The Diary of a Witch, Volume II

CHAPTER 1: SEPTEMBER

Late Tuesday, September 1, Hogwarts, Ravenclaw Dorm Room,

It's so great to be back! I can't believe how much I've missed this place.

I met Owen, Hannah, and Mandy on the Hogwarts Express and we were joined by Anthony Goldstein, Terry, and Justin (much to Hannah's delight). It was a tight fit but we all managed to get into one compartment in the back. Anthony challenged me to a game of Wizard's Chess which I totally lost because that isn't really my game. During the game we all talked about our summers. Thank God, I wasn't the only bored one. By the time Anthony checkmated me (and in the middle of my King chess piece ranting about what a terrible chess player I was) the witch with the cart of sweets (got to find out her name one of these days) came and we pigged out on junk food in between games of Exploding Snap, which I'm much better at.

When we finally got to Hogsmeade station things were different then last year. Instead of following Hagrid and taking the boats across the lake we followed the older students and rode in carriages pulled by actual Thestrals. I remember reading about Thestrals but I never thought I'd actually see one. Of course I was the only one who could see them because of....well, because I pretty much saw my parents die when the car crashed didn't I? You can only see Thestrals if you've seen someone die.

Thestrals are pretty creepy looking. They're horse-like creatures that look eery with black coats of skin that look like they don't have any flesh that cling to their skeletons. If that isn't enough they have dragon looking heads and white pupil-less eyes and big bat-like wings. Judging from Neville Longbottom's reluctance to get into the carriage next to ours I don't think I was the only one in our year who could see them. I caught his eye as we were climbing into our carriages and nodded to our Thestral and grimaced. He looked relieved when he realized he wasn't the only one to see them and nodded back with a repulsed look.

Hogwarts is pretty much the same; the only difference was we had to wait for the first years to be sorted into their houses. There are nine new Ravenclaws this year and one of them is named Luna Lovegood whose father edits the Quibbler which is kind of the wizard version of the tabloids. I bought it once out of curiosity and now have a subscription because I think the quizzes and cartoons are funny. I don't believe the stories for a second but it is entertaining. Beats all the gushing Witch Weekly has done over Gilderoy Lockhart lately who was there today dressed in aquamarine robes looking pompously around at us. Gag me.

Another Weasley was sorted this year too, Ginny Weasley. Like all of her brothers she has bright red hair and was sorted into Gryffindor. She's supposed to be the last of the bunch until the next generation starts breeding. I bet all the teachers are hoping they'll be long gone by the time Fred and George's kids get to Hogwarts.

All the teachers from last year were there except for Snape. I was starting to wonder where he was (and hoping a bit that maybe he left and I would get a nice Potions teacher who didn't argue with my opinions on my essays) when the Whomping Willow let out a string of loud curses that I heard all the way from outside. I think my range has gotten longer because last year I wouldn't have heard him go off at all.

The Whomping Willow is this nutty tree who has what I like to think of as 'conpulsive hitting disorder'. He's very grumpy and hates it when people or animals come near him and whacks at them if they come within more then five feet of him. Even the other trees don't like to talk to him and all call him Whomp. I tried once to talk to him last year and he told me to piss off. Talk about rude.

I just learned that the reason he cursed so loudly was that Harry Potter and Ron Weasley flew a flying car right into him. That's why Snape was gone; no doubt he was trying to get them expelled for it. Surprisingly enough, he didn't succeed which explains why he came back to the feast with a look that would have made the whole hall drop dead if looks could kill. Even the Slytherins looked scared of him, especially the first years.

The feast itself was fantastic as usual and now I'm too tired to unpack anything except for my uniform for tomorrow. Time to see if that alarm clock I got at Diagon Alley works. It's in the shape of a black cat and meows loudly to wake you up.

Wednesday, September 2, Breakfast, Great Hall,

WOW!

Remind me never to tell Angela about Howlers. Weasley just got one from his mother for the flying car thing last night and boy was she pissed off. Talk about a way to get your point across, I'll be very surprised if Weasley gets any detention this year.

CLASS SCHEDULE:

CLASS DAY TIME

Charms MWF 9-9:50AM

Transfiguration MWF 10-11:15AM

Herbology MWF 1-2:30PM (with Slytherin)

Potions T TH 9-11:45AM (with Hufflepuff)

His. Of Magic T TH 3-4:30PM

DADA T TH 1-2:30PM (with Gryffindor)

Astronomy T 10-12:30AM (all houses)

Ugh. Potions first thing in the morning. How much does that suck?

Thursday, September 3, After DADA, Courtyard Bench,

It's been confirmed.

Dumbledore is completely insane, because only an insane person would have hired Lockhart to be our DADA teacher. I gave Lockhart the benefit of the doubt. I thought, okay just because this guy SEEMS like a pompous idiot doesn't necessarily mean he is. Unfortunately this lesson only proved it

It's not like the day was bad enough what with Potions first thing in the morning and History of Magic which I have in about a half hour. Snape is as sour as ever and made us do a really complicated potion on the first day. I don't think mine was the right color. On the bright side, I didn't melt my cauldron first thing so that's a plus.

I feel a bit sorry for Potter though, Lockhart seems to feel the need to give him advice on his fame and let this Gryffindor first year named Colin Creevey take a picture of the two of them. Malfoy was present of course and had to put his two cents in. Obviously his attitude hasn't gotten any better over the summer.

The first thirty minutes of the class started with him giving us a quiz ABOUT HIMSELF! Can you believe that? I'd only managed to get through Travels with Trolls before I felt the need to gag. What the hell do people see in these books? They don't even deserve to be called books. They should be called vanity run amok that has a publisher. The fact that these books have been selling well seems very sad to me and makes me wonder about the judgment of good quality literature that wizards have.

Because I only read the first book I only knew the answers to the ones in that book. All the others I just sort of guessed at. What Lockharts' favorite color has to do with DADA I have yet to figure out. The only one who got all the answers right was Hermione Granger which is no surprise but what did surprise me is that she seems to have a crush on him. She blushed when he gave her full points and ten points to Gryffindor. I thought Granger was supposed to be smart?

But wait, the quiz is just the beginning.

After the quiz he got up and said, "it is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind. You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this very room. Know that no harm will befall you whilst I am here. All I ask is that you remain calm."

By then he had brought out a cloth covered cage and I was thinking, 'hey, maybe this class won't be so bogus after all.' Then he said, "I must ask you not to scream. It might provoke them." Then he took off the cover of the cage to PIXIES.

Oh yeah, I'm really afraid of Cornish Pixies.

I almost joined Seamus Finnigan who was doing a very bad job of hiding his snort of laughter. Lockhart glanced at him and Finnigan went, "well, Cornish Pixies aren't very DANGEROUS are they?" Lockhart annoyingly wagged his finger at him and went, "don't be so sure. Devilish tricky little blighters they can be!"

Considering pixies are electric blue, around eight inches high and have shrilly annoying voices I wasn't very impressed. Up until Lockhart LET THEM OUT OF THEIR CAGE! Then I was impressed with the chaos they caused and disgusted at Lockhart who made Granger, Potter and Weasley round the rest of them up. I would have helped but I have History of Magic I need to get too.

Friday, September 4, Charms,

I just got a letter from Firenze and here's what it said:

Dear Jubilee,

Welcome back to Hogwarts. I hope your classes are going well. I think we should have our first lesson on Saturday night at seven. I know it's a bit hard to sneak away without getting caught so wear this ring and you will be invisible. Be sure to put it on your fourth finger on your right hand, otherwise it won't work. Meet me at the same clearing we met at last time. I'll see you then.

Sincerely, Firenze

Okay, I read Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien and in it there was an evil ring that

TURNED PEOPLE INVISIBLE! I know it's a muggle book but still...where did Firenze get it? Also, how funny is it that an adult is encouraging me to sneak out of the castle? I think I like Firenze.

Saturday, September 5, Dorm Room,

Well, THAT sucks. I just ran into that Creevey kid and he told me the Slytherins interrupted Gryffindors' Quidditch practice (damn, Wood. Early start much) and it turns out that MALFOY is their new seeker. Not to mention his father bought the whole Slytherin team new Nimbus 2001s which cost him a small fortune I'm sure. Trust Malfoy to buy his way onto the Slytherin team. Never mind that try outs aren't until next weekend. That's what Madam Hooch told Terry and me anyway when we signed up to try out yesterday. Terry and I have been practicing together passing the Quaffle and taking shots at the hoops and so on. I figure at least one of us will make the team, we're both pretty good if I do say so myself. Though, I'm better at passing and shooting then at catching and Terry is better at catching and pulling off these wicked maneuvers to distract other players.

If the fact that Malfoy bought his way onto the Slytherin team isn't disgusting enough Creevey told me he called Granger a Mudblood. Should have known a slimeball like him would be into that pureblood junk. I read about that whole 'wizards are purer then muggles' junk last year and think it's a load of bull. Neville is a pureblood and as much as I like him he's kind of hopeless at magic while Granger (who is muggleborn like me) is one of the best spell casters in the school. Her grades were also better then Malfoys last year may I point out.

God, even in the wizard world there's prejudice; figures. I hope Potter humiliates Malfoy at the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match.

Late Saturday, September 5, Dorm Room,

MEDITATION!!!???

I went to the lesson and met Firenze like I said I would expecting to learn a power of some sort and what does Firenze have me do? MEDITATION. Hello, Firenze, do I look like a meditating kind of girl to you? He's teaching me regular meditation now. In about a month or so we'll be moving on to 'magical' meditation which he says is very different and more helpful for my gift which according to him is too tangled up right now to do any sort of power stuff. Whatever that means.

If that isn't bad enough, I have to do this every single day. One hour when I wake up and one hour before I go to bed. Which means I will have to get up earlier then I usually do. Damn, I have enough trouble getting up at 7:30 AM. Mandy has to constantly bang on my door to make sure I don't oversleep. Now I'm going to be waking up at like 6:30AM. This is going to be a long year.

Wednesday, September 9, Charms Class,

Opps. Owen noticed the book Firenze gave me (All You Need to Know About Meditation) and said, "interesting topic, Jubilee. Any reason you're reading it?" I was busy buttering my toast and went, "huh?"

In my defense this getting up early stuff is totally throwing me off and I'm surprised I was even awake to answer him. I'm seriously considering starting to drink coffee now. Owen gestured towards the book that was on the table on top of my Charms book for reading between classes.

I caught on, "oh. It seemed interesting."

Owen stared at me like I had just said I wanted to marry Snape but only said, "if you say so."

Meditation, interesting? Geez, Jubilee, why don't you just TELL Owen and Mandy you're a Wild Mage? I'm going to have to be more careful from now on. Mandy's starting to get suspicious all ready because she hasn't had to bang on my door all week to get me up. That's because of the fact that I'm all ready up because of meditating, or trying to meditate.

The meditation is all right I guess. I have a hard time clearing my mind of thoughts though. Never realized I had so many. Then there's the fact that my right foot keeps falling asleep when I sit cross legged on the floor and that gets uncomfortable after awhile.

I hope Firenze gives me credit for trying.

Saturday, September 12, Great Hall,

Breakfast is usually my favorite meal of the day.

So why do I feel like one bacon strip will make me throw up???

Owen says it's a sign that I should give up meat. But then he's been trying to convert me to vegetarian ever since we met. I think he's about to give up though because when I ate meat the other day he didn't say his usual "you do know you're eating a dead animal right?"

Stupid try outs, why am I doing this to myself? What if I fall off my broom? I know it hasn't happened yet but there's a first time for everything.

Please God, don't let me fall off my broom.

Afternoon Saturday, September 12, Common Room,

I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!

I'M ON THE RAVENCLAW QUIDDITCH TEAM!!!!!!!!!!

So is Terry, we both got the Chaser spots. This so rocks. True there were only five of us trying out so our chances were pretty good. But still, we both made it. The team Captain, Rodger Davies says he was impressed with how well we passed the ball. Guess practicing together paid off.

The try out wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The only people there were Professor Flitwick, the current members of the house team, the other people trying out, and Owen, Mandy, Hannah, Padma, Justin, and Anthony who all came to cheer me and Terry on. I thought it was nice of Padma to show up. She and I have pretty much put aside our differences and found a common interest: Charms. We're both nuts about the subject and had a chat about how people don't appreciate Charms as much as they should. Turpin and I don't interact much and I try to keep it that way. She spends most of her time with some older Ravenclaws and some Slytherins I only know by sight but have never spoken too.

Practices start next week at five o'clock PM for two hours on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

Friday, September 18, Dorm Room,

Man it's been a busy week. Quidditch practices are in full swing along with the homework deal from teachers. I've barely had time to draw let alone read that book Firenze gave me last weekend on magical meditation. Our lesson last week was a bit short because I couldn't really concentrate on meditating. I was too happy about making the team and couldn't stop grinning that night and had trouble emptying my mind. More so then usual. After an hour of trying to get me to settle down Firenze finally gave up and said we'd try again next week. He seemed more amused then angry though.

Practices are a blast even though they are tiring. Davies works us but makes sure we have fun at the same time. The team members are okay and don't bug Terry and I about being new. Though the two of us have been sticking together. We've gotten to know each other better thanks to this whole Quidditch deal. Beneath that normally quiet exterior Terry is actually very funny. He cracked me up with an impression of Lockhart that was dead on. He's just as disgusted with our so called DADA teacher as I am.

RAVENCLAW QUIDDITCH TEAM ROSTER:

SEEKER: Cho Chang, Third Year,

Pretty Chinese girl with really long hair. Really popular among the boys. She's a little too frivolous for my taste but otherwise okay. I don't care for her taste in friends though. She hangs out with Marietta Edgecomb, a third year I can't stand because she's snobbish and has made fun of my American accent more then once. Chang's a decent seeker though not as good as Potter in my opinion.

KEEPER/TEAM CAPTAIN: Rodger Davies, Fourth year,

Rather cute boy with a decent attitude about Quidditch but seems to worry about schoolwork more. But then he IS a Ravenclaw. Not as much as a fanatic about the sport as Oliver Wood thank God.

BEATER 1: Michael Kingsley, Fourth year,

African American boy with glasses. Cheerful personality and is interested in poetry. Often spouts out random facts about subjects you really didn't need to know about. When I mentioned I had a Nimbus 2001 he gave the date it first came out, the manufacturer and other stuff like that. According to his sister it's a reflex and he has been doing this since they could read.

BEATER 2: Maria Kingsley, Fourth year,

Michael's fraternal twin sister who has hair done in several tiny braids that she normally pulls back into a bigger ponytail. Cheerful like her brother and is crazy about Quidditch and music. She plays piano and the two of us often get into muggle vs. wizard music debates (the Kinsley's come from a wizard family).

CHASER 1: Maxwell Underhill (Max for short), Third year,

Muggleborn wizard like me with dark brown hair and blue eyes. He's from London and has a younger sister who is eight. He used to be into soccer (or football as they call it here) but got hooked on Quidditch in his first year. Fast flyer with good reflexes and isn't a ball hog.

CHASER 2: Terry Boot

CHASER 3: Me.

Sunday, September 20, Breakfast, Great hall,

THINGS TO DO:

1) Finish homework

2) Laundry

3) Write letters home (find out if Gerard asked Giselle to marry him yet)

4) Try to start charcoal drawing of Snape

5) Read The Colors of Magic by Livia Donovan

I did a lot better on my meditation this week much to Firenze's delight. He said we should be able to start magical meditation next week and that soon I'll be able to 'see' magic like the centaurs do. That should be interesting.

Thursday, September 24, DADA Notes,

-Mandy, WHY are you taking notes on this junk???

-It's interesting. Besides, he might quiz us on it later.

-INTERESTING?! He's bragging about himself!

-Well, he has right to. I mean, look at all the stuff he's done.

-The stuff he's SAID he's done. I'm with Weasley, I don't believe a word of it. We don't have proof that he actually did these things.

-Jubilee, why would he lie about doing those things?

-I don't know, maybe to sell books to an unsuspecting wizard world that doesn't know any better?

-The publishers of his books probably checked into it.

-Well, they didn't check hard enough. I still think this is a load of bull.

-JUBILEE!

-What? It is!

Sunday, September 27, Breakfast, Great Hall,

Yesterday I actually did meditation right. Next week I get to start magical meditation. Can't decide whether to be terrified or excited. Next week I'm also going to start the seeing magic deal which should be interesting.

Quidditch practice is going pretty well except for the rain that has started up and the fact that Fred and George Weasley told me they spied on the Slytherin house team while they were practicing and said that they were blurs on their brooms. They told me this after congratulating me on making the Ravenclaw team even though they couldn't promise not to send a Bludger my way.

THINGS TO DO:

1) Finish essays

2) Read Magical Relaxation: A Guide to Magical Meditation

3) Finish Tolkien's Book of Lost Tales, Volume I

4) Send a congratulation card to Gerard and Giselle for their engagement.

5) Polish broom handle, it's looking a bit yucky because of all the rain.