September 7th, 1895 — Hogwarts corridor somewhere between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff common rooms

There was only an hour until curfew, but she had to see Margie now. The letter from her mother had arrived via the family owl not more than five minutes ago—one she'd been waiting on (hysterically) since she'd heard about the mist in Irvingly from her classmates that morning. The letter hadn't come then, though others had received them. Then the article in The Prophet had her bursting into terrified tears in front of her housemates. (Admittedly, it wasn't the first time and it was only the sixth day of term.)

Margie hadn't heard from her family either, and they'd spent most of the day quietly huddled together, staring out windows for recognizable owls. The headmaster confirming it at supper had turned her anxiety up from an eleven to thirty-two. A kind house matron had suggested the two try to stay calm and tuck into bed early, which is ultimately what they'd agreed to do.

The owl tapping at the window in her dormitory had startled her. She recognized her mother's handwriting, and less than a heartbeat later, she had furiously read through the letter's contents. Poppy sobbed in relief, clutching the letter to her chest for a moment, and then realized—Margie! Had she heard from her mother too? She tore down the astronomy tower stairs, still in her sleeping gown and hair flying wildly around her.

Margaery Lockhart

  

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Margie had looked at the letter from her mother for a solid twenty minutes without so much as daring to breathe too much. Calvin was alright, which was a relief, but her father and Grams were missing? What was this mist and what was it doing to their homes? Margie couldn't think past the fact that something was very wrong here. Her mother was collected in her words, but Margie could not be quite so calm.

Her hands were shaking as she held the parchment in her hands, starting down at her mother's familiar handwriting as her vision blurred with tears. Curfew was soon but she couldn't just sit here. She thought to seek out the matron, but didn't know what to say. She didn't want gentle reassurances, she wanted answers. She needed something to help her calm down. Maybe something from the kitchens. She'd learned the secret from her father before leaving and had promised not to tell anyone, but she thought now might be a good time to try it.

Creeping from the Hufflepuff den and into the halls in her housecoat and slippers, she hadn't made it too far when she saw Poppy come around the corner. Her friend looked like she'd gotten some news too; Margie just had to hope it was better than hers. "Poppy—" came out the hoarse whisper, unable to elaborate.

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She'd run nearly all the way to the Hufflepuff common room entrance before she found her, the slippers doing nothing to keep her feet warm against the cold stone floor. It was all she could do to not burst into tears again when she saw Margie. She tried to catch her breath, her red hair tangled around the buttons at the front of her nightgown, though she had yet to notice. She was too busy analzying her best-friend's face for any sign of news. Whether it was good, or... no she wouldn't even think that way.

Though Margie's face didn't look well. And the way she'd said Poppy's name didn't sound well either. Still, Poppy had received good news and had cried anyway, so maybe this was the Hufflepuff's version of that? "What's happened?" She panted breathlessly, catching the glimpse of the letter in Margie's hand.

  

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Margie just barely stopped short of running into Poppy, words and thoughts all jumbled in her head. "My mum says—" Well, Margie didn't know exactly. Calvin was home safe, but her dad and her Grams were still missing and she didn't know what that meant exactly.

"Mum says Calvin is home safe, she had my Granddad are staying with my uncle," that was the good news. She couldn't imagine losing another sibling. "But my dad and Grams haven't been seen." What was this mist? What was it doing to her hometown? "Did you hear from home?" Hopefully Poppy had better news.

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"Oh no!" She exclaimed, eyes watering once again. Margie hadn't been as fortunate as she. Now that she was getting older, Poppy had begun to notice the disparity between the different classes and their living situations. She hoped the reason that her family had remained intact and Margie's hadn't wasn't related to that... though maybe they would be fine? And were just... she wasn't sure what, but something.

A bit guiltily, she clutched her own letter closer to her chest and nodded, "I did–Mum says she and Da and my brothers are all safe." Poppy couldn't imagine how terrible this would make her friend feel, so she brushed right past her own relief to offer Margie some of her own: "I'm sure they're alright, Margie! They'll sort out whatever this fog-stuff is and everything will be fine again."

  

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Club Membership in: Astronomy • Flying • Charms • Book • Quidditch

Adorably sweet set by the amazing Lady!