Friday night found James sitting at his desk, quill in hand, staring at a blank piece of parchment. The week had passed in a blur of classes, practice, and library exploration. Now, as curfew approached and the castle settled into its evening rhythms, he needed to fulfill his promise to his parents: write every week.
He'd received their first letter days ago, delivered by the handsome tawny owl from the owlery he sent his first letter through, during breakfast.
His mother's handwriting had filled the parchment, neat and precise despite her obvious emotion.
Dearest James,
We miss you terribly. The house feels so empty without you. Your father keeps walking past your room and looking surprised that you're not there. I catch myself setting three places at the table instead of two.
But we're so proud of you. Our son, at Hogwarts, learning magic. It still feels like a dream sometimes.
Please take care of yourself. Eat properly, sleep enough, don't push yourself too hard with studying. I know you, James. I know how you get when you're focused on learning something new.
Remember to rest.
Your father suggests you take a large selection of snacks during the Christmas break to keep you going doing the term. But still make sure you're eating a full meal thrice a day. The food may not be to your taste but its still much needed for a growing child. With time you will get used to the British Wizarding cuisine.
Write to us soon. We love you so much.
Mum and Dad
James smiled at the memory of reading it, of the wave of homesickness that had hit him unexpectedly. He did miss them. Missed his mother's cooking, his father's quiet presence, and the comfort of home.
But he was exactly where he needed to be.
He dipped his quill in ink and began to write.
Dear Mum and Dad,
Thank you for your letter. I miss you both too, though I'm keeping so busy that I don't have much time to feel homesick.
School is going extremely well. Better than I hoped, actually. I've been advancing quickly in Charms. Professor Flitwick, who is both my Charms teacher and my Head of House, has been incredibly supportive. I've already completed all the material from first through fifth year, and I'm working on sixth and seventh year spells now.
Professor Flitwick is brilliant and encouraging. He's my favorite teacher so far. He recognizes that I learn differently because of my memory, and he's providing me with advanced materials to keep me challenged.
Transfiguration is also going excellently. In our first class, Professor McGonagall had us transform matches into needles. I managed it on the first try and she awarded me house points. The second class, we transformed feathers into quills. Again, I succeeded immediately and she gave me a whole box of feathers to practice variations. I made peacock quills, metallic-looking quills, even a hand fan. She also seemed impressed, though she's much more reserved than Professor Flitwick.
The subsequent classes have followed similar patterns. I find I can usually perform the transformations correctly on my first attempt, which means I spend most of class practicing variations or doing homework.
I think Professor McGonagall is impressed with my abilities, but I'm not sure she'll provide the same level of support for accelerated study as Professor Flitwick does. She seems rather set in her ways about how magic should be taught. Also, she's incredibly busy. She teaches Transfiguration, serves as Head of Gryffindor House, AND is the Deputy Headmistress. I don't know how she manages it all. I suspect she doesn't have much time for individual student attention, especially for someone who is not a member of her house.
Herbology has been surprisingly enjoyable. Professor Sprout is wonderfully enthusiastic about plants. This week we learned about Dancing Daisies, which are exactly what they sound like, flowers that dance! Professor Sprout showed us several varieties she bred herself, including ones that sing and change colors and give synchronised performances. They're not in any books because they're her own creations. It's fascinating to see practical magical innovation like that.
Astronomy class is interesting but not particularly engaging. We meet at midnight on Wednesdays to observe the stars from the tallest tower. The information is mostly support knowledge for other subjects: rituals, divination if you have the talent, some aspects of Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures because planetary movements affect certain plants and creatures. It's my least favorite subject so far, but I understand why it's taught but I believe it should have been an elective instead of being one of the compulsory subjects. Another one of the electives, Ancient Runes or Arithmancy, maybe even Care of Magical Creatures would have been far more suitable as a compulsory subject than Astronomy.
The library here is absolutely incredible. I've discovered that the books in foreign languages contain knowledge that's either deemed too obscure or too dangerous for the English-language sections. My prior language studies are helping enormously, I can read Latin, Sanskrit, Arabic, and Early Modern English, which gives me access to huge sections of the library that most students are never able to explore.
I've been reading older textbooks from centuries past, comparing them to modern curriculum. It's fascinating and somewhat disturbing. The magical knowledge taught to first-years four hundred years ago was far more advanced and dangerous than what we learn now. The curriculum has been systematically dumbed down over time, likely for safety and social control reasons. But it means I have access to spell variations and techniques that aren't taught anymore. I am ofcourse making sure to take all precautions and plan to have a Professor supervise me while attempting any dangerous/unknown spells.
You know me well enough to know that I am not reckless and would take the utmost caution.
My plan is to work through all the standard coursework spells as quickly as possible so I can focus on personal magical projects and experimental work for the rest of my time here. I'm making good progress on that goal.