Oh, dear, I'm afraid I had entirely forgotten to eat! It's a good thing you said something in your letter; I hadn't had a single bite since you went to the boats. I just went to have dinner and it turns out I'm starving! I don't know how it could have slipped my mind for so long.

I wouldn't worry too much about your friends being in other houses. You'll still have plenty of classes with them and you can be friends and play together during all of your free time at school. Actually, you might find you have more friends outside of your house than you do in it — living with people can make you less keen on them. Especially if they snore.

I'm glad you like herbology and potions. I liked potions, too — I think it's the class most like wandmaking, though it's still very different. Keep trying hard on in your other classes and I'm sure they'll get easier. You might try to take a few minutes every night to read a book from the library — a fun book like an adventure story. It would help you practice reading faster. I know it might not sound fun to take time out of your adventuring to read a book, but it might help.

Tell Soot I say hello. I forgot that you took him with you and put out his food dish the day after you left, and this other cat wandered in and has been hanging around the shop ever since, so I suppose I've got a new pet. It's a little strange looking, though. What do you think?

[cartoonish drawing of a ferret]

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