Padma Patil

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.