MJs Hogwarts Journal Chapter 16

Monday 7^th October

Yesterday Jed and I went to visit Hagrid again. We didn’t exactly tell Josie that we were going. I kind of feel a little bad, but going without her seems a lot better than bringing her along and she getting upset again. Hagrid gave Jed and me some tea again and we gathered around his table. I actually got to try the tea and cakes this time – we left too early for my tea to cool before. Blowing the edge of the cup, I took a sip. It wasn’t bad. A little sweet, but I guess that if you have giant cutlery you are going to get a lot more sugar in your tea.

“So,” Jed began as he tapped his cake against his saucer. “Hagrid, can you tell us ‘bout what got José so upset last time we came?”

“Well yer see Jeddy-yer,” Hagrid’s eyes shot down to his cup, as he accidentally called Jed ‘Jeddy’ again. It was a good save, mind you. “I ain’t so sure I know.”

“So yer don’t know what got her mad?” asked Jed.

“Not exactly…” mumbled the giant.

“Then yeh do know somethin’,” said Jed, dropping his rock cake. It thudded to the floor.

Fang pounced up from his bed in the far corner of the room and crept towards the dessert. Sniffing at the ground, he edged further towards us. Moving his snout a little from left to right, Fang’s nose appeared to bump into the cake before he had even spotted it. Drooping his tongue out of his jaws, he slobbered all over Jed’s cake. Jed gave a groan before letting Fang eat it and taking another one from the plate on the table.

Hagrid slouched down in his chair and scratched a hand through his bushy hair. “Now, I ain’t sayin’ that I knows nuffin’or anyfink like that,” muttered Hagrid, dipping a cake in his tea. Fang waddled towards me plonked himself down at my side. His head flopped down in my lap and I started stroking his ear. Giving a yawn, Fang fidgeted for a bit, before the lids of his eyes began to close. I smiled down at him and continued listening in on the conversation at hand. “It’s j’st I recognised that girl’s face some’ink terrible,” Hagrid confessed. “‘Cept I’ve been rackin’ my brain ever since t’ figure out why.”

“So yeh don’t know,” Jed sighed.

“Can’t say I do,” the giant replied with a shrug.

I must say, that was a little disappointing. I thought that we had stumbled upon something really interesting there. So, Josie looks like someone that Hagrid once knew. Does this mean that Josie’s family are witches and wizards after all? But from everything that she’s said so far, I know she doesn’t talk about her life outside of Hogwarts, but she’s definitely dropped several hints that she’s Muggle-born. Hagrid could easily be mistaking her for someone else – it’s not unheard of. Don’t they say that everyone has a double out there somewhere? Maybe Josie has one that’s from the wizarding world. Argh, but then the mystery begins with: why did she get so upset? Oh, I don’t know.

“I do know one thing,” Hagrid went on. “That face… that one I recognise… it’s gotta be from me time at Hogwarts. Some’ink j’st keeps drawin’ me back there.” Jed and I looked at each other. My eyes widened so much. “But there’s somethin’ that keeps obscurin’ me from findin’ the right face… an’ I keep getting’ drawn back t’ those eyes. Those unusual stone-grey eyes…”

It’s a shame that Hagrid couldn’t give us anymore, because I’d have loved to have tried to have pieced it all together. I guess it would be pretty impossible to try and got back through every single student who went to Hogwarts during the time that Hagrid did to try and find out who Josie looks most like. And I guess we’d have to try and find someone who has stone-grey eyes too. For some reason I feel like they ring a bell to me too, but I must just be thinking about it too much.

“Maybe we should ask José ‘bout it?” Jed suggested as we stood up to leave.

“Aye wouldn’t be doin’ that if I were you,” warned Hagrid. Jed and I both stared at each other wide-eyed, before turning to face Hagrid.

“What d’you mean?” I asked. Hagrid curled a hand to his mouth.

“Oww dear,” he mumbled. “I shouldn’t a said nuffink. J’st pretend like yer never heard me.” Clattering the cups and saucers that we had just been drinking from, Hagrid pushed himself off his seat and began tidying away.

“So, you do know something…” said Jed with a smile. He plonked himself back down on the chair that he had been sitting in beside Hagrid, and I did the same.

“No, no, no,” muttered Hagrid. “The two of yerh sould get goin’. Don’t yer ‘ave homework or someink to be getting’ on wiv?” Jed and I shook our heads.

“We’re not leaving this spot Hagrid,” I told him with a smile. “Until you tell us what you know.”

Turning his back to us, the giant gave a deep sigh. Running his hands up his face, I watched him rub his eyes, before dragging his hands back down. “Promise not to tell Josie I told yer,” he said as he turned to face us. “I told her I wouldn’t tell no one.”

“So, you have seen her?” said Jed with a frown.

“You’ve spoken to her?” I asked. When? Where? Why? How come Josie hadn’t told us?

“Aye,” he sighed, pulling his chair out. “I shouldn’t a told yer that either.”

“Well now you have to explain,” I told him. “You just have to.”

“Yous ‘ave to promise yer won’t say a word,” Hagrid made us promise. “You aren’t even t’ think about what I’m about t’ tell yer – d’ya hear?” Swallowing, I nodded. Jed did too.

Lowering his head, Hagrid stared down at his hands. Fiddling with his thumbnails he told us, “Yer friend came down t’ see me last Sund’y. She apologised fer getting’ upset, which I told her was fine,” he quickly added looking up first at me, then at Jed. “Then she went on ter tell me why.” Hagrid went back to looking at and fiddling with his nails. “She showed me this piece a paper. It broke me ‘art it did. Broke me bloomin’ heart.” The giant’s eyes began to sparkle. Sniffing he rubbed his eye. “Poor kid,” he muttered. Rubbing his arm across his face, Hagrid sniffed again. “Sorry ‘bout that,” he said, before continuing. “She asked me if I knew anymore. I didn’t,” he stared at me when he said that. “She went t’ cry again, but there was nuffin’ I could do but comfort her, like.” His eyes began to water again. “She’s a good kid though, isn’t she?” he said with a smile as he looked from me to Jed. Pinching his smile inwards, Jed nodded.

Feeling a lump inside my throat, I nodded too. I didn’t and don’t know what to make of all this. Nothing Hagrid said made any sense. Obviously, he can’t tell us being as he swore secrecy to Josie, but why tell us bits without the full picture? And why was he crying? My chest began to shake. Is there something the matter with Josie? Can we help her? Why has she spoken to Hagrid about it and not us? Aren’t we her friends? We could help her. Or at least we could try. Sliding my hands up my sweatshirt, I hugged myself. Goosepimples prickled up my arms and legs. It wasn’t from the cold. Hagrid had a fire raging in the corner. It was from the fear. The fear of not knowing. Not knowing what Josie was going through or being able to help her. I felt myself welling up the deeper I thought about it.

“She’s one of the best witches in our Year,” I heard Jed say.

“You bet she is,” beamed Hagrid. “I’ve spoken t’ good ol’ Professor Flitwick. Asked ‘im t’ keep an eye on her. He told me she’s a pretty powerful witch. I bet it runs in her blood.” Hagrid lost his smile as he stared down at the table. “Tis a shame though. A real shame,” he mumbled.

“Are you sure you can’t tell us, Hagrid?” I cried. Jed leant over towards me and pressed a hand against my arm.

“Aye,” said Hagrid with a nod. “I’ve told yer too much already. But yer can’t tell Josie. Don’t even breathe a word.” I opened my mouth to object, but only a squeak came out. Hagrid whispered, “Sshhh,” holding a finger up to his mouth. Lowering it he gave me a weak smile, before saying, “She’ll tell yer when the time’s right.”

*

Something exciting happened to me today in Potions. Professor Snape seemed to be in a bad mood. He was exceptionally grumpy this morning. He didn’t even pay Blondie much attention, which is unusual, seeing how he does seem to be Professor Snape’s favourite. With Snape giving us a new potion to try, he stalked around the room with his arms folded behind his back, deducting as many House Points from Gryffindor as he could. “Mister Finnigan, ten points from Gryffindor for stirring your potion in the wrong direction,” muttered the professor as he walked by. “Miss Brown, fifteen points from Gryffindor. You don’t add the spleenwart until after it’s simmered,” he groaned. A few more footsteps were taken before, “Mister Weasley, wands are not cauldron stirrers. Do you want to singe your life and education? Twenty-five points from Gryffindor.”

That was pretty intense – even for Snape. As Professor Snape crept around the classroom, I felt my heart pound to the rhythm of his footsteps. Every time he stopped, I held my breath. My spine tingled. Then when he paced again, my palms grew sweaty. A lump found a way into my throat. With a shaking hand hovering over my potion, I sprinkled in a dash of octopus powder.

“Excellent work, Miss Frost.” I flinched. Professor Snape was stood at my right shoulder, staring down at me. Looking back down at my potion I felt my cheeks burn, as I blushed. “Fifteen points to Slytherin,” he announced. My first lot of House Points! And they were from Professor Snape – I really must be doing something right. Finally! I was the only Slytherin to get House Points that lesson. Correction: I was the only student to get House Points that lesson. That has made me feel all tingly. My stomach feels all pins and needles and I can’t stop smiling. Professor Snape actually praised me. Okay, he is now my favourite teacher!

*

It’s not fair. After such an amazing Potions lesson this morning, I’ve been instantly dragged back down to reality. In Charms, after lunch, Professor Flitwick gave us some really confusing theory homework – and we have to write three whole parchments. There’s all these new confusing terms that he keeps using. Why isn’t magic just as simple as you say a word and wave your wand and presto-changeo the spell happens? It’s so not fair. What’s even more annoying is that I can’t even get Josie’s help with this one, as Professor Flitwick specifically pointed out that he had been giving each of his First-Year classes a different group of spells to start the year off with. Therefore, different spells have different theory – I already figured part that out by myself. I guess I’m going to be doing a lot more studying this week.

- Josie -

MJs Hogwarts Journal Chapter 15

Saturday 5^th October

Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. We got to watch our first Quidditch practice. Apparently, students don’t usually get to watch their team’s Quidditch practice, but Professor Snape managed to convince the Slytherin Quidditch team captain, Marcus Flint, to let us First-Years watch.

At first, I was totally lost, so I had Jed explain to me the rules of the game. To start with the pitch was a huge rectangular field – similar to that of Muggle football or rugby. On either side of the field were three huge rings. The tallest one stood in the middle, with a shorter, smaller one on either side. These, Jed explained were the goals. Before the practice started, Marcus brought a rather large, rectangular box near where we were, sat at the bottom on the stadium stands. As he flicked the crate open, I stretched my head up, trying to see over Priscilla’s head at what was inside. Leaning over the box, Marcus pulled out a large, red ball – about the size of a football. “That’s the Quaffle,” Jed told me, as Marcus handed the ball over to another member of the team, named Adrian. “The main point of the game is that three players on each team, called Chasers, have t’ try and pass the Quaffle to each other ‘n’ get it into one of the goals without lettin’ the other team get it. It’s ten points for ever goal scored.” That seemed easy enough. “Then there’s the Keeper (ours is Miles Bletchley – he’s in the same year as my cousin) who has to defend the team’s goal posts, so that the other team don’t score.” It sounds kind of similar to basketball, just without the bouncing. With the Quaffle ball now in Adrian’s hands, he and Jed’s cousin Vince got on their broomsticks and flew further down the field. I watched as they threw the Quaffle ball back and forth to each other.

The next thing to come out of the box were two black baseball bats. “Those are for the Beaters,” Jed said as they were passed to two Sixth-Years, Graham Montague and Chris Warrington. They both looked huge. Their faces were so chubby that you couldn’t see their necks. A nest of dark brown hair sat on top of both of their heads. A shudder crept down my back as gazed at their stern, thug-like expressions. They definitely weren’t two people that you would ever want to have to cross. I guess in a way they almost looked like the older versions of Crabbe and Goyle: dopey, yet tough. “Their job,” Jed explained, “is to beat the Bludgers away from our team an’ to hit ‘em towards the other team.” At first, I frowned at Jed, but leaning over to see the next balls that were about to be released, I could kind of tell what he meant. Two brown, leather-looking straps (one horizontal and one vertical) appeared to lock two down a black vibrating ball. There were two of them; one on the left of the box and on one the right. The second that Marcus freed them from their strapping, the Bludgers zoomed up and into the air. Graham and Chris kicked off the ground and shot into the air and began chasing around after the two black, baseball looking balls.

“The last ball… is probably the most important of ‘em all,” Jed said to me, as Marcus bent over the crate once more. “It’s the Golden Snitch.” As soon as Jed said this, a small, golden ball, about the size of a golf ball shot into the air. It hovered for a while near Marcus’ head. While it did, I noticed that the golden ball actually had tiny wings fluttering either side of it. “The Seeker has t’ try an’ catch it.” Our Seeker is a Third-Year named Terence Higgs. “Once he does,” Jed went on. “The game’s over. But it’s almost impossible to catch ‘cause it moves so quickly.” Exactly as Jed said this, the Golden Snitch zipped off towards the other end of the pitch. It was so small that I lost sight of it in an instant. “The most important thing for the Seeker though is to keep score,” Jed was telling me, as Terence mounted his broomstick as hurtled towards the other side of the field. “‘Cause grabbing the Golden Snitch is a hundred-an’-fifty points, but if the other team has a hundred-an’-sixty-points, but your team doesn’t ‘ave any an’ you catch it, you’ve j’st made your team lose.”

The game sounds very interesting. It was kind of hard to get into though, just by watching the practice. Jed explained to me how Quidditch is a really fast paced, dangerous sport, with players zooming by on their brooms and Bludgers flying everywhere. Even the Golden Snitch can fly anywhere it wants and that includes the space underneath the stands. The stands, I guess, are kind of like wooden planks that you sit on, like where the audience is at a football or baseball game. The first of the wooden planks is closest to the field. The second one is positioned a little behind and is raised a little, so the people in the second row can see comfortably over the heads of the people in front. Each row goes up slowly higher and higher. Between each row is just an empty space, so if you were to look underneath (which I did), you just see the rest of the grass.

It turns out that Marcus is our team’s third Chaser. He started off giving the team orders. The main focus seemed to be on Marcus, Vince and Adrian trying to score goals past Miles. I think Miles did really well to defend as many as he did. It has got to be a lot harder than what the goalkeeper in football does. Miles has to leap to the sides, trying to stop the Quaffle from entering one of the team’s three goals, whilst staying on his broomstick. The goals have to be nearly fifty feet in the air. Now that is some impressive flying. Now I see what all the fuss with flying is about. If you can fly well enough, you could get to play on a Quidditch team. That seems pretty amazing.

I guess Quidditch is kind of a cross between Muggle football, basketball and baseball. It was so exciting to watch. I can’t wait until next month when the first match starts, so that I can see what an actual game looks like. I’ve heard that it’s so interesting that the entire school, even all of the teachers, come to watch. I really can’t wait.

- Josie -