The priceless thoughts of Mr R.B. Lestrange

Morning, love. I think you should be up and about by now, or soonish.

Something happened yesterday, and it might've led me in the direction of pink-parchment girl. Maybe. I don't want to jump to anything resembling a conclusion, so let me tell you what happened.

I had the classroom open at three for any students who wanted to practise duelling before exams. I was supervising, of course, but it's rare that I ever have to step in. Most students are respectful about casting hexes at each other when they're under a teacher's watch- even if he's on the other side of the room.

Anyway, some shouting and screaming broke out between two girls, and when the smoke had cleared, one of them had something purple growing out the side of her face, and the other was in some kind of temper. It was Daphne Greengrass (and Miss Bullstrode her victim), who's usually a very level-headed sort, if a bit prone to dramatic flourishes. Sweet Circe, but she does have a sharp tongue on her when she's worked into a state! I ended up sending her to my office to re-arrange the books and calm down.

Just after four-thirty I cleared the classroom and headed up to my rooms to change. Now, you know that surveillance mirror in my office I've told you about? I had the receiving version propped up on the fireplace mantle in my sitting area, and as I passed it what do you suppose I saw? Not Miss Greengrass re-arranging my books, or even shuffling around with a glower on her face. No, she was instead very quietly and effectively searching through my things. She had the desk drawers open, and studied each and every bit of parchment within- nothing terribly revealing there. I usually chuck invitations and other bits of junk post inside them. After, she approached the trunk under the window and then, cleverly perceiving that it might be a good idea to leave it alone (there's a boggart in there), slowly backed off. So then she went over to the walls and the fireplace and started looking at photographs, even taking them down to study them. You've seen most of them- taken through the years at events and parties, and most of them pretty old by now. Lots from my Falcons days, some from Hogwarts.

Now, none of this by itself is terribly condemning. It just proves she's quite the little snoop. But what gave me pause was the look on her face. Remember how you described the pink-parchment notes as sounding "obsessed?" Well, there was a little of that to her expression, a sort of wistful longing, you might say?

(Needless to say, I went back down to my office and told her to leave. She had put everything back in order, mostly, but looked terribly anxious- and no longer wistful, I might add. But then I did burst in on her rather abruptly.)

And then I still thought it might be nothing, but I couldn't get the way she looked out of my head. So, I asked Harry a few questions and learned that Miss Greengrass does, in fact, have pink parchment. She also has a date to the ball - Barney Bole, one of my newts, who's also on the list for Ancient Runes and Dark Arts.

So, I thought I should ask you: what do you think of Ms Greengrass? Has she ever shown any malice or even displeasure toward you?

I don't suppose you could spare an hour or two tonight? It doesn't matter the hour.

Had myself a lot of tossing and turning last night. Even opened the firewhisky, but that didn't seem to help. Harry asked me a question but I'm not sure the answer I gave was the right one. Not a "what's the best strategy for defending yourself against a dragon?" type of question, either. Or even a "what do these wet sheets in the morning mean?" question. A real question.

Being a role-model and shaping the minds of future generations is harder than it looks. And my supposedly "well-honed" instincts are shoddier than I thought (a good deal shoddier than anyone suspects, that much is for certain). When I volunteered for head of Harry's personal security, I reckoned it would be a fairly straight-forward task- keep the kid clear of anyone or thing that might hurt him, and that's that. Cos anyone who'd try to hurt a kid, no matter their cause, would have it coming, yeah. But he's being hurt now, even if it's not in a life-threatening way, and the one doing the hurting isn't a person but a complex web of different elements that I suspect also includes me.

Not sure there's anything I can do about it, though.

(Narcissa, it's me, but I'm taking dictation from Barty. He doesn't have his journal. Oh, and he's alive. Save the gloating for later.)


‪'Narcissa. Want you to know as directly as possible that you are right: I'm not dead. Glad to hear you didn't fall in with the rest, but very sorry for the circumstances. Apologies for the indirection here. Don't have my journal. Would like to explain in person asap. For now, believe that I wasn't doing anything risky. Or not particularly so. Not so much as sparring.'‬

I know you're probably in the field, but word about this will get back to you sooner or later, and I'd rather it be sooner.

Carrow was attacked while wandering outside, drunk on booze and potions. It was night before last, somewhere between the edges of the school grounds and the road to Hogsmeade. I've seen him myself and have spoken at length with the Matron. His injuries are quite extensive, but curiously, few of them were done by magic. It doesn't look like the work of highly trained fighters, but certainly fairly strong ones. Right now I'm considering the possibility that some unhappy seventh year students cornered him when he was pissed and kicked the ever-loving arse out of him.

The real problem here is that he's claiming it was Sirius Black who attacked him - two of them, to be specific. I've seen the man when he's been imbibing and I've no doubt that he's prone to hallucinations, and I wouldn't put it past a foolhardy student to dress up as the traitor to add insult to the man's injuries...but I don't want to dismiss anything out of hand. The fact that it was two Blacks, well, I can't help but think of how one Snape plus one Macnair equals two. Macnair, of course, wouldn't need a wand to physically demolish anyone, but he's better trained than what these injuries would suggest. Unless, of course, he was trying to make it look like the work of a student. Then there's the possibility of the Dementor handlers being behind this. Carrow was showing some rather intense interest in the creatures, it's possible that he was becoming a bother.

To top it all, Alecto is being a persistent claw in everyone's side, even going so far as to contact Lucius to complain about how no one on staff is taking the attack seriously. If you came in for even just an hour or two to question Carrow about what he saw, I think it'd go a long way in easing his sister's mind. Plus, it'd help me to have someone knowledgable around that I can discuss the case with. Tried doing that with Dawlish and he was a bit of a help, but there is a reason the MLE dropped him, I reckon.

And I extend that welcome to myself as well as to all students, both new and returning.

I have already overheard a few students speaking about the incident on the train with the Dementors, and I can assure you that unpleasant as they may be, they are considered a necessity at this time. As you were told, it has been determined by the MLE that they are to be stationed near the location of Hogwarts, as their unique properties make them ideal for keeping the escapees from Azkaban at bay. In general, however, the Dementors are unable to distinguish between their targets and innocent bystanders, and as such you are advised to steer clear of them entirely. The MLE has stationed wranglers to keep them from approaching the castle and the village of Hogsmeade.

As Madam Pomfrey said in the opening remarks, chocolate is an ideal antidote for the side-effects that their presence may cause. Bear in mind this is one of the few times you will have adults encouraging you to eat as much chocolate as you can, so take advantage of it, though mind you don't make yourself sick. Most Professors will be carrying supplies of chocolate on them, should you need any.

As for what else occurred on the train, it is in fact true that I have a limp. It's a perfectly normal thing to make fun of and I would have been quite surprised had it not happened almost immediately upon my arrival. I assure you that my feelings are not hurt in the least and I think that the matter is harmless enough that it can be, for all concerned parties, safely dropped at this time.

It was a delight to see everyone at the feast, and I particularly enjoyed meeting my new colleagues. Some I have met before, but under quite different circumstances (right, Professor Slughorn?). But still, very good to be back.