Bellatrix Lestrange

Mrs Ponds,

It came to my attention some time ago, right around the time of your daughter's birth, that Hydra has an interest in becoming better acquainted with you. She asked for permission to write to you, and after assurances from my sister and my husband, I reluctantly agreed to the exchange.

Since then, Hydra has expressed further interest in meeting your infant and your husband, and seeing the cafe and shop where you make your living. Naturally, such a visit not be possible until she is on holiday from school - Christmas, perhaps.

Still, I have some concerns about such a visit. I do not know what kind of household you and your husband keep, and I shouldn't want my daughter to be exposed to any paraphernalia or practices which may cause her to become upset or confused. Before I can agree to such a visit, I think it necessary that I assess for myself whether this is an acceptable environment for Hydra.

As such, you may expect me for tea tomorrow afternoon. I shall bring Rigel along, as I don't believe you've seen him since he was an infant. He's well past two years old now, and walking and climbing into everything. I am quite amenable to become acquainted with your own little growing family, while at the same time determining whether or not it is in Hydra's best interests to become acquainted with it, too.

Expect me at 4 o'clock.

Sincerely,
Mrs Lestrange

Mother, Cissy and I just finished tea, having settled on the details for Sunday's festivities. It looks as if the weather should be fair enough to hold the naming ceremony outside in the gardens, while the ritual of ancestral trees will be carried out in the grand hall. After all, we wouldn't want any of those tapestries to be sullied by a rouge rain shower.

Walburga has already brought up the Black tapestry from Grimmauld Place, and Rodolphus convinced Rabastan to bring round the Lestrange tapestry when he was up from Hampshire on Monday. And, after much Owling back and forth, Rodolphus' cousin Cornelius has promised to bring the Jugson's early on Sunday morn. He had best keep his word, especially as I am not entirely convinced that the Jugson side of Rodolphus' ancestry has proper respect for tradition. When they brought the tapestry over for Hydra's ritual of trees, the thing looked like it had been stashed up in the attic, for I am certain I spied bits of cobweb and such on it. I made my disapproval on the matter entirely clear, so perhaps Cornelius delays now only because he is wisely making sure that the tapestry is in immaculate condition before presenting it to me.

Stephen, I hope that you will consider bringing your young charge along with you on Sunday. It would do the small one good to see the Rosier tapestry, I think, so that he knows how fortunate he is to have been taken in by such a significant and established pureblood family.

As much as I am looking forward to Sunday's events, I will admit that I am just as eager to get back to work. Early reports indicate that the new Auror training programme will pay off very well, but I do feel that my presence is a necessary component of the MLE's eminence, and thus a benefit to the fruition of our Lord's vision for Britain.

Fortunately, we've had a nanny lined up for Rigel for some time now - Mrs Baylock, who also looked after dear Harry when he was an infant, and as such was unavailable for Hydra. How funny that we should acquire the perfect Nanny now, with a child as peaceful and easy as Rigel, when we couldn't do so with Hydra, who wailed so much that I often considered sealing her gob off with spellotape. 'Twas like living with a howler.

Rodolphus has been trying to convince me that Hydra feels neglected with a new baby in the house, but since I haven't been able to find her all day, I will conclude that he's likely projecting.