Chapter Two- Letters
Dear Marietta,
Hello, my darling, how are you? I hope you are well. I'm doing quite fine myself, continuing on with my mundane days as a seamstress, yes. London is absolutely fabulous, thank you for asking. I know you tend to get confused when I start to talk about the Muggle world, so I won't say anything.
How is Kaitlyn? ( It was here where Cho had to flip through her address book to find her old friend's daughter's name. She had purposely written down the name and birthdays of all her friends children for the purpose of seeming to be thoughtful and as forgetful as she really was. ) She's getting to be quite a big girl now, nearly four months old! You should have a half-a-year-old party for the dear. On that similar note, how's your husband? ( Cho chose to leave out the name seeing as she hadn't written that down and didn't want to make an embarrassing mistake… ) I hope you and your family are all well.
Have you heard from any of the old crowd, lately? Nobody wants to risk sending poor Cho a letter by owl, seeing as I live in a Muggle home. The owls don't attract too much attention by night, I should think. If anything is afoot, please don't hesitate to tell.
Well, Marie, I've got to go, now. A difficult pink taffeta dress awaits my skillful fingers (and brilliant wand-maneuvering) for a grand old woman's sixty-third birthday party. I've got to get the food on the 'stove' somehow. (The stove is the Muggle device used for preparing food, in case you've forgotten, dear.)
Cheers,
Cho ♥
Cho rolled up the parchment after letting the ink dry a moment, and tied it with a sheer pink ribbon. She handed it to Gavyn, who hooted loyally, earning a smile from Cho. "Oh, shove off," she grinned and Gavyn soared out the window, set in the wizarding world's direction. Just as her owl departed, a great horned owl fluttered in through her open French door.
"Ah, the Daily Prophet," Cho remarked, depositing five Knuts in to the owl's out held pouch. "Thanks very much!" She called out her window after the owl. Sighing, Cho unrolled the paper to throw it on her sofa in boredom.
"It's always those fluff articles on what ex-Death Eaters are doing nowadays," Cho muttered, "just leave the poor blokes alone, eh?" Cho had always been a rather sympathetic person, and although the Death Eaters had done such horrible things, she now, in a way, felt for the poor people who were being harassed by Daily Prophet reporters for their stories. She clucked her tongue and shook her head like an old housewife.
"I have got to do something with myself," Cho groaned, feeling incredibly bored. She flopped on to the arm of her sofa, bending backwards so her head was pressed against where she would normally sit. A few moments later, Cho walked over to her room and dressed. It would be much more interesting outside in the city than inside her stuffy apartment.
It was much nicer outside, Cho decided. The rare sunny day in London brightened her mood, and she felt much more cheerful outside on the sidewalks than inside on her hardwood floor. She stopped by several cute stores, making difficult decisions about her money on several unnecessary articles. She ended up caving in on a few, assuring herself that she needed to treat herself after her awful day yesterday.
"One small strawberry scoop in a cone, please," Cho ordered, pulling out her pouch of money. Several Sickles fell in to her hands, and the ice cream vendor gave her a weird look. "Oh, these are from my, er, home land," Cho coughed, using her Asian appearance as a cover-up for her wizarding currency. The man nodded gravely, as if he understood. Cho hastily shoved the coins back in to her pouch and handed the man some British coins. He squinted at them, as if to ensure that he was getting all-British currency. Cho offered a weak grin before walking away, ice cream in hand.
'Nice going, Cho,' She inwardly muttered. Rolling her eyes at her own moment of stupidity, she managed to trip over her heel while her eyes were still pointed in the sky's direction. Stumbling forward, she dropped her two bags, the handle of the bag slung over her right arm managing to drag her newly-bought ice cream with it.
Cho blankly stared at her fallen ice cream. The single scoop of strawberry was slightly covered in gravel on the left side, and it was beginning to form a small stream of melted ice cream flowing away from her and off the curb. The cone, slightly broken on the left side rolled back and forth next to the scoop, still in motion from its drop. "This is what happens to me when I actually go outside," she muttered, rubbing her temples with her first two fingers of each hand (not including the thumbs, of course).
Sighing, she reached down and dejectedly picked up her bags. Shaking her head, she shuffled back to her apartment, dumped her bags by her door, and sank down in to her chair. A rustles of feathers, and Gavyn came soaring in to the room. One half of Cho was delighted to be in somebody's (even her own owl's) company again, the other half was wary for her identity's secrecy.
"Gavyn! I told you not to be seen in broad daylight," Cho hissed. The owl fluffed up proudly and nipped at Cho affectionately. She rolled her eyes again. "You, darling, think with your stomach rather than your head," she sighed. She untied the letter from his outstretched leg, patting him affectionately before going back to her pity-party.
But moments later, the distinct rustling of another owl's feathers got louder as the creator of the noise approached her. Groaning, Cho willed her arms to prop her up as she untied the letter from the owl's leg.
"Can't a girl have a decent feel-sorry-for-my-sorry-self session without any owls bothering her?" She complained. She earned herself a blood-drawing peck on the finger from the owl, and Cho held back a string of curses.
"F-- fudging owl," Cho muttered, changing the word she was about to use. "Off with you!" She shooed the owl off her couch. It gave her a distinctly haughty look as it beat its wings and flew out her window. Cho rolled her eyes for the third time that day, and unrolled the bit of parchment.
She looked at the two bits of parchment she had just received, and shook her head. "Letters! What a day," she moaned. She unrolled the letter still in her hand, and read it as she sucked on her still-bleeding finger.
Dear Miss Chang:
A matter of utmost importance has just come to our attention. It is your duty to report to us immediately and receive your assignment.
Formally,
Terrence Windsor
Head of Auror Commissions
Cho gave the parchment a blank look and sighed, shaking her head. She ripped the parchment in to bits, guiltily taking pleasure in the rather destructive feeling it gave her. She tossed the destroyed parchment in to her paper wastebasket on her way to her room. She unlocked her 'witch's wardrobe,' as she liked to call it. In her wardrobe, there were robes and all manner of clothes necessary for the wizarding world. In her dresser, Cho stowed her everyday clothes.
Hiding the key back under her mattress after locking the wardrobe up again, she retrieved her wand from her purse and stowed it in to the folds of her robe. Of course, being a wooden stick of ten inches long, the pocket in her robes were especially made for such a purpose.
Sighing, Cho opened the back door to her apartment and slipped out, descending the dark and crooked stairs from her third floor flat. She opened the door to a dark alleyway, a fireplace crackling at one end. This was Cho's ticket to the wizarding world. She withdrew a pouch from the inside of her robe and pulled a pinch of emerald powder from it. Tossing it in to the flames and watching the flames turn a flickering green, she stepped in to the fire and said "Auror Headquarters!" before disappearing.
Kitch says: Sorry for taking so long to get this up. Writer's block is the pits. Hope you enjoyed!
