A Letter From the Ministry

The Owls flurried that Monday morning, dropping letters and parcels off to students and faculty. Hope sat next to Newt at the front, eating grapes as she looked over the pages to the rough draft he'd been working on. Helping creatures relocate to other environments safely. Hope had been given the task of illustration, which she took very seriously.

Her sketchbook was in front of her now, depicting an image of a Puffskein. It was just pencil drawings for now, but Newt seemed enthused by the detail she'd captured, down to their personality depicted through their expression.

Albus sat down on the other side of her and glanced over at the sketchbook with a smile. "Those are lovely." He said, sipping his tea.

Hope grinned as a heavy envelope landed on her plate, the owl swooping away with a squawk. She frowned, looking down at the envelope. She'd never gotten a letter before, but she supposed she had been meeting more new people recently, and it appeared to have come from the Ministry.

"This is a first." She said skeptically as she picked it up, but a little happiness slid through her chest. Maybe people see her as one of them, accepting her into their groups. She smiled at the prospect.

"Would you mind if I open it?" Albus asked, dabbing his mouth with a napkin.

Hope looked over at him, brows pinched in confusion. "Oh," she murmured as realization set in as she looked down at the envelope, "maybe a wolfsbane explosive party pack?"

Albus offered a sad smile. "I would just rather be safe than sorry."

She handed it over, knowing it was for the best. She and Newt watched him tap his wand to it and say. "Revelio." When nothing happened, he carefully opened one side. He peeked inside before reaching in and carefully taking out a neatly folded stack of papers.

Hope watched his expression shift into one of confused concern.

"What is it?" She asked. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked over his shoulder to read the letter.

Ice stroked down the back of her neck. It was the Registry, but it wasn't from Thomas.

"Why would Fawley send me the Registry? I thought he said I was an exception."

Newt moved closer now, eyes widening as he read over Albus' shoulder.

"It seems," Albus began in a tight voice, "he has changed his mind."

Hope gave him a scathing look, but it wasn't toward him. "You mean Thomas manipulated his mind."

Albus clenched his jaw; he didn't have to verbally agree for her to know she was right.

Reading further, it seemed Thomas had convinced him that even if she hadn't shown signs of being forced to phase under the total mean, it wasn't a risk he should be so quickly willing to take, especially with students at present.

"They'll be coming to the next full moon to ensure we take the appropriate precautions."

Hope let out a scoff and shook her head in irritation. Why was everyone continually trying to put her in a cage?

"When's the next full moon?" Newt asked.

Albus was silent, obviously not wanting to answer.

Hope's heart sank as she skimmed down to the date. February 14th.

"Valentine's Day?" She asked, her voice smaller than a whisper. Tears filled her eyes. She knew it wasn't the end of the world. Nobody was dying. She wasn't back with the Poachers. Things could be so much worse, but the sickening in her stomach made her want to curl up and lay there.

Newt looked over at her, his own eyes glittering with sadness.

"It doesn't even ask for a signature." Hope murmured in defeat. She wasn't simply being asked to sign and comply. She had to because she was attending Hogwarts.

Albus tapped his fingers against the table and nodded slowly before tucking the papers into his overcoat. "I'm going to London." He looked over at her and whispered lower. "I will do everything I can to correct this." His hand twitched to reach for her, but he paused, knowing what that would look like. The tear he'd been going to swipe away fell down her cheek.

"I'm not an animal," Hope whispered.

"We know," Newt murmured, "and we won't let you be treated like one."

Hope nodded, wiping another stray tear, her appetite wholly gone.

Albus offered her hand under the table a soft squeeze before standing and starting out of the Great Hall. His steps hurried- determined.

Sitting next to Hope, Newt wrapped an arm around her, and she let herself be hugged to his chest.

Minerva was just about to tell them that the public display of affection was highly inappropriate, judging by her expression. Until she seemed to notice the redness in Hope's eyes.

"What's happened?"

Newt cleared his throat. "The Ministry wants to lock Hope away for all future full moons," he answered, knowing Hope wouldn't be able to at the moment, "if she doesn't comply, she'll be sent away from Hogwarts." His own voice trembled at the end.

Her eyes widened in bewilderment. "Albus has gone to London, then?"

Newt nodded in response.

"Good," Minerva frowned and looked at Hope, "don't give up yet. Everyone here can vouch for your position at Hogwarts."

Hope nodded, offering a small smile that didn't touch her eyes.

At least there were some people on her side.

"I think I need to go lie down," Hope murmured to Newt, "I'm not feeling well."

Nodding, he kissed her forehead. "I'll walk you there."

Hope lay in Albus' bed, staring at the clock on the wall, watching each tick of its long hand. Newt was off teaching his classes, and Hope could only imagine how the conversation with Fawley was going. Albus would have reached London by now.

With a shaky sigh, she closed her eyes and drifted into a nightmare.

Hope stood in a forest, one that she vaguely recognized. She felt she'd been there many times, yet it felt like her first visit.

"Hello?" She called hollowly through the mist that settled in the green foliage.

Movement caught her eye, forcing her to focus on a spot ahead. There, between two trees, stood the figure from her previous visions. Hunched over in a cloak, she couldn't see his face, but a wash of dread filled her core as it took a step toward her.

Hope to take an immediate step back.

"Who are you?" She asked, feeling as if her voice were disembodied.

No words came from the hooded figure; instead, a long ashy wand emerged from the dark abyss that was its cloak. It pointed it, but not at her.

Hope followed the wand's tip to where it pointed to a large leather-bound book on the ground. Frowning, she slowly walked toward it, careful to keep her eyes on the figure as she came closer.

It was the Grimoire from Diagon Alley, which opened to a page depicting necromancy.

Just as she started to read the page, a hand shot out next to her from the ground. Hope screamed, staggering to the side as a skeleton crawled from its earthy grave.

Eyes widening in horror, the ground began to quake, and more graves began being disturbed. Some bodies were bare bone, others still had flesh rotting off. Their jaws dropped in a silent scream, and their hollow eyes penetrated hers.

Hope sat straight up in bed, screaming, covered in sweat, as a voice called to her.

"Hope," Albus' voice came, "Hope it's me. It's alright, you're safe."

When her heart had calmed enough, and her brain wasn't covered in fog, she looked over, greeting his bright blue eyes.

"Hey." He murmured, stroking her cheek with the pad of his thumbs. She hadn't realized she was crying. "It was just a nightmare. Nothing can get to you."

Hope swallowed dryly and crawled into him, holding his frame like she had that night the creature had come from the painting.

His finger strokes down her back helped her breathing return to the right rhythm. When she was calm enough, she recalled the dream, needing to stay it before it could disappear from her memory.

It was bad news all around because Hope realized that she must have been trying to perform necromancy in the forest that night. Albus' news made her heart sink further.

"I don't know what was said to Fawley, but he looked fearful." Sighed Albus. "He will not change his mind regarding how your full moons will be spent here."

Hope bit her lip, looking up at him. "They say here? Well, what if I'm not here for a full moon?"

Albus tilted his head to the side and smiled crookedly. "Hm, I thought about that, but unfortunately, we would need to be here. The dangers outside the castle-"

"There are dangers inside the castle too. They're everywhere. Just ask my poor hair." She stroked her fingers through it. "Nowhere is going to be completely safe. There's always going to be that chance something happens."

Albus pursed his lips and nodded, stroking his beard. "We can look into it."

Hope nodded, letting her head rest against his chest. She didn't know what to think about- her performing necromancy in a forest or what it would be like to be chained to a wall all night.

Closing her eyes, she let Albus rock her lightly back and forth.

"Thank you for trying," Hope whispered against his chest.

Albus smiled against her hair. "I will not stop until we find a way through this."

Warmth filled her in comfort as she nodded. "Hm," she pressed her face to his chest, "I love you."

"As I love you, darling."