Huffily Puffily || Golden Trio

Suspicions || ix

* * * * *

Dear Lucy,

If you hadn't sent me one first, I don't think I'd ever be able to figure out how to send you a letter. It's weird how your school uses owls to send mail, I mean, don't they get tired? How do they even train them? When did they decide to use owls to send mail?

What's your school like? Is it better than ours? I bet it is. I don't reckon I've learned anything new since we were eight. I think Mrs. Cole misses all the commotion. Now that you're gone, she doesn't know what to do with herself. I know Jennifer certainly doesn't. Without you guys arguing all the time, she's just sort of quiet.

It's a bit eerie, really, but she's found another target... This new girl Emma showed up around a week ago, and she's really cool. She moved here from America— I forget which state, oops— and her accent gives her a lot of trouble. I usually think Americans are annoying on the telly, but she's really cool. I'd like to stand up for her, but I always lose my nerve. How did you do it, Lucy? You never seemed afraid of Jennifer, even though the entire Orphanage loves her. I used to think she was really nice and you were the bully. That's what she told us, anyway. Now I know she was a huge, lying git, because you are in fact the coolest person at Wool's.

Anyways, everything's been boring lately, but I'm hoping that me and Emma can be friends. I can't wait until summer.

Sincerely, your friend Nathan

•

Lucy smiled to herself as she stowed the letter away in her robes. It was about time someone at Wool's noticed how utterly awesome she was. She always knew Mrs. Cole liked her deep down. Deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep down.

She was a bit surprised Nathan thought so highly of her. She'd grown up assuming everyone else at the orphanage hated her, or at the very least thought her too strange to approach. Jennifer had definitely led the crusade against her, leading to many displays of accidental magic. She wondered if Nathan had ever noticed any of those times. Whenever she was really angry, her bullies would always feel someone yanking their hair, or they'd feel a physical blow of some kind. One time, after Jennifer put gum in Lucy's hair while she was asleep, Lucy had glared at the older girl so hard Jennifer's nose started gushing blood. Maybe Nathan thought Jennifer was exaggerating?

In any case, she was happy to have a friend at Wool's Orphanage, finally. She'd entertained herself well enough growing up (playing make believe in her room, hiding from all the staff just for the fun of it, so many cacti—), but it did get a bit lonely at times.

Lucy stowed the letter away in her Potions textbook. She'd write Nathan back later, but for now, she had an unpleasant Potions class to face. Today, due to Ravenclaw having an outside activity, the Hufflepuffs had to double up with the Slytherins, which was only slightly less of a disaster than if the Slytherins and Gryffindors were together.

In her short time at Hogwarts, Lucy had discovered more about herself than she ever knew. For example, her favorite food was steak, not the greasy spaghetti served once in a blue moon at the orphanage. She preferred working with her hands instead of listening, and she was actually a good student if she had the right teacher. Here she didn't have to act out. There was already so much to do, so stirring up trouble was pointless. She excelled in Charms and Transfiguration, but she was lacking in Potions, History, and Astronomy.

Perhaps she might have excelled in Defense Against the Dark Arts too if Professor Quirrell was not completely and utterly inept. She tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, because anyone could be a great teacher with a stutter, but Quirrell's problem was that whenever he found a subject too frightening, he'd change the subject and assign them piles of homework. He skipped the entire unit on Possession and signs of Possession, and when Lucy mentioned it to him, he almost fainted on the spot. The man rubbed her the wrong way, but she couldn't place why.