Quite possibly the weirdest chapter to date
They're not mine, although if she ever decides to give them away.
Nat rocks.
Thanks for the reviews.
Please review!
That being said.
*****
To Whom It May Concern,
Mrs. Weasley has instructed us all to separate ourselves from one another and write letters. Evidently in the Weasley household, it is a tradition for the children and anyone else who wants to write letters concerning their wishes for the upcoming year. These letters are usually written between Solstice and Christmas Day. Being as how it's December 22nd, she decided today would be a perfect day. To give us examples, she showed us some of her children's letters from when they were younger. Ron's and Fred's were especially funny. All Ron wanted for Christmas when he was four was "a real, live, air pain." He insists that he meant to write airplane, because Arthur had been talking about them earlier that week. Still, some of Fred and George's questions about bodily functions have been nothing if not hilarious. Fred, at age eight, wanted a girlfriend. I'm not sure George WILL let him hear the end of it. Angelina is making comments about how it only took him ten years for that wish to come true. Mrs. Weasley also promised that after the age of about 10, the letters tend to get more personal, so she doesn't read them. At which point Fred and George threw in a comment about Ginny still having her letter read. Ginny was irate, so Mrs. Weasley sent us all away. That being said, I guess I should start this letter, or I suppose continue with what I've started.
I suppose, rather than writing my wishes for the upcoming year, I shall write my wishes for Christmas. For Christmas, I wish I could write that I want something deep and philosophical, like world peace. Don't get me wrong, I do want world peace, it's just that I realize that's not entirely logical to wish for at this point. So for Christmas, I simply want Christmas day to pass without incident. What happened at and during Bill and Bella's wedding is completely uncalled for. Not only was what should have been the absolute happiest day of Bill and Bella's lives ruined, but also an entire family was killed prematurely, and there is a little girl out there who will never know her real parents. I'm sure Professor Lupin will be a wonderful father, but seriously, won't the girl need more of a motherly influence. As I understand, Professor Lupin, Sirius and Tonks have a flat in London. I think I feel more sorry for the poor girl because the female influence she will have is TONKS! Don't get me wrong, Tonks is a great person. I suppose I should stop worrying about it. I just wish I knew who the girl's family was. Dumbledore and Lupin have already had baby Sloane's name changed to Sloane Alexandra Lupin. The Ministry still hasn't decided how to cover the story in the papers, so they haven't made the official release yet. Therefore, none of the older Weasleys can tell us yet, and they seem to be following the Ministry on at least that. It's eating me up inside though. I can distinctly remember Astrid saying someone had a cutest baby sister, Sloane, but I can't for the life of me remember who she said the older sister was. For some reason, I think the girl is, or was a Quidditch player. Maybe I should send Sebastian to Astrid later and see what she knows about the whole situation. I think that could be interesting to find out. Otherwise, I suppose we'll find out when everyone else does. I'm not sure the Malfoys would take well to a "mudblood's" owl showing up at their house. I think I've just stumbled upon my true Christmas wish. I wish that the word mudblood could be erased from the English language, never to be replaced by another word with the same meaning.
Now I shall write about what I wish for the upcoming year. I wish first and foremost that my baby sibling will arrive safely and completely healthy. At this point, I also wish for a brother, because Weston Edward Granger Jr. is much better than that name my parents have come up with for a sister. I would rather have a sister, but only if they pick a name other than Jaquenetta. I suggested Samantha to them. They must not have gotten that letter. If for some odd reason they do choose Samantha, I will be highly amused. Ron is actually the one who suggested that name, so he'd be the one responsible for naming my baby sister. I hope that all of my friends will be able to be back here at the same time and place next year together. I hope Harry remains sane and safe. He's only fifteen. The powers that are really need to cut the poor boy some slack. I hope Ron stays much as he is. Quidditch crazy and easily embarrassed. I wish for Ginny and Braeden the best of luck in holding their relationship together. I know it has to be difficult with him being in France. Fred and I have a hard enough time and he's simply across the dorm. May Fred and I continue to have as much fun in the coming year as we've had in the past three or so months, and if the fun runs out, let us be intelligent enough to call it quits without making it painful for either of us. I hope Astrid can remain the most courageous person this side of Harry that I've ever met. The battle that she's chosen to fight amazes me. Harry really had all of his mess dumped on him. Astrid chose to go against her entire family. She really is a strong little person. And that brings me to my final wish. I wish for the people fighting for the light side, the right side to have Harry's courage, Astrid's strength, Audra Figg's sense of fair play, baby Sloane's will to survive and a good dose of the Weasley twins' sense of humor. They're all going to need it.
Good Luck
Hermione Lenore Granger
%%%%%
Dear Santa,
Auntie Arabella won't really explain who you are, but she says I should write this letter to you anyway. For Christmas I want Uncle Bill's brother with the red hair to stop bothering me. I want a pony and maybe a trip to visit Auntie Arabella and Uncle Bill once they get a house. That is all.
Love
Audra
%%%%%
Dear Harry Potter,
Wow this seems weird to be writing. I haven't written one of these since I was about eight and that was actually before I had met Harry. I used to think that if he could destroy he-who-must-not-be-named, then of course he could grant my Christmas wishes. Now that I know Harry, and he is, in fact, sitting somewhere in this very house, most likely writing one of these, the heading to my letter seems somewhat ridiculous. However, "To whom it may concern" sounds a bit too Hermione, so I'll stick with writing to Harry.
So for the following year. Wow. Braeden needs to move to England. He could live with Jo and Weston in the summers and go to Hogwarts. He'd be in Gryffindor. Of course, that would mean Ron might loose his position as Gryffindor's keeper, because from what I've heard Braeden is an absolutely fantastic keeper. So maybe if it's not too much to ask for, Braeden could trade in his Quidditch skills to live in England until he's graduated from Hogwarts. Would that work do you think? An immediate wish is for Charlie to wake up. He's been out cold since that Death Eater hit him with a spell last night. Dumbledore, Madame Pomfrey and three or four ministry specialists have looked at him, and no one knows what is wrong with him, what the spell was, or how, when, or if he'll wake up. I know with seven children and two parents. Never mind. It's almost Christmas. I don't want to talk or think about this right now. Also, I'd like to put in a wish for Sloane Lupin to be okay. Thinking of Professor Lupin having a child is just a little weird. I just hope she's all right. To have survived Death Eaters, wow, the child must be in a category with Harry or something. I just really wish I knew who her older sister was. The girl was in my grade. It could have just as easily been Jae or Piper. Or that loony Luna Lovegood. Only we would know if it was the Lovegoods, as they only live on the other side of town. I figure it was probably a Slytherin. But I really don't think my Christmas letter is the place to debate this. I'll simply steal Argus from the twins and send him to Astrid. Unless of course the Malfoys have put protective curses around their house to keep anything Weasley out. That wouldn't surprise me. How can they produce a daughter as cool as Astrid and sons as horribly awful as Draco and Keiran? Of course, Lucius is a prick. This is a Christmas letter. Peace on earth and goodwill to men and all that rot. I shouldn't call people pricks.
So, as cliché as that may be, my final wish would have to be for peace on earth and goodwill to men. We're going to need it.
Love
Ginny
%%%%%
To the powers that are.
I want my two front teeth.
Thanks Tonks.
P.S. I wouldn't say no to Voldey's head on a pike either, just below Cornelius Fudge's.
%%%%%
Dumbledore,
Mum's got us writing these letters again. You would think we're six again. But I suppose it's good for the younger kids, and even Harry and Ron and Hermione. Especially with everything that's going on in the world and all. And mum hasn't raised five successful children and the most famous pranksters since Sirius Black who are only just behind the record held by Nymphadora Tonks for career detentions without learning a few things. So I'm sure this is for a reason and a very good one at that. I can see where the writing could be therapeutic, most especially for Ron and his friends. I can barely imagine what those kids have been through, and they're only 15. Of course, what they've done probably pales in comparison to what they have yet to face. I almost wish I could trade places with Ron or Harry. If it would make life easier for them, and give them a chance to actually be kids, then I would do it in a second. Well. Only if Arabella could trade with Hermione.
If anyone had told me in my first year at Hogwarts that 19 years later, I would be married to Arabella Figg, I would have called them daft. She's honestly the best thing that has ever happened to me since being born a Weasley. I swear that if anything happens to her in the coming year, I will personally hunt down the people who did whatever it is and sign the rest of my life away to Azkaban. Of course, she is an Auror. I don't think I need to worry about her too much. She is, after all, the one who saved my arse from certain death at our wedding. The Death Eater used a water reduction spell on me. I saw the remains of a victim of that spell when I was helping the clean up crew at the scene of the other attack. I have to think of it as remains and a victim, because otherwise. I'll leave it at that. The boy was a mummy when we found him. His bones were in a pile with light tan leather stretched tight over them. His eyes were grey raisins and the remains of his hair littered his bones. His sister was lying in a pool of her own blood with a hole in her chest that I could put my fist through. When we were moving her body, we slipped with her, and my hand did sink into the wound up to my wrist. If it weren't against all the rules of proper etiquette to vomit on a crime scene, I would have lost my lunch right then and there. Arabella showed up right about then and she had to walk with me out back. She held me. I felt like I should be crying, but I didn't have the tears. I felt like I needed to be sick, but my throat wouldn't open. I felt like I should say something, but I didn't have the words. And then, just as Arabella had wrapped her arms around me and assured me that life goes on, Tonks came floundering out of the house. Yes, she was floundering. I don't think I've met a more clumsy person in my life. I could tell she was excited because her hair flashed between green, pink, purple and neon orange. She only does that when something is really important, or, well, exciting. She did it when she was a second year during her first Quidditch match, and I heard it happened when she found out about her owl results too. So her hair looked like the lights in a disco. Arabella asked her what was up, since my throat still wasn't working properly. She announced something along the lines of baby, lives, inside, and wall. Arabella guessed something about a baby living inside a wall, and Tonks finally gave us the news that baby Sloane lived. Lupin eventually adopted baby Sloane. He'll be a great father. There is some talk of baby Sloane being paralyzed, but they're not sure yet, it's a bit early to tell according to the people at St. Mungo's. So for all of today, Remus has been chasing Sirius and Tonks around fussing about the condition of their flat. Sirius insists they don't have room for a baby without him having to share a room with Tonks, and he doesn't sound too enthusiastic about that. Going on the principal that it takes a village to raise a child, Arabella has offered to let the three of them and baby Sloane move in with us. We're going to move into her house. There are three bedrooms, so she and I will have one, Remus and Sloane will have one, and Tonks will have one. Sirius can take over the basement. This would be uncomfortable in many situations, but Bella is a witch and I'm a wizard. We went to boarding school. We know the value of silencing spells.
So my wedding and my first night as a married man didn't go off quite as planned. Damn Voldemort. But I'm not complaining. Bella and I are both still alive. I would like to put in a slight request on Charlie's behalf though. Right now, my other half is lying in a bed about half of a meter away from me, dead to the world. I really don't like that too much. He's supposed to be awake and chasing Audra Figg around this house, making more noise than the twins. Could you please, please, please do something to make him get better, or to at least let us figure out what is wrong with him? I don't think I can handle loosing him, not now, not ever, but now more than ever. He's been my best friend since he was two. Sure he's a big oaf at heart. His sense of humor is a little off-color, and he enjoys picking on Audra Figg more than anyone should, but I can't imagine not having him around. He saw me off to my first year at Hogwarts. He came with mum and dad to watch me fly in my first Quidditch match. When he got to Hogwarts, he took my place on the Quidditch team and became my teammate. He's always been the person I go to with everything. I discussed proposing to Arabella with him before I breathed a word to anyone else. I mean, this is, after all, the guy who walked in on me and my very first girlfriend snogging in the Astronomy tower. He hit me with a metal truck and chipped my tooth when he was four and I was seven. After what I saw yesterday, I can't handle loosing him too. I know I'm being selfish. At least let him come too long enough for us to have proper goodbyes. Last night he began bleeding from his mouth and ear again. I know enough about medi-magic to know that's not a good thing. Actually, I also need to fuss at him for not being able to stand next to me at my wedding because he was out cold, so if I can have my brother back, I would much appreciate it. I don't know how I would survive without him.
For the next year, I want the strength and courage to face whatever life throws at me. I have a feeling there are a few bad bludgers in all of our futures. I also want to learn to be the husband and father that my father is. I believe this is all and I hope I'm not asking too much.
Bill
%%%%%
Dear Fred,
Well brother, it has been a most extremely interesting year. Angelina, after being with me for a year, decided to break up with me not too many days before our year anniversary. The details are probably still a little fuzzy. They're a little fuzzy even to me. I think I sort of expected something to happen, she had been growing more and more distant. Then at the Yule Ball, we were dancing next to Lee and 'Rissa, slow dancing as usual, you know? Then all of the sudden, out of the blue, Angelina tells me that I'm not serious enough about her Quidditch career, and she doesn't have time for a boyfriend. She stops dancing and then goes over and proceeds to talk to Coltan and some other people for the rest of the night. I guess Katie just figured out what happened. She walked over to me and told me I promised her a dance, which I had. So we danced. And then we danced again. And then we danced about eight more times. I think we both lost track of the music because we got quite absorbed in our conversation. After the ball was over, she and I walked up to this, well, not telling because you'll take over our secret space with Hermione if I do. So she and I went up to this place you and I discovered. I don't think we made it back to the common room until about 5 a.m., and all we were doing was talking. Honestly! And I've never had a conversation with anyone except for maybe you where I only had to complete half of my sentences or thoughts, because she knew exactly what I was talking about or thinking. I was amazed. I think I'm falling for her. But I'm not sure if it's just a reaction to being dumped by Angelina, and I wonder if Katie feels the same way. And how would Angelina take it if I got together with one of her best friends just a little while after she and I broke up, or ever? But I do suppose it is her loss. She is the one who dumped me. So the statement I made yesterday about just waiting for the right time to go public isn't exactly true. I've still gotta make a few decisions and make sure Katie feels the same way I suppose. I just wish my love life could be as easy as yours seems to be. However, I doubt your sanity sometimes. Isn't there an unwritten rule somewhere that says something about thou shalt not date thy little brother's best friend? If you and Hermione ever break up, she's still going to be around here, and that will just be weird for both of you. I honestly don't see the pair of you getting married, so what do you plan to do in that case? And you do realize that if you break up with her, you're going to have Ron, Harry and Braeden to deal with? After seeing what Ron and Braeden did to that Death Eater yesterday, I have to wonder if you're not better off just to stay with Hermione forever so that doesn't happen to you.
Speaking of the Death Eaters, what do you think of that attack yesterday? Or well, the one we experienced, and then the one at the Al- wait. I'm not supposed to know that, so I can't say anything. What can I say, Tonks has a big mouth. She has got to be just about the coolest person I have ever met. When she ran over in the fight yesterday disguised as one of us, I seriously thought I'd gone nutters. She's named her Weasley twin form Henry, since that's right in the alphabet after George. I think it would be seriously cool to be a metamorphmagus. Could you imagine the trouble we could get into? It would be seriously insane! We wouldn't have need for an invisibility cloak, we could just stroll the corridors looking like Trelawney. No one would ever know the difference because Trelawney never comes out of her tower, so we wouldn't run the risk of running into the real one. Even if we did, we could say her inner eye should have told her she has a twin sister. She'd eat it up! We'd never have detention again! Of course, with you snogging one of the Gryffindor prefects, we very well may not have detention anymore. Which would mean that we won't break Tonks's record. It's really awesome to finally get to meet the infamous Tonks. Is that why you're with Hermione anyway? To get the prefects off of our backs? Smart plan, Gred. I simply can't believe what happened to the family though. At least the baby lived, and I agree with everyone else in the thought that Professor Lupin will be an excellent father.
In the following year, I hope our joke shop will get off of the ground. The show we did in Hogsmeade was absolutely fantastic, and business has been booming as a mail order business since then. Of course, I suppose you already know this. Continued success in our business would be great for the upcoming year, along with the ability to go through with that plan we discussed. That'd make Angelina see the error of her ways. As a more immediate wish, Charlie needs to wake his big arse up. We've got products to test on him! I hope that all of us make it through the next year, relatively safely. I'll trade the occasional minor injury on all of our parts to keep everyone mostly healthy and alive. Alive more than even mostly healthy I think. And I believe this is all for this year.
Until next year,
George.
P.S. I think Ron's still waiting on that case of gas he asked for several years back.
%%%%%
Bill,
I can't believe mum's making us write these bloody letters. I'm almost 16 years old and I'm being forced to do something I had to do when I was FOUR! I'd almost consider this an insult to my intelligence. If Fred and George or Charlie if he ever wakes up read this, they'll say something about if you had any intelligence to insult. I hope Charlie wakes up. Mum'll go nutters if something more serious happens to him. Actually, I don't think any of the family would take it well. I'm not worried yet though. Dumbledore seems to think he'll come around; he's just not entirely sure when. And Dumbledore is the best wizard of the day, so I trust his opinion.
You know, I loved everyone's reactions when mum announced these letters. Ginny stomped up the stairs muttering something about how she couldn't very well write her letters to Harry still now that he's my best mate. Fred and George just laughed evilly. But when isn't that their reaction to anything? Tonks and Sirius exchanged looks, a high five and then tore out of the room. I think they were finally happy to get away from Professor Lupin. Harry and Hermione looked a bit confused, and Professor Lupin looked as flustered as he's looked all day. I think this becoming a father thing, with only a few days to prepare, has gotten him a bit more than simply flustered. Of course, if I lived with the likes of Sirius and Tonks, and was told I had to bring up a child in that house, I'd be more than flustered too. I can't believe the three of them share a flat. I bet that is one very interesting house. Well, I bet it's interesting when Sirius is there. Evidently he could only stay for short periods of time before this, what, with being wanted by the ministry and all. Now that they've got Pettigrew, he's a free man, so he'll be able to do as he pleases I suppose. So does that mean Harry gets to live with Sirius next summer? Wow! I think I'll go visit Harry rather than have him come visit me. Harry's the luckiest guy on earth! Well. Okay, no not really. He deserves to have the coolest place to live and the best looking girl in the year, because he also has a nutter of a wizard on his arse that would rather kill him than just about anything. His parents are dead, and he's.. yeah, he's not the luckiest guy on earth. But I'm extremely lucky to have him as a friend. And I'm lucky to have Hermione too. Even if she is a bossy know it all. I don't know what I would do without either of them. Before it was hard. I was simply Ron, little brother to the coolest head boy since James Potter, the best Quidditch seeker until Harry himself, the most infamous pranksters since the marauders themselves, and, well, Percy. Then I was the boy who lived's and the girl who hasn't not been able to do any spell put in front of her, and she's muggle-born, I was their best friend. But now I'm a prefect with Harry and Hermione, and I play Quidditch on the same team that you and Charlie played on, and that Harry, Fred and George play on, and it's sort of made me realize something. That maybe my place in this world is to be the little brother and the best friend. Maybe I'm not supposed to have the spotlight. I'm not saying it would be nice occasionally, but I am saying that you can't be successful without a support system. So maybe I'm here to be that support system for my friends and siblings. I suppose only time shall tell.
I really would like a Quidditch cup, and maybe a victory in the inter- school league also. Of course, with the way those Durmstrangers play, I have a sneaky suspicion we'll be on the loosing end of that league. I am excited to play Beauxbatons. Braeden is a skillful keeper, but I honestly don't think he's any match for our chasers. But we will be playing somewhere other than Hogwarts for the first time ever. Hopefully that won't make the girls nervous. I just wish Malfoy would be on the receiving end of a nasty curse so I would get to play. I could always write a letter to Lucius saying I'd seen him "fraternizing with a mudblood" and sign it as that pig Parkinson. That would probably put him on the receiving end of a very nasty curse indeed. As long as Lucius didn't use the Cruciatus on him or anything. And he couldn't, that's illegal. From what Harry has said, and the way he wakes up screaming some nights, I'd have to say that I don't think I'd wish that curse on even my worst enemy. I think this is all for now, other than to throw in one last request. I would like all of my friends and family to make it through the next year safely.
Ron
%%%%%
A Letter to Anyone Who Can Help Me,
I am not ready to be a father. I don't know what I was thinking when I agreed to adopt my daughter. I honestly don't think I can do this. I've never changed a nappy before in my life. And a daughter? I mean really. They don't come able to fix their hair. I know nothing about dresses or dolls or tea parties! So she'll be living in a house with Tonks. Tonks can be a female influence, right? I have to wonder. Tonks should be good at playing dress-up at least. I actually slightly scared at what Tonks could teach my daughter. That still sounds really weird to say. My daughter. I wonder if she'll call me Daddy, or if she'll be able to remember her real father. She's barely two, so I don't know. Especially since she did take a rather nasty bump on her head. They also think she may have broken her lower back, and both of her ankles are broken, as well as her lower leg on one leg, from where the Death Eater swung her. As far as we can tell, she and her siblings were killed, or attempted to be killed to try to talk her parents, and most specifically her father into becoming Death Eaters. We found the beginnings of letters to the Death Eaters in her father's wastebasket next to his desk. Also, the Dark Mark above their house was a rather large tip-off.
The state of our flat is deplorable, and it will only get worse now that Sirius is most certainly free. He and Tonks have to be the biggest slobs in all of England, if not the world. I don't know that I can take a rather injured baby into that mess. We're all considering Bill and Bella's offer to move in with them. They are newly weds and everything, so I feel we should give them some space, but at the same time, Sloane would be much safer living in a house with two Aurors and one of the best curse breakers Gringotts ever saw. I'm still trying to get used to A. having a daughter, and B. having to think for and of someone besides myself, and well, I guess Sirius and James on that rare occasion when we were back at Hogwarts. Arabella can be a female influence on Sloane, can't she? And if all else fails, I can always take Sloane to see Hermione and Ginny at the Burrow during the summers, right? If I ever tell Sirius about this particular worry, he'll just suggest that I find a woman. That's not necessarily a bad option, but being a werewolf bachelor with a possibly permanently handicapped daughter? I simply don't think that will go over too well with most of the female population. So I suppose it's just me and Sloane from here on out. And as much as that scares me right now, when I look to the future, it doesn't bother me too much at all.
In the next year, I hope to get the hang of this father thing. It will probably be interesting. I want to be the best father I can be to Sloane, even though she will probably never have a mother or siblings. I hope we all make it through the next year, especially the younger ones. I hope some of the weight is lifted from Harry's shoulders, and he is able to enjoy life as a normal kid at least for a little while. I hope we can make a fast and efficient job of disposing this world of Voldemort and his regime. Please help.
Remus J. Lupin
%%%%%
George,
How are you today dear brother? I, honestly, am a bit shaken up after the events that transpired yesterday. Mum says she doesn't read these. I bet she does. I also bet that everyone has written something along the lines of "what happened yesterday was bad. I'm glad Professor Lupin is baby Sloane's father. I really hope Charlie wakes up." Well, as much as I agree with all of that, especially the Charlie waking up bit, but that probably gets boring to read time after time. I think, therefore, I shall make a list of 50 things I want to accomplish by the time I'm 50.
Get thoroughly shagged. Be the co-owner of a joke shop that puts Zonko's out of business. Not that I have anything against Niamh Zonkovich. Beat Ron in wizard's chess without the aid of the entire population of Gryffindor Tower. Break Tonks's detention record. Get married Have a child. Train said child to cause more trouble than I ever dreamed of. Break that git Malfoy's nose. Play professional Quidditch Beat Durmstrang in Quidditch. Get a piercing like Bill's Do that sky diving thing Bill was talking about. Sit down and have a very serious discussion with Jo Granger on why we don't name children Jaquenetta. People like me make fun of them. Leave a Mark on Hogwarts as big as the one the Marauder's left. Graduate Win the Quidditch cup one last time. Replace Dad's flying car. Become an Animagus Get Professor Snape to award Gryffindor points Travel the world. Most specifically, I want to go back to Egypt, and then to Australia, and maybe the United States and Spain. Learn to speak another language. Pig Latin does not count. Fling myself from the Astronomy tower. Remember to cushion ground underneath first. Have Colin Creevey standing by with camera to record spectators' faces. Make people smile. Feed Keiran Malfoy to the Giant Squid. Learn to play an instrument. Not the bagpipes. Chicks don't dig the bagpipes. Hit a bludger at Angelina for dumping my brother. Tell my family and friends that I love them Hit a bludger at George for this mess with Katie. Hit a bludger at Ron to laugh. Start a flying school for people like Hermione who will never learn to fly at Hogwarts. Everyone should know how to fly. Make enough money to buy mum and dad a bigger house. Wear leather pants. I'd be dead sexy. Make friends with an honest to goodness muggle that isn't one of Hermione's parents. Pull a prank on the two remaining marauders. Own a Firebolt Meet the old lady that lives in that big palace in London. What's her name? The Queen. Learn to apparate legally. Get more N.E.W.T.S. than Percy just so I can rub it in his face. Aid in getting rid of Voldemort. Find mine and George's successors in Gryffindor Charm Bill's freckles to play dot-to-dot with themselves. Maybe Ron's too. With bright green and purple lines going between the dots. Learn how to resist Veritaserum Charm Lee's dreadlocks to make him look like Medusa. And make them hiss at people. Fly without a broom. Or a carpet, or those muggle contraptions. Make a difference in someone's life. Help the Chudley Cannon's win the league Figure out exactly why I want to play for the worst team in the league. Hit a bludger at Oliver just because I can. Laugh. Never get boring.
So there you have it. The 50 things I will do before I'm 50.
Always
Fred
%%%%%
Mum and Dad,
Mrs. Weasley said we had to write these letters, and I don't know who to write mine to, so I chose you. There are a very few things I want for the upcoming year. I want a Quidditch cup for Gryffindor, and possibly for Hogwarts. I want Lord Voldemort gone, permanently. I don't want anyone else to die. The more I ask for, the less likely I am to get any of it, and since those three things are rather large, I will refrain from asking for anything else. I'll be the happiest person in the world if those three things were to happen.
Love
Harry
P.S. Getting to live with Sirius in the summer wouldn't be bad either, but I'd rather have the other three things first.
*****
Molly Weasley leaned back in her chair and rifled through the stack of parchment in her hand. She saw a roll and a half taken by Hermione's small, neat, concise print. Bill's angular cursive took up as much parchment as Hermione's. She noticed Remus's precise, yet hurried print, and a particularly small scrap taken up by Tonks's childish scribble. One of the twins, for their writing was virtually indistinguishable, had a list rather than a letter, while Ginny's bubbly, girlish cursive took up the better part of a parchment roll. Arabella's neat print filled a letter signed with Audra's barely formed signature. She had her D and her last A backwards. The other twin's hurriedly scratched out letter was about the same length as the parchment covered with Ron's messy scrawl. Harry's shaky print filled the final, and one of the shortest letters.
Molly didn't bother reading any of the letters, but rose and headed off to the kitchen where she tucked them all away for safekeeping.
They're not mine, although if she ever decides to give them away.
Nat rocks.
Thanks for the reviews.
Please review!
That being said.
*****
To Whom It May Concern,
Mrs. Weasley has instructed us all to separate ourselves from one another and write letters. Evidently in the Weasley household, it is a tradition for the children and anyone else who wants to write letters concerning their wishes for the upcoming year. These letters are usually written between Solstice and Christmas Day. Being as how it's December 22nd, she decided today would be a perfect day. To give us examples, she showed us some of her children's letters from when they were younger. Ron's and Fred's were especially funny. All Ron wanted for Christmas when he was four was "a real, live, air pain." He insists that he meant to write airplane, because Arthur had been talking about them earlier that week. Still, some of Fred and George's questions about bodily functions have been nothing if not hilarious. Fred, at age eight, wanted a girlfriend. I'm not sure George WILL let him hear the end of it. Angelina is making comments about how it only took him ten years for that wish to come true. Mrs. Weasley also promised that after the age of about 10, the letters tend to get more personal, so she doesn't read them. At which point Fred and George threw in a comment about Ginny still having her letter read. Ginny was irate, so Mrs. Weasley sent us all away. That being said, I guess I should start this letter, or I suppose continue with what I've started.
I suppose, rather than writing my wishes for the upcoming year, I shall write my wishes for Christmas. For Christmas, I wish I could write that I want something deep and philosophical, like world peace. Don't get me wrong, I do want world peace, it's just that I realize that's not entirely logical to wish for at this point. So for Christmas, I simply want Christmas day to pass without incident. What happened at and during Bill and Bella's wedding is completely uncalled for. Not only was what should have been the absolute happiest day of Bill and Bella's lives ruined, but also an entire family was killed prematurely, and there is a little girl out there who will never know her real parents. I'm sure Professor Lupin will be a wonderful father, but seriously, won't the girl need more of a motherly influence. As I understand, Professor Lupin, Sirius and Tonks have a flat in London. I think I feel more sorry for the poor girl because the female influence she will have is TONKS! Don't get me wrong, Tonks is a great person. I suppose I should stop worrying about it. I just wish I knew who the girl's family was. Dumbledore and Lupin have already had baby Sloane's name changed to Sloane Alexandra Lupin. The Ministry still hasn't decided how to cover the story in the papers, so they haven't made the official release yet. Therefore, none of the older Weasleys can tell us yet, and they seem to be following the Ministry on at least that. It's eating me up inside though. I can distinctly remember Astrid saying someone had a cutest baby sister, Sloane, but I can't for the life of me remember who she said the older sister was. For some reason, I think the girl is, or was a Quidditch player. Maybe I should send Sebastian to Astrid later and see what she knows about the whole situation. I think that could be interesting to find out. Otherwise, I suppose we'll find out when everyone else does. I'm not sure the Malfoys would take well to a "mudblood's" owl showing up at their house. I think I've just stumbled upon my true Christmas wish. I wish that the word mudblood could be erased from the English language, never to be replaced by another word with the same meaning.
Now I shall write about what I wish for the upcoming year. I wish first and foremost that my baby sibling will arrive safely and completely healthy. At this point, I also wish for a brother, because Weston Edward Granger Jr. is much better than that name my parents have come up with for a sister. I would rather have a sister, but only if they pick a name other than Jaquenetta. I suggested Samantha to them. They must not have gotten that letter. If for some odd reason they do choose Samantha, I will be highly amused. Ron is actually the one who suggested that name, so he'd be the one responsible for naming my baby sister. I hope that all of my friends will be able to be back here at the same time and place next year together. I hope Harry remains sane and safe. He's only fifteen. The powers that are really need to cut the poor boy some slack. I hope Ron stays much as he is. Quidditch crazy and easily embarrassed. I wish for Ginny and Braeden the best of luck in holding their relationship together. I know it has to be difficult with him being in France. Fred and I have a hard enough time and he's simply across the dorm. May Fred and I continue to have as much fun in the coming year as we've had in the past three or so months, and if the fun runs out, let us be intelligent enough to call it quits without making it painful for either of us. I hope Astrid can remain the most courageous person this side of Harry that I've ever met. The battle that she's chosen to fight amazes me. Harry really had all of his mess dumped on him. Astrid chose to go against her entire family. She really is a strong little person. And that brings me to my final wish. I wish for the people fighting for the light side, the right side to have Harry's courage, Astrid's strength, Audra Figg's sense of fair play, baby Sloane's will to survive and a good dose of the Weasley twins' sense of humor. They're all going to need it.
Good Luck
Hermione Lenore Granger
%%%%%
Dear Santa,
Auntie Arabella won't really explain who you are, but she says I should write this letter to you anyway. For Christmas I want Uncle Bill's brother with the red hair to stop bothering me. I want a pony and maybe a trip to visit Auntie Arabella and Uncle Bill once they get a house. That is all.
Love
Audra
%%%%%
Dear Harry Potter,
Wow this seems weird to be writing. I haven't written one of these since I was about eight and that was actually before I had met Harry. I used to think that if he could destroy he-who-must-not-be-named, then of course he could grant my Christmas wishes. Now that I know Harry, and he is, in fact, sitting somewhere in this very house, most likely writing one of these, the heading to my letter seems somewhat ridiculous. However, "To whom it may concern" sounds a bit too Hermione, so I'll stick with writing to Harry.
So for the following year. Wow. Braeden needs to move to England. He could live with Jo and Weston in the summers and go to Hogwarts. He'd be in Gryffindor. Of course, that would mean Ron might loose his position as Gryffindor's keeper, because from what I've heard Braeden is an absolutely fantastic keeper. So maybe if it's not too much to ask for, Braeden could trade in his Quidditch skills to live in England until he's graduated from Hogwarts. Would that work do you think? An immediate wish is for Charlie to wake up. He's been out cold since that Death Eater hit him with a spell last night. Dumbledore, Madame Pomfrey and three or four ministry specialists have looked at him, and no one knows what is wrong with him, what the spell was, or how, when, or if he'll wake up. I know with seven children and two parents. Never mind. It's almost Christmas. I don't want to talk or think about this right now. Also, I'd like to put in a wish for Sloane Lupin to be okay. Thinking of Professor Lupin having a child is just a little weird. I just hope she's all right. To have survived Death Eaters, wow, the child must be in a category with Harry or something. I just really wish I knew who her older sister was. The girl was in my grade. It could have just as easily been Jae or Piper. Or that loony Luna Lovegood. Only we would know if it was the Lovegoods, as they only live on the other side of town. I figure it was probably a Slytherin. But I really don't think my Christmas letter is the place to debate this. I'll simply steal Argus from the twins and send him to Astrid. Unless of course the Malfoys have put protective curses around their house to keep anything Weasley out. That wouldn't surprise me. How can they produce a daughter as cool as Astrid and sons as horribly awful as Draco and Keiran? Of course, Lucius is a prick. This is a Christmas letter. Peace on earth and goodwill to men and all that rot. I shouldn't call people pricks.
So, as cliché as that may be, my final wish would have to be for peace on earth and goodwill to men. We're going to need it.
Love
Ginny
%%%%%
To the powers that are.
I want my two front teeth.
Thanks Tonks.
P.S. I wouldn't say no to Voldey's head on a pike either, just below Cornelius Fudge's.
%%%%%
Dumbledore,
Mum's got us writing these letters again. You would think we're six again. But I suppose it's good for the younger kids, and even Harry and Ron and Hermione. Especially with everything that's going on in the world and all. And mum hasn't raised five successful children and the most famous pranksters since Sirius Black who are only just behind the record held by Nymphadora Tonks for career detentions without learning a few things. So I'm sure this is for a reason and a very good one at that. I can see where the writing could be therapeutic, most especially for Ron and his friends. I can barely imagine what those kids have been through, and they're only 15. Of course, what they've done probably pales in comparison to what they have yet to face. I almost wish I could trade places with Ron or Harry. If it would make life easier for them, and give them a chance to actually be kids, then I would do it in a second. Well. Only if Arabella could trade with Hermione.
If anyone had told me in my first year at Hogwarts that 19 years later, I would be married to Arabella Figg, I would have called them daft. She's honestly the best thing that has ever happened to me since being born a Weasley. I swear that if anything happens to her in the coming year, I will personally hunt down the people who did whatever it is and sign the rest of my life away to Azkaban. Of course, she is an Auror. I don't think I need to worry about her too much. She is, after all, the one who saved my arse from certain death at our wedding. The Death Eater used a water reduction spell on me. I saw the remains of a victim of that spell when I was helping the clean up crew at the scene of the other attack. I have to think of it as remains and a victim, because otherwise. I'll leave it at that. The boy was a mummy when we found him. His bones were in a pile with light tan leather stretched tight over them. His eyes were grey raisins and the remains of his hair littered his bones. His sister was lying in a pool of her own blood with a hole in her chest that I could put my fist through. When we were moving her body, we slipped with her, and my hand did sink into the wound up to my wrist. If it weren't against all the rules of proper etiquette to vomit on a crime scene, I would have lost my lunch right then and there. Arabella showed up right about then and she had to walk with me out back. She held me. I felt like I should be crying, but I didn't have the tears. I felt like I needed to be sick, but my throat wouldn't open. I felt like I should say something, but I didn't have the words. And then, just as Arabella had wrapped her arms around me and assured me that life goes on, Tonks came floundering out of the house. Yes, she was floundering. I don't think I've met a more clumsy person in my life. I could tell she was excited because her hair flashed between green, pink, purple and neon orange. She only does that when something is really important, or, well, exciting. She did it when she was a second year during her first Quidditch match, and I heard it happened when she found out about her owl results too. So her hair looked like the lights in a disco. Arabella asked her what was up, since my throat still wasn't working properly. She announced something along the lines of baby, lives, inside, and wall. Arabella guessed something about a baby living inside a wall, and Tonks finally gave us the news that baby Sloane lived. Lupin eventually adopted baby Sloane. He'll be a great father. There is some talk of baby Sloane being paralyzed, but they're not sure yet, it's a bit early to tell according to the people at St. Mungo's. So for all of today, Remus has been chasing Sirius and Tonks around fussing about the condition of their flat. Sirius insists they don't have room for a baby without him having to share a room with Tonks, and he doesn't sound too enthusiastic about that. Going on the principal that it takes a village to raise a child, Arabella has offered to let the three of them and baby Sloane move in with us. We're going to move into her house. There are three bedrooms, so she and I will have one, Remus and Sloane will have one, and Tonks will have one. Sirius can take over the basement. This would be uncomfortable in many situations, but Bella is a witch and I'm a wizard. We went to boarding school. We know the value of silencing spells.
So my wedding and my first night as a married man didn't go off quite as planned. Damn Voldemort. But I'm not complaining. Bella and I are both still alive. I would like to put in a slight request on Charlie's behalf though. Right now, my other half is lying in a bed about half of a meter away from me, dead to the world. I really don't like that too much. He's supposed to be awake and chasing Audra Figg around this house, making more noise than the twins. Could you please, please, please do something to make him get better, or to at least let us figure out what is wrong with him? I don't think I can handle loosing him, not now, not ever, but now more than ever. He's been my best friend since he was two. Sure he's a big oaf at heart. His sense of humor is a little off-color, and he enjoys picking on Audra Figg more than anyone should, but I can't imagine not having him around. He saw me off to my first year at Hogwarts. He came with mum and dad to watch me fly in my first Quidditch match. When he got to Hogwarts, he took my place on the Quidditch team and became my teammate. He's always been the person I go to with everything. I discussed proposing to Arabella with him before I breathed a word to anyone else. I mean, this is, after all, the guy who walked in on me and my very first girlfriend snogging in the Astronomy tower. He hit me with a metal truck and chipped my tooth when he was four and I was seven. After what I saw yesterday, I can't handle loosing him too. I know I'm being selfish. At least let him come too long enough for us to have proper goodbyes. Last night he began bleeding from his mouth and ear again. I know enough about medi-magic to know that's not a good thing. Actually, I also need to fuss at him for not being able to stand next to me at my wedding because he was out cold, so if I can have my brother back, I would much appreciate it. I don't know how I would survive without him.
For the next year, I want the strength and courage to face whatever life throws at me. I have a feeling there are a few bad bludgers in all of our futures. I also want to learn to be the husband and father that my father is. I believe this is all and I hope I'm not asking too much.
Bill
%%%%%
Dear Fred,
Well brother, it has been a most extremely interesting year. Angelina, after being with me for a year, decided to break up with me not too many days before our year anniversary. The details are probably still a little fuzzy. They're a little fuzzy even to me. I think I sort of expected something to happen, she had been growing more and more distant. Then at the Yule Ball, we were dancing next to Lee and 'Rissa, slow dancing as usual, you know? Then all of the sudden, out of the blue, Angelina tells me that I'm not serious enough about her Quidditch career, and she doesn't have time for a boyfriend. She stops dancing and then goes over and proceeds to talk to Coltan and some other people for the rest of the night. I guess Katie just figured out what happened. She walked over to me and told me I promised her a dance, which I had. So we danced. And then we danced again. And then we danced about eight more times. I think we both lost track of the music because we got quite absorbed in our conversation. After the ball was over, she and I walked up to this, well, not telling because you'll take over our secret space with Hermione if I do. So she and I went up to this place you and I discovered. I don't think we made it back to the common room until about 5 a.m., and all we were doing was talking. Honestly! And I've never had a conversation with anyone except for maybe you where I only had to complete half of my sentences or thoughts, because she knew exactly what I was talking about or thinking. I was amazed. I think I'm falling for her. But I'm not sure if it's just a reaction to being dumped by Angelina, and I wonder if Katie feels the same way. And how would Angelina take it if I got together with one of her best friends just a little while after she and I broke up, or ever? But I do suppose it is her loss. She is the one who dumped me. So the statement I made yesterday about just waiting for the right time to go public isn't exactly true. I've still gotta make a few decisions and make sure Katie feels the same way I suppose. I just wish my love life could be as easy as yours seems to be. However, I doubt your sanity sometimes. Isn't there an unwritten rule somewhere that says something about thou shalt not date thy little brother's best friend? If you and Hermione ever break up, she's still going to be around here, and that will just be weird for both of you. I honestly don't see the pair of you getting married, so what do you plan to do in that case? And you do realize that if you break up with her, you're going to have Ron, Harry and Braeden to deal with? After seeing what Ron and Braeden did to that Death Eater yesterday, I have to wonder if you're not better off just to stay with Hermione forever so that doesn't happen to you.
Speaking of the Death Eaters, what do you think of that attack yesterday? Or well, the one we experienced, and then the one at the Al- wait. I'm not supposed to know that, so I can't say anything. What can I say, Tonks has a big mouth. She has got to be just about the coolest person I have ever met. When she ran over in the fight yesterday disguised as one of us, I seriously thought I'd gone nutters. She's named her Weasley twin form Henry, since that's right in the alphabet after George. I think it would be seriously cool to be a metamorphmagus. Could you imagine the trouble we could get into? It would be seriously insane! We wouldn't have need for an invisibility cloak, we could just stroll the corridors looking like Trelawney. No one would ever know the difference because Trelawney never comes out of her tower, so we wouldn't run the risk of running into the real one. Even if we did, we could say her inner eye should have told her she has a twin sister. She'd eat it up! We'd never have detention again! Of course, with you snogging one of the Gryffindor prefects, we very well may not have detention anymore. Which would mean that we won't break Tonks's record. It's really awesome to finally get to meet the infamous Tonks. Is that why you're with Hermione anyway? To get the prefects off of our backs? Smart plan, Gred. I simply can't believe what happened to the family though. At least the baby lived, and I agree with everyone else in the thought that Professor Lupin will be an excellent father.
In the following year, I hope our joke shop will get off of the ground. The show we did in Hogsmeade was absolutely fantastic, and business has been booming as a mail order business since then. Of course, I suppose you already know this. Continued success in our business would be great for the upcoming year, along with the ability to go through with that plan we discussed. That'd make Angelina see the error of her ways. As a more immediate wish, Charlie needs to wake his big arse up. We've got products to test on him! I hope that all of us make it through the next year, relatively safely. I'll trade the occasional minor injury on all of our parts to keep everyone mostly healthy and alive. Alive more than even mostly healthy I think. And I believe this is all for this year.
Until next year,
George.
P.S. I think Ron's still waiting on that case of gas he asked for several years back.
%%%%%
Bill,
I can't believe mum's making us write these bloody letters. I'm almost 16 years old and I'm being forced to do something I had to do when I was FOUR! I'd almost consider this an insult to my intelligence. If Fred and George or Charlie if he ever wakes up read this, they'll say something about if you had any intelligence to insult. I hope Charlie wakes up. Mum'll go nutters if something more serious happens to him. Actually, I don't think any of the family would take it well. I'm not worried yet though. Dumbledore seems to think he'll come around; he's just not entirely sure when. And Dumbledore is the best wizard of the day, so I trust his opinion.
You know, I loved everyone's reactions when mum announced these letters. Ginny stomped up the stairs muttering something about how she couldn't very well write her letters to Harry still now that he's my best mate. Fred and George just laughed evilly. But when isn't that their reaction to anything? Tonks and Sirius exchanged looks, a high five and then tore out of the room. I think they were finally happy to get away from Professor Lupin. Harry and Hermione looked a bit confused, and Professor Lupin looked as flustered as he's looked all day. I think this becoming a father thing, with only a few days to prepare, has gotten him a bit more than simply flustered. Of course, if I lived with the likes of Sirius and Tonks, and was told I had to bring up a child in that house, I'd be more than flustered too. I can't believe the three of them share a flat. I bet that is one very interesting house. Well, I bet it's interesting when Sirius is there. Evidently he could only stay for short periods of time before this, what, with being wanted by the ministry and all. Now that they've got Pettigrew, he's a free man, so he'll be able to do as he pleases I suppose. So does that mean Harry gets to live with Sirius next summer? Wow! I think I'll go visit Harry rather than have him come visit me. Harry's the luckiest guy on earth! Well. Okay, no not really. He deserves to have the coolest place to live and the best looking girl in the year, because he also has a nutter of a wizard on his arse that would rather kill him than just about anything. His parents are dead, and he's.. yeah, he's not the luckiest guy on earth. But I'm extremely lucky to have him as a friend. And I'm lucky to have Hermione too. Even if she is a bossy know it all. I don't know what I would do without either of them. Before it was hard. I was simply Ron, little brother to the coolest head boy since James Potter, the best Quidditch seeker until Harry himself, the most infamous pranksters since the marauders themselves, and, well, Percy. Then I was the boy who lived's and the girl who hasn't not been able to do any spell put in front of her, and she's muggle-born, I was their best friend. But now I'm a prefect with Harry and Hermione, and I play Quidditch on the same team that you and Charlie played on, and that Harry, Fred and George play on, and it's sort of made me realize something. That maybe my place in this world is to be the little brother and the best friend. Maybe I'm not supposed to have the spotlight. I'm not saying it would be nice occasionally, but I am saying that you can't be successful without a support system. So maybe I'm here to be that support system for my friends and siblings. I suppose only time shall tell.
I really would like a Quidditch cup, and maybe a victory in the inter- school league also. Of course, with the way those Durmstrangers play, I have a sneaky suspicion we'll be on the loosing end of that league. I am excited to play Beauxbatons. Braeden is a skillful keeper, but I honestly don't think he's any match for our chasers. But we will be playing somewhere other than Hogwarts for the first time ever. Hopefully that won't make the girls nervous. I just wish Malfoy would be on the receiving end of a nasty curse so I would get to play. I could always write a letter to Lucius saying I'd seen him "fraternizing with a mudblood" and sign it as that pig Parkinson. That would probably put him on the receiving end of a very nasty curse indeed. As long as Lucius didn't use the Cruciatus on him or anything. And he couldn't, that's illegal. From what Harry has said, and the way he wakes up screaming some nights, I'd have to say that I don't think I'd wish that curse on even my worst enemy. I think this is all for now, other than to throw in one last request. I would like all of my friends and family to make it through the next year safely.
Ron
%%%%%
A Letter to Anyone Who Can Help Me,
I am not ready to be a father. I don't know what I was thinking when I agreed to adopt my daughter. I honestly don't think I can do this. I've never changed a nappy before in my life. And a daughter? I mean really. They don't come able to fix their hair. I know nothing about dresses or dolls or tea parties! So she'll be living in a house with Tonks. Tonks can be a female influence, right? I have to wonder. Tonks should be good at playing dress-up at least. I actually slightly scared at what Tonks could teach my daughter. That still sounds really weird to say. My daughter. I wonder if she'll call me Daddy, or if she'll be able to remember her real father. She's barely two, so I don't know. Especially since she did take a rather nasty bump on her head. They also think she may have broken her lower back, and both of her ankles are broken, as well as her lower leg on one leg, from where the Death Eater swung her. As far as we can tell, she and her siblings were killed, or attempted to be killed to try to talk her parents, and most specifically her father into becoming Death Eaters. We found the beginnings of letters to the Death Eaters in her father's wastebasket next to his desk. Also, the Dark Mark above their house was a rather large tip-off.
The state of our flat is deplorable, and it will only get worse now that Sirius is most certainly free. He and Tonks have to be the biggest slobs in all of England, if not the world. I don't know that I can take a rather injured baby into that mess. We're all considering Bill and Bella's offer to move in with them. They are newly weds and everything, so I feel we should give them some space, but at the same time, Sloane would be much safer living in a house with two Aurors and one of the best curse breakers Gringotts ever saw. I'm still trying to get used to A. having a daughter, and B. having to think for and of someone besides myself, and well, I guess Sirius and James on that rare occasion when we were back at Hogwarts. Arabella can be a female influence on Sloane, can't she? And if all else fails, I can always take Sloane to see Hermione and Ginny at the Burrow during the summers, right? If I ever tell Sirius about this particular worry, he'll just suggest that I find a woman. That's not necessarily a bad option, but being a werewolf bachelor with a possibly permanently handicapped daughter? I simply don't think that will go over too well with most of the female population. So I suppose it's just me and Sloane from here on out. And as much as that scares me right now, when I look to the future, it doesn't bother me too much at all.
In the next year, I hope to get the hang of this father thing. It will probably be interesting. I want to be the best father I can be to Sloane, even though she will probably never have a mother or siblings. I hope we all make it through the next year, especially the younger ones. I hope some of the weight is lifted from Harry's shoulders, and he is able to enjoy life as a normal kid at least for a little while. I hope we can make a fast and efficient job of disposing this world of Voldemort and his regime. Please help.
Remus J. Lupin
%%%%%
George,
How are you today dear brother? I, honestly, am a bit shaken up after the events that transpired yesterday. Mum says she doesn't read these. I bet she does. I also bet that everyone has written something along the lines of "what happened yesterday was bad. I'm glad Professor Lupin is baby Sloane's father. I really hope Charlie wakes up." Well, as much as I agree with all of that, especially the Charlie waking up bit, but that probably gets boring to read time after time. I think, therefore, I shall make a list of 50 things I want to accomplish by the time I'm 50.
Get thoroughly shagged. Be the co-owner of a joke shop that puts Zonko's out of business. Not that I have anything against Niamh Zonkovich. Beat Ron in wizard's chess without the aid of the entire population of Gryffindor Tower. Break Tonks's detention record. Get married Have a child. Train said child to cause more trouble than I ever dreamed of. Break that git Malfoy's nose. Play professional Quidditch Beat Durmstrang in Quidditch. Get a piercing like Bill's Do that sky diving thing Bill was talking about. Sit down and have a very serious discussion with Jo Granger on why we don't name children Jaquenetta. People like me make fun of them. Leave a Mark on Hogwarts as big as the one the Marauder's left. Graduate Win the Quidditch cup one last time. Replace Dad's flying car. Become an Animagus Get Professor Snape to award Gryffindor points Travel the world. Most specifically, I want to go back to Egypt, and then to Australia, and maybe the United States and Spain. Learn to speak another language. Pig Latin does not count. Fling myself from the Astronomy tower. Remember to cushion ground underneath first. Have Colin Creevey standing by with camera to record spectators' faces. Make people smile. Feed Keiran Malfoy to the Giant Squid. Learn to play an instrument. Not the bagpipes. Chicks don't dig the bagpipes. Hit a bludger at Angelina for dumping my brother. Tell my family and friends that I love them Hit a bludger at George for this mess with Katie. Hit a bludger at Ron to laugh. Start a flying school for people like Hermione who will never learn to fly at Hogwarts. Everyone should know how to fly. Make enough money to buy mum and dad a bigger house. Wear leather pants. I'd be dead sexy. Make friends with an honest to goodness muggle that isn't one of Hermione's parents. Pull a prank on the two remaining marauders. Own a Firebolt Meet the old lady that lives in that big palace in London. What's her name? The Queen. Learn to apparate legally. Get more N.E.W.T.S. than Percy just so I can rub it in his face. Aid in getting rid of Voldemort. Find mine and George's successors in Gryffindor Charm Bill's freckles to play dot-to-dot with themselves. Maybe Ron's too. With bright green and purple lines going between the dots. Learn how to resist Veritaserum Charm Lee's dreadlocks to make him look like Medusa. And make them hiss at people. Fly without a broom. Or a carpet, or those muggle contraptions. Make a difference in someone's life. Help the Chudley Cannon's win the league Figure out exactly why I want to play for the worst team in the league. Hit a bludger at Oliver just because I can. Laugh. Never get boring.
So there you have it. The 50 things I will do before I'm 50.
Always
Fred
%%%%%
Mum and Dad,
Mrs. Weasley said we had to write these letters, and I don't know who to write mine to, so I chose you. There are a very few things I want for the upcoming year. I want a Quidditch cup for Gryffindor, and possibly for Hogwarts. I want Lord Voldemort gone, permanently. I don't want anyone else to die. The more I ask for, the less likely I am to get any of it, and since those three things are rather large, I will refrain from asking for anything else. I'll be the happiest person in the world if those three things were to happen.
Love
Harry
P.S. Getting to live with Sirius in the summer wouldn't be bad either, but I'd rather have the other three things first.
*****
Molly Weasley leaned back in her chair and rifled through the stack of parchment in her hand. She saw a roll and a half taken by Hermione's small, neat, concise print. Bill's angular cursive took up as much parchment as Hermione's. She noticed Remus's precise, yet hurried print, and a particularly small scrap taken up by Tonks's childish scribble. One of the twins, for their writing was virtually indistinguishable, had a list rather than a letter, while Ginny's bubbly, girlish cursive took up the better part of a parchment roll. Arabella's neat print filled a letter signed with Audra's barely formed signature. She had her D and her last A backwards. The other twin's hurriedly scratched out letter was about the same length as the parchment covered with Ron's messy scrawl. Harry's shaky print filled the final, and one of the shortest letters.
Molly didn't bother reading any of the letters, but rose and headed off to the kitchen where she tucked them all away for safekeeping.