SPARKS FLY | fred weasley x oc | YEAR 3

chapter 9- the owlery

Daphne,

I am the worst friend ever! I didn't even realize I hadn't written to you since the summer! How are you? How is school? Is it weird not having me there? It's definitely weird not having you around. I have so much to catch you up on. These Brits are intense! There is so much competition between the houses, it's crazy, especially for quidditch. I'M THE KEEPER FOR MY HOUSE TEAM!!! It's been so great being Keeper and my team is amazing. My captains, Jessica and Cedric, are some of the best players I've ever seen. Cedric is so great, he's the one who invited me to try out for Keeper, the reason I'm even on the team.

I've made some great friends. On the train I sat with Harry Potter- yeah that one- and two other kids my age, Hermione and Ron. Ron is the second youngest of 7, all brothers above him and a sister below him. His brothers just older than him are twins, Fred and George. They're kinda crazy, always pranking people. They hit me with purple sparks after I was on the train for like 5 seconds. George is great, really nice. Fred is amazing at chess! We play all the time and I got him a new set for Christmas. Hermione, Jessica, and Olivia, the other girl on my quidditch team, all seem to think that Fred likes me. Like, likes me likes me, even though I keep telling them we're just friends. He's a few years older than me and he's Ron's brother. It would be weird. Besides, I don't see him like that. And I think I maybe sort of might like Cedric...? It's confusing; we're teammates but also friends. He's one of the first people who spoke to me at Hogwarts. It's weird, I don't know. AH!!!

Anyway, school is good. Classes are boring, except for my Care of Magical Creatures class. That one is so interesting. First off, our book is a literal monster: I have to pet it before I can open it or it will eat my face off. The very first lesson was about a hippogriff and we had a live one. Hagrid, the teacher, sent Harry on a joyride 2o minutes into class, it's wild. One of the only downsides is no elevators, I'm constantly walking up and down stairs. Oh, they also move. This school is the definition of enchanted, it's insane. Another main downside is uniform rules. We have to stay in full robes and everything until after dinner, unless it's Friday, then your last lesson starts the weekend rules. There's a small village that we've visited a few times on the weekends. Lots of small shops for candy, pranks, and the best drink I've ever had. It's called Butterbeer- it's basically a caramel hot chocolate with a thick cream froth on top. Seriously the best.

I know you really only care about the social drama, so I kept the other stuff short. I would normally use Poppy, my owl, but this will have come by regular mail. I have to owl it to my parents so they can send it internationally. Wouldn't be surprised if mom includes a small "hello" in the envelope. Don't worry about writing back quickly. I know how busy you are and I'm halfway across the world. But I am going to need serious help if any drama actually becomes drama. Miss you so so so much!

Love you!

Melly Welly

I smile to myself as I finish the letter and tuck it into a large envelope, including a note to my parents to forward it to Daphne at Ilvermorny. I can't bring myself to send Poppy out in the cold, so I decide I'll just use a school owl. I pull on a jacket, scarf, and boots before leaving Gryffindor and make the cold journey to the owlery.

"What is all this for?" Fred asks as he unravels the scarf from around my neck.

"Hey, knock it off!" I snap as I grab it and rewrap myself. "I'm going to the owlery, sending another letter to my parents."

"Why do you need to go to the owlery?" He asked, glancing back to see Poppy and Hedwig perched next to one another on a table in the corner of the common room.

"It's too cold. I don't need her little wings freezing somewhere over the Black Lake." I defended and watched him hold back a laugh. "It's not funny, Freddie. She's my best friend."