2-Sept
2 Sept
Hello Diary!
I’m in Hufflepuff! I’m so glad!!! I was hoping I would be!
Yesterday, we got to Kings Cross Station without much trouble. Finding the entrance to the platform was a bit of a challenge, though. It’s a good thing that Professor Cauldwell warned us that the books and movies had it wrong (intentionally, of course) so that we would go the right way. I always wondered how absolutely NO muggles noticed a bunch of people running through a wall. I mean I get that there are notice me not charms or whatever, but seriously!
There’s actually a door, a regular looking door, in between a few other doors. People go through the door they need, and I think there are still some sort of charms on the door we go through to deter muggles, but I couldn’t guess what they are. We just go through THAT door and then follow the hallway and then there an entrance to the platform that apparently works just like the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron (Mum and Dad said it looked like the platform was under construction and not in use) that we went through.
It’s not quite as exciting as the books, but I bet it is safer!
The train though, that was rather closely depicted! It is a beautiful red steam engine and it actually traveled on part of the tracks they show in the movie, but soon after that, there a place where the train tracks split off. An older student told me that muggle conductors cannot direct trains onto the special tracks. Magic is amazing!
At the beginning of the ride, I’d somehow managed to find a car that was completely empty. I thought for sure someone would join me before the train left, but no one did. Amethyst and I waved at Mum and Dad from the window until we couldn’t see them anymore when the train left the station.
It did not take long after the train left, though, for the older student I mentioned a few moments ago to find me all alone. She told me her name was Jessica Behr. We talked for a few minutes, and that’s when she told me about the train tracks, then she left and told me that she would bring a couple of other first ones to join me. She said that several cabins were overflowing and that she had actually been looking for empty or nearly empty
compartments like mine for that purpose.
It really wasn’t long till she came back. Geoff was with her, he was part of my group at the Magizoo. I was relieved to see a familiar face. He was joined by a girl named Elizabeth, a girl named Georgia, and another boy named Nicholas. All of them were very friendly. Nicholas taught Geoff and I how to play Exploding Snap while Elizabeth and Georgia played a round of Wizards Chess. Now THAT was EXACTLY like the movies! I am afraid I did a bad job playing exploding snap because I kept getting distracted by the chess pieces destroying each other.
The trolley lady is another thing that the books and movies had right, and apparently Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes is real, too! There were some of thier candies on the trolley cart as well as chocolate frogs, Bertie Botts every flavor beans, and several other treats listed in the books! But none of the WWW options were things that were mentioned in the books that I remember. They were still fun. I got myself a few chocolate frogs and a sampler pack of WWW products as well. I only tried one of them and it gave me bunny ears for half an hour! Real bunny ears popped up out of my head! The fur on them was the same color as my hair so it wasn’t too bad. It was kinda funny, too, but I was relieved that they vanished before we got to the school! Geoff and Nicholas had gotten several of the WWW candies too, but they didn’t eat any of them. I suspect they want to prank people later. Elizabeth and Georgia refused to even contemplate getting any and bought cauldron cakes instead.
When we got to Hogsmeade Station (that’s real, too! But it doesn’t look like it does in the movies) we all left the train together, but we swiftly got separated by the really crazy crowd. I’m so glad I only had to take my trunk and set it in the pile on the platform. Amethyst refused to go with the other pets and perched on my shoulder. (Really, she was sitting on my shoulder the entire train ride! The only time she wasn’t was when we were waving at Mum and Dad!)
Just like in the movies and books, Professor Cauldwell was there, calling all first years to join him and follow him to the docks of the Black Lake! I’m somewhat disappointed that Hagrid wasn’t there. I still don’t know if he is real or not, but if he is, I haven’t seen him yet. Of course it has been a long time since Harry Potter defeated Voldemort, if that’s all true. NO ONE wants to tell me! Even Nicholas, who is apparently a pure blood, refused to tell me more than to wait for History of Magic classes! (He was happy to tell us, but he wasn’t prideful about it. He said it like it’s just a simple fact, not like it meant anything.) I swear there must be some sort of secret pact going on to not tell any muggleborns what is and isn’t real in those books!! It is so frustrating!!!
ANYWAAAYYYY.
So we sailed across the lake and let me tell you: the movie did NOT do justice to the castle! Hogwarts is Amazing and beautiful! I don’t know how to describe her, and she’s definitely a she and very much alive, I don’t know how I know, I just do. She greeted all of us. I couldn’t explain that, either, but it was almost like she gave each of us a big hug as she came into view. It made me feel happy, like a warm blanket fresh from the dryer, or one of my Grandmum’s fresh baked cookies just out of the oven when it is just too hot to eat and you know it’ll be perfectly delicious as soon as you take the first bite.
With all the lights on and the clear, starry sky behind her, she looked magical. Like muggle magical, I supppse, but in a way that’s almost more magical than actual magic because it didn’t take any magic at all to make her look magical!
Once we finished crossing the lake, Professor Cauldwell led us across the school grounds and to the main doors. I felt soooo tiny going through them!
And that’s when we met the first person that was definitely in the Harry Potter books! Professor Longbottom was the professor who met us in the door way and welcomed us to Hogwarts! I had to keep from squealing in delight at meeting a real life hero (and I don’t think I was alone!) but I behaved. Someone else didn’t, though. I don’t know who it was, but they called out, “Are you the REAL Neville Longbottom from the books?” and Professor Longbottom actually blushed! Poor Professor! But yes! He said Yes he was and that we shouldn’t focus on that unless we need to do so for our History of Magic class work. Once again, thwarted by the secret pact! This History of Magic class better be more fun than the classes Harry attended in the books…
So yea, after that, Professor Longbottom went to see if they were ready for us in the Great Hall. We all stood and waited very quietly for him to come back. It seemed like AGES till he came back, but it probably really wasn’t too long at all. He had us line up and then he led us into the Great Hall.
The Great Hall is another thing that the movies could not do justice to and I couldn’t pretend to describe any better than the books. Suffice it to say that yes, the ceiling is charmed to look like the sky outside and that the Great Hall is very beautiful and elegant looking.
And the Sorting Hat is real, too! He did sing a song, as well, but I don’t remember it well enough to write it down so I won’t try. I can tell you he sang about how wonderful the school is when all of Hogwarts’ Houses study and play together.
Geoff got sorted into Ravenclaw, Nicholas and Elizabeth are in Gryffindor, and Georgia is in Slytherin. I already told you that I’m in Hufflepuff.
The feast was amazing! I tried so many new foods last night! I still don’t know what most of them were, but when I figure them out I will try to get recipes to send home for mum. She might like trying to make them.
After the feast was over, the Hufflepuff prefect, Lydia Frederick, guided those of us who were first year Hufflepuffs to the Hufflepuff common room. The entry way looks like a hobbit hole from Lord of the Rings! I absolutely love it! We were not given a password, though. When I asked the prefect, she said that the common rooms no longer require passwords to enter.
A few minutes later, Professor Longbottom walked into the common room and welcomed us to Hufflepuff! He’s a Gryffindor! I didn’t know that a head of house could have been a student in a different house! But I like him, he’s very friendly and I am glad he is my head of house in Hufflepuff.
Soon after, we were directed to our dorm rooms and sent to bed. I am sharing a room with three other girls, Lyra Malfoy (!?!!!), Katherine Prince, and Susan Golding, but I didn’t learn their names until this morning because I went straight to bed. I fell asleep as soon as I hit the pillow!
Today was my first day of school and it was both exciting and boringly normal. At breakfast, Professor Longbottom passed out our class schedules. (I’ll attach mine in here so I don’t loose it.) My first class today was Wizarding Traditions and Customs. We really didn’t do much today except learn how to greet each other very formally. I think today was more about getting to know each other, anyway. There were ten of us in the class, counting all seven of us who went to the Magizoo with Professor Cauldwell. I wonder if the other three were busy that day.
After that, my next class was Transfiguration. Professor Martins is very funny. He transfigured my desk into a cat tower for Amethyst and Geoff’s textbook into a ball of yarn which he tossed at my kitten after she climbed into the tower! We played a game where we had to guess which objects in the room were transfigured and which were not. It was a lot of fun, but none of us did very well. Nicholas did the best out of everyone, though, and I think Geoff was annoyed that he didn’t do as well as Nicholas.
Next was lunch. The Great Hall no longer had four long tables like last night or this morning. Instead there were a bunch of smaller tables, like the cafeteria in my old school, scattered around the room. Everyone mingled together. I sat with Elizabeth, Georgia, Lyra, Katherine, and her twin Sean Prince. He’s in Slytherin.
After lunch, we had Herbology with Professor Longbottom. We got a tour of Greenhouse One, which included a basic introduction to the plants that live there and where to find all of the tools and supplies needed to complete our assignments.
Finally, we had Arithmancy. Elizabeth complained that her brother didn’t have to take Arithmancy until his third year. That didn’t go over to well with Professor Zeller. She pointed out that maths are a required subject in muggle schools for a reason and that starting this year, Arithmancy, magical maths, was a required class for all students who wished to graduate from Hogwarts in seven years time. She said we would have the class every single year. A lot of the class groaned at that, but I don’t mind. Muggle Maths are fun. Surely Arithmancy will be, too. Funny enough, she started us out today with a muggle math test. I know I did very well, but we I’ll get our test scores at the next class.
Something I found really neat was that there were students from each of the four houses in each of my classes. It wasn’t always the same students, either. For example Geoff was in Wizarding Traditions and Customs and Transfiguration, Nicholas was in Transfiguration and Herbology, Elizabeth was in Herbology and Arithmancy and Georgia was in transfiguration and Arithmancy. I like that better than what happened in the books.
Katherine says I shouldn’t compare everything I experience here to the Harry Potter books. (She is very nosy and is reading over my shoulder!)
(She just smirked at me. She’s silly, but I like her. I think we will be good friends!)
I can’t help it, anyway, comparing to the books! But I guess she is right. I’ll try better.
At dinner this evening, the long House tables were back. I didn’t mind that, though. Dinner is more formal and we are supposed to wear our nicer school robes to dinner. (We can normally wear the less formal robes to classes, though apparently we will have to dress formally for certain Wizarding Traditions and Customs classes… ugh. Not surprising, but ugh.)
It’s late and I still need to write home. I’ll probably send my letter off tomorrow though, I don’t know where the owlry is and it’s nearly curfew.
Good night Diary!
Ava