Day 129

Dear Hestia,

Thank you again for your help the other day. Please

extend my thanks to Auror Shacklebolt as well.

I want to apologize again for Vernon's reaction. It was a
very scary moment for all of us, and his concern for our
son's safety sometimes gets the better of him.

Petunia rereads what she's written and frowns at how easily lies can spill out of her and onto the parchment.

I'm afraid I don't have much to say... I haven't been
sleeping well lately, and I can't seem to focus on
anything. It seems like the less I have to do each day,
the more tired I become. I hate to ask, but do you by
any chance have any books that I might be able to
borrow? The days seem endless, and at least reading
is time-consuming, if nothing else. Any books at all -
wizarding or Muggle - would be wonderful.

She ends the letter with the same question many of her recent letters have ended with:

Has there been any news about Harry?

~ Petunia

Day 130

The next day the basket returns, a large cloth tied around the entire thing to keep the contents from falling out. She carefully unties the knot in the cloth and begins removing the food, and when she gets to the bottom of the basket she finds a half-dozen books. The titles suggest they're all from Hestia's world - things like Hogwarts: A History and The Dragon Tamer's Mistress, the latter of which appears to be the wizarding equivalent of a Muggle romance novel, with a picture on the front cover of a scantily clad woman tracing her finger up and down the chest of a shirtless man, while a fire-breathing dragon swoops back and forth behind them.

The moving picture is hardly a surprise at this point, but she watches it in fascination for a few moments before placing it back with the others and carrying the basket upstairs, piling the books on the bedside table before returning to the dining room. Only once she's put all of the food away does she settle into a chair and turn her attention to Hestia's letter.

Dear Petunia,

I hope you enjoy these. I tried to include a variety.
Keep them there if you want to reread them later, or
send them back as you finish - it's up to you. I'll send
along some more next week; I ran out of room in the
basket, or I'd have sent a few more.

Today was the first time I ever went to a Muggle shop.
It was the first time I'd ever spent more than five
minutes in a Muggle place, actually - the closest I ever
got before was your house! I managed to find some of
Dudley's presents. I'll be getting the rest over the next
few days . We'll have to arrange a time for me to start
sending them over a few at a time in the basket. It'll
probably take a few 'trips' to get them all over to you.
How about Wednesday? Just send the basket back once
Dudley's gone to bed, so I know the coast is clear!

~Hestia

P.S. I have to ask you, what are the plastic things that
the Muggles talk to? They seem to be having really
interesting conversations, but I can't see the appeal.
Why talk to those things when there are people around?
I almost asked one of the Muggles there, but I didn't want
to attract too much attention, and I was already getting
funny looks because I can't for the life of me figure out
your money...

Unable to hold back a smile, Petunia grabs a sheet of parchment and her quill and spends the next twenty minutes trying to figure out how to explain Muggle telephones.