15 August, 1941

Dearest Galatea,

I was so glad you could come visit us last week. I think it will be the highlight of the summer holiday for the children. They loved seeing what you brought back from South America and hearing a preview of your adventures. I'm sure they're excited now to return to Hogwarts to hear more. And you couldn't have come at a more perfect time too. I hope you enjoyed the "play" the children put on. I'm still trying to figure out what the plot actually was, but it was still highly amusing. And I can assure you I knew nothing about the swords, and I had sharp words with Albus after you left. The very idea, teaching the children to fight with real swords!

I didn't have time while you visited to tell you about all the other things that have been happening here. Sure enough, just as we had discussed earlier, one of the girls started her monthly here and I had to teach her about it. Because some of the other girls were nearby, we got into a discussion about boys and the birds and the bees. Galatea, some of the ideas these girls have are horrifying! One of them told me that you can't get pregnant if you run a mile afterwards. Another girl thinks that you can get pregnant from snogging! The lack of proper information among the girls was staggering. I hope I set them straight as I gave them the truth. I hope their parents won't be upset either. I just could not get over the antiquated notions these children have. I can't imagine what the boys think about such things. Of course boys are encouraged to do things as much as the girls are encouraged not to. It's funny, magical or Muggle, parents just don't want to educate their children about sex. I will remember this for if I ever have children of my own again one day. I will educate them properly.

And now, for Tom. Poor, poor Tom. A couple of weeks ago, we were all out in the gardens weeding when a small garter snake slithered out among the girls. They screamed hysterically and wanted me to kill it, but I refused. It was harmless and I don't believe in killing things unless you really have to, so I asked if Tom would like to take it as a pet. He was the only boy there at the moment. He said yes and took it away. The girls seemed happy that it was gone and he seemed happy to have a familiar. It was so sweet, the snake would follow him around everywhere he went. I don't know how he managed to train it so quickly, but I had to commend him for it. And I swear to you, Galatea, he used to pretend to speak to it! He'd make funny hissing noises to it and the snake seemed to respond to it pretty well.

Anyway, just a few days ago, Tom and his snake were back out in the gardens, when the snake wandered off a bit. I was harvesting some cabbages and didn't notice anything until I heard one of the girls scream. I looked over to see Nan, raising a hoe in the air and bringing it back down to the ground swiftly. I called out to her to ask what she'd done, and watched as she picked up the limp body of a clearly-dead snake. "I got it!" she cried, sounding quite proud of herself. Seconds later, Tom came running over to her to look at the snake. I can't describe the look on his face as he took the snake out of Nan's hands. Sadness mixed with rage, while trying to control it all, simultaneously. So much for somebody so young to deal with.

I sent Nan back into the house. She was so apologetic, nearly in tears. She had thought it was another snake, not Tom's. But he wouldn't hear it. I took him by the arm and led him away from the group. I'll try to write out the conversation for you as best as I can remember it.

"Tom, I'm so sorry for your loss…"

Tom, shaking his head, "It's nothing, really."

"Oh, Tom, it is something. It's all right to feel sad for losing your snake. Would you like to give it a proper burial?"

"It was just a dumb snake…"

I gave Tom a hug at this time, but he just stood there, not reacting to me. He put the snake in my hands when I drew away from him. "You bury it," he said coldly. Then he turned and walked away, off on his own. We let the older children wander on their own as long as they're back by supper. I don't know where he went, but I suspect he ended up at Miss Bagshot's home. He's visited her several times over the holiday. She's always happy to talk about her grand nephew Gellert to anybody who will listen.

Oh Galatea, I just feel so badly for Tom. I hate that he has no parents or family. I know Albus doesn't care for him very much, but I think he just doesn't realize how sad Tom is. He's a child, he can't be completely responsible for his actions. If he had somebody who truly cared about him, maybe he'd have a brighter future.

Speaking of a brighter future, I have good news to share with you! Little Randall appears to be following in his sister's footsteps! I think he'll be getting a letter from Hogwarts when he turns eleven…The other day we were outside having a dance, and Randall was sitting on the porch watching all of us. His teddy bear was out on the hammock, and all the dancing couples were in the way, and wouldn't you know if all of a sudden the bear was lifted up on its own into the air and flown right into Randall's arms! It smacked a few of us on its path along the way, so we all noticed it. We all celebrated and congratulated the little lad. He was very proud of himself.

So you can see that we have our ups and our downs here at Godric's Hollow. The food remains dubious at best, but the children have enough, and that's the important thing. They work hard, but they also have plenty of time for play and rest. I think this was definitely a good choice for them to have and I am very glad we did it. It will be so difficult to say goodbye to them all in a few weeks.

-Adriana

20 August, 1941

My Dear Adriana,

Indeed, the time for the children to return to Hogwarts is fast approaching. I am glad the summer turned out to be more successful than you anticipated. And I did so enjoy getting to see the children. I quite enjoyed being audience to their performance. They all did a wonderful job with costumes, and I loved seeing all the characters they created. Zorro, Peter Pan, Flash Gordon, Superman, I could tell they really enjoyed it. I think they loved the sword-fighting…And nobody got hurt. Perhaps you shouldn't be so hard on Professor Dumbledore. After all, he did supervise them the entire time.

I am proud of you for being there for the girls. They do need a better education about their own bodies, I agree. Parents seem to feel that if they don't teach their children, they won't be curious, but we both know that is far from the truth. But we cannot reach them all. I suppose the best thing we can do is reach those we can and hope for the best.

That is a shame for Tom. Having a pet would be very good for him, I agree. I don't know what his future holds, but I hope it is good for him. I also don't know if having a family would have had as much effect on him as he needed. He has such a negative disposition. I don't know how much of that is nature versus nurture. Some people are just so inclined after all. But it is kind of you to care so much for him.

My dear, what are you planning on doing when the children return to the school in September? Will you stay at Godric's Hollow? Will you return to Professor Dumbledore's summer home? Or something else entirely? You know you can always come up to the school. We'd love to have you there.

-Galatea