The Letters
Alanna Brown barely took notice of the owl that flew into her window one morning, shortly after Halloween. After all, she was getting married, many owls brought R.S.V.P.s throughout the day. She took the letter, gave him some water and sent him on his way. A second owl flew in after breakfast. She put the letter with the first one. She was slightly surprised when yet a third owl flew in her window. This one she recognized. It belonged to her friend Remus Lupin. Alanna wished she had the time to read his letter, but she was late. She was supposed to be meeting her matron-of-honor in Diagon Alley to look for a dress. It was their third such outing, but they had had no luck yet. Alanna's pale complexion, green eyes, and red hair were quite hard to cater to. Alanna arrived at the Leaky Cauldron only five minutes late. She approached the bar.
"Tom, have you seen Lily?" She called to the bartender.
"You mean you're not Lily?" He called back. Alanna smiled. She and Lily looked so much alike people thought they were twins. She took their usual table and sat down to wait for her friend. Alanna was still sitting there an hour later. It's not like Lily to stand me up. She thought, wondering what could have happened to her friend. After waiting an hour longer, Alanna apparated back to her home. She grabbed a quill and parchment and scribbled a note to Lily, demanding to know where she had been. Alanna then went to her room to get ready. She had a date that night with her husband-to-be. The clock in her entrance hall struck seven. He didn't come. Seven-thirty. He still wasn't there. Alanna was disappointed. He was rather punctual, except when it came to getting to classes. He and James, Lily's husband, were always late. They also had a tendency to play pranks on people. Alanna remembered Remus' letter and decided to read it while waiting for her fiancé.
Dear Alanna,
I don't know how to tell you this. I wish I could tell you in person, but there is a full moon tonight. That and the Ministry doesn't want us to speak to each other before we are interviewed. An official is reading this letter. Lily and James were attacked. You-Know-Who killed them. How? You know that Sirius was their Secret-Keeper. Alanna, he betrayed them. He handed them over to You-Know-Who. The Ministry has him, but Peter tracked him down first. He killed poor Wormtail. Harry survived. When You-Know-Who tried to kill him, the curse reflected back onto the Dark Lord, killing him. Dumbledore has sent Harry someplace safe. No one will tell me where. They think I might be in cahoots with You-Know-Who. I hope you read this before you read the Ministry's letters. Please don't do anything rash. I know how you feel about Sirius, but this is bad. He will probably get life in Azkaban. I didn't know how to start this and I don't know how to end it. I'll be seeing you soon. Don't lose hope.
Moony
Alanna never doubted that letter. There were tear smudges all over. It was barely legible, Remus had been shaking so hard when he wrote it. Alanna's hand crept over to the other letters of its own free will. The first one was from the Minister of Magic, ordering her to present herself at the Ministry the following day. The other letter was from Professor Dumbledore. He had taught all of them at Hogwarts. He was Headmaster there now. He offered his condolences and said that if she needed anything, she could go to him. Alanna was surprised at the letters. And yet she wasn't surprised. Of course they would blame Sirius. Everyone thought that he had been the Potter's Secret-Keeper. Alanna knew better. It was Pettigrew who had betrayed them. That slimy rat was working for Voldemort all along. Sirius had told her the week before. Unfortunately, they hadn't even told Dumbledore. No one would listen to her. Alanna drowned herself in a bottle of vodka she kept around to cook with.