November 29, 1893

Dear Lissington,

It has been much to long since I last sent you a letter. I believe the last one was this summer. I had just found that rare text on Sir Wallace Hughot that had been cursed by a mummy hunter. I am still unsure of the curse at hand, but the archives in Rome were regrettably protective of it and did not allow me to look at it in the end. What a waste to have such knowledge within reach but be unable to pursue it further. After that rather unfortunate dead end I was convinced by Mister [Sponsor] to return to Great Britian to further pursue several matters of my research.

Speaking of my research I came across quite a puzzling book at the Crowdy Memorial Library in London last month. A foolish young lady spilled her tea with a potion in it on the rare manuscript of Sir Pompsey Perval of Pemberly - perhaps you remember me writing to you of his travels to the east in the twelfth century. I have tracked information on him from the archive in Egypt, to those in Byzantium, and now here in London. Indeed, I think I may be on to something, but it is still too early to tell. However, I digress and shall return to the matter at hand. The foolish girl's spilled tea had an unusual affect on the paper the manuscript had been written on. The paper, rather than soaking up the tea and letting the ink smudge and blur, had a bizarre reaction. Instead of doing anything one might expect after such an incident the paper began to change to a blue green, rather reminiscent of a mermaid's scales. In fact it even began to shimmer. Quite unusual. Unfortunately, although I certainly can not blame them, the librarians did not allow me to remove the book to study it further. I have inquired with them to see the book further but my requests have been denied (again, understandably given that the situation happened under my watch). Have you ever seen parchment react in such a way? It was the most curious thing and I am quite certain that it seems of a larger mystery at hand. I should be very intrigued here what your thoughts are of this.

How is the semester at Hogwarts treating you? I still have a tough time believing that you now teach there. I somehow never thought you would settle down in any one place, let alone as a teacher of all things. Are the students as troublesome as we always were as students? Although I rather remember you being of more trouble than myself.

We must catch up soon now that we are on the same solid ground again. I remember the last time I saw you was in Egypt. It has been much too long since then. When does the holiday break start for you? As I recall they keep you rather chained to the school except for on breaks, or has that changed since our school days? Merlin, can you believe those were thirteen years ago. Almost half my life I have been out of school.

Anyway, I do hope to hear from you soon, whether or not you have any insight on the manuscript of Sir Pompsey's.

All my best until I hear from you again my friend.

Hugh Bailey

Gus Lissington

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   Gus Lissington

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1 December 1893

Dear Bailey,

It is wonderful to hear from you! I know how it goes, when you think you’ve written but don’t get a reply. Perhaps an owl lost it or it got lost in transit. (Sometimes I’ve found the owls have better things to do than deliver a letter, which can be rather annoying.) I’m sorry to hear about Rome, although I never had luck in Italy, either.

They’re protective over their tombs and treasures. I am excited to hear you’re returning to London, and we have to find a time to meet up. It hasn’t changed a lot, although I’m sure you probably already know that. The manuscript is interesting, I haven’t heard about that happening. My sister and her husband study mermaids, so I’ll send her a letter and see if she’s ever seen anything like that. I don’t know too much about any magic outside of our own, but I wonder if mermaids have their own type? (Although why tea would trigger such a reaction is beyond me, unless it’s water altogether.) Did you get a glimpse of any of the words? Part of me thinks that there might be a spell or some kind of riddle that needs to be solved to make the words permanently appear. Probably not, I imagine the librarian was on you before you could even utter a single word. I’ve seen something similar with moonlight. Something about a lunar phase exposing some kind of map to a treasure, although I didn’t get the chance to follow it before I left for Hogwarts.

Hogwarts is going well. A bit stifling, but I’ve found ways to still get into trouble. (The Forbidden Forest is only forbidden to students, so getting to go in there any time I want is interesting.) The students are an interesting bunch, and I think I’ve overseen more detentions than I ever did as a student.

I look forward to catching up. I just purchased a place in Ireland, so you’ll have to come see it once I’m settled. I can slip away after classes as long as there’s someone around to watch the students. (I’m good friends with the ‘Puff Head of House, so I have an in there, not that I abuse it too much.) We also get one free weekend a month to do whatever we please, but I haven’t decided if I’ll use mine yet. Winter break begins on the 16th, and classes resume on January 8th. I look forward to seeing you soon. I have to live through someone’s adventures now.

your friend,
Gus

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Hugh Bailey

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