Private Message to Mrs Longbottom and Auror Brodie

[alt_lavender]

Mrs Longbottom,

I hate to bother you, since I know you've got a great many potions on the boil right now, but I was wondering:

Do you know if the people Padma Patil is staying with have given her back her journal, and if so would you mind if I wrote to her?

Linus wants to give her the news about his family--and this is something I can do for him right now.

Also, I'd just like to talk to her. Not about anything politically sensitive, but just about everyday things.

And while I'm on the topic of letters, I'd like to write to my eldest brother, Diocletian. I heard about that Protectorate Defense thing on the wireless and I'd like to find out if my family's been pulled into it. Dio's very nearly 30, but my middle brother Tiberius is just the sort who'd think it a prime lark. I was going to tell Dio that they might be safer if Mum & Dad pretended to disinherit me--although, given everything, it's not impossible that they'd disinherit me for real.

Sincerely,

Lavender Brown

Comments

[alt_alice]

Lavender --

Thank you for writing me. Goodness knows, this sort of business is a painful one when families and friends end up on either side of things. I'm sorry to hear about your family concerns.

After my parents were killed by Death Eaters, back before the Protectorate, my brother Roger... well, he rather blamed my political leanings, and left for Europe with his family. We haven't spoken since. So I know something of what it's like, in a small way.

I think both of those things sound imminently practical. Keep in mind that you just have to run the text by another set of eyes to make sure you haven't missed anything that might be sensitive -- it makes it rather difficult to be truly private, I understand that, but the people who'll be looking will be mainly trying to see if there are particular bits that might be a problem that you might not realise are important, and won't be as concerned with monitoring the basic content of your messages -- given what you're talking about, it'll most likely be that nothing would be at issue at all, and your writing these people and your sharing news with them on the whole is something you are certainly free to do any time you'd like, as long as you pop it round to have another set of eyes on it first.

I'm very much hoping this is an extremely temporary measure -- and am planning to work very hard to get to the point where we don't have to think about what we say and to whom. But this Protectorate Defence business does add a wrinkle in things, doesn't it? Especially as so many young people who were a few years ahead of you in school seem to be wrapped up in it.

Thank you for writing me, Lavender. And may I say, I am so very deeply grateful that you are here, and working alongside us.

[alt_alice]

And to clarify, dear, in the future, you only have to run any messages you wish to send by the security team -- there's no need to ask for permission first.

And yes, Padma is certainly able to read and write in her journal under supervision -- I suppose she hasn't had many people write her at all lately, and while she has company, I'd imagine it would be a great kindness were you to take the opportunity.

[alt_rachel]

Go ahead and write to Padma, Lavender. She's closely monitored and can't write in her journal without supervision anyway, so even if you slip and let her know something she shouldn't, she won't be able to pass it on.

I've got a couple of Enforcers doing these security checks now, they're in the office marked 'Communication Checks' a few doors down from me, you should be able to just stop in.

[alt_rachel]

Also, I think she can have visitors, if you're so inclined -- talk to Haruman Patil if you want to go see her.

[alt_lavender]

Thanks very much for getting back to me about this.

Auror Brodie--thanks for letting me know I can visit; I didn't realise that. I guess I'll see how the writing goes first.