Harry Potter Acceptance Letter

Harry Potter Acceptance Letter

This topic serves as an archive of a thread from the Harry Potter Lexicon Forum as hosted on World Crossing which ceased operation on April 15, 2011. Elanor

Nicole Bebout - Apr 26, 2005 11:02 am
Edited by Kip Carter Nov 17, 2005 2:47 pm
I was rather hoping that someone could write back to me with the Hogwarts Acceptance Letter, word for word if possible :-D. I would just look it up myself in the first book, but alas, it's in my sister's car and I don't have access to it. I need it by tomorrow if at all possible....will someone please please help me? Thanks!

Nicole

P.S Does anyone know anything about the 6th book?

Tomoé - Apr 26, 2005 10:29 am (#1 of 39)
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sor., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr Potter,
We are pleased to imform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipement.
Term begins on 1 September, We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerly,

Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress

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Nicole Bebout - Apr 26, 2005 11:13 am (#2 of 39)
thanks! Could you also post the part of the letter that talks about the necessary books and equipment? :-D Thanks for the reply, it's been harder then I would've thought to track the letter down.

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Kip Carter - Apr 26, 2005 1:45 pm (#3 of 39)
co-Host with Steve on the Lexicon Forum, but he has the final say as the Owner!
I hope this helps.

Harry unfolded a second piece of paper he hadn't noticed the night before, and read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

wand

cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

set glass or crystal phials

telescope set

brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

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Nicole Bebout - Apr 26, 2005 2:02 pm (#4 of 39)
Thank you guys sooo much! You have made my week! I will now be able to do my project. Thanks bunches!

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Madam Pince - Apr 26, 2005 2:56 pm (#5 of 39)
The eyes are the windows to the soul...
I always wondered why Ron was allowed to bring a rat, but anyway....

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Tomoé - Apr 26, 2005 3:07 pm (#6 of 39)
Back in business
Well, maybe the rule have been changed but not the acceptace letter ... could Minerva be that careless ...

Or maybe it's a glitch from JKR.

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Steve Newton - Apr 26, 2005 3:35 pm (#7 of 39)
Librarian
Or maybe its one of those rules that schools, and other organizations, have that nobody really cares about.

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Liz Mann - Apr 26, 2005 3:41 pm (#8 of 39)
Join us for the Philosopher's Stone Watch-A-Long
I guess they allowed it because a rat's only small.

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Choices - Apr 26, 2005 5:49 pm (#9 of 39)
*Completely Obsessed With Harry Potter*
Nicole - I have to point out that in my book (Scholastic USA) the letter begins - "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts........." I think Tomoe' said - "We are pleased to imform you that you have a place at Hogwarts...." It may read that way in another edition. Other than the use of "accepted" instead of "place", the letter reads the same.

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Catherine - Apr 27, 2005 4:34 am (#10 of 39)
Canon Seeker
I always wondered why Ron was allowed to bring a rat, but anyway.... --Madame Pince

I wondered that in SS myself. In PoA, I was sorry for Ron that Crookshanks supposedly ate Scabbers, but I kept thinking, "You weren't supposed to bring a rat!" There is that bit in PoA where Harry suspects that the white mice that appeared at Christmas dinner would be eaten by Mrs. Norris. I thought, "Hmm...Mrs. Norris has never attacked Scabbers, only Crookshanks." Oh, well...it's because Crookshanks lives in Gryffindor tower. Scabbers's transformation into Pettigrew makes sense by the end of PoA.

That was, for me, a dawning moment of "Pay attention to the details." She really did lay them out, and they were hidden in plain sight. That Scabbers was suspicious was laid out right in that first Hogwarts letter.

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Tomoé - Apr 27, 2005 9:23 am (#11 of 39)
Back in business
You're right Choices, my book is from Bloomsbury, it seems they edited the letter a bit.

As for Scabbers, Steve is likely right, it's one of the rules that nobody follow, nobody punish, but everyody will say "you knew you shouldn't" when it leads to trouble. ^_^

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mooncalf - Apr 27, 2005 3:30 pm (#12 of 39)
I just thought that Ron brought a rat instead of a cat, toad or owl. It seems like the sort of rule that could be bent. It wouldn't be a big deal for Mrs. W. to write and get permission, or just assume that it would be okay. Presumably Percy had been bringing Scabbers to school before Ron did.

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Catherine - Apr 27, 2005 4:19 pm (#13 of 39)
Canon Seeker
You have a point, Mooncalf, about Percy and his rat.

We don't know if Percy brought him to Hogwarts, but perhaps we can assume from Ron's treatment that Percy did.

I still think the clues that you may bring a toad, cat, or owl are pretty clear, though.

I almost wonder how closely Mrs. Weasley read the section in the Hogwarts letter about pets. She's already received five such letters; perhaps she skimmed. Perhaps in Percy's early years, rats were allowed.

Still, I think JKR was letting us know that Ron's bringing a rat to school would be significant.

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Choices - Apr 27, 2005 5:47 pm (#14 of 39)
*Completely Obsessed With Harry Potter*
One of the kids - was it Dean Thomas? - brought a huge spider one year. That certainly wasn't on the list either. I think Fred and George were going down the train to look at it. I don't think we ever heard about it again.

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Tomoé - Apr 27, 2005 7:13 pm (#15 of 39)
Back in business
It was Lee Jordan's spider (hence why the twins heard of the pet).

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Choices - Apr 28, 2005 11:11 am (#16 of 39)
*Completely Obsessed With Harry Potter*
Thanks Tomoe' - I almost said Lee Jordan - I couldn't remember for sure, but knew it was either Dean or Lee.

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Good Evans - May 11, 2005 10:21 am (#17 of 39)
Practically perfect in every way
Catherine

I never made that connection (that we should have realised from the word go that there was someting wrong with Scabbers) - I assumed it was bend in the rules, no big issue, I did not think that JKR had given us a little clue. Well done you - as you say more attention to detail must be paid!!!

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Finn BV - May 11, 2005 5:30 pm (#18 of 39)
Me kayaking, Niagara River, August 2006. I have been likened to Reepicheep in this photo.
That's so funny… I had always thought it funny that Ron had brought a rat even though it wasn't one of the choices… I agreed, it was just a rat, instead of an owl or a toad or cat or something, no big deal…
But even after reading PoA I never really thought that was a clue! Good thinking with the same evidence but from the other Point of View!

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far from prefect - May 21, 2005 5:01 pm (#19 of 39)
I always thought the whole "bring a pet" thing was troublesome from the get-go. What a lot of extra work for those poor house elves! But, you notice that Lavender didn't brink Blinky(?), her baby rabbit to school with her... because he was too little or because she was following the rules? Or because Crookshanks might have eaten her/him? )ffp

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Penny Lane. - May 21, 2005 6:42 pm (#20 of 39)
Well, I used to keep a rabbit and three cats who all got along fabulously. Granted, Mac the Bunny thought he WAS a cat, so maybe that had something to do with it. Anyway, I would be more worried about the owls then the cats eating Blinky. ALso, Rabbits tend to be scared of loud noises, and my instinct tells me that Hogwarts is not exactly quiet.

I wonder what the deal is with the broomsticks - can anyone go out and fly during their free time? If a first year snuck one in somehow, would they even be able to use it? I would imagine that there was someone supervising during "open fly time" or whatever. Also, wouldn't it cut down on school expences if everyone brought their own to learn to fly?

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Solitaire - May 21, 2005 9:55 pm (#21 of 39)
Hm ... in my high school, the PE department furnished the hockey sticks and shin guards for our field hockey classes; the baseball mitts and other paraphrenalia when we had baseball; and the foils, masks, and padding when we had fencing. There were always a few more proficient souls who brought their own equipment; but most of us used the stuff provided by the school, torn, bent, and dinged up though it was. There was always enough equipment for the class, and we turned it in at the end of the period ... for the next group to use. I would imagine it is the same with the broomsticks for the first-years.

Then again, I grew up in "the olden days," when everyone was expected to dress out and and participate in PE, and we all ran around the track in our low-tech Keds and PF Flyers. What do I know?

Solitaire

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Tomoé - May 23, 2005 8:55 am (#22 of 39)
Back in business
It was like that in my days too, it was only when were skating that we had to bring our own skates, but anything else came from the PE department.

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Ydnam96 - May 24, 2005 8:21 am (#23 of 39)
Wow, I don't think of myself as "old" but we definetly had to dress out for PE. We didn't do much that involved equipment though. Mostly running or walking around the track. Sometimes we played "basket ball" or "volley ball" (I use quotes because most of us were not sports types and we didn't get far). But regardless we never did anything so serious as to require anyone to bring their own equipment. No one cared.

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Aqualu Nifey - Jun 17, 2005 6:48 pm (#24 of 39)
"So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause." - Padme Amidala-Skywalker
No, PE departments still provide equipment for the students. Even though they ARE "young hoodlums." =D

Maybe any of the kids who cared enough to bring their own broom would be on the Quidditch team anyway. I wonder if they could fly off campus, provided that they had their Hogsmeade Pass signed.

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Ydnam96 - Jun 17, 2005 7:50 pm (#25 of 39)
That's a good question. We haven't seen it in any of the letter's Harry has gotten through the years thoguh. There are only specific times that the students are allowed to go to Hogsmeade and then it seems they travel in a "group". It seems if they were going to be allowed to fly to Hogsmeade that would be included in that year's letter?

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Choices - Jun 18, 2005 9:21 am (#26 of 39)
*Completely Obsessed With Harry Potter*
We have seen one instance where the kids are flying over the Quidditch pitch - not for practice or a game, just for fun. I honestly can't remember which book it is in, but I definitely remember Harry making mention of it. My guess would be that they are allowed to fly their brooms within the boundries of Hogwarts, but not allowed to fly them to Hogsmeade. Remember when Harry flew his broom over the Forbidden Forest to spy on Snape and Quirrel?

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Ydnam96 - Jun 18, 2005 9:23 am (#27 of 39)
True, but just because Harry did it does not mean it's allowed I'm sure he was breaking some sort of rule by flying above the forbidden forest.

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Puck - Jun 29, 2005 6:55 pm (#28 of 39)
Mommy, Queen of Everything
I wonder if you can enter the grounds by broom at all, or if it's protected. You may have to land outside the gate and come in through there.

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I Am Used Vlad - Jun 29, 2005 8:24 pm (#29 of 39)
I Am Almighty!
Charlie's friends fly in to pick up Norbert.

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The Wandless Wizard - Jul 12, 2005 11:17 pm (#30 of 39)
When wands are outlawed, only outlaws will have wands.
Choices wrote: We have seen one instance where the kids are flying over the Quidditch pitch - not for practice or a game, just for fun.

I don't think we have ever actually seen that. Harry and Ron were planning to do that after their O.W.L.S in OotP. They were going to go down and fly to relieve stress and they were going to take turns on Ron's broom because Harry's was under armed guard. However, events didn't play-out as planned. They ended up flying, just on Thestrals to London. Still, I think it is safe to say that if Harry was planning on it at this time when the school was so thoroughly under Umbridge's thumb, it probably was allowed. Umbridge was looking for an excuse to expel Harry. Harry wouldn't have done something to give her an excuse if it wasn't important. Just flying to relieve stress doesn't seem important enough. Hence it is probably allowed.

I would assume first-years aren't allowed Brooms because they have not received proper instructions on how to fly them yet. Students have to take a class in their first year. They probably don't want someone who thinks he knows how to fly doing so until he passes the class. Oddly enough, my college did this with cars. Freshman who lived on campus were not allowed to have parking permits. I don't know the reasoning behind it. Maybe it is considered an unneccesary distraction from your school work that you won't be ready for for a year. Same could be true with Firsties at Hogwarts. They need a year without distractions to adjust to school life.

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Aqualu Nifey - Jul 13, 2005 11:05 am (#31 of 39)
"So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause." - Padme Amidala-Skywalker
I thought it was just that lowly underclassmen freshmen weren't worthy of having a parking permit and assumed the same with the First Year Broom Rule.

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Solitaire - Jul 13, 2005 12:53 pm (#32 of 39)
Unless kids are on the Quidditch teams, why would they need brooms at school, anyway? They take the Hogwarts Express to and from school, and they don't appear to fly to Hogsmeade ... they walk. I can understand that they might fly places when they are home with their families. Still, unless they are planning more trips to the DoM, do they really need brooms? With the war going full bore, I can't see Dumbledore allowing kids to just fly around and possibly be snatched by a DE. Just wondering ...

Solitaire

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Choices - Jul 13, 2005 7:13 pm (#33 of 39)
*Completely Obsessed With Harry Potter*
Choices wrote: We have seen one instance where the kids are flying over the Quidditch pitch - not for practice or a game, just for fun.

The Wandless Wizard - "I don't think we have ever actually seen that."

Check out OotP, p. 850 (USA - Scholastic Hardback)) "Harry walked slowly along the deserted corridor, peering out of windows as he went. He could see people messing around in the air over the Quidditch pitch and a couple of students swimming in the lake, accompanied by the Giant Squid."

This was after exams were over and the students were enjoying themselves before leaving for the summer vacation. So, actually I think we have seen that.

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Robert Dierken - Jul 14, 2005 8:43 pm (#34 of 39)
Ron and Harry have flown into Hogwarts in CoS, but not on brooms!

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The giant squid - Jul 15, 2005 5:32 am (#35 of 39)
Ah, but Robert, you'll notice that there's a moment where the car loses "power" and starts falling (which causes the boys' crash into teh Whomping Willow).

"They were over the lake--the castle was right ahead--Ron put his foot down.

There was a loud clunk, a splutter, and the engine died completely" (CoS, American PB pg 73)

I've always read this as the car passing through an "interference field" that causes flying items to fail. Is there any canon of any flying items working outside of the Quidditch pitch? The only one I can think of is Harry's broom during the first task in GoF, but they could have relaxed the safeguards for that particular instance.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with the acceptance letter, and I heartily apologize for contributing to the derailment of the thread.

--Mike

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Choices - Jul 15, 2005 8:15 am (#36 of 39)
*Completely Obsessed With Harry Potter*
Charlie's friends flew in to pick up Norbert and the Weasley twins flew out when they left school. LOL The only way I can tie this in is that they all got acceptance letters before they entered Hogwarts. Does that count? Less than one day to HBP.

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dobbyiscool - Jul 15, 2005 8:30 am (#37 of 39)
Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily this is not difficult. --Charlotte Whitton
At my high school, we have limited parking space, so freshmen rarely get parking tags, some sophomores do, and all the upper class men are sure to get one. I always assumed it was probibly more of a space reason. If young students are trying to practice flying on the quiditch pitch, they would be taking up space and in the way of kids who knew how to fly. I agree it is probibly like driving. You aren't allowed (technically) to drive a car with out a liceness, but people do at home with their families. You shouldn't have a broom until after you've learned how to fly it, but parents let their kids fly anyway. After all Malfoy had been holding the broom wrong for years.

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Circe - Oct 11, 2005 1:13 am (#38 of 39)
Choices,

Assuming that Charlie's friends could fly in because they had previously gotten acceptance letters, then Lord Voldemort could also enter being a Hogwarts alum himself.

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Choices - Oct 11, 2005 10:03 am (#39 of 39)
*Completely Obsessed With Harry Potter*
No, no Circe - I wasn't saying that was the reason. Since this thread has to do with Harry's acceptance letter, I was just trying to get back on track by mentioning acceptance letters. I didn't mean to imply that was the reason Charlie's friends could fly into Hogwarts. Sorry for not being clear.