yelling. It's just . . . I love you. If anything happened to you, I . . . I don't know what I'd do."

Jenna gave him a sympathetic look. She reached out and took hold of his hand. "Art, I know you mean well. But we can't let people like this rule our lives. I'll be fine. Please, let's not overreact to this."

Shoulders slumped, Artimus stared at his feet before answering. "Yeah, all right."

Jenna smiled at him. "Thank you." She kissed him on the cheek.

They went back to eating breakfast. Before they finished, four more owls showed up, all bearing hate mail for Jenna.

XXXXX

Artimus nervously waited by the alley door, wondering if he should have just Apparated to Jenna's school and rode back with her. He had popped in a couple times at the college during the course of the day, staying out of sight while checking on her. Thankfully, nothing happened to her.

Maybe she was right. Maybe that one letter was just an empty threat.

Still he wished he just met her by her car in the school parking lot. But had he done that, Jenna would have been very upset with him.

I'd rather she be upset with me than –

The door opened. Much to his relief, Jenna walked through.

"Hi, honey." His voice trailed when he noticed the sour look on his fiancé's face. "Uh, is everything all right?"

Jenna stomped up to him, holding a stack of envelopes. "You know where I found these? On the hood of my car. I came out after class and there they were."

"Did you read any of them?"

"Why bother? It's the same crap I got this morning." She brushed past him and marched up to a trash can near the cobblestone street. Jenna flung all the envelopes into it.

"C'mon," she muttered. "I just wanna go home."

When they got back to the apartment, Artimus offered to make dinner. Jenna agreed, then went into the bedroom to study until it was time to eat.

Artimus grabbed a cookbook and flipped through it until he came to baked chicken breasts. That would be easy and quick. He pointed his wand at the icebox when something tapped on the window.

Enough already, please.

He tried to ignore it, instead reading the recipe.

Two distinct taps came from the window. Seconds later there was a third.

A fourth . . . a fifth . . . six . . . seven . . . eight different beaks rapped on the window. Artimus tensed, wondering if the glass would shatter. Wondering if Jenna could hear –

"Dammit, how can I think with all that racket!" she shouted from the bedroom. "Artimus, will you please get rid of them!"

"Gladly," he muttered under his breath and stomped to the window. His blood boiled when he saw nearly a dozen owls on the sill, hopping over one another and tapping on the glass.

Artimus shut his eyes and cast a Flare Charm. He sensed a bright white light fill the living room. He waited a few seconds before opening his eyes. All the owls had leapt off the window sill and flew over the roof of the building across from their apartment.

He walked into the bedroom and saw Jenna sitting cross-legged on the bed, books and folders spread out of the blanket. She rubbed her forehead before looking up at him.

"They're gone," he told her.

"Thanks." She snorted and lowered her head, staring at one of her nursing books.

Artimus frowned and slid back into the living room.

"Artimus."

He turned back to Jenna. "Yes?"

"I'm . . . I'm sorry for yelling at you like that. It's just . . . God, there's so much going on already, and now that article and this stupid hate mail. You must think I'm turning into a world class bitch."

"No. I don't think that at all. You've got a lot on your mind. I saw people act the way you are back at Salem when we had our finals. You'll get through it."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." She smiled at him.

"Any time."

"And thanks for getting rid of all those stupid owls. I swear if one more -"

Something tapped on the window.

"Oh for . . ." Jenna clenched her jaw, her head trembling in anger.

"I'll take care of it. You just stay here and study."

Artimus headed back into the living room and saw a grayish owl on the window sill. Scowling, he raised his wand, ready to cast another Flare Charm.

That's when he noticed the envelope, orange with black trim. Envelopes like that only came from one place. The Fantimoor School of Magical Study.

Samantha's school.

"Jenna, I think you should come out here."

He heard a moan coming from the bedroom. Seconds later Jenna entered the living room, looking rather perturbed. "What?" She then caught sight of the owl, and her eyes narrowed.

"It's not hate mail for you, hon. It's from Fantimoor."

Jenna drew her head back. "I wonder what this is about?"

Artimus wondered that, too. He didn't think Sam had gotten in trouble. During her three years at Fantimoor, she'd only received detention once.

Could she be hurt?

He opened the window and let the owl in. It flew onto the kitchen table and waited for Jenna to take the envelope from its beak. Artimus got the bird a treat, then stood next to Jenna as she read the letter.

Dear Miss Fabrici,

I wish to inform you that your sister, Samantha, was the victim of a full-body Deboning Curse, which she suffered this afternoon.

"What!" Jenna's eyes widened. Her hand jumped to her chest. "Deboning Curse? Artimus, what does . . . did they . . . they took away her bones?"

"Well, yes . . ."

Panic flared on Jenna's face.

"But don't worry. All they need to do is give her some Skele-Gro." He bit his lip, deciding it was best not to let Jenna know that regrowing bones was a long and painful process.

The color drained from Jenna's face. Her breathing increased. "Why? Why would someone do this to her?"

They returned their attention to the letter.

Let me assure you that Samantha is being cared for by our school nurse, and has been given a potion called Skele-Gro. Within a day or two, all of Samantha's bones will be completely restored.

The culprits have been identified as Merwin Rikard and Oscar Hinkle, a pair of Sixth Year boys here at Fantimoor.

"Sixth Years!" Jenna blurted. "Sam's only a Third Year, for God's sake."

Artimus felt his cheeks turn red with anger as they continued reading.

Both have been severely punished, especially after what they told me was the reason behind their assault on Samantha. Both boys cited the article from yesterday's All-Seeing Eye accusing you of marrying the son of Ulysses Rand solely for financial gain. Rikard and Hinkle come from very well-to-do families whose roots go back in this country long before The Great Break.

That being said, I assure you, Miss Fabrici, that we here at Fantimoor do not tolerate these sorts of actions by any of our students, no matter their social standing or financial status. Your sister is a bright, well-liked young witch, and we are blessed to have her at Fantimoor. Please know this, the vast majority of students and staff at this school do not support the views expressed in that article. I hope this incident does not cast Fantimoor in an unfavorable light with you. We will strive to make sure such a thing does not happen in the future.

Regards,

Obadiah Augustine

Headmaster, Fantimoor School of Magical Study.

"This is unbelievable." Jenna crushed the letter in her hand. "It's bad enough these jackasses are sending me hate mail, but now they're going after my sister? She's only thirteen!"

"Jenna." Artimus put a hand on her shoulder. "You have every right to be mad. But Samantha's going to recover, and the headmaster said he'd make sure this doesn't happen again."

"What, is he going to personally walk my sister to every class? Assign her bodyguards? The people at Fantimoor can't be around her all the time."

"I'm sure they'll do the best they can."

"That's not good enough. Not when we're talking about my sister." Jenna stormed across the living room, flinging the crumpled piece of parchment against the wall. She then took a breath and spun around to face him. "Why did you have to let your father know about our wedding?"

Artimus scrunched his face in bewilderment. "Huh?"

"Because you wanted to show him you could be a success on your own? To shove all his insults, all those years of putting you down, back in his face? Well now look what's happened. He says all that stuff in the paper. Owls are flying in here one after the other, and a couple of spoiled little assholes put a curse on my sister!"

"Jenna . . ." He took a step toward her.

"When is it gonna end, Artimus? Is this just gonna go on and on? Hate mail every day? My sister living in fear of being attacked every day? Is this what it's going to be like being married to you?"

Artimus' chest tightened. His feet stayed glued to the carpet. "Wha . . . what are you saying?"

Jenna's lips parted. Her mouth hung open, silently.

"Jenna?" Worry flooded his voice.

Jenna's jaw trembled. Her eyes watered. "I . . . I . . ."

A sob escaped her throat before she hurried into the bedroom and slammed the door.

Artimus stood statue still as he heard his fiancé crying through the closed door.

Fear consumed him. Would he be able to call Jenna his fiancé for much longer?

TO BE CONTINUED