Padma Patil

flown--I mean, it could have been on a Firebolt, it feels like it's gone by so fast!

We're all so relieved that Diggory's eventually going to recover, for one thing. And now, all the clubs are being reinstated (we've completely lost track of History Club; I think we might just want to chuck it altogether until next year), and Professor Vector's trying to make sure that we all get our Careers Advice before the end of the year. I guess Madam Umbridge didn't realise we were supposed to have the sessions and people weren't sure if that counted as Professors teaching things that weren't strictly related to their subjects, so we didn't have them back in the winter when we were supposed to get them.

I hope that doesn't mean that people have been revising for the wrong O.W.L.s, though.

Oh, but lessons have been brill this week. Well, Monday was a little strange, but by Tuesday things felt normal again, didn't they? And we've got Defence sorted out again and everything. And everyone's been getting together to revise like mad, now that we can do. Ravenclaw Corner was bursting at the seams tonight--Madam Pince had to tell us that if she had to come over one more time she would eject us all from the library! And we all just smiled and didn't even mind being told off.

Our dormitory has an adorable kitten now, too, which we've all agreed we're going to let stay and consider to be everyone's. She's a little white and black number, with black ears and a sort of splotchy pattern on her back and legs and tail. It's almost like someone dipped her in ink. She's ever so dainty, too. Su Li said we should call her 'shaw moon yu' which is 'little cow' in Chinese, but none of us could say it right (that there doesn't even really do the pronunciation justice), so we've just decided to call her Moonpie instead.

I'm not sure what we'll do come summer, though. Mum certainly wouldn't want her at our house and I don't think Morag could stand having a cat to herself (she's a bit allergic, and she's been complaining that her nose is going to run straight through exams, now). Maybe Belinda will take her home. I don't think we could leave her in the castle all summer.

Lav, I think we should get something going this weekend, don't you think? I think we all need a little something to celebrate because it's May and April was just so awful and you can just tell that waiting for Hogsmeade isn't going to do anyone any good. I'll ask Professor Vector if we can get up a dance in the Great Hall or something on Saturday, shall I?

I'm sure we're all glad to be settling in and now that we're all in our Common Rooms, the reality of classes starting again tomorrow is being met with anticipation.

It's probably going to be difficult to get to sleep tonight, many of you, but do try to get back onto a regular schedule as much as possible.

Also, Ravenclaw girls, remember that you're back to sharing bathrooms. That includes the mirrors and the sinks.

And Ravenclaw Corner, Madam Pince asked me to tell you all that she found a piece of toast after everyone left for the holidays, behind one of the windowseat cushions. I'm surprised at you, whoever you were: Eating in the library is a clear violation of the rules. If you have to eat, you also have to leave the library.

(On the plus side, I did get her to agree to stock our usual table with the reference volumes we've been using, so they'll be there tomorrow between lessons. Anyone who is looking for Battle of Wills, 1001 Defensive Spells, or any of the Arithmantical Calculation series of volumes, among others, please come and use them at our table, with our compliments, but don't remove them. Madam Pince has the full list.)

And don't forget: History Club, tomorrow night, as usual. We may be suspending some Club meetings based on the rehearsals for Hogwarts Through the Ages but we'll let you know if that becomes necessary.


Welcome back, everyone!

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.

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!

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?

Everything all right?

Hey, I just remembered: Martinez has a wireless. Do you want me to see if we can borrow it for the afternoon?


That's today, right?

brilliant! Lana, it was absolutely snitch to see you, really! It was so unexpected. But I'm glad you had a chance to see how well we're doing, despite the Dementors and all. And you can see I've been thinking a lot about how much you've helped me with your advice and how I want to make you proud of all of us in Ravenclaw Corner.

Lav got a load of her shopping done and Parvati and I picked up a few things, too. Thanks so much, Finnigan, Hooper, and of course Page, for being such gallant escorts! We all had a lovely time.

It was a little disappointing that we had to come back so early, what with the patrols starting at dark. But on the other hand, it was really quite cold, even with silk under the layers. And it's good to know that the Ministry are increasing all their attention to finding enemies and traitors. I mean, it's always important, but if they can catch Macnair and Snape and stop those horrid people who say Black's alive even though his body's on display in New London, well - it'd be nice if we didn't have Dementors for the whole year!

I'm not at all sure I've got the patience for another week of lessons before we go home for hols. I know we'll get through them and it's good to learn, of course. But this weekend sort of gave me the taste for being home and doing real shopping and all. At least this week Karoline will have the scripts ready for people to read! And we get to try out for the play when we get back. I know she's been working hard on it and it's going to be nift.

Marvolo, it's too bad you couldn't come out, but I hope you had another jolly tea or something to keep your spirits up.

Lav, may I borrow your gold hairband for Wednesday? The one that sprinkles gold-dust all down the back?

You'll never guess what happened just before Defence today. We were coming in and the 4th years were leaving. And Page asked if I'd step aside with him for a minute.

He asked me to work with him on his Future Interrogators' project for next term, and he wanted to know if I'd meet him one night this week to go over the case study choices and pick one. He thought maybe tomorrow because he's got Astronomy late anyway, but I asked if it'd be okay to meet on Wednesday between History and our Astronomy lesson - because then I'd have time to get the ribbon from you if that's okay.

Grant Page! Asked me! To spend time with him! And not in Ravenclaw Corner or at the library - I mean, the library will basically be closed by the time History Club is done. And if we stay up all the way until Astronomy that's almost like a real date. Almost. I wonder if he'll walk me there?

I mean, I'm sure he doesn't think it's a date. It can't be a proper date, really, can it? But still. He asked me.

The only thing that's bad is that talking to him made me a tiny bit late for Defence. I wrote Su Li a note to tell her why I was late and then Belinda wanted to see it too. And when she wrote back to ask me something about Page, Professor Lestrange saw and burst the note into confetti. I think he was mostly just disappointed that we weren't completely riveted to his lecture, but honestly, he could've been talking about defeating Dumbledore and we would have been just as distracted. At least he didn't read it out loud, or give us a detention, though, so that's okay. (That's why I wrote to him, in case you're wondering.)

Anyway, if it's okay to borrow, could you bring the ribbon tomorrow and I'll get it from you? I promise I'll give it right back.

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?

and it's sort of hard to think that it's been that long. It doesn't feel that long at all.

Our birthday is coming up next week, but now all I can think of is it'll be a month after. I guess it'll always feel like that, now. A little. My aunt says her grandfather died on her mum's birthday, and ever since her mum could never be one hundred percent happy about her birthday, because she had to think about her father, too.

Lav, I know what you mean about things changing. But I guess that's what things do. And it'll be all right, you'll see. Trust me, you don't know her well because she's not in your common room all the time, but Lovegood's not that much bother. No one pays her much mind in Ravenclaw, that's for certain.

The Model Wizengamot is really interesting, though. And what's really amazing is, I think they had planned that we'd be doing it basically on our own, you know, because of the quarantine. But since it's been lifted they told us that some real Interrogators are going to watch later this week and tell us what they thought of how we did the job. Yesterday was opening statements (each side gets to make a speech). Today we're hearing testimony from the witnesses - and the Interrogators get to try to poke holes in their stories or make them remember details that help prove guilt. The defenders also have time to try, but they don't have the same kind of latitude that the Interrogators have. I know that in the model, we're switching sides - I mean, there are two cases, so in the next case, the people being Interrogators will be the defenders - but I think it's much better to be an Interrogator than a defender no matter what the case is. It just seems like most people who face Wizengamot charges are guilty, anyway.

Though there are different kinds of cases, of course. This one's a pretty simple one.

It's based on the trial of a wizard named Stalk who was found guilty of imbe embezl embezzling a lot of gold from the Daily Prophet in the 1850's. And it was really clear that he did it, once he got caught.

But the case we're starting tomorrow is a little more complicated. It's about a witch who used to lure muggles to her cottage and then made them work for her. And when she was done, she used them for potions ingredients and things. And when she was caught by a bunch of muggles, they wanted to burn her, but she got away, but then the Aurors told her she had to stop because it was making all the muggles hunt for the rest of us. Well, obviously, that part's not a problem anymore. But then this all happened for real in 1690, so we've updated the case a little. Now she's stealing muggles from the camps, you see, and there's a part of the case where - well, I don't want to give it away. You'll have to come on Thursday and see.

Meanwhile, Ravenclaw Corner is mostly back. There aren't many fifth-years and the ones who do go there have been keeping themselves scarce this week, with OWLs. I guess Sandoval feels pretty good about her NEWTs, though, but she's probably just more relieved that it's over. Johns says she never wants to go through that again.

Oh, and Orion Sandoval says he's heard that they are allowing the Apparition instructors from the Ministry to come up next week, after the Wizengamot is over, to teach the sixth-years who are eligible for their tests. Troy says he reckons Sandoval's worried he'll splinch himself, but Dames thinks he's just excited.