Saturday 7th December
Winter has arrived.
Snow started falling on Wednesday when we were out in the greenhouse for
Herbology. By the time our lesson had ended, the path leading back to the
castle was a blanket of white. It was so magical. Even though it’s really
chilly, there is something about this castle that doesn’t make me feel all that
cold – it’s strange. I guess it helps that I have loads and loads of layers on.
Getting up this morning I threw on a vest, a long-sleeved t-shirt, a short
sleeved one, a black turtle neck jumper and a pair of really long socks under
my jeans. I know it sounds a lot, but if I wore this all back home, I know for
sure that I’d still be freezing. I think that the castle is magically enchanted
to stay warm-ish.
Ha!
Something relating to the snow that extremely hilarious – it started snowing
pretty hard yesterday. I remember sitting at the table in the Great Hall gazing
at the enchanted ceiling when Priscilla, who was sat next to me, started
sniggering. “MJ,” she hissed, as she elbowed me. “Look,” she insisted as I
turned towards her. She was pointing at Professor Quirrell. He had just entered
the Great Hall and the red-headed Weasley twins were behind him holding out
their wands. A small, white cloud hovered above Quirrell’s turban and snowballs
magically appeared from it, whacking the professor on the back of the head.
Throwing a hand to my mouth I could not stop laughing. I think almost the
entire hall broke down in hysterics.
“What
are we to do?” I heard Professor McGonagall asked the Headmaster. “What should their
punishment be?”
“Punishment?”
laughed Professor Dumbledore. “Why, get into the spirit of things, Minerva.
Boys will be boys after all,” and he left it at that. I couldn’t believe it.
Even Professor Dumbledore found it amusing.
*
I think that all of
the studying for the tests over the next fortnight has really tired me out.
This morning when I woke up it was ten o’clock. Priscilla, Pansy and Scarlett
had already left our room and had probably gone to breakfast. After getting
dressed and making my way through the Common Room, I took a glance around just
to see who was about. There were a few Sixth and Seventh-Year students sat near
the fire – probably pretending to study, as there were no books in sight. I
gave a yawn before making my way down towards the Great Hall. On my way I
stopped to talk to some of the paintings – I do sometimes. It’s kind of fun.
Okay it was a little creepy to begin with, but the bunch of men sat at the
grand dining table (that first spoke to Ivy on my first day) aren’t that bad to
have a conversation with. “And salutations,” said that man at the head of the
table with a bow when I went to leave. “And remind us to your good friend
Master Edwards,” he called after me. Walking down the corridor, I smiled to
myself. That reminded me – I should probably try to find Jed.
I
increased my pace down the corridor, as I made my way towards the Great Hall.
Jed had asked for extra help with his pronunciation for Transfiguration and I
had agreed to help him after breakfast. I knew I was probably too late for
breakfast, but I was going to keep my promise of helping him study. He hadn’t
wanted to ask Josie, just because whenever she seems to try and help him the
two of them always end out in a fight.
Entering
the Great Hall, I noticed that most people were still hanging out at the
tables, which was a surprise, considering that breakfast was long over.
Spotting a spare place, I dropped myself down beside Trevor and Blaise. “Has
anyone seen Jed?” I asked glancing down the table.
“Yeah,
he left not long ago,” Blaise’s voice strained as he spoke; he and Crabbe were
having an arm-wrestling match across the table. I smirked at them. Blondie,
Goyle and Pansy were cheering Crabbe on, while Trevor, Scarlett and Priscilla
seemed to be on Blaise’s side.
“We
saved you a muffin,” cheered Priscilla as she passed one to me from across the
table. “I knew you’d be hungry.” Smiling I thanked her. I knew I could always
count on Priscilla. Crabbe, Blondie, Goyle and Pansy broke into cheers as
Blaise’s hand collided with the table.
“Who’s
the best?” asked Crabbe. “That’s right, I’m the best.” I smirked and rolled my
eyes at them. Crabbe and Goyle would do anything to show off their strength.
“So,”
I said as I took a bite out of my muffin. Mmm, it was blueberry. “Anyone know
where Jed went?” Rubbing his wrist, Blaise shrugged.
“I
dunno,” muttered Trevor.
“He
went with your friend,” said Goyle as he looked up at me. Turning towards him I
frowned – it wasn’t often that Goyle spoke to me. “You know,” he muttered,
pulling his arms around himself. “Josie… the red-head.” As he said this, he
flinched shouting, “Ouch!” shooting an arm down to grab his leg. Scowling at
Crabbe and Blondie he shouted, “What did ya-”
“Stop
being such a baby,” Blondie scoffed. I don’t know what that was all about and I
didn’t want to hang around to find out.
“Thanks,
Goyle,” I said smiling at him. He deserved a smile after one of them kicked
him. It was uncalled for. I swear, sometimes Malfoy is so mean to Goyle – he
isn’t that bad. He doesn’t scare me as much as he used to anyway.
Upon
leaving the Great Hall, I took a wander towards the library. Where else would
Josie be? When it doubt, I usually find her in the library. When I got to the
door, I felt a little silly walking inside. Looking down at myself I realised
that I didn’t have my bag with me, a book, paper, my quill or even my wand. Seriously,
how was anyone going to buy the fact that I was going into the library for,
well, studying related stuff. After pushing open the door, I folded my arms and
began looking around.
“Are
you alright?” came a soft, Scottish voice. I spun around to find the Ravenclaw
Seeker (a beautiful Chinese girl, with long, black hair and a huge smile)
standing before me.
“Oh,
umm,” I muttered. “Have you… do you know a girl named Josie?” I asked her.
“She’s a First-Year in your house.”
“Red
hair? Glasses?” she asked. I nodded. “Yes, I think I’ve seen her. She’s over
there with a friend.” The girl pointed towards the far-left side of the
library. I thanked her before wandering off to the back of the library.
Curled
up on the edge of the table, dressed all in black, sat Josie. With the toes of
her black canvas shoes pressed against the seat of a chair, she leant across
the table pointing at something in a book. Jed sat in the chair in front of
her. His emerald green jumper was easy to spot from halfway across the room.
“I’m not sure,” I heard him say as I approached the table. “Take it off and
let’s have a look.” Reaching behind her neck, Josie began fiddling with the
cord that was knotted behind her.
“Need
any help?” I asked as I bounced up behind her.
“Mellie!”
Josie gasped as she spun around. Holding a hand to her chest, her eyes widened
as she stared at me. “You made me jump.”
“Sorry,”
I said with a shrug. “What are the two of you doing?” I asked. “Studying?”
“Nah,”
Jed laughed. Josie slid off the table and offered me the seat that she had been
resting against. “We were tryin’ t’ find out about the key,” he said as Josie
walked around the table to sit beside him.
“Why
didn’t you tell me?” I asked, running a hand along my cheek and across the back
of my neck. My head lowered as I stared at them.
“We
didn’t wanna wake you,” Jed said simply. Josie shook her head. As I stared at
them, Jed went back to looking at the textbook in front of them. “Let me see
the key again,” he said to Josie.
Dropping
into the seat, I couldn’t help but stare at them. This was the second time that
they had done this – left me alone whilst they snuck off to the library to look
stuff up about the key that Josie found. They were so engrossed in their own
company it was like I wasn’t even there. Leaning over Jed, Josie flicked a few
of the pages forwards and they bother peered over with interest. I watched as
Josie fidgeted in her seat to lean closer to the book. Sliding her glasses up
her nose, she brushed her fringe to the side, before dragging a piece of hair
behind her ear and fiddling with a scarf that she tied through her hair. The
black with white stars seemed to go really well with her black and white
striped t-shirt that peered out of the v-neck of her jumper. She must have felt
me staring, for she glanced up at me. “You okay, MJ?” she asked.
“Er,
I like you scarf,” I blurted out. I actually did. It suited her. But I never
meant to say it. I didn’t know what I meant to say, really.
“Thanks,”
she smiled. “Wanna help us look? Jed’s found a pretty good book about ancient
keys.” As she said this, Josie tapped her hand upon Jed’s shoulder. He turned
to her and smirked.
“Okay,”
I said a little louder than I hoped, as I tried my best to smile at them.
Gripped the edges of my chair, I dragged it over as close as I could.
I
don’t know what got over me – I really don’t. Well I do, but I don’t know why.
I love Josie like a little sister, but sometimes… grrr, I don’t know. It’s like
she’s smart and pretty, but not in a Pansy way, in a she-doesn’t-know-it kind
of pretty, she’s super creative, funny and she’s always herself no matter what,
but that gets me so mad sometimes. Everyone seems to notice her. Fabian… Jed,
Professor Flitwick, Dumbledore – hey, even Blondie and his buffoons pay her
attention. But she’s in her own bubble, oblivious to it all. It just makes me
want to explode. It’s like I was jealous of her and Jed being together without
me there. I guess I was worried that they’d forget about me or something. I
mean what’s the point of me being there if Josie’s there? I know, I know. I’m
being dumb. Like I said, I don’t know what came over me.
Being
with Jed and Josie was fun. And just like the last times we’ve been looking up
stuff about the key, we were learning stuff without actually realising it.
Apparently, there are such things as winged keys. There is a charm that you can
use to apply to a key to give it wings, so that no one else can catch it but
you. It seems like a good idea. I have no idea why I would ever need to use it,
but it’s one of the fun facts learnt today.
“None
of these are the right one,” Josie sighed as she hugged her knees.
“We
just need t’ keep looking,” Jed told her as he slammed the book shut. I wafted
a hand in front of my face as dust puffed out of the pages.
“What
time is it?” asked Josie as she closed her eyes.
“Nearly
lunch,” I said with a huge grin. Although the blueberry muffin that Priscilla
had saved me was nice, it was nowhere near filling enough. My stomach had been
whimpering for some time. I’d squeezed my arms around it in hope of keeping it
quiet for long enough, until lunch time arrived.
“Awesome,”
Jed cheered. “I’m starved.” He tapped my arm with his elbow and the two of us
got up. “You comin’ José?” he asked throwing his backpack over one shoulder.
“No,”
she mumbled, shaking her head. “I’ve got homework t’ do.”
“Do
it later,” I told her. “Come on. I’m hungry.” Sliding her feet to the floor, I
thought that Josie was going to get up and join us, but she didn’t. Instead,
she pulled a roll of parchment from her bag.
“I’m
fine,” she muttered. “You two go… I’ll find you later.”
*
I didn’t want to go
just leave Josie alone in the library, but she kept insisting that we go. It’s
times like this when I get mad at myself for being jealous around her. The past
few weeks, since the Quidditch match/the Malfoy incident, Josie hasn’t quite
been herself. Yeah, she’s helped Jed and I study, but she hasn’t been her usual
perky self. In fact, I barely saw her for the first week afterwards. It was
kind of scary. She was never at breakfast or lunch and when she was in the
Great Hall for dinner she sat on her own at the end of the table – she didn’t
even sit with Fabian and his friends.
It’s
shocking at what one word can do to someone. Our first Herbology lesson with
her after that day was awkward. Professor Sprout seemed to want to keep picking
on me and Jed, but Josie wouldn’t help us out, so in the end we started making
answers up. They were quite amusing (Bouncing Bulbs make you constantly jump if
you accidentally eat them; Woodworms make you have an appetite for wood if
digested and Mandrake Roots make you hallucinate that you’re really an
aggressive male duck), but Professor Sprout didn’t seem to see the funny side.
We nearly got detention for it too, but Professor Sprout got distracted when
one of her Venus
flytrap-style plants snapped
at Pansy’s hair. Even Josie got a giggle out of that.
In
the evening though, when the three of us were studying together in the library,
the second Malfoy and his minions came to join us, Josie came up with an excuse
to leave, before the boys had even sat down. It was so obvious that it was
still bothering her – whether it was what happened at the Quidditch match or
the bad word that Blondie said that I’m never going to repeat, she wouldn’t
tell us what was wrong.
I
swear sometimes I wish I could hex that blond haired, smug git. That would
teach him a lesson. Then again, I did offer to… it was one afternoon, Jed,
Josie and I were sat in the Great Hall, at the Ravenclaw table, just talking
before he came in. I had my back to the entrance, so hadn’t noticed, but Jed
caught her staring and nudged me. “You okay José,” he asked. Shuddering, she
came out of her thoughts and looked at us.
“Um,
hmm,” was all she managed to reply. By now, we both knew what was upsetting her
– even if Josie wouldn’t talk about it. Giving Blondie a glance, I turned back
towards Josie with a grin.
“You
know, I could always use the Curse of the Bogies hex that Quirrell taught
us on Malfoy,” I joked. Looking up at me, Josie shook her head. “Come on,” I
sighed. “It’s the least he deserves.”
She shook her head again.
“No
thanks,” she whispered back. “He’s not worth all the trouble you’d get into.
Not to mention,” she added. “You’d be his next target.” Josie has a point. I
guess I could do without torturing Blondie for now – after all I do have to put
up with him for the next seven years.
She’s
been okay recently though. And Blondie’s backed off too. He hasn’t been around
us once this week, which seems to have helped. I have a feeling Jed’s told him
to keep his distance. The thing that’s really got me confused though is: why
did Josie get so upset in the first place? I’m Muggle-born and the unrepeatable
word never bothered me. Well I didn’t know what it meant at the time and if I
had I might have gotten angry, but when placing that scene between what Hagrid
had told us about recognising her as being a relation to a witch or wizard that
he once knew, wouldn’t that make her pure-blooded, or half-blooded, or
partly-blooded at the very least? So why was she so upset? Okay, Jed got upset
too and he’s pure-blooded, but he got over it within a day or two. It just
feels like one big mystery. I guess I have seven years to try and solve it… I
hope it doesn’t take that long. I was hoping more like Christmas.
Speaking
of Christmas, eeep, it’s not too long to go. Professor McGonagall came around
the other morning and asked if there were any students who would be staying at
school over the holidays and not going home for Christmas. I told her straight
away that I wanted to stay. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my family… in a
thanks for putting a roof over my head and feeding me and clothing me, oh yeah,
and for letting me go to Hogwarts – can’t be forgetting that one. But, well, I
guess there isn’t any special bond there. I’ve never experienced a special
Christmas and I really don’t think they’ll miss me all that much. Jed told me
that most students go home for Christmas and that it’s really unusual to want
to stay at Hogwarts. This actually made me even happier. I would have the
entire castle pretty much to myself for most of the Christmas holiday – how
amazing is that? I actually think that I may be the only Slytherin staying here
for Christmas. Oh, and I haven’t mentioned the best bit: Josie is staying too.
Okay so it won’t quite be the same without all three of us, but I’ll actually
get to spend heaps of time with her. It won’t be just to study, like usual. And
hopefully I’ll get to find out more about her family. Fingers crossed.
- Josie -
