"Chapter 3: The Letters From No One; does that mean your Hogwarts Letter, my dear?"
"Maybe…" I said with a mischievous look in my eyes. Minister Fudge just nodded and began reading.
The escape of the boa constrictor earned Raven her longest-ever punishment. By the time she was allowed out of her cupboard again, the summer holidays had started, and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote-control airplane, and first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.
There were several 'That's awful.'s and 'Poor Mrs. Figg's. Throughout the entire hall, from all four tables including the Slytherin table, which was a surprise.
Raven was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader. The rest of them were all quite happy to join Dudley's favorite sport: Raven Hunting.
There was a sound of growls coming from the two canines in the Great Hall at the sound of that. Minster Fudge looked at me with concern for the first time. I just glared at those who were once my friends. "Still think I should've been left there every summer, you four?" I said, in a voice so cold it would've scared Voldemort to run in the other direction. The three children at the very least had the decency to look down in shame. Mrs. Weasley, on the other hand looked impassive. Umbridge, looked intrigued by the concept of 'Raven Hunting'. Upon seeing her face, Fudge scowled, turned to me, and whispered so that Umbridge could not hear him: "Remind me to fire Delores after these books are finished, Miss. Potter."
"Oh, I will, Sir, I will," I whispered back, smiling mischievously.
This is why Raven spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering and thinking about the end of the holidays, where she could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came, she would be going off to secondary school, and, for the first time in her life, she wouldn't be with Dudley. Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings. Piers Polkiss was going there too. Raven, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local public school.
"WHAT!?!" Everyone yelled at once making the two canines in the room whimper in pain.
"Did they not tell you about your Hogwarts letter?" McGonagall asked me. I smirked.
"I hadn't received it yet. and when we did…well, it's discussed in this chapter." I said, still smirking. At that explanation, everyone nodded.
Dudley thought it was very funny.
"They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told Raven. "Want to come upstairs and practice?"
"No, thanks," said Raven. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it — it might be sick." Then she ran before Dudley could work out what she'd said.
This caused everyone in the Great Hall to laugh including some of the more serious of the professors. "Smart girl to run, he might've beat you up for that one," Remus whispered to me so no one else heard.
"It was very Slytherin of you, Raven, to run like that," Draco said smirking. "Which begs the question…Why aren't you in said house?"
"There's a reason for that, Draco… which will be answered in a later chapter," I said. "However, looking back on it, I regret that event," I said, looking thoughtful about said event, before turning towards Minister Fudge to continue.
One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Raven at Mrs. Figg's. Mrs. Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before. She let Raven watch television and gave her a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years.
At the mention of the cake, poor Remus silently cried. I patted his shoulder comfortingly. Draco looked at our old Professor as if he were crazy. "He's a bit obsessed with chocolate, and if he hears it being mistreated, well, you see the results," I explained to those who didn't know what was wrong with poor Remus. Padfoot whined and nudged Remus' hand trying to comfort him as well.
That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters. They also carried knobby sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life.
There were several cries of outrage at the sound of the use of the knobby sticks from the majority of not just the adults in the room, but also the students as well. The only adult in the room that seemed to think it was a good idea was Umbridge. The fashionistas also were appareled at the sound of the clashing outfit.
As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudlelykins, he looked so handsome and grown-up. Raven didn't trust herself to speak. She thought two of her ribs might already might have cracked from trying not to laugh. There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Raven went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. She went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming grey water.
"What's this?" She asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if she dared to ask a question.
"Your new school uniform." She said.
Raven looked in the bowl again.
"Oh," she said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet."
At that, the whole Hall erupted into laughter. "Raven, have we ever told you we love your sense of humor." The Weasley Twins said together between their laughter. I smiled. As soon as he had stopped laughing Remus turned to me and said:
"As funny as that is, sarcasm will not work on Petunia Dursley neé Evens, I am afraid."
"Yeah, I know that now, Remus," I said smiling.
"Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dying some of my old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I'm finished."
Raven seriously doubted this but thought it best not to argue. She sat down at the table and tried not to think about how she was going to look on her first day at Stonewall High-- like she was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably.
Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of Raven's uniform. Uncle Vernon opened the newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table.
They heard the click of the mail slot and the flop of letters on the doormat.
"Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his newspaper.
"Make Raven get it."
"Get the mail, Raven." Deciding it was best not to argue, with them, Raven got up and went to retrieve the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and-- a letter for Raven.
Raven picked it up and stared at it, her heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever in her whole life, had written to her. Who would?
There were a series of "What?!? What happened to all of your fan mail, surely you got those?" Throughout the entire hall. I was shocked. 'Fan mail?' I thought to myself. I shook my head.
"No, I never got any fan mail, from anyone. I'm sorry." I said looking down at my lap. It was Bill who grabbed my hands, making me look up at him.
"It's not your fault, Raven. Someone must've been intercepting your mail, and I can reassure you it wasn't the Goblins at Gringotts, and they're the only ones who would have authority to do such a thing. I asked them when I became a curse breaker for them, and you weren't responding to any of the letters from our family. I had a gut feeling it wasn't because you were being conceded, so I asked if they had been intercepting any of your fan mail, and they reassured me that they hadn't seen any of your fan mail either. It must've been someone else. Who? That's a mystery." Bill explained. I rubbed my forehead frustrated.
"I will have it looked into, Miss. Potter. I promise." Minister Fudge said looking at me very much concerned about how much he was learning about my past. I nodded. However, Umbridge did not seem to agree…
"Minister I must protest. Need I remind you that she is the one that has been lying about a certain dark lord has returned."
"No, Umbridge…you do not need to remind me of that. However, I'm starting to think it is you who is the liar here… I wonder, why, during her hearing did you insist that it be bumped up to a full-scale trial? Also, why during said trial, did you question an unnamed ministry personnel of setting two dementors after this girl when that was clearly not what Albus was getting at?" Minister Fudge asked. At this point, Umbridge was sweating bullets. "One last question, this one getting right to the point, and I want the truth, or we will administer Veritetsirum… Did you send the two dementors after Raven and her cousin in an attempt to get her expelled for the underaged wizard use of magic outside of school?" There was a defying silence as everyone waiting for Umbridge's answer. Umbridge just glared at me, which I returned only 3 times as harshly, making her cower. She finally sighed, looked at Minister Fudge, and nodded. Fudge shook his head disgusted with Umbridge. "You, Delores Umbridge are hereby fired from all of your ministry positions, which includes that of your Hogwarts Inquisitor position. Which, in case it surpassed you, means you can no longer make rules for the school, or use the Ministry's power to get away with things that other Professors can't, such as but not limited to, the use of Blood Quills on students for the use of lines. If I find out that these things are continuing to happen you will be removed from your position here at Hogwarts as well, and I will make it impossible for you to get another job anywhere else. Keep this in mind. Go sit with your co-workers, Professor Umbridge." Minister Fudge said stressing the title of 'Professor, at the end of his speech. At the sound of her using Blood Quills on the students, the professors who were not aware of her doing such a thing to their students gasped in horror. However, when they realized she would not be allowed to use them ever again, the whole Great Hall erupted into cheers. Then Minister Fudge turned to address all of us. "First off, I'd like to apologize for sending such a despicable woman to teach the next generation of wizards and witches. Secondly, I'd like to announce that all of the rules that she has made up to this point are now void. For the younger children, this means that they are no longer rules. Third, I will be helping our new headmistress, Professor McGonagall, with setting up a new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, for after this year. The reason for this is that Professor Umbridge has clearly shown a clear disrespect for her position if the looks of some of your hands are any sign." He said looking down at my hand that up until this point I tried to hide from my friends and family. I blushed when Oliver took my hand in his, as Bill and Charlie looked at Fred and George's hands as well. All three men looked angry for the first time since I had met them. They turned their glares towards Umbridge and were about to curse her out, however Fudge beat them to it. "I know you three are angry, and I do not blame you. However, we need to finish these books." He said, picking up the book where he left off. The two of the eldest of Weasley children along with Oliver, nodded and continued to glare at the woman that had done this to me, and their twin brothers.
She had no friends, no other relatives -- she didn't belong to the library, so she'd never even got rude notes asking for books back. Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake:
Miss. R. Potter
The Cupboard under the Stairs
4 Private Drive
Little Whinging
Surrey
"How'd no one at this school notice that she was being neglected with an address like that?!?" A Hufflepuff I did not know asked. This made Professor McGonagall blush.
"We usually don't check the envelopes for their addresses, and they are written by magical quills that write for us. This will be a change we make in the future, and I'd personally like to extend an apology to you, Miss. Potter. I should've checked your envelope seeing as I knew what type of people you were living with, but something stopped me. I assuming Professor Dumbledore may have had something to do with it, but I'm not one hundred percent on that. If I had checked and found out your living conditions, I would've gone to get you a lot sooner than what had happened." I nodded at her explanation.
"Thank you, Professor. That sets me at ease knowing that you did not mean to ignore the fact that I was being neglected." With that, I turned back to the Minister, and he continued to read.
The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp.
Turning the envelope over, her hand trembling, Raven saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H.
"Hurry up, girl!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke.
Raven went back into the kitchen, after slipping the letter into her cupboard. She handed Uncle Vernon the bill and postcard, sat down, and finished her breakfast. Soon, she was sent back to her cupboard seeing as the Dursleys were going out for the day. After the door to her cupboard was locked, Raven smiled and opened her mysterious letter, and began to read it.
Hogwarts School: of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Miss. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term starts on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
She was shocked, this must be some sort of joke set up by the Dursley's or so she would think if she didn't know them better. She quickly got out her school notebook and wrote a letter to this Minerva, saying she would love to attend her school; however, she had no way of getting the things on the list or any money, not to mention she didn't even know that there was a school called Hogwarts. She then got out her lock pick and picked the lock of her cupboard and left the house to look for an owl, she found one sitting on the garden wall, she handed her letter to it and feeling quite stupid, asked it if it would deliver it to Minerva McGonagall. The owl simply rolled its eyes took the letter in its beak and flew off. She smiled and quickly went back into the house and re-locked herself into her cupboard and hid her letter so that the Dursleys would be none the wiser about what she had done. When the Dursleys got home they unlocked her cupboard and made her make their dinner.
This routine continued on for a few weeks, until it changed one day, when around lunchtime, while the Dursleys were gone, there was a knock on the door, Raven not knowing who it was, stayed in her cupboard. Soon, the knock came again. Raven thinking it was a very persistent salesperson just let them stay out there until she heard the door open. She was scared, someone broke into the house, no one had ever done that before. She was close to panicking. That was until a voice said: "I know you're there, Miss. Potter. You can come out." It was a squeaky male voice.
"Actually, I'm locked in here, sir'."
"I see, when I saw your envelope's address, I had hoped it was a mistake, apparently I was the one mistaken. Very well let me." As the man said that she heard him unlock the cupboard door. Soon it was swung open, letting the light stream in. She also saw a very kind, yet very short man. He was wearing a violet suit with a black walking cane. He smiled up at her as she got out of her cupboard.
"Thank you, sir, but may I ask who you are and how you got into the house. The door was locked, and my guardians have the keys with them."
"To answer the first question, my name is Professor Flitwick, I'm a Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I'm sure you've heard of that school.
"So, you're a wizard?"
"Yes, which should answer your second question." Professor Flitwick said showing her his walking cane. "This is actually a wand, you'll be getting your very own, however, there are some things we need to do before we do that, so if you would fallow me." Raven nodded and followed Professor Flitwick out of the house and down the street.
"And that's the chapter, who'd like to read next?" Minister Fudge asked.
"Wait, Raven…Professor Flitwick came to get you?" Oliver asked.
"Yep." I said smiling at the tiny Professor who, in turn smiled right back at me.
"Very well, the question remains, who will read next?"
"I think I will, Sir," Bill said smiling, as the book was handed to him.