Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. All rights go to respective owners.

Letters Home

Do you know what they call me? Ice Queen, that is what they say when they think I can't hear them.

But I always hear them.

Mother, I do not know what to do. Hogwarts is impressive and beautiful—there is quite literally magic in the air—but I am alone. I do not have friends; either people are cruel and mock me, or they ignore me. I am afraid I do not fit in here—especially in Slytherin. Please do not tell Father I told you that! Then again this letter might not make it to you. I might destroy it and start from scratch; that is what I did to the first thirty letters. You know that I have never been excellent at expressing affection or my emotions.

I guess that is how I got my nickname.

My apologies, Mother. I only now realized that I forgot to start this letter appropriately. Allow me to begin again.

Greetings Mother,

Thank you for the last letter and care basket. I appreciated the peacock feather quill. While it is a bit extravagant for my taste, it brought a smile to my face—your intent, I am sure. I could picture you in Flourish and Blotts, heading straight past the reasonable quills toward the most expensive and absurd selections. Thank you.

I have decided to save the chocolates, as there were quite a lot. There is no one I am quite willing to share with, but that is my concern. I do not want you to think that I am ungrateful or selfish. I am just waiting for the right person to come along; that is all.

I am well. Please inform Father that I am enjoying Slytherin and have made friends—for my sake, tell him that.

Anyway, I best go. I have spent most of the evening drafting multiple copies of this letter (the rejects are happily acting as kindling in the fireplace).

All my love,

Daphne

Dear Mother,

It has been a few weeks since my first letter. I am sorry I have not written until now. I would say that I have had a lot of homework—which is also the truth. I have been spending a lot of time in the library.

I am sorry, Mother. I promise to write more.

Love,

Daphne

Dear Mother,

See? I promised that I would write more, and I have. This letter should arrive two days after my last. I am alive and well.

I cannot write much, as nothing has changed.

Love,

Daphne

Mother,

I hate Hogwarts. It has been two months, and I have no friends. Please let me come home over Christmas break—and do not make me come back!

Love,

Daphne

Father,

I apologize for my childish behavior. It will not happen again. As you have rightly suggested, I will stay at Hogwarts during Christmas, in hopes of becoming better acquainted with my peers.

Your loving daughter,

Daphne

I am writing this to you, Mother, knowing that I will never send it.

I made a friend over the holidays. Well, perhaps two friends. I am not sure about Blaise Zabini, as he does what he wants. His whims change at the drop of a hat. Half the time, I am not sure he knows what he even wants. So we will file him under the category of 'good acquaintance' for now.

Let me tell you about Tracey.

Tracey is funny, although I am not sure you would appreciate her humor, Mother. She is incredibly irreverent. It seems that at every opportunity, she balks at tradition. Perhaps that is due to her unique perspective as a half-blood who grew up in a Muggle-style home (please, do not tell Father). I was so sure that Professor Snape would take points from her during lunch the other day. (Trust me, I know. If I had not been there, I could never have imagined him almost removing points from Slytherin either!)

I will not go into details here, but let us say that she had a disrespectful attitude toward Salazar Slytherin and made a correlation to Snape. (I was shocked, too!) Granted, he had made her life difficult the day prior, during the last lesson before the break. It was completely uncalled for to pair her with Longbottom during Potions. The clumsy boy is hopeless in that class—no matter how much that Granger girl attempts to help him.

Anyway, I want you to picture it, Mother. An incredibly petite brunette with a sharp tongue and fearless attitude staring down our Head of House.

I know it is wrong for me to say this, but I wish I that I was more like her.

It is probably time for me to throw this letter in the fire. No one can ever read it, and it is getting late. I need to write your actual letter if it is to arrive by tomorrow evening.

Your daughter,

Daphne

P.S.—Thank you for the gifts. The scarf and hat set was nice, but I preferred the photo album and camera. I know you had your hand in the latter, Mother. It was thoughtful and sweet—if not an overhanded way of saying I needed to make lasting and happy memories here.

I love you. I hope you know that.

Dear Mother and Father,

Thank you for the Christmas presents. I particularly enjoyed the forest green scarf and beanie set. I wear them every chance I get and have received many compliments. Thank you.

I hope that you are pleased to note that I have befriended Blaise Zabini over the holidays. He is a pure-blood, of course, and quite talented in Transfiguration. We have plans to meet up and study together in the library. Studying can wait; I know you want me to focus on networking.

He is close friends with Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, and Theo Nott. Blaise has introduced me to them, and we plan on all spending time together during the weekends. It sounds quite fun, and I am looking forward to it.

I hope all is well, and I will continue being diligent in writing to you both.

Happy holidays,

Daphne

A/N — I hate writing letter!fics. It's like pulling teeth for me. That fact aside, I am very happy with how this turned out. What do you all think?

Prompt (Around the World — The Golden Snitch): write a story in an epistolary form. (letter!fic)

Dessie / Castelobruxo, South / South Side Vipers

Word count (not including title and author's notes): 1031