I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.

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.)

Hypatia’s thrice-cursed sextant and all the lines of latitude.

Raz, love. You know how I was late to supper? And that Madam Headmistress didn’t appear at all? First. I’m fine. Really. Madam Headmistress is unfortunately also fine.

But I need to tell you, because she got the most absurd idea into her head, and I wanted to make sure she didn’t surprise you with it. Or anyone else.

She got the notion that somehow I must be pregnant.

I’m not, I swear on all the stars. And if I ever thought I might be, I’d tell you long before anyone else had the faintest guess. Especially after last year Besides, I’m very certain of the charm I use.

Anyway. She showed up at my rooms at ten to six, dragged me off to see Poppy, and only once I was there did she explain what she wanted. She insisted Poppy was hiding something, puffed herself up until she was red in the face.

And Poppy kept refusing to suggest the obvious - which is to say, testing - until her pinkness insisted flat out. It was clear no one was leaving that room until she got her way, and of the choices, it seemed like telling Poppy to go ahead was the choice that might solve something. And of course it confirmed that I’m not. She made Poppy do the test charm three times.

Madam Headmistress is still extremely put out. So much so that she stomped off. (Apparently not to supper. Small favours.)

I’m including Tosha because, well, strategy. And because I can’t decide now whether our plans for the three of us to test that experimental warding tomorrow and talk a bit are a good idea now or not. Much as I very much want to at least talk to you without half the staff trying to chaperone, Raz-my-love.

I’d half-thought of setting the Wizarding Repopulation folks on her for interfering in our relationship, but after this, I’m sure I don’t dare.

C -

Quick note, because it's been such a day. (Nothing bad, just first day of classes, and all the accompanying chaos. But they're all off to curfew, and I've a moment to breathe.)

Mostly, would love to see you a week tomorrow for a chat about one thing and another. (The true pleasure of your company, mostly, but some other bits and pieces: a sanity check on a thought I had about the wedding, a little conversation about mutual acquaintances, and so on.) Could you arrange the usual lot at the Archetype at 6, and meet me either before, or we'll shoo everyone off at 8 and have an hour after?

I did notice, just now, this morning's paper (told you it'd been a day) - that notice about Meniscus Fulton. Odd it's not even an obituary, just the notice of death. I admit I'm curious about the circumstances, after our various encounters. If you can't say, that's fine, but, well. You and I've discussed the details of January long since. I won't retread that ground.

To answer the questions you're trying not to ask: no, D hasn't gotten back in touch since that last owl - not even over the note about that horrible story. (Part of why I want to see Gilly and make sure he's at least all right.) Have met our new DA instructor, and find him quite charming. Holidays were good except for the last bit, which you might have guessed. Glad to be back, all in all.