Alice
Fred was discharged about a week later with nothing more than an eyepatch, which he was pretty excited about. The only downside, in his opinion, was his lack of depth perception and peripheral vision.
“What is it with you Weasley men? You’re always losing body parts.” I said one Saturday at breakfast.
“What do you mean?” Fred asked.
“Your dad lost his ear, you lost your eye.” I explained.
He chuckled, “That’s true.” The owls flew in. One dropped a letter for Cynthia, one dropped a letter for Teddy, one dropped a package for Fred, and one dropped a letter for me. I pushed mine aside because I didn’t really give a shit.
Fred eyed the package with confusion. He picked up the card attached to it, “I heard you needed a replacement.” he read aloud. He flipped the card over, “It’s from Eliana.”
“Maybe a late Christmas present?” James suggested.
Fred unwrapped it and immediately started dying of laughter. Eliana had sent him a jar of "Granger Approved Chocolate Eyes."
...
After breakfast, I went up to the common room and took the letter out of my pocket. I turned it over in my hands. There was no return address. I glanced back at James, “Do you know who sent this?”
“Nope.” He said.
“You didn’t even look.”
He glanced up at me, “I don’t know who sends you letters.”
I opened the letter.
Dear Miss Alice Longbottom,
I hope you realise that the love in your life is fake.
Your “boyfriend” doesn’t really love you. Why else would he ignore you for a whole night, and on New Year’s Eve no less?
And not to mention your “best friend,” Victoir. She seems to care more about that girl Cynthia than she does about you.
And then we get to your father. He gave you, his own daughter, detention just because you wanted to leave a party. And when you tried to explain, he wouldn’t listen.
Need I go on?
No one loves you.
No one wants you.
No one cares.
Sincerely,
The Only One with the Truth
I scoffed after reading that. I crumpled the letter up and threw it in the dustbin. I didn’t believe it for a second. But the next morning, I got another letter saying the same thing. And the next day, I got another. And another. And another. The writer kept sending them for about a month. I was able to push it away and not think much about it for a while.
And then it got much worse.
It was February fourteenth, and I got another letter. But this time it was a bit different.
Alice,
If you think I’m lying, that’s fine.
But I know for a fact that James isn’t going to do shit for you. Especially not today. It’s Valentine’s day, and he doesn’t love you.
He wants you dead.
We all do.
Sincerely,
The Only One with the Truth
That one hit me differently. I started to think, just for a second, that maybe they weren’t far off. I hadn’t seen James at all that day. I stood up and started for the common room. I found James and Teddy in the corridor outside of the common room, deep in conversation.
“Hey, James, I’ve been getting these letters and…well, I don’t really believe them, it’s just…it’s not true, right?” I asked him, shifting my weight anxiously.
James just burst out laughing and ran down the corridor, leaving me stunned and Teddy annoyed, “Shit.” Teddy said. He started after him, “Sorry Alice, he touched the cursed parchment and now he’s like this.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.” I said, mostly trying to convince myself. I walked into the common room to find Vicky reading, “Hey, Vicky, can I talk to you about something?”
“Yeah, of course.” She said, putting the book down.
“Well, I got this letter, and—” I was interrupted by Cynthia running into the room.
“I need help with a girl.” she cried.
“What kind of help?” Vicky asked cautiously, “Cause I’m not in the mood to hide any bodies today…”
“I want to ask her out.”
Vicky immediately started throwing questions at her. I, having no interest in what they were talking about, left. I went to the greenhouses and found my father there.
“Dad, can I talk to you?” I asked.
“Can it wait? I’m a little busy.” He told me without turning around.
“No, I’m not sure it can.” I admitted.
He sighed, “Fine.” He turned around, “I’m listening.”
“So James has been—”
He sighed again, interrupting me, “Alice, sweetie, I don’t have time to talk about your love life. I’ve got work to do.”
“No, It’s not that, it’s—”
“I really don’t have time right now. Why don’t you write a letter to your mum? I’m sure she’d like to hear all about you and James.”
I sighed, “Fine.” I said, and left. I thought back to the letters I had gotten. They described how James didn’t love me, how Vicky liked Cynthia more, and how my father never listened to me. If the writer was right about those things, could what they said in their latest letter be right, too? Did everyone just want me dead?
I stopped walking in front of the door leading to the astronomy tower. I hesitated for a second before I started climbing the stairs. When I reached the top, I took a deep breath. I walked toward the edge of the tower and leaned over the railing. I closed my eyes and braced myself.
“Alice, stop!” James shouted, running up the stairs. He gasped for breath, “Don’t…don’t jump.”
“What happened to the giggling James I saw earlier? He wouldn’t have cared if I did.”
James blushed, “I’m sorry. I touched the paper and… Teddy had to punch me repeatedly to get me to snap out of it.” he said, rubbing his jaw.
I scoffed, “It doesn’t matter. I’ve made my decision.”
“No!” he protested, “No, you can’t!”
“Why the hell not?” I asked.
“Because…” he faltered, as if having trouble coming up with a reason.
“Exactly.” I muttered.
“Don’t—” James shouted. But it was too late. I was already over the railing and in the air. James raced to the edge. He fumbled for his wand. I couldn’t bear to look at him as I fell, so I closed my eyes and braced myself for the impact that got closer with every second.
“Arresto Momentum!” James screamed. I could feel myself slowing down, but it wasn’t enough. I hit the ground and lost consciousness. I wasn’t dead, but I knew that there was a part of me that would never be fully alive again.
...
When I woke up, I was wrapped in bandages and lying in the Hospital Wing. James sat next to me, tapping his foot anxiously. When he noticed I was awake, his breath caught in his throat and I could see the relief in his eyes, “How are you feeling?” he asked softly.
I shook my head, “Why didn’t you just let me die?” I asked quietly.
“I don’t think I could’ve if I tried.” He answered. He stayed quiet for a moment before asking, “Why did you do it?”
“I don’t know. The thought was always in my mind, even if it was just a whisper.” I said, “I guess I’ve just been able to ignore it until now. Able to convince myself that I’m actually loved.”
“You are loved. I swear.” He assured me, putting his hand on mine, “Even if no one else loves you, I do. I always will.”
I sighed, “Yeah. I love you too.”
He hesitated, “I don’t think someone can really love someone else if they don’t love themselves first.”
I scoffed, “That is such bullshit. I have never loved myself. But you?” I paused, “I loved you so much I forgot what hating myself felt like.”
He looked at me with a look I’d never seen on him before. We kissed and I remembered why life was worth living.