To Embrace and To Let Go Solo Finished

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Date: 10/05/25 | Time: 16:50 | Outfit: Robes | CC: #711919
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The owl that arrived at breakfast was unfamiliar.
Phoenix noticed it mostly because it didn’t belong. It was darker than the school owls, sleeker, with amber eyes that scanned the Gryffindor table until they landed on her. The owl swooped down silently and dropped a letter in front of her before flying back out. Phoenix looked around but no one had batted an eye.

The envelope was a pale blue in color, her name spanned the front of it in her father’s cursive writing: Phoenix Harlow. Her stomach sank instantly. It wasn’t even sealed—just folded shut. Not even a wax stamp. She opened it slowly, her appetite replaced by the feeling of dread buried deep in her stomach. She read the short note right there at the table.

Phoenix,
Your mother and I have finalized the divorce. She’s moving back to Shanghai. You’ll stay with her during holidays, as she requested. I’ll remain in London. Nothing about your schooling should change.
Let me know if you need anything.
—Dad

That was all. No I’m sorry, no I know this might be hard. Not even an I love you. Just...facts. Written words on a page.

Phoenix folded the letter again, pressing the crease sharper with her nail. There was no falter to her expression. Food long forgotten she slid the letter into her pocket, rose from the bench, and left the Great Hall without a word.

No one stopped her.

The castle was busy at that time of morning, everyone moving about from breakfast to class, but Phoenix moved like she was invisible—head lowered, silent footsteps, eyes on the floor. She wandered until the noise faded, until she found herself tucked away in one of the less-used corridors on the fourth floor, where the sunlight came in through high windows and the air smelled faintly of old stone.
She sat on the windowsill, tucking her legs to her chest.

Her parents were divorced.

She wasn’t sure how to feel. It wasn’t like her parents had ever been happy—not that she remembered. They didn’t fight but they didn’t smile at each other. Her mother had always seemed tired. Her father had always seemed or been...elsewhere.
Still. Seeing it in writing was different. It made it real. Made it her new reality.

Final.

Phoenix pressed her forehead to the glass and looked out. Outside, a breeze ruffled the trees of the Forbidden Forest. An owl wheeled high above the towers. The Great lake shimmered in the morning sun.
She reached into her pocket taking the letter out again. She stared at the name.

Phoenix Harlow.

She liked her first name. Loved it even. It was her mother who had chosen it. Said it meant rebirth—something about fire and resilience. But the last name? That was her father’s. It had always felt...separate from her. Distant, like him. She didn’t look like him in anyway. Didn’t talk like him either. Most days, she wasn’t even sure he knew what her favorite subject was. Or even her favorite color.
But her mother? Her mother knew. Always. Even from far away.

Phoenix Zhang.

She whispered once. The sound of it settled in her chest, warm and certain. It rolled off her tongue like promise.
It wasn’t about punishing her father. She didn’t hate him. Yet she didn’t love him like she thought she did. She didn’t feel much of anything toward him, especially not now. That was the point.
She didn’t want to carry around a name that didn’t fit...her.

That afternoon, she made her way up to the Owlery. She pulled out a quill and parchment. She wrote slowly, carefully, making sure each letter was perfectly neat.

Mum,
I got Dad’s letter. I hope you’re okay. I’ve also decided I want to use your last name now. Zhang. I think it suits me better.
Love,
Phoenix

She didn’t sign it Harlow. She didn’t need to. Didn't want to.
She stared at the name—just Phoenix—for a long moment, then folded the letter and sealed it.
Phoenix Zhang.
It felt like starting over. Not in a big way. Not dramatic. Just…right. Just perfect.
And maybe. Just maybe, that was enough.

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