Owls from Delilah Lockhart Patil, dated 10 September 1942...
Strongly warded, sealed and charmed to self-destruct if anyone other than the intended recipient attempts to break the wards and seals and read the messages; the ones to Endymion Dashwood and to family members are blood-sealed:
To Emily Chattox:
Dear Magistra Chattox:
It’s been years, I know, since we saw one another-years and more since you and I and Gaius and Draco-Dracaena, now, of course-used to run Slytherin together, but I hope I can prevail upon some small store of that good will at the moment.
I’ve heard unsettling things in letters and in conversation from my son, Gilderoy. I think he believes his aunt Maya is still speaking to him when he looks in mirrors. I know it’s understandable for children to believe they are speaking to ghosts and that he grieves for her terribly, but Maya was mixed up in the Dark Arts to a far greater extent than anyone in the family knew or believed when she died, and my brother Damien has been proven to be a traitor and a paedophile and all sorts of other unsavoury things, and if you could speak with Gilderoy regularly and make sure that his prefects are looking out for him, I’d very much appreciate it. He is not mad-I really cannot believe that my son is mad-but there is a strain of wild magic and neurasthenia in my family-but he needs to be looked after by someone who is experienced in handling such matters and knows what to look for.
In addition, my late husband was deeply interested in the field of human evolution; it is possible that Gilderoy may have picked up some odd language and ideas about the evolution of wizarding abilities, and if he claims that he is having strange experiences and he thinks that he is developing some special ability, please speak to me before packing him off to St Mungo’s-it could be daemonic activity, or he could be right, or both-in Maya’s case it was definitely both-but it probably doesn’t mean he’s completely lost touch with reality. If you’d like a copy of my husband’s book (if Gilderoy starts saying strange things, you may want it whether or not you are interested in the field), let me know; we have several, and it’s difficult to find in Britannia.
Sincerely yours,
Delilah Lockhart (Mrs Vikram Patil)
P.S.: Don’t let my stepson Viresh harass or question your students unless you are willing for him to turn all the information he gathers about them over to the Department of Mysteries. Particularly not Endymion Dashwood. I have an idea that they may attempt to recruit, or worse, impress your students based on information that Viresh has stolen from his father, which is incomplete and inconclusive, no matter what he says, and turned over to Lilias Taverner, who was once content to take what I would give her once I was certain that it was complete and that Vikram would have wanted me to do so.
Taverner is the person behind the suppression of Vikram’s research. She wants this information for herself, and she does not want anyone else to have it. God only knows what she will do with what she already has.
~*~*~*~
To Endymion Dashwood:
Dear Endymion,
Patil is actually a fairly common Marathi name, but by no means as common as Smith or Jones, I don’t think; I don’t think there are any surnames that common in India, but that’s because not everyone in India even has a surname or a Christian (given) name in the same sense British people have them, and certainly not the same order; I think people play quite a bit with their names when they have to deal with the British, but the Patil family which is magical has been doing that for a very long time. Rohan Chakravarty’s family perhaps not as long, which is why he has had so much trouble.
I received your letter and I have to say, Viresh might be pleased you don’t associate him with Vikram; they never did get on very well. He thought Vik favoured Surya and I honestly can’t say that he didn’t, sometimes, but I don’t think he meant it in quite the way it seemed to Viresh. I’d have tried to help them work it out, except that Viresh wouldn’t ever have anything to do with me, so I couldn’t.
The things you have told me about Gilderoy are very distressing. If you can trust your Defence master, I think you should tell him. If not, tell Emily Chattox. She and I did not always agree when we were prefects together, but we were able to deal when we had to. (Yes, I was a prefect; don’t die of shock.) You should probably mention Vikram’s book, so that Emily or your Defence master understands that it is probably a supernatural issue and that Gilderoy isn’t deluded and that whatever it is that has been pretending to be my sister has been using what Vikram taught us to work on him.
Thank you so much for your kind words. You know it is hard for me, and I won’t try to lie about it even in a letter to you of all people. And you also have to know that knowing this about Gilderoy doesn’t make it easier. But thank you most of all for not hiding things from me because I’m sensitive and take things hard. For not being like Maya and Damien, even though they have both had much more space in your life (and in mine) than they ever deserved. I’m sorry they got so close to you and I should have done more to prevent it, but it’s hard for me even now to see them as other than babies.
I know there’s more in this world to live for. I promise I won’t set myself on fire the way Damien said I would. Damien doesn’t know me as well as he thinks he does. I suspect that this is also true of you.
You’ve changed a lot since you and Hadrian made up. It’s painful to admit but of course, being who you are, you knew what we didn’t-that he really did love you-and living with Lavinia has apparently been good for you. I wish I knew what it is that she understands that I don’t. But that’s not your problem. You seem so much happier and saner. It’s a good thing. Take care of yourself.
With love,
Lilah
~*~*~*~
To Surya Patil:
Dear Surya,
I apologise for being so bad about answering your letter and hope that this catches you before you’re settled in for the night. If you’re free, you could come over tonight for chaat and some chai or even a late supper. If not, the invitation stands for tomorrow-you’re always welcome here. Things have been stressful here ever since my brother’s disappearance, and the discovery of my sister’s remains have not made them less so; I’ve been melancholy and forgetful, and I’ve had to help Rohan get Maya’s friend Carey, whom they finally released from hospital, reconciled with his family again. I hope that everything’s all right with you, but I’m sure it is-you’re so self-sufficient, just like your father was when I met him.
I don’t know if you remember Carey, but he’s a terrible mess. I’m not even sure if you remember Endymion Dashwood, the boy who’s absolutely not a telepath no matter how many unasked questions of yours he answers in passing or how closely he calculates what he can get out of any given association-but he’s doing surprisingly well, all things considered, especially since your brother’s harassed him.
Funny you should mention the mad Spaniard. I am sure I have seen him at Hotel Valeria in Knockturn Alley; the war has driven many people to Londinium who would never choose to live here otherwise. I won’t tell Viresh about him, though-not after what he’s done with regard to Endymion.
I wish I knew what Viresh was likely to have told your superiors about you, but I’m glad to know you’ve thought of what to do should they ask. I copied everything but I’ve never taken the time to go through what’s left of the archive he took as carefully as I ought to have. We should probably do that tonight or this weekend, and then we’ll know-I strongly suspect he’s turned over everything he has.
How did he sort Slytherin, and you Ravenclaw? Speaking of which, I’ve been reading your father’s old diaries again (I know, but it makes me feel less lonely sometimes) and I think Rajinder and Anjali are from the northern side of the family; their mother’s a Parsi, her name is Parveen. Viresh didn’t tell me what Houses they were in, and of course they were babies the last time Vik saw them, but Endymion would know, so we can ask him, since he at least knows of them-he mentioned them in his last letter.
I hope I will see you soon!
My love to you,
Lilah
~*~*~*~
To Viresh Patil:
Dear Viresh,
I’m sorry you haven’t seen fit to reply to my letter; I had hoped we could resolve this like family.
If you won’t share the information you are collecting with me and talk to me about what you are doing with it, I will make whatever you are doing very difficult. I’ve already told Endymion Dashwood’s guardians-including the Dux Bellorum and Magistra Chattox-that they should keep you away from him and that your bosses are not to be trusted.
Lilias Wilkes Taverner is not in any way a friend of scientific advancement-not when it comes to freedom of information and research. We need to talk about this. That woman had everything to do with the suppression of your father’s work. At one point in time I thought she was going to drive us out of the country. If Oswald Wilkes, her brother, hadn’t intervened, I think she would have, and believe me, it is no comfortable place to know how many favours I owe that man.
You don’t have to like me. We can work together out of respect for your father. I hate it more than you could ever know that you’re a stranger in your father’s house and that you think you have to steal from me.
Lilah
~*~*~*~
To Lavinia Scalara:
Dear Mrs Scalara,
I know we are not friends, but we are both concerned with the welfare of Endymion Dashwood. My stepson, Viresh Patil, is collecting information about people with unusual wild magic talents and kundalini flow; it is a continuation of his father’s research. He has stolen several files that Vikram kept on Endymion and has probably turned them over to the Department of Mysteries; he has also used his Mysteries credentials to get himself admitted to the Hogwarts grounds and set up interviews with Endymion. I don’t believe this is a good thing for Endymion; if you can get your patron to put a stop to it for Endymion’s sake and the sake of his son’s happiness, it’s probably all for the best.
Sincerely yours,
Delilah Lockhart (Mrs Vikram Patil)