An American at Hogwarts

The Best of Days

Weeks passed, and eventually my birthday (October 23rd) came around. I awoke early as usual, and headed down to the common room to read. I had been focusing more on the banishing charm lately, ever since I had some minor success with it in one of my sessions with Professor Flitwick. Granted, that success was managing to knock a book a few feet from the table it was sitting on, which wasn't exactly much, but it was enough to reawaken my interest in the spell. I hadn't made all that much progress since, but it was enough to keep me engaged in the process. It was the most advanced spell I was comfortable practicing, at least at that point. I had, in a bout of poor, late night judgement, attempted the blasting curse a couple days previously, which had quite literally blown up in my face, sending me to Madame Pomfrey's to get my eyebrows magically regrown. I most certainly was not ready to try that again. Soon enough, I heard the doors to the girls dorm creak open, and Marie and Hermione came down to see me, both of them hiding something behind their backs.

"Hold on, I think I've finally got it!"

I took a deep breath and aimed my wand at a nearby chair.

Depulso!

The chair moved a few feet back, skittering along the floor.

"Ha!"

Hermione giggled slightly. "From what I hear, the banishing charm ought to be a bit more powerful than that, Y/N."

I blushed a bit. "Well yeah, but thats way more than I've been able to do before!"

Hermione and Marie seemed to be stifling laughter.

"Listen you two, it's a start okay!"

Marie smiled brightly. "Fair enough. Come on now, it's your birthday! Time to celebrate a bit!"

With that, she moved her arms from behind her back, revealing a small box.

"Aw Marie! You didn't have to!"

"Nonsense, you're my best friend Y/N! Of course I got you something!"

I smiled as I took the box from her. My eyes went wide as I opened it. Inside was a beautiful silver necklace with the Gryffindor house crest engraved into it.

"This is incredible Marie! Where did you get this?"

Marie smiled brightly as I wrapped her in a tight hug, blushing slightly. "My mum made it, she's really into all that hand-made jewelry stuff. Says it's good to work with your hands, even if you could just use magic. You loved that ring your mum got for you so I asked her to put this together!"

"I love it Marie! Tell your mom I said thank you! You're the best friend ever!"

Marie blushed even deeper at that, and seemed to be on the verge of saying something, but before she could, Harry and Ron stumbled out of the boys dorm, much to Hermione's disdain. Harry greeted me with a hug.

"Happy birthday mate!"

Ron and Hermione thankfully were able to tolerate each other's presence for a bit, and it ended up being one of my best birthdays in my memory. Hermione got me a book on advanced charms, which I was very grateful for, while Harry and Ron both got me a big pile of candy, so big in fact that I ended up just leaving a decent amount of it a bowl in the common room with a note saying that anyone could take what they wanted, since it was a bit too much for the space I had to store it next to my bed. Perhaps my favorite, besides Marie's, of course, was from my mother. She had timed the delivery of the bigger present that she had mentioned a couple weeks earlier to coincide with my birthday, and I was not disappointed. A house elf apparated in with a wooden crate addressed to me, which we quickly opened. Inside was an absolutely beautiful antique wand care/display kit, alongside a wand handle made out of a brilliant purple marble and a dark, stained wood with gilding along the edges. Alongside it was a note.

Dear Y/N,

Apologies this took so long to get to you! It is rather delicate, not to mention expensive, so I did not want to risk sending it over the Atlantic by owl, but I do hope it makes an excellent birthday gift! I'm so proud of what you have done over the past month and a half, you have truly made me proud! As to your question regarding the professors knowing me, I understand why they did not reveal it all, but I believe you have a right to know a bit more. Consider it another birthday present. Back during the War, I was part of a group dedicated to fighting against Voldemort and his allies, alongside many of the professors at Hogwarts. That is, in fact, why my family was targeted by him. Much of what we did was and still is top secret, which explains why Dumbledore would not tell you any specifics, but rest assured that you are well regarded as a result of what I did for them. I am rather surprised Snape is treating you like that, as we never did get along all too well, but I suppose at his core he is very much a man of honor, so it does make sense. Do try to stay on his good side, though, I reckon it will make things a bit easier on you! Anyways, enjoy your birthday, and tell your friends I said hello! Do remind Harry of my offer as well, he has not written to me as of yet, and I worry he may think it is asking too much of me. I promise, it is not.

Love, Mom

I closed the letter with a smile and put my wand in the new handle. It felt rather good in my hand, if a bit heavier now, and the purple stone matched well with the light reddish-pink hue of the cherry wood. Honestly, I didn't mind the weight, it made it feel more solid, my movements more definite, in a way. Marie was very much a fan of it, as I found out after she asked to look at it about twenty times before we finished breakfast. I was more than happy to oblige. To be honest, it was rather cute how happy her face got when she held it. I'd have to get her one of her own at some point. Her birthday was next month, on the 15th, so I decided that Christmas might be a better time, since less than a month probably wasn't enough time to get a high quality wand handle made. The rest of my day went very well, and I went to sleep with a very wide smile on my face, silently thanking my mother for sending me to Hogwarts. It truly was the place for me.