The Bug Collector | marauders

Summer of 75'

Cokeworth, England

Not minutes after Rose made her way through the front door she was heading up the stairs to start on letters.

Throughout the summer she sent many, and they would usually get a quick reply. Loads of jokes but also complaints of boredom from James, an interesting account of how Remus was spending his summer, and the still combined letters from Peter and Sirius were some of what she had come to expect. However, after the first weeks of summer Sirius progressively wrote less and less, and eventually he wrote nothing more at all.

Rose had wondered what might have caused it, the summer still seemed to fly by without the contact from him but something was so incredibly missing from this gradual disappearance that Rose couldn't quite get it off her mind.

—

Then, one morning less than a week out from returning to Hogwarts Rose was awakened by an owl oddly early, the type of early when the house feels hazy, and there's dew drops on the grass.

Lily was asleep in Rose's bed as they had spent the previous night up talking together, it felt like each time one tried to sleep the other would think of a new topic and the giggles would start up again.

Lily was meant to have plans with Snape that day but he had canceled, because of this Rose had invited Lily to spend the night in her room and make messy origami with her. Of course Lily's was actually pretty, but Rose didn't mind. Her paper frogs had character even if they didn't bounce when you pushed down on them like her sister's did.

Rose cautiously removed the blankets off herself and got up to check what the owl had brought, not wanting to wake her sleep deprived sister.

She tied up her red hair and put on her glasses before walking over to the desk where the letter remained unopened. After she sat down she lit a soft colored candle that was scented like green ferns, moss, and plush fabric and grabbed a pen. Her responses always looked far less pretty than the letters she would receive, expect the ones from Remus, as those were also written with regular ink pens.

Holding the letter under the candle-light Rose read the name written in nice calligraphy across the front.

Peter Pettigrew.

She opened the letter expecting something from Peter himself, but found only a quick message from Sirius with an annotation from Peter at the bottom.

Miss you.

S.B.

His bloody owl woke me up! You're lucky you got this at all, Rose! I need my sleep!

Reluctantly with Fondness,

Pete

Rose held the letter for a moment, holding it dangerously close to the fire, enough for smoke to bellow over it but not enough for it to catch aflame. She placed the letter down and wrote her reply.

Hope everything's okay. See you in a few days.

Thorns

She drew a tiny heart next to her name before adding a small drawing at the bottom to get Peter's attention, then writing her message to him.

Thanks, sweet dreams, Pettie.

Actually With Fondness,

Rose

She sealed the letter and sent it off with her own owl before pulling another piece of paper.

She attempted to write to Ode, but couldn't quite find the words, they hadn't written at all over the summer, but Rose was still ready to see her again, she just didn't see the point in telling the girl that so she folded up the paper and stuck it in her desk drawer before removing her glasses and going to lay down next to Lily once more.