Daria Ravenclaw: No Country For Unpleasant Old Men. Epilogue: Letters

Daria is the creation of Glenn Eichler and is the property of MTV Viacom. Harry Potter is the creation of JK Rowling and is the property of JK Rowling and Warner Brothers. I own neither, and neither expect nor deserve financial compensation for this story. I am writing for my own amusement and for ego gratification.

A heads-up for those reading this story. Daria Ravenclaw: No Country For Unpleasant Old Men is complete. Arcturus Black and Iago Hook did go on to have further adventures as they traveled first to Texas' Big Bend Country, then to such places as Socorro and Alamogordo, New Mexico, and then on to Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico, before flooing back to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and then flying back to Britain, but they aren't part of this story. Still, as a formerly-rabid Tolkien fan, I realize that I not only enjoy reading epilogues and appendices, I occasionally enjoy writing them, too, hence this epilogue.

Daria Morgendorffer's adventures continue in Daria Ravenclaw: The Highland Years.

Daria Ravenclaw: No Country* Daria Ravenclaw: No Country*Daria Ravenclaw: No Country* Daria Ravenclaw: No Country* Daria Ravenclaw: No Country* Daria Ravenclaw: No Country* Daria Ravenclaw: No Country*

Daria Ravenclaw: No Country For Unpleasant Old Men. Epilogue: Letters

From: Frederick Avery
Commissioner, South Permian District
MACUSA
May 5th, 1987

To: Buford Thorngrove
Commissioner, Sweetwater District
MACUSA

Dear Buford,

It has come to my attention that you recently had a visit from two wizards from Britain, one of them being Arcturus Black, from Britain's notorious House of Black, the other being his traveling companion Iago Hook.

I thought you should know that Mr. Black and Mr. Hook crossed over into the South Permian District. While they were there, they tripped the protective wards that the DMLE's Marshals' Office had placed around the non-magicals' Federal Courthouse in Midland. They were detained and questioned by James Dillon, the Senior Marshal in charge of the district.

Marshal Dillon questioned Mister Black and discovered the reason why he was loitering in your district. Mr. Black was in the area to see his great-granddaughter, a Miss Daria Lynn Morgendorffer, a young girl of eight years old. Mister Black strongly believes that he has credible evidence that Miss Morgendorffer, like other members of the Black family, is a full-blown witch, despite the fact that her birth-mother Helen Barksdale Morgendorffer just missed being classified as a witch herself.

I realize that it's easy to jump to conclusions, especially with Highland, and assume that any young witch or wizard who turns up has some connection with the Gonzalez, Huerta, or Benavides families, but it looks like Miss Morgendorffer got overlooked by the people in the Bureau of Health and Human Services. Since she was born in Austin, not here, I wouldn't be surprised if someone down there messed up.

Nevertheless, I strongly suggest referring Miss Morgendorffer, as well as her sisters, to the local Bureau of Health and Human Services for observation. Despite the lack of evidence that anyone else in that household is magical, I would not be surprised if little Miss Daria won't be the only witch coming from that family.

Cordially,

Fred Avery,
Commissioner, South Permian District
MACUSA

Azkaban Prison
North Sea
May 22nd, 1987

"Mail call!" said the guard at Azkaban.

Sirius Black, a prisoner Azkaban Prison, had learned not to have any expectations about receiving mail. Most of the time he didn't receive any, and when he did, he usually destroyed it. Most of his friends had chosen to believe Secretary Crouch's filthy lie that he was one of Voldemort's followers and had stopped writing him, one or two of them after writing hateful letters vilifying him for murdering James and Lily and gloating that he'd been sentenced to Azkaban for life, the rest simply ignoring him. He also received hate-mail from wizards, witches, and occasionally Squibs for being one of Voldemort's supporters and for his supposed role in killing James and Lily. He also received a couple of "serves you right" letters from Voldemort's lesser supporters as well as from a couple of Slytherins he'd bedeviled at Hogwarts; like him, they didn't believe in his guilt, but they weren't above reveling in his misery. He had gotten fan mail from a couple of emotionally-disturbed witches who wrote him hopeful letters about him becoming a pen friend. But from what he'd thought of as his real friends, nothing. And from his family, nothing.

"Ow's this, Black? Someone's written to you," jeered the guard, and slid a letter through the slot.

Sirius saw the broken seal. He recognized the seal as one used by the House of Black. Who in the family would be writing him? It wouldn't be his mother; she'd died a couple of years ago. His curiosity piqued, he opened the letter and started reading.

Dear Grandson,

I decided to write you since I doubt that any of your childhood acquaintances or your former Hogwarts friends have bothered to write you since your incarceration.

I recently returned from a trip to America. Call it an old man's fancy, but I decided that I wanted to see at least part of the American Southwest at ground level and decided to travel there by Muggle means. I took a charter jet to a city called Dallas and then drove across what the American Muggles call the Lone Star State by automobile. Since you were obviously unavailable, I managed to engage the services of one Iago Hook, the great grandnephew of one of my Slytherin housemates from many years ago. I doubt you'd remember him; he was a young boy when you graduated.

I shan't bore you with the names of most of the places we visited in Texas. I do remember a stop near a Morning Village, where I bought lemonade from a Queenly young lady of eight years of age. She looked to be in good health and I was impressed with her intelligence and poise. Such a maiden would do credit to our house and the world. Ah, would that she become one of us!

I also visited a Texas city called Midland. There, I saw a daughter of Leda do battle in a court room. She was an attractive woman with a formidable mind of her own, and to my surprise, she impressed me. So much so, that with my changed state of mind, in another time I might have pressed her mother for an arranged marriage with either you or your brother, her blood status be damned.

I went on to visit the Muggle observatories at Fort Davis and Alamogordo. I also visited the radio telescopes near Alamogordo, as well as the Muggle and magical parts of both Santa Fe and Taos before returning to Britain. The art was very interesting, but quaint. The locals were very un-English.

Chin up!

Your grandfather.

Sirius read through the letter thrice, wondering what the old man was trying to tell him. Then he began to decipher his grandfather's message. Morning village. His daughter's legal surname was a German surname that meant—from the morning village. His daughter's given name meant "queen-like or queenly." His grandfather had actually seen and talked with her, and he was impressed. That was unusual; his grandfather used not to be particularly impressed with anyone.

Daughter of Leda. Both wizards and muggles were acquainted with ancient Greek mythology, and much of the lore of the old Greek wizards and wizards had survived the coming of the Christians, the Dark Ages, and the Ottoman Conquest. Helen was Leda's and Zeus' daughter. The old man had seen the mother. Sirius wondered if Helen Morgendorffer had anything to say to him. He wasn't sure that he wanted to find out.

He thought about his grandfather's letter and wondered why the old wizard had sent it. He could hardly imagine that his grandfather had chosen to throw in with the Order of the Phoenix. Nor was he sure that his grandfather had rescinded his expulsion from the family. His grandfather was probably playing dynastic games with the few family pieces he still had left. On the other hand, it was the first hopeful sign he'd had in a long, long time.