Current mood:	contemplative
Current music:	"The Mystic's Dream" - Loreena McKennit

Owl to Lukas Kovacevic, not warded
29th August, 1998
Arodene Road, London
(SASE enclosed)

Dear Lukas,

I was unaware but am pleased to have discovered that you are permitted to send and receive correspondence.

We do not know each other well, and perhaps that is a good thing, if it will mean that letters from me might cause you to lose less of yourself than if you received letters from people dearer to you; I don't know. But I do know that Azkaban is a dreadful place, and if you wish it, I offer distraction, however brief.

I have spent the last few days before the resumption of classes in Somerset, at the home of Professor Lilith Drachenstein, a colleague of mine at Hogwarts. It has been a welcome chance to spend time with her away from students and coursework. I have had little contact with the rest of the faculty over the summer, and I wonder how they all are, after the attack we went through at the graduation party last June. Even those who were not chaperones, I am certain, must feel the loss.I am almost thankful that they have graduated. I do not think I could bear to see the empty chairs in classes or in the Great Hall.

I do not know whether the following will be of any help to you. It might be impossible for you to have any religious experience until you are released from Azkaban; as far as I hae ever seen, the Dementors' presence precludes it. This is not a devotional to your deity, but I do find these words of great help, at times.

From the Blessed Angela of Foligno:

God presents himself in the inmost depths of my soul. I understand not only that he is present, but also how he is present in every creature and in everything that has being, in a devil and a good angel, in heaven and hell, in good deeds and in adultery or homicide, in all things, finally, which exist or have some degree of being, whether beautiful or ugly. I also understand that he is no less present in a devil than a good angel. Therefore, while I am in this truth, I take no less delight in seeing or understanding his presence in a devil or in an act of adultery than I do in a good angel or in a good deed.

I have not yet attained this lady's degree of wisdom, but I believe in it. It is the only way, I sometimes think, that forgiveness of one's self and of others is possible. You are a good man, Lukas. You may have done dreadful things, but you are a good man, and I hope you will find the strength in yourself to stay sane in there and show the world your worth, once you get out.

I should go now; I have rambled on for long enough. I will think of you Monday night, and I believe others will, too.

Sincerely,

Gareth Adams