Witch in the Willows PV Closed

A Great Horned owl arrived at Willow's home at two o'clock on Christmas Eve. She was a brisk, no-nonsense creature, appearing inclined to take the briefest of breaks before fluttering off again. This was not before she deposited a parcel, having stubbornly sought out the witch in the family per some unknown but certain owlish code. It consisted of twine around wax paper, wrapped in a lumpy cylindrical shape. Within this was a letter, which was rolled around a leather sheath, which, finally, concealed a small strange knife. Its handle was twisted with a whimsical spiral, while its blade was fat, flat, and sharp. It was heavier than it looked for such a small thing, though balanced. Clearly it was a used knife, but used with great care, and bearing trace remains of oil from a fresh cleaning. The letter was written with a distinct penmanship: lazy and looping in a distracted, drifting sort of way, yet tidy and legible despite its relaxed nature.

@Willow Anderson

DECEMBER 24^TH

Dear Willow,

Thank you again for allowing me to borrow your books. I've learned a great deal of things I'd never even heard of before. I'll be sending them back to you soon, though I'm reluctant to risk doing so in the rain and snow. If you don't mind, I might just keep them until we're all back in school, then I can hand them to you instead. I think it would be easier than heckling your home by sending Falathiel on multiple trips. In the meantime, I wanted to repay you with a gift. Ancient Scandinavian people called this a Krumkniv (that's just "curved knife" in Norwegian, but Krumkniv has a better ring to it). It is a sort of general-purpose knife best used for gathering clean cuttings from plants. It is made of high-carbon steel. Frankly, I didn't know what that meant when my father told me about it, but I've researched it since. This means the metal has a high carbon content, which strengthens its durability past that of ordinary steel.

I found it in our gardening tools. My father said that my grandfather picked it up in Finland and used to use it for chopping parsley into soup. No one has touched it since he passed away, it seems, so I was hoping you could get more use out of it. I hope muggle parents aren't afraid of knives. I believe it was enchanted: it feels dull to the human touch, but cuts through plant matter like winter wind. I don't want to be presumptuous in saying it might make a decent athame; you could always use it for cutting and chopping herbs instead. It is as handy a companion in the kitchen as it is in the garden.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

PS: Please do not bring it to school. I would have to confiscate it from you,
which would be very funny, but also a bit sad.