9. Friends You Can Count On

Leaning on the windowsill, Alastor stared out at the night sky, almost wishing he could fly away himself. As he stared, a dark blot caught his attention. Frowning, he watched it grow larger. After a few moments, he realized it was an owl and was headed towards his window. He moved back as the long-eared owl swooped through the window and over to Vertu's perch.

"Hello, there. Who do you have letters for?"

The owl hooted and lifted his leg to show the packet tied to his leg. Alastor stared. "For me?" The owl hooted again and Alastor quickly removed the packet. "Thank you, very much."

The owl hooted a third time, drank some water and ate the Owl Treat Alastor offered him. Untying the packet he found a packet of sweets, a small volume, and a bunch of letters. Alastor was quite surprised to find not one, not two, not even three, four, or five letters waiting for him, but eight! Eight letters! All at once! Feeling a little dazed, the boy sat down at his desk and looked at each envelope, smiling when he saw that a name had been written on each to inform him who had written it. He decided to open the one from Mr. and Mrs. Pomfrey first, since they had been his hosts.

Dear Alastor,

Patrick and I were sorry to see you go. We enjoyed having you over and we hope that you may be able to come again soon. I do hope we've not offended your family. Please extend our greetings to them and assure them we loved having you and wish you to come again. I believe my son has informed you that I wish to knit a sweater for you. Please send your size and color post haste so that I may start on that as soon as I can. We hope you are doing well and we hope to see you at Kings Cross.

Sincerely,

Iris and Patrick Pomfrey

Alastor frowned as he finished reading the letter. Apparently, his father hadn't left a favorable impression after all. Come to think of it, though, Mr. and Mrs. Pomfrey couldn't have offended Augustus. Augustus wouldn't have minded, as Stewart was a Ravenclaw. He was honored that she wished to knit a sweater for him. He'd seen the ones Stewart, Griffith, and Percy had received for Christmas and admired the excellent craftsmanship. He would certainly look forward to seeing them again.

Alastor found his hand moving to pick up the letter with the mad scrawled writing. He found himself unfolding Stewart's letter, his eyes eagerly scanning the contents.

Al,

Oy! How could you go and deprive us of your fine company, old boy? I'd been planning on serenading you with 'Rule Britannia' for a change, and then you biffed off. I hope we haven't upset your family. Mum and Dad say that you are always invited back. You're part of the family now as it is, mate. Oh! I almost forgot to tell you, Mum wanted to know your sweater size. Since you're part of the Pomfrey family now, she wants to knit a sweater for you. So, if you could be so kind as to send your size and favorite color, she'd appreciate that and not pelt me with a pillow for almost forgetting to ask. Anyway, we miss you, old chap. I suppose we'll have to wait to see each other at Hogwarts again. Take care.

~Stew~

He chuckled softly at the thought of Stewart singing anything other than 'God Save the Queen'. Every morning, without fail, Stewart had come into the guest room and begun to sing 'God Save the Queen', with Alastor or Rremly throwing a pillow at him. Without fail, a pillow fight would result. He would have to let the Pomfreys know that his father hadn't been angry because of them, but he would not mention the truth. Griffith, Percy, Belladonna, and Rremly didn't need to know that. He was already looking forward to the end of the holidays and seeing his friends again. At least the letters would make the next month and a half easier to bear.

The next letter he picked up was the one from Rremly. He'd been sure of getting one from him because he'd specifically spoken to him about writing, though it had been a pleasant surprise to get a letter from everybody.

Al,

I'm sorry you had to leave. I hope you haven't gotten in trouble with your family. Really, we worry for you, mate. I sat down with Percy and Poppy to write this letter, figuring it might cheer you up to get this just as you returned home. Though, it was Percy's idea to get everyone to write letters so you'd be entertained for quite a while. We miss you mate, and we can't wait 'til we see you again at Hogwarts. I hope things don't get rough for you, if they do write me and I'll send some sweets and Percy will send another of his favourite plays to get your mind off things.

~Rrem~

Alastor felt himself smile. Rremly could always be counted upon to come through on his promises, as he'd more than come through the promised letter and package of sweets. It truly warmed his heart and he knew that when he next saw Rremly, he was going to hug him.

Shaking his head slightly, as if to clear it, he opened Griffith's letter next, wondering what Stewart's partner-in-crime had to say.

Al,

Say, Mate, I hope we haven't offended your father. He seemed pretty cross for some reason. Anyway, it was loads of fun to have you with us. I look forward to seeing you at King's Cross. Maybe Diagon Alley when we go school shopping. Mum likes you. Says you're real nice and quiet. Said something about wishing I was the same, but I wasn't really paying attention. I almost wish you could have spent the entire summer here. See you at the end of summer if not before!

Griff.

Alastor grinned at the obvious enthusiasm of his friend. Griffith had always been energetic and his letter reflected that. He was glad Mrs. Hooch had liked him. She was really nice, in her own way. A bit brusque, but she'd never made him feel unwelcome in her home the couple times he'd spent the night at the Hooch's house. It was actually a haven for Quidditch fanatics, to tell the truth. Not that he'd minded, of course.

Shaking his head, amused, Alastor picked up Percy's letter next, wondering what the most confident and charming of the lot had written.

Al,

Merlin's pants, it's such a shame you had to leave so abruptly. Leave it to the Slytherin-Gryffindor enmity to get your father's knickers in a twist… actually, you know, it'd be best that we don't talk about your father's knickers- or really anything about your father. I just hope you'll be all right. Do write any old time- and I mean it: anytime, you hear? We're used to getting owls at odd times. Do you have any idea how many girls write to my brothers? I told them they should just start a bloody fan-club already and have done with it. Then they had the nerve to tell me that I shouldn't tease them because it'll happen to me, too. Oh, Merlin, I hope not… That'd be dreadfully awkward and inconvenient. Anyway, enough of that! I just want to say that I hope you enjoy the play I sent you. I rather think you'll like it.

Here's to seeing you at Kings Cross!

~Percy

Alastor couldn't help a laugh. He could just imagine Percy surrounded by mountainous piles of letters. Shaking his head, still amused, he picked up the volume Percy had sent: Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie, another Muggle play it seemed.

Next in line was Belladonna's letter. This ought to be good.

Al,

Your dad's a right ray of sunshine, isn't he? If he keeps on with that sour expression on his face, it might just stick that way. Mum used to tell me that whenever she caught me rolling my eyes or smirking. Hasn't happened yet, but something tells me that it will happen with your dad. Though, I have to admit, that'd make one wicked carving on his gravestone. Don't you think? But seriously, if anything happens, and he's hard on you- just write me. I'll come down and hex him. I've just mastered the Bat-Bogey Hex. He won't know what hit him. I don't care if we can't do magic yet. Some rules are meant to be broken, and besides, I can't imagine they'd send a student to Azkaban on account of one incident of underage magic.

See you at Kings.

Bella

He couldn't help his surprise as he read her letter. Belladonna was really ready to go to battle for him. Alastor could just see it now- he could see her tailing his father, getting to know where he goes about and when. She'd wait for just the right opportunity and she'd wham him with it. As tempting as it was to let her do it, he knew he wouldn't tell her. There was no integrity in letting someone else fight his battles for him.

He now unfolded Poppy's letter, curious to see what she had to say.

Alastor,

I was sorry to see you go so soon. I do hope you're doing all right and that we haven't offended your family in some way. Just know that my family and I were more than happy to have you with us. You've a longstanding invitation with us, just remember that. We don't stand on ceremony as Mum says. The moment you had gone, I sat down at the desk and wrote this out, hoping that it would get to you just as you returned home. You'll have to tell me if Spooky made good time. You'll be seeing a lot of Spooky believe me. You'll be getting so many letters from us that there might even be a parchment shortage because of it.

~*Poppy*~

For some reason, the thought she had been sorry he had to leave warmed his heart, almost soothing it. Mr. and Mrs. Pomfrey had mentioned several times during his stay that he was more than welcome to stay with them again, for which he was very grateful. It was nice to know that there were people out there who wanted his company rather than tolerated it.

Alastor picked up the Rolanda's letter next, wondering what 'Hurricane Hooch' had to say. She had more energy than her brother and tried the hardest to join in the boys' games.

Al,

It was nice to meet you, after all Griff's said about you. You're just like Griff said, only better, if that made any sense. Thanks for the piggyback rides you gave me. Oh, Mum just told me that you should feel free to visit anytime you're in Liddell. I think it'd be loads of fun to see you again. I'll be going to King's Cross with Mum and Griff, so I'll see you then. Oh, better go, it looks like the boys are getting ready to do some flying. See you!

Ro.

Alastor's grin didn't go away as he read Rolanda's letter. So very like her: quick, to the point, and ended abruptly. Not that he minded. She could be tiring at times. When it came to piggyback rides, Rolanda had been the most restless passenger of the two girls. Her feet had been in motion almost constantly and she'd kicked him by accident more than once, although she'd always been quick to apologize afterwards.

Alastor smiled. He'd enjoyed his time with the others immensely. Getting to know the girls had been a wonderful experience and he certainly looked forward to see them again. As for having fun without the others, well, he doubted that would ever happen, especially after the way his father welcomed him home.

In spite of that, he sighed contentedly, as if he'd just eaten a good meal, rising and preparing for bed. Once he had done so, he gathered the letters together into a neat stack, ready to be answered in the morning. His fingers lingered on Rremly's a little longer than necessary as he set it on top of the stack. That being done, he turned out the lights and slipped into bed. Nestling his cheek into his pillow, he let sleep overtake him. Maybe the next month and a half wouldn't be so bad after all.