Across the Pond PV | A. Malvado Closed

Dear Mr. Darcel,

it is lovely to hear from you. Knowledge on other students (and sometimes even entire magical communities) tends to be a little limited around here. By that, I mean that while we have books about them, they tend to be severely outdated in most cases, so talking to an actual living and breathing person about other cultures is bound to be a fascinating subject.
My name is Alma Charlotte Malvado, as I am certain you already know, and I am a third year student at Hogwarts. I am part of the House of Slytherin. It is one of four houses (similar to Ilvermorny, I believe) that a student gets sorted into at the beginning of their time in Hogwarts.
If I may ask, whereabouts in New York do you live? It is a big city after all. I personally have only been there once, for a couple of days with my father to pick up some rare edition books and to look at the old MACUSA building in lower Manhattan.
Oh yes, I should probably explain that one. My family owns a book store where we sell just about anything concerning the written word, mostly second hand, sometimes new and sometimes antiques. That means my family tends to travel sometimes when they get wind of rare editions being sold somewhere, although they rarely take me or my siblings along.
I have an older brother, who's working in the warding business, as well as two younger sisters, so even if all the adults are busy with work, there's hardly a quiet moment in the Malvado household.
I do miss them sometimes when I'm at school.

Concerning your questions about Hogwarts, I am unsure where to start and where to stop without immediately overwhelming you. There is just so much to tell about it and its long history. Even now, people discover new (or maybe just forgotten) rooms, passages and shortcuts, which provides near endless opportunities to explore the ancient building. There are rumors that the castle is sentient, in an attempt to explain the moving rooms, pictures and staircases but I'm unsure what to think of that. What I do know for certain, however, is that the castle, while wonderful in its architecture, tends to get rather drafty during winter, so students tend to bundle up in layers and layers of clothing.
We have ghosts here, too, and if you're unfortunate enough to walk through one, you're getting even colder, so warming charms are some of the most favourite spells of the student body.
Each house has their own common room and their precise locations are rather vague as to keep students from other houses from trying to get into a common room that isn’t theirs. Apparently, from what my brother told me, each common room has their very own way of creating a safe haven for their students. For Slytherin, that is a large room with an even larger window nearly taking up an entire wall, that provides a view into the Black Lake and the creatures living within. To make up for the dreary lighting the lake provides, Slytherin has a large fireplace that is ideal to sit by, curl up in an armchair and several blankets, with a good book and your familiar of choice.
Does Ilvermorny allow pets? Hogwarts is rather strict in that matter, only allowing toads, cats owls and sometimes other, previously approved animals. Also, each student is only allowed one pet. Is it different in your school? I’ve read that other schools allow more diversity in that matter.
Also, what is it like, living as a Muggleborn in America? The texts in Hogwarts are rather vague about it and while I can understand the reasoning (keeping the wizarding world safe doesn’t sound bad), I can imagine it must be hard for those actually affected by the restrictions and whatnot. If this questioning offends you, I apologise. I mean no offense, I am simply trying to learn more about the situation in other wizarding societies.

I truly could go on with my rambling, although I am certain that I’ve long since overwhelmed you (maybe you even stopped reading by now, which I wouldn’t blame you for), so I shall end my letter here. I hope to hear from you again sometime soon, though.

Regards,

Alma Malvado