The scrawny little owl tapped on the dirty glass a few times before wedging itself trough the slightly open window. Arty had opened it  earlier to let in the fresh spring air, but as night had now fallen, the room had grown chilly and he had been just about to close it. The letter the owl held looked like it was a little worse for wear. The edges were bent and frayed, and there were copious footprints covering the letter, as if some feline had perhaps stepped in ink and then proceeded to walk and/or lay on the letter. Even though, he was still able to decipher the original message.

Celene Oglesbee
Slytherin Commonroom
Hogwarts School
Hogsmeade, Scotland



Uncle Arty,

Hopefully this letter find you well. I am writing to inquire about our standing summer arrangement. Would I be able to stay with you again this summer? What do you think we might be studying this time?

I will be visiting my parents for the first week of the summer holiday, and with my cousin in London for the remainder of the summer (the time spent with you not withstanding). What would be the best time for my visit?

Also, has your former apprentice recovered from the Christmas incident?

Love,
Celene

The barn owl flew down the hall and into the Slytherin Commonroom, finding Celene studying as usual.  It dropped a big, mud-smeared letter in on the table in front of her, surveyed her face for a moment, and then left the way he came.


Arthfael Cunubelinus Oglesbee
Hovel by the Loch
Outside Grogarry, South Uist, Scottish Highlands




Hi ye!

How's ma little bonnie doo? 

First things first, ye can bide as long as ye want.  I'll always have yer cot at the ready!  If ye want to come straight away from yer faither's that'd be braw. 

Steven is fine, the healers at St. Mungo's got him all fixed up and the skin has nearly completely grown back.  Ye wudnae think someone with an O in the care of magical creatures wud need telt not ta get between a Graphorn and her pup, but not everyone is as bright as ye.

As fer oor travels, we've got a few options.  We cud do some fwooper migration studies in Africa, help some mandrake farmers with an on-going dugbog infestation up by Aberlour or take some of the ministry's bloodhounds out and track down a nogtail that's been plaguing some American farmers.  So tha question is, where do ye wanna go?


-Art

Celene smiled as she read the letter. It was amazing how well she and her uncle got on when they weren't in the same room together. She loved her uncle dearly, but he could be a bit much sometimes.

Decisions, decisions. For Celene, this was not a decision about which place she wanted to visit the most, but about which animal would be most beneficial to study, career-wise. She scanned her choice again.

"I have very little interest in dugbogs" she thought, "and that really more of a job for the Pest Division of DRCMC anyways".

"Fwoopers, however..." she mumbled under her breath as she chewed on a thumbnail, "Fwoopers are sometimes kept as pets. I might see them come into my shop from time to time, and it would be great if I had some hands-on experience with them".

"But, then there's those albino bloodhounds!" she thought excitedly. "I've always wanted to learn more about them."

She wrestled with the decision for a few more minutes, and then hastily penned a response to her uncle.


Celene Oglesbee
Slytherin Commonroom
Hogwarts School
Hogsmeade, Scotland



Uncle Arty,
I am glad to hear that Steven is recovering. Perhaps he has now realized that a career in the field of Magical Beasts may not be for him.

As for your inquiry, I must say that the work nogtails sounds like the ticket. It has always been a dream of mine to learn more about those lovely bloodhounds.

The term ends on 11 June, and I will be staying with my parents until 16 June. Shall we plan my arrival to your house on 17 June? I'll stay with you for three weeks and then return to London for the rest of the summer.

Please let me know if this all works,
Celene

It was quite late, so she set the letter aside for the morning post. She knew the school owls in the owlery would all be out hunting anyway. She was satisfied with her decision. Studying the fwoopers was probably more practical, but migration studies tended to be a dull business, and she really, really wanted to meet those bloodhounds.

Sounds guid, bonnie doo!  Ah'll talk with wee Spectre ta see about making arrangements for the dugs.  June 7 sounds fine. Ah'm gaun dust off yer cot right the noo!  I cannae wait to see ye!

-Uncle Arty 

PS- As ta Steven, all that book learnin added up ta a stinking pile of keech in tha end.  It's a guid thing ye're comin' ta stay with ol' Uncle Arty, maybe ye'll ken something useful by end.

Reading her uncle's last note, she shook her head. Unsurprisingly, her uncle had gotten his dates wrong again. She quickly wrote a reply.


Uncle Arty,

I noticed that you said 7 June for my arrival date. I won't be arriving until 17 June. Please be advised that my term does not end until 11 June, and if anything is scheduled before that, I won't be able to go.

Best,
Celene

Celene read over the letter a final time before sending it. To an outsider her tone may have seemed terse, but Celene and her Uncle had had many conversations like this one, and this was just par for the course.

somehow this letter is smeared with more mud than usual.  and it smells worse

HA! Just eager ta see ye I guess, bonnie doo!  Duly noted.  July 17.  I'll have tha dugs ready and come pick you up from yer cousin's in London!  Tha cot needs some repairs, but I should be able to get them done in time.  Looking farward to seein' ye!

-Art

The message that returned to Art was little more than a scrap of paper torn of a larger roll of parchment being used for some other purpose. It was written so quickly that the handwriting was nearly illegible.

Noooooo!!!!! I'm coming to see you on 17 June! Not 7 June, not 17 July, 17 Juuuuunnnnnnnnnneeeeeee!!!!.

Please write it down in your calendar.

Also, you will be picking me up from my parent's house on the Isle, not London.
-C