Rowan Gaunt was lying in her plush bed in her home, her book hovering above her as she turned the pages with a wave of her wand. She was getting anxious. Her Hogwarts letter had not arrived yet and she was hoping it would come in soon. If she didn't make into Hogwarts all of her hard work would be for nothing; not to mention her mother would put her head on a spike. She had to make perfect grades, had to get every opportunity available, win every trophy, her mother made that painfully clear.
"Honey, you have mail!" Rowans mother yelled excitedly from downstairs. Yes! Her letter had arrived. She raced downstairs, her bright teal ponytail flying behind her. Her mother handed her the antiqued letter with a thin smile. She took the Gaunt family letter opener, which she found woefully unnecessary, to have your crest on anything big enough to hold it, but that was not something she could change. She opened the red wax seal, and took out the yellowed parchment. Her eyes raced across the pace with an excited grin on her impish face.
She began:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall
Dear Ms. Gaunt,
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 September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Hermione Granger
Head of Gryffindor House
Rowan was ecstatic and relieved that she made it into the best wizarding school in the world. If she had not made it she could not imagine her mother's wrath.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
sets of plain work robes (black)
plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupil's 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 an owl OR a cat OR a toad.
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
Rowan skimmed most of the letter, having already bought her materials the week before. She had her wand, 10 and a half inches, elder wood, and a phoenix feather core. She had also already read most of her cursory books and some other ones, like Hogwarts, A History Second Edition by Hermione Granger. She was a huge admirer of Hermione Granger, she had read all of her books and was hoping to be just like her, but as a Ravenclaw (which she thought Hermione should have been.) She could never share these thoughts with her mom though, the Gaunt family was Slytherin through and through. Even her mother, who had abandoned the Gaunt family because of the pure blood supremacy and the poor financial skills of the rest of the family. They had moved to Scotland, because it was her mother's favorite country to visit and they would be able to disappear by taking an ancestral clan name and living on a sheep farm in the highlands. They didn't have a sheep farm, but they did have a fixed up family castle out in the middle of a glistening loch (a lake or sea inlet, for those who don't speak gaelic)
Rowan was excited, it was only a week until she would pass through the brick wall at platform 9 ¾, a fact which had only recently been added to the student guide. She looked around her spacious room, modeled after the Ravenclaw common room (not that her mom would know that, having never been in it and thinking that anyone not Pureblood didn't deserve a magical education). That didn't stop Rowan from hoping that she would be sorted into Ravenclaw. She read constantly, and she knew so much random trivia she suspected her head would burst. Not that she would ever forget it, with her eidetic memory. She sighed, picked up one of the three books she was reading at the moment and settled into bed.