Oh. My. God. My God, Mystery Author, this was amazing. I feel like I can't even begin to say how brilliant this was.
But of course I can. Of course, I will because omfg you wrote 17,000 words for me, so surely I can find a few of my own.
This was so rich, so full of the history, character and politics of the world - both wizarding and Muggle - that I truly felt like I was there, living their lives with them. Enriching witches' lives through education - and all of the history that goes with it - was such a perfect way for Griselda and Bathilda to come together. I feel like the relationship and the plot that followed were so intrinsically true to the characters that it simply could not have happened any other way. This is absolutely taking a place in my headcanon right now.
The present sections are sad, but also rather touching. There is an ironic sort of symmetry to it, that two women drawn together by the strength of their minds are now only able to communicate on such a basic human level, but there is such a sense of love and care in those passages, made all the more bittersweet by the possibility that perhaps Griselda made Bathilda that way.
This is a magnificent piece of writing. I am honoured to receive it as a gift. Thank you SO MUCH for writing it for me.