The Secrets of the Past
Chapter 3: A Letter From Home
"Jay?! Lil?! Oh, where are they? James?! Lily?! Harry?! James! Lil…y. NOOOOOOOOOO!"
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" laughed a shrill voice.
"NO!" screamed Miranda as she sat up quickly in her bed. Beads of sweat were running down her face as she began to catch her breath.
The night she found her two best friends murdered still haunts her dreams every now and then. But for some reason her dream has been more frequent and a little bit different. Instead of just seeing her friend's cold dead bodies like she usually does, she heard someone laughing. But it's not and ordinary laugh. This laugh sounded cold, murderous, and evil. As she started to regain her breath, she looked at her alarm clock that was now going off and read the time as 6:15 a.m.
"Great, another day." she said sarcastically as she got out of her bed and turned off her alarm. She stretched out her muscles in her arms and shoulders as she made her way to her bathroom. When she got to her mirror, she opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out her toothbrush and paste and began to brush her teeth like she did every morning. As she looked at herself brushing her teeth, her reflection suddenly stopped brushing.
"You look terrible, girl." said the reflection.
Miranda finished rinsing out her mouth and looked up at her reflection which now had its arms crossed.
"Shut up, Christine. I don't need you antics this morning." said Miranda.
"My aren't we in a foul mood this morning. What prince charming was a no show last night?" asked Christine the reflection.
"I don't want to talk about it." said Miranda in a low voice as she turned to walk into her room again.
"Oh, wow! He must've really screwed up this time." said Christine.
When Miranda reached her full-length mirror that stood in a corner of her room, Christine had reappeared.
"So tell me what the jerk did now." said Christine.
"He didn't do anything, and he's not a jerk." said Miranda as she began to change into a pair of black pants and a white button down blouse for work.
"Well, come on! Tell me! You know you can. I mean I am you after all. Come on! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" wined Christine.
"Look if you must know he didn't screw up. Kevin did show up, but he… we got into a fight and we…" said Miranda as she trailed off.
"You what? What happened?"
"We broke up, o.k.?"
"I don't believe it! What was wrong with him, huh? He was great!" exclaimed Christine.
"It just wasn't meant to be, ok. Let's just drop it." said Miranda as she was finishing up buttoning her shirt, and fixed her long blond hair into a ponytail before putting on her make-up.
"It's never meant to be with you Miranda. You meet a guy. You go out with him, and then the moment you start to get close, you push him away! At this rate you'll never be with anyone." said Christine.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Chris." said Miranda gloomily as she finished putting on some mascara.
"Ya know what I mean. Why can't you just let someone get close?" asked Chris.
"Well if you haven't really noticed I'm not exactly normal here, am I? And I don't want to get into another one of these discussions again, all right? I'm starting to run late." said Miranda in a definite tone.
"Geez, why can't you just get over it! You know, not all men are exactly like…" said Christine before she was interrupted.
"If you even say his name I swear I'll shut you up so fast you won't even know what hit you." said Miranda in a threatening voice that startled her mirror-self.
"Sorry!" said Chris sarcastically. "I forgot no one's suppose to mention his name. Are they?"
"You know damn well what that bastered did to me and the rest of us. As far as I'm concerned he can rot in hell for all I care!" stated Miranda as she started to put on her black leather purse onto her shoulder and head for her bedroom door.
When she got to the front door, she was met, yet again, with her mirror-self at the mirror that hung near the door.
"Where are you going?" asked Chris.
"Work. I'm already running late."
"Are you sure you really want to work at a time like this?"
"Yes, I'm sure. I'll see you when I get back."
"Uh, did you remember your cell phone?" asked Chris
Miranda then turned and walked toward the coffee table in her living area and picked up her cell phone. She then turned around and headed out the door.
"Thanks!" she called as she closed the door behind her.
"Anytime. See ya later." said Christine.
After locking her door, she walked down the three flights of stairs to the busy public street of Paris, France. She started to head down the street toward her favorite café where she went everyday to buy her morning up of coffee. She watched as a number of tourists were looking at their maps and translation books to find out where they were going. She always enjoyed this time of year in Paris. The smell in the air, the warm sun shinning brightly over the beautiful city; it kind of reminded her of when she use to live in New York as a kid, before her and her family moved back to England. When she reached the café she greeted the people who worked there happily and ordered her usual morning coffee. As she left the café, her cell phone rang and she looked at the caller ID that read "Nicole" and answered it.
"Bonjour Nicky." said Miranda
"Hey Miranda. What's up? Where are you?" asked Nicole.
"I'm heading toward the office right now. Where are you?"
"I'm sitting at my desk trying to avoid Richard."
"He's back already? I thought he wouldn't be back from his trip for at least another week or so!"
"I thought so too. But he's here now."
"Great, just what I need now. More of him acting all high and mighty."
"So tell me about Kevin. How did things go last night?"
"I'll tell you when I get there."
"Oh, no. What happened this time?"
"Like I said, I'll tell you when I get there. I'm just about to get into the building see you a few."
"O.K. then. Bye!"
Miranda had finally reached her office building of BLACK CAT ADVERTISING. She walked in with a bunch of other people dressed in suits and ties and walked to the nearest elevator. She then got on and rode up to the twelfth floor of the building. When she got out the receptionist who was busy answering phone calls greeted her.
"Bonjour Ms. Starmenter." said Rachel the receptionist.
"Bonjour Rachel. Any messages for me?" asked Miranda.
"There on you desk. Nicole came and got them for you."
"Thanks. Don't work to hard now." said Miranda as she turned a corner and walked down the hallway, heading toward a room filled with cubicles to get to her office. She greeted a few people while passing through the rows of cubicles and asked a number of the people sitting behind them how their projects and accounts were going. She was only a couple of feet away from her office when she ran into her friend Nicole.
"Hey Andy! How are you?" asked Nicole as she brushed her brown bangs out of her eyes.
"I'm doing o.k. How are things going? What's our day look like?"
"Busy! Mr. Donaldson wants to hold a meeting with all committee heads at one. He says he has some big news or something. We still need to go over the Markmen account and call the people at Jay and Kay to reschedule the photo shoot.
"O.k. then, lets get to work." said Miranda.
"Whoa, wait a minute. So what happened with Kevin."
"Nothing really except…we broke up."
"What? Oh, honey I'm so sorry."
"It's not all his fault though, I mean we just didn't fit together, that's all."
"Didn't fit what exactly?" asked a curious, deep voice from behind the two women.
Miranda and Nicky both stopped and turned around. They were now face to face with a tall, handsome blond hair man with sort of a snobbish attitude.
"Richard, how lovely to see you. How was your trip?" asked Miranda kindly as she tried to suppress the urge slap that smirk right off his face.
"Fine. Although when I came back, I expected to find one of my top people hard at work, instead of talking about her personal life."
"Well, for you information Richard, we were just talking about some new ideas for an account. And besides if I'm not mistaken it sounds to me like you were eavesdropping. Which I know couldn't possibly be true now." said Miranda sweetly.
Richard's face all of a sudden turned bright pink. He stood there a minute dumbfounded and finally turned and walked away, while muttering something under this breath.
"Man, I can't believe that guy. He shouldn't even be the Director of Marketing. The only reason he got the job was because his daddy's best friends with Mr. Donaldson." complained Nicky.
"Yeah. But hey at least I got him to shut up for a few minutes." said Miranda in a more cheerful tone.
"True. Well o.k. then, I'll meet you in your office in five minutes to go over some of the accounts." said Nicky
"O.k. then." stated Miranda as Nicky walked off and down a different hallway.
When Miranda finally reached her office door, she looked up and fixed her nameplate with was slightly off center. The nameplate read: Ms. Miranda C. Starmenter, Co-Assistant Director of Marketing. When she got into her office, she went over to her desk and picked up the messages that were left on her desk. She then went over and opened the blinds on the window that looked out onto the floor of BLACK CAT ADVERTISING. As she sorted threw her messages, there was a knock on her door and Nicky's face popped in.
"Come on in Nick." said Miranda as she made her way to the couch that was across the room from her desk. Nicole did as asked and closed the door behind her.
"So come on tell me what exactly happened with Kevin." said Nicole as she sat down next to Miranda on the black leather couch.
"Well, he came to the restaurant on time and we sat and ate and had a great time. Then we went for a walk and we were talking about bunch of things that were happening to his friends and their girlfriends, and then all of a sudden we got on the subject of moving in together. And then…I don't…I freaked. I told him that I wasn't ready for that type of a commitment. I mean, yeah o.k., we have been going out for like a year and a half, but…I don't know."
"So then what happened after you told him that?"
"He got all upset and said that we should. He told me that he loved me and that he understood what I felt, but he wanted to take the relationship to the next level. Then he said that if I didn't feel the same way then maybe we shouldn't see each other any more. So I told him if that's the way he feels, then fine. And then he left, and…that was it."
"Oh, Andy I'm so sorry." said Nicky.
"I know it seems like I'm never really ready for a serious commitment, but I'm sorry I can't deny what I feel. That's just the way I am." said Miranda who was now looking a bit agitated.
"Well, hey, forget him then. If he can't respect your wishes, then he isn't worth your time." said Nicky in a sympathetic tone. "Come on then, let's just get these accounts done with. Hey maybe tonight we can go out to the club. What do you think?"
"Maybe." said Miranda.
"Hey what's this?" asked Nicky as she picked up one of Miranda's messages. "You got asked to join Lightening Crossroads Advertising? They're one of the best ad agencies in England!"
"Yeah but, I'm not going to take it."
"WHAT!? Why?" asked Nicky
"Because I really don't want to go back to England. I have a lot of bad memories there. That's why I left and came to France."
"But…it's Lightening Crossroads!"
"I know! But I'm not going. I much happier here. Besides I made a promise to myself that the day I set foot back into England, it will be a cold day in hell. Now can we just drop it and get back to work." said Miranda in a tone that ended Nicky's attempts to try and change her mind.
The two co-assistant directors went to work on the accounts until the meeting at one. When they got there they found out from Mr. Donaldson that one of their employees was going to be heading a big new account that the firm had just acquired. Nicky was sure that Miranda would have gotten the position, but unfortunately it went to Richard who look all smug as if he knew it all along.
"Probably got daddy to convince him to give the position to him." whispered Nicky. "This is ridiculous. You should have gotten that. You're way more qualified then he is."
After the meeting, Miranda went over and congratulated Richard on his new position, just so he wouldn't come and gloat to her later.
"Well congratulations, Richard."
"Thank you, Miranda. Oh, and so sorry that you didn't get the position. Well, better luck next time." said Richard in a smug tone.
Miranda was trying extremely hard not to say or do anything that she might regret later. As she fought her urges to wipe the floor with this snotty, spoiled, rich guy, a young intern by the name of Jacob came up to the two of them with a letter in his hand.
"Umm…Ms. Starmenter? This just arrived for you." said the shy intern.
"Thank you Jacob."
"Oh, what's this? A love letter from you boyfriend. I didn't know that personal letters were allowed to be delivered to work. After all I thought this was a place of business, not the Dating Game." said Richard as he walked away from a now seriously enraged Miranda.
For the next couple of seconds, Miranda just stood there staring at Richard as he walked away loathing him. He reminded her of two people she once knew when she was young, especially with the blond hair and "holier than thou" attitude. She walked all the way back to her office trying desperately to suppress her anger. When she got into her office, she went over to her couch sat down and screamed into one of the pillows. As she stared to regain her breath, she picked up the letter that Jacob had given her. It was a tan envelop with her name and address written in green calligraphy, and a red stamp the said "Urgent" on it. When she turned the envelope over to open it, she noticed that is was sealed with a red wax seal that had an emblem imprinted in it that read "Hogwarts". Miranda's stomach gave a lurch when she saw the emblem.
"Oh my…" she whispered to herself. "Jacob?! Jacob!" called Miranda as she went to her door and opened it. "Jacob!" She looked around at all the people walking around and finally saw the tall, young brown haired intern that she was searching for.
"Jacob can I talk to you for a sec?" she asked.
"S…sure Ms. Starmenter." said the very she intern.
"Please, Miranda. Umm…when did you get this letter?"
"Uh…"
"Your not in trouble Jacob. I just want to know when you got it that's all." said Miranda as she tried to calm him down.
"Oh, um…a few minutes ago. Yeah, is was hand delivered by some old guy."
"Old guy? What did he look like?" she asked curiously.
"Well, he had um, white hair, umm…light blue eyes, glasses, and a beard that looked liked it was tucked into his coat."
With that description, only one person came to mind. "Dumbledore?" whispered Miranda.
"Excuse me? Are you…alright…Miranda?"
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing. Thank you, Jacob." said Miranda as she hurried back to her office. Right before she entered it, she went over to a near by cubical and asked the person behind it to make sure that no one would disturbed her. She told the women that she was going to be in a conference call for at least a half hour.
"Sure no problem, Ms. Starmenter." said the woman as Miranda went into her office.
She closed the door and locked it, then she closed the blinds to the window that allowed her to see what was going on outside her office. She quickly opened the envelope to find that the piece of paper inside it was blank. "Huh? What the…wait." she thought. She put the piece of paper and envelop on her desk and went over to the picture that hung over her couch. She swung the picture open to reveal a safe behind it. She opened it and emptied out the contents in it. When the safe was completely empty, she looked to make sure no one was near her door or window and then muttered the password. "Merlin's folly." Suddenly, the back wall of the safe let out a soft hiss and opened to reveal a secret compartment behind the wall. In it was a long slender blue box that Miranda pulled out.
"Never thought I'd have to use this thing again." she said to herself as she opened the box and pulled out her wand. She looked at it for a second, remembering the day she put it in the safe. Miranda then went and sat behind her desk, pointed her wand at the letter and said, "Reveal." Suddenly the blank paper became filled with words. She read:
Dear Ms. Starmenter,
I request for your presence today to discuss a matter of the highest importance. This meeting involves a situation that has developed in recent weeks, which I feel requires you immediate attention.
Please be aware of any signs of unusual events that might take place. I shall meet with you at one o'clock tonight. Please try to be punctual and make sure that you are not followed.
Best of luck!
Yours sincerely,
Professor Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster
"Situation? What situation?" asked Miranda to herself. She sat at her desk for a long time, pondering as to what Dumbledore could want. When she finally started to regain her sense of reality, she noticed one of the pictures on her table behind her desk. She got up and looked at the picture of her, holding a little baby boy, and an auburn hair woman. She picked the picture up and gazed at it for a while, remembering the day the picture was taken, when there was a knock on her door.
"Who is it?"
"Miranda it's Me." called Nicole from behind the door.
"Just a sec." she called as she went and threw the contents back into the safe and closed it, and quickly hid her wand and the letter in her desk before she went and unlocked the door.
"Hey what's up?" asked Nicole.
"Oh, nothing. Just opening up some mail." answered Miranda.
"Really?" asked her friend in a questionable tone.
"Yeah, umm…I got a letter from my old school in England."
"Oh, what some sort of invitation to a class reunion or something."
"Yeah,…you could say that. So what did you want?" asked Miranda eager to change the subject.
"Hmm…oh, I just wanted to see how you were doing with the whole Richard thing."
"Oh, I'm fine. I could really care less about that man, if you can even call him that." said Miranda as she made her way back to her desk.
Nicole looked on her desk and saw the photo she was looking at just before she knocked.
"Who's that?" she asked.
"Oh, that's my friend Lily. She was my best friend at school. And that handsome little boy I'm holding is her son Harry, my…godson."
"Ohhh, his so cute. Do you keep in touch with them?"
"Umm…no. She died shortly after that picture was taken, along with her husband James. Car crash."
"Oh, how terrible. Well what happen to Harry?"
"He lives with his aunt and uncle in England. Even though that was against his parents wishes." said Miranda who looked at her friend who now had a questionable look upon her face. "See, Harry was suppose to go and live with his godfather. But then he got into some trouble with the law and was sent to prison. So he went to his aunt and uncle."
"Why didn't you get him?"
"Well, some people thought that it would be better if he lived with his aunt and uncle. They already had a son, and they thought that they could give him a better home instead of me." said Miranda bitterly.
Nicole looked at her friend and could see that the memory of her friend and godson hurt her terrible. "When was the last time you saw him, Harry I mean?"
"About fourteen years ago. His aunt and I don't really get along very well. He's nearly fifteen now."
"Have you ever thought about going up and visiting him?"
"Oh, loads of times. But I don't think he really remembers me. Plus I don't think I could bear to see him, knowing what happen to his parents."
"You must have really cared for them."
"They were my best friends. I loved them very much." croaked Miranda as her eyes started to sting with tears.
"Hey it's almost time to leave. Why don't we go and hang out at the club?" asked Nicole who now eager to change the subject.
"Yeah sure, why not." said Miranda as she wiped away a tear.
The two friends then later when to a near by club called "The Lion's Heart". They both met up with some of their other co-workers. All of them hung out there for a few hours, drinking, dancing, and having a great time. When it got to be around 12:45 a.m. Miranda decided that she had had enough partying and decided to go home. As she walked through the streets of Paris, she started to get the feeling that she was being followed. When she was a few blocks from her apartment, she decided to take detour. She walked along some of the side streets in order to loose whoever was following her. A feeling of panic started to come over her as she reached into her pocket and grabbed a hold of her wand that she retrieved out of her desk before she left for the club. When felt that her stalker was closing in on her, she hid down an ally, pulled out her wand, and waited a few minutes. When she thought that she had heard his steps closing in, she jumped out with her wand ready to attack. But when she looked around, know one was there.
"Your losing it, Star." she thought to herself.
When she finally reached her apartment, she opened her door to find that her home was completely dark. She went over to a table turn on a lamp. When she did that, a roaring fire appeared in her fireplace, even though there was no wood in it.
"Ah, right on time." said a cheerful voice coming from a dark corner behind Miranda.
The voice startled her. She quickly turned around with wand pointing straight at the old wizard who was speaking to her from the shadows.
"GOD! You scared me half to death! I though it was illegal, even for wizards to sneak into people's apartments."
"Forgive me my dear, but I had to do it." said the cheerful old wizard who now stepped out of the shadows and into the light that was made by the fire, who reveal himself to be the great Albus Dumbledore.
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A/N- Thank you to all who reviewed. I'm sorry this chapter is so long but I'm probably not going to be able to update for a while, since finals are starting to come up. But I'll try to keep up with the story. I hope you all enjoy the story so far. Keep the reviews coming I enjoy reading them.
Disclaimer- It's all J.K. Rowling. I own nothing expect the character Miranda, some other characters and, my ideas and plots.