A Talk with a Friend Closed

Anastasia had agonized over her letter Home, and had finally come up with something that she thought her parents should approve of, and then copied three times to make certain that her handwriting was acceptable. It had taken several hours, and she’d been up rather late trying to figure it out, due to the delicate subject matter, but she had done it.

Dearest Mother and Father - My first night at Hogwarts was quite eventful and interesting. Hogwarts is just as awe inspiring as you have always told me, and the ceiling of the Great Hall is simply delightful. Sorting was rather surprising. Several of the other first years from good, Pureblooded families were placed in Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. The Hat seemed to be in an odd mood. One such first year who should have really been placed in Slytherin was myself. I was rather surprised at it, and a bit disappointed, since I had terribly hoped for Slytherin like you and all the other Beckett’s before me, but so far, it seems to being going alright. Sincerely, your loving daughter, Anastasia Blair Beckett

She knew that it would probably sound rather formal to other first years, at least the ones who weren’t as well bred as the Becketts were, but that had been the way she’d been raised. You never wanted to appear like a weakling in writing is what her parents had always told her, so she made sure not to when she wrote them.

She reached the top of the stairs with her addressed and sealed letter. She wondered what her parents would say when they saw the red Gryffindor seal. She laughed a little when she pictured her mother’s face. She could just see her turning pale and maybe even fainting. She stopped herself - her parents certainly wouldn’t find that amusing. She saw another girl there and smiled as she approached. “Hello there,” she said brightly. “You look a bit confused if you don’t mind me saying.”

Elena was shaking her head, when she looked up and saw a girl with long brown hair and Gryffindor Robes that were peeking out. “Hello there,” the girl said “You look a bit confused if you don’t mind me saying.” she added. Elena wondered who this girl could be, but it was nice that someone was here, maybe she could help her or at least give her feedback. Elena just knew she was going to say the wrong thing to her parents, who might send a howler back. She had a habit of doing so. Elena noticed how silent she was being after the girl spoke and said back "Oh, Hi," she said smiling up at the girl. "Yeah, I kind of am, I'm trying to send a letter to my parents but I know for sure I'm going to say something wrong," Elena said in a saddened voice. "It seems like I always do," Elena added sadly under her breath, hoping the girl wouldn't hear or judge. This girl seemed sweet and like she might as well have been going through the same thing as Elena. "I forgot to ask, what's your name?" Elena said nicely, "Mine's Elena, Elena Burkley," she added. Hopefully this girl could help her out a bit, and was nice to her, this girl seemed like she was either a muggle or a pure blood, she didn't look anything like a Half Blood. Well Elena couldn't make any assumptions.

Yeah, I kind of am, I'm trying to send a letter to my parents but I know for sure I'm going to say something wrong. It seems like I always do.

Don't I know that feeling, she thought. This girl seemed alright, if a tad open for Anastasia's tastes. Not exactly a bad thing, just a lot more open than the people she was typically around. Purebloods, well, Purebloods who actually cared about that kind of thing really, were not particularly open people. They believed that they were important and interesting enough that the things they said could cause problems for them. As she reached the last step, she replied to that girl, "Writing home is always a bit of a trial." That was more telling than her parents would have liked, but it's not like they'd ever know about it. And the talking to a Hufflepuff that she didn't know for certain was a Pureblood was even worse. They would be thrilled if they found out about that. Not. Although, if they found out about the other first years who she was becoming friends with, they'd already be having heart attacks, so what was one more little bit of sarcasm and a chat with a Hufflepuff?

I forgot to ask, what's your name? Mine's Elena, Elena Burkley.

Yup, definitely a Hufflepuff. "I'm Anastasia Beckett," she said, the sentence flowing off her tongue almost like a proclamation. That was the joy of growing up a Beckett - you could make something as simple as introducing yourself sound highly important. It was yet another sign of the way she'd grown up. She wondered about this girl. She didn't think her parents were Purebloods, or at least not the kind at Anastasia's were, but she didn't seem completely lost enough for a Muggleborn either.

Elena already felt a little more open than she should've been, but she couldn't help herself. That was her personality, open and sweet but sometimes silent to observe the world around her. The girl then spoke again "Writing home is always a bit of a trial.". Elena could agree with that, to be fair this was her first letter home and if she messed it up she would probably never recover. She was worried if she said the wrong thing to her parents, she would be the one to receive the howler. Elena felt this girl studying her, which made Elena think she was for sure a Pureblood or at least a very quiet Half Blood. Elena as always felt a bit nervous to say anything, for she believed if this mysterious but sweet girl was a Pureblood she may think Elena was just another annoying Hufflepuff. The girl then spoke again "I'm Anastasia Beckett,". The words fell off this girls tongue like she it was super important, like she was way more important, which made Elena think. "It's nice to meet you Anastasia, and if you don't mind me asking are you Pure Blood?" Elena asked with a curiosity in her voice. "I only ask because I'm a Half Blood, and most quite obviously in Hufflepuff, I know that I tend to be open," Elena explained.

"It's nice to meet you Anastasia, and if you don't mind me asking are you Pure Blood? I only ask because I'm a Half Blood, and most quite obviously in Hufflepuff, I know that I tend to be open."

Anastasia smiled at the girl's words. She had to admit, after being around practically nothing but Slytherins, it was nice to be around someone so open and who seemed like she was genuinely kind." Oh, I don't mind at all," Anastasia said, smiling widely at the girl. Prior to that, she hadn't been glaring or anything, but her resting face was a tad intimidating. She was in fact a naturally smiley person, but you wouldn't guess that from looking at her. She also wondered why people asked if she minded when asking that question. She'd been asked that by at least two other people, and they'd both said 'if you don't mind' as well. It struck her as a bit odd. Did they really think she would mind? She was quite proud of her heritage, and she couldn't imagine not being. She supposed she would understand if she was a Half Blood or heaven forbid, a Muggleborn, then that would make more sense, but if they thought she was a Pureblood, did they really think she would mind their asking? "And yes, I am. What gave it away?" She smiled again as she added the last part so the other girl knew that she was mostly joking. Half bloods were far more common than she'd been led to believe at home, but she supposed it made sense since to be a Pureblood, one needed two magical parents, whereas a Half Blood only had one.

"Oh I don't mind at all," Anastasia said smiling widely at Elena. Elena believed this girl, if she was a pureblood must have only been around purebloods for her time here at Hogwarts. Elena knew many things about Pure bloods and one thing was that they usually had small tolerance for Half bloods but at least they didn't have no tolerance for them, it also made her think that if this girl was a Pure blood that she wouldn't maybe like her. Anastasia then said "And yes, I am. What gave it away?" she said with a huge smile, as if she were joking. Elena then changed her mind, Anastasia seemed like a really nice and sweet person, but she seemed like something was bugging her about her past, but Elena dare not ask. "Well, most pure bloods have a grand demeanor about themselves, well thats what my sister told me anyways, I think it was that," Elena said with a laugh. She was actually enjoying Anastasias company, it took her away from the fact that she had to owl back her parents something good or else she would receive back a howler. "It's actually nice meeting someone up here, I actually have to write to my parents and I'm worried I'll get the howler this month, well that's what my sister told me anyways," Elena sighed pointing to the ink and parchment around her, she felt it was hard to be a Half Blood, she was perfectly imperfect, it's like she belonged but didn't.

"Well, most pure bloods have a grand demeanor about themselves, well that's what my sister told me anyways, I think it was that."

Anastasia laughed at the girl's remark. She had to admit, it was true. She was still a bit in awe of finding someone this open. She rather admired Elena - she said what was on her mind, but at the same time, be perfectly nice and sweet. She definitely hoped they'd become friends, even if her parents thought Elena was "of inferior blood". She could use a friend who didn't have a million secrets and lies. Not that her Pureblood friends did, it was just that they weren’t the most forthcoming about most things, and they were as likely to lie to your face as not. 

"It's actually nice meeting someone up here, I actually have to write to my parents and I'm worried I'll get the howler this month, well that's what my sister told me anyways."

That reminded Anastasia of the Howler that was surely coming her way once she mailed this letter. As hard as she had tried, and labored over the letter to make it meet her parents' standards, she knew it would probably fall short. They knew that they couldn't convince the Headmaster to move her to Slytherin, so that meant they would take out their anger about it on her. Really, it was that bloody Hat's fault.  

She also noticed that the girl mentioned her sister quite a bit. She wondered about that. She didn’t have any siblings, but she’d had a cousin, Amelia, whom she utterly adored until she’d been disowned three years ago and hadn’t been heard from since. 

Elena was starting to enjoy Anastasia's company. She had recently met a pure blood before and this other girl was moody and not even forth coming, not even a little bit. It kind of upset her when she lashed out a bit at the others that were around Elena. Anastasia on the other hand, was quite nice, although she wasn't as super sharing as Elena she was nice. That was another thing that worried Elena a bit as if she was revealing a bit too much about herself, she always knew that revealing too much can become ones biggest nightmare. Although Elena couldn't help herself as she enjoyed talking to newer people to see what life is like for them, it's how she could figure out who she wanted as a friend or who she didn't. Sure, giving away everything about your family and it's sister wasn't the greatest tactic, but it's the one she knew, and she for sure knew that she wanted to be Anastasia's friend. "Am I talking a bit too much about my family?" Elena shyly asked. "Well, I mean writing to them today is just a bit hard, I kind of don't want to disappoint them," she added. It was true Elena knew another fact, she couldn't disappoint her family.

Anastasia hadn't let herself think about Amelia in years, but once there was a crack in her mental box, all of it came flooding back. It had been a whole big debacle and nobody had so much as even spoken about Amelia since, not even her sister or brothers or even her parents. Anastasia had no idea what had ever become of Amelia, and hadn't dared even ask. She didn't think her family would ever do anything like that to her, but a part of her was so scared that something like that would happen to her when her parents got her letter. It had all started with Amelia getting sorted into Hufflpuff instead of Slytherin, but her parents might have tolerated that if Amelia hadn't become more like her house and started to question her parents' purist ideals. Anastasia had only been in Gryffindor a day, and she was already began to wonder if maybe her parents weren't so totally right about everything. She had met a few Muggleborns and most of them hadn't been too bad. 

When Elena asked if she was talking about her family so much, Anastasia shook her head. It was only natural to talk about her family a lot since she was writing home, and Anastasia rather liked hearing about this girl and her family. "Oh, I absolutely understand," she admitted before biting  her lip. That was far too close to speaking badly of her family and that simply wouldn't do. She really did love her parents, but they were rather harsh.