illvermorny pen pal Illvermorny Closed

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September 16th, 2019, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Hello Owen,

It's nice to meet you. I'm pretty sure we're just supposed to get to know our partner and learn about the other school for this pen-pal thing. I, for one, would really like to know more about Ilvermorny. I mean, I knew there were other wizarding schools, one of which was located in America, but otherwise I'm in the dark. I'll probably do some research later, but maybe we can figure out the basic similarities and differences between our schools over owl.

For starters, it sounds like you have Houses as well. We have four--is it the same for you? You're in Wampus; does your House have specific traits associated with it? For example, my House, Slytherin, is attributed with ambition, determination, and cunning (Gryffindor=bravery, nerve, chivalry/Ravenclaw=wit, wisdom, intelligence, creativity/Hufflepuff=loyalty, honestly, hard-work). Is there another House you think you belong in? Originally I thought I belonged in Ravenclaw but now I think the hat was right. Oh, and that's another thing. How does your Sorting Ceremony work? For us, the 1st years get called one at a time and have this old hat, known as the Sorting Hat, placed on their heads. The hat basically speaks into the wearer's mind and shouts out the House they belong in after speculating for a variable amount of time. Often it knows things about the student that they don't yet know about themselves.

Other basic traditions/occurrences at Hogwarts: Everyone buys their supplies (books, wand, potion ingredients, robes, etc.) at Diagon Alley before term starts. On September 1st at 11:00 a.m. all students have to pass through an enchanted brick wall between Platforms 9 and 10 of Kings Cross Station to get to Platform 9 and 3/4 and board the Hogwarts Express. The train drops us off at Hogsmeade Station (Hogsmeade is this fascinating wizard-only village that third years and above are allowed to visit and I can't wait until I get to next year). From there, First Years take boats across the Black Lake, home to the Giant Squid, while the rest of us take carriages pulled by invisible horses. Once at the castle (by the way, is your school a castle?), the Soring Ceremony takes place and then we have a feast of epic proportions.

For the rest of the year, we have classes, Quidditch matches, dueling, and other events for holidays and such. We go home over Christmas break and we have July 1st-August 31st off unless we choose to stay for summer camp. We have to take finals in June every year, but 5th years and 7th years have special exams known as O.W.L.s (Ordinary Wizarding Levels) and N.E.W.T.s (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test), neither of which I'm looking forward to.

I apologize, that was rather long-winded, especially compared to your letter. Anyways, are you really you House's Quidditch Captain? That's fantastic. What position to you play? I'm actually going to be on the Quidditch team this year. I'm pretty nervous excited nervous about it. I mean, I'm a fair flier, but I'm worried about having so many eyes on me. Also, I'm rather small (much more of a Seeker build) but I'm going to be a beater as they needed another one.

My grades are pretty good, mostly E's. Everything's so new, so it's hard to have straight A's O's. Also, I was actually part of a duel yesterday. It was kind of unfair from the beginning (me and another 2nd year versus a 2nd and 3rd year), but even though we lost and I am now all too familiar with being a human torch, it was an excellent opportunity to use the spells we've learned. Hobbies-wise, I enjoy reading, sketching, exploring places, and climbing trees. What about you?

Due to the length of this letter, I think I'll hold the rest of my questions for the next owl. A picture of me is included in the envelope.

Sincerely,

Reducio

Here's a picture of me (sorry, it isn't the best, but I'm limited on options while at school):

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September 20th, 2019, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Owen,

The Ilvermorny Sorting sounds really cool. You definitely seem like a Gryffindor to me and I would agree with me fitting into Horned Serpent, although are you implying that I'm a nerd ?

Dueling-wise, I'll make sure my name is one of the firsts on the list whenever they post new sign-ups. I'm not entirely sure what career I want to pursue. I mean, I wanted to be a chemist before coming to Hogwarts and Potions is rather similar, so maybe a Potions Professor? I've got a few years to figure it out so I'm honestly not too worried about it right now. What do your parents do, by the way?

People do drink tea over here. I can't speak for the maybe more traditional pureblood families, but formal tea-time isn't a thing anymore. It's more of something to go along with meals or a hot drink to cozy up by the fire with. The teachers are definitely very qualified for teaching their subjects. I don't follow gossip, although it sounds as though each teacher has a shadier side, but who knows. Just as a quick rundown, I like my Charms and Potions Professors. My Herbology teacher is nice but I'm not a fan of his subject. All the other teachers are pretty average, nothing too notable except that our Transfiguration Professor is blind, although she's definitely not someone who's class you want to attempt anything in. The only teacher I don't think very highly of is our Flying Professor. Oh, and yes, there are parties. Some have been set up by students, Gryffindors mostly I think, but there have been balls as well, though I haven't attended any of them.

Now for basic information about me: I want to get an owl and am saving up for one (do you have a pet?). My wand is 25.7 centimeters, inflexible, laurel wood, and unicorn tail hair, and apparently 'gifted with defensive powers and likes wizards who go on dangerous quests,' or something along those lines. Potions and Charms are my favorite classes; Herbology is my least favorite. My favorite color is a pale grey-green, like the sea, and I like visiting rocky beaches and listening to the ocean waves crash into the shore.

I can't wait to hear back from you!

Sincerely,

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September 23rd, 2019, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Owen,

For starters, yes, my parents are Muggles. To be honest I was a bit worried about telling you that because blood prejudice is a thing over here, but I'll discuss that more below instead of having this whole paragraph digress from its intended topic. Anyways, my mom is a nurse (basically the non-magical version of a healer) and my dad is a middle school science teacher (science is pretty much the study of our world through experiments, in case you didn't know). I apologize if I've insulted your intelligence, I'm just not sure what you know of the Muggle world. Chemistry is a branch of science dealing with atoms. It's more or less the Muggle version of Potions.

As for the blood purity thing, it's rather mixed. Our school has a fair amount of Muggleborns and plenty of the pureblood students are decent, nice to us even. There are a few rare ones who openly attack Muggleborns and from what I know many of the parents and grandparents especially are worse. Anyhow, that whole thing going on at your school is really odd. There's nothing like that at Hogwarts. We were told that Ilvermorny was a very democratic school, but that seems contradictory. Do you know anything else about it? It's no problem if you don't, although I am rather curious.

Alright, I'm assuming you have a lot of friends, based off what you said and your apparent personality, although if I'm incorrect and you're comfortable with sharing let me know otherwise. My two best friends are both Muggles, but unfortunately on top of me being away all year, one of them moved to France. We're planning on writing each other though, albeit in a rather circuitous way as I can't very well have an owl delivering my letters (it was so hard to explain why she needs to direct her letters to my parents first). Here at Hogwarts, I suppose I'm a bit of a loner, although there's a girl in my year and House who happened to be my dueling partner and I'm pretty sure I consider her as a friend now.

Yes, I did hear that you're coming. Are many of your Muggleborn friends coming too, by chance? Or just a lot of Muggleborns in general? I'm just speculating as to whether this could be another event to close the 'cultural gap' or something. Do you think I should go? To the Masked Ball, I mean. Because if I am going I need to make my mask. And on that topic, be sure to bring something formal, although I'll be really impressed if you show up in shorts and a t-shirt.

Hopefully we can squeeze a few more owls in before you arrive!

Sincerely,