in which hollis rosier falls asleep in the wrong compartment
or the right one, depending on who you ask
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part one of two
editing closed, logged off wattpad (sorry only like half of it is edited, but its obviously still all good)
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#...
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"the five bracelets"
A light thud on her huge window woke Hollis from her sleep. She forced herself out from under the black duvet over to the window, the sharp pain in her back still very much present even after exactly two weeks.
At least it wasn't bleeding every time she moved anymore. In fact, the careful application of all the stolen healing items and moderation of movement had allowed the cut to begin to seal itself over. The only way it would burst again was with severe impact, and Hollis didn't plan on letting that happen.
Despite the noise that had ended her rest, there was nothing outside even as Hollis double checked the usual grey, cloudy sky and tall dark green pines surrounding Rosier Manor.
Sighing, she turned around to open her window seat and do the daily, painful regimen to her back. Before she could reach down to access her supplies, though, a flutter of yellow feathers rustled just outside her window. Her dark eyebrows furrowed, and she quickly pulled up the glass when she recognized the befuddled bird as Stubbin, the Potter's owl.
Stubbin flew in, landing on the window seat right next to Hollis. A small, square package was attached to his ankle with brown twine, and she quickly untied it.
"Feel better now, little guy?" asked Hollis in a low tone petting his glossy feathers slightly, making him hoot loudly.
Her stomach dropped at the loud sound, and she hastily waved her arms in a sweeping motion so that Stubbin flew out the window. She shut it with a click, taking a deep breath. Hopefully, her parents hadn't heard anything. Or Evan, for that matter.
Hollis had discovered that her own brother was the person informing her parents of her activity at Hogwarts when a professor or Malfoy didn't, and the small amount of kindness she had felt towards him vanished. There was simply no sibling loyalty or trust to hold onto anymore.
Hollis weighed the package in her hand slightly, trying to figure out what James had sent her. As quietly as she could, she tore the scarlet paper open. It revealed a brown box roughly the size of her palm, small bits of fiber showing through. She took off the lid and gently placed it down next to her as she sat down at the foot of her bed.
A small, simple bracelet had been placed neatly upon a bed of white, cushioning cotton. It was silver and thin with a circular clasp the size of her pinkie nail. Hollis slipped it on, and the metal was warm against her skin.
A note fell out of the bag. She picked up the brown parchment off the frigid ground.
It was in Remus's handwriting.
Hollis,
This bracelet is enchanted with a Protean Charm. All five of us have one, so they're linked together. All you have to do is whisper what you want to say into the clasp, then the message will appear on all of ours as well. It will warm up slightly to notify you when someone has written something on their bracelet. We all have different looking ones so that the communication isn't obvious. Sirius has a black leather one, obviously.
I tried to get them done sooner, like before we left at all, but it's a N.E.W.T. level charm, and it took us forever to find it with how huge the Communication Charm section of the library is, let alone have the research to perform it.
Please stay safe, Hollis. All of us want you to come back to Hogwarts the way you left. I know you don't want to hear it, but I had to say it just one more time.
Happy Christmas,
Remus Lupin
She could practically hear him explaining it to her, voice happy and eager and then concerned at the last part. She smiled for the first time in weeks, not having realized today was Christmas until now. The past two weeks had gone by in a painful, lonely blur, and she hadn't left her room the whole time.
There was much more to the letter, but now in James's handwriting a few inches down.
Madame Rosier,
Why did Remus just write you an instruction manual? Also, Sirius is making me partly write this down for him, and don't expect me to give a separate one because these hands need to work all day unwrapping presents and I don't want them to fall off. Peter would have written, but we agreed the muggles might be alarmed to see an owl carrying a letter across a ski resort.
Anyway, Happy Christmas from me, Sirius, Fleamont, and Mia. My mum says that you're always welcome here, but I don't think she's met you.
Hollis rolled her eyes and smiled at the same time.
Only joking, I know you just rolled your eyes at this letter. Thank Merlin that Dumbledore changed our coming back day to New Year's, that way we'll see you again in a week. I think that Sirius and I need someone besides Mia to keep us in line. But my mum can't prank like you, and I think she would die at some of the jokes you make. In the meantime, be ready for your wrist to be heating up every thirty seconds! But in all sincerity, we agreed on a safe word to whisper into the clasp every night. Just say enchanted so that we know you're safe. We won't sleep until all five of us say it, it's a pact. Make sure to eat a lot of pudding tonight, and Happy Christmas!
A shit ton of love and jolly holiday spirit,
James Potter and Sirius Black
Hollis folded up the letter and tucked it under a vial of kobold wings. She stared down at the bracelet with a smile, a full feeling going through her stomach, filling the emptiness that had been there earlier. They were back together in some form, and that was enough.
Her heart leapt as another sound hit the window.
This time, she was smarter than to let the owl in. Rosier Manor was huge, but there was always the danger that someone would be walking by at just the wrong time with her luck. She quickly opened the letter, also a joint one from her friends.
Dearest, lovely, incredible Hol,
Remus was the one who told us to write a combined letter if we were to write to you so that less mail and less risk would come to your house, so excuse the mishmash of handwritings.
First of all, Happy Christmas! We miss you, we miss you, we miss you. I'm just about ready to throw Petunia out the window, and probably the same is going for Evan. I don't think Azkaban would be so bad if we were in cells next to one another for vile sibling murder. Anyways, we wanted you to know that we're thinking about you and that you're in all of our hearts, minds, Marlene says, because that's where love actually occurs-
There was a violent scribble and slight snag in the parchment before the handwriting switched over to Marlene's.
Your heart is literally an organ pumping blood through your body, no love can actually-
I got the pen back. I miss you, and can't wait until all of us are back together again! I'm going to cut this off before she murders me. By the way, if you see that in the Prophet, it was her.
Love, love, love,
Lily and Marlene
She didn't even get the chance to smile before her door opened.
