Private message to Tosha

[alt_sinistra]

Toshenka, there's something I need to tell you.

Last night, I got an anonymous owl. Short message, in entirely uninformative handwriting, that said "Be careful when you return to the castle. Umbridge has spent today searching staff quarters. -- A friend."

Raz checked it before I opened it - no unusual charms or anything of that kind. But the ink disappeared about ten minutes after we read it. He didn't get one, and it was clearly addressed just to me. (Did you get one? I assume not, or you'd have said?) Whether that means she had more sense than to look, or that I've an unknown friend who doesn't care about warning Raz, I've no idea.

Took me a while to calm down after that. And now I just - I don't know what to do.

It's not that I'm that worried she found anything that'd cause a problem. (A stack of romance novels and the gossip rags, a few letters, but nothing she'd be able to use against me. I have the things that might have in this handy book trunk some extremely prescient person gave me. Just, well. Sentimental things. Letters from Alde and Alcor. Some of my old notebooks. The wedding dress sketches. The things I hate to think of her hands on.)

But I wasn't feeling safe before this. I - oh, Hypatia. I was waking up at night, sure someone was in the hall, or trying to come in. All the things the mind does when it's afraid.

I hate feeling helpless

Raz and I can't decide if him having a look at my wards again would set her off, since presumably she doesn't know that we know that she was there. So would you find some excuse to come up and take a look, when we get back? Help put in something with a bit more of a bite? (There's charms on my doors that aren't wards, too, and they might tell us something, maybe.)

And what do you think about the note itself? I can't check if Pomona got one easily yet (would you ask Horace if he did?) But I can't imagine she sent it - she's got other ways to reach me that would be secure enough to tell me it was her.

Did I thank you properly for Friday yet? Saturday was miserable, but Lucius and Narcissa had us over Sunday, and that helped more than I thought it might. (Much better than my family's managed, anyway.)

Comments

[alt_antonin]

Interesting. While I have no problem believing that Madam Toad would go snooping, the anonymity and the fact the text disintegrated upon reading makes me wonder whether it was someone's idea of a joke, or someone's attempt to intimidate you. I did not receive anything either, but then again, if she had attempted my quarters without permission or with hostile intent she would be in St M's right about now, and she is likely bright enough to realise.

I will make inquiries -- tomorrow I am in seclusion all day in preparation for a ritual, but I will let you know at earliest opportunity. And yes, little star, I would be happy to ward your quarters for you once we return. Let me know when you plan on doing so and I will arrive at the same time so we can take care of that before our darling Headmistress decides to outlaw the casting of such spells entirely.

I am sorry your family is being less helpful than they ought.

Yours,
T

[alt_sinistra]

I'd thought as much - about yours and Raz's rooms. But it seemed good to check, really.

As to your other plans, there is no particular rush on this. Before Sunday, really. (I do hope your plans are not a sign of a problem, mind.) I'll be out a fair bit of today myself anyway - Miss Perks and Miss Parkinson asked about getting together.

I'm planning on reappearing at Hogwarts mid-afternoon on Sunday. Raz and I have Karo Moon and Ptolemy Baddock's wedding Saturday night, and I scarcely want to go back sooner than I have to. But I'd rather have a bit of time to see what she's meddled with before we have to deal with supper. Would 2pm do, or do you think you might need more time?

As to family - actually, they'd like to be more helpful. But I haven't told them the details of the accusations, and besides which, I'm not sure they can be much help other than being patient. (And, when we finally can go ahead with the wedding, then there's a long list of things that would help.)

Which has been the sticking point. And I'm rapidly running out of energy to be patient at them as well as at everything else. But I'm seeing Mum today, too, to see if we can't smooth at least a bit of that out.

(See? I am a good little diligent badger.)

[alt_antonin]

Nothing dire at all, dearest. Quite the opposite, in fact: formalising something from de facto to de jure, as it were, to my great personal satisfaction.

I will be at the wedding as well, so we can plot further there, in between being sociable. 2pm Sunday is quite reasonable; I shan't need more than about an hour or so to do the actual spellwork once we decide on, shall we say, how rapidly the protections should escalate once an intrude has proven ill will. (My wards, for instance, give an intruder ample opportunity to desist in all cases but the most hostile intent before turning violent, but for your rooms I will suggest an even more temperate response of immobilisation rather than retaliation in most cases.)

As to your family -- might I be of service there in any way? I cannot imagine a way in which my intervention would help, but if you've any thoughts, you know you've only to ask.

Yours,
T

[alt_sinistra]

Even your handwriting looks contented, Tosha. I'm glad for you, then.

As to the wedding, excellent. My major goal there - other than wishing Karo and Ptolemy very well - is demonstrating that Raz does not by any stretch of the imagination have cold feet about our wedding. (And if you can think of a way to help there, that I'll gladly take, though, really, we can manage 'still madly in love' on our own well enough, I'm sure.)

2pm for Sunday sounds excellent. I suspect it'll take a bit longer for me to check everything - well, my rooms, my classroom, my office - but we can manage that, surely.

As to my family, no. They don't understand why we're delaying, and I can't figure out how to explain. And my older sister's being particularly difficult. But Mum and I talked a little bit more yesterday, and I think she understands enough now. (I completely lost it with her on Saturday, and it's mostly not her fault.) But you're entirely the wrong person to set loose on my family and explain the political realities to them. (If they knew you, maybe, but they don't.)

How is it Thursday already? I am trying to brace myself for our return to school, and it's mostly resulting in waking up very early and even more long walks.

[alt_antonin]

Oh, my poor beleaguered badger. Despite the joys, family can also be source of so many irritants, can it not? Particularly when one finds oneself living a life so very different than the rest of one's family's frame of reference. I was fortunate in that both mother and Kolya not only supported my choices wholly but understood them as well, for the most part, but even with that we had our few rough spots. (The less said about the years of, oh, fifteen through eighteen inclusive, the better.)

You're right, of course, that I would likely do more harm than good with your parents, but if your sister winds up hammering the social anvil too firmly -- your eldest is the one with the aspirations to social standing, yes? -- you may send her to me and I will give her my most wide-eyed and helpful assistance in explaining.

Time does seem to go by so quickly, doesn't it? I had all manner of plans for this holiday, and managed to accomplish less than half of them. Speaking of walks, meanwhile, Poppy has been most encouraging at me about continuing mine. We must coordinate ours once we return to Hogwarts -- I do not know how you feel about running rather than walking, but it will be quite some time until I am recovered enough to return to my previous habits there.

Yours,
T

[alt_sinistra]

I'm not sure fifteen to eighteen is good for anyone.

As to my family, Tosha, you may imagine, if it would amuse, what I would be like without Alcor's influence or Alde's remedial instruction in social graces, or Raz's help. We are not a clan naturally given to subtlety. I do love them - even Diane - but I can barely manage negotiating the higher strategies myself, never mind explain then to others.

More than that - well, I haven't told them the accusations because I'm afraid it will confirm some of their worries about Raz. Not that I have them, of course, but his reputation did - well. Older sisters think they know best and older brothers get over-protective, and both are exhausting.

As to exercise, I prefer distance to speed. I did fourteen miles on Saturday, and I've done the long way round the parks here (half that, more or less) a number of times. At school, I'm more moderate (since I get plenty of actual exercise climbing stairs), but I'd love your company, and could show you a few longer routes, perhaps.