LETTER SIX

Mr. Oliver Wood
Puddlemere United
Puddlemere

Dear, dear Oliver,

Thank you very much for the words of kind concern. I am now feeling a little better and I do apologise for being so brief with you in my last letter.

Basically, things are going down hill right now back at home. My dear grandmother passed away a few days ago and I was very close to her as she was always interested in hearing about Hogwarts unlike some of my relatives who don't want a bar of it (jealousy I'm assuming). Anyway, I was very close to my grandmother and her death gave me a bit of a shock. Of course it had to happen the day I had a serious exam and I failed with flying colours. The first exam I have ever failed. But my day gets worse.

I decide to go home for two days to sort of comfort Mum who was very, very distraught and I get there and knock on the door but no one answers. All I can hear is my parents (who I always thought were so happy) arguing and arguing and their yelling got louder and louder until I could actually understand every word they were saying. And guess what, it was about me!

"It is best for Hermione if you visit her once in awhile!"

"Hermione is old enough to look after herself!"

"She spends so much time in that darn wizarding school that I'm surprised she hasn't turned you into a toad!"

"Do not being magic into this, you know very well that she loves that school!"

"Yeah, more than being at home with her family!"

I started crying round about then because the last sentence really hit home hard. I couldn't believe they were saying this stuff- I was standing on the doorway for crying out loud! That's when I started knocking louder and kicking up a great fuss at the door. Finally, Dad noticed I was standing outside, suitcase in hand, with tears flooding down my face. I had done myself up all pretty too because I wanted to look special but the make-up running down my face just made me look even sillier.

They let me inside and announced they were getting a divorce. There was no 'Hello Hermione, we are so happy that you came to visit' and no 'How is school?' or 'We're glad you're here to mourn for Granna'.

So I left and went back to Hogwarts (suitcase in hand). That's where I am now and I'm writing this to get it all off my shoulders.

You have no idea how much your support means to me. I very much appreciate it. Thank you.

But moving onto happier subjects. I don't want to bore your brains out with my pathetic problems!

Thank you for your personal address, I will put a charm on the letter so only I can read it and no one else will ever find out your address!

Your fan-club! How could I forget? Haha, I didn't think about that. I also realised after I sent the owl that next Christmas I, nor Harry or Ron would still be at Hogwarts and if you only came to visit us then there would really be no point would there? Sometimes I can be so... stupid.

But back to the fan club. It is growing in numbers. Word somehow got round that you were Owl-Pal (Professor Thudgepin announced the Owl-Pals in Muggle Studies the other day) and all these younger students keep coming up and asking me to tell you this and that and how much they love you and asking for autographs and signed photos and goodness knows what else! I just told them that I would say hello for them and here it is:

"Hello," from your always growing fan club.

How is Anita? And Puddlemere United? I trust you are fighting fit and smiling as always!

I hope this letter explained my strange behaviour in the last letter.

Thank you again!

Gratefully,

Hermione