alt_poppy | Waning Summer

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I've been busy, packing much into these last days before the academic term begins. Pembrokeshire. Berkshire. Cumbria. Bucks. Dorset. All quick stops for this and that item. I've collected respectable numbers of gall wasps, stiletto flies, wormwood moonshiners, and cockchafer beetles, plus more late-season plants than I could list in a reasonable space. I'm on my way back to the castle by a circuitous route, but I'll arrive there well ahead of the Hogwarts Express.

I trust that all of the young people preparing for their return to school have had as lovely a long vacation as I have had--and I hope each and every one of them is taking all precautions to return to us in good health.

I wish you all fair fortune until we meet again.

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From:

alt_poppy

While I've done all those things in the course of this collecting junket, I have, of course, spent the end of my holiday here at the Sanctuary with Alice and the children. And with Frank since his return. Rest assured, I was not leaving here until I'd had a chance to examine that knee. I do hope I've managed to do him some good in that regard.

The children and I made short work of check ups, in no small part due to the very fine care they've had now that McGivern is here to brew curatives for them. Of course, it didn't hurt that the weather played us foul and kept us pent up inside for most of my visit--so very different from last summer, when we went rambling and scrambling over the paths to the shore and back, through marsh and meadow, collecting samples of everything in our way, including quite a vivid case of sunburn. This time, however, the August drizzle set in on Man, assuring that we would find comfort in keep's cozy confines. We've enjoyed hearty soups and fresh vegetables alongside broiled fish and utterly indulgent sweets. This lot know how to make and appreciate a good meal! And we've told stories, played games, and sung until our voices could sing no more. (Do you know the one about the Jolly, Jocund Rover?--I've a suspicion Frank knew several verses of which the rest were innocent--or the one about Millicent Malaprop, whose folly knew no stop? I don't believe I'd heard either of those before, but my experience of the world has now been much enriched!)

I shall miss them all fiercely, every one of my friends here. But I will most especially feel the loss of young Mr Creevey, who has blossomed into a fine wizard and who continues to be a generous and skilled artist. We compared sketchbooks, he and I, and I was unsurprised to see how much his pencilwork has improved. He very kindly shared some pointers with me and has told me that, of the items I sketched this summer, it is this small sketch of a Wheatear from my days on Lundy that seems most successful to his eye.

Of course, I sketch for my own record-keeping and have very little ambition to excel at the craft. Nonetheless, I admit to taking some care with my work and to finding it pleasurable to compare notes with someone as truly adept as he is.

Alice, Frank. Thank you for so many pleasant hours! This small holiday will fortify me for many days to come. I will be quite sorry to leave tomorrow morning, though leave I must. Do take care. I've suggested to young Kevin that he should feel no imperative to continue growing at the pace he's been keeping: at that rate, you'll have him running rings about you before you can say Winston Whizbang, and then what you'll do, I can't imagine. I don't suppose for a moment that he'll take my council, so I'd suggest you brace yourself for an exciting year to come!

And I would be remiss were I to fail to thank you for including my willow in the memorial garden--such a lovely, meaningful space!--and such a meaningful way to remember my loved ones, Rafe and Rue. They've been gone so many years, and yet one never escapes the loss. I shall add a fond memory of our afternoon in that newly established garden to all the small memories I keep for each of them. And I now I may look forward to next summer when I can return to see how our plantings have flourished.

You are both and all very dear to me.

From:

alt_alice

I miss you already, Poppy dear. It is always so good to have you come and visit, and, as always, it never lasts as long as it should!

From:

alt_terry

boot will be happy to see madam pomfrey again.

From:

alt_poppy

Ah, Mr Boot!

I, too, will be most pleased to return to the structure and routines of the castle. I must admit I'm less fond of sleeping rough these days than I once was. Getting old, I expect.

From:

alt_sinistra

Glad to hear you're heading safely back: I've been rather at loose ends, what with a fair portion of the staff gone. I'm looking forward to hearing about your adventures, and generally catching up. (Did you get a chance to see any starry skies while you were out rambling? I've had far less gazing time than I wanted, though I've had a chance to do more this past week.)

The YPL trips were... well, you've seen the journals, but I've other stories that might amuse you as well. Mostly the same old things and little dramas and moments best appreciated by other people who have to deal with the same students from time to time.

Tea when you get back? I know the first day is always chaos, and you'll have first years needing reassurance (and need to deal with whatever new pranks the older ones have come up with.) But sometime this week, I hope?