Stargazing

Lacie stirred awake from under her soft blankets and it took a few blinks for the bleariness to clear. A thin trickle of light came through the crack in the curtain around her bed from the closest window. She rolled over and reached out to the night stand feeling around for her wand almost knocking over an empty vial in the process. Placing her hazel wood wand flat on her palm she murmured, “Tempus.”

The wand quivered for a moment before it lifted ever so slightly from her palm moving to rest at a diagonal to the left. While not a perfect way to tell time she’d gotten fairly good at estimating over the past year. As far as Lacie could discern, the spell relied on the sun’s position in the sky.

She washed up and put on a set of fresh school robes before taking her mostly empty book bag and exiting the dormitory. The common room was equity quiet albeit much brighter with the larger windows. Lacie climbed out of the portrait hole and padded down the halls. It was strangely quiet for not even peeves seemed to be around and the portraits seemed to be dozing quietly in their frames.

It became cooler as she ascended the stairs towards the Owlery. The large windows had no glass that allowed the owls’ to exit and enter as they pleased, however, also allowed the chilly morning air to swirl around. Lacie buttoned up her black school robe to conserve more warmth, thankful for the thin jumper she had on beneath.

Many of the cubbies were occupied by various owls, some of them belonging to students and others that could be borrowed from the school for those without an owl. The floor was covered in straw and wood shavings and Lacie was sure she’d have to shake out her clothing after to get it all off. Near the stairs was the only wall which didn’t have a window and neither did it have a place for the owls to sleep. She pushed a bale of straw against the curved wall and sat atop it.

As the morning progressed more owls came and went. Some carried letters and others came back, perhaps from a hunt. It was a little longer when a tawny owl flew through to land on one of the perches; she recognized it as her mother’s owls. Lacie got up to take the envelope and offered the owl a treat from her pocket. Returning to where she was sitting she glanced up to see the owl looking at her expectantly.

“Rest up and head home when you are ready. I’ll send my reply with Flam,” Lacie said, referring to the owl she got when she first started Hogwarts.

On queue a young female barn owl swooped in, flaring its wings to slow down enough to perch on Lacie’s knees. She tilted her head from side to side until Lacie reached out to lightly scratch the owl’s head with a finger. “Hey, Flam. Give me a few minutes and then I’ll have a letter for you.”

Lacie opened the letter to find her mother’s neat cursive writing.

Lacie, darling,

I hope the exam season is treating you well. We got word from your Head of House that you were in the Hospital Wing for a short period a few days ago. They assured us that Madam Promfrey got you sorted with a few potions, but as we had yet to hear from you we wanted to make sure you were doing alright. If it continues, we’ll see about getting you checked out over the summer.

We know exam season is busy but we worry you might be pushing yourself too hard. Please take care of yourself. Your Head of House seems responsible, so don’t hesitate to approach her if you need help. It isn’t a bad thing to need help sometimes. We greatly look forward to having you back here for the summer.

Best of luck on the exams, please write soon.

Love,
Mum and Dad

Lacie sighed and grappled with the dichotomy of emotions that swelled within. On one hand, she loved that her parents cared enough to be concerned and write to her. On the other, they had a tendency to hover. They had gotten better over the years, but it had flared up again once she had gone off to Hogwarts. She supposed, it was the fact that they couldn’t do much to help–they relied on the staff to watch out for her instead.

Dipping her quill into the ink she tapped the end against the rim as she thought about her response.

Dear Mum and Dad,

Lacie decided she was going to try and keep the letter light.

Exam season is here, but I’ve been studying quite a lot with Lily (Evans) and Marlene (McKinnon) who I’ve told you about in previous letters. And I think I might have found another study partner, although that is soon to be seen. I have hopes of doing well in most of my subjects and I’ve decided on taking three electives next year. If it proves to be too much I can always drop one early next year, however, I don’t think that will be necessary.

I did visit the Hospital Wing two days ago, but it was just for a headache. The healers’ at St. Mungo’s did say that stress could make it worse and this is exam season, who isn’t a little wound up at this time. We all want to do our best! Madam Pomfrey only kept me for a couple hours, no worries there.

Love,
Lacie

P.S. Remember to give Flam a break before sending her back. I think she might protest soon.

Satisfied with her response, she cast a warming spell and held the top of her wand at an angle under the stick of wax and sealed her envelope.

“Can you take this home,” Lacie said, allowing the reddish-brown barn owl to take the letter in her beak. The owl gave a small hoot as she took off on silent wings.

Lacie checked the time again, there was still some time before breakfast would be served, so she headed back to the dorm to lay down. It wouldn’t be for long, but she needed her books for class anyways.

She gave the password and made her way back into bed, pulling the curtains closed once again. When she awoke next it was to the noise of her dorm mates getting ready for the day.