Snapshots from Rose's fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as told through letters between herself and her mother, Hermione.
October 1st, 2021
Dear Mum,
Term has been in session for a month now, and already the professors are harping on about our O.W.L.s at the end of the year. I know that you'll say that it is important to start studying now, but with the amount of classwork they give us it's a miracle if I won't have to study over the winter holidays! The girls in my year have decided to hold biweekly study sessions in the Ravenclaw common room for our OWLs starting after Halloween and the first Hogsmeade trip. I think they're taking it too seriously right now, and I know you would say they're doing the right thing, mum, but I just don't know if I can handle that much concentrated brain time with them.
Things have gotten weird around them lately and I don't know why. I've gone into our dormitory a few times and they've all been in there and fall silent when I walked in the door and don't resume talking until I leave. We're fifteen year old girls at boarding school so I understand that gossiping is a thing that happens but it bothers me that they're probably doing it about me and I have no idea why. I've given them no reason to gossip about me, unless they want to try to use me to get dates with Albus or James or Hugo even.
What should I do about it, mum? Do I confront them about it or just let it be?
I hope your case goes well this week and that dad enjoys his big meeting with the international delegates. Sending you all my love and a copy of my potions essay that Professor Imohera gave me an Overtly Outstanding on that I'm proud of!
Love,
Rose
October 9th, 2021
Dear Rose,
Apologies for the delay in my response, love — as soon as the case closed I slept for nearly sixteen hours and your father didn't have the heart to rouse me when your letter arrived. Nor did he write you back specifically for those concerns you sent as he's rather inexperienced in that area, if you can believe it. (You know how he is about those girly things). Firstly though, well done on that essay, love! Now if only Hugo could understand why he should apply himself more in Charms class because he really does have quite a knack for it, much like your father.
I think it is a great idea to begin preparing for your exams as soon as possible, your housemates are right in that. You have to remember, Rosie, these exams are meant to cover everything you've learned since your first year at Hogwarts, not just this year's curriculum. I'm sure if you talked to your Uncle Harry about it he would tell you the exact same. (Also please ask him to be a chaperone for the Hogsmeade trip, it's been ages since I've been able to get away from work and I haven't seen him in months, and it'd be a great excuse to catch up outside of family gatherings.)
As far as the gossiping goes, there are several options you can take. One, just ignore it completely and carry on like it's not a big deal to you. This is the hardest option. Two, you can confront them about it but this could lead to more issues down the line and I would not recommend this unless you hear specifics about yourself or the family. Three, you can always just ask them what they're talking about and if you can join them — if it's harmless gossip then it is fine to partake. But I will say, if it is mean or degrading to other students, I would bring it up with your older Prefect or even Professor Flitwick if it serious enough. Teenage girls can be the meanest people when it comes down to degrading others based on their appearance, family, intelligence, and even friendships.
My request is that if you do hear something troubling about yourself or someone else in the family, please send me an owl or send me a quick message on your coin and we can have a girls chat straight away, okay my love?
Enjoy the Halloween feast, it's sure to be delightful this year with Neville's special pumpkins. Much love from your father and I!
Love,
Hermione
November 1st, 2021
Dear Mum,
Thanks for the advice on studying - I really did forget a lot of the concepts behind the spells and potions we learned back in first and second year. Uncle Harry has even lent me his notes on the creatures we learned about in DADA that the book didn't cover very well, which I really appreciated. (Of course, I'm not letting on to my dorm mates that I have them.) I've also elected to spend some more time with Professor Longbottom (it's still weird to call him Neville at school, mum!) in the greenhouses. I think I may take N.E.W.T.-level Herbology starting next year because he seems to think I've got a good aptitude and attitude for the plants (whatever that means). The greenhouses are a nice place to relax though, and study as long as I keep my books out of reach of the Venomous Tentacula.
The Halloween feast was lovely, and the singing pumpkins was a great surprise for all of us, I think, even Professor McGonagall had a smile on her face. Professor Longbottom was so proud of them. The first Hogsmeade trip is this weekend, and I've been invited by the girls, but I think I'm going to pass and hang out with James, Albus, Lily, Hugo, and Scorpius instead.
I took the third option you suggested with the girls, and it turns out they were just talking about boys in general, but also about James and Albus, so they didn't include me initially because they knew how I'd feel about them talking about my cousins that way. I'm happy it wasn't gossiping behind my back or anything, but it is still a little awkward and weird to hear my fellow Ravenclaws practically drooling over idiot one and two in James and Albus. Oh well, now they're including me in their chats so I feel better.
Hugo is doing well (I know he's not writing to you like he should because he deflects whenever I ask him) in his classes as far as I know and hasn't gotten into trouble yet. I think he and Lily have something big planned though after the Hogsmeade trip is over, so I'll be on the lookout for that as a Prefect (but of course I'm rooting them on as a faithful cousin).
Sending you all my love, can't wait to see you and dad at Christmas!
Love,
Rose
November 4th, 2021
Dear Rose,
I'm happy to hear that you've started your exam revising and that your worries about the girls were mostly unfounded (though I will be reporting to your Aunt Ginny about the interest in James and Albus - you know I have to or she'll send a Howler and I know that none of you want a repeat of your second year). At any rate, I'm sure the two of them are more than competent in handling girls that only care about their last name.
Thank you my dear for bothering Harry about being a chaperone for your Hogsmeade weekend in a couple of days. Please do try and stop by with your cousins as I'll be bringing along a surprise for them - Teddy and Uncle Charlie are visiting from Romania! I trust you can keep it a secret for the next two days, and I know you can come up with some sort of excuse to get them to the Three Broomsticks at half one.
Work has been busy as always, but I'm finally in a stretch where it's mostly low-level court cases, so I'm serving primarily as an advisor for my junior employees. They're all doing fairly well, and I'm really hoping that Amandla goes up for the next promotion - she's been doing stellar work this last year.
Speaking of work, have you thought at all about doing anything this summer to prepare for your advanced courses? You'll be sixteen and I doubt you want to work at the joke shop (why Ron still does several days a week after all these years still doesn't cease to amaze me) and you're more than welcome to shadow me or your father anytime.
I'll see you in a couple of days - please keep my visit with Teddy and Charlie a secret! I promised them a round of drinks if the boys and Lily freaked out.
Love,
Hermione
December 6th, 2021
Dear Mum,
Something happened a few days ago, and…I'm not sure how to think about it. You see, there's this boy in Hufflepuff who's had a crush on me for ages, and I've politely turned him down whenever he asks me out (it's mostly for Hogsmeade trips). But now that we've got a winter formal coming up in February, I don't know whether or not I should turn him down and hope that someone else asks me, or if that makes me a bad person for even thinking about it like that. He's very sweet and all, but I am just not interested and don't want to hurt his feelings.
At any rate, last week I was chatting with Scorpius Malfoy (I can see your eye roll and Dad's angry expression already) about our results on the last assignment for Arithmancy and we discussed setting up a time to study for our next exam. As we picked a time, I saw this boy walking towards us right as Scorpius said "It's a date," and he looked so heartbroken before turning down a different corridor. I feel bad, but now the boy won't even talk to me during our shared History of Magic class where we sit next to each other.
To add to my confusion, I'm not sure why Scorpius even called it a date in the first place. He's never shown the slightest interest in me besides for classwork and chatting about Albus. I guess what I'm really trying to say is that I don't know if Scorpius and I are friends, or if he has some ulterior motive by being nice to me. Or, is he just faking all of this as a way to get inside my head ahead of our O.W.L.s so he can be the top student this year? Why are teenage boys so complicated to understand, mum? The other girls would definitely agree with me.
I'm quite excited to be home for the holidays this year and see how Victoire is doing with the baby and all that - Teddy looked right awful at that Hogsmeade weekend, and the baby wasn't even born yet!
Love,
Rose
December 11th, 2021
Dear Rose,
While I would love to tell you exactly what you should do, I think this is something you really need to figure out yourself. But I won't be totally unhelpful because that's not what a mother is supposed to do.
It seems that your gentle rejections of this Hufflepuff boy aren't seeming to land. You might need to be much more direct and blunt with him - something I know you can do, but you have to put your empathy aside. He's a teenage boy, he'll get over it pretty quick.
As far as Scorpius is concerned, that is totally up to you how you deal with it. (And I would highly recommend not telling your father about it either way.) It's a bit of a colloquium to say "It's a date!" about an event but as you are wont to do, reading into it may not be a bad thing either. I'm not going to explicitly tell you not to study with him or go to Hogsmeade or other things with Scorpius, but just think a little bit about it before diving into something more serious than studying with him.
I will say no more on that, though. Your father and I look forward to seeing you and Hugo again for the holidays! Victoire and Teddy are doing well with the baby. Your aunt Ginny watched little Remus last weekend so the two of them could have an evening to themselves. They should be around for Christmas and I'd love for you to help care for him while they're here so that they can have a bit of a break with everyone around. Sending you some of your favorite muggle chocolate with this letter to keep your spirits up with this frightful cold weather going on.
Love,
Hermione
December 15th, 2021
Dear Mum,
I don't even know if I really want to tell you this, but I guess I will. Scorpius and I were working on our assignments for Arithmancy yesterday when out of the blue he asked me about the winter formal dance. Specifically, he asked me if I was going with anyone. More specifically, he asked me if I wanted to go with him.
So I didn't say anything and promptly ran away. I still haven't given him an answer yet either and it's been nearly a full day.
WHAT DO I DO MUM?
Love,
Rose
December 17th, 2021
Dear Rose,
Oh my silly, wonderful girl. If you can't come up with any valid reason not to go with Scorpius, then just go with him! He's a sweet boy and I think you will be fine. We can go dress shopping over the holidays with Ginny and Lily and pick up robes for the boys while we're at it.
Just don't overthink it, my love. I trust you can make the decision on your own. See you in a few days, and don't forget to bring your warm boots with you this time!
Love,
Hermione
January 23rd, 2022
Dear Mum,
With the term resuming after the holidays, my professors have really ramped up the O.W.L.s preparatory work for us. On top of our normal workload for classes, they've also begun assigning us extra review assignments nearly every class. I'm just lucky enough to have inherited your organizational skills (both physical and mental) or I would definitely be feeling more swamped than I already do feel.
The other girls have all been asked to the dance too and have their dresses already too, so we're all going to get ready together. When I told them I was going with Scorpius they had indescribable expressions so who knows what that means.
Either way Scorpius hasn't really changed his behavior much at all and we've decided to up our study "dates" to twice week just to deal with all of this extra workload for exams. I'm just happy the dance is in a week so it can be done and I can focus on studying again. I'll make sure to send you pictures in my next letter of the dance (Hugo and the Potters included, of course).
Love,
Rose
February 15th, 2022
Dear Rose,
The pictures you sent from the dance were lovely. I sent copies to my parents, and they absolutely adored your dress and thought you and Scorpius looked nice together. Don't worry, I didn't have to tell them the two of you aren't a couple - they're moderately with the times and realize that going to school dances together doesn't mean that you are officially a couple because of that.
Although, my love, your brother has finally written back to me within a reasonable amount of time and he says that you and Scorpius have been studying together more often since the dance. Is this merely a coincidence or should your dear mother be reading into things? Because Hugo is the one who sent me a letter about it, I'm more inclined to read into things, so I've attached a list of things you can choose to follow (or not, it's up to you) regarding teenage boys. Either way, whatever is going on between you two, I just want you to know that I support you no matter what and I am here for you if you want to talk about anything.
Also, I've sent you a parcel of sweets for Valentine's Day. I made sure there's plenty of Chocolate Cauldrons for you and also some Jelly Slugs for Hugo along with an assortment of candy from the Honeydukes location here in Diagon Alley.
Your father wants me to let you know that while he's not thrilled you went to the dance with Scorpius, he begrudgingly admits you are fifteen and can make your own decisions while you're at school. He also sends his congratulations on getting top marks in both of your exams for Potions and Charms. Write me after you get your scores back for your upcoming exams in your other courses.
Love,
Hermione
March 1st, 2022
Dear Mum,
Wow, now that our O.W.L.s are a mere three months and a bit away, the professors are really digging into the material even more. We have assignments nearly every night now for each of our classes. I think they basically just want to beat us all into academic submission before our final exams so we do the best we can to broaden our N.E.W.T. level class options for the fall term. Whatever they're doing though, seems to actually be working on Albus - you know how he tends to get under pressure from professors. He's even asked to join Scorpius and I when we work on assignments for Herbology and Transfiguration (I obliged, of course).
Thankfully we have our second Hogsmeade weekend of this term coming up this weekend so we can all take a break, however brief it may be. And I know you're just itching to ask me about it, so I'll just say it right now. Yes, Scorpius and I are going to Hogsmeade together…with a group of our mutual friends. The dance was loads of fun with him, but I'm just not sure where I stand with him still. I will admit to admiring him in his dress robes, but he also definitely kept staring at me most of the night. Thank you so much for taking me dress shopping over the holidays, mum - I got so many compliments on my dress from other girls and even Hugo begrudgingly admitted I looked nice.
I write you soon once I have more news.
Love,
Rose
April 4th, 2022
Dear Rose,
I hope your studies are going well and Albus has improved with the pressure for O.W.L.s. Ginny told me he and James have taken to study breaks together to fly around the Quidditch pitch for an hour or so. I bring that up to remind to also please study smartly and not overdo it like I tended to do back when I was in school.
I have to keep this brief unfortunately as I've got that big case coming up next week and Charles insists on meetings nearly every two hours to demand updates on the progress being made. Your father has also been busy at work with the insurgency group up in Northern Ireland, but he should be back from the field within the week if all goes according to plan.
There's something else you should know too, if Fred and Roxanne haven't already told you. As you know three days ago it was your Uncle George's birthday, something that he hasn't celebrated in decades since Fred's passing. This year, Angelina finally convinced him to do something as he just turned 49 and it's now been 30 years since Fred died. They visited Fred's grave and then had all of us over for a nice dinner, and I think I saw the first real smile on George's face that night remembering his brother on their birthday. So if I were you, I would spend some time with Roxanne and Fred soon to celebrate with them.
That's all I have for now, love. Keep on top of studying for your exams and don't let Albus slack off!
Love,
Hermione
April 12th, 2022
Dear Mum,
Exams are now two months away and for some reason the professors have lightened our workloads for these next few weeks. I'm not sure what to take it as a sign of, but I'm not going to complain because it's also a Hogsmeade weekend. It's also a Hogsmeade weekend that I'm going on a date with Scorpius. He asked me out when we were revising each other's essays on the uses of Moly flowers in potions for Professor Imohera. Being me, though, I said yes and didn't realize he meant it like an actual date until he asked what time I'd like to go down to the village at. And then I got these weird feelings and I blushed and stuttered and-Mum, I guess what I'm trying to say is, I need a girl talk desperately.
Love,
Rose
April 19th, 2022
Dear Rose,
I'm anxiously awaiting news of how your date with Scorpius went. I do hope he has more tact than boys did when I was in school and he didn't take you to Madam Pudifoot's Tea Shop. Just ask Uncle Harry how his date with Cho Chang went in that establishment and you'll be properly warned off of ever going there.
I just wanted to remind you that if you're beginning to feel overwhelmed with exams, it is perfectly fine to step back for a few moments, hours, or a day or two and just relax and put it all out of your mind. As a reward for your excellent essay for Potions, I've sent you that book you've been wanting since it came out last month. Please let me know how you like it and I'll keep looking for more novels like it for you.
Sending you my love,
Hermione
April 21st, 2022
Dear Mum,
Well, my date with Scorpius at Hogsmeade was actually quite nice. We definitely avoided going to Madam Pudifoot's - it was full of those very PDA-heavy couples anyway, and neither of us wanted to have to see that let alone deal with it while attempting to have a normal conversation. We went to the Three Broomsticks for some lunch and butterbeers before perusing the candy at Honeydukes…where Albus and James decided to attack us. So we got out as soon as we could and ducked into the Herbology shop until the coast was clear.
Overall, it was nice getting to be with just Scorpius outside the parameters of studying together. We settled on a brief hug before parting ways to return to our respective common rooms to drop off all of our things before heading to dinner. Of course though as soon as I got into my dormitory, the girls practically launched themselves at me, wanting to know all the details of my date with Scorpius. They wanted to talk about it all through dinner, analyzing every little thing he did in response to what I did, but I mostly just tuned them out because I was obviously there and definitely am not the type to overanalyze every little detail in that kind of situation.
Studying together hasn't really changed much at all, which I'm very thankful for. I just want to say thank you for supporting my decision to first go with him to the spring formal and now on this date to Hogsmeade.
Love you lots and write to you soon,
Rose
May 25th, 2022
Dear Rose,
I hope you are doing well with your exams coming up in two weeks. The attached parcel has all manner of snacks and caffeinated tea to help you stay awake and focused during your late night study sessions. Just remember to get good rest the night before each of your exams, and two nights before if at all possible!
Oh, and don't be too distracted by Scorpius either - set boundaries for study time so both of you can focus (and so you can beat him out for top student this year!)
Love and hugs,
Hermione
June 17th, 2022
Dear Mum,
It's just before dinner time now and that means all of my O.W.L. examinations are OVER! I feel confident about all of them except for Astronomy. I just never got very into that class so I think I'll at most get an Exceeding Expectations, so Scorpius might have me beat there because he's got that innate knowledge thanks to his family tree. Sure we're competitive with each other about exams and being top student but it's all in good fun and we don't let it ruin our relationship either.
I can't wait to be home for the summer again and to see everyone again. It has been a long spring term what with O.W.L.s and all of the extra work the professors had us do in preparation. You asked me a while ago what I thought I wanted to do for the summer to pass the time and gain experience, and I think I'd like to shadow at the Ministry of Magic with the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. It'll really help me determine if I like magical creatures enough to work with them as a career or if I should focus my studies and potential future career elsewhere. I enjoy Care of Magical Creatures class well enough, and quite liked the curriculum this year, so that's why I'd like to do that, if it's okay with you and dad.
Also, I wanted to ask you if it would be okay for Scorpius to visit me and me to visit him a few times over the summer. Albus and James have already invited him to the annual Weasley-Potter Quidditch tournament, so I'd like to see him more than just when the boys and Lily and Roxanne are all yelling and sweaty on their brooms.
Thank you for the support you've given me this school year, mum. I really truly appreciate it, and all of the candy and things you sent along with your letters. I do hope next year isn't as stressful as this year was, because I definitely feel like I could sleep for a thousand years right now after a week straight of exams.
I'm looking forward to getting to spend more time with you and dad. See you in a few days!
Love,
Rose