Disclaimer- Sadly, I do not own the copyrights to Harry Potter or Hogwarts. Any mention of either, or other various characters from her books, belong solely to JK Rowling. However, the plot and Jesssica, as well as her relatives, Serenity, and Mr. Clarkson are of my own creation.
Finally, Destiny
A light knock was heard on the heavy door of the cabin. Serenity looked up, trying her best not to get her hopes up, but failing miserably. A day hadn't passed in her captivity that she didn't dream up another way of escaping. Two of her most favorite were when a young visitor would come and her capture would let her out of her cage, perhaps to show her off a bit, and before he knew what happened, she would fly away. The other included the spindly Professor Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts, appearing inside the cabin, placing his hand on top of her makeshift cage of barbed wire, and simply disappearing with her. Of course, neither had ever happened, but there was always the hope that one would..
Mr. Clarkson appeared behind her, his silvery hair ruffled as if he'd just awoken and wearing his plaid pajamas, a pair he had received from his wife nearly twenty years ago. "Now, who could that be, Cynthany? "
Serenity ruffled her feathers and let out a loud hoot, displeased at the name he had been calling her for the last few years.
The old man shuffled across the wooden floor, in flannel slippers, towards the front door and opened it, allowing a cold blast of wind to enter, chilling the cabin that so obviously didn't need it. The cold was forgotten when Serenity saw the girl at the door. It was the young witch to whom she had been supposed to deliver the letter.
She ruffled her feathers, hooted loudly, and moved around rapidly in her cage, all to get the young one's attention. When finally Jessica's eyes did fall upon the owl, Serenity let the letter drop from her wing and between the barbed wire of her cage onto the floor.
"Come in, dear. It has been so long since I've seen you." He paused, as if trying to think. "Good heavens, it's your fourteenth birthday. Is it not?"
Jessica smiled, still staring at the owl curiously, her eyes drifting to the parchment on the floor. "It is. My mother shooed me out of the house before she was tempted to end my life at fourteen. She didn't see it as a great birthday present."
Mr. Clarkson chuckled turning back to the mostly bare room, stopping abruptly as he stooped down to the floor to pick up the parchment Serenity had dropped. "It seems the wind blew in something of yous," He handed it to her and she took it, scanning the front, surprised to see her name scrawled in ink.
She was about to object, tell him that she'd never seen the parchment before, but she chose that moment to look at Serenity. She didn't know why, but she now knew that this letter was hers; not just because of the obvious, her name scrawled on the front, but the meaningful look the owl seemed to be giving her.
Although the aged letter stayed on her mind during the entire visit, Mr. Clarkson soon forgot about it. He busied himself with making hot chocolate and idle conversation, pleased to have a visitor. After an hour's worth of "catching up on good times," as Mr. Clarkson put it, Jessica felt it was time to go. Feeling the parchment, now tucked into her jeans' pocket, she stood and smiled at the elderly man. "I've had a great time, Mr. Clarkson, but I'm afraid I should be going home now. I'll be sure to visit again."
This seemed to suit him quite fine, especially the part of a future visit, and Jessica was soon walking in a hurried pace towards her home, eager to open the letter that would forever change her life.