To Whom It May Concern PV | E. Charlton

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It was starting to become more of a habit for Everly to visit the Owlery every so often. Her family sent owls every often, more regularly now then in her first year. They used to be irregular, and Everly rarely remembered to respond anyways. Her parents had expressed to her over summer break how much more of an effort they would be putting into regular owls, and how much they’d like her to try to respond. So far they’d upheld their side of the agreement. Everly, on the other hand, hadn’t.

She didn’t know what it was, but she found writing a lot harder than speaking. Part of it was her fear of making mistakes as she wrote, and part of it was also just that she’d never been too good at writing. Paper to quill wasn’t her strong suit - talking was. Everly could talk to whomever she wanted, whenever she wanted, as confidently as she wanted to, but she was entirely different when it came to writing. She just couldn’t, for some reason.

She tried, though. She really did.

The first owl her parents sent took three tries before she could confidently send back a letter that made half-sense. Everly knew her parents wouldn’t judge her poor writing ability, but it was entirely different for someone she didn’t know.

That was why she was so hesitant about writing a reply to the anonymous letter she’d found in the Owlrey. Everly stared at it menacingly as it sat innocently on the table in the Library on which she’d placed it on, as if it would jump at her.

Oh well. Writing was just like speaking, she told herself over and over. Except, she just found it much harder.

Dear Starling,

I think you’re interesting!

Oh dear. She was stuck.

It was totally fine to bypass the first part of the letter, right? Was that against letter rules, or something?

I like Quidditch too, though it does seem rather brutal. I would try it, but I’m already occupied with a sport of my own. Do you play Quidditch, if you’re comfortable telling me? If so, what position?

I suppose, in my own way, I’m not terribly interesting, either. I’m a duelist, my favorite color’s purple, and I have a cat. She’s a really nice cat.

Tell me about yourself! What’s your favorite scent? Do you like spiders? Do you have a cat, too?

Everly dotted her question mark, moving down to sign a name, and paused. She wasn’t terribly great at picking fake names - the last time she’d done this, she’d stolen her sister’s name.

Oh well. Adeline wouldn’t mind, right?

Adeline

Everly drew a small heart next to the signature, folded up her letter delicately, and left it right where she found it, tucked in its small corner.

@koko riddle====
470 | 2/24/22==

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After hiding her letter, Koko found herself loitering near the owlery. She wouldn't always go inside, but she could often be found on the stairways or the grounds, staring up at the tower. She remembered when she was a first year and she'd always spent her spare time in the owlery or the rehearsal room, and sometimes, she regretted how she'd slowly retreated to the Slytherin Common Room.

It was worth it, though. She was still here, after all, and some of the more common 'adventurers', quite a few who she'd been friends with, were not.

The impulsive decision, so unlike her, to send a letter to a random person was still something Koko couldn't quite fathom. She remembered writing it, remembered the pride that had coursed through her veins as she'd overcome her fear, but as she climbed up to the owlery once again, she found the familiar twisting feeling coming into her stomach. Her lungs compressed, and her heart sped up its rhythm until it was playing an incredibly fast tap dance inside her chest.

She opened the door.

Koko had received the letter recently, but she hadn't responded. It was too difficult to pull herself up the stairs to the owlery, and while she supposed she could have asked someone else to put it there, she found that talking to people required more effort than simply walking. She ultimately decided to let it rest. Her father would have wanted her to take a Muggle medicine like a Xanax, maybe, or maybe have a cup of tea.

She regretted not having a cup of tea, actually, but she was here now. There was nothing better to do than to lean against the windowsill as she scratched out a message in messy graphite. She tried to make her handwriting look presentable, but it was glorified doctor handwriting at best.

27 February 2022

Dear Adeline,

She paused and lifted her pencil from the parchment. Koko was better at writing than speaking, yes, but her speech was so awful that it set an incredibly low bar, and her writing skill only neatly stepped over it. She needed to think, to close her eyes and breathe, but she found that all she could make herself do was tap the pencil's eraser against the clipboard in her arms.

She leaned her head against the owlery's cool stone walls and took a deep breath before narrowing her eyes at the paper.

I'm glad you think I'm interesting. That's a bit relieving.

Quidditch can be brutal, but I've found that it can inspire close friendships and teamwork. I'm rather shy, but I can talk to the people on my team, and on other Quidditch teams, too. I'm a Keeper, so that does require a bit of communication... Which I'd like to think I'm getting better at.

The pencil seemed to stop moving of its own accord. It seemed Koko's hand needed a bit of time to think, too. She had questions, but she had to answer Adeline's questions, too.

Koko opted with following the second task before racking her brain for any words that might not be willing to come.

Duelling sounds rather fun. I tried it once and just wasn't the greatest at it, but I loved the flexibility (spells versus ball games and hitting people). It's even more fun to watch. Do you have a favourite duelling spell?

My favourite colour is red, especially vermilion. Purple is very nice, though; it's a colour that doesn't stand out too much. I mean that in a good way.

I have a cat, too! He's very mischievous and is always getting into trouble, but he, like your cat, is also nice.

My favourite scent is cinnamon, and I despise spiders. What about you - do you like spiders? Snakes? What is an animal you will avoid at all costs?

Also... do you have a favourite food?

Koko's hand had begun to cramp by the time she was finished writing. She scribbled a signature - 'Have a good evening' and then her pseudonym - in the corner of the page and hastily folded the paper into a neat square before sticking it into the corner.

Hopefully, Adeline would find it again.

@Everly Charlton

Everly bounded up the steps to the Owlery about a week after she'd left her letter there for Starling, figuring that would be enough time for them to write back, and silently hoping they would. It had been a while since she'd had a pen pal, and the thought made her giddy. Thankfully, Starling had replied, and it didn't take long before she found it, tucked away in its little corner.

Everly plucked it from its spot, slipping it into her pocket to read and respond to later before heading down to the Great Hall for dinner.

Later, curled up in an armchair near the fire in the Gryffindor common room, Everly pried the piece of parchment open, settling down with a clean paper, a bottle of ink, and a quill.

She found that she rather liked the scratching sound the quill made on the paper.

Hi Starling!

Everyone is interesting. I'm sure you are, in your own way, even if you don't think you are.

Yeah, that is one of the reasons why I decided against joining Quidditch—it seemed painful. You're definitely good at communicating if you're a decent Quidditch player! Obviously, I have to work with my partner before, but it's on a much smaller scale when it's just the two of us. To be able to coordinate with a whole team of Quidditch players is really impressive, in my opinion.

Either way, you seem to be communicating very well with me right now!

It is! When I watch other people duel, it seems to go by so quickly—round after round after round, all at once—but when I'm actually dueling, time sort of slows down. It's not that fun when you spend a round on your bottom because of a rather nasty Flipendo, though. As for my favorite spell, I don't think I really have one? I am excited to learn spells like Ventus and the Body-Bind spell in the future, though, they look so fun to use!

She paused here, lifting her hand from the paper. Everly was unsure how to continue. She didn't really have anything to say in response to the color thing, nor the cat one, and anything she thought of was lackluster. Maybe it would be fine if she just skipped over that part?

Writing was clearly not her strong suit.

Personally, spiders and snakes don't scare me that much. Not unless they're attacking me, of course. I think the animal I'm most scared of will have to be bugs, the little annoying swarm-y ones. It's kind of funny, but I hate them. They creep me out. Especially bugs like cockroaches and clumps of ants. I'm always terrified I'm gonna step on an ant hill whenever I go to someplace like the park.

I kind of don't have a favorite food, though. Anything sweet, I suppose. That's probably unhealthy, but sweet foods will always hold a place in my heart.

What about you? What's your favorite drink? Your go-to karaoke song?

With a flick of her wrist, Everly signed the bottom of the paper and set a mental reminder to leave the letter for Starling out the next day.

@KOKO RIDDLE==
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TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN | 2 MARCH 2022