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