The Diary of a Witch, Volume III

THE DIARY OF A WITCH, VOLUME III

CHAPTER 2: OCTOBER

Friday, October 1, Great Hall, Breakfast,

My new DADA notebook just arrived, all sparkly and pretty. Now I just have to get new Quidditch stickers on it and it will be even better. Good thing Quidditch Weekley lets you order sets of stickers for one Knut. The important thing is now I can once again write notes in one place instead of my other class notebooks. Having DADA notes mixed in with Charms notes can get really confusing sometimes. I also have back up for in case I DO lose it again: a sticker on the front that says Property of Jubilee Johanson, Ravenclaw, Third year. That way someone can return it to me if they find it.

Saturday, October 2, Late Night, Dorm Room,

You ever get that feeling like you were being watched?

That's how I felt tonight during the lesson with Firenze. Not that I'm not used to it. A lot of times animals like to gather around to watch our lessons. I've heard some of them take bets on whether or not I'd be able to do something. It's oddly like the way me and my friends bet on Quidditch Matches but instead of money or candy or whatever, they bet stuff like the right to live in this tree or acorns, that sort of thing. I cost a squirrel named Trixie seven acorns when I couldn't get the mind meld tonight.

Hey, it's very creepy feeling like you're being watched, okay? I couldn't concentrate. I just felt it more strongly and it wasn't coming from any of the animals in the clearing it was like someone was hiding or...oh, this is making no sense. Let's just say I felt like being watched at the lesson and it creeped me out, okay?

Sunday, October 3, Library,

THINGS TO DO:

1) Potions and History of Magic essays.

2) Transfiguration equations at the end of ch. 2

3) Translation of paragraph written in Latin and rune tablet Professor gave

4) Tea leaf reading of four people. Write out interpretations.

5) Practice charms needed for quiz on Monday.

6) Practice mind-meld stuff

7) Return library books.

8) Talk to animals in forest. Ask if they've seen anyone weird looking in the Forbidden Forest.

Monday, October 4, Dorm Room,

Just had the first Quidditch House team meeting of the year and practices are going to start next Monday. YES! We didn't get much done because we all started to talk about the Firebolt and the fact that the Bulgarian team ordered seven for their team. This got us talking about this amazing seeker they have named Victor Krum. He's really young, almost our age! But he's fantastic; Bulgaria hasn't lost a game yet.

Finally Davies got fed up and said in a really fed up voice, "All right. Fine. The meeting is over because apparently we all have the attention span of gnats right now."

Men. They're so emotional.

Tuesday, October 5, Divination,

-Hey Owen, why is Professor Trelawney crying?

-She saw the Grim in Potters cup again.

-AGAIN?! When will she give that a rest?

-Dunno. But it makes class very entertaining, don't you think?

-True.

Thursday, October 7, Great Hall, Dinner,

You know how Mandy's taking Arithmacy right now? Well for an assignment she had to analyze and interpret someone's name and she did mine. Basically how analyzing someone's name in Arithmacy is set up is like this: all letters are assigned a number from 1 to 9. For example A=1, B=2, C=3, etc. when you get up to 9 you go back to one. You get three numbers for a person: the character number, which is your personality type. The heart number, which is your inner life, and the social number, which is the face you show to the world. My numbers are as follows for my name:

JUBILEE JOHANSON

1329355 16815165

My Character number: 7

My Heart number: 8

My Social number: 9

Here's Mandy's interpretation:

This person is perceptive, understanding, and bright. She also enjoys hard work and challenges and is also practical, ambitious, and committed to succeeding. She comes off as a very determined person who never gives up. She can be arrogant at times. Since the numbers 1 and 5 appear frequently in her name we can assume that she is at times very independent and prone to being a loner. She can also be quick-tempered and impatient.

EXCUSE ME! I am not arrogant! Do I look like Malfoy? I see the quick-tempered and the impatient part. But I am NOT ARROGANT.

Saturday, October 9, Forbidden Forest, After Lesson,

Now I feel a little stupid.

I went to my Wild Magic lesson as usual and once again, got the creepy feeling of being watched. Once again I couldn't concentrate and lost an owl a mouse. Firenze dismissed me early in disgust. Hey, it's not like I have much time to practice what with all the work teachers are giving us. It's going to get even worse when Quidditch practices kick in.

Anyway, I was walking back to the castle on my own when the feeling came back. Finally I turned around and shouted, "Okay, whoever you are. You better show yourself right now or I'm going to go kung fu on your ass when I do find you! Believe me, I can! My Dad taught me self-defense!"

Okay, truthfully, I can only do a minimal amount of Tai Kwon Doe and only because Dad insisted. I wasn't too interested in taking any karate classes when I was six to be honest. I had my heart set on Gymnastics lessons. I was going through this phase then where I wanted to go to the Olympics and win a gold medal. My rooms back then were plastered with pictures of famous gymnasts and the US Olympic Gymnastic team and I kept driving Mom crazy by doing all these cartwheels around the house and knocking stuff down as a result.

So I bluffed. So what? It's not like whoever was watching me knew that. Also apparently he or she didn't care because nothing happened. Well, except for the tree named Ari saying, "Really Jubilee! Such language." I guess I can always look at it this way: if there IS someone watching my lessons, they're probably very bored.

Sunday, October 10, Library,

THINGS TO DO:

1) Finish Charms essay

2) Practice Transfigurations needed for quiz on Friday

3) Study for Latin test on Wednesday

4) Study for Divination quiz on Thursday

5) Memorize potion #215 by Friday

6) Clean Gandalf's cage

7) Laundry

8) Return library books

9) Investigate stranger in the forest

Monday, October 11, Latin,

Okay, I like Latin. Really, it's a cool language. Annoying grammar stuff, but then English grammar doesn't really make sense either and I've been speaking it my whole life. But it does have some benefits. I could insult someone for instance and they wouldn't know it as Latin is rarely spoken anymore. Plus, I finally know what that saying on the Hogwarts crest means. Draco dormiens nunquam titillandra means never tickle a sleeping dragon.

The founders of Hogwarts had a very interesting sense of humor. You ought to read Salazar Slytherin's biography sometime.

See, I like Latin. But listening to Professor Veraldi speak it and trying to translate it in my head is just making this major headache even worse. I don't know where it came from. I was eating breakfast and debating with Mandy and Padma about whether or not Draco Malfoys hair color is real or dyed (I voted for dyed) when my head just started pounding. I figured, okay, it's just a headache, not surprising with all the work I've been doing and the mind-meld stuff, it'll just go away in awhile.

Why am I always wrong about stuff like this?

Later Monday, October 11, Dorm Room,

Playing Quidditch when your head feels like it's about to split open really sucks.

Wednesday, October 13, Charms,

I've taken three doses of Madam Pomfreys headache cure potion. WHY ISN'T IT WORKING????

This is bad.

Thursday, October 14, Divination,

Okay, the incense is not helping the aching skull.

Also, my body, betrayer that it is, has decided to join my head. My bones feel achy and I feel like throwing up. I swear to God I will not be able to stomach any tea so Professor Trelawney better not force any on me.

Friday, October 14, After Potions, Before Transfiguration,

This is sweet. Kind of annoying, but sweet:

-Jubilee, this is Owen and Hannah. For once please listen to us. YOU ARE SICK. You look about ready to fall over and slightly resemble a zombie. Please go to the infirmary after Potions.

PLEASE.

For the record, Jubilee, I agree with them-Mandy

I will go to the infirmary. But I can't skip Transfiguration today, there's a quiz. I'll go immediately after class. I'm also going to ignore that zombie crack...

Sunday, October 17, Infirmary,

I'm missing vital Quidditch practice here. I hope Madam Pomfrey realizes that. She's making me stay here for however long this...whatever goes on. She says she can't figure out what's wrong with me! I don't have Dragon pox (whatever that is) despite the symptoms and it's not the flu either. None of her potions are really working. I think she's starting to take that a little personally because she glared at me when her Cure All Flues potion didn't work.

For awhile she was beginning to wonder if all of this wasn't some trick but with a spell she could tell I wasn't using a magical aid to fake this. But then I threw up on her shoes. HAH! As if I would WANT to spend time in the infirmary.

This sucks.

I seem to be saying that a lot lately...

Monday, October 18, Infirmary,

I just threw up in front of Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, and the Headmaster.

Someone please kill me now.

They had come to see Madam Pomfrey about something and just as they were talking to her I woke up from my nap, leaned over the (very uncomfortable) bed, and threw up into the waste basket Madam Pomfrey had put next to my bed because I seem to randomly throw up at any time. One time I threw up when she was checking my pulse, it kind of made me feel better about that nasty potion she made me drink earlier. God, I don't even want to know what was IN that thing.

Anyway, I looked up and there they were, four of the most intimidating people in Hogwarts watching me yak. Though I got to say they took it extremely well. Professor Snape grimaced a bit but then that's kind of what I'm used to him looking like. He gets that look whenever he comes to look at my potions.

Luckily, they didn't say much. Headmaster Dumbledore said he hoped I would get better soon but that was about it.

Thank God. My mortification at the fact that my professors saw me yak is quite enough thank you.

Tuesday, October 19, Infirmary,

ODE TO THE INFIRMARY AT HOGWARTS

by Jubilee Johanson

Stone walls,

white beds,

this is the place,

I now lay to rest.

Sterile rooms,

potions cabinets,

this is the place,

where I will find my doom.

A portrait of a nurse,

Madam Pomfrey

muttering to herself,

this is the place

where I will lose myself.

I'M GOING INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, October 20, Infirmary,

Hey, I didn't throw up once today!

Maybe I'm getting better?????!!!!!!

I hope I'm better by November 6 because that's when the first game of the Quidditch season is. It's going to be Slytherin v.s. Gryffindor according to Terry. I so want to go and see Potter kick Malfoys ass in Quidditch because if anyone needs a ass-kicking right now, he does. Buckbeak is miserable because the Ministry made Hagrid tie him up to "protect everyone". Hagrid told me there's going to be a trial soon where they're going to decide what to do with him. This is why I hate politicians.

I shouldn't be in here that long, I mean really there's only so much of this place a girl can take before she goes stark raving mad and ends up in St. Mungos. It's just so freaking QUIET here. Madam Pomfrey won't let my friends visit because she's afraid this is some new virus that might affect everyone else so I'm in complete isolation. Mandy sent me my assignments via owl so I don't fall behind on schoolwork; I've been doing them out of sheer desperation for something to do.

Thursday, October 21, Infirmary,

Madam Pomfrey says if I don't throw up once today and tonight then I can leave tomorrow!!!! I feel much better now. My headache is gone, my bones feel normal and I no longer have dizzy spells. So here's hoping I'll be able to get out in time for my thirteenth birthday!

Friday, October 22, My Birthday, NOT THE INFIRMARY!!!!

I'M FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'M ACTUALLY IN MY OWN BED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not to mention I'm now officially thirteen and a teenager. Look out world.

Just kidding. Madam P released me this morning but said I'm to go directly to my dorms, not classes. I can return to class Monday but she wants me to take it easy this weekend. So I wrote Firenze and told him sorry, no lesson this weekend either. You know he sent me a bouquet of wild flowers from the forest on Tuesday? Wasn't that sweet?

Anyway, when I got to my dorm room there was a pile of presents in front of my door and on my bed from my friends and family. Mandy and Padma, with help from Hannah and Susan, made this banner that said 'happy birthday, Jubilee and welcome back!' My friends totally rock.

So I remember who to thank for what here's what I got:

FROM:

Angela: a pastel starter kit (I've never worked them before, looks like fun)

Giselle: Apple tarts (!!!), cookies, and other homemade goodies in a basket

Gerard: a Magic water pitcher for my plants. It's spelled so it never runs out of water.

Jacob: Whuthering Heights by Charlotte Bronte

Jessie: a CD that is really good, I'm listening to it right now.

Owen: a gift certificate to Flourish and Blots (yay!)

Mandy: a pretty hair clip since my hair has gotten slightly longer

Hannah: a small make-up kit (she's always trying to get me to care about my looks more)

Susan: cute earrings

Padma: a date book that will remind you if you've forgotten an appointment or when an assignment is due. Well...it's in pretty colors at least.

Terry: Magical Paintings: The History of Wizard Art

Anthony: set of sketch pencils

Justin: CD

Max: earrings shaped like paint brushes (do guys normally give girls earrings?)

Quidditch Team: an assortment of foods such as candy, brownies, and tarts.

Monday, October 25, Charms,

I'm actually happy to be back in classes.

Is that kind of pathetic????

Tuesday, October 26, Divination,

It's weird.

I don't feel sick anymore but kind of...buzzed.

Like there's something inside me that's just itching to used or let out. I feel restless. This is nothing out of the ordinary because hello, Divination, but I never feel like...this. Like I want to soar through the skies or run through the forest. I even want to take a dive into the lake even though I know its freezing.

What's going on with me?

Thursday, October 28, Ancient Runes,

I totally forgot it was a Hogsmeade weekend this Halloween. I've been too distracted what with being sick and then feeling weird after being sick. I'm positive this weirdness has to do with my magic I'm just not sure how.

I have a magic lesson with Firenze this weekend maybe he can tell me what's wrong.

If nothing else, Hogsmeade will cheer me up.

Saturday, October 30, Dorm Room,

Remember when I said Firenze was going to try and contact another Wild Mage?

Well, he succeeded and I just met her. Her name is Dianna Salini and she's from Italy. Or she was born there at least. She's in her late fifties and has long blonde hair streaked with grey and blue eyes. A few wrinkles here and there but otherwise she looked good for a over fifty person. She was very elegant looking too in her purple robes and all black under that. I felt severely underdressed in my brown cargo pants and blue and white tie-dye shirt under my school cloak. The converses with rainbow shoe laces didn't help matters either...

Anyway, she was pretty nice considering. She lectured me a bit about hiding my magic, saying the world needed to know there was a new Wild Mage. I told here I'd tell when I was good and ready. She frowned but left it alone.

According to her, what's happening to me is that my magic is readying my body for the shifting. The achiness and throwing up stuff were side effects. She said the same thing happened to her too about a week before her thirteenth birthday. Apparently it's a puberty thing for Wild Mages.

Oh what, regular puberty isn't bad enough?

So basically my whole body is rearranging itself. Lovely.

But it doesn't stop there. Oh no. If I get too mad, angry, or irritated I'll suddenly start to change!

Picture this: I'm in the Great Hall and Malfoy is spewing out his usual crap about Muggleborns. I start to feel irritated like I always do when this happens and then suddenly my nose starts to turn into a beak. Or my skin will start to sprout feathers. You get the idea. This will be going on for SIX WHOLE MONTHS!!!!!!!

God, I'm going to have to do so much more meditating.

Sunday, October 31, Halloween, Hogsmeade, the Three Broomsticks,

My friends will be here soon, we split up because we all wanted to see different things. We agreed to meet here in this restaurant in an hour. So I've got about twenty minutes.

Hogsmeade is AWESOME! It's one of the only entire magic villages in England and so is full of magic. We saw the Shrieking Shack which looks like it's going to topple if you blow at it. People say it's the most haunted place in England. Got to say though, it looked pretty empty to me. Then we hit Zonkos, this amazing magic joke shop where we ran into Fred and George Weasley. I stocked up on Dungbombs and Filibuster Fireworks when I was there. Then we went to Honeydukes which is the king of all candy stores! They had so much that we all bought selections of one type of candy so we'd have a good chance of sampling everything. They were also giving away these samples of new fudge they had, it was delicious. I bought a box of variety flavored Sugar Quills and Exploding Bon-Bons.

After that we split up. Owen headed to a potions supply place. Mandy, Padma, Susan, and Hannah went into this witches clothing store. Terry and Anthony made a beeline for the bookstore and I was about to join them when I saw a magic art supply store and said see ya. I'll go to the bookstore next time.

The store was FANTASTIC!!! There were art supplies of all kinds and there were magical art supplies like Magic Paint that has all these special effects and lets you create moving portraits like the ones in Hogwarts. There were these canvases that automatically became blank again if you asked, robes that repelled paint, no-drip brushes, an so much more! Sadly it was all way expensive. I was only able to get a new sketchbook with the money I had left over.

Oh, there's Susan. Guess she bailed on the clothing store early.

Later Sunday, October 31, Halloween, Hogwarts, Great Hall, 11PM,

There are Dementors posted at every entrance to Hogwarts. They go through Hogsmeade every night according to Madam Rosmerta, the lady who owns the Three Broomsticks and whom Owen, Terry, and Anthony went gaga over as if they'd never seen a female before.

Anyway, all these precautions the Ministry is taking and Black STILL GOT INTO THE CASTLE! Does this seem wrong to anyone else? Not only did he get into the castle, he attacked the portrait that guards Gryffindor House. Guess he didn't realize everyone would be at the feast or something.

Now all the students are in sleeping bags waiting as the teachers search the castle to make sure he isn't here.

You know, only in Hogwarts would there ever be a person trying to get back into the school they graduated from.