Chapter 5 - Not Forgotten

Minuet jumped when she heard the tapping on the window. They hadn't received an owl in the last month at all and not even Narcissa had written to Draco in the two weeks he had been here with them. Therefore the fact that there was now a rather large and forbidding looking eagle owl staring at her through the kitchen window came as a bit of a shock.

She opened the window and let him in, reaching for some toast edges from breakfast to feed him as she untied the loop that held the mail to his leg. She opened the pouch to discover a letter from her mother, one from Fauna, one from Lillith for Draco, another from Tina's best friend Hattie, and a large envelope, very heavy, addressed to Professor Snape from America.

"Uncle Severus, you've got a package from America!" She called cheerfully. She was rewarded with the clattering of his boots as he hastened up the stairs.

He snatched the envelope from her grasp and tore it open with haste. A spill of letters fell out onto the table, all addressed with Professor Leblanc's untidy scrawl. Minuet caught the look of transparent joy on his face before he closed it down and frowned. She thought the frown was rather half-hearted and not up to his usual standards.

"Looks like they collect her posts and send them all at once." He muttered, looking rather irked by that practice. He sorted through the letters and tossed one to Minuet. "It looks as though she has written to you." He pulled out another envelope. "She also seems to have written to Draco."

Draco appeared as though his name summoned him and picked up his letter with a smirk.

"So she hasn't forgotten about us." Draco murmured with a sideways glance at Uncle Severus. Minuet grinned at him and pulled open her own letter. The others could wait; she wanted to know what Professor Leblanc had to say.

Uncle Severus scooped up his pile and retreated from the room with a relaxed air that had been conspicuously absent of late. It occurred to Min that he must have been missing her an awful lot and that some of his melancholy could be put down to that.

She flopped into the kitchen chair and started to read.

Dear Miss Ravagienne,

First off, America is hot and noisy. I got used to cool, quiet Scotland and getting used to big cities again is harder than I had thought it would be.

Secondly, how are you? I am fine, though a bit harried at the moment. Getting myself caught up on the backlog of work has been exasperating. It's not that everyone here at work is an idiot, in fact most of my co-workers are scarily competent; it's just that the few who aren't have a rather large impact on the rest of us.

I miss you a great deal. I enjoyed our lessons and I find myself lonely for Hogwarts and for all of you. How is Professor Snape? I hope you are taking very good care of him -- he's quite hopeless at it himself, you know. Perhaps you can all come to Lieu D'Asile for Christmas again and we can see each other then. Please write me back, I am hungry for news from across the pond.

Regards,

Kathryn Leblanc

Minuet read the letter over again, picking out the things that weren't said. "Harried" probably meant "in terrible amounts of danger" in Agent Speak. "Take care of Snape" translated into "I love the man and don't want him to die while I am away." Minuet was both flattered at the compliment and horrified by the responsibility. If Voldemort showed up on the doorstep, what was she supposed to do about it? She also figured that "We can see each other for Christmas" meant "They wouldn't let me leave the country."

Minuet sighed and shook her head. She hoped the rest of her letters were straightforward and more cheering.