Letters To and From a Stranger
By: g0ldensnidget, a.k.a. Snitch
Author's notes: hey, all. In this chapter you'll find some descriptions of my sister's wedding; I've just kind of ... edited it, so it would sound more ... I dunno... fitting. Anyway, this is more or less how it went. Sorry for the delay, by the way.
(Letter XIV)
Dear Harry, 30/9/1996
I'm very happy for you and Ginny and Ron and Hermione. Your date seemed to go well enough... Did Ron tell you how his went? If not, beat it out of him – you're his best friend, and (and if you didn't tell him then get to it!) you have the right to know how the date went. I'm sure Ginny's waited for this day... and subconsciously, maybe you have, too. Anyway, I'm sure you'll be happy as a couple. Keep dating, get out of the castle with her as much as you can. Take her out for a picnic by the lake (maybe you could ask Dobby for some food from the kitchens?), go out to Hogsmade, take walks around the school grounds...
Harry – my sister got married! The wedding was a few days ago, it was so beautiful! The reception was really great, everybody came and we greeted them, and everybody would come up to me and say "Oh, you've grown so much!" or "Wow, last time I saw you you were this high," and they hold their hand at waist height. Now, that was annoying. I hate it when relatives do that. But I suppose you can't really blame them, huh? I just nodded and said, "Yeah..." and shook their hands or hugged them, while I'm really thinking, Please, I haven't been that short for ten years.
You should have seen my sister, Harry. She was just beautiful. Her dress was much shorter than the 'standard', it was practically a mini-dress... actually, it kind of looked like a nightgown. You see, it was this silvery-white satin material, with some lace with blue stones all over it... she looked like a doll. She had her hair and make-up professionally done (which took 3 hours at a salon, I should think) and before the ceremony no-body was allowed to actually kiss her... she was afraid her make-up would smudge up... heh.
The ceremony itself was really beautiful. It takes place under what's called a Huppa; basically, it's a big piece of square white cloth held up by 4 wooden poles; 2 friends of the bride's and 2 friends of the groom's hold it up, and the Rabbi marries them under that. And they chose The Beatles' When I'm 64 for their song!! Can you believe it, that is so like my sister! I love that song... let's just hope they'll be together for longer than after they're 64. Anyway, they said their things and the Rabbi talked and they drank the wine and he (Eyal, the groom) stomped on the glass – that's an Israeli marriage tradition, I suppose. We get a wineglass and we wrap it in tinfoil, and the groom has to step on it and break it at the end of the ceremony. Not really sure why...
Anyway, he broke the wineglass and they kissed... and I found myself crying. I was crying. I never though I'd cry at a wedding – my sister's wedding, even more. I really cried. At first I was kind of trying to hold the tears back, but then I decided to just let them out. Actually, I felt like scrunching up my face and bawling like a 6-year-old, but of course, I couldn't look sad at my sister's wedding! – so I smiled. I cried and I smiled.
And then we all sat down and ate – well, the guests ate. We still had to do a lot of stuff – greet some late guests, mingle in, take care of some stuff that only we could do... so, between all that, we didn't get to eat that much, but we didn't really need to. We kind of lived off the excitement and adrenaline – this was the first wedding I'd ever been to. Ever. So I was really excited – and of course, this was my sister!
So, my sister and her new husband danced with their friends most of the night; even after we left at 2 in the morning they all stayed and danced, quite drunk. We went home, and we fell asleep immediately, after just putting all the food that was left from the catering into the fridge, and changing... At least I had an excuse not to go to school the next day...
Uhh... you know, I kind of feel bad for ranting on and on about my family for all this time... I'm really sorry, Harry. I wasn't thinking... Sorry. I suppose... But at least you have your friends, right? You have Ron and Hermione, and now Ginny as well... and you have Neville and Sean and Dean, and Justin and Ernie from Hufflepuff, and Luna in Ravenclaw... You do have a family. Molly and Arthur also consider you family... during the summers you have them, and Fred and George always supply plenty of amusement, I'm sure.
Anyway... write back soon...
Bye,
-Rose.
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Dear Ron,
I'm really glad your date went so ... well, well. You had a little adventure, that's always a nice start with a girl, especially one like Hermione. Get to know her as a girl and as a girlfriend, Ron. You've only really seen the 'best-opposite-sex-friend' side of her. Get to know some other sides.
Get to know her as a teenage girl, almost a woman. Appreciate her, and let her appreciate you. Tell her what you like about her, and ask her what she likes about you. Keep her close, but don't crush her. Be very careful, Ron. Don't betray her trust, because you won't win it back easily. Be prepared to fight with her and for her. Treat her well.
Keep this letter, Ron. Look back at it whenever you don't know what to do with her. Plenty such moments will come, trust me. Whenever you've had a fight, remember what you like about her. Her hair, her eyes, her heart. Remember that you must earn her, but don't treat her like a prize, only out there to be won. Treasure her.
Well, that out of the way, I'd like to congratulate you on successfully going out with her, even kissing her several times. French yet?
Ah, well. I suppose this'll be our last letter for a while; write to me if you ever have anything you want to talk about and can't with Harry or Ginny. Always remember that you have them, they are your family and first priority. I come some while after that. I've helped you so far, but from now on you'll have to do with yourself.
Good luck!!
All the best –
-Rose.
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Author's Notes: ok, guys, hope that was ok... anyway... Wow, now that I look back at my letter to Ron, that turned out very poetic. All you guys out there (why do I get the feeling they're few?), keep that letter in your mind. No girl is to be won, but earned rightfully and appreciated. Any girl that sees herself as a trophy is, to be blunt, a slut. Treat your girls right!!
Also – I've gotten past my block at the 3rd chapter of my Legolas story – I'm now writing chapter 4, so be prepared for the story in a month or two!!
Reviewers' response:
flyingfireworks – nah, I don't know Ami personally. Wish I did, though; she seems even crazier than I am. We just seem to get along really well when it comes to reviews... pity she doesn't write (YOU READIN' THIS, AMI?? GET WRITING!!! You ought to write a parody.) hee-hee. As for my friends... it's not that they don't like the way I look, and they've never really told me to my face that I'm ugly; what I mean is that they're my friends for my personality, not the way I look or my financial state – oh God. That just sounded like I'm bragging that I'm rich or something – which I'm not!! Ai, forget it. My friends like me for who I am, period.
melissaL – you know, I did consider becoming an author when I grow up... but then reality snuck up from behind me and bit me on the ass – being in the writing business is not very financially safe... you never know if your first book will succeed, and you need loads of money to start off in the first place... anyway, I don't think I'll be an author when I grow up. For now, I'll settle for FF.Net, where I have all of you... ^_^
Amiana – hey, glad I'm not the only geek/dork here... GEEKS AND DORKS RULE THE UNIVERSE!! We rule. Um, "We all live in the yellow submarine"? D'you like The Beatles? *grins hopefully* Cos I DO!!! Love them, absolutely love them. Kind of got hooked on them from my oldest sister (the one who got married, yeah, as you can see above in my letter to Harry, she had their song When I'm 64 for their wedding march...) and my parents bought us the video, so... We all live in the Yellow Submarine... Yellow Submarine... Yellow Submarine...
bluehoax – hey, whassup?? Great, insane people gather round!! *Ami's here, Snitch comes along, bluahoax... they all start singing and dancing madly...* Ai, whatever. Glad to see you liked it.
Princess Phoenix – hey, sorry, couldn't find Psycho Chick's story...
Topaz Waters – oooh, I see. So then should I name myself Pearl Air? Nah, that sounds ridiculous. Besides, I don't want to steal your idea...
psychoelf – ai, don't worry. Ignorance is bliss. In my case, here in the Middle-East, we've grown kind of ignorant ourselves... kind of depressing, really, that whenever there's a bombing and no-one really close to you was hurt or killed, you kind of let it slide... we've started ignoring them. Ai...
Lilah Winter – it's great to see someone likes my style... thanks.