The Letter

A/N: This is a Harry Potter Fanfiction based on Post-Battle of Hogwarts, with fan-made characters that are beginning school at the same time as James Sirius. Also contains some of the proper characters as well. I by no means own Harry Potter (All rights to JK Rowling, and maybe Warner Brothers Studios, I'm not sure) and this is a story just for fun, with no profit, i.e. money, for me.

Penny Holbling was a school girl, who had just completed Year 6 of her Primary school, and was looking forward to attending her secondary school. She was also, however, rather fearful of what the other girls there might think of her. You see, Penny was not ordinary in the slightest; she could make objects do odd things. For example, one time she was simply staring at the TV remote, willing it to jump into her hand to save her the effort of moving. It did. Not only that, but on a separate occasion, Penny refused to solve some incredibly difficult maths equations, and just like that, the sums were wiped from the board with Ms. Applerry bamboozled over how it had happened. Her parents, Remi and Wendy, had received many a letter about every single one of these mishaps. It was an understatement to say they were not happy: "Penny, darling, this is the 4th time this week – why on Earth did the ball burst the second you said you didn't want to play Cricket?" or "Listen P, I am afraid that as your father, I simply refuse to have you causing food fights in the lunch hall."

Penny found it all rather hilarious really. She didn't mean to create the accidents, it sort of just happened. She could find no explanation, but the blonde girl did not put any of it under the suspicion of coincidence.

"Penny, dinner!" Wendy called from the kitchen. The girl in question bounded down the cream carpeted stairs and rushed to retrieve her meal. Hungrily, Penny shovelled the food into her mouth, almost forgetting to chew. "Maybe slow down chewing a little bit. Last time I checked you were a human, not a bear." Remi commented. Shrugging, Penny swallowed the last piece of chicken, leaving an empty plate. Hurriedly, Penny placed the dish in the sink and began to race back upstairs. "Darling?" Wendy yelled after her, "Can you be a dear and get the mail?" It was true that at that moment, the said letters came through the door. Begrudgingly, Penny picked them up and brought them into the kitchen where her mother stood. "Now can I go back to my room? I'm having a chat with Hayley." Penny was distraught that her best friend and her were going to separate schools. She wanted to spend as much time as possible with her before the next term started. Sure, it was still only the beginning of the summer, but what with spending time with the family and whatnot, six weeks wasn't really a lot of time. "Honestly dear, it's not as if you're not going to see each other ever again. She lives down the road!" Wendy exclaimed. Penny rolled her eyes and stalked out of the kitchen. Just as she was about to reach her room, there were some small knocks on the door. "Penny! Can you -" Wendy was about to ask her daughter to open the door, but thought better of it; her frustration could be quite legendary, and Wendy didn't feel like having to deal with fruit blowing up all over the walls. Quickly, she opened the door to see a large giant of a man peering down at her. His beard was a mess of greying tangles, and the only visible features of his face were small beetle black eyes. "I'm 'ere for Penny Holblin'" Rubeus Hagrid informed Wendy. "'S 'bout 'er school."

"P…Penny. Can you, er, come down a minute?" Wendy trembled in fear at the sight of the overlarge figure. Sighing dramatically, Penny threw herself down the stairs. At the sight of Hagrid, who had invited himself in and was now sitting on the sofa, her demeanour changed immediately. She made a high-pitched squeal and cowered behind her mother and father in the doorway. Remi had a look of utmost distress on his face, and Wendy was shaking, grasping her husband's arm. Hagrid looked up. "Ah, Penny. Nice teh see yeh," he said, "I'm 'ere teh talk teh yeh 'bout a place yehr've bin given at a school fer people like yeh." Almost immediately, Penny gained a lot of confidence at that sentence. "What do you mean, my kind?" she asked. Chuckling, Hagrid patted the little space next to him, as a gesture to take a seat beside him. "Yeh see Penny, yeh're a witch, and a good 'un too," he explained. Penny started laughing. "I'm sorry? What?" she sounded as if she thought it was a practical joke. One look at her parents' faces told her it wasn't. Hagrid smiled. "Ever 'eard of Harry Potter?" he asked. "Well of course. Ms Rowling isn't well known for nothing. But they're fiction, not reality." Penny was outraged that he thought Harry Potter was real. Had this giant escaped from the asylum?

"Yeah well, after Rita Skeeter was found out to be an unregistered animagus, yeh'll learn 'bout it at Hogwarts, the school yeh're goin' to, she was banished teh the muggle world – non-magic folk I mean. Teh get revenge, she wrote all about the wizardin' world as a muggle. 'Course, yeh all thought it was fiction, so the plan didn' really work." Hagrid smiled at Penny. She grinned. "I knew all of those weird things that happened weren't just coincidences! I'm a witch. I'm a witch… Oh my God, I'm a witch." Hagrid pulled a letter out of one of his coat pockets. "This is fer you," he said, presenting it with a flourish. Still gobsmacked, her parents slowly moved forwards towards their daughter. "That's… that's what the letter looked like. In the books. You're so lucky." Wendy whispered.

Miss P. Holbling

The Living Room

71 Red Street

Kent

Slowly, Penny turned over the letter, hands shaking with excitement. A seal on the back showed a crest with four animals surrounding an H. Not wanting to ruin it, Penny was as careful as she could be when opening it. Two slips of parchment sat inside, both rather heavy.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall

Dear Ms. Holbling,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

M. McGonagall

Penny looked at her school list, excited at the prospect of wizarding equipment.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags.

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)

by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic

by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory

by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration

by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi

by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions

by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection

by Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARSARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK

"This is great and all, but where am I supposed to get these?" Penny asked. Unexpectedly, it was Wendy who answered. "Diagon Alley." After receiving lots of confused looks, she mumbled something along the lines of "Read them a lot as a child." Penny turned to Hagrid. "And when exactly will I be going to Diagon Alley?" Hagrid nodded understandably. "Excited, are yeh? I'll pick yeh back up tomorro', and then we can spend most o' the day there. See yeh tomorrow then." With those as his parting words, Hagrid got up and let himself out of the house with a wave. Remi and Wendy turned towards her. "You're going to Hogwarts! Oh, you will have so much fun. We'll come with you tomorrow if you want?" Wendy only really wanted to go to look at the wizarding wares. "Thanks mum, but I'd prefer that this time round I only go with Hagrid, to avoid any confusion. I can't believe it… I'm actually a witch!"