Dear Severus

Rumours of an alarming nature have reached my ears, snippets of whispers and intangible murmurs. Perhaps you can enlighten me? You must already know to what I am referring – the alleged reappearance of our Lord. Draco is stubbornly refusing to confide in me, except by some unintelligible droning regarding the legendary Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter. I beg you to explain this more thoroughly. Has the Dark Lord in fact returned after a decade of no news? You must understand, Severus, this is a matter of great urgency. Please relay the details to me in full at your earliest convenience, only then shall I return with correspondence of a more congenial nature.

Yours faithfully, Lucius Malfoy.

Dear Lucius

I admit I find your ignorance of the incident you refer to quite amusing, particularly as your son is aptly capable of relaying the details to you should he desire to do so. However, as your letter implied a certain urgency, I shall tease you no further.

It seems that if Potter has been speaking the truth, and his imagination is so ridiculously underdeveloped that I assume he must be, the Dark Lord has indeed returned to us. It appears that sometime during the months of last summer, he had been fortunate enough to come across Professor Quirrel, whose weak mind was easily controlled by our Lord even in his subhuman state. The aim of our Lord was to retrieve the Philosopher's Stone the Headmaster had hidden within Hogwarts castle protected by an assortment of barriers and enchantments. I confess at first I believed Quirrel to be attempting to steal the stone for himself. I told Dumbledore of my concerns but he ignored them with his usually obstinacy to see bad in anyone; this trait will undoubtedly be his downfall. Potter, it seems, was also aware that someone was trying to remove the stone (how he came to know of his whereabouts, I know not) yet mistakenly interpreted my endeavours to stop Quirrel reaching the stone as my own quest for the same item. He believed it was I who was intending to steal the stone, though what he thought I would have done with it is a mystery to me.

However, Quirrel passed through the protections around the stone easily, hardly surprising considering he was merely a puppet for our Lord. Potter, on the other hand, was foolish enough to believe he could apprehend whoever was trying to reach the stone. I have mentioned before how unavoidably inept the boy is at simple tasks and this occasion was no different. With a great deal of assistance from his friends, Potter was able to scrape through the number of tasks and reach the stone before Quirrel. Little did he count, I am sure, on having the Dark Lord's face appear in the back of Quirrel's head (I have read bout this type of embodiment charm but have never seen it performed successfully). Quirrel tried to kill Potter though unfortunately unsuccessfully. It seems I am still one of the privileged few who are aware of the effects of ancient magic now overlooked and ignored by most wizards of this age. The stone has now been destroyed. Thanks to Potter, the same fate met professor Quirrel. As for the Dark Lord, I am certain he is still around, not what one could really call existing, but around somewhere nonetheless.

You must be careful Lucius, for if the Ministry believes any of this, unlikely though that may be (you know better than I our government is run by an incompetent array of lunatics), you will be a priority for inspection, I am sure of it. Of course, you may do everything in your power to quell these rumours around the Ministry, that is your decision.

Furthermore, I am confident it is not my place to say so but I also think it prudent for you to discuss with your son his animosity with Mr Potter. Undoubtedly they should be enemies, the inherent rivalry innate and in their blood, but Draco may be harming his future by refusing to co-operate with the boy held in such high esteem by the Headmaster and even by Fudge.

Your query now answered, I hope you are able to relax and have a good summer; I know I shall enjoy the peace and quiet of my own home with no tiresome essays and bothersome students.

Yours faithfully, Severus Snape.

Dear Severus

Thank you for the narrative of certain events of early this summer, my knowledge of the details rendered my control of the situation above that of many other Ministry employees and allowed me to quash all rumours of the Dark Lord's return with satisfying ease. I have heard no further information about Our Lord in any manner, and my correspondence with certain members of our society who once shared the views of our Lord have confirmed this lack of news. I had been waiting in anticipation of some enlightening event for most of the summer but life has continued as monotonous as ever.

Now the summer is almost over and Draco will soon be returning to your instruction. I shall admit to you that I will be quite glad when he has quit the manor next week; he has been sullen and irksome all summer (even the house elf has taken to hiding for hours at a time to avoid him). I think it must be due to boredom and an ill expressed desire to return back to school to further his education and progress in his magical accomplishments. He was quite abashed that he failed to achieve top marks in any of his end of year exams and I believe this will increase his motivation in the following terms.

Incidentally, I have implemented a scheme to make Draco's education more exciting this year. I can say nothing of the particulars, but be assured that you will find this year at Hogwarts more enjoyable than last, and that the credit must go to me. Do not mistake me, this has nothing to do with my influential position on the board of governors. No, this, my friend, is unfinished business that, with the return of the Dark Lord becoming increasingly likely, should, I feel, be carried out immediately. I shall say no more, except to offer my best wishes for the forthcoming year, and my condolences that you chose to earn a living teaching.

Yours in earnest, Lucius Malfoy.