A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you! I did not get 15 reviews…I got 26! I'm so happy that I've written a much longer chapter.  Here it is, on Monday, as promised! Enjoy! :)

Letters

April Flamel was surprised to see two fine owls arrive at the Flamel Fortress.  One was a Hogwarts owl - April could recognise owls from the school at once since they had been delivering letters from Dumbledore to the Flamels for as long as she could remember.  The second was a snowy owl. She's beautiful, April thought as she removed the rolled parchment from the owl's leg.

"Would Miss like to have supper now?" A house-elf entered the spacious study room and addressed its mistress.  His posture was rod-straight and there was an air of self-importance about the elf.

"Yes, I'll have it here," April replied distractedly as she unrolled the two parchments and laid them on the table.

"Gem will bring food."

"Gem!" April called back the house-elf.  "Bring these two owls away.  Feed them well.  They must have travelled a long way."

"Gem will obey Miss." The house-elf bowed low respectfully before making his exit with the two owls.

April returned her attention to the parchments.  Her eyes widened with shock and she drew in her breath sharply as she read one of them.  It was from Harry.

Dear April,

I do hope you can come back soon, as we really need your help right now. It's too complicated to explain in this letter, but the truth is Sirius is in trouble, deep trouble.

Harry

She gave a deep frown as she reached for the second letter anxiously and began reading.

Dear April,

We miss you so much and hope you are well.

I can't reveal much in this letter in case it gets intercepted. Professor Lupin is in grave danger.  We need your help! Please hurry back as soon as you can! We'll explain everything to you when we meet.

Love,

Hermione

April slowly let out her breath.  She read both letters again, brows furrowed in concentration.

Just then, Gem returned with another house-elf who was carrying a tray piled high with food and drinks.  He commandingly gave directions as the latter elf set to lay the table for their mistress' meal.

"Gem, come over here. Pearl, you too," April commanded as she laid both letters from Harry and Hermione on the table.  "Read these and tell me what you think."

Gem and Pearl froze in shock for a moment, before dropping to their knees and bowed so low that their foreheads touched the floor. 

"House-elves must never read mistress' letters!" Gem said.

"Gem and Pearl beg for forgiveness from Miss. Gem and Pearl do not want to disobey Miss," the other house-elf said in a trembling voice.

April gave a long exasperated sigh.  "The two of you may go.  Send Brandy and Whiskey to me."

The two house-elves departed from the room by shifting backwards awkwardly, with knees still on the floor and heads kept low.

April rolled her eyes at the sight before returning her attention to the letters. Is this true? If Sirius and Remus are both in trouble, why had Harry and Hermione only mentioned one of them in each of their letters? I smell a rat! But what if they are telling the truth?

"Beloved Missy!"

"Our pretty mistress!"

April looked fondly at the two house-elves who were running into the room.

"Oh Brandy! Whiskey! My regular remedies," April grinned. "Read these and tell me what to believe."  She gestured towards the letters.

Brandy and Whiskey placed their hands behind their backs, and peered at the two letters in a way that reminded April of the detectives she saw on Muggle television.

Then, the house-elves spoke up at once in such loud excited voices that April could not decipher what they said.

"One at a time," she instructed.  "Brandy, you go first."

"Brandy thanks Missy! Brandy thinks Missy should ignore letters. They are playing a trick on Missy! Missy must never fall for it!"

"Whiskey does not agree with Brandy!  Whiskey thinks Missy should visit school. Friends need Missy's help!"

"No! It's a prank!"

"No! It's true!"

"FALSE!" Brandy shrieked loudly.

"TRUE!"

"FALSE! FALSE! FALSE!"

"TRUE! TRUE! TRUE!" Whiskey was getting hysterical.

"WHISKEY IS BEING SILLY! THE LETTERS ARE LIES!"

"WHISKEY IS RIGHT. BRANDY IS WRONG. BRANDY IS THE FOOL. THE LETTERS ARE TELLING THE TRUTH!"

"LIES!"

"TRUTH!"

"LIES!"

"TRU…"

"KEEP QUIET!" April yelled over the din that her house-elves were creating.  She shook her head at them wearily. "You two are so different from the others. Gem and Pearl did not even dare look at the letters."

"Missy does not want Brandy and Whiskey to be like the others!"  Brandy said.

Not to be outdone, Whiskey continued, "That's why Whiskey and Brandy are Missy's favourites!"

April broke into a smile, and stooped to give each house-elf an affectionate hug.  "I love you guys!  I don't know what I'll do without the both of you."

"Missy will be so bored and lonely without Brandy and Whiskey!"

"Whiskey and Brandy love our pretty Missy too!"

April smiled again.  "I'll visit Hogwarts tomorrow," she told them.

"Missy believes Brandy!"

"Not true! If Missy believes Brandy, Missy will go tonight. Missy listens to Whiskey."

April ignored the house-elves, choosing to tuck into her meal instead. 

"Brandy wants to come with Missy. Brandy will make sure no one bullies Missy!"

"Whiskey wants to come too! Whiskey will help Missy's friends."

"No," April replied. "I want the two of you to stay and help me look after Aaron."

"But Master has the other house-elves. Missy has no one!" Whiskey whined.

"Brandy and Whiskey beg Missy!" said Brandy in a pitiful voice.

"Alright. Both of you may come with me. But no quibbling in front of my friends," April warned. "Now go and let me take my meal in peace."

April watched the two house-elves as they merrily made their noisy exits.  Her mood turned sombre once more, and her glance returned to the letters.  It was then when she noticed something that skipped her attention earlier. The corners of her lips began to curl upwards as she thought, their handwritings actually look neat! Hermione has always been meticulous, but Harry's handwriting is way too tidy as compared to the written assignments he had submitted to me. These were obviously not written in a hurry. Too much thought had gone into drafting it.

*

April woke up early the next morning, and dressed quickly.  She found Brandy and Whiskey waiting excitedly outside her bedroom.

"Good morning, Missy!" the two house-elves greeted their mistress in unison.

"Good morning, my dears," April replied.

"What time does Missy wish to leave for the school?" Whiskey asked eagerly.

"Immediately after breakfast.  You two ready to come along?"

"Brandy and Whiskey have been ready since dawn, Missy," Brandy replied.

April grinned at them, and made her way to the courtyard where she liked to take her breakfast.  Brandy and Whiskey followed happily behind her.

The walk to her favourite spot lifted April's spirits, as she breathed in the fresh sweet air and felt the warmth of the sun on her face.

Gem looked disapprovingly at Brandy and Whiskey as they took their seats beside their mistress at her usual breakfast table. "Good morning, Miss. There was another letter for Miss this morning," Gem reported, throwing a dirty look at the other two house-elves.

April raised an eyebrow. "Another letter?" she queried as she grabbed it from Gem.

Dear April,

I was made the Quidditch goalkeeper! Isn't that wicked? For once, Fred and George could not find a reason to mock at something I do. I'll show them I'm as good, if not better, than Oliver Wood! Would you come to watch me, I mean Gryffindor, play sometime? Actually, why don't you come back this week? We're having our first match against the Ravenclaws.  It'll be good if you're back as then you can help Harry and Hermione.  They've got into some kind of trouble and perhaps you can put in a few good words for them since you know Professor Dumbledore so well.  Will you come back? Please say you would! We've been training hard and everyone feels that Gryffindor has a good chance of winning. Sirius and Professor Lupin have promised to come watch us too.

Ron

April gave her head a little shake and quickly scanned through Ron's letter for the second time.  It was obviously written in hurry and the boy was very excited about his new role, she observed. Then she read the last sentence of Ron's letter again.

"Missy is not eating.  Letter brings more bad news!" Whiskey exclaimed, observing his young mistress.

April gave a short laugh before replying, "Brandy is right this time. The letters are not true. No one is in trouble."

"Brandy is right! Brandy will go to the school and punish pranksters!"

"No, Brandy. We're not going to the school anymore.  Where's the owl who delivered this?"

Gem, who had been standing behind April all this while, reported, "Gem sent owl back, Miss. Owl was very small and weak. Gem must add that owl did not perform duties well. Gem found owl stuck in the flowerbeds this morning."

"Very well. Fetch me one of our owls," April instructed Gem who bowed respectfully before leaving to perform the task.

"Missy needs parchment, quill and ink?" Whiskey asked helpfully.

April nodded and Whiskey quickly hurried away.

Brandy eyed his mistress thoughtfully and observed that she was very much lost in her thoughts.  "Is Missy angry with those who sent the letters?"

April looked at the house-elf with surprise. "Whatever made you say that?"

"Missy is angry with them. Missy does not wish to see them in the school."

"No, Brandy. I'm not angry with them. Not one bit.  I'm actually quite happy that they wrote these letters.  It shows that they miss me and want to see me again."

"Forgive Brandy for asking, Missy.  Brandy do not understand. Missy is not going to school."

"I miss them too, Brandy. There are many people I miss at Hogwarts." April sipped her coffee and paused before adding in a quiet voice, "I'm not sure that every one of these people actually miss me and want me back.  Perhaps my place is here, at Flamel Fortress."

"Brandy knows Missy is not happy here.  Missy is lonely."

"I still have my brother," April said in barely a whisper.

"Missy does not visit Master. Master makes Missy sad. Brandy saw Missy cry." Brandy's eyes were wet and he blew his nose loudly into the table napkin he was wearing.

"It's not Aaron's fault that he doesn't recognise me." April tilted her head upwards to the sky and blinked.

"MY PRETTY MISSY!"

April looked into the direction of the voice in time to see Whisky give Gem a shove, in a bid to be the first to reach her.

"Whiskey, manners!" she gently reprimanded the gleeful house-elf who efficiently laid the writing equipment before her.

Dear Harry, Hermione and Ron,

Nice try, I was nearly fooled.

Congratulations to Ron, who's now the newest addition to Gryffindor's Quidditch team. (I do hope this part of your letter is true.) All the best for your match against the Ravenclaws.

Take good care of yourself.  I miss you all too.

Love,

April

April rolled up the parchment and handed it to Gem.  Taking a deep breath to clear her thoughts, she addressed Brandy and Whiskey, "I want to do some Muggle shopping today. Let's go!"

Brandy and Whiskey looked hesitantly at each other.

"What is the problem? I want to go to the Muggle malls…" her eyes widened as realisation dawned upon her. "Oh sorry! I forgot you two can't be seen by Muggles," she said apologetically, in a small voice.

"Whiskey wants to go with Missy!" the house-elf wailed.

"Alright," she relented, "we'll not go to the Muggle malls then. Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade or the Pappano Square?"

"Pappano Square!" Brandy chose excitedly and Whiskey nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Then what are we waiting for?" April beamed back at her house-elves.

***

Are you guys and gals ready for the next chapter? I promised you'll like it because…well, you have to wait to find out. *evil grin*

Calm Serene : Thanks for not giving up! This means a lot to me :)

lovevanillacreme / Rainbow1 : I'll let you on a little secret. I know someone by the name of "Dawn" whom I don't like very much. So you can be sure that I'll not give Dawn Umbridge a nice time in my fic!

BBoo : Did I say they'll be together? Nice try, though!  :)

Angelbach : Hope April's reaction is satisfactory. There's more, I promise!

Kendra Meadows : Kendra is a lovely name. Is this your real name or pen-name?

sakura: Thanks! Keep reading and reviewing, ok?

SiriusLvr : I know what you mean.  Sirius and Remus are supposed to be only 35/36 years old in Book Five, according to an interview with JKR where she said that's Snape's age.  I think Daniel Day Lewis is a better choice for Sirius.  As for that guy who's acting as Remus, do you know that he actually said in an interview that his character is "Professor Lucas"??? Good grief, he couldn't even get the name right!

Tiger Lily : *pout*  so that's not your real name either…

Ms. Padfoot : I'm overjoyed to be on the "Favourite Author" list of my favourite author! Thanks for all the encouragement and support you've given me!

serebii : No, I'll not try to email you. LOL

Destructor-of-peace : You still don't believe you're crazy? Hmm… ;)

Star06 : I've got more than 15 reviews and I'm so happy that I can sing!!!

angelic : If you need a breather from smashing JKR's knees, you know what else you can do…read & review!

Lil Lupin : Thanks!  :)

padfoot1979 : Now you know what the letters say.  Ron's letter is a bit…duh, right? LOL

Courtney : Maybe in the next chapter…or perhaps ten chapters later…I'm not telling just yet! LOL

Fire'N'Ice : You'll get her back…some day!

AlltheLonelyPeople : A Lockhart smile? How charming! :)

Mira-hime : This is a longer chapter, so there's more.  :)

black-cat-on-the-wall & Sunshine*girl-Hermione: There's a twist…there's a twist *BlackLupin goes hysterical* You're find out soon!

peachgirl1608 : I'm so glad you like April! :)

Ainsley Sloan : FINALLY!!! I'll not hurt you.  But can I punish you? Your punishment is…REVIEW! Hee hee.

Someone Reading : As always, I LOVE reading your reviews!  Enjoying the full moon? ;)

Summerkins : April will be back someday 'cos I love her too! And Dawn Umbridge will get her dues!