Susan Bones

Got your owl!

The thermos was an absolutely brill gift--those cooling charms have been saving me all week.

I wanted to write you earlier, but it's been completely mad around here. This trip has been a nightmare, honestly--I'm going to have to restrain myself from jumping for joy when we Portkey this lot back to New London and the waiting arms of their parents tomorrow evening.

I've cursed the name of Umbridge so many times this week! With everything else going on, I didn't really pay much attention to what the younger years had been doing in YPL last term, and it turns out that they've learnt absolutely nothing about wilderness survival. Marching and singing patriotic songs was a higher priority, apparently, and it's not as if most of their lessons were very practical either. The first day loads of them showed up with packs that were positively stuffed, then whined when they had to carry them, but didn't want to share with the 1 or 2 halfbloods who didn't have nearly as much.

We've had 3 times as many poison oak incidents as last year, not to mention the sprained limbs, the lost orienteering groups we've had to retrieve, and the rained-out tents because someone forgot to put up the waterproofing charms! Macmillan and I have been working together pretty well, fortunately; there's some tension from last term still, but we're both kind of agreeing to pretend it never happened. But with two badgers as senior counselors, we've had to work extra hard to avoid showing favouritism; I understand why that's needed, but I really wish I could spend more time with the kids I think of as my former first-years, especially Chelsea Abbott.

Enough of my tales of woe, though. Congratulations on getting into the Daughters of the Protectorate! I know it's not hugely your sort of thing, but at least it'll look good at job interviews and such. And I'm sure you look amazing in your gown.

And anything that makes your mum happy enough to change her mind about letting you get a flat is worth celebrating! I can't wait to see it! And maybe, er, christen it sometime when Octavia's away for the weekend.

I'm going to sleep for days when I get back, but after that, I'd love to make plans.

I should really be in bed, or at least packing my trunk, or something...

I don't want to go back.

I mean, obviously no one wants to go back to the Pink Peril, but these last couple of weeks I feel like I've been in this amazing new world--it's not a perfect world cos nothing is really--but it's still bloody amazing, and I've learned so much about people and the world that I didn't know before and now I've got to stuff all that back into a little box.

And I guess that's part of why we're doing this, because we all want that world to be the real world one day.

Maybe the Board of Governors really will sack Umbridge tomorrow and I won't have to worry about this, but just in case...

I almost forgot to tell everyone that Umbridge wasn't actually cross with me when she called me to her office last week--she wanted to recruit me to this model student association or whatever she's calling it.

I said something vague about being really busy with Prefect duties and Quidditch and OWLs, but I'd do what I could.

I could make more of an effort though, if anyone thinks it would be good to have someone on the ISS in the group.

Only, I get the feeling that it's meant to be about getting people in trouble who don't tow Umbridge's line...and I'd hate doing that.

I suppose I could make sure to say only really minor things that no sane person would think worth the trouble. But somehow I get the feeling that Umbridge's ideas of what's punishment-worthy might be a lot different that say, the Headmistress. But then, I don't think the Headmistress would be trying to organise people to grass on each other to begin with.