Communication Difficulties

by Bluebird88

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter Universe belongs to J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

Dear Mum and Dad,

I'm writing from the Hogwarts Express. I've just been to see the conductor, and he said we're nearly there. I expect we'll arrive within the hour. I'm terribly excited, of course, but a bit nervous as well. I just wish I knew more about Hogwarts. I've been re-reading Hogwarts, A History, but as this is the tenth time I've read it, I've not really found anything new.

I do wish I knew which house I'd be sorted into. You know, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin, of course. I think I'd really like to be in Gryffindor. It sounds by far the best. I read in Modern Magical History that Albus Dumbledore himself was in Gryffindor. You remember, Dumbledore is the headmaster of Hogwarts. I'm sure I've told you that.

I suppose I'd be pleased enough with Ravenclaw, as well, but I do hope I'm not put in Slytherin. I've met several students from that house already, and they aren't exactly the most pleasant people I've ever met. Hufflepuff doesn't seem to have a very good reputation, either, but I expect most of that is unfair. I mean, it isn't as though there's anything wrong with being loyal and hard-working, is there?

I would like to know how they sort us into houses, though. I've searched looked through every book I could find, but none of them has been very clear on that point. Honestly, I'm a bit worried about that part. I've heard rumours that it's to be some sort of test. What if I don't know what to do? I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, but what if that isn't enough? I suppose there's no use worrying. I'm sure to do better if I'm relaxed.

I'll write again tonight let you know what's happened with the sorting.

All my love,

Hermione

Dear Mum and Dad,

I'm sorry I didn't write you last night, but I'm afraid I fell asleep as soon as I had a free moment.

All those rumours about the Sorting Ceremony turned out to be complete rubbish. I suppose I should have known. It was probably just the older students trying to make first years nervous. All we had to do was try on a hat. Well, not an ordinary hat, of course, an enchanted one. It was really all quite odd, though I expect I'll have to get used to that sort of thing, if I'm to be living in the magical world now. It was this old, battered witch's hat that sang a song describing each of the four houses. Professor McGonagall (the Deputy Headmistress, you know) called our names, and we had to sit on a stool and put the hat on our heads, and it looked into our minds and decided which house we'd better be in. It thought about putting me in Ravenclaw, but in the end, it decided on Gryffindor. I was ever so pleased!

The feast was incredible! I've never seen so much good food in my life! It all just appeared out of nowhere after the Headmaster finished speaking, onto huge golden serving dishes. Truly a spectacular sight.

The other girls in my year seem nice enough, if a bit silly. Their names are Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown. Two boys I met on the train, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter, were also sorted into Gryffindor. You remember I told you about Harry Potter, don't you? You know, the boy who defeated You-Know-Who when he was only a baby? Anyway, Harry seems nice enough, but Ron can be such a boy sometimes. It's positively infuriating! I haven't really met the other boys, yet, but I expect I will soon enough. I spent most of the feast talking to Ron's older brother, Percy. He's a prefect, and he sounds very knowledgeable. He was able to answer a lot of my questions about what our lessons will be like, so I was very glad to have been seated near him.

We start classes today, and I'm terribly anxious to learn as much as I can about the wizarding world. Many of the students here come from magical families, and they're sure to have been exposed to these subjects their whole lives. I do hope I'm not too behind!

All my love,

Hermione

Dear Mum and Dad,

Sometimes still catch myself expecting to wake up and find that this has all just been a strange dream. I've finished my first week of classes, and I've so much to tell you! Of course, classes here are very different from those in the Muggle world. It will take a bit of getting used to, I imagine.

Every Wednesday at midnight, we have Astronomy lessons up on the tallest tower. There's so much to learn, and you'd never have dreamt how important it can all be in understanding other branches of magic. It does seem a bit odd, though, to have a class so late at night. But then, I suppose my old school didn't exactly have talking portraits, or moving photographs, or suits of armour that could walk, either!

Herbology was simply fascinating as well. We've already dealt with many of the plants I read about in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, and we're learning all about how to recognize and care for them, and of course all about their different magical properties.

History of Magic is actually taught by a ghost - can you imagine? Of course, the ghosts here aren't anything like the ones in the stories I read when I was small. According to Percy, Professor Binns began teaching at Hogwarts ages ago, and didn't see any reason to stop just because he'd died. (Some of the students here are convinced that he doesn't even realize that he's dead, but that's all just ridiculous gossip, I'm sure). I'll admit, his style of lecture can be a touch dry, but I really don't mind at all, because it's such an interesting subject! It really gives a new perspective to all the Muggle history I thought I already knew, too. For example, did you know that the First World War was really the backlash of a magical war against an evil wizard?

I can already tell that I'm going to love Charms. It's taught by a tiny little wizard, who I suppose must have a bit of goblin blood. I can't wait to learn all the useful little spells he's described. You wouldn't believe how much wizards and witches rely on magic, even for the most everyday things!

My favourite class by far is Transfiguration. You know, turning something into something else, of course. Professor McGonagall, our teacher, is terribly clever. Transfiguration itself is really quite complicated. At the end of our first class, we were allowed to begin trying to turn a match into a needle. It's very difficult, and I was a bit disappointed that I didn't manage it entirely, but my match did turn silver, and the end was quite pointy, so I think next time I'll have it down. Professor McGonagall was very pleased, anyway, so I suppose that's all right.

Defence Against the Dark Arts was a bit of a surprise. I was so looking forward to it, as it's terribly important, you know, to be able to defend oneself against the more sinister sorts of things one finds in the magical world. Professor Quirrell, though, is rather an odd sort of man. He seems rather nervous, and he doesn't seem too keen on his own subject to be honest. I suppose that's understandable, as he must have encountered some awfully terrifying things in his past, but I confess I was a little disappointed. I suppose I'll just have to learn as much as I can from him, and perhaps find some other books for background reading. And really, he isn't so terrible a teacher as the other Gryffindors make him out to be. They are rather prone to exaggerating, I think.

Our last new class was potions. Professor Snape, who is also head of Slytherin house, was terribly unfair. He favours his own house shamelessly, and doesn't think too well of Gryffindor at all. Still, I can see that he's going to be a very challenging teacher. I'm sure I'll have to work very hard in his class, but I want so much to learn all there is to know about potions, that I'm really rather excited.. I think I'll visit the library this weekend, to see if I can find some good supplementary reading. It certainly can't hurt to be well-prepared, after all.

I miss you both, of course, but I'm terribly excited to be here. I hope you're doing well. Oh, and Mum, do you think you could send me a few more jumpers? We're allowed to wear our own clothes on the weekends and such, and it's much colder here than I expected.

All my love,

Hermione

A/N: Any feedback is more than welcome!