Not a lot of dialogue in this chapter, folks. I'm mainly trying to set up relationships for the future and fleshing out characters from what JKR left me with.
Bolded parts are from the book.

The next morning, they followed Percy down to the Great Hall like obedient little ducklings, Ellie and Ron letting out quacks occasionally, to the great delight of the Twins.

There was a barrage of owls over breakfast and Ellie looked at them in awe as they circled the tables, trying to find their owners. Forgotten books and other utensils, a lumpy package that turned out to be a fur-lined cloak and even a pair of shoes were delivered, and that was just for her table.

She shared a glance with Hermione, both poking Ron when he started eating too fast, almost emptying the plate of eggs onto his own. He grumbled at them, but even Neville pointed out that he was the only one eating like he'd been starved.

Biting into her own toast, she made a mental note to write to her parents during lunch, and nodded at Professor McGonagall when she handed her schedule over.

They nearly fell asleep during Astronomy, but Neville had fun pointing out every single constellation he recognized, and even Hermione had looked intrigued.

"How do you know about all of that, mate?" Ron had asked him between yawns, on their way back to their common room. He was clutching Hermione's wrist in one of his hands, the brunette nearly falling over in exhaustion while Neville was almost carrying Ellie.

"Some of my plants can only be taken care of at night, and I like passing time by stargazing."

"Please be my partner for this and Herbology. I'll teach you how to fly!"

History of Magic turns out to be another snoozer, Ellie catching even Hermione nodding off. The class is taught by the ghost of the old professor, and only theorizing about his existence keeps Ellie awake. Maybe the magic-infused into their souls maintains them in that form, skipping over the whole Reincarnation Cycle and even hollowification. Or did they do something to their body before death? But according to the rumours, Binns had fallen asleep one day and continued on as a ghost. Or maybe Magic made things different for her users?

Professor Flitwick topples out of sight when he reaches her name during roll call. Ellie scowls at the stack of books he was standing on, only stopping when he clambered back up, Ron elbowing her to stop. She was getting tired of all the awe and 'admiration' that followed her. People were lining up next to her classes and accosting her in the hallway with random excuses that seemed to grow more ridiculous with every passing hour. And if she wanted to ask someone a question? Wait a couple of minutes for them to get their spluttering under control. She could feel her scowl become permanent, making her a colour- and gender-changed copy of her dad, according to Hermione.

Her Head of House turns her desk into a pig and back again as a demonstration in the first five minutes of class, and Ellie is hooked. She pouts when they are given matches to turn into needles, the whole class grumbling at that, but still jumps in head first, concentration unwavering. By the end of the lesson, Hermione's match is pointy and silver while hers became a wooden needle with a slight silvery tinge, both earning smiles from the Professor.

On the way out, Ellie tells Hermione she'll owl her Oyaji for more books on the subject, and promises to translate them if they end up being in Japanese.

Defence Against the Dark Arts is...nearly a joke. Both the classroom and the teacher smell like they have been dunked into garlic multiple times in a row. He's a stuttering mess that makes taking notes almost impossible, and the headaches she gets make even existing painful. Thankfully, Neville offers to share his notes with her, miraculously managing to make sense of the gibberish Quirell stuttered out.

There's an air of dread hanging over them on Friday morning. Ron is pushing his oatmeal around in his plate, Hermione is staring at her glass of pumpkin juice listlessly, Neville is skipping eating altogether. Even Parvati and Lavender were quiet. They had double Potions with the Slytherins on Fridays.

Ellie nibbled on her toast, glancing down at her feet, her textbook almost falling out of the overstuffed book bag. There was a neon folder peeking out from under it, which made her wince. She loved Potions. She had every single ingredient and potion explained in that folder, with side-notes from her Oyaji and illustrations from her mum, that were spelled to move when she ran her wand over them. But she got the feeling the Professor wasn't exactly fond of her, and from the stories she'd heard about the rivalry between him and her father...she just hoped he wouldn't destroy her love of the subject.

Ron stuck by her side as they make their way into the classroom. Neville was shivering in front of them, inching towards Hermione every time he glanced at the glass jars lining the walls.

The Professor turned out to have a flair for the dramatics that would have left Uncle Shinji foaming at the mouth. His robes billowing behind him with every step, Snape sneered at the class in front of him, making the Gryffindors squirm around even more. His voice was barely above a whisper as he read the roll call, so heavily riddled with distaste that Ellie started wondering how long it'd take him to curse the lot of them.

"Ah, yes," he said softly, "Hazel Potter. Our new – celebrity."

There were barely hidden sniggers from the back of the class, from Malfoy and his goons. Ron grabbed her hand under the table, shooting her a reassuring look when Snape was looking down at the parchment in his hands.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," Snape told them when he was finished with the roll call, staring down at them from his desk. The whole class was silent, and Ellie could hear the ticking of Dean's watch, even with a couple of desks between them. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Ellie couldn't help but blink at that. Yes, Potions could do that, but to teach them to children? Her Oyaji barely let another adult in his lab when he was working with something like that, let alone children. And no wand-waving? Some potions where better suited to be stirred with magic, any component with human origin destroying their balance. This was why she had been fitted with her wand early.

"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"A sleeping potion, sir. Specifically the Draught of Living Death." His nostrils flared, in a sign of irritation, and he stalked forward until he was standing in front of their desk.

"Let's see if this had been a one-off. Where would you look if I told you to find me a fresh bezoar?"

"The stomach of a goat, sir."

"Oh, look, she does know something. One more thing, Potter. What's the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"Nothing, sir. They are also known as aconite." It was her mums favourite flower. They had thought her early on to not touch the pretty purple flowers, and sat her down much later, explaining what their effects were.

Snape sneered at her, and only Ron's hand stopped her from scowling back at him. He gave her a searching look, then whirled around, stalking back to the front of the class.

"Well? Why aren't you writing that down?"

Dear parental units and Fred,

School's going as expected. Charms got better after a while, and I think Professor Flitwick is going to become one of my favourite teachers.

Potions was a bust. Seamus, he's the one who tried to turn his water into rum, managed somehow to make his cauldron explode, and the Professor told me I should have watched him more closely. Even when he as nowhere near me. I hope things will get better, but… it's not exactly possible. Other than this, classes are fine. My head still hurts during DADA, but Neville is a godsend.

Susan sneaked me into the Hufflepuff common room the other day. They have so many beanbags! I finally met the friend she sat with on the train, the one with the pigtails. Her name is Hannah Abbott and she is very nice. We made plans to meet up later in the week in the library.

My friendships with Ron, Neville and Hermione are still going strong. I like playing chess with Ron, Neville is amazing when explaining plants and stars and he's just a blast to be around, and I decided to help Hermione socialize. Because of her past, she doesn't really know how to act when people talk to her in a friendly manner. Even Lavender and Parvati had started helping me! We started doing girls-night every other night. Lavender even taught us a spell that braids our hair for us last night. Hermione's somehow ended up looking like a flamingo at first, but we still had fun and managed it by the end of the night.

That reminds me, I had a surprising talk with Parvati. She caught me reading a book about gods, and turns out, her family also chooses patron deities. We decided to look through them together, and she'll be inviting her twin along too. Her name is Padma and hopefully, I'll get to befriend a Ravenclaw too this way. I really hope she chooses Freyja. Her eyes are so pretty, like the woods in a misty evening, and her smile is warm like the bonfires we usually have on Samhain. I hope I can talk Hagrid into lighting one here too. Maybe bring all of my friends and have a celebration. Any suggestion on what else we could do?

I have to go. I promised Hagrid we'll visit him for tea today. I can't wait to finally meet Fang!

I miss you more than anything and love you more than the stars. Give everyone hugs and tell Uncle Remus he was right about the books in the Library.

Your loving daughter, Ellie.