Private Message to Pansy Parkinson

[alt_padma]

Mum said I ought to write and thank you and your mother for inviting me Sunday. So thank you. I guess she figured that your mum thinks we're mates or something.

Anyway, Gloss House is sort of nice, I guess. I mean, it's in a very pretty spot, isn't it? With the mountains and all. Did your mum make all those favours?

Oh, I don't know if you noticed, but Smith and Diggory and a few of the other boys kept nicking glasses of punch. The grown-up one, I mean. And I think they nicked one of your step-father's cigars from the den when you gave us all the tour. I know I saw Fleet and Bobolis sneaking off near the stables. Bet it made them really sick.

Do you know Lettice Frobisher? Her sister Vicky's in Gryffindor and Parvati says that Vicky's really sick, too. May not come back to Hogwarts she's so sick. Only not with Black's Plague or anything. Lettice was talking to Euterpe Bobolis and also to Chambers, and they said that Lettice is so worried about her - Vicky, I mean. Thin as a rail - did you ever notice? Her parents took her to one of those clinics, only not to reduce her more, to make sure that she eats and puts some weight back on. Well, anyway, Chambers was asking Lettice about Vicky, how she's doing, and they decided they'd go in to New London shopping and maybe find out if they could visit her to cheer her up.

And I thought, well, maybe some of the girls in our year might like to meet up in New London, too. It'd get us away from home for a while It'd give us a chance to do some shopping that's not in Hogsmeade. I mean, not that there's anything wrong with Hogsmeade but it's no New London, right?

Well, I asked my mum and she said it'd be fine as long as there's at least half a dozen of us (and it has to be even so no one goes off alone. Honestly!). And she thinks you and I are mates, so, she wanted me to ask you as well. If you wanted to have Perks along then once we're in New London, you know, you two could split off and do whatever you like, and we'd all just have to meet up later wherever we agree. Probably Fortescue's or something. So that if any of our parents pick us up or meet us, it looks like we've been together.

Mum's got this notion that if there are six or eight or ten of us it'll be all right and no one will abduct us or anything. But really it'll be Haruman who takes us and picks us up. He even said he'd take us all to supper, with some mates of his.

So are you interested? You don't have to say yes. I just thought you and Perks might want to get into town for a day.

Also I know it's April now, and that's really near to the time those girls got killed and Sanji and everything, and maybe you want something else to do and think about besides all that. I know I do.

Comments

[alt_pansy]

I know what you mean about April. I am so not looking forward to going back to the castle with all those Dementors there. Ugh.

I think shopping in New London sounds like loads of fun. Only I'm not so sure that Sally-Anne can come, because she has to get permission from the Strettons, and she always has a ton of chores to do, and since she already got a day off for my party, she might not be able to make it. So would it be okay if she couldn't and if it was just me? So we'd be all together the whole time? There's this record store in Soho called Bleeding Ear Records that I've been wanting to stop by for ages and ages. And it'd be ace of your brother to take us to dinner, too.

And isn't Smith just awful? I mean, I know his family's one of the oldest wizarding families, and his parents are all respectable and everything, but he's just so crass, and he thinks he's so frightfully clever when really he's just rude. We should place bets about how long it'll take before someone gets fed up and just slaps him in the face. I say he won't last through the end of term, what do you think?

Prospero was laughing about the cigars yesterday, actually. He puts out his second-best at parties, and he was saying about how the first time he ever tried one, he snuck it at a party and got massively sick, so I think he wasn't cross about it at all. I even saw him giving one to Ptolemy and winking, so I think it's all in fun. Although they are nasty, smelly things. I honestly don't get the point.

I don't know Vicky very well at all, but she's really quiet, yeah? I mean, I've seen her in the Hall at meals and things, but I don't think I've ever seen her actually eat anything. I know that Aunt Narcissa is going on and on about those reduction spas all the witches she knows are trying to go to -- do you think she tried to do it on her own? She certainly doesn't need it. I hope she gets better, though.

And yeah, Mum made all the sugar eggs, and charmed the eggs for the egg-hunt, and made the glass ones with the unicorns too, but the Quidditch ones were ordered from Quality Supplies. It's what gave her the idea for the unicorn one, actually, because she saw those Quidditch eggs and thought they were brilliant, but she wanted egg favours that girls would like too. I'm glad you had a good time at the party. I had to help the little kids, and meet some of the grown-ups that Aunt Narcissa wanted me to talk to -- they were so boring, and when I told them I wanted to be a music producer, like Tennebridge, one of them actually thought I meant classical music at first, and I said, no, I meant rock bands, she just looked at me like I was sprouting wings or turning funny colours. I'm not sure if she even knows what rock and roll is, and that it doesn't involve actual rocks at all. She was that old.

I thought the Creaothceann exhibition was fun. Draco really was quite brilliant at catching those pillows! I think it's a shame Harry can't play this term, but Draco really is a very good flier, too.

But yeah, I can check with Rosa, and see if Sally-Anne would be free. What day were you thinking?

[alt_padma]

Oh.

Well, probably Thursday, because I've still got to invite the others, and if you and Perks came that would already be four with me and Parvati and it's not like Haruman can take all the girls in our year out, you know?

Anyway, I guess we could go into Soho if you like. We were mostly thinking round Picadilly, so that's just nearby. And Soho has loads of amazing curiosity shops, have you been? One time Parvati found this brilliant little china box in one of the shops. And Haruman bought a statue of an elephant for a friend of his, to bring her luck when she stood her Healer's examinations.

Well, let me know about Perks. I'm going to ask Greengrass and she'll probably want to invite Bulstrode, but if Perks isn't coming then I can tell her Milli's out because the numbers won't be even.

[alt_pansy]

Thursday's brilliant.

I'll see if Sally-Anne can come, and let you know just as soon as she says. And Picadilly would be snitch to just walk around and window-shop in, too, for certain!

[alt_pansy]

I talked to Sally-Anne, and she said the Strettons'd let her come if she took Gemma.

So I figured we could all start up together, go our separate ways so you wouldn't have to worry about Gemma at all, and then we could all meet for an ice-cream halfway through or so, and Sally-Anne and Gemma could go home after that, and I could join you lot then until dinner. That way Haruman wouldn't have to worry about Gemma at dinner either.

Does that work?

If it'd be too much of a bother, I can just tell Sally-Anne and we'll sort out something else.

[alt_padma]

Oh, that sounds fine. You don't have to split off if you don't want to do, of course - but if you want to, sure.

Only, do me a favour and don't say anything to Haruman about Perks bringing her foster-sister. It'll go over better if we act like she just tagged along on a whim. Then he won't tell Mum and...it'll just be better, trust me.

[alt_pansy]

No problem.

And they'll take off after ice-creams, so Haruman won't see much of her anyways, so he probably won't have much opportunity to ask.