Quidditch Pitch: It fell.
…
Dear Hermione,
I hope the owl's okay! Is the weather really bad where you are? It's not great here, but no thunderstorms!
Yes, Cedric was in Hufflepuff. My potions partner, Thomas (a Hufflepuff), had a massive crush on him during the tournament, so I heard a lot about him , By the sound of it, every student in his house liked him! Did I ask you about Krum as well? I can't remember if I did. What was the Yule Ball like? I was too young to go.
As for boys coming into the girls' dorms, I am simultaneously hoping that it will and won't happen. There is a girl in my dorm, Jennifer, who is often in a boy's dorm, so I bet she knows if we have the 'sliding stairs' protection. I'll ask her when we get back to school in September. Are you looking forward to it, or dreading it? Most people I have talked to so far seemed to laugh at the idea of wanting to go back to school, and while I don't want to go back exactly, I don't think of it as a sad thing.
I don't know who Parkinson is, but I do agree that the houses should be friendlier. Gryffindor and Slytherin particularly don't like each other, although I am not exactly sure why not. I think if Gryffindor decided to be nicer to Slytherin students then the other houses would follow. If the Slytherin house didn't have such a reputation for being 'evil' or 'bad' than Slytherins would be nicer, and just as friendly as the other houses. What's wrong with being ambitious after all?
I think being a teacher at Hogwarts wouldn't be my ideal job, but I can see how it might appeal to a lot of people. Librarian, on the other hand, I completely understand! It would be nice, and relaxing, and being surrounded by books is very calming. I personally am only a fan of fiction, but I have come to appreciate the smell and subconscious effect from books, from my Common Room, the library, and my own home. I'm sure Harry will be a wonderful auror, and I think is seems entirely possible that Ron will join him, don't you think? They are good friends and it is probably easier to work with someone you know, as an auror. I'm still thinking about what I want to do. I could help with the Quibbler. Or be a magizoologist.
Thestrals are sort of black, bony horses, with white eyes and big leathery wings. Some people find them creepy, but I think of them as a cross between dragons and horses, both of which are beautiful creatures. I go down to the forest and feed them sometimes. They know me.
Nargles, I can't always see, unlike Thestrals. You have to be wearing these special glasses to be able to see them. They are quite common, but ringing in your ears is only caused by having a lot of them around you, which isn't that common. Most ringing is nothing to do with Nargles. I don't know about the muggle methods, but if you get your ears pierced by a wizard, it isn't painful at all. Given your question, I assume it is painful when done by muggles. How do they do it?
I assume you love Honeydukes then! I am not a massive fan of the place, as my father revealed last year in the magazine that Honeydukes use goblin slaves to make their products and advised people bot to go there. Not many people believed on that one. It was one of his most scorned articles. Daddy's normally very good about letters from angry people, but this one made him rather angry as well. Cavities sound horrific! If piercings are painful, and people get paid for drilling into bones, then I sure am glad not to be a muggle!
I've never met someone with a rat before. Are you allowed to bring rats to Hogwarts? I thought it was toads. I've met Neville's, Trevor. He was quite fond of me, and once ran away from the Gryffindor Common Room and hid in my bag for a whole day! I didn't even know he was there! I felt very guilty when I found out that Neville had been looking for him all day. We found out because Neville had taken my bag, what with it having lots of textbooks in, so I could carry my cauldron (I lost my collapsible one) and when he put my bag down, it was right on the edge of a table! It fell. Of course, Trevor jumped out of the bag, scaring Neville and making him knock everything on the table over!
Sincerely,
Luna Lovegood