For Our Dancing Papa Badger Finished

Dear Professor Browne,

Is it really true? I can't believe you're leaving. I didn't believe it at all at first. I thought it was just a mean joke or something. But then I saw your letter.

I can't believe you're going. I was so sad at first I didn't think I could even write. How will it be Hufflepuff without you? But then I thought maybe you're going to go and do something amazing. I hope so. You were my favorite professor of any professor, even though you didn't even teach a class. I'm really going to miss you. And I didn't want to not say goodbye.

You were the first person that told me about magic do you remember? I think my mum thought you were crazy. I was so scared when I had to leave my home. Then when I got to school I was even more scared. I couldn't even sleep at night. But then you gave me my lamp and it got a little bit better. I'm so happy I got Hufflepuff and that you were the Head of House. You made me laugh a lot. I think you made everybody do that. You could make people smile when they were feeling sad. Thank you for everything you did for us. I'm sorry I cried so much. I'm working on that really.

I think coming to Hufflepuff was maybe one of the best things that happened to me. You made it the best house to be in and it's where I met my best friends. You taught me teachers could be nice and friendly. You taught me that being kind can be beautiful. And sometimes when you're feeling horrible maybe you should just dance.

I still don't know why you made me a prefect but I'm going to try really hard and make you proud. I'll try and keep George and Jack out of trouble too and I promise I won't like whoever comes next more than you.

Do you remember in first year, when I drew you and you put it on your wall? It was my first happy memory from Hogwarts. I've gotten a lot better at drawing since then so I drew you again on the back. I hope you can take it to remember me. Please don't forget us Professor Browne because we'll never ever forget you.

Thank you for believing in me.

Love,
Jake

P.S. Will you come visit us next year? If you can't come to Hogwarts I know you know where I live.

P.P.S. Please say goodbye to Miss Hastings for me too

Reducio

In light of her being blind, she has gotten help writing this letter
so the penmanship is actually legible

Dear Caradoc,

I hope my informalaties don't come as a surprise to you. I will not call you mister or even sir as those titles don't fit you. You are simply Caradoc, amongst other nicknames we the students have come up with for you, many of which you may not know.

I came into this school many years ago, alas that feels weird to say now, as nothing more than a curious, round-eyed student. You immediately opened your arms and welcomed me without hesitation. You showed me a place that I could feel comfortable calling my home.

Now if I'm to be brutally honest, your presence is quite scary. You are a tall, boisterous man who can be so cheerful yet swtich to a stony-cold seriousness in a few seconds. That being said, you also amaze me with your joyful spirit and sometimes peculiar behaviors. I have sgared many fond memories with you and I will hold them dear to me even when your presence is no longer here. Thank you for taking me under your wing and being someone I looked up to during my time at Hogwarts. You will be severely missed by us all.

- Annie Morgan

Professor Caradoc Browne,

This is Aaron Jones, soon-to-be fourth year. (I know you're probably going to get a lot of letters so I figured I'd start by telling you who this is.)

I am writing to let you know that I'm really sad to hear that you are leaving Hogwarts. I have grown so used to seeing you around the castle and in Hufflepuff and you not being there next year is going to be really weird. I don't know what else to say other than you will be greatly missed by me and so many other Hufflepuffs, but I thought maybe you might want to be reminded of all the nice moments you had here. Building memories here at Hogwarts has been one of my favorite pastimes, and so if you do end up keeping these letters, maybe you'd like to look back and be reminded of some specific moments. So here are some of the ones that I remember:

One of the first recreational events I did at Hogwarts was the wizard batting event. I showed up late but you said it was okay if I still joined, and then I ended up scoring a ton of points! It was a really nice bonding experience with some of the other Hufflepuffs too, so I thought it was really nice that you had helped organize it.

I think the next encounter we had was the friendship bracelets in the common room a couple months later. Growing up I didn't do very well with authority figures, so I had always shied away from you before that encounter. But you spoke of your daughter and we shared a favorite color and you were so at ease with everyone - I realized how nice and kind you were. You made me a lot less fearful of the adults at Hogwarts with that small encounter. It helped me understand what your role as our Head of House was.

We had a lot of other encounters after that - like you organizing that surprise for Professor Jensen which was really nice, and when I asked you to help me with my astronaut costume for Halloween by casting the bubblehead charm. You also rescued us from the darkness during one explosive night. So thank you for always being there for me and for Hufflepuff.

I hope some of these memories will stick with you, or that you'll come back and read them again when you want to remember your time as our Head of House. I'll leave you with one last thought that I didn't know if I should include, but I think maybe you would want to know.

I don't know if you remember, but my whole dream during my first year at Hogwarts was to be part of the Quidditch team. When I eventually got the position over the summer and we beat Durmstrang, I was so proud and I really wanted to continue to make you and the rest of Hufflepuff proud too. But by the end of second year I decided I wanted to quit and it was a really tough decision. You were one of the people I wanted to confide in, but I was nervous you would be disappointed - it seems silly to think of it now. My parents didn't really understand what was happening at the time and when I thought of someone who might understand or at least give some good advice - I thought of you. I regret not coming to talk to you then and in moments since then - I wish we had talked more often, but these memories and the ones of just seeing you around the castle and hearing you sing and hum are ones I will treasure as part of my Hogwarts life.

I was always really proud that you were our Head of House. It won't be the same without you, but I hope that our next Head of House is as kind and caring as you were.

I also hope we Hufflepuffs will get to see you again one day, but until then, good luck!

Aaron Jones

PS I am also sending you a plant since you might want something to remember Hufflepuff by. Make sure to sing to it!

PPS Since Professor Jensen is collecting these for you, I think you guys are probably still friends. So if you can - find out if she still has that plant from me and Maria, and remind her to keep talking to it!

The above letter is attached to a small brown package that houses a small pot with a tiny green plant with yellow buds (which Aaron may or may not have stolen from the Hufflepuff common room) that will grow if given proper attention.

Doc,

Thank you. For everything.

-Howard White

For Professor Browne
From Sophie Verlice

Dear Professor,

I'm sorry if this letter is kind of short. I don't know you that well but I know that you were a great Head of House and you were

there before I even started Hogwarts. I didn't think that professors stepping down from their jobs happen often. Anyways, thank you for everything!

~Sophie, a fellow badger

Immediately after Cara received the letter she grabbed parchment and scrabbled out a quick message:

Dear Professor Browne,
Even though I didn’t know you very well, but I’m sad to see you go. You were so welcoming the second I stepped through the doors. Thank you for being so kind and welcoming, hope to see you again sometime. Thank you for everything!
~Cara Smalley

Cara sighed and handed the letter over to the owl.

Dear Professor Browne,

Ummmm...well I really don't know what to say. Admittedly I only had the one year with you and it was quite a busy year but you always had an amazing sense of humor and enjoyment, which was really appreciated. And I'm sure from all the stories that are told (are those all true?), there was a lot of enjoyment in being hufflepuff and having you as head of house. Ummmm...what else can I say? You'll be missed but I hope your new adventures are just as interesting (okay maybe a little less interesting) then the adventures you had here with hufflepuff house.

Best,
Emma Wynn

Dear Professor Browne Doc,

When you first became our Head of House, I didn't like you at all. All these other old men kept coming into my life, and then were super awesome, and then they left. But you were different: you weren't old! (you kind of are now though. definitely getting there.) Also, you stuck around for a while, which I guess is the important part. And now that you're leaving, I think I've come to the conclusion that I like you a lot. You were a really, really, really good Head. Possibly the best.

I have a lot to thank you for, and if I tried to list them all, I think my hand would just about fall off. So I'll list the important ones.

1. Thank you for trusting me to help you surprise Professor Jensen, and thank you for letting Chad lead the charge on that. I don't know anyone else I would have trusted enough to ask if I could be a dramatic king for a day for a performance, especially back then. That really meant a lot to me.

2. Thank you for letting me be Quidditch co-captain. I still don't know why you let me, to be honest, but it's been the best years of my life. Thank you for trusting me with that much responsibility, and I really hope you know how much that means to me.

3. Thank you for letting me train the Racing kids. Again, I really felt like someone finally believed in me and my ability to be a leader, because I definitely didn't think I could be one.

4. Thank you for always reminding me that it's okay to let loose and boogie it out. I don't think I'll ever be able to listen to any disco music without thinking of you, which is a good thing.

5. Thank you for being you. Because that's the best thing you can be.

I'm going to really, really miss you, Doc. Hufflepuff is better because of your time as our fearless leader. I'll come visit you once I graduate, okay?

Biggest of Badger Hugs (even bigger than Quinn's),
Ami

Dear Papa Badger,

I don't know where I'd be at Hogwarts without you. You trusted me not once, but twice to lead and help the students of Hufflepuff when I felt I couldn't even help myself. I've become the duelling captain for our house. You've been a second dad to me here, and I don't know what it'll be like without you. Even though you are gone you will always be my first mentor, first Head of House, first person besides my parents that really really believed in me and all I can do.

It's going to be weird to return to school without your boisterous laughter and songs filling the common room. There's never been a time where I saw you where I didn't feel lighter just for your presence. Except for the first time I quit prefect. I hope wherever you end up going it treats you as well as we did, maybe with less explosions? Thank you for that too. Like- saving us... from the basements... twice. Actually now that I'm making sense it makes sense that you might leave we have probably aged you by how much we flock to fire and collapsing floors. I'll try and make sure George doesn't seal us up again. If you ever have the opportunity to come visit your little badgers I hope you'll take it.

I'm so glad I got to be a wizard, in Hufflepuff, at a time where you were our caretaker. My future kids maybe if I have any in 50 years (woah that's weird to say) will hear about the legendary Caradoc Browne. I hope I can be half as daring and brave as you as I grow into a strong witch. Really, I don't know what I would've done without you in the beginning of my schooling.

Please don't forget us. Your badgers love you forever.

Sincerely,
Willow Anderson

Included is a drawing of Willow and Doc recreating when she first became prefect. It's sketch style since Willow isn't fantastic at drawing people. It is signed by her with a little heart.

Many staff at Hogwarts didn't seem to last long. That was just a sad fact that Lucia had discovered in her three years at the magical school. One staff member who had stuck around the whole time, though, was her Head of House - Professor Caradoc Browne. Maybe Lucia had only spoken to him personally once or twice, but he had still been a constant: someone to rely on. It was partly thanks to the conversation she'd had with him three years ago that she'd grown to accept and love her place in Hufflepuff. All this was why she knew that she had to write him a letter, as so many of her classmates were doing, to wish him luck when he finally left his post. Various drafts of the letter were covered in crossings-out and asterisks where she'd forgotten something, but the final one was neat and written with care.

Dear Professor Browne,
I'm really sorry to hear that you're leaving Hogwarts.
I won't forget how welcoming you were to all of us in first year. Without you and your support, I honestly don't think I'd have grown to love Hufflepuff as much as I do now. You taught us all to be true Hufflepuffs: kind, honest, and (most of all) funloving - as proved my how much laughter and fun you brought to Hufflepuff. Hogwarts will be a much quieter place without you, and your music, and your spontaneous dancing.
I hope that you come back to visit.
Thank you for everything,
Lucia Fox