This is just a plot bunny: all ownership belongs to J.K. Rowling.
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Dear my unknown daughter,
I hope when you get this letter you are safe, loved and unbelievably happy. I hope when you read this you can forgive this foolish mother: I am not taking this choice lightly. I have loved you from that first kick, and because I love you I must leave you to this cruel twist of fate.
You are the daughter of an ancient line of pureblooded wizards. You my dear daughter are a Nott.
You are one of two growing within my womb; two beautiful children I suspect I will never live long enough to meet. Two children that this foolish, vile mother will forever have to separate; for I can hide a daughter but never an heir.
This society will expect so much for you to be, but happy is never one of those expectations. My dearest daughter I can not live with the thought that you will end up like me: trapped to a man who is only using my womb. If your father were to raise you, I know he will be cruel and unforgiving.
You will be expected to be perfect in every way, and you will be auctioned off to the highest bidder for a bride. You will never be allowed to fall in love, you will never be allowed to have friends or lovers beneath your station, and you never be allowed to be your own person with passions and interests. Your only use as a daughter is to produce an heir to your family lines.
I hope you can forgive me for taking the choice away from you, and I hope you can forgive your brother: I know how he will be raised, and I know by the choice I have made, there is only one way how he will ever treat you. I know it won't mean much, but please, treat him with kindness for I fear he will have never known it growing up with the monster he will call father.
I need you to know that I choose these remarkable muggles to raise you. I have watched them over the course of my pregnancy and I couldn't dream of a better family to entrust you with. Your new father is the brother of the love of my life: a love I will never know. They are a sound couple, and have nothing but love for one another. And because I am leaving you with muggles, I know your struggle in life will not be easy.
You are a witch my girl, never forget that: being raised as a muggleborn will not change that. Your power is yours and yours alone regardless of birth. The society that I have removed you from, will never take you seriously, and will be very ignorant towards you. But being a muggleborn, my daughter, you will live free. Please forgive me for cursing you to the life of an outcast.
There are never enough words to say to a child you will never know. I will never get to apologize to your face, I will never get to dry an eye or share in your joy. There are so many things I will never get to do or say to you; and that I think is my only regret at becoming a parent.
My hope and dreams for you my little girl, is that you live. You live a life worth having, and are surrounded by love, joy, and happiness. Because from the beginning, you have been my greatest joy, my sweetest love, and have brought me a bittersweet sense of happiness.
All my love,
Your Mother,
Chiara Nott
~Start of Fifth year~
~Average age is between 15-16~
Time seems to have caught up with me as I reread this letter for the hundredth time; each time my hand shakes a little less, and my mind pieces more and more together.
From the time it was released to me from Gringotts to now: I no longer have the increased heart rate, nor am I struggling to sleep. Everything is starting to make sense.
I have always known I was adopted, and when I got my Hogwarts letter I was so nervous that my parents would give me up because of how much extra work I was going to be. But having this piece of paper from this woman who has been dead for years has given me such peace I didn't think I'd ever know.
Unfortunately it has opened a whole new dilemma, especially when I know who my brother is. How would he take it? How would I give him proof? He will question the integrity of this letter, seeing as it is just a technicality that I got it released to me now-he will without a doubt call it fake and will drag me even further through the mud.
I fall back on my bed and let out the largest sigh I could muster out of my body: how the hell am I supposed to do this?
My eyes wander over to the paper laying limp in my hand, my thumb strokes the yellowed parchment: and I sit up in an instant. A letter.
I can send him a letter explaining this all, maybe send him a copy of this one, and maybe just maybe he will be open minded enough to actually talk about this. It's not great, but as I see it, It is my only option.
Opening my trunk, I carefully dig through it for a fresh sheet of parchment along with my ink pot and quill; I figure it will be safer to use wizarding products to be able to reach him without suspicion.
Dear Theodore Nott,
I am writing to you today because I have recently become aware of some knowledge that I feel is only right that you are privy to.
I must stress the fact that I am not using this as blackmail or any other sort of trickery regarding the Nott family.
I have no idea how to gauge you, nor your willingness to accept this information. So I shall be cryptic until I know your sincerity.
All I shall mention in this letter is this: Chiara Nott.
If that name rings any sort of familiarity, I will await your response. If not, please disregard this letter.
Someone closer than you think,
H.J.G
I couldn't think of anything more to say, how can you really say anything like this over a letter? I hope the hint towards his mother is understood and he will act on it.
I tap the ink from the tip of my quill and repack everything into my truck. Tomorrow we leave for Kings Cross for the start of Fifth year, and after how things ended last year, this year promises to go from bad to worse.
Two years ago I played with a time turner for the majority of a year, and for all the hours I went back my magical core was going forward. That one year of extra classes added a year into my magical signature: a whole year of my life dedicated to extra studies. Something at the time I thought very little of, but since the tragedy of last year, the value of time is something that I cannot shake.
How fleeting every summer home feels, like there is never enough hours in the day to enjoy the peace of London. Since the Goblet of Fire, I have made sure to say more I love yous, and to value the muggle part of my life because I don't know how soon, but I know it's coming. There will be a day, where I must sacrifice this part of my life.
I laugh to myself, I wonder if this sacrificing thing is an inherited trait passed on from my biological mother.
Looking around my childhood room, I can feel the uneasiness settling in my veins, and a chill rolls down my spine. Change is coming soon, and if it's good or bad, I have no idea.
I pull my blanket off my bed and wrap it around my shoulders before walking to my door, eager to spend my last night home with my family curled up on the living room couch watching an old rerun movie.
Flipping my bedroom switch off, my letters sitting on my desk, my trunk backed and my clothes set aside for the morning: it looks like every other year before I set off towards Hogwarts. But I know, this is the year that everything will change.
End: Prologue.
