where i am good & loved
Location: Hogwarts
Dated: 8 December 2025.Sender: Cassius Hirano
Recipient: @Mercy King
Description:
[Perhaps a little too cutely decorated (appropriately holiday-themed, with a glittery snowflake border) and prettily folded (sent alongside a small handful of paper stars) to be put in a random inner pocket of Mercy's bookbag, Cassius woke up extra early to slip this letter to his best friend right before class.
No matter how long it takes for Mercy to find it, the contents read as follows:]
Reducio
Dearest Silly,
It’s a little strange to write you this card knowing that we’re only a few moments away, as always, but I think getting used to letter writing is good now that we’re expected to send messages with owls. Knowing how much time you put into taking care of your hair, I've only put this in your bag instead of terrorising the poor birds with tracking someone usually nearby me.
Call it old-person-talk, but it’s kind of nice to sit down and do this, and it’s really much easier than trying to do the same to my parents back home. At least with you, I can always explain myself immediately if I ever forget something or another, and I don't need to worry about my father worrying. It’s additionally much less stressful than sending out proper holiday cards, though I know our families will have to do exactly that later. Have you seen what's been written on yours this year? I really don’t know how to adapt the Statue of Secrecy around annual updates, but I'm sure we'll be forced to talk about it over dinner sometime.
Though the whole process of wizarding letterwriting is really old-fashioned, even more than our parents' generation (I'm glad we brought pens...), I admit the novelty is part of the fun. Who better to write to than my best friend?
While drafting this, I realise that there are some things I often feel but cannot say aloud. Not because I’m afraid, I know you’d never make fun of me for things that actually matter, but because they seem so obvious that frequently bringing them up would be really quite annoying.
For one, and I’m sure you know this, I’m really thankful that we’ve gone on this magical journey together. My entire life, I've always been most afraid of this year, because I knew I'd eventually have to leave you and the lives we've always shared with a lie. Of course, the getting-used-to process was hard, and there are still a lot of basic things to figure out, and Scotland is perhaps colder than anything I've ever experienced, but every day feels warmer with you there. As our first term comes to an end, I'd like to really thank you for being my friend and for always being there. There are just so many people here with so many interests and personalities that I hope you don't feel trapped in the familiar. I appreciate the familiarity most, you see, though I would never expect anything from you that you aren't willing to offer.
I hope the new year treats us well and that we'll keep getting better at magic. One day, I’m sure we’ll be such good wizards that we’ll laugh looking back at where we started. For now, I think holding our own on the duelling piste will have to be enough. Next time you have an unofficial duel, please let me know!! I'd like to be your duelling partner one day, and I want to see how your magic works when it's really prompted. It'd be just like lacrosse at the Blackbourne, except this time in better weather.
Before I forget to tell you this after class, we should also visit Weasley's Wizard Wheezes before Christmas. Let's gift Theory something weird, if only because you and I both know that he'd find it funny sooner or later. Of course, I've already gotten something actually decent for everyone, but still, our gift options just got doubled. I’m not looking forward to all of the notifications we probably got over the past 3 months… but I guess that's to be expected.
The real point is, happy holidays, Mercy!! I suppose I could have said all of this in person, or maybe none of it at all, but it's hard to bring up in conversation, no matter how many conversations we do have. We've nearly reached the end of another year. It's been a weird one. I hope we spend a lot more years together in the future, just as odd and doubly interesting.
Love, your best friend,
Cassi
It’s a little strange to write you this card knowing that we’re only a few moments away, as always, but I think getting used to letter writing is good now that we’re expected to send messages with owls. Knowing how much time you put into taking care of your hair, I've only put this in your bag instead of terrorising the poor birds with tracking someone usually nearby me.
Call it old-person-talk, but it’s kind of nice to sit down and do this, and it’s really much easier than trying to do the same to my parents back home. At least with you, I can always explain myself immediately if I ever forget something or another, and I don't need to worry about my father worrying. It’s additionally much less stressful than sending out proper holiday cards, though I know our families will have to do exactly that later. Have you seen what's been written on yours this year? I really don’t know how to adapt the Statue of Secrecy around annual updates, but I'm sure we'll be forced to talk about it over dinner sometime.
Though the whole process of wizarding letterwriting is really old-fashioned, even more than our parents' generation (I'm glad we brought pens...), I admit the novelty is part of the fun. Who better to write to than my best friend?
While drafting this, I realise that there are some things I often feel but cannot say aloud. Not because I’m afraid, I know you’d never make fun of me for things that actually matter, but because they seem so obvious that frequently bringing them up would be really quite annoying.
For one, and I’m sure you know this, I’m really thankful that we’ve gone on this magical journey together. My entire life, I've always been most afraid of this year, because I knew I'd eventually have to leave you and the lives we've always shared with a lie. Of course, the getting-used-to process was hard, and there are still a lot of basic things to figure out, and Scotland is perhaps colder than anything I've ever experienced, but every day feels warmer with you there. As our first term comes to an end, I'd like to really thank you for being my friend and for always being there. There are just so many people here with so many interests and personalities that I hope you don't feel trapped in the familiar. I appreciate the familiarity most, you see, though I would never expect anything from you that you aren't willing to offer.
I hope the new year treats us well and that we'll keep getting better at magic. One day, I’m sure we’ll be such good wizards that we’ll laugh looking back at where we started. For now, I think holding our own on the duelling piste will have to be enough. Next time you have an unofficial duel, please let me know!! I'd like to be your duelling partner one day, and I want to see how your magic works when it's really prompted. It'd be just like lacrosse at the Blackbourne, except this time in better weather.
Before I forget to tell you this after class, we should also visit Weasley's Wizard Wheezes before Christmas. Let's gift Theory something weird, if only because you and I both know that he'd find it funny sooner or later. Of course, I've already gotten something actually decent for everyone, but still, our gift options just got doubled. I’m not looking forward to all of the notifications we probably got over the past 3 months… but I guess that's to be expected.
The real point is, happy holidays, Mercy!! I suppose I could have said all of this in person, or maybe none of it at all, but it's hard to bring up in conversation, no matter how many conversations we do have. We've nearly reached the end of another year. It's been a weird one. I hope we spend a lot more years together in the future, just as odd and doubly interesting.
Love, your best friend,
Cassi
| ... cassius hirano | alexios katsaros ... |
| hogwarts wizardry. slytherin duelling captain. | durmstrang institute. hellhound pack. |