Letter to Peter and Carrie (via Mum)

[alt_susan]

Dear Peter and Carrie,

I know you're really trying to be good and not drive Mum mad, but I can tell from her journal that it's got to be really trying for all of you, especially with Dad still stuck at headquarters with the team. So this is my Easter present to you; I hope you'll like it and not find it too feeble. Tell Mum if you have any ideas and things that you want to have happen in the later parts. She'll tell me and I'll try to put them in.

The Brave Brother and Sister

Long, long ago there lived a King and Queen who had four children named Sybella, Ethelbert, Catarina, and Percival. Their kingdom was small, but happy and peaceful, and all of the princes and princesses were blessed with good spirits and great talent for magic. Like princes and princesses do, they grew older until finally it was time for Sybella to leave home. She sailed away across the sea to become the Chief Cook and Librarian for a witch of great power and wisdom who lived in a faraway country. Then it was Ethelbert's turn--he heard of a princess in the north country who was trapped in her tower by a band of maraunding Giants, and he set off to rescue her. Catarina and Percival were the only ones left at home, and although they got to spend a lot of time with their mother the queen and their father the king, and everyone at court said what handsome and clever children they were growing up to be, they missed their brother and sister and were often bored.

Until one day a very wicked witch came to their kingdom. As soon as she crossed through the woods, she could see what a pleasant, happy little kingdom she had come to. "Ugh, what a horribly cheerful place this is!" she exclaimed. "Well, we'll see how cheerful they are when I've finished with them!"

She found a very remote hut in the woods and Petrified the poor woodsman who owned it when he wasn't looking. Then she started a roaring fire in the fireplace and began to plot.

That's all I've got so far! I'll try to write more soon, and you can read it in Mum's journal. And anybody who has younger sibs and ideas about the sort of things they like to read can feel free to leave me notes here.

Comments

[alt_ron]

Oh, well, the witch should have a familiar like a cat or a crow or summat that can go spy on the king and queen for her. And there ought to be a poor young tinker who comes along to the woodsman's house and finds the witch there and figures out she's up to no good, but he can't tell anyone to warn them because they wouldn't listen to a poor tinker, especially a young one like him, but then maybe he could meet the prince and princess and they'd talk to him and find out just in time that the three of them could save everyone from the witch.

[alt_susan]

That's wizard, Weasley! I was getting a bit stuck on what to put in the next part.

[alt_pansy]

And maybe the familiar turns out to be a person that was cursed or something. So the familiar sometimes lies to the witch, or tells the tinker the witch's weakness.

[alt_susan]

Thanks Parkinson! I like that idea a lot too!

I hope I can fit everything in! Somehow I have a feeling that this story is going to get a lot more complicate that I realised it would.

But that's a good thing, as a complicated story will hopefully keep Peter and Carrie from getting bored, and they'll stay out of Mum's hair longer. Which is the whole reason for this.

[alt_regulus]

Perhaps I shouldn't barge in here since we don't know one another, but I'm quite fond of stories like the one you are trying to tell, and I think you're doing a nice job setting your story in motion.

I don't have younger siblings, but I am one, so perhaps I can offer a thought or two.

Have you decided why the witch wants to spoil this family's happiness? I really liked the fact that even something so mild as cheerfulness irritates her, but I wondered what might have happened to her to make her so hateful. Obviously, she's very powerful, the way she overpowers the poor woodsman and takes over his house. I especially liked the picture your words created of the roaring fire she built: it represents how powerful her magic is, doesn't it? And how dangerous she is. I wondered if she might be the sort of witch who burns her victims in her fire (or intends to do but doesn't succeed, since the best stories sometimes prevent their evil characters from carrying out the worst of their schemes).

I wondered, too, if the woodsman might be allowed to play a role at the end of the story. Perhaps the hero or heroine will release him from the witch's curse just in time for him to help call her to account at the end.

But more than all these things that I wondered about your characters, I wondered about the young brother and sister: are they fast friends or do they need to learn to appreciate one another? Are they naturally brave people, or will something happen in your story to make them realise they are cleverer and braver than they ever thought they could be? Does the sister have a character flaw she needs to work on or does the brother make a mistake or an error of judgement that he'll need to make up for? (Of course it could be the other way round: perhaps it's the sister who leaps to judgement and the brother who has some fault he needs to outgrow.)

I hope you will continue working on this story. It has lots of promise!

[alt_susan]

Er, wow. Thanks!

I certainly wasn't expecting any grownups to comment on this; it's just a little thing I'm making up to keep my sibs from climbing the walls. It's nice to have some thoughts from a younger sibling--even a grown-up--because that's one thing I don't know myself. How it feels to be a younger sibling, I mean.

A lot of the things you're asking about are things I haven't even thought much about yet. I mean, bad witches are sometimes wicked because they just are, you know? That's the way the story has to be. But now that you've mentioned those things, I'm going to start thinking about them. Especially the woodsman. And the brother and sister.

It feels a bit strange, talking to someone I don't really know. But I'm glad that there are grownups who still like fairy tales.

[alt_pansy]

I like the names you came up with. And I like how you've ended it on a cliffhanger. I hope your brother and sister like it.

[alt_susan]

I just love fancy names! Sometimes when I look through old books I write down the ones I particularly like, in case I ever want to use them in a story.

[alt_hydra]

Why did the witch hate cheerfulness?
What did she use to Petrify the woodsman?
Why was the kingdom happy, what made them that way?
I can't wait to read more.

From,
Hydra

[alt_susan]

Well, she used Petrificus Totalis of course! What else would you use to Petrify a person?

I suppose the kingdom was happy because it was peaceful and people had what they needed and at least some of what they wanted and they got along with each other most of the time.

The witch hated cheerfulness because that's just the sort of witch she was. I guess if she had other reasons I'll find out later when I write more.

[alt_hydra]

I don't know what else to use, but she might know some dark spells that would work.
Maybe the witch didn't like cheerfulness because she wasn't able to feel cheerful herself, because she had a curse put on her when she was little.

From,
Hydra

[alt_susan]

That's an interesting idea. You seem like a pretty clever sort, Lestrange.

[alt_padma]

Well, she could have used whatever petrified Stebbins and Ollivander, Bones.

But then you'd have to know what did that to put it into the story.

Are you coming to the fancy dress tomorrow? Only I was about to remind everyone.

[alt_seamus]

Say, am I invited? Or is it just for girls?

[alt_padma]

No, boys are invited! Only it's fancy dress, so do you have a mask?

[alt_seamus]

Its THAT sort of fancy dress? I thought I was just supposed to wear dress robes!

I don't have a mask but I reckon I can come up with something.

[alt_seamus]

And is everyone invited or not? I mean I don't want to bring anyone Lana Sandoval doesn't get on with but I was thinking Dean might like to come.

[alt_padma]

Oh, Dean's alright.

(Yeah, there are a few people who probably wouldn't want to come anyway. But it's not like they're not invited.)

[alt_susan]

I can't believe I completely forgot about that, even for a little while. Especially since Bobby's up there in the infirmary.

I've been so busy bein doing my best not to be homesick and all.