Remus almost wanted to cry when he saw the total at the bottom of the receipt. Heri had come back from an afternoon in town with a bill for over 14 Galleons*! (see AN at the top) And that was just one shop! If he didn't know any better, he would have sworn that Heri was Sirius' child; their ability to wrack up such an astonishing bill in so little time was exactly the same.
Remus eyed the other bags Heri was moving to the table. He almost didn't want to ask about those.
"You realise this is more than we spend on groceries in a week," said Remus, keeping his tone mild. He noted that Heri was looking rather tired.
Heri blinked at him sleepily. She smiled vaguely and rubbed at the corner of one of her eyes.
"I suppose so. Thankfully, these will last me quite a bit longer than a week, and I won't have to buy any more any time soon. That's the beauty of buying in bulk."
Remus sighed.
"But why on earth do you even need . . ." He checked the receipt again, "eight hundred pins and a 16-ounce bucket of buttons?"
Heri shrugged, going back to taking her things from the bags.
"I meant to just pop in for more embroidery floss since the bit that I brought with me ran out, but they were having this massive sale — discounts and bonuses right, left, and centre! — and I've been wanting to try making my own clothes for a while now, so when I saw they had body forms and such at half-price, I just had to get them."
"And . . . and the buttons and pins and everything else?"
"Well, you can't expect me to walk into a sale and not take advantage of the discounts!" Heri gave him a disbelieving look. "They were practically giving things away! Goodness, two of these bags are actually filled with just the bonuses!
"Do you know how much Miss Honey goes for back home? Almost triple! Madam Malkin swears by it. Some mad old hag nearly ripped my arms out trying to get that sewing machine from me when I picked it up. Then I got into a scuffle with some chit that tried to nick my thread when she thought I wasn't looking! And don't even get me started on that queue for fabric cutting . . ."
That was when Sirius came back.
"Remus!" Sirius called, flinging the front door open and bounding in. "Come see all these wicked new parts I bought for my motorbike! It's going to look so bad-ass when I'm done!"
Remus suppressed the urge to sigh.
Dear Dora,
Massachusetts is lovely. I expected it to be like how America's portrayed in films, but I suppose there's a reason why this part of the States is called New England. It's a pity you didn't come with us; Manchester-by-the-Sea is exactly where you would think it was located. We're rubbing elbows with Salem as well.
The magical shopping district's overflowing with wicked shops, and I'm not ashamed to say that I've spent a goodly amount of time already schlepping back and forth between the shops and the beach. You would love it; every witch and wizard under the age of forty dresses exactly like you, and the rest dress like hippies and pilgrims. The lack of robes is rather odd to me after being immersed in wizardliness for so long, but I suppose since their country is so young in comparison to the rest of the world, they're not as separated from Muggle trends as we are. I find that the happy medium here is growing on me.
The house is finally clean enough that a House-elf won't drop dead at the sight of it, so we'll be looking for a House-elf tomorrow. Or rather, an equivalent to a House-elf; the poor dears are rather scarce in this part of the world, so we might have to invite the services of a Brownie or a Hobgoblin instead. The house should be all set by the end of next week, so once we get everything squared away, you really must come for a visit. Sirius and Remus are lovely, but they're not much for girl-talk.
Give Auntie Andromeda and your father my love,
Heri
Dear Heri,
It's a shame that you are unavailable this summer, my family and I are visiting Greece, and my mother had been looking forward to having another girl join with us. Perhaps next year, then. In the meantime, you could attend one of my future Quidditch games to make up for the loss of the pleasure of your company.
How are things in America? I was once involved in a school-sanctioned letter-exchange with a student from Ilvermorny, but a description from someone else who's not a native would likely be less biased. Have you seen a Quodpot game yet? I've been told it's all the rage over there.
Do stay safe wherever you are. I've heard that the American Ministry is very hands-off in their governing of the people.
– Viktor
Dear Miss Potter,
It is never a bother to answer questions of inquisitive students, no matter what time of year it is. Admittedly, I was not anticipating correspondence during the summer holidays, but that does not detract from the validity of your questions. Do not hesitate to contact me with your questions in the future; it is a teacher's prerogative to cultivate the minds of future generations.
Regarding the matter of transfiguring an abiotic base into a substance that mimics mammalian biomaterial, you must keep Baumgartner's Third Principle in mind, that . . .
Dear Andi,
I'm really starting to worry about Heri. She's been out of sorts since the school year ended and now she's fainted several times. That dangerous, isn't it? For her brain, right? Remus and I can't figure out what's causing it even though we're rather certain it's magically influenced. The Muggle Healer we took her to says he couldn't find anything wrong with her, so it has to be magic, but we can't find any traces of a hex or a jinx on her. She says she's fine, but conking out randomly during the day isn't exactly the sign of complete health, is it?
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