August 22nd, 1984.
Six days until September 1st.
Twenty days since Ethan went missing.

"Stop saying that! Stop saying you're sorry, Amber!"

The voice of a younger girl could be heard yelling through the kitchen window of a small summer cottage home.

It was a very eery and cloudy morning in Hogsmeade Village, a small wizarding town not too far from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You could see the castle if you climbed high enough in the right tree and looked out over the village.

It would've been quite the view, if it wasn't such a dreary morning. The sky was dark and cloudy, matching the mood of the cottage. The Roberts family's cottage.

His cottage.

A pair of small legs was dangling from the large branch of a willow tree that sat in between the Roberts and Callahan cottages. Someone was sitting in the tree, gazing out at the village skyline as she leaned back against the tree's thick trunk, her blue eyes scanning the horizon, flickering briefly over the castle that would be her home for the next seven years. The castle that she had been watching since she was just four years old. The castle that intrigued her.

The castle he was obsessed with.

Addison Callahan sat up straighter, running a dirt caked hand through her messy ginger curls. They bounced against her face, which was dotted with thousands of bright red freckles that were scattered about her pale face like strawberries in a field. She kicked her legs back and forth, expression odd and unreadable as her eyes darted to the cottage, where you could still hear yelling. Only... two people were yelling now, but Addison couldn't make out what  they were saying.

However, she had managed to catch a few words here and there...

Talk. Best friend. Different. Secrets. Trust. And...

Ethan.

Addison sat up suddenly, her blue eyes just as startling as ever, like lightning striking in a raging thunderstorm. Her gaze snapped over to the cottage just as the door was slammed open. She watched as a small figure stepped out onto the porch, their bright pink hair easy to spot, even on this foggy morning.

Wynnie Roberts stormed out of her cottage home, practically fuming with rage, her face almost as bright as her hair. She clutched a book to her chest, which wasn't odd, considering... well, Wynnie, but this book seemed... different. Addison watched as Wynnie furiously wiped at her dark hazel eyes, her grip around the leather-clad book (it looked like a book, at least, and a very thick one at that) tightening as she sat down on a rock. Her mind was racing, and she was completely unaware of the pair of blue eyes watching her from the tree above.

Did she really just get into a fight with her best friend, and over something as stupid as a letter? Wynnie shut her eyes, sitting down on a large rock that lay under the willow tree, right below where Addison was sitting. Small sniffles reached her ears  and Addison felt guilty about watching all of this when Wynnie started to cry.

Ever since Ethan had gone missing, Wynnie hadn't spoken much as all, and she rarely even left her room, or his. Today was one of the better days, but... Addison glanced back at the house, eyes on the kitchen window of Wynnie's cottage as she spotted a hand pulling back the maroon curtains, her sister Amber Callahan peeking through the glass and looking out across the yard at Wynnie.

Addison caught her sister's eyes, and watched as Am glared at her in disapproval. Addison just glared right back, and the curtains were drawn shut.

It took Addison a few minutes before she realized that Wynnie's sniffles had come to a stop, and Addison peered over her tree branch to see that Wynnie was clutching something in her hands... a... letter?

Addison certainly couldn't read what it said from up here, but whatever it was... Addison had the feeling it was from him. Why else would Wynnie be fighting with Am? Those two NEVER fought, or at least not in any sort of serious way. Up until recently, their fights were never more than just bickering. But now...

Whatever that letter said, Am clearly didn't like it. And anything her sister didn't like, Addison wanted. And Addison didn't like being kept in the dark, and for the past few months, thats all that she's been— in the dark.

Addison wanted to change that. She didn't want secrets.

She wanted the truth.

But it wasn't only that... if her suspicions were right, and the letter really was from Ethan, then...

Addison had to read it for herself.

She had to get that letter.

AUGUST ???, 1984
??? PM

Hey. It's me again.

If you're reading this, that means I'm dead.

Or missing. One of the two. Most likely the first one, given my current... predicament.

You probably already know who I am, if you've gotten this far in my journals. It's not that hard to figure out, if you know where to look. And I know that I don't really need to introduce myself again, but... this isn't something meant to stay in my journals.

My name is Ethan Roberts. I'm seventeen years old. And...

I'm a searcher.

And if you're reading this, that probably means you're one too.

You might've heard of me. Everyone has, especially after. My point is, you know my name. But you don't know me. But if you're a searcher, then you know me as E. Not Ethan.

E.

I've been searching since— well, since after this all started. I've gotten farther than anyone has.

Or at least, anyone without their help.

I hope that whoever's reading this is not one of them, because if they get their hands on my journals... that's the end of my story, if it isn't over already.

Don't end up like me. Here's some advice, from one searcher to another—

Don't explore the VAULTS.
Don't go ALONE.
Don't FOLLOW ME.

And whatever you do, don't trust THEM.

Whoever's reading this... whether they're another searcher, my friends, my sister, or even them...

DON'T come after me. I'm long gone.

And... I'm sorry, J. Really.

Do one last thing for me: BURN THE JOURNALS.

And please... don't make the same mistake I did.

- E

Promises.

A simple thing, promises were. A pinky promise... making promises... false promises...

A broken promise.

But even simple things can get complicated, if pushed in the right direction. Simple becomes complicated. Truths become lies. Beginnings become ends.

And promises get broken.

Wynnie was tired of promises. Ethan had made her many, many promises over the years.

He had promised that he'd never lie to her. He promised that he had nothing to hide. He promised that he wasn't in any danger. He promised that he'd stop searching. He promised her he'd be safe.

And then there was his most recent peomise; the last promise that Ethan had ever made her...

"Wynnie, you know I'd never leave you. Not without a good reason. But, if it cheers you up... I promise you this— I will never leave you, Wyn. Not in a million years, or even in another lifetime. I swear it; I'm never leaving your side."

Yeah... that didn't really work out as planned, did it?

Like she said, Wynnie was getting tired of promises.

But then someone made her a promise... a promise that Wynnie wanted to deny, one she never even asked for... a promise that would change Wynnie's life forever.

Dark hazel eyes peered over the water as Wynnie's bubblegum pink hair, once cheery but now sad, whipped around her face from the late night's wind. She stood at the edge of a lake that wasn't to far from her cottage home. This was Ethan's lake. He came here whenever he needed to think, or to be alone. So did Wynnie.

And apparently, so did someone else.

Standing beside Wynnie, her eyes on the older girl standing with her, was Addison. The two stood at the edge of the lake, both lost in their own thoughts, but that didn't mean that Wynnie couldn't feel Addison's eyes on her as the storm in the sky raged, rain drenching them more and more with every passing second, but neither of them seemed to care.

Lost...

"I just..." Wynnie found herself struggling for the right words as Addison turned her way, her expression unreadable, as always. Wynnie forced her eyes closed as tears fell from them. "I-I just feel so lost without him, you know?"

She didn't know why she said it. It just sort of... came out.

But as Wynnie turned to look at Addison, she had the feeling that, somehow, Addison felt the exact same way. However, Addison didn't say anything, and instead, she gazed back out over the water, silent as a mouse.

Both girls were silent for a long time before, finally, Addison spoke.

"I'll find him."

Wynnie turned to her in surprise. "W-What?" Her voice was just barely a whisper.

Addison turned back towards Wynnie, her expression still unreadable,

"I'll find him," Addison repeated. "Ethan."

How simple, what words can be. But sometimes, we don't realize the impact of our words until it's much too late to take them back.

Wynnie stared at her, to shocked to say anything. Her mind was going in a thousand different directions at once. She wanted to believe Addison, but...

"I'll find him."

She'd already fallen for so many promises... promises that always ended up being broken.

"I'll find him," Addison said it once again as Wynnie finally met her eyes. Addison held her gaze, keeping them on hers even through the heavy rainfall. "I promise."

Wynnie didn't want to believe her. She didn't have it in her heart to do it anymore. But...

Wynnie took one look into Addison's eyes, round and blue like lightning. They were bright like stars, and even in the pouring rain, Wynnie could see their sharp blue tint. Wynnie stared at them and she just knew she had fallen for yet another promise.

But this was a promise Wynnie Roberts somehow knew that Addison Callahan would do anything to keep.

TIGGS SPEAKS!
hehe... here we go! 😉
i kind of want to draw this scene now (the promises on the rain one)
hopefully you were able to pick up on some clues in ethan's letter... 🤫