Dear Mum

Dear Mum !

I'm fine and like Hogwarts very much. When the train arrived in a village called Hogsmeade (it says in one of my

books it's the oldest wizarding village in Britain), a man called Hagrid (he teaches Care of Magical Creatures)

picked us up and we had to cross a lake in small boats . It was really exciting . At the school Professor McGonagall,

the deputy headmistress who wrote the letter , welcomed us and led us into the Great Hall . You should have seen it !

There were candles floating in the air and all the other students were sitting on four long tables . Before we could sit

down we got sorted . Each new student's name was called and we had to put on a wizard hat. The hat looked very

old and it could talk , really ! I was a bit afraid when it was my turn , but it was over quickly. The hat decided I was

a Gryffindor.

The food here is great . I first thought it was only this good on the first evening , but it stayed that way. The school

lessons are very different from my old school. Our first class was charms . It's taught by Professor Flitwick . He is

very small and old and had to stand on a pile of books so we could all see him. We didn't learn any charms yet , we

are still practicing wand movements.

Herbology was fun. We spent the whole lesson in a greenhouse and the teacher , Professor Sprout, had us potting

plants. Since I often helped you in the greenhouse it was easy for me and I think the Professor was impressed . I'll

have to go now , we have our first flying lesson with Madam Hooch. I'll write more in my next letter.

Love, Peter

P.S. I hope the owl is waiting for your answer . Just give her the letter, she knows the way , it's

one of the school owls.

Dear Peter ,

I'm glad to hear that you like your new school . I have to admit I was a bit worried first , after that letter and when I

saw the strange places where we bought your school supplies. When we couldn't find the platform at King's Cross I

was tempted to just forget about it. Now I'm glad I didn't. You were always a bit different from other kids and the

older you got , the more you reminded me of your father. There were always strange things happening around him .

Now that I know that he was a wizard I sometimes wonder if he ever planned on telling me .I have some good news :

Mr and Mrs Doyle hired me to make the flower arrangements for their daughter's wedding ! It's a big order and

they pay well . After buying your school books I was getting a bit tight for money , but things are looking better now.

What you wrote on your school subjects sounds interesting , I'm looking forward to hear more. The education at

Hogwarts is a big chance for you , so I expect you to work hard and pay attention. Be careful with those flying

lessons ! I hope your teacher knows what she does ; putting children on flying broomsticks ...

Let me know if you need anything .

Love, Mum

P.S. I think I did something wrong with that owl - it bit my finger . Are there any special rules for

owls ?

Dear Mum !

Sorry 'bout that owl . Should have gotten suspicious when I heard it's name was Morsus ...

Flying lessons are great , I just hope I'll be as good as Harry Potter one day . He's an awesome flyer , plays seeker

for the Gryffindor Quidditch team . Today I had my first potions lesson . It didn't go well . Some of the older

students warned us about the teacher, Professor Snape . They said he would always favour the students of his house

(he's Head of Slytherin) and is very strict . I don't think he likes Gryffindor students . We lost 20 points during that

lesson , just because some of us didn't know the right answers ! How we are supposed to, it was our first potions

lesson ever ! I have to do my homework now . Professor Binns wants us to write an essay about wizarding

development in the stone age . It has to be three foot long and I'm still 12 inches short .

Love , Peter

P.S. Mum, can I get a Nimbus 2000 for Christmas ? It's a racing broom . They have a new model out, the Nimbus

2001, but I want a 2000. Harry Potter has one .

Dear Peter ,

I think an owl would be a more useful present. These school owls seem to be all a bit overworked, I had to chase this

one all over the kitchen before it would accept the letter. Remember, first year students are not allowed to bring

their own brooms and I doubt the people from this magic ministry thing would like it if you practiced flying in our

backyard . We'll talk about it next year . How often did I tell you to not listen to the gossip ? I think you were maybe

a bit prejudiced towards that potions teacher . After all , a lot of teachers expect their students to be prepared for

class . You probably just had a bad start . Do your homework, pay attention in his class, study and he will have

nothing to complain about.

Love, Mum

P.S. Hope you like the chocolate cookies I'm sending you. I tried a new recipe I got from Mrs Doyle

Dear Mum !

Didn't get the cookies , apparently the owl ate them .

We had potions today again and it was horrible . We were supposed to brew something to cure boils and I got

paired with a boy from Slytherin. Not only did I had to do all the work , but when the potion was nearly finished the

stupid git threw in some parsley . Next thing I knew the cauldron exploded and I had boils all over my hands . And

to make things worse : Snape was right next to me and got boils too ! Before he sent me to the school nurse Snape

took 100 points from Gryffindor, but not a single one from the Slytherins. Snape said it was all my fault, because I

didn't pay attention . This is so unfair !

What should I do ?

Love, Peter

P.S. One of the Weasley twins ( I think it was Fred ) borrowed me their family owl to send you this . His name is

Errol and he doesn't like cookies . The twins are cool . They are from a really big family, seven children and five of

them are at Hogwarts , all in Gryffindor .

Dear Peter ,

I'm sorry it took me so long to answer your letter, but the owl, Errol , made a crash landing in the soup I was

cooking . I had to wait until his burns healed and he was fit enough to fly again . Couldn't sent the cookies, I doubt

he would have survived it . I think you should talk to Professor Snape . Now that things have calmed down a bit he

will sure see your point. It's not easy to see everything that goes on in a classroom and he probably didn't notice

that it wasn't your fault. Teachers are only human .

Are you coming home for the Christmas holidays ?

Love, Mum

P.S. We really need an owl ! Since I can't remember how to get to that street , Diagon Alley ,

could you ask someone at school if it's possible to get one by mail order ?

Dear Mum !

Talking to Snape wasn't a good idea. He took 20 points from Gryffindor and gave me detention.

I've asked Hagrid about owls, after all he teaches Care of Magical Creatures and is the game keeper. He's great,

I'm taking his class as an additional subject when I'm in third year . He didn't know about mail order for owls, but

he gave me a baby vulture . His name is Arnold and Hagrid thinks he's really smart and would figure out how to

carry letters.

It's still two months until they take the names for those staying over Christmas. I'll wait and see who wants to stay

before I decide.

I have to go now, have to scrub cauldrons for detention .

Love, Peter

P.S. I hope Arnold knows what he's doing

Dear Peter ,

I'm sorry to hear that my advice got you in trouble. You're right, Professor Snape seems to be unfair. Do you know

if there are parent/teacher conferences at Hogwarts ? Maybe I should write him to clear things up .

Please don't wait until last minute to tell me if you are coming home, so I have time to ask Susan if she could take

over the shop while I go to London to pick you up from the train. Maybe we could go to Diagon Alley and look at

those racing brooms ?

Love, Mum

P.S. Arnold did a good job, I just had a hard time explaining to Mrs Banks next door why a baby vulture was sitting

on her clothesline .

Dear Mum ,

I don't think they have parent/teacher conferences at Hogwarts and I'm not sure if writing Snape is a good idea .

You really want to buy me a broom ? Cool ! I watched the Gryffindor team practicing today . I couldn't see much,

because at first it was still dark and then it was raining, but I think they are amazing ! The team captain, Oliver

Wood, thinks it is important for them to start early with the training ; he really wants to win the Quidditch cup this

year. They all say Harry Potter was the youngest student in one hundred years to become seeker for the house team

Maybe he can show me some of his moves when I have my own broom ...

The Weasley twins are on the team too, they are beaters .

I'll explain you the rules when I'm home for Christmas .

Love, Peter

P.S. I think the British weather is bothering Arnold, he's got a cold . Do you think Vicks VapoRub is suitable for

vultures ?

Dear Professor Snape,

it has come to my attention that my son, Peter Spencer, got detention for his attempt to clear up the incident with the

exploded cauldron. While I can understand that discipline is crucial for a subject like potions, I think your actions in

this case were not justified, since the other student was also involved in the accident. In my opinion fairness would

demand reprehension of all students involved. I'm especially concerned about the fact that you gave Peter detention

for his attempt to talk with you in this matter. This seems unfair to me and, as a parent,I demand that you rethink

your decision .

Yours sincerely

Frances Spencer

Dear Mrs Spencer,

I have to inform you that this is the first time in my teaching career that a parent dared to question my educational

methods, something I find rather offensive. Your son is a member of the Gryffindor house and those students have a

particular ignorance towards the school rules. I see it as my duty to set an example if a student of said house,

especially a first year, dares to disturb my lesson.

I , as Head of Slytherin house and Potions Master of this school, demand you rethink your educational methods.

Severus Snape

Potions Master, Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry

P.S. Even Muggles should know that vultures are not considered appropriate for the delivery of post in the

wizarding community, especially not sneezing ones .

Dear Mum ,

Yes, it would have been better to not infuriate Snape. I have detention for the rest of the school year.

See you in a few weeks at King's Cross . And you really owe me that broom !

I have to go now, Snape wants me to scratch dead flubberworms of the tables in his classroom .

Love, Peter

P.S. The scarf and bonnet are cute, but Arnold has a bit trouble landing with the socks on.

... You would never believe what happened at breakfast today ! The post was delivered and Snape got the Daily

Prophet and a red envelope . He started to read the paper and didn't really pay attention to the letter. He opened it

without looking at it and it was a HOWLER !!! It seemed to be from a parent, because a woman was screaming at

him that he should be ashamed of how he treats the students . She called him a rude person and a bad teacher ! In

front of everyone ! Snape nearly knocked his chair over when he left, or better ran from the hall . Later McGonagall

told us that potions was cancelled for the rest of the week; Snape is feeling "indisposed" . It looked like she had a

hard time not to laugh when she told us. I wonder who sent the howler ? You know, the owl looked a bit like the one

that delivers papers from the ministry to dad ...

Dear Mrs Weasley,

Thank you for your advice. You were right, writing a howler is not that difficult, not even for a Muggel.

It was really kind of you to let me borrow your husband's business owl ...