I feel quite foolish sending you this so soon after you've gone back to Hogwarts as I could very easily have given it to you over the Easter break, had I remembered to bring it on any of the occasions we saw each other. I suppose I had other things on my mind, so I hope you'll forgive me. The enclosed embroidery is something I've been working on for a while and I thought the design might appeal to you; I hope the bonnet fits but perhaps if it doesn't you can use a resizing charm (have you learned those yet?) Your grandmother has been doing some magical embroidery where the pictures change as time goes on but that is quite beyond my skill set, unfortunately, so I hope you don't mind that the chimaera doesn't move.
(Hopefully you did recognize it as a chimaera; but if you didn't, because my stitching was poor, just pretend for your old aunt's sake that it's good enough and don't feel obliged to wear it out anywhere)
Dear Auntie Juliana,
Thank you so much! It looks wonderful! I shall be sure to wear it in on the weekends! I could tell it was a Chimera immediately! I'm glad you didnt give it to me at Easter otherwise Isolda and Albin might have expected gifts as well, and also mother might have decided that it was a good idea for me to take up embroidery again and I do so hate embroidering!
I am not very good at embroidery at all! And I'm glad I'm at Hogwarts and no one makes me do any here. Even in art I prefer to paint than embroidery so I think your embroidery is very good!
I'm surprised to hear no one makes you practice embroidery at Hogwarts. I would have thought it would be a part of etiquette classes (which, you may or may not know, weren't required back when I attended). It certainly seems to be a large part of the day for respectable young ladies, anyway, so I imagine you'll have to return to the practice sooner or later. It really isn't so bad as you might think — it keeps your hands busy if you need to have a good long think. And you get to make bonnets with chimaeras on them.
Which class is your favorite? I should probably make something for Isolda next but as I only have two nieces you ought to expect to get another gift sooner or later (perhaps later as I am quite slow with embroidery, at least compared to most), and if you like I can try to find a design that suits your interests.
Dear Auntie Juliana,
I wore it to care of magical creatures class yesterday and the Professor said it looked very well! they knew it was a Chimera immediately and have given me a book from their collection to read all about them. It's an awfully thick book and will take me at least 3 weeks to read I would guess, but they look so intersting and I can't wait know all about them. The book is enchanted and the pictures move when you turn the pages! I've not seen an animal book like it, not even in Uncle Zachariah's shop.
We don't have to do embroidery in etiquette, we have a choice between than and pencil drawing so I always do that. Sketching flowers is a lot more fun than sewing them, because then I can pretend I'm like Janet Russell Perkins, drawing tropical flowers in Africa! I might use that one day, but I won't use embroidery - and I'm not very good I keep stabbing my fingers.
I heard a rumor that you were in search of a pet, and I just so happen to have stumbled across one.
I didn't ask your mother or father if it was alright to send it to you, and I know they aren't allowed at Hogwarts, so if it's too much trouble you can send it back with the same owl who delivered it and I can find him a home somewhere else. If you like him, though, perhaps you can figure out how to transfigure him into a cat so the professors won't mind. I think your parents can probably be convinced to let you keep him, but if they're angry you can just blame it on me and I'm sure they'll forgive me sooner or later.
Fondly,
Aunt Juliana
Enclosed: a cage with a fluffy white rabbit who may or may not have some PTSD from sitting in on a werewolf transformation three nights in a row. (FYI @"Rosie Binns")
Dear Aunt Juliana,
Thank you so much!! I shall look after him so very very well! He is just the cutest little creature! He shall be so very very happy living with us. He was brought straight to my dorm by the owl. No one in my dorm will tell anyone that we have a rabbit in the room, because we all think he is just the cutest! We've called him 'House Elf' so that when we are talking about House Elf being in our room no one will know who we are talking about. It is our dorm secret.
So everyone says thank you so very very much! When I am home for the summer may I come visit you with House Elf?
How delightful that things have worked out so well! I'm happy to hear that your roommates all like him and are interested in keeping your secret. When you pack to go home for the summer, be sure to put his cage somewhere that he'll have air (or perhaps you can do this with a charm) — otherwise I don't imagine he'll enjoy the trip back home.
Of course, you may visit any time you like; just be sure to write first so that I can tell you whether or not I'll be at home.