Harry was glad that he'd gotten sort into Hufflepuff. The atmosphere of the Common Room lent itself to inspiring his creative juices like nothing else in the world. He'd had several ideas for planters and decorative wall hangings within seconds. The attitudes of the inhabitants were warm and caring, while still curious about their newest 'celebrity,' they weren't as annoyingly invading as some of the others in the school were.

'Especially those Gryffindors…Sheesh! That Weasley kid is the worst by far. At least his twin older brothers are a right laugh and know something about giving others their space.'

The youngest Weasley had tried on multiple occasions to get Harry to 'ditch the duffers' and come and hang out with him and the other brave Gryffindors. Harry could only roll his eyes and snort in derision at the painfully obvious and tactless methods the twit would go to in trying to prove that Harry had been missorted. Twice within the short span of a week, the idiot's nose had come real close to being introduced to Harry's fist. Fortunately for him, his twin older brothers would step in and drag the loudmouth away.

Speaking of the twins, Harry found them to be hilarious and engaging. They had so many funny stories to tell and even pulled a few pranks on him. Harry would just laugh and shrug it off as their way of welcoming him into the magical world. Two days after their arrival to the school, Harry entered the Great Hall sporting a head of hair that was spiked up and a blinding shade of green. When questioned, he would smirk and shrug, saying that it was all in good fun and as long as it didn't interfere with his school work he didn't mind it. This caused a few surprised looks and wagging tongues but Harry paid it no mind.

There was only one time that the Twins got dangerously close to interfering with Harry's education that required a bit of intervention on his part. He didn't go squealing to a teacher but quietly spoke with the castle elves and enlisted their aid in ambushing the pranksters. Harry had the elves transport the two out to the middle of the Black Lake whilst still sleeping and left them floating on a raft and covered with a thin blanket. Their wands had been taken from them but Harry did leave a note stating the reasons for the retaliation and what they could do to never have this happen again.

Diary of Hermione Jean Granger…

1 September 1991

Dear Diary,

It's finally happened! After all those years of wondering and hoping, it's been confirmed! I'm a WITCH! It was an amazing thing when Professor McGonagall came by our house to give my parents and I the news. It's even more amazing to see and be IN the castle now. I can't wait to get started with all of my classes, they look SO interesting.

Speaking of interesting, I met a boy at King's Cross Station today on the magical side. It was none other than Harry Potter himself! The so-called 'Boy-Who-Lived' and he's even cuter than what the pictures suggest he is. (I can't believe I just wrote that.) He was very polite and helped me get my trunk onto the carriage then accepted my invitation to join me in the compartment. He seems like any other ordinary boy, it does make me wonder if the books were correct in their description of him.

It surprised me to get into Hufflepuff; I could've sworn I was going to get into Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. I think that it was that comforting hug that Harry gave me when we were waiting in that side room before the Sorting. It was nice and I hated to have it end so quickly. Harry, Neville (another boy I met on the train who was looking for a lost pet) and I had a nice conversation where Harry said he was going to try to get into Hufflepuff simply because, in his opinion, was the House of the Artists and as a Potter, where else could he go?

He also mentioned that it was the House where people could excel in their chosen field while still enjoy being part of a group and make lots of friends. That's what I've always wanted… Friends that didn't just exist in my mind or in the pages of a book…

Well, it's time for bed. I got a lot of work ahead of me.

4 September 1991

Dear Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Dudley;

Greetings from Hogwarts! I know I've should've written sooner but there's just so much to do and learn and not enough time to get it all done. Learning how to perform magic certainly is a lot tougher than just waving a stick around and saying silly words. There's the proper pronunciation, the proper wand movement and making sure that your intent is focused on what you want to have happen. Who knew that magic school could be just like regular school?

So you'll know, I got sorted into Hufflepuff House. That's the House for the people who enjoy working together in a group; those who have the smarts, the bravery and the cunning to get things done but not show off at it like the other three Houses. It's also the House for those who put family, friendship and caring as the most important aspect in their lives. Most importantly, in my opinion, it's the House of the Artists!

I love it here. The classes are interesting even if a couple of teachers shouldn't be here for one reason or another. For example, my History teacher is a ghost! I know, who wouldn't love to be taught by a ghost who probably lived when the events were taking place but this one merely drones on and on without pausing. His lectures put everyone to sleep; I try to stay awake but so far I've not been having luck. Don't worry; all the learning I miss during 'nap time' can be accomplished by just reading the book and answering the questions at the end of each chapter.

I haven't gotten around to seeing if I could set up something to make my pottery but I've got a meeting with my Head of House this weekend. I'm hopeful she'll let me put up a small shed somewhere.

Dudley, you'd love the grounds here. There's an area set up for the Care of Magical Creatures class and there's always some sort of interesting animal in the paddocks. Just last week, I finally got to see a unicorn! You have no idea how beautiful it was, it was amazing! I wish I had a camera so I could've taken a picture to share with you.

Uncle Vernon, you'd love the food around here. Everything is served in huge portions and tastes amazing! The Welcoming Feast was just heaven, all sorts of different meat dishes, vegetables, soups, breads, you name it.

Aunt Petunia, I think you'd enjoy the greenhouses here. There are so many different levels of skill needed to grow normal things like flowers, herbs and vegetables. Then there are the magical varieties that have their own special requirements. Did you know there are several plants that will actually try to attack you if you get too close? I can think of several locations in the backyard that would be perfect for a couple of them to keep out our nosy neighbors.

Anyways, I got to get back to studying. I have a test coming up for my Charms class. (Despite the name, the charms we're learning are not the 'social' kind. Haha.)

Love,

Harry

Behind Greenhouse One…

It was about a week into the first term when Harry had approached his Head of House, Pomona Sprout about getting permission to set up a small pottery shed to work on his ceramics and pottery projects. She was curious about the concept and so gave tentative permission as long as it wasn't going to interfere with his studies or cause undue commotion to the school itself. What started as a simple, hand-drawn sketch of a simple shed 'out back,' grew to a size and complexity that surprised even Harry, himself.

With the help of the castle's complement of house-elves and various students with the staff supervising, Harry constructed an earthen, flowing wall, two-room structure located behind the greenhouse that butted up against the castle walls. The structure was shaped like a two lobed oval if viewed from above before the roof was put on. It featured strawbale construction with a hand applied clay slip then a sky blue color tinted plaster final coating. Anyone that was interested (and that was nearly everyone) was more than welcome to come sculpt some sort of image onto the walls using more clay. As a result, there were images of flowers, animals (both mundane and magical), rune arrays and other magical symbols scattered across the surfaces. A split wooden door was installed on the North wall. Next a layer of colorful natural paint was applied to the interior walls. Harry chose a nice, rich sea green with metallic flake that scintillated as it caught the afternoon light for the walls with a sunset gold for the trim. The ceiling was painted a deep, almost evening blue. An ambitious third year Slytherin even took to hand-painting gold stars in their constellations on the ceiling.

The roof was shaped to look like a large leaf and was constructed using tree branches covered by a woven underlayer while the top of the roof was built to house a low maintenance array of grasses, moss and wildflowers. There were two large floor to ceiling windows that faced towards both East and West to let in the morning and afternoon light. A skylight was built into the roof that had a glass bottle mosaic pattern that allowed a rainbow of scintillating light as the sun rose into the sky. Once that was done, he began finishing out the interior with shelves (both sculpted into the walls and wooden planks on a rack), a couple of cabinets and a drying rack. They also installed a wooden floor and added a couple of thick rugs in all four House colors.

For heat, Harry introduced the novel concept of the 'dragon' mass heater. He described it as being an offshoot design of the pottery kiln he'd be installing after the shed was finished. The name came from the roaring sound as the air rushed in to feed the combustion process. This featured a batch type burn chamber with adjustable air intake covers, a riser and flue gate. The flue gate allowed the operator to send the exhaust gas straight to an outside vent when starting the burn or to a vault-style mass bench covered with cushions located along one side of the studio. There was a secondary exhaust vent that exited the bench as well.

Using his personal magic, Harry accelerated the drying process of everything that had clay within it so it only took a couple of days to actually build the studio. For a structure this large, it did take a lot out of him. After the first wave of dizziness, Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse, stepped in and practically demanded that he rest for a couple of hours while sipping on something sugary. It embarrassed him to be lounging around in the shade while the others that were helping were hard at work.

Professor Sprout had vetoed the idea of installing some kind of nighttime lighting since it was expected of anyone who used the studio to be either in their common rooms or in bed by the time curfew was called.

Last but not least of projects that needed to be accomplished was the construction and installation of the pottery kiln. In keeping with the lack of electricity at the castle, Harry copied the kiln he'd had back at the Dursley's. The only changes he made were the inclusion of more shelves for holding tools and a stone paver patio around the kiln with a path that led back to the studio. At the last minute, someone had the bright idea to install a bench so everyone could sit and relax outside on the days that had better weather

By the end of the weekend, the newly finished studio was dubbed, 'Potter's Place.' By the next weekend, there was even a hand carved wooden sign hanging from the lintel.

Harry populated the walls and display shelves with selections from his own personal collection. In the first lobed room, which had the split door and was considered the 'meeting room,' he put up a couple of ceramic wall hangings he'd made in an Aztec-style with bold lines and zigzag patterns. There were a couple of masks that were reminiscent of something you'd find in a tiki bar somewhere and a number of beautifully made, waist-high vases and columns for potted plants. The main studio room was left blank, as it was mutually decided that the decorations would just get in the way. One of the elves was even kind enough to bring in a comfy padded chair from who knew where and a foldaway desk for him to rest at and draw up his sketches for new ideas.

It was at that desk that found Harry on a brisk Saturday morning quietly sketching out an idea for some ceramic jewelry pieces when he heard the light tapping of someone knocking on the door. He pushed the desk aside and rose from the chair before crossing the short distance and opening the top half of the split door. To his happiness, he saw that his visitor was none other than his newest friend and fellow Puff, Hermione Granger. Her bushy hair fluttering in the light morning breeze while her slightly oversized front teeth nibbled cutely on her lower lip.

"Good morning, Hermione. What brings you by my humble abode?"

Hermione giggled at his greeting before shrugging, "I just wanted to see what you were up to, Harry."

He opened up the bottom half of the door and motioned for her to enter before returning to his chair and watching her as she moved about the small studio, examining the stored artwork. She peeked into a box and found a stack of ceramic leaves, all shaped and painted to look like he'd gone into the forest and collected the fallen ones from the ground. There was another box that held little figurines of various creatures that she suspected could be found in their Fantastic Beasts textbook.

"See anything you like?"

"If I said 'all of it,' would that be too cheesy?"

Harry laughed and shook his head, "Nah, I'd agree with you. Let me know if there's something you'd like to keep." Hermione silently nodded as she continued. It was a moment later when she inquired about the box full of broken pottery stuffed in the corner.

"That's my junk box. I'm going to try and salvage the pieces to make a mosaic eventually."

"Neat. What designs are you working on there?" She pointed to his sketches on the desk.

"I'm trying to create some ceramic pendants and bracelets. Haven't quite decided what my end goal is going to be. Do I want something that can be imbued with magic and therefore have an effect on the person that wears it or do I just want to make something that's pretty?"

"Hmmm…I would go for something that's just pretty. That way if it gets lost or sold in the non-magical world, you don't have to run the risk of violating the Statute of Secrecy."

Harry cocked his finger at her in agreement, "Good idea."

"So how are you enjoying your classes, Harry?"

Harry waggled his hand, "Some are fun, and some aren't. History of Magic for one is dead boring with the emphasis on dead. I swear that having a ghost teach sounds like a fun idea at first but the way he drones on; it's enough to knock out an insomniac!"

Hermione giggled at that.

"I think the next one that I have the biggest complaint about would be Potions. Professor Snape doesn't seem like the type that should be teaching the younger years on how to do anything really. If I were running this school, I'd restrict him to teaching only the fifth years and higher. I'm really glad that I got sorted to Hufflepuff as I've heard from Neville and the Weasley twins about some of the horror stories on how he treats the Gryffindors."

"Harry, you know that the twins embellish everything," Hermione gently admonished.

Harry bobbled his head and fluttered his hands, "Yeah, that's true about most things but I can still glean some truths out of what they say. So what about you? Which are your favorites and hated classes?"

Hermione hemmed and hawed, "I'm hesitant to admit that History is bumming me out but as long as I apply myself, I shouldn't have any problems. I spoke with our fifth year female prefect, Maisie and she recommended wearing earplugs for Professor Binns' class."

Harry nodded appreciatively at that.

"I'm also having a problem with our Defense professor. His stutter and that stench from his turban is really making it difficult to learn properly. I totally LOVE Transfiguration! It's a tough class but I've already figured out that it's their form of magical engineering. Charms are fun and I liken it to a magical form of physics class. Professor Flitwick is so likeable and you can tell he really enjoys imparting the information to his students. I agree with you that Professor Snape shouldn't be teaching the younger year levels. He's very strict and doesn't tell you how to do anything properly yet when you make a mistake, he has no problem yelling at you and sneering about it."

Harry agreed with her assessment, "Are you looking forward to our flying class?" She emphatically shook her head negatively.

"No, I'm terrified of heights. I would prefer to get an exemption to not take it but apparently they don't do that here."

Harry patted her on the arm, "Just stay with me, my dear and I shall endeavor to assist you in flying like the eagles."

She could only giggle in amusement at his words.

"Hermione? May I ask you a personal question?" She nodded and looked expectantly at him.

"From what I've noticed of your study habits and your memory, I would've figured that you'd get into Ravenclaw. Why'd you want to get sorted into Hufflepuff?"

Hermione's blush was of epic proportions and made Harry regret his question. She squeaked out that it was because of him that she pushed for it before getting wide-eyed at her confession and bolting out the door.

Professors Sprout and Filius Flitwick, the Charms professor, stopped by later in the day only to find the door locked and the shades drawn inside the studio. They even checked around back where the kiln was but no such luck was had.

"Oh, darn. He's not here. I wonder where he went to?" grumbled Filius as they contemplated whether or not to leave.

A moment later, Harry returned carrying a bucket of water and a shovel. He was surprised to see his two favorite professors waiting in front of his studio and approached apprehensively.

"Umm…professors? Is there something wrong?"

Both adults turned and their relaxed states eased Harry's worries a bit.

"Ah, Mr. Potter! No there's nothing wrong. We just came by to see the studio in action but you weren't here. What are you going to be doing with those?" Filius explained before pointing at the implements in Harry's hands.

"I was going to go down to the lake and try to find some decent quality clays. It's so much better if I can get it directly from the source rather than buying it from a store. Would you like to join me?"

Pomona and Filius glanced at each other and shrugged before gesturing for Harry to lead the way.

As the trio walked down to the lake's edge, Harry kept up a running commentary as to the reasons for his decision to get river or lake clay versus getting it from a store. He also talked about the inspirations he got from various things, people and locations around the school that went into each pottery or ceramic project.

"I'd love to examine the various plants and their leaves closer the next time I'm in the greenhouse, professor. I like to embed their patterns into the clay faces of my artwork. I've been starting working with a reduction process called 'raku' that allows me to burn their images directly onto the surface when the piece is immediately pulled from the kiln or firepit."

Pomona inquired about his long-term goals for the studio and what he hoped he'd be able to accomplish while there at the school. She also asked about how his other classes were doing and what he liked or didn't like about the subjects, teachers or students.

Harry was understandably hesitant to speak negatively about the staff but eventually opened up about his experiences so far, even though the term had just barely started.

"I had really high hopes for the Potions class but the professor doesn't seem to want to be there. He'll sneer at the class in general and me in particular for what reason no one seems to understand. His instructions on how to brew a potion consist of 'Your instructions are on the board, get to it.' There's nothing on proper equipment handling or laboratory safety; nothing on proper ingredient preparation and nothing on what to do if you make a mistake."

While he was explaining this, both professors glanced knowingly at each other. They knew that Professor Severus Snape was a difficult man to be around, let alone work with.

"There are a couple of other classes that don't…well, they're not the easiest environment to learn in."

"Which ones?" Professor Sprout asked.

"Defense and History. Professor Quirrel constantly stutters and has that god-awful stench coming from that turban while Professor Binns puts everyone to sleep with his droning lectures."

Both professors nodded sagely, "Just try to do your best, Mr. Potter. I'm afraid there's nothing either of us can do about it. There weren't very many qualified applicants for the Defense position and Professor Binns has been here for a long time." Harry dipped his head in understanding before changing the subject.

"Professor Flitwick? I was wondering if there were any charms that could be used to animate the decorations that I paint on my pottery?"

Filius smiled broadly, "There are indeed many charms to do that and I would be happy to show them to you, if you'd like?" Harry's beaming smile answered that question.

"Great! I'd love to get some of my masks to talk to people as they walk by or animate some of the scenes painted on the jars, pots and whatnot."