The Letter

Thunder crashed outside of the small two-bedroom cottage in the heart of Hogsmeade, England. Ben Coletti sat at his window, on the little nook that he often read or looked out at the night sky when he couldn’t sleep. Storms, weather, the stars in the sky… it all fascinated him. When he thought about the night sky and all of the weather patterns that existed, it made his own problems seem insignificant. It made him feel like he was part of something bigger, and that maybe someday everything would be okay again. 

It wasn’t even that his life was terrible. Ben had a good home now, two parents that loved him more than anything in the world and a baby sister that he loved and could protect as she grew up. They even had thousands of animals running around the yard, including but not limited to chickens, pigs, dogs, cats, and even an alligator. He was still surprised that his mother had convinced his father that an alligator in the back creek was a good idea, but she had. Usually anything his mother wanted, his father got her. 

His parents weren’t his birth parents. The history was a bit complicated but basically his birth father had been sent to Azkaban after killing Ben’s birth mother in front of him. Mark, his uncle, had adopted Ben at the age of nine and raised him up to know all about Hogwarts and the wizarding world. Mark had eventually moved from Louisiana to Liverpool, England, to get away from his own troubled past. He had run into an old friend from home when he got to England, and he and Tala had married within the year. Ben’s eleventh birthday was tomorrow and he was still waiting to hear from the magical school about his acceptance… It was what was keeping him up now as he stared out into the sky. 

As the sun started to lift above the horizon, there was a soft knock on the door. It was his birthday! The day had finally arrived, and Ben hopped off the window seat and ran over to the door. His father stood there, smiling at him. The man was in his forties and had been through hell and back, but now worked as a private consultant for supernatural crimes and wizarding matters too small to bring to the higher authorities of the Ministry of Magic. His head was military-cut shaved, and round glasses framed his eyes. 

“Happy birthday, son!” Mark exclaimed as he reached out to hug Ben. There was an envelope in his hand too, and Ben couldn’t hold back his excitement. 

“Is that it? Did it finally arrive?” he asked, practically bouncing in his father’s arms. 

“It did indeed,” Mark smiled, leading the way over to Ben’s bed where they sat on the edge beside each other. “Now… I want to tell you something before you open this.” 

“Okay…?” Ben looked at his father suspiciously. 

“When you go to this school, you will learn a lot about the wizarding world of course, and how to perform spells, how to defend yourself against the Dark Arts that still exist, and how to care for creatures and plants. But you will also learn something else,” he said with an air of intrigue. 

“Something’s wrong, isn’t there?” Ben asked, knowing that there had to have been a catch on the best day of his life. There always was one, it seemed. 

“Listen…” Mark took a deep breath. “The Coletti’s have a long history, son. You know about your father and his past, of course, with what you witnessed from him… But there’s more to it than just that. You will learn about our family… the many, many things that we have done that I am not proud of. We have a tainted past, a family full of liars, cheats, and criminals. But we also have another side to our family, and this is the side I want you to focus on as you grow older. We are proud, we are strong, and we will always, always protect those we love. Does that make sense?” 

Ben grew quiet as he listened to his father’s words. They were ominous, no doubt about that, but he was still intrigued and curious as to how bad the story would be. He had watched his birth-father kill his birth-mother in front of him… how much worse could it be? But he just nodded, knowing that now wasn’t the time for questions. “I understand, Dad. I just want to learn all I can… and maybe grow up to be someone awesome. Like an Auror or a Magizoologist or something.” 

“You can do whatever you set your mind to, son. Of that, I have no doubt.” Mark smiled finally and handed over the envelope to him. “I’ll let you open this now… Your mother has made your favourite - chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. And there are gifts, when you’re ready to come down,” Mark winked and then left the room. 

Ben opened the envelope, a mix of nervousness and excitement. It had the typical acceptance announcement, the list of supplies needed, and the welcome from the headmaster. Ben stood up and put the letter on his desk, open and displayed proudly. He was still thinking about what his father had warned him about as he walked downstairs towards the birthday party waiting for him in the kitchen.