Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Hermione, July 11

Dear Hermione,

It sounds like Lupin & Tonks had a marvelous day! I'm sure they'll be glad of the stories and memories they have to tell their children and grandchildren. And I'm sure they're elated that they were able to spend the day with people they love and who care about them, hi-jinks and all.

Ginny has not yet written me about the wedding - that, or Horatio got lost again. Poor Mrs. Weasley, I'm sure she must have been at her wit's end, what with the gnomes making everything muddy. However, it's no wonder than Tonks was laughing; gnome saliva has many beneficial properties, you know, and I'm sure she was feeling quite wonderful.

However, I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the cockroach...I asked daddy about it, and he said it is a creature which commonly scares muggles. I shall have to find one and see why everyone has such an issue with them. I'm sure they're still quite nice.

NEVER MIND. I looked them up. And then daddy showed me one he had pinned in a collection. I must say that I have never seen a creature so intimidating and creepy...I feel like I'm being rather judgmental on the poor cockroach, but I jumped a rather good amount into the air before running into the other room when I saw it. And it wasn't moving. Nor was it as big as the one you saw.

Neville wrote me last week, telling me when he was going to Diagon Alley, and asked me if I would like to join him as Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. I think he may have asked Ginny too? The remaining members of the DA I suppose. Well, be sure to tell Ginny to let me know if she got the letter/if she's able to make it.

Things have been rather quiet at home lately. We've gotten a lot of letters for the Quibbler in support of Harry - so be sure to let him know we're behind him 100% when you see him next. And we've also gotten some rather irritated letters from Ministry supporters about Harry and our reports - so be sure to let him know they're behind You-Know-Who when you see him next. Apart from the letters though, not much has happened. Our Crumple-Horned Snorkack expedition has been postponed, due to the urgent need to speak out against the Ministry and You-Know-Who. If they have their way, I'm sure there won't be any more Crumple-Horned Snorkacks to find, anyway.

Missing everyone,

Luna.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Dear Luna. July 10.

Dear Luna,

I imagine Ginny has already written you telling the following story; nevertheless, I must write. It was absurd. You would have loved it.


I apparated over to the Burrow on the morning of Lupin and Tonks' wedding to find the place in a horrible uproar. Mrs. Weasley was having a fit; the garden gnomes had launched an attack on the kitchen, stolen all of the silverware, and taken bites out of all the food! Mrs. Weasley was in hysterics, blaming it all on Ron and the twins who had been up in the attic toying with the ghoul when they were supposed to be working in the kitchen. Doing what, I don't know; each of them is perfectly useless in that room. Anyway, Ginny was steadying Mrs. Weasley and trying to keep her from seeing Tonks chase the gnomes through the garden in her wedding dress. Poor Tonks...she tripped....and you know how the Weasleys' garden gets when it rains....



When I arrived, the first thing I saw were a gaggle of gnomes standing over a collapsed, claggy Tonks, laughing; Mrs. Weasley, screaming; Ginny clutching her mother, looking very bewildered; and the stupid boys looking down on the kerfluffle from the attic window, trying to see but not be seen.



I rushed to Tonks and to help her stand, but was promptly attacked by the gnomes! Have you ever been attacked by gnomes? They have sharp fingernails! They claw and scratch! I wished I had brought Crookshants; he'd have shown them. Ginny forced Mrs. Weasley to sit down inside, then rushed to help me. She pulled Tonks out of the way while I used locomotor mortis on each of the gnomes in turn. Tonks' hair flashed rainbow, like a nighttime neon ad in Picadilly....never mind, don't ask what that is.



Needless to say--although you'll hate me for this--we did not stuff the gnomes in bags and swing them around in circles and then over the fence. Oh no. We tied them in burlap sacks and threw them into the fen. I'm sorry to offend your sensibilities, Luna, but if gnomes had plotted to destroy your wedding day, how would you have acted?



Anyway, we were all quite covered in mud. And Tonks' dress, for all we could see, was not going to be easily salvaged. Remarkably, it was the twins who came to our rescue. They'd come up with some gadget that could duplicate clothing instantaneously--and perfectly unsullied (which geminio, unfortunately, can't do). In a minute, they'd made Tonks a pristine new dress. We thanked them and then shoved them out the door to go hang with the gents. They'd spent too much time with that ruddy ghoul. I couldn't believe they were up there when their friend Lupin was getting married!



So we kicked them out, all prepared to do some food transfiguration to replace the stuff the gnomes had eaten. Ginny and Tonks were laughing about defeating the gnomes--it's amazing, their senses of humour--and I was about to start brewing a potion (learned from our dreaded former potions master. I hate that man.) to calm Mrs. Weasley when another unthinkable happened.



There was a three-inch cocroach on the kitchen floor.



I said, "Bug!"



Mrs. Weasley screamed. Tonks got out her wand. "Epoximise," she said, and....the cocroach was not stuck to the floor as it should have been. The spell hit it in a jet of yellow light, but the bug just scuttled away underneath the counter! At that point, I think we all were screaming. Ginny ran for a shoe and Mrs. Weasley climbed on top of a chair. Tonks and I took turns pointing our wands and shouting at the brogdignagian insectoid fiend: "Confundo!" "Fera Verto!" "Ducklifors!" "Immobulus!" "Deprimo!" "Incarcerous!" "Confrigo!" "Lacarnum Inflamare!" "Petrificus Totalus!" Desperate for anything that might stun the cocroach with its stupid exostelaten's inherent impervious charm.......we had no brilliant ideas, but kept screaming and scampering away from the bug. Mrs. Weasley dumped the potion I was brewing on it; Tonks, holding her white dress' hem above the floor, tried trap it under a bowl, but it shoved the bowl off its back! Ginny reappeared with a sneaker wrapped in toilet paper and began whacking the bug enthusiastically...until it ran towards her. Then she screamed with the rest of us.

Three wands and one TPed sneaker were pointed at the bug. Four females in their best dresses stood on the kitchen counter, holding each other and gasping. Finally I remembered a spell we hadn't used yet. I don't know where it came from....I hadn't heard anyone try to use it for years.... "Peskipiksi Pesteroni!"

And it actually worked! The cocroach vanished!

Apparently Professor Lockhart did know one spell that worked. He just tried to use it on pixies when it was meant for cocroaches! Not that there's much of a difference between the two.

Besides this adventure, everything went off splendidly. I'll let Ginny tell you all the sappy stuff about the wedding. If she hasn't already.

Wish you'd been there,
Hermione

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Dear Ginny, July 9

Dearest Ginny,

I'm wondering what we are going to do next year without the DA Meetings.
I think I'll miss it a bit. I think DA Meetings felt like spending time with friends.

I know that you've liked Harry for just about forever, and I have a question for you. When you know that Harry has important things to do and can't be with you, how do you keep it together? I'm sorry if I'm prying too much. You don't have to tell me.

I'm just wondering because, well, would you like to have tea sometime? It may be easier to talk to you about this over tea and pudding and scones. I've never talked about this sort of thing before. I've never had this problem before. I'm suspecting that Wrackspurts may have burrowed into my mattress. I think I'll beat it out tomorrow.

Did I tell you that I saw a Dementor on Stoatshead Hill a couple nights ago? I didn't have my wand with me and I've felt all out of sorts ever since. I've been having rather unpleasant dreams ever since.

I also am starting to suspect that I may have encountered a creature I've never heard of before. One that makes it hard to sleep and eat. This morning I didn't even feel like having any pudding.

Perhaps I'm overreacting.

Have you been playing much Quidditch this Summer? I suspect Harry will be coming to the Burrow soon, for Bill and Fleur's wedding. I'm rather looking forward to the wedding as well. I've started planning my outfit. Do you think a Sunflower would be festive? If you need a break from all the wedding plans, feel free to sneak over here anytime. Daddy is starting a fascinating new project, and I'm sure he'd be pleased if you wanted to help us.

Speaking of which, I'm going to go help him now. I hope you're doing well and that I'll see you soon! I'll send Ellowyet over with a fresh Dirgible Plum Tart for you.

Love,
Luna

Monday, September 27, 2010

Dear Hermione, July 7

Dear Hermione,

If I get you on a broom doing a sloth grip roll, that'll be a story to tell my grandchildren, if I ever have them. Can you imagine Ron's face?

The twins have been spending a lot of time with the ghoul, too. I think they're trying to transform it. I got a peek in once. It's dreadful. They've made its hair red. I guess it felt like it didn't fit in with the Weasleys?

Yes, the basilisk was rather traumatizing, but it seems so very long ago. When so much is going on now, it feels odd even thinking about way back when I was eleven and twelve.

You haven't heard anything conclusive about Lupin and Tonks? Well, they do have to keep it quiet, but I thought you'd know. They're getting married tomorrow, here at the Burrow. I'll send this by express owl and you can apparate here for the wedding. It's at 2pm. Hardly anyone will be there, so I'm sure they'd be thrilled if you came. I wish Harry could come.

Anyway, thanks for offering to play Quidditch with me. We don't have to fly, we can do something else fun. I think I would like to be Quidditch captain, but I'd rather Harry was. I'll do my best at it anyway. Maybe, when everything is normal again, I'll try for the Holyhead Harpies.

I hope to see you tomorrow, if only for an hour.
Love,
Ginny

Dear Ginny. July 6.

Dear Ginny,

You’ve been looking at old pictures. Good grief. My hair. Your freckles! I hope you don’t cover them up for Bill and Fleur’s wedding. They’re so cute. Besides, Harry thinks you have nice skin.

What has Ron been up to? Last week, he wrote me a letter about how he was having tea with the ghoul in the attic every afternoon. Making it Earl Gray. I mean, really. I suppose he’s trying to mysterious or something equally insipid and idiotic, but brewing loose-leaf Earl Grey for a ghoul?

Just hang on five more days, and I’ll come to the Burrow. I plan on having all my projects done before then so I can spend all my time helping you and your mum get ready for the wedding. And yes, I’ll play quidditch with you. You can show me how to do that turn-upside-down-and-hang-on-the-broom-with-one-hand-to-avoid-the-bludger move without actually falling off. Who knows? If we sneak out at night when your mum hasn’t come up for any more chores for us to do yet, we might get to play a lot—so much that maybe by the time Harry comes next month, I’ll be so good and that he and I will beat you and Ron! It’ll be like last summer….never mind. We can’t really get last summer back. But it’ll still be good.

Just think—you could be quidditch captain in the fall. The first female Gryffindor captain in history! Or maybe I’ve got it wrong…hold on, I’ll look in Quidditch Through the Ages….

Huh. It’s not in there. But I did find the name of that move…the “sloth grip roll.”

Don’t shortchange your experience with the basilisk. It wasn’t minor; it was very traumatizing for everyone involved, especially for you. And it ought have traumatized you. If a twelve-year-old kid came out of that completely nonplussed, there’d be something wrong.

And don’t spend too much time alone. We need to stick together, now more than ever.

Five days! Five days!

With love,
Hermione

P.S. I don’t know which is worse, either. But he loves you, Ginny, I swear. That’s a fact.

P.P.S. So when are Lupin and Tonks getting married?!? Different Order members tell me different things!!

P. P. S. S. Don’t forget that since I won’t be at Hogwarts this year, we have to do something fun for both of our birthdays this summer. Put on your thinking cap of mellifluous jollity. Oh dear, that’s not how one should use “mellifluous.” Oh well. It sounds nice.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Dear Hermione

The letter which Hermione hasn't opened yet.


Dear Hermione,

I was looking at a few pictures of Harry. I don’t know what’s worse, being a little girl worrying about whether or not he’ll ever like me or being a grown up girl knowing he DOES like me and is trying to protect me by being away. I know you and he and Ron aren’t going back to Hogwarts.

I was looking at some picture from our first few years at Hogwarts. We were all so little then. Harry was rather cute. Everything seems so petty now. Even the basilisk seems minor compared to…well, whatever is going to pull you away from school has got to be pretty bad, and Ron’s been doing all kinds of strange things. You-Know-Who in a diary was bad enough. Now he’s the flesh.

With Dumbledore dead and you and Harry gone, and all my brothers gone, it’s going to be so strange at Hogwarts. I’ve already got my things, but I can’t say I’m looking forward to going. Everything is getting heavier. Everyone is acting different, and there’s the Order and all.

Well, I am looking forward to playing Quidditch again. That’s enough, perhaps.

I hope you’re doing well. I can’t wait until you come to the Burrow. Preparations for Bill and Fleur’s wedding are making the whole place wild. I savor my time alone.

Love,
Ginny

My Dear Hermionie...

(This is a follow-up letter to Hermione's letter to Luna in which she talks about LOTR)

(And for anyone's reference, Ellowyet = Luna's Owl, Horatio = Ginny's Owl, Andromeda = Hermione's Owl)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My dear Hermione,

Ellowyet does have quite the habit of chiding Horatio for his klutzy and hyper-active behavior. I really should talk to her about that. I don't want her to hurt poor Horatio's feelings. She rather likes Andromeda though. I think she would enjoy having some tea and field mouse with Andromeda.

Your parents seem rather intuitive on wizarding matters for muggles. I would rather like to meet them. Perhaps I could interview them and get a muggle opinion on Harry Potter? I think that would do very well in an issue of The Quibbler. And do muggles call You-Know-Who by name?

Speaking of The Quibbler, my father is doing quite well. Thank you for asking. We're going to be in Scandinavia for a couple of weeks before the start of term, as someone wrote us with fresh evidence of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack population there. I've been ordering most of my supplies for this term, since the ministry has been watching Diagon Alley and the surrounding area very closely. It just isn't safe to go out in the city anymore.

I feel as if there is something not-quite-right about Dumbledore's death. Apart from the fact that he was murdered, of course. I don't think it can be as simple as it seems. I suspect nargles are involved in some aspect. I miss Dumbledore. It's rather strange to think about how such a marvelous wizard is just gone now. Do you know how Harry's doing? They seemed awfully close and I just hope poor Harry is taking it all right. He's had enough to deal with without having another person he was close to dying.

Ginny's spoken to me a couple of times about Harry, but she isn't very vocal about her emotions. It's only when she's extremely overcome that she's really told me how she feels. I don't think she'd be very vocal about any stress of concerns she has either. She's a lot like Harry in that sense. They both do their best to be strong to protect everyone they're close to.

This British muggle seems to know a bit too much about the wizarding world. Did the Ministry every modify his memory? It seems they may have failed in their jobs there. Hobbits sound like rather friendly creatures. I've never met one, but I hear they're very hospitable. Did you know that a hobbit got an acceptance letter to Hogwarts? Apparently she was having great luck with some natural magic in growing her plants at an alarming rate. I don't know if she'll be attending yet, but I doubt it with the prejudice the ministry has been showing lately. Daddy's going to run an article on it in the next issue of The Quibbler, and ask all our subscribers to mail howlers to the Ministry, demanding her rights to attend Hogwarts and be issued her own wand.

I'm going to miss you, Harry, and Ron a lot this year (I can only assume they aren't returning either). I'm going to miss the DA meetings. It was rather like having friends, you know. I don't think Ginny wants to return, and to be honest, I don't know how Hogwarts will be without Dumbledore. But we still have Professor McGonigal, and I'm sure she'll do wonderfully as headmistress.

Now to your musings about the muggle book. If poor Sam had to push Frodo into the fire? Well, the entire world would be saved, but Sam wouldn't be able to live. And by that I mean that he would shut down and shut himself off from the world. Sam would be the greatest hero of all time. But I think he would slowly descend into the recesses of his own mind, destroying himself. Eventually, he may even become what he set out to destroy. It's an ending that is plausible, but not proper. I don't think that can rightly be the end. For everything to really be all right, Frodo must live, sacrificing his deep connection to this ring. It will be very difficult and painful. He may come out of it barely alive. But he must come out alive. I don't think there can be another end.

And dear Hermione, it is just a book after all. And the ending is already written. No matter how much you may worry and stress over the conclusion, the story will conclude the way it was written to.

I'm sure you will feel better once you've read Ginny's letter. Treat yourself to some pudding, and rip open the envelope. Pudding will help it go down. I'm also sending a Butterbeer cork bracelet for you. The last thing you need right now is an attack by nargles.

Hermione, do you have any suggestions for curing the results of a dementor attack? I went up to Stoatshead Hill last night, and I forgot my wand so I couldn't cast a patronus. I've been feeling out-of-sorts ever since. And I had a terrible dream about Neville...and I haven't felt at all right since. I made a new pair of Dirigble Plum earrings, but they don't seem to be helping at all.

When you arrive at the Burrow, we can have a cup of tea and some pudding. Although I understand if you need to stay in hiding and remain unseen. In which case, I shall have a cup of tea and some pudding and think about you. If you need a pair of Spectrespecs to aid you in your journey, just let me know. We still have a few old copies of The Quibbler lying around that have the Spectrespecs in them.

With Love,
Luna

(P.S. Beware of giving your tella-shell a cold by not keeping it warm enough. It's been rather rainy here lately, and I don't know what the weather is like over there.)