Chapter Twenty-Three: Letters From the Past
"It is impossible to live without failing at something ... unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default." -J.K. Rowling
Harry and Ron sent Azalea the letter about a week ago and they still heard nothing from her yet. As far as they knew, Dumbledore made plans with his past self to give her the chance to send a letter back. However, instead of having the comfort of knowing she was safe, they were going out of their minds speculating whether she was alright or not.
The two wizards sat side by side at the Gryffindor table, eating dinner with the laugher and chatter of students surrounding them. The cherry and uplifting environment of their dinner sprouted a mutual feeling between the two boys. It was one of anger, resentment, but most of all, worry. No one in the room knew of the danger Azalea was putting herself through to assure the safety of the Wizarding World and no one would understand how useless he felt being able to help her in such a limited way. And at the centre of all their feelings was worry that they won't get her back. That Voldemort was already way too deep into his schooling to be manipulated into changing by Azalea - who definitely did not classify as the most slick of people.
"Hey mate? Is that not your owl?" Harry looked up from his plate to look at Ron. His stare was not requited though due to Ron looking somewhere else. Harry's gaze followed to see his owl delivering what seemed like a letter all by its lonesome.
Hedwig soared over their heads, dropped what Harry correctly assumed was a letter and left.
Both Harry and Ron stared at the letter absentmindedly before glancing at each other. One's expression mirroring the other's. "Do you think it's-" Ron's question was abruptly cut off by Harry's rather quick response. "It has to be!" He went to go open it before stopping midway through the process. "Well, what are you waiting for?! Go on!" Ron urged for Harry to continue, but Harry still didn't proceed. "You don't think we should wait to get somewhere more private?"
The red-headed wizard was about to protest before noticing all the prying eyes. This had been the only letter delivered so it was natural for everyone's attention to be focused on them. Perhaps it was better to wait. "You're the boss," Ron said, agreeing with the plan to wait.
Inhaling instead of actually eating their food seemed to be the best method of getting to the rooms quicker than the rest of the boys. They took huge scoop after scoop in a successful attempt to be able to leave and get there before anyone else did.
"You ready, mate?" Ron asked Harry, still with chicken and rice stuffed in his mouth. It made his words unintelligible but Harry got the brunt of it. "Yea. Let's go."
Harry and Ron managed to slip out of the feast undetected and to the room with perfect ease.
Unlike Harry's delay when it was first delivered, he opened the letter now with no hesitation.
"Dear Harry and Ron," Harry started reading the letter aloud.
"I appreciate the advice you gave to me about Riddle. I've been trying to follow it but I'm not sure if it's working or not. We had a very peculiar exchange not too long ago actually (you don't need to know what about). It's hard to say whether it was genuine though. And even if it wasn't, it's still a good sign he's showing interest. That gets me closer to him! But the most important thing both of you should know is that I'm safe and sound. Dumbledore is here and he's aware and knowledgeable on this subject. Slughorn's here too, Harry! I didn't know it was Voldemort's time he taught in. Maybe that's why Dumbledore brought him to Hogwarts. Anyways, don't worry about me. I think I'm a couple of steps ahead of Riddle and that's really going to help. I promise I'll keep safe.
Love always,
Azalea L. Potter
This letter was good for the two wizard's current state of mind but it did nothing for them in the long run. She was safe for now but there was no telling how long that will last. It made Harry's insides coil.
Obviously sensing Harry's unsureness, Ron sent Harry words of comfort. "Look. She's fine that's all that matters right now." Harry glared at his red-headed best friend. "All that matters right now?! My sister is still in the past with the man that murdered our parents! There's no telling what he'll do to her if he knows why she's truly there!" Ron offered no response.
"How does she know Slughorn?" Ron awkwardly asked, no doubt trying to steer the conversation away from their current topic. "Dumbledore brought us to meet him before the school year," the raven-haired boy answered uninterested. Although Harry wasn't interested in the conversation anymore, it now started to peak Ron's interest. "Why'd he bring you guys to him?"
Harry shrugged. "Dumbledore said he liked to collect people. Maybe it helped to persuade him to come back to Hogwarts when he saw me and Azalea with him."
Their conversation halted when both of them heard rumbling and then a heavy pounding on the door. The door soon crashed open to reveal all the boys in their year come spilling into the room excitedly. It put an end to the two boys' conversation for the night.