alt_padma | Entries tagged with prophet

almost over. I guess with the time away for the CCF and all, there hasn't been nearly as much loafing about as usual. Which is probably a good thing, overall.

Not that there was all that much loafing about, even normally. But this summer, Pav and I were also helping in the shop. (Mum's said more than once that it would be lovely if one of us took an interest in the business.) It's fun, of course, but it's also a load of work. And Mum recently took on some more help, but if anything, going through the CCF training made things more efficient afterward. I dunno, I'm happy to help out but I'm still leaning toward other things. I think it's important that each of us does our utmost to serve the Protector the best possible way we can. I don't think clothes design is really all I'm capable of, is all.

That doesn't mean we didn't have a grand time designing! Mum's putting a few of our robes into production, even. I wish they'd been ready before the end of the summer but holidays will do. (It's also well strange to be designing things for winter when it's hot and for summer when it's cold, but that's the nature of the business, isn't it?)

Ginny, I think Purest Sparkle might even be interested. I mean, young clothes for the young witch about town? Mum's going to see about it, anyway. If you're still modelling for them that would be really snitch, wouldn't it?

That's not the only news we had this summer. Haruman's brought one particular girl round for supper about half a dozen times. Mum's holding out hope he'll make a Big Announcement any day.

They came tonight, too, but not to make a Big Announcement. Haruman wanted to talk to Dad about something in the papers today. Apparently a Healer that he works with occasionally at St M's turned up dead in Wales yesterday. He was really shaken up about it. Not because he particularly liked the Healer but because so many people have been talking to one another about whether it could have been a murder.

It's kind of disturbing and exciting at the same time, isn't it? I wasn't sure why anyone would want to kill a Healer but Haruman said that to know this Healer was to hate him, basically. And apparently he had a string of patients who were always complaining and Haruman was one of the Jr Healers who sometimes had to calm them down while someone else tracked Healer Stint down and well--he's not surprised if someone got cross enough. Or it could have been an accident, too. He was found at the bottom of a cliff, so he could have fallen (though it's odd he didn't Apparate away, if he fell, right?).

Well, anyway.

School starts in only a week! Has anyone heard more about the 'changes to Dark Arts' that Mr Malfoy mentioned? (I saw that and wondered if anyone had been mad enough to buy their books already--I mean, we've all been waiting to find out what would happen since Miss Professor Carrow died, right?)

Oh, by the way, for Ravenclaw Corner: We're meeting up in Diagon at 1:00 tomorrow afternoon. Seamus, Lav, if you want to join us that's fine. Pav and Su Li are coming too and my cousin Darshana, and Desai as well. Cooper, Bole, if you're interested, come and meet us outside Fortescue's.

this year's birthday will be one to remember!

Thanks for everyone who sent cards and all. It's nice people remembered, even though Pav and I shifted our actual celebration to Easter Hols so we could all go to Camelot together.

But just think, we'll always remember our birthday as the day DogStar met its end! I bet there'll be a Special Edition of the Prophet tonight, don't you think? They already confirmed that DogStar were behind the Cup explosions and that bridge that fell into the Severn about six months ago, the one people thought was metal fatigue, and that horrible story over Christmas about the village school that caught fire? That was them, too.

Apparently MLE wanted to bring them all in alive for questioning, but loads of them swallowed little poison ampules they had with them. Once MLE found that out they stopped it from happening, though, so they'll be able to stand proper trial. (I wonder who'll even be asked to be their Defenders? I shouldn't like to have to argue that case. I mean, what can anyone say? It'll probably be the quickest trial in history.)

The only thing I wish is that they'd found Sirius Black but the early reports said he must have got away. They say the witch who ran everything at the top was actually his lover, taking her orders from him, though, and when he learned that they were going to be caught, he strangled her to protect himself and then fled.

I'm well glad I didn't have to worry about OWLs this year! Imagine trying to concentrate with all this going on? Our Common Room's had the wireless on all day (relax, Clearwater, it's not bothering anyone) and I think we're going to save our cakes, me and Pav, and have them with a few people in one of the classrooms tonight after supper, so we can toast MLE's success!

Especially everyone who celebrates Christmas and who's staying at Hogwarts this year!

I just wanted to say I think we're all very lucky to be here at a time when such important events are happening and I hope the fact that loads of us are here makes it easier for people who would normally be home with their families.

And Justin, everyone in Ravenclaw is very happy to hear that you'll be all right. I guess something's happened, too, because the Beauxbatons 7th-years are all well upset about what happened to you. Well, the whole delegation, really, but especially the 7th-years. But I think your friend JP was going to come see you anyway and maybe he'll tell you all about it.

But we've a little something for you when Madam Pomfrey lets you come back, which I hope will be tomorrow because it would be really really awful to have to spend all of Christmas in the Hospital Wing, even if Matron's the very best Healer there is (which she pretty much is, so you're in really good hands!).

And by the way, to everyone who was photographed or mentioned in the Prophet and in Teen Witch (they have a special edition on the Yule Ball), congratulations!

Happy Christmas!

Malfoy, you know how you were saying a while ago that there's more to Longbum than meets the eye?

Did you read this morning's Prophet?

Finnigan, better watch your back. 'Auror Longbottom' might just decide to use the Cardinal Curses on you if you don't treat him with respect!

Have you ever had any clue he might actually know which way to point a wand? I mean, when you were practising defence, before?

The papers seem to think it's remarkable, anyway.

read in today's Prophet that Abbott's little sister and brother are being reclassified as purebloods?

I think that's about as good a way to honour Abbott's memory as any, really. Maybe they think it'll help protect them some. Although it might not, either. Not entirely.

Here in Ravenclaw, loads of people are having trouble sleeping. I guess on Sunday the Sisters in Witchcraft made sachets for under their pillows. Lavender and chamomile and other herbs that help soothe and calm people when they're going to sleep. I'm not sure how well they're helping. Fawcett's been having a terrible time of it, and Su Li too, for that matter. We've asked Professor Sprout if we can go down to the greenhouses after today's last exam, to make some more, and she said yes, we could do. I think we'll put runes on to help make them more powerful, too. MacDougal got a bottle of some vile potion from her mum but it smells so bad no one wants to test it. I think the runes are safer - especially after reading that paper Linus Moon wrote for class.

We were talking about things in the Corner this afternoon, about how it seems like Our Lord's peace keeps getting disrupted in really horrible ways. Like last year. And now this. We're supposed to be safe at Hogwarts - and we are, mostly - but if stuff like this can keep happening even with the best kind of protection available, well, we reckon it's just true what they tell the Young Protectors, that it's everybody's business to keep themselves all prepared for domestic enemies, all the time, because you never know.

Still. Even with knowing that we're practising and we're prepared, it feels sort of helpless. Doesn't it? Like you can't ever really keep the bad out, not altogether. And I mean, being fourteen doesn't make us any more able to stop bad things happening than being thirteen did. Do grown-ups feel that way too, do you think?

loads of times but every time we come into the city, I mean really properly, it seems so strange that so many people used to live here. Dad used to tell us stories about how dangerous it was to even cross a street, with Muggle cars and all. But the only thing we have to worry about is whether the Azkaban prisoners will try to kill Harry, and really, that's not very likely as there are Aurors and chaperones all over the place.

It's been a bit of a game, though. Not that it's funny, or anything, I mean, it'd be snitch if they caught the fugitives and we could all stop looking over our shoulders, but last night we all sat up in our room here at the Horseguards (and it's really grand, by the way, and so very posh!) and talked about what to do if we spotted either of them. Or both? The papers said they might be travelling together, but I think that's rather a daft thing to do. Two fugitives are much easier to spot than only one, don't you think?

Sandoval says that Auror Lestrange figures the one, Snape, won't be able to resist making a grab for Marvolo while he's here and not in Buckingham. So we practised how to call for help and what kinds of spells to cast. Belinda asked if he would have a wand and we pointed out that he might do if he took it from someone else. So the first thing is, protect your wand. And the second thing is to make a great racket so everyone will know you need help. The third thing is to try to stun him or even use petrificus totalis because then he'd not be able to duel properly. And the fourth thing is to send up sparks so the Aurors can find you.

But imagine if it did turn a proper duel. I think that would be really scary, but sort of nift, in a way.

Anyway, we've all be having a little fun with it today, you know, sneaking up behind each other and then saying, 'It's Snape!' or 'Look! Mr Macnair!' and watching each other jump. Morag surprised me with it just coming out of the loo last night before we left the museum, and I got Daphne Greengrass right as we sat down to breakfast this morning. She went bright red after clutching her wand to her chest - I mean, it looked like she wanted to hug it like a doll baby.

But it's not all japes, either. Today we'll be touring the Prophet offices and the WWN, which will be brill as I've only ever been to work with my dad a couple times before (nor has Parvati, of course). Then I guess there's to be some type of talk about how important it is to ensure that the people receive accurate and approved information from our communications centres, which is completely true, of course, but maybe not quite as exciting as being able to say 'Hullo' on the wireless.

there was something dodgy about you, Longbottom.

But I guess this morning's paper explains everything. It must be really terrible to live with that kind of shame in the family, even if you thought they were dead just like everyone else. I'm sorry you have to go through all this, really. It's so much to have to overcome.

I guess my question is, if everyone they knew thought they were dead, what did they want to go sending out a birth announcement for? And who else got it? I mean, it seems like an awful lot of trouble to go to just to send one to Sirius Black and no one else.

How d'you figure they knew him, anyway? I mean, the article gives some facts about them and I thought Black was much younger than that. D'you reckon they were mates at school or did they hold a big meeting one day for traitors and they all came to it?

Anyway, Longbottom, I can't really imagine what you must be feeling now, but it must be awful.

get an owl from Haruman this morning?

He sent me a clipping from the Prophet. He says he's doing a mediwizard rotation as an emergency responder, for people who can't Apparate themselves to St Mungo's, and stuff like that.

Anyway, his team went out to investigate a murder! And the reporter interviewed Haruman because the circumstances were so odd. He says it looks like whoever did it used a curse to drain all the blood out of the body, like butchers do with pigs and cows, but otherwise there was no struggle.

Oh, and the victim's third finger was removed 'post-mortem' (that means after he was dead). The article says that there were some other things stolen and that the widow said he wore a signet ring on the finger that's missing, so maybe that's why that finger's gone?

But then he cut off the part where it said that the MLE are investigating 'other leads.' I guess because they didn't ask him any more after that. Still, I bet I know why they don't believe the widow, because if it was thieves he would've fought back, right? And I don't think wizards would rob one another, would they? So that means it must've been an escaped mudblood, but then how could he use magic to kill a warlock? And the article says he was a skilled warlock, so that doesn't make any sense. Oh, bother.

Does anyone have a copy of Tuesday's Prophet so I can read the rest of the article?

Mum sent a clipping from the Prophet - there's whole loads of things planned for Friday. I wish we could go!

Everyone here is talking about exams. Ours aren't for weeks, but the older kids are supposed to sit theirs sooner - I guess pretty soon. Goshal, Peakes, Bobolis and Chang have been making all the younger kids run back and forth to the library for them so they don't have to stop revising with the others in their years. Orion Sandoval even told us all that he'd pay three sickles to anyone who'll let him hex them for practice. But then Professor Vector found out and told him she'd take five points for everyone he hexed, so at least we dont have to worry about that.

Some of the fifth years even paid the third years to bring things back from Hogsmeade so they wouldnt have to break off revising. I don't think I'd want to skip a Hogsmeade day even if it ment I'd get O's on every OWL, but I guess if your worried about passing it would be worth it.

I'll just be happy if I can turn in the Transfiguration homework tomorrow, so many of the older kids have been interrupting!

least of all the Prophet, but I'm not jellous of Parvati!

(Not even when she told me that Professor Lockhart said she looked almost as good as his cover photo from Witch Weekly)

I mean, sure, anyone would of wanted to be her Monday. But its okay. I still got a good seat and the marzipan and everything, and I didnt have to have my photo taken over and over. Plus Mum says so many people have been in the shop this week to ask about it that she's putting Parvati's dress into production.

Does anyone know what our Charms homework is? I kept having to sneak peeks at the journal because the reporters keep pestering me.

Oh - and Lavender! I almost forgot! Haruman mentioned a name, a girl's name! Someone from his training programme I think. Hannah or Anna, I couldn't quite hear with all the other people talking in the Great Hall last night. So perhaps he has been dating, after all!

Did everyone see the article in the Sunday Prophet this morning? About the escaped mudbloods?

I knew something had to be wrong before this, because Fawcett was simply horrible to everyone last night. We came up to the dorms and she was carrying on something fierce. Belinda asked her what was the matter and she snapped at all of us not to come near her, least of all Belinda. She seemed to think that since Belinda's uncle works in Purity Control, he was to blame for whatever was bothering her. She wouldn't stop crying and we finally had to go and get Goshal to take her to Professor Vector.

It was really awful. She called us all sorts of names! I wonder if she's going to have to be Obliviated or be asked to leave the school - or taken to the camps herself for a blood-traitor.

Lav, d'you suppose Bones ever screamed and carried on after her grandmother was killed for helping mudbloods? I don't know how you share a dorm with her, Jones, really.

Anyway, now it's obvious what happened, but last night it was really quite puzzling.