Aurelia’s parents were walking most of the time. They couldn’t seem to stop working, event when they returned home, both of them would always be on the phone. The young girl was used to this, others might say her parents were neglecting her, but they weren’t, they were just extremely busy.

They did take sometime or for their daughter and take her to various countries for vacations, but whenever they did, they would apparate off leaving Aurelia alone sometimes for hours before they came back. Even then, Aurelia appreciates that they had at least made an effort. To be with their daughter.

Today, her parents were at work as usual and Aurelia was left in the huge mansion, alone. There were many things she could do in the house, things that she had already done over a thousand times. She was bored. If only she knew how to apparate, she would be able to go to Cheshire and meet her friends to skateboard with them. She hasn’t seen them ever since they went to Hogwarts.

The brunette slipped down the steps to the basement. It was a huge dusty place where was the potions lab and the floo furnace which her parents never ever use. Then she heard a hoot and turned her head around, on a table there was a cage, in it was a big brown owl. Aurelia excitedly approached it. The animal seemed eager to get out. Who knew when was the last time it had to send a letter. On the wooden table was a stack parchments. Aurelia took a quill and dipped it into black liquid. She didn’t see the need to send an owl to anybody, but she began writing anyways.

Dear Wonderful,

The owls name is Whee, go ahead and stroke it. Somehow, it has chosen for you to recieve this letter. You must be very special in its eyes. I wonder why... I hope you have an awesome day ahead unlike me, who’s house is in the middle of nowhere and is dying of boredom.

Regards,
Anonymous

Aurelia had finished writing and reread her letter. She then unlocked the cage for the owl to send the letter it was what she did when she was bored, sending owls to nobody. She doubt that the recipient would return another owl or if Whee would even deliver the letter. She could only hope.

The morning time was very important to Astrid. This was the time she did her daily devotions, meditation, and a stretch out with some yoga. This was a time for her to let go of any panic she might have woken up with, and to set the intention for the day. She made sure she let go of all worry during her meditation so she could feel more at peace during the day. She had read all of this about a year ago and had began putting it to practice. It has been helping her out ever since. Soon, Astrid finished her stretches and then made her way to the kitchen.

After making som blackberry tea, the witch decided to get a breath of fresh air. Walking out of the back door to their small home she kept going until she made it to a rose bush. Just as she noticed that the plant seemed to be needing some water she heard a hoot from above. Looking up, Astrid was surprised to see a rather large looking brown owl flying above her head. The animal was holding a letter. As soon as she started thinking about who it could be for, the owl suddenly swooped down and landed on a fence not a foot away from her.

Astrid tilted her head to the side a fraction. “Huh?” She wasn’t expecting anything, and she had already received her letter from Hogwarts. She closed her eyes and shook her head for a moment before looking at the owl once more. It seemed to be looking at her expectantly. So she reached out and took the letter, which the owl had let go without any trouble. Upon looking at the envelope there was no name, and that made her even more confused. Then she opened it up:

Dear Wonderful,

The owls name is Whee, go ahead and stroke it. Somehow, it has chosen for you to recieve this letter. You must be very special in its eyes. I wonder why... I hope you have an awesome day ahead unlike me, who’s house is in the middle of nowhere and is dying of boredom.

Regards,
Anonymous

Astrid wasn’t sure what to do at first. She looked at the owl and rose her arm. “Would you like some food?” she asked it, and almost immediately it hopped on. Giving the animal a smile she went inside with the letter in hand. Their family owl was running an errand for Iris, so Astrid put Whee on their family owl’s pedestal. There was a little bowl of food, to which the owl started munching on.

Astrid read the letter again, and thought about it for a moment. She didn’t know if she wanted to reply or not, she didn’t see anything in it saying they wanted a reply. But they did say they were bored, so her final decision was to send the owl back with a letter. Taking out a quill and some parchment she wrote:

Dear Anonymous,

I wasn’t really expecting this, and I wasn’t sure I was going to send a reply. But here I go. I’ve never received anything like this, so I’m not sure how to go about this… I do hope you find something to do; boredom is pestersome. I wasn’t sure how to sign, since you have called yourself Anonymous. I don’t think I’ll be using the same thing. Well… Maybe I’ll hear from you again?

Sincerely,
A.E.

P.S. I gave your owl some food. I hope you don’t mind.

Astrid looked it over as it dried. She smeared it in a place or two, but it was overall fine. Folding it up and putting it in an envelope, she wrote Anonymous on the back of it. The owl looked up from his food, seeming like it knew what was going to happen next. Astrid gave the owl a pet first. It nuzzled her hand, and made her smile. "I wonder if I'll be seeing you again..." She then handed the letter to the beak of the owl, and since she had left the back door open, the animal took off out of it.

Maybe I'll get another one...

It had been hours since she had sent the owl. Her parents had long returned. As her Mother was brewing a pot of stew for dinner, her Father had emerged from the basement, and enquirer the girl where Whee had gone to. The brunnette merely shrugged saying she hadn’t seen the bird anywhere. Of course she was lying, but her Father wasn’t bothered by it, he rarely used the owl anyways, only her mother did, her owl was a snowy white one which she kept on the third floor in her office, Aurelia it was one of the few rooms Aurelia was forbiddened to enter.

After her stomach was full, her mother had disappeared into her office while her father into the family’s library. Aurelia curled up on the white sofa in front of the television. Even though the mansion was in the middle of nowhere, some how WiFi still worked as well as the television programs.

When the sun finally set only to light annoince the morning on the other side of the world and the fields around darkened until day came again, Aurelia went up to her room and crawled into her round bed. Unlike the beds in the other rooms, the girl’s bed was round with soft silk lilac sheets with a veil serving draped around above it. The bed was chosen by the girl when she was much younger and when she had been reading to many fairytales and wanted to have a ‘princess bed’ as her mother called it. Her parents, did so without a second thought and Aurelia still liked the way it was and it didn’t seem like a bed a young tiara princess but more of a grown, prim and proper one.

Tap, tap, tap, She heard a knocking on behind the curtains. She slid of from her bed and walked over to the window, she pulled the white fabric gently, peering outside only to see a brown owl with a letter in its beak. It was Whee. He had returned. The parchment in its mouth did not look like it was he own she had sent him off with, it had been yellowing slightly from age but this was clean and white. The person Whee chosen to sent the letter to had replied.

Aurelia reached for the letter from the bird’s beak. The girl knew how Whee was, there were certain times it had refused to let her take the parchment unless she had food in exchange. But this time, it had placed it on her palm. Aurelia raised an eyebrow skeptically at him. Animals had personalities too. She tore open the letter and read it.

The recipient had gone by the name A.E she knew no one going by the name. Her handwriting seem like one of a girl. She had stated that she had gave Whee some food which was probably why he didn’t put a fuss over handing the letter.

Aurelia thought it would be nice again of her to send another. This time. She couldn’t find a piece of paper on her bedroom and she didn’t want to go out of her ways and to the basement just to get one. She pulled the drawer at the most bottom of her wardrobe an in it was three blue notebooks. They were Raphael’s diaries. She picked up one which was the only page which didn’t have it front page doodled with cars, flying brooms and footballs. It was his last one, the one that had unwriten pages at the back. She ripped one of the empty pages from its spine. Raphael wouldn’t mind her taking of few of the pages. It had been untouched ever since she was eight. She took out a pen from the same drawer and began to write.

Dear A.E,

I had never expected you to reply either. Most would have just thrown my previous letter into the bin or something but I guessed you were nice enough not to. This piece of paper I’m writing on actually comes from my brother’s journal but I don’t think he minds since he’s... no longer here. But I’m going to sleep now, I really do hope if be able to find something interesting to do tomorrow though, I’ve been dying from boredom today. Hope to hear from you soon.

Regards,
Annonymous

After she was finished with her last word, she folded the letter in to half and gave it to the brown bird. It flew out almost immediately.

Iris came home around ten pm, and cooked dinner. Astrid helped, of course, but she couldn’t get that letter out of her head. She hadn’t brought it up to her mother yet, and she was hoping that the next owl she received (if she got another one at all) wouldn’t come while her mother was with her. She didn’t know exactly why she didn’t want her mother to know quite yet, she didn’t really think she would get in trouble. She just wanted to keep something to herself.

They cooked chicken and a heap of rice. Astrid of course covered her rice in butter, and ate every grain. Eating was something she very much enjoyed, especially since her father had controlled how much food was eaten by everyone else in the house. Shaking those memories away, and put a forkful of food in her mouth and closed her eyes. She began smiling as she chew.

After dinner, Astrid helped her mother out with the dishes by drying them. Once that was over they had their nightly routine of making tea. Her mother was having come chamomile tea while Astrid had lavender. Astrid played the piano for her mother a bit before bed; one of Iris’ favorite things to do was listen to her daughter play her piano.

Now it was time for bed, though Iris didn’t mind if Astrid stayed up a little bit longer. She didn't have to wake up super early, so she would be fine. Iris kissed her daughter on the forehead goodnight, then she thought about something and right before she made it to her bedroom door she turned around. “Hey, do you want to get your owl for school tomorrow?” she asked, a small smile on her face.

Astrid only stared at her mother at first but then she jumped up with a leap for joy. “Really?” she asked, padding over to her mother.

“Of course. However, you must go to sleep at a decent time. I will be taking you very early in the morning. You’ll have to wake up earlier than eleven pm,” she said, giving Astrid a knowing look.

Astrid smiled sheepishly. “Okay, I’ll be awake enough. I’ll be excited, so I’ll be away,” she assured her. Astrid hugged her mother tightly, before letting go and making her way to her room, yelling a “Goodnight!” to her mother before closing her door.

The next morning, Astrid woke up to a tapping at her window. She opened her sleepy eyes to find an owl flapping around the window. Rushing to the panes of glass, she opened them up. Whee swooped right in, perching on the back of the chair that was sitting in front of her small desk. It was holding a letter.

Astrid was so excited, she was so ready to read this letter. But she could tell that this owl seemed tired, and she knew that her mother would be awake soon. “Okay, you can just put that letter down if you like,” Astrid told it, being used to her mother’s bird knowing what she meant. This brown owl, however, just tilted its head. Astrid smiled, and reached out for the letter. It seemed a little more hesitant to give it to her, but she didn’t have to fight it. Saving her curiosity, she put the letter on her desk. “Rest here. I’ll be back in less than an hour. You won’t have to be holding the letter next time,” she said, patting its head. “I’ll sneak you some food in here, too.” The owl seemed grateful, and fluffed out its feathers to relax itself.

After Astrid got ready and gave Whee some food, her and her mother were off to Diagon Alley. They weren’t gone for long, around thirty minutes. When they got back Iris had to leave shortly after to go to work. Astrid walked into her room with a medium sized black owl. Whee perked up upon hearing the witch enter the room.

“This is Ebony. She is my new owl,” she said, placing the black owl on her desk and picking up the letter she had received earlier in the same motion. “You two get acquainted. I need to respond to this,” Astrid then went over and sat on her bed. Quickly, she opened the letter. She had been waiting for it since she had gotten it. The paper it was on was… interesting. After reading over the reply, and got up and stood over her desk to write her own.

Dear Anonymous,
I received your letter once I had woken up, but I decided to wait a little to reply. Your owl seemed a bit tired, so I let him rest while I was out with my mother. I have my own owl now! I named her Ebony. She’s very friendly. I’ve decided to send her a long to give your owl a break. She’s all fired up and ready to go a few rounds. I really do hope you find something to do, I need to do my meditation and devotion for the day. Do you have any hobbies? I like to write.

Sincerely,
A.E.

And with that, Astrid sealed the letter. She included an extra piece of parchment so she wouldn’t have to use her brothers. Something told her not to ask where he was yet. She just had a feeling. Once she was done putting a generic wax seal on the envelope, and gave the two owls a treat each before handing the letter to Ebony. “Alright, you guys stay close to one another on your way there. Ebony, don’t get lost.” And with that, she opened the window and they were off.