Grindelwald wades into the quagmire of parent-child issues. Do you think he has good advice for parents?

1990

31st January 1990

Dear GG

My eldest has graduated Hogwarts and landed a job at Gringotts as a Curse Breaker. What he neglected to tell me is that he applied for post that would take him overseas to Egypt. It is bad enough that he insisted on having his own flat in London, but to travel to some foreign place full of foreign stuff without his mother to care for him? It is unthinkable! Then my Arthur forgot to inform me Bill was leaving by portkey this morning. Did he pack enough clean socks? What would he eat? I cannot deliver meals all the way to Cairo! What if he gets attacked by some horrid mummy? Or whatever dark creatures they have lurking about there? What if he falls for some unsuitable foreign witch?

Mother Weasley

Spring 1990

Dear Mother Weasley

Let the boy have his space to spread his wings. Travel broadens the mind. Ah, Egypt… many fond memories of that land, chockful of magic and ancient curses to test the best of any Curse Breaker. I assure you that most mummies are quite harmless. In fact, there was a thriving black market for those mummies back in the day. Has it occurred to you that the reason for his wanting to broaden his horizons might be to get out of the shadow of his family, to become his own man?

Of course, it will be foreign, at least at first. The place is different from Merry Old England but that is the entire point of travel and exploration, right? Or are you too far stuck in your hausfrau rut to allow your offspring a chance to see the greater world? Little saplings need room to grow to become great oaks after all.

GG

15th April 1990

Dear Tante Giselle

I heard of you from an acquaintance. I am a new widower with a young daughter. My sweet Pandora always took care of the house and childrearing before now. I came home from the office last month to find our home in flames and our mostly uninjured little girl bawling in the garden. Potions accident. I haven't the faintest clue of how we are going to continue without Pandy. I tried making breakfast this morning at our new place and almost burned the kitchen down. We had to go out to buy some food from a Muggle place because I cannot transfigure food. My hou8sehold charms are also hopeless.

Having witnessed her mother's accident has left our little girl a mess too. She doesn't play with her dolls as much now. Instead, she stares a lot into space and talks to herself. Do you think her mind was injured in the blast? I am considering finding a mind healer for her if this continues. Luna is everything that is left to me now.

Xeno Lovegood

15th April 1990

Dear Tante Giselle

Hi. My mother died last month in a potions accident. Father is so very sad. I miss Mother too, but we will meet in the end, wouldn't we? Mother once told me that those who love us live on in us. I believe Father has forgotten. I am afraid for Father. The Grimbees keep buzzing about him. I try to tell them to leave him be, but they are not going. Grimbees are nasty and they muck up magic. Father's charms are not working as well as they should. I want to help, but he treats me as if I am made of glass. I am fine, a bit singed and bruised after the accident, but nothing some burn salve and dittany could not heal. And I can see the thestral in the old paddock outside our new place now. I have heard of them from dear Gran, but Mother never saw one herself. If I describe how it looks like, will Mother know? It is a pity Mother would not be able to see me go to Hogwarts… I do hope I do not disappoint her.

Luna Lovegood

Spring 1990

Dear Xeno and Luna

May I be so bold as to presume you are father and daughter? My suggestion is that both of you need to come to terms with the major loss in your lives. Go for mind-healing if needed. Xeno, you have no prior experience with household chores. It is expected that you might not get things right the first round. Your little girl is not as fragile as you think and might be capable of guiding you with the household chores. You must get your act together and care for your daughter.

Luna, your mother will know what a thestral looks like in the Afterlife. When that letter comes, I am sure she will be very proud of you. Even if that owl does not turn up, it is Hogwarts' loss as she would likely say. No stress there, kid.

GG

6th June 1990

Dear GG

My daughter is doing well in Hogwarts and is now one of the more popular students. However, I am alarmed to learn that my little Dora wants to be an Auror after that career talk by some one-legged, one-eyed paranoid loony at the year-end feast. She's in House Hufflepuff and lacks the guile I was taught in House Slytherin. She may be a Metamorphmagus, but she has the subtlety of a drunken elk. Do not get me started on how many teacups she has dropped over the years. Or banged her head on the kitchen shelf. My little girl has always been a bit of a klutz. She will not survive Auror training even if they give her leeway for her inborn talents. Why can't she be a Healer like us?

Will it be kinder for us to quash her dreams now than to watch her fail the training or get seriously hurt later in the course of work? Knowing Dora, she will listen if we forbid her to become an Auror, even without any Vows. Do we tell her Hufflepuffs make lousy Aurors? It would be a different matter if she had been Sorted into Slytherin as I would know she will have the necessary cunning to survive in the big bad world and she would sneak around us to apply anyway. We only want the best for Dora.

Worried Mama

Andi Tonks

Summer 1990

Dear Andi

It is good to know your little girl has blossomed in school. As a rule, I will not encourage anyone to be an Auror. It is a thankless, dirty, and dangerous job. I am sure your daughter deserves better. The only use for an Auror I can think of is as a steppingstone into the Ministry's upper echelons. Is your girl thinking of running for Minister some day?

Ah, the quaint customs of Hogwarts. I wish to correct your misconception of the Hufflepuffs as I personally knew two Puffs, one of whom was Head Auror, I believe. Both of whom outwitted and gave me quite a run about in 1932 with their friends – sheer dogged determination and teamwork. Put paid to five years of careful planning for Magical world domination. I have known Aurors with the subtlety of a sledgehammer, so your girl will be in good company.

As for an alternative career as a Healer… are you sure your little girl is cut out to be one? Imagine a clumsy Healer… I doubt St Mungo's will appreciate this addition to their staff. Perhaps you might want to sit down and discuss this with her first before cracking out the old Imperio or Unbreakable Vows. Sometimes we just have to let the young ones spread their wings, even if they end up smacking into the window face-first.

GG

1st July 1990

Dear Gellert

I need some reassurance here that I am doing the right thing by Harry. Figgy just reported that the Dursleys left him stuck up a tree for hours. I do hope this is nothing more than youthful hijinks. Fact is, I have no idea how the blood protections are working for him in absence of Voldemort. If we just straight up remove him from Petunia's, there is no telling if they will hold. Based on my research, we need him there with his mother's only surviving kin at least for a couple of weeks each year. This should not affect his schooling when we do send out the letter. It is not like we have anywhere else to put him for the rest of the year.

Albus

Summer 1990

Dear Albus

Of course, you have no idea how blood protections work being so averse to the field of blood magic. May I remind you that you once had a whole army of wixen willing to take the child into their homes? He is now likely damaged from years of abuse with his Muggle family and might not adapt well to the magical world, even if not yet Obscurial. It would be a kindness to use the ancient magic of Hogwarts to protect him instead of relying on the fickle whims of his aunt and uncle. I understand that this has been done previously in Ilvermorny during the No-Maj Civil war and in Beauxbatons during the French Revolution. We do not throw students out to fend for themselves. Koldie and Durmstrang have year-round boarding for students without families outside.

Of course, you never ever listen to me, do you?

Gellert

Author's Notes:

Grindelwald is referring to the Scamander bros in his reply to Andi Tonks.