Broken People--A Hufflepuff Story

Chapter III

            Dear Carrie, 

                          I found out I had family today. In fact, I have two uncles and an aunt. They let me call them by their first names, which are Finn, Sam, and Anthia. I cannot seem to bring myself to call Ms. Anthia 'Anthia', because she is the most perfect lady you ever saw. But I do not want to hurt her feelings, so I call the rest 'Mr.' as well. 

      It is pretty hard to explain everything, but I will try, for your sake. 

          My mother's name was Carrie Salem. The Salem family has been cursed. Every generation, a child goes missing when they are born. There is always many more children, to make up for the loss of the one. Mr. Finn was the last child who went missing. He, Mr. Sam, Ms. Anthia, and my mother were quadruplets. 

              My mother and Mr. Sam and Ms. Anthia decided to look for Mr. Finn when they got out of school, but my mother moved to France a few years later and met my father, Jerry Penworthy, who was also a wizard, and a teacher at a magic school. 

                 My father was killed in an accident involving "Underage Magic" which means it's against the law in this world to use magic off of school grounds until you're a certain age, or graduated from a magic school. I guess my mother was so upset she decided to have me early, at least, that's how I understand it. But since I was the next generation, I went missing. My mother died a few hours later. They couldn't get her to a hospital in time. 

               I think Mr. Sam and Ms. Anthia were waiting for me to get upset. Or cry. Mr. Finn says they mean well, it's just that they don't understand. I have to learn to patient with them. He also says they are restless souls. All they have ever known is a life full of searching, and now that they don't have to do that anymore, they don't know what to do. 

        Mr. Finn is my favorite. I don't mean to have favorites, but he understands me better. He is tall, with black hair and silvery gray eyes that peer into my insides. I think you would like him. 

                  I have to go now. Ms. Anthia wanted me to rest from the train, and then we're going to talk some more, but I wanted to write you before anything else happened. 

                                                                                                                     Sincerely, 

                                                                                                                          Anna. 

                     ****************************************************************

     Carrie stared out of her bedroom window, into the night. It was finally quiet, but she  could not shake the worry she had felt day in and day out that her plagued her mind since Anna had left for Ilvermorny three weeks ago. Anna had promised to write, but Carrie hadn't gotten anything in the mail. Did magic people like Anna have addresses? Did they even have mailboxes?

            Carrie tapped the windowsill with her nails nervously. It was only a matter of time until the Foster system came to inquire about Anna, and then she would lose all of her kids. Although the official Ilvermorny letter had assured her that the matter was taken care of, Carrie didn't know what to  believe. She hadn't believed in magic for years, that's for sure.

      A memory tickled at the back of her mind, one she couldn't quite grasp. Something about a wine cellar? Funny that she was thinking of that, now. Carrie tried to retrieve the rest of the memory, but at that moment an owl suddenly swooped out of the sky and perched right on the windowsill outside. 

            It startled the very breath away from Carrie, but she gained her senses quick enough, and hurried to open the window when she saw the letter it carried. 

                    Finally. A letter from her Anna.