Padma Patil

Do you have a suitable escort yet?

I'm coming with Crispin. It took ages to get him to say he'd answer the invitation. Can you imagine he wasn't even going to go? Lucky for him I know this party is sure to make all the headlines, though not necessarily for the reasons Daphs might want.

Anyway. Say you've got some sort of date or we'll have to think of some other way.

as everyone else! But that doesn't mean that we can run rampant all over the school. Remember that there's a match tomorrow and the other years still have homework and revising.

But other than that, we've got every reason to have a party!

And regardless of the Quidditch outcome tomorrow, Pavs and I are inviting years 4-7 to celebrate our birthdays. We'll use the same room where we rehearsed the Revue. Just a little tea and cake and some music. Hope to see you there!

Best of luck today and all the days hereafter!

I can't wait to see you both. I'm sure the ceremony will be the talk of the Protectorate for days. I know you're going to be really really happy together.

And it's really so kind to invite so many of us to the wedding.

Well, I don't know if you'll even see this until after, with so much to do today, I'm sure. (Plus we've still got some CCF lessons before we're released to attend, so I really need to keep this brief. Oh, but CCF has been marvellous, really! We're even learning cryptomancy, which is utterly fascinating. I wish I had time to tell you all about the amazing things we're doing and seeing and learning. Maybe when I get home I can write everything up.)

Anyway, I just wanted to wish you both the very best and I hope you're excited that your big day is finally here!

NO GHOSTS is supposed to INCLUDE no poltergeists!!!


And as for the Weasley twins: ha ha. Only you two would do something that daft.

I don't blame Midgen one bit for being upset about next week, do you? I mean, what do you suppose that lot have done to deserve going to the Beauxbatons social thing, anyway? I mean, Perks I can understand, she's Siz's fave, isn't she. Did you hear the rumour that Siz is actually paying Perks to do chores for her? And if Perks gets invited, then of course Porkinson comes along as well. It's utterly infuriating, really.

Anyway, what have Bundy and Weasley told you about it? Anything? Brocklehurst is well chuffed that he's been invited--Weasley, I mean. Seamus, you ought to have some fun with that! You could tell him how much Brocklehurst is looking forward to seeing him there. And you've a whole week to torture him about it, too.

Tamblyn asked if I'd go along with him to Hogsmeade tomorrow (Lares, not Hermes. I think Hermes is still feeling well squibbish because of what Davies pulled). Lav, I'll see you and Pav at the Three Broomsticks? Seamus, are you going with the Durmstrang lot?

Lav,

So far we've got Dunstan, you, Su Li and Parkinson (I know, but mum sort of insisted). And Parkinson's asking Perks, which I said she could do because I knew she'd get shirty if I said it wouldn't be, but she doesn't think Perks will be able to come.

And I've asked Greengrass, too, but then there's the question of whether she'll want Bulstrode along. I suppose if Perks doesn't come, Bulstrode could. But then we can't ask Morag and you know she gets sulky when she's left out of things. Why does everything have to be difficult? We only wanted to have a fun day in town without Dementors floating everywhere.

I really wish Finnigan could come along, he's always good for laughs, but as it's all girls that would just be torturous for him!

Anyway, so Thursday. And you're coming over to stay tomorrow night, still, right?

It was snitch of you to have the bunch of us over yesterday. Thank Mr Rosier again, will you?

I do wish the Hogwarts crew had been able to come as well. You would have liked the game we played, Malfoy especially, I think. Hooper brought it. It's called Illusionary. Have you heard of it? Well, you divide into teams and there's a stack of cards with words on, like 'muggle camp' and 'transfiguration' and 'London' and 'snake' and all sorts of things. And there are some props you can use, but you don't have to use them if you don't want to do. Well, each person on your team takes it in turns being the one to get the others to guess what your word is. But you have to make an illusion that illustrates your word to get them to guess, and you can't talk, of course. It was great fun. Thomas was the best at sketching the illusions in the air, of course, but Page was really good at making the props into whatever he wanted.

Well, anyway, then Thomas wanted to go skating, so we did that before tea, which was really not tea at all, but chocolate! But the game had been so much fun that we kept casting spells out on Mr Rosier's duck pond. Oh, and Hooper taught us this completely nift charm he knew, to make illusions and shapes and such out of his breath when it fogged up in the air. He must have pracised forever to be able to do things like that unicorn he made for Parvati. We all tried, but it's difficult to make the shapes quickly enough. I think Lav was getting the hang of it, though!

I think Page really enjoyed getting to speak with Mr Rosier in the library while we were off touring the house again. I know I've been before but we've still not seen the whole place! It just keeps going. I can't believe you said it's smaller than your family's main castle in Ireland, though, Finnigan. I dunno what I'd do with so many rooms! But I knew we'd lose Page in the library. It's quite my favourite room of Mr Rosier's, too. I know it's not quite as large as Hogwarts' library but then, Mr Rosier doesn't need multiple copies of things or quite so many books that no one ever wants to read, does he? It was really kind of him to loan Page that copy of Command of Thought, as well. I'm sure it'll be really helpful for his Dark Arts unit on Curses.

Mr Rosier was right about getting to know some of the others better. I never knew Robins was so witty! Or that Cuthbert and Page would bore us all with broom care as Quidditch strategy, ha-ha! It was loads of fun and now it won't seem like so long before we're all on the train back to school.

interesting party. Thanks for inviting us. I was a little surprised when so many grown-ups showed up, though. Especially Mrs Lestrange I guess that's sort of like Harry's party was, too.

The band was really good, anyway. I love that it's possible to dance kathak to 'Our Borders Are Strong' - it was fun teaching everyone some of the moves.

I hope you like the gloves. Mum says they're good for touring flights, they'll keep your hands warm if you're in the air a long time. Parvati put in the owl treats and the book on owl care because we know you just got an owl too. Anyway, I hope they'll be useful.

We'd been staying with Lavender for a few days, but we went home after the party. Haruman's taking us for our books on Wednesday, though, and Lav will come too so we'll see her again. Plus Sandoval invited me over on Thursday to see the photos from her party. So I think the week will go pretty quickly. And then only a couple more weeks left before school starts. I certainly hope this year will be quieter than last!

the most exciting birthday party ever - even more than Draco's, and that's saying something.

I mean, we knew it was going to be fun. Getting facials and manicures and sleeping over at the Browns', and all - that was bound to be completely stupe. But it was so much more than anyone expected!

For starters, there were fireworks and little celebrations going on all over New London last night. Mr Brown even sent up sparklers from his wand in the garden for us all. And Mrs Brown gave us ice creams even though it was after bedtime. And we listened to the wireless reports and then we started comparing the bracelets my Mum made (oh, you should see them! They're like the ones Sally-Anne made all the Slytherin girls at end of term, only they're pretty and they've got spells on so they can do nift things, as well as useful spells like anti-loss and one type even has a direction charm on it).

Well, the party wasn't all overshadowed by Sirius Black's capture and then the excitement while we were all waiting for him to get caught again and then Mrs Lestrange saying she'd killed him and then looking for his body (which is sort of ghastly if you think about it, but honestly he was a menace, so it's too good for him, in some ways) and all that. I mean, the Browns let us listen to the wireless nearly all night, and we all fell asleep in the sitting room and finally Mr Brown told us all to go on up to bed, but then we sort of all woke back up again and we stayed up telling stories about Mr Macnair and the other escaped convicts (they say Dippet can conjure lethifolds and that's how he gets his victims!). And then we started talking about Mrs Lestrange and how the Auror who was injured was the one who we met - the one who worked on Sanji's kidnapping, I mean - and how we really hoped she'd be okay because she was really nice, and she tried hard to find out what happened even though it turned out...well, the way it did.

Did everyone listen to the Minister's address? My Dad was there when he came to give it, he said it was completely nift. Well, he said it was a huge honour, but that means it was nift. And the Minister even said something to him about Sanji, and he asked how we're getting on (we're fine, is the answer. I mean, it's weird being home and not having him about, but it's not as awful as it was when it first happened).

And now there's more celebrating again tonight. I guess there's a big party going on at Buckingham, because we can see the fireworks from the garden. I wonder if Mrs Lestrange is going to get a medal or anything? She ought, even if she couldn't bring him back alive to stand trial. Though I'm not sure how he could have - I mean, I can't think of anything he could have said that would have possibly made up for all the trouble he caused. And he doesn't seem like the type would would have apologised, even though he was dead wrong about so much.

Anyway, Lavender, even without the news keeping us all glued like a sticking charm, the party was snitch and Parvati and I just wanted to say we love you, and happy birthday, and you know we'll never, ever forget it.

Oh, and I can't wait for the party your parents are going to throw for the YPL trip, but this was really stupe to be just us girls. I mean, I know you and Parvati get to stay up in your dorms all the time, and I can with Belinda and Morag, but this way we were all together. And I'm sure we'll be together for the YPL, too!

for the last time this year. We talked about the Model Wizengamot from last week, what we thought should have happened and whether we would have made different arguments and what the Ministry people said we should have done. (They had a lot to say, too. There were four people who came, by the way: Ms Victoria Vaisey and Mr Lawrence Bletchley, who sit on the Wizengamot, Mr Tertius Rigg, one of the Interrogators, and Mr Crouch, Sr, who works with the defence teams.)

Anyway, we talked about what we want to do next year, and we've all got some ideas about things to read over the summer, and maybe when we go to the Ministry we'll see the real Wizengamot chambers. We talked about process and maybe more cases through the term next year. But I dunno how many people will really do it, especially with our new courses starting.

As it's mine and Parvati's birthday tomorrow, we got parcels from home today, too. Mum said she'll send a cake tomorrow and we can share it out after supper, since I don't think too many people go to the debating society, at least not who would come, anyway. I asked Professor Vector and she said we could play music in one of the attics again, and since OWLs and NEWTs are over, Troy and Dames said they'd be happy to run a round of Mind-Reader. If you've never seen them do it before it's really funny. So that's the plan. Parkinson, I don't know if you'll be in the mood, but it'd be really good if you came, I think.

It's hard to believe that exams are right round the corner, but at least we can have the party before really concentrating on revising.