Silverbell
The Owl
Remus sat alone in the living-room reading a fresh new addition of 'The Daily Prophet'. Remus sighed, this place seemed to be so cold and despairing with out Bell, without her laughter, sarcasm, biting remarks that had her in constant trouble, and the squeals of her and her friends as they talked about the latest Muggle bands he felt so alone. Rising he looked at the photo on his mantelpiece, Bell smiled widely out of the carved wooden frame, he had taken the picture the day of her eleventh birthday, in one hand she held a book 'Norte-Dame de Paris,' it was his gift to her, and the other waved frantically. Remus chuckled, what the hell kind of eleven year old's birthday wish list said, "Anything Victor Hugo?" Well then again Bell was anything but normal, even for a witch. She loved the classics, she'd discovered them in her Muggle language arts class when they had read an except from 'Treasure Island' which she bought with her allowance the very next week.
He remembered how surprised she was when received her letter, she was so happy, as was he so much so that he bought 'Les Misérables' immediately as her acceptance gift. Just then, as if on cue a shriek cut trough his thoughts, a large great horned owl swooped in through an open window and landed on his sofa, a letter held tightly in it's sharp and deadly beak. "Ah," The man said turning to look at it. "Must be a letter from Bell!" Picking up half of the ham sandwich he'd been eating he offered it to the owl. Bending it's head it transferred the letter from beak to talon. It then grabbed the sandwich greedily and gobbled down its payment. Remus reached for the letter but stopped when he noticed that it talons tensed.
"Alright," Remus said scratching his head. "Here's the rest, now may I have my letter please?" Again the owl gulped down the tip hurriedly. Remus reached for the letter again, the owl gave a short scream a lunged foreword biting his hand. "Ah, you bloody little piece of work!" Remus shouted. The owl ignored him fluffed its feathers and promptly fell asleep. And hour later the foul fowl was gone and Remus held a slightly crumpled talon torn envelope in his hands he sat down tucking his feet underneath him and smiled. Ripping it open he did a quick scan for some key words, 'fun,' 'Hogwarts,' 'Sorting Hat,' 'Gryffindor' at that particular word his joy bubbled over as he squirmed in his seat with excitement for her.
Taking a deep breath he cleared his mind and started at the top.
'Dear Uncle Remus,
I'm writing to you with a quill which is a lot more difficult then you might imagine, this is the third copy of this letter, and the one I sent because it came out the clearest, and with the least ink splatters, sorry if you can't read it though, I really would love a good old ballpoint though!" Remus laughed. "First let me tell you that I was so very frightened of leaving that I thought about missing the train intentionally, so, yes I suppose I am a coward, but I'm glad that I came, so you don't worry about that anymore, I'm fine.
The train did take longer then I thought it would though, oh and that Percy boy he sat with me, so I wasn't alone. We talked a bit, he was really nice and just as nervous as I was. I don't recall everything we talked about but I do remember we spoke of siblings, his, did you know he has six siblings? Two older brothers, one who seems to be a bit odd, kinda rebel like, the other is really into dragons right now but Percy says it won't last. Then there's him, then the twins, boys, who he says joke around way too much, and his youngest brother he says is pretty average. The there's his baby sister, Ginny, poor girl, six boys! How does she stay sane? We also talked about Hogwarts and how anxious we were.
Did I tell you he likes to read too, isn't that fantastic?' A broad smile broke out across Remus' face, "Oh, no, first crush!" He said slapping his leg. 'He loves the classics!' "Defiantly first crush!" He chortled. 'After comparing Gaston Leroux to the love of my life, Mister Victor Hugo (did I mention that I'd like 'Le Fantôme de l'Opéra' for Christmas?) we had lunch, he shared his peanut butter and jelly, strawberry not grape, why don't ever have strawberry? Anyway, after that I bought us a box of Every Flavor Beans to share, we spent the rest of the ride trying to discern which were the good flavors and which were the ones to be avoided, apparently we are good at neither!
I suppose I was still pretty nervous when we arrived because I was trembling, I don't know why though maybe I was scared of being rejected, or failing at something, I've never had many wizarding friends before so that was probably it. Anyway, when we got there Percy and I got off together, they took up to the castle across a lake in boats lite up with lanterns, that castle itself was amazing, it was like a cliff rising out of the sea (lake) and the sides were on fire! After we go inside we had to wait in a corridor outside the Great Hall. Once the doors opened, I felt faint, there were so many people staring and the room was so huge, and the ceiling! It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen!
Then the Sorting Hat started to sing, it was an odd song, about the founders. Several people went to Gryffindor, including Percy, I went before him though, Alphabetical by names and all-' Remus moved on to the second page. 'I was so afraid, but when they called my name but Percy smiled at me and squeezed my hand and I felt better, until I stared walking up there that is. When I sat down the hat was put on head, it was the weirdest most bizarre and scary thing ever, that hat began to talk inside my head! It said this rhyme too;'
"You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart
Or perhaps in Slytherin,
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means,
To achieve their ends
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true,
And unafraid of toil
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind."
'It spoke with me for a while it seemed to have some trouble picking a house for me, it said I would do well in Gryffindor... Like my father... I remember stories you told of Gryffindor and it sounded fun but, the hat said that he could sense a sudden hesitance in me. Oh, Uncle Remus I feel so guilty for that, I really, truly do! But I was sorted away. It startled me when the hat shouted but soon everyone was cheering, I must have look like a real dolt because I had to ask Professor McGonagall what the hat had said, she was very kind. Well guess, "What?" I'm a Ravenclaw!'
"What?" Remus shouted at the paper sitting bolt upright. Bell was clever and all but Ravenclaw? That couldn't be right! 'I sat down with all the others and watched as everyone else was sorted when it was Percy's turn I waved and tried to give him that same reassuring smile, I don't think he saw, and I probably looked like dork. After all that we had the welcome feast, the food was good, but too much meat, not enough good old f&vs,' Remus laughed, he loved her cute little nicknames, how or why she had ever chose to become a vegetarian he would never know.
'After that we sang a funny song, well I didn't sing really, I don't like my voice much, but this was the song,'
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald,
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling,
With-" Next page
"some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot."
'After that we all went to our houses, I got trapped on a moving stair on the way, it was really scary when I couldn't get back with the others an older boy levitated me over to them, that was really, really scary! Then we walked up this really tight, tall stair case all the way up to the top of a tower. Instead of a portrait like you said Gryffindor has there's a door knocker and it asks to questions, the one it asked me seemed to be a math problem but really it was a true or false question disguised as a math problem! it took me a couple tries, which the knocker gave me as a first year.
The inside is so beautiful! It has elegant arched windows, and the walls are hung with blue and bronze silks. The ceiling is domed and painted with stars, and so the midnight-blue carpet. Tables, chairs, and bookcases cover the most of the floor, and a white-marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw sits next to the door that leads to the dormitories above. Which are very nice, I think I'm going to like it here, well it's late and I should be getting to bed.
Good night Uncle Remus I love you,
Silverbell, Rachel, Morning Glory, Black the newest Ravenclaw!'
"Wow Remus breathed putting the letter down. "Wow..." He rubbed the back of his neck, he missed Bell even more now but was so incredibly proud of her. He got up and grabbed a pen and paper sitting down he smiling wrote,
'Dear Bell,
The first school break, you and I are going to go and get you an owl of your own...'
He remembered how surprised she was when received her letter, she was so happy, as was he so much so that he bought 'Les Misérables' immediately as her acceptance gift. Just then, as if on cue a shriek cut trough his thoughts, a large great horned owl swooped in through an open window and landed on his sofa, a letter held tightly in it's sharp and deadly beak. "Ah," The man said turning to look at it. "Must be a letter from Bell!" Picking up half of the ham sandwich he'd been eating he offered it to the owl. Bending it's head it transferred the letter from beak to talon. It then grabbed the sandwich greedily and gobbled down its payment. Remus reached for the letter but stopped when he noticed that it talons tensed.
"Alright," Remus said scratching his head. "Here's the rest, now may I have my letter please?" Again the owl gulped down the tip hurriedly. Remus reached for the letter again, the owl gave a short scream a lunged foreword biting his hand. "Ah, you bloody little piece of work!" Remus shouted. The owl ignored him fluffed its feathers and promptly fell asleep. And hour later the foul fowl was gone and Remus held a slightly crumpled talon torn envelope in his hands he sat down tucking his feet underneath him and smiled. Ripping it open he did a quick scan for some key words, 'fun,' 'Hogwarts,' 'Sorting Hat,' 'Gryffindor' at that particular word his joy bubbled over as he squirmed in his seat with excitement for her.
Taking a deep breath he cleared his mind and started at the top.
'Dear Uncle Remus,
I'm writing to you with a quill which is a lot more difficult then you might imagine, this is the third copy of this letter, and the one I sent because it came out the clearest, and with the least ink splatters, sorry if you can't read it though, I really would love a good old ballpoint though!" Remus laughed. "First let me tell you that I was so very frightened of leaving that I thought about missing the train intentionally, so, yes I suppose I am a coward, but I'm glad that I came, so you don't worry about that anymore, I'm fine.
The train did take longer then I thought it would though, oh and that Percy boy he sat with me, so I wasn't alone. We talked a bit, he was really nice and just as nervous as I was. I don't recall everything we talked about but I do remember we spoke of siblings, his, did you know he has six siblings? Two older brothers, one who seems to be a bit odd, kinda rebel like, the other is really into dragons right now but Percy says it won't last. Then there's him, then the twins, boys, who he says joke around way too much, and his youngest brother he says is pretty average. The there's his baby sister, Ginny, poor girl, six boys! How does she stay sane? We also talked about Hogwarts and how anxious we were.
Did I tell you he likes to read too, isn't that fantastic?' A broad smile broke out across Remus' face, "Oh, no, first crush!" He said slapping his leg. 'He loves the classics!' "Defiantly first crush!" He chortled. 'After comparing Gaston Leroux to the love of my life, Mister Victor Hugo (did I mention that I'd like 'Le Fantôme de l'Opéra' for Christmas?) we had lunch, he shared his peanut butter and jelly, strawberry not grape, why don't ever have strawberry? Anyway, after that I bought us a box of Every Flavor Beans to share, we spent the rest of the ride trying to discern which were the good flavors and which were the ones to be avoided, apparently we are good at neither!
I suppose I was still pretty nervous when we arrived because I was trembling, I don't know why though maybe I was scared of being rejected, or failing at something, I've never had many wizarding friends before so that was probably it. Anyway, when we got there Percy and I got off together, they took up to the castle across a lake in boats lite up with lanterns, that castle itself was amazing, it was like a cliff rising out of the sea (lake) and the sides were on fire! After we go inside we had to wait in a corridor outside the Great Hall. Once the doors opened, I felt faint, there were so many people staring and the room was so huge, and the ceiling! It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen!
Then the Sorting Hat started to sing, it was an odd song, about the founders. Several people went to Gryffindor, including Percy, I went before him though, Alphabetical by names and all-' Remus moved on to the second page. 'I was so afraid, but when they called my name but Percy smiled at me and squeezed my hand and I felt better, until I stared walking up there that is. When I sat down the hat was put on head, it was the weirdest most bizarre and scary thing ever, that hat began to talk inside my head! It said this rhyme too;'
"You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart
Or perhaps in Slytherin,
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means,
To achieve their ends
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true,
And unafraid of toil
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind."
'It spoke with me for a while it seemed to have some trouble picking a house for me, it said I would do well in Gryffindor... Like my father... I remember stories you told of Gryffindor and it sounded fun but, the hat said that he could sense a sudden hesitance in me. Oh, Uncle Remus I feel so guilty for that, I really, truly do! But I was sorted away. It startled me when the hat shouted but soon everyone was cheering, I must have look like a real dolt because I had to ask Professor McGonagall what the hat had said, she was very kind. Well guess, "What?" I'm a Ravenclaw!'
"What?" Remus shouted at the paper sitting bolt upright. Bell was clever and all but Ravenclaw? That couldn't be right! 'I sat down with all the others and watched as everyone else was sorted when it was Percy's turn I waved and tried to give him that same reassuring smile, I don't think he saw, and I probably looked like dork. After all that we had the welcome feast, the food was good, but too much meat, not enough good old f&vs,' Remus laughed, he loved her cute little nicknames, how or why she had ever chose to become a vegetarian he would never know.
'After that we sang a funny song, well I didn't sing really, I don't like my voice much, but this was the song,'
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald,
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling,
With-" Next page
"some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot."
'After that we all went to our houses, I got trapped on a moving stair on the way, it was really scary when I couldn't get back with the others an older boy levitated me over to them, that was really, really scary! Then we walked up this really tight, tall stair case all the way up to the top of a tower. Instead of a portrait like you said Gryffindor has there's a door knocker and it asks to questions, the one it asked me seemed to be a math problem but really it was a true or false question disguised as a math problem! it took me a couple tries, which the knocker gave me as a first year.
The inside is so beautiful! It has elegant arched windows, and the walls are hung with blue and bronze silks. The ceiling is domed and painted with stars, and so the midnight-blue carpet. Tables, chairs, and bookcases cover the most of the floor, and a white-marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw sits next to the door that leads to the dormitories above. Which are very nice, I think I'm going to like it here, well it's late and I should be getting to bed.
Good night Uncle Remus I love you,
Silverbell, Rachel, Morning Glory, Black the newest Ravenclaw!'
"Wow Remus breathed putting the letter down. "Wow..." He rubbed the back of his neck, he missed Bell even more now but was so incredibly proud of her. He got up and grabbed a pen and paper sitting down he smiling wrote,
'Dear Bell,
The first school break, you and I are going to go and get you an owl of your own...'