𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐘 || 𝐜.𝐝.

𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

Today was the day my owl should arrive. I was drinking cold pumpkin juice, relaxing in the perfect weather. It was sunny, but with the right amount of breeze.

I took another sip and scratched my quill across the parchment. I was going to send a letter to the Weasley twins, they'd given me a good laugh on my birthday a month ago, and I'd forgotten completely of their existence, so I may need to write back. I wanted my letter to be lighthearted and joking to match their own nature.

Dear George (and Fred, if you've taken the letter somehow),

Thanks for the lovely stolen gift. Your mum better not have raised hell on you for giving it to me, or else this bracelet is going straight back to the Burrow, you two, mark my words. Anyways, have you two got the book lists yet? My owl is running a little late. Please tell me if you two want to meet with me at Diagon Alley with your siblings. Let Potter come along too, because why not. Anyways, thank you for being the most talented toilet artists and the most hilariously terrifying friends I have by far. George, you fancying me better be a joke, or I'm hexing you the moment I see you. Bye bye!

Sincerely, Celene

I ran upstairs to see my ebony black and chocolate brown owl there, sitting patiently in his cage, finishing up what was left of the breakfast I gave him. He fluttered his wings affectionately as soon as he saw me enter, already ready to get out of his cage.

"Look who's ready to get out of his cage." I crooned, whispering and keeping my voice down. I let him out carefully. He fluttered almost immediately to my windowsill, eagerly clicking his beak and fluttering his wings. Smiling, I allowed him to take my letter in his beak.

"To the Weasley family, at the Burrow. You know where." I said, and he took off. I watched as my owl flew through the sky until he was out of sight.

I sighed contentedly at the weather, the view from the window, and at my beverage. Today would be perfect, no drama necessary. I just knew it. I decided to try and do something with my tangled hair, which I probably have not attended to since the start of last week. I tried fumbling with my wand and a diamond encrusted hairbrush, muttering countless charms to try and get it to stroke through my messy hair, but each wand wave and each "brush" sent the comb tumbling to the floor, bouncing off of the tangles.

My hair was normally straight curling inwards; dark brown locks flowing neatly until my shoulders, parted on the right side. Now, it was messy and wavy, tangles bunching up behind my head, my hair now going until my chest. I looked unkept, that's for sure. Fairly, there was no reason to actually fix it, maybe hide it, but not fix it.

"What the hell.." I picked up the comb from the ground and tried pulling it through my hair manually, causing me a lot of very unnecessary pain.

"Ow! What the fuck?" I winced as I continued braving through my own tangled hair. You can do this, Celene. It's just hair. It's just hair.

Hair that is really putting me in pain.

Many strokes and many curse words later, I finally got my hair back, if anything, a slightly wavier and longer version of my old hair. I separated my hair into 3 rows and twisted them into one long braid.

"Where is it.." I mumbled, holding the braid intact with one hand and grabbing around wildly for a hair ribbon with the other. Settling for a black and yellow one a first year gave me, I tied it around the end of the braid carefully. Satisfied, I stared back at my reflection in the mirror. The braid was a different touch, one that I liked a lot.

Suddenly, an owl came flying dangerously close to the window, but it wasn't my brown and black owl. I realized this was it, my letter. My ticket to my fifth year at Hogwarts.

As if on cue, the owl dropped a wax-sealed, pristine looking letter into my window. It flew away quickly, breezing through the clear sky. I picked up the letter and pried off the wax seal, tugging the paper open.

I smiled at the familiar details of the letter. McGonagall's neat handwriting and even neater signature was something you couldn't forget easily, not to mention, the crisp and clear smell of the new parchment.

Taking note of my books, I tucked the letter into my drawer and continued staring out of the window. I was quite calm, fully escaped from the drama that went on a month ago. Of course, it wasn't that easy to forget the issues I had with Cedric now, but it was easy to ignore for the time being.

Suddenly, an owl popped up in front of me, causing me to fall out of my calm demeanor for a second.

"Merlin's— you scared me!"  I hissed, knowing full well my owl couldn't hear me.

My brown and black owl was back, his dark eyes staring at me with a letter clutched in his beak. The letter was in a familiar package, the same one the Weasleys used as their gift envelope. Grinning widely, I fed my owl bit of his leftover food and placed him in his cage.

Opening the letter, I felt two sweets come out of the package along with the letter; one Pepper Imp and one of the Weasleys' prototype Puking Pastilles. The candy made me remember something, but that something felt like a fever dream now, pushed to the back of my mind with great force.

Dear Lene,

The nickname was my actual nickname, yes, but something about it being unique to very limited people, people that weren't the Weasley twins, made me shiver every time I heard it or saw it.

I can call you that, right? I wasn't very sure, but no matter. Fred didn't want to help me write this one, that git, so I've stolen some of his sweet stash and put it in here, I hope you don't mind. Anyways, I got a good laugh out of your letter, and no, mother dear hasn't raised hell on me for stealing her bracelet. She probably likes you more than both Fred and I combined. It scares me. About what Fred said, is it because of Diggory? If you don't mind, he wasn't lying about it, but that doesn't stop me from mentally planning yours and perfect Diggory's wedding.

Yours Truly, George Weasley

I giggled all throughout reading the letter. One of the effects the Weasleys had on me through their letters were naturally making me laugh. They were like an escape. I snacked on the Pepper Imps, and didn't dare touch the Puking Pastille. Overall, today was calm.

That is, until a final owl flew into my room holding a letter from Romania.