Granger residence, Putney
14 September, 1991

Dear Hermione,

          What a pleasure to get your letter! Your school sounds far more eventful than I remember mine ever being. It was very sweet of you to compliment me on my writing skills, though I look at my own letters and feel they're rather lacking in grammar here and there. Corresponding should be good for both of us in that respect, as well as a way for us to keep in touch. I miss you, as do Dad and Perdita. The house seems dreadfully quiet now, especially with Perdita off at day school. I wonder if she'll get a Hogwarts letter two years from now? We shall see.

          The school owl is becoming quite a member of the family. I'm training myself to look out the window for the post, instead of listening for a letter coming through the slot. The owl, whom we have rather unimaginatively taken to calling "Blackie", is eyeing me balefully from the back of her chair, no doubt wondering why I'm not using a proper quill and ink bottle. Purrsifull is watching Blackie from his own position on the floor, head tilted so far back I'm worried he'll strain his neck, poor kitty. He is waiting for Blackie to accidentally drop him a bacon crumb, but no luck so far. He misses you as much as we all do, and has taken to sleeping on your pillow. I hope you don't mind. He's shedding dreadfully, I'm afraid, but I can't bring myself to order him off. We'll have it all washed and fresh for you when you come to visit us on holiday, don't worry.

          It sounds as though Harry Potter has made quite an impression on everyone, which is no doubt unavoidable. I'm sorry to hear he's so unlikable. It shouldn't be that surprising, I suppose. Boys tend to grow an unpleasant streak at about eleven. So do girls, I'm afraid, though I'm sure you're too level-headed and sensible to be snobbish to other children. Combine a certain inevitable male adolescent lack of sensitivity in addition to his upbringing as One of the Privileged, and it's no wonder that young Mr Potter might feel a bit above everyone else. You mustn't let his behaviour get to you. I also wouldn't worry too much about correcting him. That's the prefects' job, and I imagine that the young man you mentioned in your previous letter is quite capable of doing it.

          There's no need for you to get in trouble because you tried too hard to stop another student from acting foolishly. I hope that you did not get caught by the authorities when you went to head Mr Potter off at the pass! Mr Potter and his opponent certainly shouldn't be doing any midnight duelling. Heavens, is it actual duelling? How Heidelberg! Rather precocious for eleven-year-olds, isn't it? I suppose these wizarding youngsters start early, though they were probably more talk and bluster than actually planning a real fight. In your place, I should let your prefect know about it, in any case. Discreetly.

          I'm a little surprised that your schoolmasters are not more concerned about the more "mundane" educational basics. You were well ahead of your class in mathematics, so I'm not too worried there. You can always take up private tutoring over the summer, if it's necessary. When it comes time for you to study the advanced math like calculus and trigonometry, and if Hogwarts hasn't provided any sort of education in those branches, we'll be sure to give you lessons somehow. I wonder if there is some sort of subsidiary class that we've missed — perhaps I can get in touch with other parents of Hogwarts students and see if something like that has been arranged in the past. Perhaps Percy Weasley's parents could help? Your English skills are quite advanced, so I'm not much worried there. You might want to watch your tendency to run-on sentences, but your grammar looks as correct as ever to me, so I shouldn't worry about that too much. (And I'm one to talk about run-on sentences! That last one was ghastly.) As for foreign languages, it looked as though Latin, at least, receives a fair amount of attention, if your schoolbooks are anything to go by. If you like, I could send you my old Latin grammar, although that might be rather heavy for an owl! Perhaps you could ask your Head of House what she recommends.

          Your "Potions" class sounds like advanced chemistry to me, but is it entirely safe? Heating ingredients in a cauldron, of all things, over live flame can't be the easiest task, and obviously isn't, judging by your description of the first day. Are you at least provided with goggles? I remember we had to buy you heavy gloves, and now I see why! Professor Snape sounds like a stern taskmaster. You can't be blamed for wanting to show you know the material, but he was probably trying to see if the less alert students were as well informed — clearly Mr Potter wasn't. That boy may never have had to work hard in class before, so this could be an eye-opener for him. He may want to crib from you. You're extremely generous with your time and energy in tutoring other students, but in his case you might want to let him study on his own for a while, so he gets a better idea of what's expected of him beyond coasting through classes. He shouldn't have everything his own way.

          But do be CAREFUL in Potions! You already know how hazardous the materials and experiments can be. I will never look at a porcupine quill in the same way again. I wouldn't want to stick my finger with one, but I never considered the danger of heating it! Just don't spill anything or inhale the fumes. Maybe I should send you a pair of work boots along with the Latin grammar, although that's probably not part of the Hogwarts uniform.

          And flying! I'm afraid there are some things that books just can't prepare you for. I know I studied as hard as I could before I got my Learner's plates when I first started to drive, but I still couldn't believe how much effort it was to steer our great metal behemoth through those narrow streets. Don't ask me about the time I accidentally sheared the bumper off a taxicab. There's a reason your Uncle Howard is turning grey before his time, you know.

          Of course, I've never flown on a broom in my life and never thought I'd have a daughter who would. I'm sorry that this isn't coming as easily to you as you would like. Perhaps you could arrange some time for supervised, careful flying with someone who has an easier time with it? One of the girls, probably. I don't think the boys you mentioned — Longbottom, Malfoy, and yes, dear Mr Potter — would be the best choices to help learn flying from. Mr Longbottom seems dreadfully accident-prone. I should have mentioned before that I'm very proud of you and your friends for visiting him in hospital. I hope it will be the last time you'll have to do anything like that. Just be careful, please. I'd prefer that your classmates not have a reason to visit you in hospital!

          Your birthday is coming up very soon. I don't want to spoil any surprises, but I would like to send you a few things. Is there a way to send packages other than by owl? If not, please send an owl to our house by the seventeenth of September (a young, strong one, please!); if there is another way, let me know as soon as you can. It's good to know that your library is such a marvellous one. It's all I can do to keep from hopping the Express and rifling through the bookshelves there myself! Still, I might be able to come up with one or two good books that even your library doesn't have — who knows? I'd love to read those historical novels you mentioned someday, though I realise it's not likely I'll have the chance. That's no reason you shouldn't enjoy yourself, though! You probably need something to unwind with after a full day of classes.

          Don't forget to brush and floss after meals, and let me know if you need anything. I think Blackie's about done with her bacon rind. Poor Purrsifull didn't get a piece, but he doesn't need the grease anyway, silly cat.

          Love,

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written by Teka Lynn
October 5, 2003

All rights to the characters and setting are held by J K Rowling and whoever else holds them, including, but not limited to, Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books, and Warner Bros. This fanwork was created solely for fun and has no legal or financial connection to the Harry Potter novels.
Since Rowling hasn't revealed Mrs Granger's first name so far, for the purpose of this letter I named her Isabel, after a character in the Shakespeare play Measure for Measure.
Perdita and Purrsifull are creations of mine.