Broken People--A Hufflepuff Story

Chapter VIII

    Dear Carrie,

      I'm getting settled here just fine. And  I have made friends, so don't worry. I'll tell you about them later on in this letter. My favorite teachers are Professor Camsbee, my Potions teacher, and Professor Anther, my Herbology teacher. They're very nice. Professor Anther has a sort of whimsical way about him, like he's just come from a magical land. I just realized how silly that sentence was--he lives in a magical land! They don't really care about my stutter, but some of the teachers lose patience quickly or make fun. 

              I know you're dying to ask, so I will be honest with you. There are bullies. The biggest of them all is a girl named Elyssa Crumsby. She has scared a lot of girls into being her friend, I think. She has too many of them. I try not to let her get to me, but sometimes she does. It's hard to fight back when you have a stutter. 

        Our Headmistress is nice too, though I've only talked with her once. She's tall and has very black hair. I think she and Uncle Sam had a 'thing' with each other once, because when Aunt Anthia told me about her, he turned away blushing without saying a word. He didn't speak for the next hour, which really is something. 

            My friends are named Elena Carmina, Felicity Carmichael, and Cecily Morgan. Cecily and Elena are both from Ravenclaw--you know, they're the kids who value knowledge above everything else--but Felicity is from Gryffindor. They're the kids who value being brave. 

          Elena is Hispanic. She has an odd accent, but she is still easy to understand. Her sister is the Professor who teaches Defense Against Dark Arts, and supervises Study Hall. Elena has big brown eyes and her hair is black and wavy. She smiles a lot, and is bursting with energy and knowledge. She and Cecily are like two peas in a pod--almost. 

             Cecily is dark skinned, and the best part of all--She has blue hair! It's huge, and bright, and has neon blue highlights in it. She is very smart, and  has already invented a sort of computer, combining muggle--remember, that's what they call witches or wizards who weren't born into or do not have magic---technology and magic. It's extraordinary. 

              I must hurry. We have a curfew here, and I have exactly five minutes to finish up. So tell all of the children there hello for me! and give them a hug as well. I miss my family. 

                                                                                                                               Sincerely, Anna. 

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

       Carrie stared at the letter in her hands. The owl that had brought it sat on the back of her chair, but this time it slept. It was a long trip from England to America, and how it got across the Atlantic she desperately wanted to know, but that was not on her mind just then. She was glad to get a letter, she really was, but something was troubling her. The way Anna described her homeroom in earlier letters, for one. It was almost as if Carrie had already been there, she could see it in her minds eye so well. But....she had never been to Hogwarts in her life. She had never even set foot out of America her entire life until she went to see Anna off. But....why did she suddenly feel as if something was missing in her memory?