Red Lion [2] // Harry Potter// Draco Malfoy

Letters

CHAPTER ONE: Letters

Sitting at the table with Neville and Gran with a bowl of cereal in front of me. Gran tutted at the morning paper, Neville had another carnivorous plant at the dinner table; every so often I would throw rashes of bacon off the side of the table, Drizella's fluffy head popping up like a meerkat at the smell.
There was a tapping on the window, Gran folded her newspaper tightening her dressing gown as she collects the letters from our family owl.  Reading the writing on the front of the envelopes, passing one to Neville then one to myself..
Using the letter opener, I sided open the envelope – tipping out the supply list.
I knew I didn't need all of them – I used a purple pen to cross out all the book but the ones for Divination, Care of Magical Creatures and the classes I took last year.

Third-year students will require:

The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3 by Miranda Goshawk
Unfogging the Future by Cassandra Vablatsky (if attending Divination)
Intermediate Transfiguration by Emeric Switch The Monster Book of Monsters (if attending Care of Magical Creatures)
Numerology and Grammatica (if attending Arithmancy)
Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles by Wilhelm Wigworthy (if attending Muggle Studies)
Spellman's Syllabary (if attending Study of Ancient Runes)
The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts by Arsenius Jigger

Folded up were the Hogsmeade permission form and the usual uniform list. I smiled as I took a mouthful of cereal at the idea if Honeydukes sweetshop and butterbeer at the three broomsticks.

PERMISSION for VISIT to HOGSMEADE for

...(Student name)...

This document hereby serves to state the aforementioned Third-year student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade at such a time That the school arranges, and with the signature of the undersigned parent or guardian. The student shall abide by all such rules & regulations relevant to such expeditions and set by the school as per article 528/Z of the 1714 Edict.
Print Name ...
Relation ...
Signature ...

I gave it to gran who sighed in the correct places, handing it back for me to put in a safe place.
Smiling at them, I kissed Neville's head and went upstairs. I changed into a white shirt dress and blue shoes, pulling my wavy hair into a scrunchy -I ran down the hairs with my wand in my hair.
Jumping over the bannister – Gran but her hand on her chest as she looked at me. I took my cloak from the peg and smiled up at her innocently.
"I wish you would stop doing that." Gran tutted as she grabbed her red bag from the under stairs cupboard.
I kissed Drizella's head as she slept on the sofa under the window on my way into the kitchen.  Standing with Neville I took a handful of floo powder and stood up straight in the tall fireplace.
"Diagon Ally." I dropped the floo powder and we were taken up in Green fire.

When the spinning Stopped, we exited at the top of the street. Giddiness filled me as we watched the new students pulling their parents through the street -  older students like myself walked around looking like they didn't care but inside they were leaping for joy. Each one of them wearing their house colours with pride.

Gran leads us through the crowds to the crooked building – it was the centre point of the alley, with its height I sometimes wondered how muggles never saw it from their satellite pictures Hermione showed me over the summer.
She was too busy holding on to her abnormally large hat and weaving through the lines of people to notice me waving at Malfoy – he was with his parents and Blaise in front of the Quidditch shop. Blaise looked over and gave a short wave of his own before I was pulled away by my brother.
Unlike my brother – I wasn't controlled by house rivalries to hate Slytherins, there is no doubt they are cocky and brought up on cold malice that is unattractive in every sense of the word. However, like any house, there is a pleasant surprise when you're proven wrong about a person.
We ran up the Marble stairs then made the long walk to the front of the bank, our footsteps were drowned out by the sounds of goblins writing up the bank books and counting the newly pressed coins.
"Name?" He said with a bored tone as we stood in front of the podium.
"Augusta Longbottom," Gran said her voice proud, holding her key up from her keychain.