Dear Dennis,
He's here! At Hogwarts! Just as we had expected! Harry Potter! He's only in the year above me, and I've got tons of photos of him to show you when I get home again! It's only the second day and I think my film may be half full already… I'm probably going to have to find a way to get another one soon… I don't think Mum will be too happy if I spent all the money she gave me on film for my camera, would she?
I kind of expected Harry Potter to be bigger and smarter and all that, from everything they had written about him in all those books, but I think this makes it even cooler! He isn't much taller than I am! That means that we can also become good at magic, right? Just as good as he is, if we work hard enough!
I've taken to following him everywhere when I don't have classes (this is why I haven't written to you until now even though Mum wanted a letter as soon as I got to Hogwarts. Sorry!). I'm trying to see if I can find any tips! I'll share them with you, of course!
Because you have to come to Hogwarts too, even if I have to find a way to pack you in my trunk to get you here if you don't get a letter next year! There are a whole bunch of ghosts! I'm in Gryffindor, so our ghost is Nearly Headless Nick, but he doesn't like being called that! He always sounds rather upset with being "nearly headless" but I think that would be rather cool, instead of being completely headless. I think I'd probably lose my head, really!
Hufflepuff (the yellow and brown badger house from Hogwarts: A History) has the Fat Friar as their ghost. Ravenclaw (the blue and bronze house) has the Grey Lady (she seems sad all the time for some reason). Slytherin (the evil house) has the Bloody Baron. He had blood all over his clothes! I don't know if I even want to know how he became a ghost! He gives me the shivers, Dennis! There's also Peeves, who is a poly-polti-polver- I don't know what it's called, he's like a ghost but he can move things. Peeves always hangs around the corridors throwing stuff at people. I tried to ask him for help when I got lost once. He led me to a fake door then, once I figured it out, he trapped me in a stair! I missed the class and only got out when people began moving around for their next class.
All the Professors are really cool! The Transfiguration Professor turned into a cat during our first class! She told us that we weren't going to be doing anything like that for several years though… It was really disappointing. The Charms Professor has to stand on a tower of books to see over his table because he's so short! I would like to see what happens if the stack of books starts to sway! I don't know if he has a charm to keep the books up, but it didn't look like it. I wonder why they don't just get him a higher chair? But that may just be a magic thing, I don't know. Some of the Second Years say that he toppled over last year when Harry Potter was in his class!
Oh! Harry Potter and one of his friends flew a car to Hogwarts! How cool is that? I never thought that a car would be able to fly! Can you imagine knowing enough about magic to make one for Mum and Dad to fly around in? If Dad weren't scared of heights… or if I weren't… maybe not a flying car then…
Stop laughing! I can hear you laughing at me already! I'm glaring at you right now! Don't think I'm not! Hmph. I'll get back at you when I get home and turn you into a fly! Or make Rudy come to life and chase you around the house!
- Colin