Letters to Mum and Papa

[Annabelle Scrimgeour]

Bella is addressing these to "Mum and Papa", which refer to the Draper family rather than her biological parents.

18 September, 1887

Dear Mum & Papa,

I cannot help but feel immense guilt when I realize what I've managed to do with my life. You gave me to the Scrimgeours so I could have a good life, but all I've managed to do is ruin it. I will never be their daughter, though I feel as if I couldn't come home if I tried. I'm not at all the same girl that left when I was eleven; I'm no longer five feet tall and scraggly, and I no longer wear the smile that used to be perpetually on my face.

There is no longer a place where I truly belong. I left the Scrimgeours and have turned into a social outcast almost overnight. I'm surprised more of my friends haven't abandoned me; I was almost sure that upper class ladies would be more stuffy about who they spent time with. Perhaps it's because I've managed to find myself in a group full of misfits that understand my struggle, but I cannot help but feel more alone right now!

Being a debutante was absolutely horrid. My lack of exposure to social events as a child brought great anxiety when I was introduced to them as a teenager. I am still the same awkward, sheepish child I used to be, though it's no longer seen as a sweet, charming aspect of my personality — no, it's an imperfection that my biological parents could never groom out of me.

I do miss you terribly, but I cannot even remember where I used to live to send an owl! It frightens me that my memories of my old home — and with it, my old life — are fading from my brain as I age, as they were the only true happy memories I had. I do hope Lizzie is doing well; I haven't seen her in months, and haven't spoken to her in years. Hopefully she's gotten more out of the magical world than I have. I love and miss you so very much.

— Matilda —

— unsent —

  

[Annabelle Scrimgeour]

22 September, 1887

Dear Mum & Papa,

Did you know I'm now working at the hospital? It's definitely not the job I wish to be working as. I'm stuck as a welcome with (which is basically the magical equivalent of a non-magical greeter), while I wish to be working as a healer instead.

I must wait until next June for internships to begin, and then I promise I will find myself in the Potion and Plant Poisoning department as an intern. I don't imagine you ever thought your little girl would wind up wishing to work in the medical field, did you? I remember climbing up into trees and onto the roof when I was a mere child; I wasn't exactly the most gentle girl, was I?

Sadly, it seems that years of tutoring in etiquette and the feminine arts have done little to ease the roughness of my nature! I still lack the grace and poise that a young woman of my station should have. My dancing is disastrous more than half the time, and I frequently return home with dirt on the hem of my gown!

Ever since I've left home, I've found myself staying with a friend from Hogwarts. Her name is Clara, and she was sorted into the same house as Elisabeth: Hufflepuff! She has a country home in Southampton with gardens you could never imagine! I've almost convinced her grandparents to allow me to plant magical plants among the mundane ones that serve decorative purposes; I've always wanted to garden on my own! The Scrimgeour family never allowed me as much as a flower pot on a windowsill.

— Matilda —

— unsent —