Friday 11th April
It’s
now Easter half-term. A few students have gone home for Easter, which is next
week on Sunday, but mostly everyone has stayed – I’m guessing it’s to help each
other study, that and not many families do an awful lot special from Easter,
like they do Christmas. Only about ten Slytherins have gone home for Easter. I
don’t know any of them by name and none of them are in my Year. I don’t know
whether Josie has stayed or not. I know that she did over Christmas, but I
didn’t see her at dinner, so maybe she went home, I don’t know. She still isn’t
speaking to us, not that Jed or I have even tried communicating with her. I
guess we’ve just decided that we have to accept that Josie isn’t coming back
and that it’s just the two of us now. That sounds more lonely than it actually
is, I mean I’ve got the girls too and Jed has Blondie and his buddies, but I
guess it still feels like something is missing.
*
Goodness,
we have had so much homework and revision to do. I can’t believe that the
entire school year will be over in just over a month’s time. We’ll be doing our
exams on the nineteenth until the twenty-third of May and then that’s it. Our
whole years’ worth of studying is done. That’s pretty scary when you think of
it like that. There is so much that I need to learn. Defence Against the Dark
Arts is probably the subject that I’m panicking about the most. I still have no
idea of the difference between Vermillious and Verdimillious – I know that they
have something to do with coloured sparks, but that’s as far as my memory goes.
Then there’s Flipendo, which is a knockback jinx used to repel an opponent or
object, but the description of that wand movement in the book is so confusing
that I have no idea where to start. It says, ‘Start with a descending
correction mark, up to the mountainous arc; the curvature is only slight before
you dip to you and flick,’ – yeah, like I’m ever going to understand that.
I’m
still struggling to get the transfigurating formula right. Professor McGonagall
always tells me that I’m out by one or two. I just don’t get it. Isn’t the
formula supposed to be unique to the individual anyway, so how in Merlin’s name
would she know what my personal strength formula is?
I
guess I’m not doing too badly in Potions. I’m managing to make them in class most
of the time, except I do sometimes get my left and right stirring the wrong way
around. I think that most of the potions that I have made have turned out okay
though. And I think that my theory work is getting there. I usually get a
‘Good’ scribbled on the bottom of my homework when Professor Snape hands them
back, so that can’t be bad.
Astronomy
is getting harder though. Professor Sinistra is making us learn more and more
names of constellations. I know that there are eighty-eight in total and that
most of them are to do with animals. There is an eagle, a ram, a crab, a goat,
a giraffe, a whale, a dove, a swan, a lizard, a lion, a scorpion, a wolf, a fox
and a fly. One of the unusual ones I found out is that there is a dragon-shaped
one with Blondie’s name – his parents must have named him after it, lucky
thing. I think I would have liked to be linked to a phoenix, they are magical,
fiery creatures, that would be pretty cool, or what about oow, the queen,
Cassiopeia – everyone bow down to your Queen Cassiopeia, hehehe. Okay, what
would Jed be? He can be the compass, Pyxis, because he’s always changing
direction personality-wise. I think I’ve found one that Josie would have wanted
to be named after, the unicorn, Monoceros, it doesn’t quite sound as nice as Josie
does though. I don’t think I’m doing too badly on the constellation side, but
Professor Sinistra has us memorising the names of Jupiter’s moons. I can just
about remember Metis, Adrastea and Amalthea… ow and I think one might be called
Europa, but that’s as far as I can remember. I can’t believe that she wants us
to remember all sixty-three. What on Earth (or should I say Jupiter) will that
test be? Naming them all? It will take me the whole hour just to answer that
one question. They all have such stupid names; they’re too difficult to
remember.
And
don’t even get me started on Tarantallegra. I wouldn’t even know the thought process. I tried to see
if I could use a similar sort of formula to the transfiguration one to see if
that helped, but it didn’t. Professor Flitwick only wants us to be able to make
a feather dance and I can’t even make it flutter. It’s so frustrating. I just
hope that it isn’t on the test. Knowing my luck, it will be.
Oh,
how I wish we had Josie with us to study. It would make things so much easier.
Whenever I used to get confused, she would always just explain something to me,
now I’m finding that I’m having to wander mindlessly around the library to try
and find a similar book to the compulsory textbook and read the entire thing cover-to-cover,
before realising that it isn’t much help and going to find another one. At
least if I wanted to read the book for myself before, Josie would have told me
which one to read. She probably would have known which section in the book too.
Okay, this sounds really whiny and like I rely on her too much, but I think
that’s what mine and Jed’s problem is. We were relying on Josie too much.
Whenever we didn’t get anything, we just asked her, and she’d tell us. Or if
she didn’t know, she’d go away read a book the come back and tell us everything
that we needed to know.
Speaking
of Jed, he’s been bugging me something terrible when it comes to revision. He’s
been asking me so many questions and all of the time too. He literally goes
from one question to another in a matter of minutes. “For Reparo, do you move
your want left to right – or right to left? What about Vermillious, is that one
that reveals objects hidden by Dark Arts spells or is that Verdimillious? Did
Gaspard Shingleton get imprisoned for the massive Soap Blizzard leak in
thirteen-seventy-eight, or is he the cauldron guy?” Seriously, I could scream.
How did Josie used to put up with this? No wonder she worked herself up about
not having enough time for her own studies. Jed’s hard work… very hard work.
I’m hoping that he’ll grow out of it. I’ve been imagining what he’ll be like
when we study for our N.E.W.T exams in our last year – he’ll be a nightmare. I
just hope this past month has made him realise just how much he used to rely on
her.
*
Leaving
the library, Jed and I decided to walk to the Common Room by taking a detour up
on the second floor. Sometimes we like to just wander around on a different
floor to the one that we need. We just like looking around the castle or
sometimes it’s because we want to stay away from large groups of people –
especially if we’ve heard that a fight between some of the older years in
opposing houses breaks out. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, you
really know about it. A Gryffindor and a Ravenclaw put each other in the
Hospital Wing the other week. The Ravenclaw girl accused the Gryffindor
Fifth-Year of trying to cheat off her. Whether he did or not I don’t know, but
the pair of them used such strong spells that they ended out spending two whole
days in the infirmary.
Whilst
walking along the corridor though, Jed and I overheard the conversations of
three of the Hogwarts staff. The voices belonged to the Headmaster, Deputy
Headmistress and Professor Flitwick. Hearing voices coming from one of the classrooms,
Jed and I crouched down outside it. “Yes Minerva, I am aware of the dangers,”
said the Headmaster. “But I am afraid that the evidence is too weak to support
this. The Ministry need proof.”
“Oh,
but Albus, Hagrid’s found three dead unicorns already,” Professor McGonagall
protested. “We don’t need a fourth.”
“But
we have no proof of what killed them,” Professor Dumbledore pointed out.
“Surely
the Ministry will look into it,” she replied. “After all, three of the forest’s
most greatest creatures don’t just drop down dead.” My eyes widened as I stared
at Jed. We had been right, something terrible was going on. The teachers knew
about it too, they just needed evidence.
“I
bet we could find out something,” I whispered to Jed. “If we just went back.”
He nodded.
“If
we could lure that thing towards the troll…” he muttered.
We
jumped hearing Professor Flitwick cry out, “And the bite marks. Don’t forget
about those. Anything that feasts upon a unicorn is-”
“I
know,” croaked Dumbledore. “I know too well what that means: A curse so strong
that it keeps you alive, even if you are moments from death. A pain so vivid
that any who feels it would wish that they were dead, as opposed to the agony
that is pulsing through their body.”
“But
what would do something like that?” Professor McGonagall exclaimed. “What would
cause itself so much pain and suffering?”
“Not
what. Who,” said the Headmaster. Professor McGonagall gasped.
“Now,
now,” barked Flitwick. “You can’t be expecting us to be believing that, can you
Albus?”
“Arh,
but Filius, the prophecy has spoken,” came Dumbledore’s calm reply.
“But
that was over ten years ago!” Professor McGonagall snapped. There was silence.
“You aren’t telling me… oh Albus, no…”
“I’m
afraid so Minerva; I’m afraid so,” were the last words that we heard Professor
Dumbledore say. Hearing footsteps coming up the staircase, Jed and I ran.
Reaching
the doorway to the Slytherin Common Room, Jed and I leant against the wall and
panted. “What do you think they were talking about?” I asked Jed, a hand
pressed firmly into my chest, as I begged for air.
“I
dunno,” he breathed. “Could be anything.”
“We
need to go back,” I told him.
“How?”
he muttered. “We need the key.”
“I
know,” I replied.
“An’
why? What could we do?” he asked. I shrugged.
“You
said it yourself… we could trap whatever it is… in with the troll,” I explained
between raspy breaths. “Then Hogwarts is saved.”
“If
only things were that simple,” Jed muttered.
“It
could be,” I told him.
“So
longs as we don’t get killed in the process,” he said bluntly.
“I
know,” I muttered, lowering my head. “But we still need Josie’s key.”
-
Josie -
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