An Unexpected Letter

She ended up falling asleep on Charlie again. Isabella wondered if Nick had taken out his sketchbook again or not. But when she woke up, she found him dozed off underneath a tree. She thought of taking the chance to look through the sketchbook, but in the end she decided against it. Whatever he was hiding, he must have his reasons, right?

She was about to shove him awake, but stopped herself. She'd never really seen him this way. He was laying with one hand on his stomach and the other on his forehead, slightly covering his face. His expression was peaceful, not his normal playful grin. His breaths were light and even.

Nick's eyes fluttered open. He found Isabella staring at him. She was leaning over him.

He gazed at her, with a quizzical look. She turned away, hiding her face.

"I was just about to wake you up. We should go to lunch." She said, all very quickly.

He cocked an eyebrow at her. He could see a lingering blush on her cheeks. He'd have to remember to draw that later.

"Let's go then, Bella." He said, getting up.

They petted Charlie good bye, promising to stop by the next weekend.

They walked up to the Great Hall, Isabella rushed Nick along because she was hungry.

The Great Hall wasn't very full with students. It was a Hogsmeade weekend for the older students, so most of them were there. No doubt they were most likely going to eat at the Three Broomstick's. Isabella heard a few first years complaining about not being able to go for another three years.

"I'll see you later." Isabella said, leaving him standing alone. He stared at her leave. She had spotted Mira and Adam.

Isabella frowned. There was something wrong. Adam had his arm around Mira, Mira's head was tilted down, she was leaning into Adam. In her hand she tightly gripped a letter. Across the table were Samuel and Michelle, both staring down at their plates. When Mira saw Isabella, she handed her the letter. She took the letter, and sat down next to Mira to read it. It was from Mira's parents, the hand writing was messy, the letter had been written in a rush. There was one sentence that caught Isabella's eye. 'We feared this would happen, and it has, your little brother has been taken'. Isabella's heart stopped. She set the letter down, and turned to Mira.

Her eyes were red from holding back the tears.

"H-he was only 10. He was so happy to be going to Hogwarts next year. So excited..." she managed to say.

"Mira..." Isabella hugged her.

After a minute Mira let go.

"I'll be back." She said, and then ran either to the bathroom or perhaps the dormitory. Adam was about to chase after her but Isabella stopped him.

"She needs time on her own... just leave her for a while."

Mira had run off to the bathrooms. It was empty which was good. She looked in the mirror and saw her eyes were puffy. She couldn't hold it in any longer. Tears started to fall down her face, she let it all out. She hadn't wanted to cry in front of everyone.

She'd seen her family owl come in, it was sort of unexpected since she had gotten a letter yesterday. When she opened it, and saw her mother's shaky handwriting she had immediately started worrying. The only thing that registered in her mind was "brother" and "taken".

Her throat was dry, and her eyes strained but it was nothing compared to the crushing pain she felt in her heart. She'd never felt so broken before. Was this what those characters in her books went through? Was this the pain? She knew it was painful but this... this.. she couldn't explain it. No book had ever hurt her so much.

She remembered a day when her little brother had walked in on her reading, and she had been wrapped in blankets, holding the book tightly. It'd been about a dog, and those don't usually end well. That one hadn't been an exception. Even though he'd only been eight at the time, he had cuddled up next to Mira. He tried to make her laugh because she was upset about the book. Her youngest brother had always been her favorite sibling. He'd liked to sit next to her, she'd read to him and he would fall asleep next to her. She'd always write to him and tell him all about Hogwarts.

She smiled thinking back on it.