Padma Patil

Well, all right if you really think it's going to be all that interesting. Has Teds got anything special planned, then?

By the way, the New London trip was better than the other year's but it was still fairly naff. You'd think after three years they'd come up with new sites to visit.

And there was a completely endless Quidditch match that was more boring than anything I ever watched at school. Not to mention the heat! Those third-year boys have got to learn better deodorising charms, you know?

Anyway. There was nothing to recommend it, honestly. Well, maybe the boat trip. The canapés were much better than I remembered.

Oh, did you hear that Valerie Dunstan's having fits because Elsie was named Head Girl? I mean, it's utterly ridiculous since everyone knew Lares had Head Boy tied with a bow, and it's obvious that that meant the Head Girl would be a Slytherin. Honestly.

Right, so, Friday. Want to get supper first? Leander and Gaia were trying to get some mates together at Bubble and Squeak beforehand and they wouldn't mind a couple more in the party.

Where are you revising today? Because if I have to sit and listen to Davies go on any longer about how terrible Diggory was to Chang I may just vom.

He brought her round the Corner again this afternoon. And she's still telling anyone who'll listen that Diggory dumped her by journal and he's only thinking about his career and she's 'holding him back' according to what he told her and UGH.

I liked Chang much better when she wasn't such a watering pot. And Davies has been playing the supportive 'friend'--as if he's interested in her as a 'friend'! I hope she knows he's going to dump her too, as soon as something else catches his eye.

Anyway. I just can't go back to the Corner after Prefects' meeting. Where do you reckon we can meet instead?

Still cross about not making the side? Only you've not been your usual. You were really quiet at the Prefects' meeting.

Here's something to cheer you up: Why do you suppose Cho Chang was binning a perfectly nice bouquet of flowers just after lunch today?

Three guesses.

First two don't count.

And in other news, I heard that Letchley didn't make it into first string for Slytherin, either. And Anne says she's grounded for about four weeks because of that collision with Smith and Stebbins. (She said she'd like to have hexed them both.)

So maybe it's not such a wonderful season to be playing, anyway. With your luck, Stebbins would knock you off your broom at 100 feet up.

Just so you know, I really don't have any idea who did it. And I'm sorry that it had to happen at all, but especially this week. Or well, you know what I mean. This time of year.

I saw the drawing, before Anderson got it down off the wall. It was well horrid. (Well, except that whoever drew Ron made his ears look hilarious. Sorry, but it's true. Oh, and Longbottom's buck-teeth were sort of grotesque. But then they are, aren't they? I mean, objectively?)

I think whoever did it might have assumed Seamus or me or Lav would get blamed but we decided last year that you've a right to pick your friends, even if they're nobodies.

I mean, look at Daphs. No one takes the mick out of her because she keeps Milli around and everyone knows it's so Daphne looks even cleverer and prettier by comparison. But Milli's loyal to Daphs and I think they honestly do like each other. And I know it's the same for you and your mates--that you like each other, I mean, not that you picked them because they show you off to good advantage.

Anyway. Just wanted to say. I'm sorry everyone's laughing at you. I hope you find a way to get them back.

Is she all right?

I mean, everyone saw the owl struggling with that package and then not three minutes later she rushed out of the Great Hall? It's not hard to guess that something set her off.

Was it from her mum, or what?

Well, let her know we hope she feels better soon, all right? Whatever it was. Oh, and Dunstan says she'll share her notes from Creatures today if you like, since you're missing it as well.

I thought we agreed no more quizzes!

And what in Merlin's name do you mean putting Davies and Page on that list of two-timers? And 'Anyone who dates Patil?' as if the two of them weren't enough? Even if you meant it as a misdirect, Pav, NOT FUNNY.

Honestly. What do you two think you're doing, putting that out in the middle of exams? And when we agreed we'd learned not to do it again?

Did you see what Marvolo's mudblood did yesterday? I barely noticed it at the time and then everyone was celebrating and then this morning I opened up my journal and looked back to see what people were saying during the challenge and I saw!

If I were Harry, I'd be well cross, wouldn't you? I can't imagine a servant getting above herself like that! What do you think he'll do to her?

And Lana Sandoval looked just radiant yesterday, didn't she? I think Auror training is honestly the best thing ever for her. She's so happy. And last time she wasn't, did I tell you about that? I'm sure I must have done. She didn't get her intensive with Auror Crouch and she had to work under some crusty old fossil at MLE and she hated every moment. But she spent her time writing papers and she's actually submitted them for publication! Pretty inspiring, I think, as a way to make the best of a bad situation. And now she's got a different intensive with Ms Wright and that must be very agreeable because she really looks amazing.

Plus? She hinted that she might be back over the holidays. It's got to have something to do with the Tri-Wizard Tournament, of course, but what?

Oh, and Lav, Daphs wants help with a project to look through old magazines for articles on someone, you'll never guess, but I can't tell you! It'll just be really interesting to find out what she's trying to learn!

Lana,

How is your grandmother doing? I hope she's all right. Haruman said he'd call to check on her if you like.

I've been thinking more about everything that happened Monday night and, well, it was all very frightening, but honestly it was also kinda cool to be able to pitch in and help. And I hope I did. Help you, I mean. Setting up the checkpoints and the relay stations. You were amazing, I hope someone's told you!

I'm already incredibly busy being back at Hogwarts, and lessons haven't even started yet! Finnigan and I are continuing History Club, of course, and then we've been talking about some other ideas for the CCF, based on everything coming out of Monday. We got to talking about the IMA and some of the other terrorist groups, and of course, the false Black post and so on, and we came up with a proposal we're working on for Professor Sinistra. (And Professor Raz, really.) It's to do with learning more about the ways one can help decode things in the journals - you know, how some people say that all those posts from the Crimson Company are nothing but encrypted messages to their followers? We want to start a cryptography workshop. I thought perhaps someone from MLE might come and give us pointers. I just think...it's hard when we're reading things in the journals, sorting out what's real from what's just a load of stuff, and no one really tells us much here, they like to just tell us that everything's perfect.

Well, we know that's not true, but the whole point of YPL and CCF is to make it more perfect. And it seems to me that knowing what might be going on below the surface is a good way to do that.

And the Corner is really going strong already. We've been putting together timetables for when to revise what. There's hardly going to be a free night, at this rate!

Now, don't fret at me, but Lares Tamblyn actually told me yesterday that he thought Page acted horribly last year and that if I'd like to sit with him and his brother and the other Prefects at meals and such, that'd be all right. And then he said - well, he said Davies even told Page he'd been beastly, 'and especially to someone as fit as Patil,' was what he told him. Cox and Samuels overheard him in the locker rooms, I guess, after one of their matches. Tamblyn said he figures Davies might like to ask me out but he doesn't want anyone to make a meal of it like they did with Page last year. So he suggested that sitting up with the Prefects would put me close to the Quidditchers but not right in among them, because obviously that would look like I'm just trying to catch Page's eye again. As if I'd give him a second chance to be a gentleman!

Well, I'm not sure what I'll do about it. I don't think Tamblyn's the type to wind one up; if Chambers had told me then I'd be sure she'd just putting a kneazle among the occamies! But I always thought Davies fancied Chang, so I don't know quite whether Tamblyn's really drawing the right conclusions. I mean, it could just be that Davies is too decent to let the side's reputation get tarnished by one player's foolishness. Couldn't it?

But anyway. I thought you'd be interested to hear. What else? Well, you probably already know that Karoline Moon's already quite the mope since Baddock's gone. (Clearwater, too, but she does a better job, at least, of not letting it rule her every conversation. Though, honestly, I think I'd be sick if she did go on and on about Weasley, of all people. By the way, what do you think of them choosing her for Head Girl? You probably don't want to say but personally I think, as much as I'd like to see a Ravenclaw with the job, the Headmistress is rather scraping if Clearwater was her best choice. She's not at all a leader like you were. At least, not so far.) But anyway, Dames says Moon and Baddock wanted to get engaged over the summer, but Baddock's father wouldn't allow it! She's been a mope about that, too. Dames thinks it's not that Mr Baddock objects, really, it's just that he thinks they're too young. I thought perhaps he wasn't happy about the play, from last year, you know, how Ptolemy let Karo put in all the stuff about his parents. But Dames doesn't think so, not really. She says Mr Baddock's far too sensible to hold something like that against someone our age. Well, Karo's age. I asked Lines what he thought about his sister getting engaged to Baddock but he just shrugged. Boys.

Oh, and can you believe there were actually no new Bobolis cousins in this year's firsties? But there are some promising ones. Persephone Sanditon's supposedly got a lovely voice and Orla Quirke dances, I hear. And my own cousin, Darshana, she got sorted into Ravenclaw as well! I'm sure Sanji would have been Sorted

Well, I've really gone on and on, haven't I? I'm sure you've loads of important things you're learning at the Ministry and I haven't even asked what you're specialising in now. Of course, Monday was far from the time to catch up but I hope you'll write back and tell me all the exciting parts of your training nowadays!

Have you heard? Chang was in Ravenclaw Corner this afternoon on account of Dark Arts lessons being cancelled. He said that Mr Malfoy and Miss Professor Carrow had a DUEL last night! In the corridors!

Tamblyn said he heard that Miss Carrow tried to cast the killing curse on Mr Malfoy! But she missed and he Cruciated her to subdue her. But Dames said that's not what she heard, she heard that it was Mr Malfoy who went to try to kill Miss Carrow, on account of her talking to that Londinarium chap. So then we got Moon to come over, and you know she's dating Ptolemy Baddock, and he was there, but she said that he said that it was just a disagreement between them, and they hadn't had their wands out at all. Only no one really believes that.

In fact, Sandoval said that if Mr Malfoy had wanted to cast the killing curse on Miss Carrow, he wouldn't have missed, but he told Moon that it was ridiculous to say there wasn't any kind of duel, because Baddock and Professor Sinistra were there and were sending students away down the corridor in the other direction. And they wouldn't have done that if it had just been an argument. But he didn't think they were casting anything too bad - you know, just usual duelling club kinds of spells, because he couldn't credit they'd go and try to duel to the death right in school where anyone might come along!

Well. Then Laverty, she said she heard that a long time ago, Miss Carrow was after Mr Malfoy, you know, like how Professor Acton was always trying to corner Professor Raz? And she was really in love with him, but he wouldn't have anything to do with her (and can you blame him, really? I mean, who would ever be attracted to Miss Carrow?) and so she's been sending him little 'presents' for years, and finally he tried to send one back to her brother. So he took bottle of firewhiskey that she'd sent him and sent it to Professor Carrow. He didn't realise it was the same one, so he drank it, but it was poisoned! And that's why he went to the hospital wing on Wednesday. So when Mr Malfoy came here yesterday for the Governors' meeting, she waited somewhere between there and the Slytherin common room and she ambushed him in revenge!!!

I sort of want to ask Malfoy, but I know he'll get well shirty if we pry into his father's personal business. I wonder if Parkinson knows anything about it? I mean, a few people said they heard screaming, but then, her brother's in the hospital wing, so maybe she was really overwrought? Anyway. What are they saying up in Gryffindor? D'you reckon Mr Rosier would know if she was really ever in love with him?

I can't believe it, though. A School Governor - I mean, MR MALFOY, and Miss Professor Carrow duelling in the CORRIDORS! If they weren't both so well deadly, I'd say the Headmistress ought to give them both a detention! Ha-ha!

Lana,

I'm so sorry to bother you when I'm sure you're ever so busy in the training programme, but you probably ought to know that Orion's gone rather mad.

It started a little earlier this week. Well, I guess it started earlier than that, since Chang says he's been having some trouble for a while, and Chang finally made him go see Madam Pomfrey. I dunno what for. But I think it's something to do with, er, his -- Chang said he was having to go to the toilet a lot more often than normal. But I'm not sure what that has to do with why he should be so beastly to everyone! It's really his own fault if he's upset because Yaxley's cross with him.

And she is, terribly cross, because Towler caught him snogging Derwent. And Derwent said he's a cad and he told her off and said it was her fault. Her fault they got caught? I dunno. Well, then Chang said something odd yesterday about warning your brother that he oughtn't to have gone sneaking about with Chambers when she's had sore throat for two weeks. I dunno why Chang cares if everyone gets sore throat, though.

But anyway, he certainly got caught out with Derwent when everyone knows he and Yaxley have been spending loads of free time together. And Chambers - well, you know how she is. She's always trying to snog anyone, sore throat or not. I mean, I could believe she started everyone getting colds, but not Derwent. Well, the thing is, I can understand if he's upset because Yaxley found out, but honestly, he's driving everyone to distraction. Yesterday he threw everyone out of Ravenclaw Corner! EVERYONE! And he was so loud about it that Madam Pince came over and told we all had to leave, Orion included! Then he went and told Dames she could 'have it' but I dunno from the way he said it if he meant the Corner or the plague.

Please, no one knows how to talk to him and I'm afraid if he goes on like this he'll shout at a Professor, maybe not the Carrows but someone like Professor Lestrange, and then he'll really be in trouble. Can you talk to him?