The Howler Open

Today was the day. The day that my parents would owl me a letter. I've been waiting a long time for this, ever since I got sorted into Gryffindor. I'm not sure if it's going to be a good or bad reaction coming from them, and I especially hope that I don't get an owl from my Dad's side of the family (who are all Slytherins), because who knows what they'll say. As I run to the Owlery as fast as I can, I spin my emerald ring around my finger nervously. It's a habit I tend to do when I'm either nervous or uncomfortable.

When I get there, I try to catch my breath, but it was pretty useless, then I take a deep breath in before opening the door. I feel a cold breeze blow through me, and I shiver. I see that there's no one else there, except for a blonde haired girl. I see she's writing a letter, so I try my best to stay quiet, and hope she doesn't notice me. That's until I see a barn owl swoop in with a letter and drop it on the ground. I smile brightly, assuming that it's a letter from my parents. I go to reach for the letter, but instead it floats up to meet me. It then yells, "HOW COULD YOU!". I immediately drop my smile, knowing that this is no letter from my parents.

It's a howler.

I reach to grab the howler again, and hold onto it tightly, as if it might fly away at any time and start screaming around the whole of Hogwarts. It continues to yell, and I am frozen in the spot, staring at the howler, eyes wide, and mouth agape. As the yelling goes on, I figure out that it is definitely no howler from my parents. It's from my Nan, my Dad's Mum, a proud Pureblood, and most of all a Slytherin. I had never heard my Nan yell at me like this before, I get that I just ruined our Slytherin reputation, but I didn't expect her to be this mad about it. She, along with all my other Wizarding relatives, aspired for me to be a great witch, be the top of my class, study hard in charms to become an Auror, and the most important part, to be a Slytherin.

When the yelling finally stops, I can't hear anything. I don't know if it's because of all the yelling, or just out of shock, but I see the blonde girl walk up to me. I feel a tear roll down my face, I realize that I'm about to break down whether I like it or not. I try so hard to keep all my emotions in, but this howler has finally broken me. I break out of my frozen body, and shocked expression. I then start to feel a bunch of tears both forming in my eyes, and rolling down my face. I cover my face with my hands, and cry in those. I hear a muffled voice come from in front of me, but I don't care about it. Even if I wanted to say something, I probably wouldn't be able to form a sentence without shedding a few tears. I suddenly then feel a comfortable and calming warmth spread across my body. I realize that someone is hugging me. I think of pulling away, but I stop myself. Because after everything that has just gone on, I realize I really need a hug.

I don't know how long I stayed like that for, but I eventually pull away and wipe my eyes and nose with the back of my hand. I sniffle then look at the person standing before me. She's the same blonde that walked up to me before, and now I can see that she is wearing blue, which I assume must be because she is in Ravenclaw. I can see her face and I realize that she looks familiar, she's in my year, and I'm pretty sure her name is Tessa? No, Taisia. Yeah, Taisia.

"Sorry you had to see that," I say. I figure she must be uncomfortable, because I do when someone else is crying. "Um, you're Taisia? Right? I'm Emma, we're in the same year." As I wait for her to reply, I spin my ring around my finger once again.

Interacting: @Taisia Elidine Stroudefielde
Word Count: 735