Letters Home Finished

The sun was dipping into the lake and casting shadows along the grounds, so Willow decided it was time to head inside. She packed up her books and raced indoors, intending to go to the common room and relax for the rest of the evening. She had almost made it to Ravenclaw Tower when she remembered that she had written a letter earlier that day that she needed to send.

The redhead didn't have an owl of her own, so she made her way up to the owlry to borrow one of the school birds, her letter in hand. It was to her dad, who she missed dearly. She unrolled it to re-read it quicky before sending it off.

Dear Dad,
I'm missing you terribly, but Hogwarts is lovely all the same. I even made some new friends, isn't that amazing? The classes are wonderful, I'm learning so much, and the grounds are absolutely beautiful, especially at sunrise. But my favorite part is the library- I've never seen anything like it! It's so much bigger than the one back home, and I simply love going there to read every day. Say hi to Mam for me, and I love you so much!

Love, your youngest daughter,
Willow

It was short but sweet, and the Irish lass was satisfied as she rerolled it and stepped into the owlry to select an owl. She was looking up at the rafters and didn't notice the other girl in there, also sending a letter.

"Oh! Sorry," Willow said when she saw her, not really sure what else to say. She gripped her letter and tried to play it off. Unfortunately, Willow was extremely shy and to very good at talking to strangers. She called down one of the owls and hoped that she could avoid any awkwardness.

@Nellie Lam

What do you get when you put two shy young women in an owlrey together? A whole lot of awkward.

Nellie did notice the other girl's entrance, but she said nothing. Instead, she chose to remain quiet and step away. There were suddenly many owls on the far side of the room that were so very interesting. Her parents had always thought her aversion to social interaction was the strangest thing despite her fascination with actually watching people. To Nellie, it wasn't that difficult to understand. What if she did the wrong thing? Better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth a prove it, right?

In any case, she was spotted. People at Hogwarts were far to observant. Turning to to source of the voice, she gave her a smile as she pushed her glasses back onto her face. Her hand then rested on her shoulder, smoothing down a braid. It was a nervous habit that she had yet to kick. "Hi. Nothing to be sorry for. Lots of owls to go around."

Moving to an owl that seemed competent, as they all did, she strapped her letter to his talons and sent him on his way. Then she turned towards the other girl and cleared her throat. Leaving without saying goodbye would be rude. "Um... I'm Nellie, by the way." She still wore her school robes, so her Hufflepuff association was clear. "First year." Despite her awkwardness and anxiety, Nellie was the type to still try. Later, while she laid in bed thinking over the events of the day, she'd likely go over a million other ways that she could have been better somehow. But that was a worry for later. "Sending an owl to your family, too?"

Willow let the owl come to rest on her arm and let her vividly red hair fall in front of her face. She jumped slightly when she heard the other girl speak, but she looked up and told herself to smile. Then she tied the letter to the owl's leg, making sure it was secure, and sent him off to deliver it to her home in Galway, Ireland.

"Um... I'm Nellie, by the way." Said the other girl and Willow nodded, folding her arms because she was unsure of what to do with her hands. She blinked and said softly,

"I'm Willow. First-year, and um, Ravenclaw." As soon as she said it she realized it was ridiculous; clearly she was a Ravenclaw, it said so right on her robes! "Um, yes, that was a letter to my father." She added and gave a small smile. Being a kindhearted person, Willow was determined to come off this seeming polite, no matter how much it made her shyness squirm.

"W-what about you? Do you have siblings?" She wondered if Nellie had been sending a letter to siblings, or parents, or anyone else. Willow had four older brothers and sisters, but they weren't the biggest fans of Willow and she didn't really want to send them letters. But perhaps, she could try to become friends with her oldest sister- she was out of Hogwarts and was usually the least mean of the lot. Realizing she had been lost in thought, she looked back at Nellie to hear her answer.

@Nellie Lam

Nellie was beginning to relax around the other girl, Willow she said her name was. Sure, it was awkward, but there was something kind of relaxing about talking to someone that was exactly the same amount of awkward as you were. It was hard to look silly that way. Even if it soothed her anxiety, it didn't entirely erase her shy nature. Still, you didn't make friends without putting yourself out there.

As the owl that was chosen to deliever Willow's mail flew off, Nellie's eyes followed it for a moment before returning to the ginger headed girl. "Cool. Nice to meet you, Willow." In this girl, she sensed a kindred spirit. That thought made her smile. "Hufflepuff." Of course, she was wearing her own robes, but maybe introducing her own house might make the other girl feel a bit less awkward?

She pushed her glasses further onto her nose as Willow asked her question in an attempt to get to know each other. "Yeah. Sent that to my mum and dad. But I have a little brother and sister. They're four so I just drew them pictures. They'll like that more than a letter, I think." Nellie was good with watching. She noted the way Willow seemed to get distracted for a moment and she smiled at her in understanding as her attention returned. "What about you?"

Willow appreciated that Nellie had told her her house as well. It made her feel better about her slip of awkwardness, and the girl suspected that the Hufflepuff had done it on purpose, which cemented her impression that Nellie was a very sweet person. Willow said softly,

"Nice to meet you as well." She listened carefully when Nellie explained about her family, and she found herself wishing, not for the first time, that she had younger siblings instead of older ones. "I have four older siblings, two sisters and two brothers. They aren't the nicest to me usually," She said, thinking to her siblings- Aisling, Finn, Redmond, and Maeve. She supposed that she appreciated them at times, but mostly the lot of them pelted her with teasing comments, especially Maeve, who was the closest to Willow's age.

"I-I've been thinking about sending a letter to my oldest sister, Aisling. She graduated from Hogwarts a few years ago. Would you have any ideas on how to do that? I mean, she's never been my biggest fan, but I'd like to make up with her." She paused, wondering if she had said too much. Willow smiled uncertainly and waited for the other girl to answer.

@Nellie Lam

The Hufflepuff was all smiles, as shy as they were. Social anxiety was something she knew well. The last thing she wanted was to be the cause of someone else’s. She listened quietly as Willow explained a bit of her family dynamic. “That’s a lot of siblings. Like a lot.” She emphasized the second ‘a lot’ to get her point across. But she quieted again to listen as her brows furrowed. It wasn’t really something that Nellie could understand. She adored her little siblings.

The question asked would take the Hufflepuff by surprise. She was a stranger and it felt like big advice to give. But, luck would have it that Nellie was good with social interactions- just not her own. Once she regained her senses, she considered what to say next. “Well… I think honestly works the best. Just write to her and tell her you wish you were closer and you want to fix that. But like… don’t make it sound like she’s the issue. Just focus on your feelings and how you want to work on it.” Again she quiet as she thought. “You said Aisling went here? What house she in?” The idea was that maybe that knowledge might help them understand what type of person Aisling was. It might provide insight on how the girl should proceed. This was certainly a turn of events. “Actually, do you want to talk about the somewhere else? It smells awful in here.”
@Willow Byrne

Willow watched Nellie closely to see her reaction, wondering if it had been a question she shouldn't have asked a near stranger. But, she happy to see that she was smiling, which made the Ravenclaw smile too. She understood what the other girl meant when she said that she had a lot of siblings- she did. Sometimes she wished there were fewer of them, but it wasn't really up to her.

Nellie's advice certainly seemed like a good suggestion, and Willow nodded along in appreciation. She was good at feelings- she was an empath and a poet, so she was sure she would be able to explain how she felt to her sister.

"Thanks. And um, she was a Slytherin. All my siblings are." While she did not think that her siblings being Slytherins made them mean- she knew plenty of lovely Slytherins and it was really only her they weren't nice to- but she thought that perhaps they were extra teasing as a result of their ambition; they wanted to be seen as on top of the sibling food chain. She scrunched up her nose.

"We could go somewhere else. The smell isn't very nice," Willow agreed and hoped that she had not only made a new friend, but could become friends with her sister as well.

@Nellie Lam

Nellie actually grimaced when Willow told her what house her sister's were in. "So, you have a lot of ambitious siblings all trying to be the best in the family." That sounded like a recipe for disaster. Her heart went out to the girl. It was hard to compete when you didn't care about the competition. "That's... rough." The Hufflepuff gave Willow a sympathetic smile. She didn't dwell on it, however. There was only so much sympathy you could give a person before it became pity. Pity was generally not appreciated. So as the conversation continued, Nellie did her best to smile and sound more hopeful and helpful about the other girl's situation.

At the confirmation that they could indeed go somewhere else, Nellie nodded. There was a pause while she seemed to consider something. Nellie was a helpful girl. She was the type to invest in her friendships and do anything she could for those that needed it. "Why don't we go to either the Great Hall or the library or something, and I can maybe help you write the letter. Unless you'd rather do it yourself? It's okay if you don't want help, too. Whatever you want." She was also the kind of girl that gave people a way out in case they didn't want her around. Thank you, social anxiety.

Willow could tell that Nellie was a very socially aware person, which made her feel comfortable enough to talk about her family with her. She had wanted to reach out to Aisling for a long time, especially since she didn't see her much anymore, but had never dared to do it. Willow was fully aware that her family dynamic was quite different from the other girl's, but maybe an outsider's perspective was just what she needed.

"I would love an extra hand with my letter, you've already been really helpful." She said sweetly and smiled, tugging her sleeves over her hands- a habit she had picked up as a young child and never shaken. At this point, it was unconscious, and she did it nearly every time she was in a social situation. "The library would be nice, it's quiet enough in there for us to think." It was quiet in the owlery, too, but the stench was really starting to her to her. Willow found herself glad that she had a cat instead of an owl- her furry friend smelled much nicer than the birds up in the rafters.

"I have some parchment, so would you like to head down now and start working on it? Or wait?" She asked, not wanting Nellie to feel obligated to spend the rest of her evening helping write a letter. Willow looked at the Hufflepuff with wide blue eyes and listened to hear her response.

@Nellie Lam