The Dungeons

Draco? Draco? WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING WITH MY K'ANG HSI SANG DE BOEUF VASES? Don't tell me the children have taken them to play. I have the curator of the Chicago Fine Arts Institute here who wanted to borrow them for their coming Chinese Earthenware in Baroque Times retrospective, and he's APOPLECTIC - they had sorted out the insurance at last, and redesigned a room with sang de boeuf walls, and this is becoming VERY annoying. Please fix it pronto, darling.

We are cancelling our subscription to the damned Prophet. ( I mean it this time. )

Dearest Mummy,

We have recovered the vases, which had only been placed in Lily's room as she thought they were so beautiful and felt you were not around to appreciate them so she should. I know it's hardly what one would prefer, but she is just a young girl after all. And at least she has good taste.

I will confess to the more distressing thing. She used them. That is, used them as vases for flowers. Which is not quite the done thing, of course, with antiques. But honestly when I saw her room I assumed they were copies and not the actual things of yours, and she couldn't have known their worth. At least, as I said, she has good taste.

I do hope you will take it all in good stride - which is no way to dismiss your quite reasonable annoyance and distress. Your curator can certainly have them now. I've been very meticulously preparing them for exhibition all day. But if you do feel like some definite annoyance needs to be expressed now then I then I think I will go so far as to admit it is my fault. I let them use your apartment and I have never explained to any of them the exact value of what's there.

I do apologise. If the Chicago gentleman would like we could do a tour of the manor and see if there's any little thing there that interests him in compensation. I'm sure Father wouldn't mind at all. He's never there as far as I can tell.

With love,
Your Draco

Ves'tacha

You must know that I would never let Mummy blame her. But of course she will notice the repair. Even my repair. I am very good but, after all, I learned it from her.

Let's not mention it to Lily just at present. Although actually I'm relieved. I'd noticed her being evasive and was dreadfully worried I would wake up to find Scorpius had disappeared again, if not something worse.

I've taken the blame in any case. Tell Lily to come home and have hot chocolate with me before bed.

Always your Draco