The Last Horcrux (Harry Potter Fanfic)

The Two Letters

     Nicole walked the long, straight path made of gravel. Her little siblings, one month apart, were fighting as usual. Nicole's tolerance level for her brother and sister were usually high, but they have been fighting all day and never get caught by the orphanage owners like Nicole once did when she was little. They had just gone out for another walk when Nicole cracked. She turned around and pointed her finger at them.

     "Nia, Mark, stop it! My gosh! If you two fight like this in the orphanage, you know what they are going to do? Kick you out! So shut up about it, idiots!"

     With every word she took a step closer to them, fear burning in their eyes. But Nicole turned around, and continued walking after her meltdown. She didn't want them. They were young. They still had a chance to get adopted. She, on the other hand, did not. Her parents gave them up when she was just a little kid, and her siblings were babies.  She wasn't wanted then, she wasn't wanted now. They got back to the orphanage with a look of anger on her face. Every child, after their time outside, was told to look for mail in their mailbox, which were made of old iron and nailed against the wall. Normally, none of them received mail. But today, Nia and Mark both received identical letters. It is against the rule to open up another persons mailbox, but Nia and Mark both couldn't reach theirs, so Nicole always got their mail along with hers. She stared at the letters, which seemed to be the same letter, and slowly handed the letters over to them, never leaving her eyes off of it. They never got mail. Ever. And today, Nia and Mark both got a special surprise. Right as the letters reached out of her hands into the grimy hands of her siblings, she noticed something written on the note that said "Hogwarts".

     "Wait!" Nicole said, "Let me read those!"

     Nicole stole the letters from them and ran around outside the orphanage, her siblings chasing after her. She held it high in the air, where her siblings got nowhere near it. She ripped open one of the envelopes and agreed to read it aloud if they would stop chasing her.

     They all sat down against the round trunk of the giant maple tree in the front yard.

     "Dear Mr. Kings, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry? What kind of a letter is this? It is from... Minerva McGonagall? What kind of a prank mail is this?"

     "I want to read MY letter!" Nia protested.

     Nicole, still holding both of the letters, got up from the tree. She gripped them tightly.

     "There is no way I am going to give this back until we show... Mrs. Sim."

     Their eyes widened as they both gasped. Clearly, this had caught them off guard. Nicole gave them a sly grin when they both covered their mouths in shock simultaneously. Nia whispered the word "no" faintly, and Mark told Nicole that she couldn't do that.

     "Why are you guys freaking out over this? It is just a letter. Do you not want her to see your special invitation to a wizard school?"

     "No," Nia said, "We just don't want her to..."

     "What?" Nicole asked.

     Like always, Mark was the only one who understood Nia. He began to finish where she left off.

     "She is gonna... kick us out! Like you said!"

     Mark whispered the last part right before a booming noise was heard from the door.

     "Miss Kings!" Nicole's head turned around, "You have been taking them out to walk MUCH longer than you are supposed to. What is the reason for this?"

     "Look," Nicole said proudly, "The two Einsteins in the house got some nice prank mail."

     Nicole waltzed her way over to Mrs. Sim. She read it very carefully, adjusting her glasses many times. Her eyes grew huge, her glasses dropped, and the letter danced to the ground. Mrs. Sim was, for once, actually speechless about something. She had no words to say. Nicole didn't know what this meant. Could she be in shock that Nicole was actually right for once?

     "See Mrs. Sim, they got-"

     Nicole was interrupted.

     "Come, come! Nia, Mark, let us go now," it was as if Mrs. Sim wasn't even listening. She guided them to the door, "Nicole, you didn't happen to... get a letter, um, as well... did you?"

     "No. But, um, Mrs. Sim they-"

     "Good."

     And they were off. Nicole was sent to her room for being late, while who knows what Nia and Mark were up to. What was that letter for? Nicole flattened out on her bed. Finally, some silence. She felt like crying, but she didn't know why. Before she could even let a single tear flow, Nia and Mark blasted through the door.

     "Nia! Mark! Get OUT of my room!"

     "Nicky! Nicky! Nicky!" Nia shouted, "We got in!!!!!"

     "What are you talking about?"

     Mark answered.

     "We got accepted to Hogwarts! We are magical!"

     Their faces had smiles so big, they looked like a cartoon jumping on her bed.

     "Get out!"

     "And Nicole, we-"

     "GET OUT!"

     She pushed them out the door and slammed it shut. She heard Mrs. Sim scream her name for slamming it. She was forced to lay in her bed all day. She was tired of this life. She was tired of this orphanage. She knew what to do. She searched through her stuff until she found a small, dirty glass with a clear liquid inside. Her mom meant for it to be used in this moment.