Letters To and From a Stranger
By: g0ldensnidget, a.k.a. Snitch
Author's notes: hi all. I'm really sorry, but I seem to be still in a ditch, since last month practically. I had to drag this chapter out of myself with a pair of tweezers. So shut up and be grateful that you got anything.
*ducks, avoiding various objects thrown from readers*
Ok, fine. I was kidding, really!
(Letter XVII)
Dear Rose, 27/11/96
Well, you've certainly given me a biography. I like the way you've described yourself. I really do. I mean, at least you didn't paint yourself as a gorgeous blond with baby-blue eyes and a flat stomach and mile-long legs. I really could tell that you're not a phony. I really don't, however, see how you don't have a boyfriend. You sound like a very attractive person. And I know you're defiantly not dull or stupid. You're got charm. Your inside is just as awesome as your outside sounds. Is 15 too young in Israel to have a boyfriend? People here are pairing up from 4th year and above, so I wouldn't know.
Anyway, I'm really sorry I haven't written for ages. School's been really tough on us now. 6th year sucks, really. They're preparing us for our N.E.W.T.s next year, but they've really overdone it. We get homework every single lesson, and a lot of it. The average is two to three scrolls of parchment for an essay, three to four if it's a project, and five if it's for Snape. I swear, Snape has a deathwish for us. As if keeping us down in that dungeon isn't enough. But, seeing as you took some time delivering the last letter – even though you said Crescent was hurt, so I suppose you've also got an excuse – I think we could call it even.
Your friends sound really neat. I suppose I can identify with your friend Gan (a.k.a. garden) about loosing her mum... but she's got her dad... and she remembers her mum. I can't decide if that's a good or a bad thing. I mean, on one hand, you have a lot of memories from one of the persons you love most, but on the other hand, you know what you're missing; what you could have still had. I don't know how my parents were – except from stories. But that isn't the same.
So, now that school's starting to pile up, on both of us, I suppose we'll be sending less letters to each other – but let's promise not to be too long. We'll send at least one letter a month. Agree? Good.
You know, I've been dating Ginny regularly now. We go out every weekend, even if we've got homework – which we both usually do. We always manage to find some time for each other, even if it's just a few moments of sitting together on a couch in the common room. Sometimes we go to Hogsmade, when we have time, or take a walk out on the grounds. It's really nice, even if it is awfully cold. The lake's near well frozen, and it's started to snow. But I like winter. You get to look out the window and see that it's raining or snowing, freezing cold, while you get to stay inside where it's warm. Unless you have Potions, that is. Or Care of Magical Creatures. Why did I choose that subject again? Oh yeah, because it's Hagrid and it's easy. And fun, when it's not so cold outside that the air molecules are practically freezing one by one.
Anyway, sorry to cut this short, but I've got to go. We've got an essay for History of Magic... Charms... Transfiguration, and
Oh no. We've got an essay for Potions. I'm dead. I think I'll get right on to those four essays... altogether, that's... twelve rolls of parchment, nearly!
Lots o' love-
Harry.
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Author's Notes: well. Sorry, I know that was short, but I've warned you: I'm in a ditch. If you wanna help, get me the number of your local muse, or have her/him/it call me. I desperately need new ideas, and plenty of inspiration. Now, my computer's gonna be out of it this week; it's been crashing pretty much daily for the past month, so we're sending it to be repaired, redone completely. So I won't be updating for at least a week; most likely 2. Sorry... life hasn't been fair to me either.
Reviewers' response:
Ami&LJ – nah. Luckily for us, we do not have health. Now, about 14/6... eh. I just forgot, sorry. You guys all write the month, day, and then year, right? Well, we do it day, month, year. That's the deal. I was born on the 14th of June. Sorry for any confusion, guys!!
melissaL – your grandmother lived in Japan...? Cool...
Fireblade K'Chona – ^_^
Katmint - formerly Moonlight – you know, your review really touched me. It always means a lot to me when somebody both likes my story and takes the time to tell me that. My friend "Gan" really is a very strong person, but everybody has their weak moments, and so every once-in-a-while she collapses. But she either bottles it up or finds someone to spill to. Usually that's me. ^_~ And I'm sorry, but I don't do the e-mail-me-when-you-update-gig. I can tell you that I mostly update at an average of every weekend, but I sometimes hit a bump and fall into a ditch, remaining there for weeks on end until my non-existent muse comes to rescue me. Ok, actually, I creep around FF.Net, looking for inspiration and new ideas. But hey, every author hits their Blocks, ai? And I learned English as a second language, in American School, when I was abroad for 3 years. I've kept it up by writing stories and reading in English. Phew! That was a long response. But well, long reviews deserve long replies.
bluehoax – yes, that is me. You like? And my friends... well, yes, that's them, but I've changed the names. I just put in a few nice, different, unclichéd names, to make it interesting. But they're based on my real friends, yes. ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT YOU HAVEN'T YET SEEN POTC???? AND JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE CHEAP??? Not an excuse. Go. See it. Now.
Topaz Waters – eh, sorry for typos. I've just been typing these chapters down at full speed, hardly stopping for air, goddamn it, so some things have just slipped in. I'm considering not going to the 3rd Harry Potter movie, too. I did see a few pics – Sirius Black looks like one of my old friends' father, from a distance. Or was that just my imagination? Anyway, sorry to spoil it for ya, but my opinion of Lord of the Rings is "The movies are great and the books are awesome too." I'm afraid I'm only at the beginning of Return of the King in the books. It's just a really heavy kind of book. ...
Sirius' Diamond – terribly sorry, I was in a ditch. I need a new muse. Actually I just need a muse, not a new one. I don't have one. Ach!!
Liberty Belleview – ai, that's ok. I haven't been here for ages, too. You know, homework (gah!), tests (ew.), friends (eh?), drama club (but not anymore. It's been cancelled, cos there weren't enough kids), school (aahh!!), homework, chores (hate 'em, hate 'em, hate 'em.), tests, and, at the risk of sounding redundant: homework, homework, and homework. But anyway, glad you're back. Have a blast with your dad!
Princess Phoenix – ok, all I have to say is: eh? About the Australians, I mean.