Brielle Anderson had always been a happy child, full of questions and a never-ending pit of things to say. But on the evening of August seventeenth, just days away from returning to Hogwarts, a terrific tragedy changed her life for good.
Being sent...
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s e c r e t t h r e e
I always watch other patients when people come to visit them. It makes me happy to see them, sick or wounded in the heart or mind as they are, to have smiles spread across their lips and excited eyes as they talk with their friends and loved ones.
I never thought I would have a visitor though, saying as though all my loved ones are gone. And so it came as a surprise when one of the nurses came in and told me there was someone there to see me.
I sat up in my bed as she ushered them in, and looked up to see Dumbledore standing in the doorway. He was the same Albus Dumbledore I was used to seeing, with the same white beard and twinkling eyes and flowing black cloak. But seeing him reminded me of that night, and I hoped his visit would be quick.
He sat down beside my bed in the chair visitors used, and asked me how I was. When I answered with a croaky, "I'm okay," he smiled at me and said he wanted to discuss some important matters.
"Here's your Hogwarts book list," he said, and pulled an enclosed piece of parchment out from his coat pocket. He handed it to me and I read the front, where my name was written in loopy cursive. I didn't bother opening it and handed it back to him instead.
"I can't go."
He didn't look in the least bit surprised by my reaction, only thoughtful and caring. "And why is that?" he asked.
I told him I didn't have anyone to bring me to school or pay for my new supplies. He only sent me his kind, soft smile.
"Your parents left you money in your vault at Gringotts," he said, and didn't seem to notice me clenching my hands at the mention of my mum and dad. "And I found people who can bring you."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I found a family who has agreed to take care of you, and we're leaving tomorrow afternoon to take you to them."
I didn't really want to go live with a new family, and I didn't really want to go back to school. But I also didn't think I had much of a choice. "Do I have to?" I asked him, just in case I did.
He only smiled again. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said. "Make sure you have all your things packed."
And then he stood up from the chair and exited the room, leaving me staring at the closed door. I shut my eyes tight and laid back in my bed, letting out a deep breath.
A new family. A new home. I didn't look forward to having to live with new people, especially people who would be hoping for a happy child to invite into their life. But I wasn't a happy child. I was a lonely, sad child who had lost everything.
And I wasn't ready to start over.
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