A Letter for Me? Solo

June 2019
Near Ilkley, West Yorkshire

A cool breeze rolled through the Ilkley Moor that sent a shiver down ten-year old Cassius' spine. Even with the sun near its zenith, the cold managed to pierce through the heavy woolen cloak that flowed with the boy's movements as he haphazardly jumped along the rocks that gave the land its signature appearance. Even the rare chills, however, could not keep him from exploring the lands just a mile or so away from his family's home in the village. It was here he felt free, far away in his mind from the tedium of the regimented schedule his parents kept him on. They were not unkind by any degree, but they were also not kind. He was jealous of his friends in the village who spoke of their parents almost as friends, loving and supportive. For Cassius, his parents were just... parents.

Crack.

What peace and energy Cassius felt was immediately sapped by the familiar sound some few paces behind him. He stopped in his tracks, nearly losing his balance as a handful of pebbles shifted beneath his left foot. Quickly recovering, he turned towards where the sound had originated and saw standing there a middle-aged woman with flowing black hair and robes just as dark. Her arms were crossed and eyes narrowed at the boy who awkwardly approached.

"Will you not be more careful as I have asked? Or do you want a repeat of the last time you broke a bone?" His mother's accented tone still had hints of her French origins which only seemed to amplify her disappointment. Again, her words were not unkind, but they were also not kind.

Cassius winced, remembering with little fondness the taste of the Skele-Gro that he was forced to endure to bend his broken limb. He lowered his head. "No, mother. I will be more careful." The boy said with a sullen tone. "Good. Now come, there is news for you at home," she said, extending her arm.

Cassius reached up to grab his mother's arm and immediately felt his stomach twist as the world seemed to constrict around him. As soon as the sensation came it went, however, and the boy was now standing in the entrance hall of his family's, his mother already stepping towards the drawing room.

He followed, entering behind her to find his father seated in his high-backed recliner by a crackling fire. One leg crossed, the finely dressed man with hair equally as dark as his wife and son turned his head to Cassius and smiled. "Ah, my son. Come, there is something for you," he said, gesturing towards the coffee table upon which a single envelope lay.

Cassius' eyes widened and he rushed forward in excitement, taking hold of the letter and flipping it over to see the near famous seal of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hopping in place, he broke the seal and withdrew the letter from within, reading it as he turned to sit on the sofa. Both of his parents offered rare smiles and looked proudly upon their only child. "Congratulations," his father said, a finger enchanting a tea spoon to stir his coffee. "I believe a trip to Diagon Alley will be in order," his mother said knowingly, both parents and their parents before them receiving identical letters.

Like the rest of his family, Cassius was going to Hogwarts.