Think like an old snake, dear heart: Horace has been taking the conciliatory approach in hopes the pink taffy would be willing to listen to his moderating influence. (An approach I would have taken myself if it would not have been blatantly obvious manipulation; I am afraid I made my opinion clear to her entirely too soon.) That he is washing his hands of that approach now is both good sign and bad: a faculty united (or as united as we might hope, given that certain of our colleagues will no doubt support the pink pustule to the end) will be useful, but we may yet wish for the return of that moderating influence.

Still, while it may seem as though we did not accomplish much, I was quite satisfied with the outcome: we are at least now all in agreement that the situation is intolerable, and it is my hope we will see lines in the sand drawn by those who have less to lose in the fight. We will, at least, not be fighting a war on two fronts.

(Too much a Slytherin strategy-meeting to provide much comfort for your Hufflepuff soul, I know, but I am cautiously optimistic.)

I hope you and Raz are enjoying your time together. I will confess I do not entirely know where the bulk of the week has gone so far! I will be dropping in on Poundtree & Assoc tomorrow afternoon -- they've owled me to let me know one of the titles I've been looking for is in -- if you are looking for an outing. (If it would take you away from time spent together, of course, do not feel guilty in the least.)

Your,
T