A/N: This chapter has been beta read. Thank you, Pashow and Super MKatR.

Chapter 1 – Owl Post

Harry Potter was just serving himself from a glass of pumpkin juice that Saturday, when the morning post arrived. Hundreds of owls swooped into the Great Hall in a routine display, which Harry was just starting to get used to. He had been in Hogwarts for nearly five weeks and let's say that he was feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything.

Harry was not in his best mood. The past week had been particularly tough. He did not do very well in the majority of his classes and the constant harassment from Draco Malfoy and Snape was growing tiresome. Unlike where he grew up in, Harry was not invisible here. On the contrary, Harry found himself under the expectant observation of many of his peers and professors alike.

He truly was not in his best mood.

Hedwig landed in front of him as usual and stretched her leg so that Harry would untie the letter from it. He freed his owl and gave the letter to Ronald Weasley, who was slightly groggy, without looking at it.

Harry Potter never got letters. Nobody cared enough about him to write. That was why he did not mind letting Hedwig have some fun by delivering Ron's mail.

So, it was with a big surprise that he saw the letter being handed back to him.

'It has your name on it, mate.' Ron said.

A surprised Harry glanced down and stared at the envelope. The words For Harry Potter were inscribed in an unknown handwriting. The parchment felt soft in his hands and the paper smelled of something, which he could only associate with flowers.

'Won't you open it?' Ron asked curiously.

That question awoke something in Harry. Whatever that letter contained, he did not want to share with anyone.

'Later.' Harry replied, feigning disinterest.

Ron shrugged and focused his attention on breakfast.

During that morning's Quidditch practice, Harry struggled to focus on the snitch, because his mind always wandered to the letter he had received. He had not had the time to open it yet. Oliver Wood had almost dragged him from the breakfast table, along with the rest of the Gryffindor team, after they had had their first bites. Oliver viewed Quidditch with an obsessive seriousness, and made the team feel as it was getting ready for a war. Harry was quickly learning that Quidditch was close to one, especially considering the rivalry between the houses.

Later on that day, Harry anxiously entered in his dorm to unwrap the mysterious letter, perhaps the first real letter that he had ever received. His heart burned with anxiety to know who had written to him. The feeling was almost the same he had felt when he had received his first Hogwarts letter, only bigger.

Taking advantage of being alone in the dorm, he opened the envelope and started reading.

Dear Harry,

Well… Hi! I'm sorry, but I don't really know how to begin this letter and I truly hope that I'm not annoying you. Hedwig seems to believe that it's important I write to you. In fact, she showed up at my window this afternoon and flew around pecking me on my head until I sat down to write this letter. She's still watching me this very moment, apparently to ensure that I'm doing my job right.

I reckon I should say who I am. My name's Ginny Molly Weasley, I'm the sister of Ronald Wesley and another five Weasley boys. Perhaps you remember me from the platform 9 ¾.

Hedwig comes here sometimes with Ron's letters and every time I take care of her until she's ready to go back. Your owl's beautiful, Harry! I'm fond of her, I hope this won't bother you.

Anyway, today she surprised me. She didn't bring home anything from Ron. Maybe she just likes the journey (or the treats I always give her).

I know you weren't expecting this letter, and I think you won't even read it, so I actually don't know what to say without seeming silly.

Ron said in his letters that you became friends with him. I'm happy. He didn't say it, but I know he feared he wouldn't fit in at Hogwarts. He wrote to me saying that until recently you didn't know anything about the wizarding world, so I imagine that Hogwarts is all really new to you as well. I hope things are going well for you.

As I said before, I don't know if you'll read this letter, but if for some reason that happens and by chance you want to reply... Well... I'll be happy.

Sincerely,

Ginny Weasley

P.S. Congratulations on the seeker's position. That's absolutely amazing! The twins were so happy about it. You must be really good on a broom.

Harry spent some time staring at the letter and reread it a few times, as he was pleasantly surprised. Ron did not talk much about his sister, but Harry remembered her quite well from the platform. He remembered the girl with long red hair, freckles on the nose and a cute smile.

Why Hedwig went to her was a mystery, but he could not say that he disliked it. Something in Ginny Weasley's letter made him feel happy and he was thrilled, knowing that she cared to write to him without having even met him.

Without thinking any more about it, Harry quickly grabbed a quill and some parchment and started writing.

Rather early in the Sunday morning, Ginny was still in bed, under the blankets protecting her from the cold that started to come out with the summer's end. However, she did not sleep. Ginny faced the flowery wallpaper of her bedroom, while thinking about Harry Potter. She still could not believe that she had had the courage to write him. She had been so nervous that she was sure her handwriting had been quite blurred. She had not corrected anything in her letter, because she knew that if she had stopped to think about it, she would lose the courage to write.

Hedwig's visit had been a great surprise and Ginny had been amused by how smart the bird was. She had not lied in her letter to Harry, the owl had almost forced her to write it. That was a good thing, because Ginny would never have had the courage to write it by herself.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a white owl flew through the window and landed on the bed. When Ginny saw that it was carrying a letter, she jumped so high that she almost toppled the owl from her bed.

'Sorry, girl.' Ginny said, with her heart pounding faster as the owl showed a displeased face.

With the hands shaking, she took out the letter attached to the owl.

It was from him.

Ginny sat in her bed again, incredulous. She had wished for a reply to her letter, but she had never dared to believe that he would actually respond.

Taking a break so her heart could slow down, Ginny slowly opened the letter.

Dear Ginny,

You're right! Indeed, I wasn't expecting your letter, or anyone's in fact, but that doesn't mean that I didn't like to received it. No one cared to write to me a letter before, so I ask you not to get upset if I don't know how to answer you right.

Yes, I remember you from the platform 9 ¾, but actually, I don't know much about you. I'm sorry about that. Perhaps you can help me change that by telling me more about you in future letters. Do we have a deal?

Thank you for taking care of Hedwig. She's the first friend I ever had and she's like family to me now. Believe me, I know how she can be feisty now and then. I hope she didn't annoy you too much.

Hogwarts is amazing! I would never have thought that a place like this could exist. I know you must have grown up listening to thousands of stories about the castle, but to me, everything is really unexpected. I never knew that magic was real until Hagrid told me on my eleventh birthday, and my uncle and my aunt have never liked imagination much. So, yes, everything's new here.

On the first day, Ron and I got lost on our way to Transfiguration class, because the stairs moved. To be honest, it took almost a week to learn how to go to the right places without getting lost. A few weeks ago, we found a giant dog with three heads hidden in the third floor corridor. (Please, don't tell anyone that we know this, because that corridor is kind of forbidden).

However, not everything is that great. Some people here are real morons (like Draco Malfoy from Slytherin) and the Potions teacher seems to absolutely hate me. This week he took so many points from Gryffindor, because of me, that I'm starting to feel ashamed.

You know, sometimes I'm scared I'll turn out to be a complete and utter failure and that at any minute someone will send me on that train back home to my horrible uncle and aunt. I hope that will never happen.

Thanks for writing, Ginny. I reckon Hedwig guessed that I needed somebody to speak. (Besides Ron, of course. Ron's a great mate.)

Sincerely,

Harry Potter

P.S. Quidditch is fantastic! Flying is the best thing I ever done. The team's awesome, even if Oliver Wood, the captain, is a little nuts. Your brothers are very nice to me and welcomed me pretty well. I hope I can do this well.

"Blimey!" Ginny thought. That was not just a letter politely sent to answer someone. That was a genuine letter sent from someone who seemed to befriend her, except that someone was Harry Potter.

The letter was nothing like she would have expected and it gave her a lot to think about.

Could it be true that Harry had never receive a letter before? From what he said in the letter, it seemed as if he had never had many friends and that he was somewhat lonely. Ginny had never imagined that Harry Potter would be afraid of not being a good enough wizard to be at Hogwarts, let alone that he would someday tell her something like that.

Suddenly, all of Ginny Weasley's illusions about the boy-who-lived started falling apart before her eyes. Harry Potter was not a hero. He was a real person, with real problems and real feelings. He was a normal boy like any of her brothers. The difference was that he did not have a family or many friends to take care of him.

If that had not been so, he probably would not have even cared to reply to her letter and say the things he said. Right?

He also said he wanted to know more about her, didn't he?

'Whoa! This was so unexpected.'

A/N: Hello! How are you doing?

Here's the first chapter of my newest project, an authorized translation of the great story Correio Coruja by Karol Wheezy. You can find the original story in my profile.

We don't own Harry Potter and we're doing this for fun.

The story's classification is M for safety. Karol Wheezy includes alerts in the chapters where things get dangerous and I'll do it too.

I hope you enjoyed and, please, don't forget to follow, favourite and review.

I'll update the next chapter soon.

Inês