Ten years after I began at Hogwarts, Sebastian Sallow is back. And he's Professor Sallow now. He disappeared after the fall of Ranrok and Rookwood, after I lost Professor Fig, and after Ominis and I couldn't keep him from losing himself. But I never...
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"Oh, my! Miss April's cheeks are so flushed! Penny must have saved you from a terrible nightmare!" exclaims the earnest voice of Penny the House Elf as she approaches my bedside.
It was anything but a nightmare. My heart is still racing.
My sweet house-mate of the past seven years is a good friend and an even better business partner, but "reading the room" is definitely not one of her skills.
What. A. Dream. Was I back at Hogwarts? With...Sebastian?
Weird. I haven't seen my old friend in years. "Friend." Ha. I guess the more correct statement would be "I haven't seen my old whatever-he-was in years." We both knew it was something else. Regardless, his presence at the forefront of my mind is odd, indeed. And, while I adore Natty's mom and I do respect the art of Divination, at the end of the day I've always felt like dreams were just brain garbage trying to sort itself on the way out of the mind chute.
Penny approaches me, balancing a steaming cup of tea in one hand, which smells like every flower from every garden, and in the other hand she is delicately holding a letter.
As I take a sip from the warm cup she offers, the smooth flow of anise hits the back of my throat and I'm finally able to croak, "Morning, Penny. What's that?"
Excitedly, she jumps on top of my bed (which, thankfully, experience has taught me to anticipate so I am able to just save my tea from spilling over). She holds a letter inches away from my face and explains "Eustis brought you a letter early early early this morning! Penny has been waiting for you to wake up but Penny just couldn't wait any longer!"
"Time is it?" I muster, squinting towards the blinding window, full of pure morning daylight.
"Quarter of six!" she squeals as she gently nudges the pristinely handled letter towards me.
Too early. I'm not the morning person I used to be.
I flip the letter over and notice the Hogwarts wax seal stamped on the back side: an elegant double-seal of shimmering gold wax surrounding a glossy red Hogwarts emblem. Professor Weasley. So that's why Penny's so excited.
Professor Weasley and I have stayed in close touch since I graduated Hogwarts. She stepped up to fill the void that Professor Fig left, especially in light of my parents being gone, too. I appreciated her influence, even though we didn't see eye-to-eye as easily as Professor Fig and I did. We usually corresponded casually by personal owl or met up near my division at the Ministry of Magic when she has business to attend there. In the past ten years I'd received no more than five or six letters of an official Hogwarts correspondence, though I always enjoyed receiving them as they usually meant an invitation to visit the beloved castle.
Penny knows how much I love Hogwarts. How my goal is to work there some day. She's the best friend and cheerleader anyone could ask for, bless her, but it's safe to say her hopes for my future far exceed my own.
Even in light of the mysterious letter, I can't ignore my beloved barn owl. Funny enough, Sebastian helped me pick him out in Hogsmeade. That was such a lovely day I haven't thought about in...forever. He made fun of me for instantly falling head over heels for the scruffiest, grumpiest owl of the bunch. I remember laughing and joking that with all their similarities it was no wonder I gravitated right towards him.
"Did you feed Eustis? He gets so tired lately." My poor little gramps. He was already an older owl when I took him in, and that was ten years ago.His aging makes my heart ache. The short life span of animals is a cruelty of mortality I'll never understand.
"Of course!!" Penny exclaims as she playfully gives my arm a thwack. "Two slimy river frogs! You know Penny spoils him." She gestures to the letter. "Now, stop avoiding it, Penny thinks this could be your employment offer!"
"I've told you a hundred times it doesn't work like that." She gives me flustered look, even though she knows I'm right. I don't keep it a secret that I dream of replacing Professor Howin if she were ever to retire, but that eventuality seems highly likely. Howin is shrewd, enduring, and seemingly ageless. Her career is far from over. Plus, given that I see her every week when I volunteer to help her care for Hogwarts' many beasts, I think I'd have a pulse on that situation. Which doesn't exist.
"Just open it!"
"Okay, okay." I slip my finger beneath the seal to pop it free from the parchment.
------
Good morning, Ms. Collins.
I hope this letter finds you well. I would have sent it yesterday morning but Eustis seemed in need of a rest. Perhaps you ought to consider procuring a more capable owl, as the journey between Hogsmeade and Hogwarts is not a taxing one, as Eustis would have us believe.
--Thanks for the advice, Professor Obvious.--
I must meet with you today. While I do apologize for the late notice, I think you'll find the news I have to share with you is most urgent and interesting, indeed. I'll ask Deek to wait for you at the North Gate. Send him for me when you arrive.
Thank you for adjusting your schedule as needed to accommodate my request.
