Padma Patil

TOTALLY WIZ-NIFT!

Only now Fawcett won't stop going on about how Marvolo sent that snake after Stebbins. (Honestly, he deserved it. I'd have done it too if Stebbins had said that about me!)

Do you think Professor Lockhart's alright? I mean, Professor Carrow really knocked him back with that spell. He still seemed a little disorientated even after they sent everyone out. I tried to help him back to his office but he told us all he was going to walk it off for a while.


Mum and Dad, what happened was that Professor Brutka and Professor Lockhart were going to start us, but then Professor Carrow said he would do it and he pushed his way up on the platform. Professor Lockhart was so gracious, really, and so was Professor Brutka, I guess. He just shrugged and bowed a little and then he sort of stayed around to watch.

Well, Professor Carrow and Professor Lockhart showed us duelling stance, only I guess Professor Carrow wanted to show us that in a real duel, you don't wait for the, um, niceties because if you wait you might just get killed. So he cast a disarming spell and it was really powerful. It was actually dead cool even if it was Professor Carrow and Professor Lockhart went tumbling. But he was okay. I mean, he got up really quickly. He was still a little dazed, though.

And then they had us all pair off, but after a few minutes it was utter chaos. It was kind of funny, actually. I mean, all that practising we've been doing with our manuals and it didn't really make a difference to anyone, much. Well, maybe Malfoy was doing really well. I couldn't see, because Belinda and I paired off and I know, I'm supposed to be working with Parvati but she was all the way across the duelling platform, so I really couldn't you see, and anyway Belinda and I traded off pretty well, but she bumped into Weasley and he's got that broken wand, and it went off. And it sort of made everything go really white for a minute. I'm not sure what spell that was, I'll have to look it up.

But then when I could see again, half the kids had their hair singed off or they were covered in boils and some were sopping wet, but Professor Carrow called everyone to order and Professor Lockhart said perhaps they'd better have one team demonstrate. So Professor Lockhart called up Marvolo and Malfoy. And that's when Stebbins said that it was no surprise they got picked, and then he said something really rude that I won't repeat, but it made all the boys nearby snigger and Professor Carrow sort of looked at them and they stopped really quickly, but then he said, 'On second thought, Lockhart, let's see what they do against a real opponent,' and he called up Moran, you know, the Head Boy, and he whispered something in his ear. Then he told Malfoy and Marvolo to prepare and WHOOSH! Moran made a great snake come out of his wand just like that!

Well, everyone tried to take a step back, except we couldn't because the people behind us didn't see it so they didn't realise we needed to move back, and we all sort of got jostled, and Stebbins stumbled forward because he's really clumsy on top of everything else, and he fell against the platform. And the snake went straight for him!!

Professor Carrow told everyone not to move, that he'd get rid of the snake, and then the most amazing thing happened! Marvolo started talking to the snake!! In snake talk, I mean!! Parcel Parseltongue. Like the Lord Protector and everything!

And the snake went. after. Stebbins!!! It was completely terrifying! Belinda and I moved away as fast as we could, but it was really hard with no room to go anywhere.

Professor Brutka made the snake disappear then, but goodness, it was exciting!

Fawcett's even more worried now, of course, but that's just mad. I mean, unless she goes and says something daft to Marvolo, what is there to worry about?

I noticed in that post of his that Mr Black (the good one, I mean, not the awful one) was reading a book about Salazar Slytherin, so I went and looked in the library and Madam Pince has a copy. She also had something called Lives of the Founders and a really nift illustrated book about the duel between Slytherin and Gryffindor. So I've got those for us tonight.

Also Professor Binns mentioned Odric the Odious, and it turns out he was one of the first professors who came to teach after Slytherin left. There's no book about him, but there are a few places where he's mentioned in Hogwarts, A History and also in Great Wizards of the Dark Ages. Since Professor Binns is still telling us about the Dark Ages, it ought to be useful. Has anyone else noticed that the older the history he's telling, the more likely the books are to agree with him?

Oh, and Finnigan, will you bring that book you said you had about Cnut's court wizard? It sounded like there was a whole section on Hogwarts in there, too.

(Has anyone started practising their wand positions for duelling yet? I've been reading up on it in the library.)