So, my trusty Hufflepuff friend's gift came in the mail yesterday and I understood why their old owl couldn't bring it and had to be delivered by muggle royal mail: it was massive!

The first thing I noticed was the nice scent everything had, I don't know if it was a spell or something but for some time I really couldn't focus...

Next thing I remember was reading a nice welcome letter, something that told me that my friend really put a lot of effort in their gift and this gave me a warm feeling all around.

Or it could have been the potion they used on the parchment maybe... Those sneaky Puffs, all goody two shoes in theory. Nah, I love you guys, I almost was one of the Badgers myself, after all.

Then there was something I thought I was way too old to receive (again? anew?) but it got me a lot of (what-if) memories nonetheless : my Hogwarts acceptance letters, signed by Minerva McGonagall herself. I'm not sure if Madam Malkin will have a Hogwart uniform in my size or if it would need to be custom tailored but I'm quite sure that I will be bringing a cat as familiar, cats are downright too useful in school.

The ticket for Platform 9 3/4 is too beautiful for simple words to tell! I don't have the heart to use it come September 1st, I will walk all the way to Scotland if they won't let me keep it after voiding it, Merlin will see.

Then there were two incredibly beautiful prints, one of Luna (whom I love as a dear friend) depicting her most natural and beautiful introductory words, and the other of one the greatest (and most tragic) love story of the books, "Always". I loved them immediately and I will hang them up in my bedroom as soon as I find the right place for them.

After them, there were three very dangerous artifacts : a Chocolate Frog (my very first chocolate frog, let's hope there's the Dumbledore card inside), the slimy but surely delicious Jelly Slugs and the infamous and insidious Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. I just hope I don't find "Brussels sprout" as flavour, it would ruin my experience just from the very beginning.

If all that was not enough, my dear Hufflepuff friend hand-made me a key-ring with the Hallow symbol on it and I love it so very much already! I'm using it for my car keys, as of right now :)

And finally, but not least, the only real concession my friend made to the movies merchandise, a Hogwarts Mug with the school motto and the school shield on it. I'll use it tomorrow morning for my first coffee and I'm sure it will be magical.

Conclusion : my dear Hufflepuff friend (whose name I still don't know, unfortunately), thank you so very very much, it really wasn't necessary for you to go to this length for me, I would really have been happy with the prints or the snacks alone, since they are so difficult to find here in Italy where I live.

I feel really overwhelmed by the amount of time, effort and money that you put into all this... I really have no more words to express my astonishment and my gratitude.

By necessity, living in Italy, I tend to buy the stuff I give in Redditgifts exchanges through online retailers, mostly because otherwise shipping fees would kill me. This however tend to make the gifts a little impersonal. But to receive something like this, made personally and just for me, it was a different experience, touching and emotional.

If at all possible I will try to have my next gifts be a little more personal next time, just to honor such a thoughtful and nice gift.

Jeff Hawke

EDIT: So last night I opened the Chocolate Frog (No Dumbledore unfortunately, the card was of Gilderoy Lockhart), I tasted a delicious pear Jelly Slug and tried a random, brownish Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean hoping for some chocolate.

Unfortunately, just after the pear slug, a sausage-flavoured bean was not really welcomed so I'm not sure when I'll try again, especially after I noticed the list of possible flavours on the back of the package. Some are really, really scary!

Maybe, I'll just offer them to obnoxious guests... Now, that's a nice idea.