The Diary of a Witch, Volume IV

THE DIARY OF A WITCH, VOLUME IV

EPILOGUE: JUNE

Tuesday, June 1, Dorm Room,

Less then three weeks until the exams!

Where did all my study time go?!

Probably the same place all my free time went.

Sunday, June 6, Great Hall, Breakfast,

THINGS TO DO:

1) Finish homework

2) Study for exams

3) Finish up orders with everyone else for Charms Club

4) Find some free time to read T.S.Elliot book.

5) Order cat food and owl treats

6) Padma's birthday present!

Monday, June 7, Latin,

What is it about the last month of school that makes it so you have no free time? When I'm not in class I'm studying. When I'm not studying I have SOMETHING that has to be done.

I finally finished all the orders for the Charms Club at least. Thank God the others were able to help otherwise it would have taken awhile. Other then that, I've mostly been studying though. I could probably get away with not studying as long but I'm sort of paranoid that this photographic memory thing is going to go away one day and so I'm not relying on it completely. Hey, I've heard stories of that happening!

Thursday, June 10, Ancient Runes,

Okay, did the world just spin off its axis or something? Hermione Granger just asked ME if I knew of any charms that would be useful for getting through a maze. I have a feeling it's to help Potter with the Third Task but I didn't say anything. I couldn't really tell her any spells though, except for this one spell called the Four Point Spell that I read about in the library while trying to avoid studying for Potions in my first year.

I hope that will help Potter a little at least because I kind of made a bet of ten Galleons for him to win the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

Sunday, June 13, Great Hall, Breakfast,

THINGS TO DO:

1) Finish homework

2) Finish clay figurine for Padma's birthday

3) Make Artemis take another break before N.E.W.T.s Find subtle way to let him know he needs to shave too.

Seven more days until exams start.

Monday, June 14, Great Hall, Dinner,

EXAM SCHEDULE:

Monday, June 21,

Potions-9AM

Herbology-1PM

Astronomy-11PM

Tuesday, June 22,

Charms 9AM

Transfiguration 1PM

Divination 4PM

Wednesday, June 23,

Latin-9AM

Ancient Runes-1PM

DADA-4PM

Thursday, June 24,

History of Magic-9AM

Third Task scheduled for the afternoon

Friday, June 18, Great Hall, Dinner,

As of now, I'm not going to study. If I don't know the material for my exams by now I'm never going to. This weekend I'm going to RELAX. The last Hogsmeade weekend is tomorrow and I plan on dragging Artemis to the Three Broomsticks and having loads of Butterbeer. I swear that boy is worse then Mandy is around exam time.

Sunday, June 20, Great Hall, Breakfast,

THINGS TO DO:

1) Short review before each exam

2) Start packing. Don't procrastinate! Remember last year!

3) Keep in touch with Artemis after he leaves.

Monday, June 21, Great Hall, Dinner,

Potions exam: Went a lot better then I was expecting. There was a written exam but I have no problem with those since I thoroughly researched each and every potion Snape mentioned in class, even if he only mentioned it once. It was probably more research then needed, but you can never be too careful with Snape. After the written he gave us a practical where we had to brew an antidote for whichever malady Snape gave us. It was different for each one of us, for example, I got food poisoning while Owen got the stomach flu. I'll probably get an E or O depending on whether Snape liked my essay and antidote choice.

Herbology exam: Too easy. Well, for me anyway. Even with blocking my powers so I couldn't cheat I did well on the identifying plant practical and the written I could've done in my sleep. I'm so getting an O in this class.

Two down! Seven more to go!

Tuesday Morning, June 22, Great Hall, Breakfast,

Astronomy exam: This final was actually kind of fun. Though I couldn't help but be distracted by Owen when he was eagerly writing down every legend he knew about the stars and constellations. He's so cute when he gets excited about mythology. Knowing him, half the legends he wrote Professor Sinistra doesn't even know.

Later Tuesday, June 22, Great Hall, Dinner,

Charms exam: Another easy one. Why did I bother with all that studying? There was just an easy written and a practical where Flitwick would have us each do various charms of his choosing. Probably will get an O.

Transfiguration exam: I still have a headache from all those equations on the written...Why does McGonagall make us do all that math anyway? I suck at it and was still able to do a majority of the Switching Spells she had us do for our practical. I'll probably get an E because of the math alone.

Divination exam: The written was easy, but I think I messed up on the Astrology practical. I'll probably get an E as a result.

Six down, three more to go!

Wednesday, June 23, Great Hall, Dinner,

Latin exam: Aside from a possible few grammar mistakes (Latin grammar is EVIL) I think I did okay! I know for a fact I kicked butt on the oral exam. My accent is now perfect thanks to Artemis's tutelage.

Ancient Runes exam: That headache I got from all those numbers on my Transfiguration exam has now been placed with a migraine from all those complicated runes I had to translate. Do they have to be so small? Plus, the professor picked the ones with lots of lines. The ones with the lines are always tricky because if you miscount even one line, it could throw off your translation.

DADA exam: This was slightly scary. The written was fine, no problems there. The practical though caused my entire life to flash before my eyes. We had to duel Moody. That's right, an actual duel with an Auror. I lasted less then two minutes. Mostly because I spent a majority of the time dodging his spells. Two years of gymnastics when I was a kid finally paid off. I think my ears are still twitching though. I'm so happy he's leaving at the end of the year, I don't think my limbs could handle another year of him.

Eight down, one more to go!

Thursday, June 24, Great Hall, Breakfast,

Is it me, or is Rita Skeeter coming up with more and more stories that are total crap? Look at this:

HARRY POTTER, "DISTURBED AND DANGEROUS"

The boy who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named

is unstable and possibly dangerous, writes Rita Skeeter,

Special Correspondent. Alarming evidence has recently come

to light about Harry Potter's strange behavior, which casts

doubt upon his suitability to compete in a demanding

competition like the Triwizard Tournament.

Potter, the Daily Prophet can exclusively reveal,

regularly collapses at school, and is often heard to complain

of pain in the scar on his forehead (relic of the curse with

which You-Know-Who attempted to kill him). On Monday

last, midway through a Divination lesson, your Daily Prophet

reporter witnessed Potter storming from the class, claiming

that his scar was hurting too badly to continue studying.

It is possible, say top experts at St. Mungo's

Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries that Potter's

brain was affected by the attack inflicted upon him by You-

Know-Who, and that his insistence that the scar is still

hurting is an expression of his deep-seated confusion.

"He might even be pretending," said one specialist.

"This could be a plea for attention."

The Daily Prophet, however, has unearthed

worrying facts about Harry Potter that Albus Dumbledore,

Headmaster of Hogwarts, has carefully concealed from the

wizarding public.

"Potter can speak Parseltongue," reveals Draco

Malfoy, a Hogwarts Fourth Year. "There were a lot of

attacks on students a couple of years ago, and most people

thought Potter was behind them after they saw him lose his

temper at a dueling club and set a snake on another boy. It

was all hushed up, though. But he's made friends with

werewolves and giants too. We think he'd do anything for

a bit of power."

Parseltongue, the ability to converse with snakes,

has long been considered a Dark Art. Indeed, the most

famous Parseltongue of our time is none other then

You-Know-Who himself. A member of the Dark Force

Defense League, who wished to remain unnamed, stated

that he would regard any wizard who could speak

Parseltongue, "as worthy of investigation. Personally, I

would be highly suspicious of of anybody who could

converse with snakes, as serpents are often used in the

worst kinds of Dark Magic and are historically

associated with evildoers." Similarly, "Anybody

who seeks out the company of such vicious

creatures as werewolves and giants would appear

to have a fondness for violence."

Albus Dumbledore should surely consider

whether a boy such as this should be allowed to

compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Some fear

that Potter might resort to the Dark Arts in his

desperation to win the tournament, the Third Task

of which takes place this evening.

I my God, Rita Skeeter is so FULL OF IT. Does she seriously believe we're going to believe this crap? Of course people did believe the stuff about Potter and Hermione...so maybe they will. If that's the case, society is way messed up.

Later Thursday, June 25, Hallway, After History of Magic Exam,

I'M DONE!

NO MORE EXAMS!

NO MORE BINNS OR SNAPE FOR TWO MONTHS! WOOHOO!

Later Thursday, June 24, Quidditch Pitch Stands,

You know, the Professors better hope Davies doesn't catch up with them because he looks seriously ticked about the maze. I heard him mutter darkly about "growing bushes on his Quidditch Pitch".

The Task is going to start any minute now; we're just waiting for everyone to get into their seats. I just ran into Ginny who was with her mother and older brothers Bill and Charlie who apparently are here to support Potter. Mrs. Weasley kind of reminds me of Angela a bit, something about the way she got Fred and George to behave I think. That, and the slightly disapproving look she gave my turquoise blue colored bangs that most adults tend to give my hair when they see it.

I was kind of surprised about Bill Weasley though. He's the oldest of the eight Weasleys. Ginny talks about Bill and Charlie all the time and when I heard that Bill was Head Boy when he came here I sort of thought ‘Oh, so he's another Percy. Great.' But Bill? Yeah, he's definitely not Percy Weasley. For one thing, he's HOT. He's also got kind of a pirate thing going on, where he's got one ear pierced and has long red hair that's in a ponytail. Plus he's laid back. Something Percy never was and probably never will be in his life.

Charlie Weasley wasn't bad looking either, come to think of it. You know it's weird. Even though I really like Owen, I do still notice other cute guys. But they're cute in a different way somehow. I notice it, but then I move on. Weird huh? If you feel strongly for someone, aren't you supposed to pay attention to only them? Then again, I'm only fourteen, so I'm still new to this whole love business.

Everyone is talking about that stupid article this morning. Boy, Skeeter sure pulled a number with this one. Hermione seems very smug though. She asked me and Ginny to meet her after the Third Task because apparently there's been an important development concerning Operation Down With Skeeter.

I hope it's good, that women needs to be kicked off her pedestal. I still can't believe that junk she wrote. I also want to have a word that jerk who was a member of the Dark Force Defense League (if he even exists...) because his words were totally type-casting. Snakes aren't generally bad. Sure they're ASSOCIATED with Dark Arts but that's hardly their fault. Snakes are actually generally peaceful. Well, except the males during mating season but I won't get into that.

Also, Professor Lupin and Hagrid are so not vicious.

Oh, horns, I think the Task is finally starting.

Around 1AM Friday, June 25, Dorm Room,

Oh My God.

I don't know what to think. Right now I'm too busy freaking out.

Cedric Diggory is dead. Voldemort killed him.

Yes, I'm not kidding, THAT Voldemort killed him. Apparently he's not as dead as history books have led us to believe. Further proof you should never believe what you read.

The Third Task started off well. Potter and Diggory were in the lead and made it all to the Triwizard Cup. Then, they disappeared. The Cup turned out to be a Portkey. After that was confusion mostly. People started wondering what happened and there was a lot of ruckus. But no one could really do anything but wait. So we waited. Time passed, it was actually only about two hours or so but to me it felt much longer but then being in agony will do that to you.

You see, about five minutes after Potter and Diggory disappeared my head started to pound. I don't mean one of those little headaches that I tend to get after exposure to too much math, I mean major pounding. It felt like my head was literally exploding. I had to get away from the crowd in the stands so I found an exit as quickly as possible and got out of there before anyone could tell.

Just as I got out of the Quidditch Pitch a whole bunch of angry voices flooded my head crying out about Dark Magic, crimes against nature and a whole bunch of similar stuff. Then I started to be flooded with visions, it was like when animals show me what they are seeing through my mind-meld thing. I don't remember much, it was too quick and painful, but what I do have a vivid memory of is Potter tied to this headstone, Diggory lying lifeless on the ground, a really rat-like looking guy standing over a cauldron and reciting some spell with a dagger in his hand.

What happened after that I don't think I'll ever forget for the rest of my life. The rat guy put something that looked like a skeleton or body (I'm going with skeleton because it was a graveyard) and then the whatever grew! It grew/morphed however you want to put it into a...I guess you can say it was a person.

The minute I saw him I knew it was Lord Voldemort. You just couldn't help but know it was him. I've read a whole bunch of accounts about him and you know what? Those accounts do seriously not justify his creepiness. I don't think I've ever felt that terrified in my life. Not even during the car crash that killed Mom and Dad. That just happened so fast that I didn't have time to feel any fear. This...this happened right before my eyes.

When he stepped out of the cauldron, I just blacked out. I couldn't take the pain anymore. The next thing I know Owen is shaking me awake and Firenze is standing behind him. Owen told me he had followed me when he saw me leave because he was worried and found me lying on the grass unconscious. Apparently Firenze was at the edge of the forest when he saw me walk out and collapse.

Everything after that is kind of one big emotional blur. I told Firenze about what happened and what I saw. The reason I felt pain was because the planet was upset. Yes, Earth actually has feelings. Or the plants and soil do anyway. As a Wild Mage I'm connected to the planet through the small connection to Earth Magic we all have. Earth or the England part of Earth anyway was upset by the Dark Magic used to bring Lord Voldemort alive. Earth and magic are connected a lot more then people seem to realize. When big Dark Magic is used it upsets the balance of nature. Whatever spell was used to bring back Lord Voldemort must have been big because it definitely upset Earth. Because of this little connection to Earth Magic, I felt it getting upset and was able to see why due to the plants. Have I mentioned being a Wild Mage sucks sometimes?

After Firenze explained what happened to me, shouts started to come from the Quidditch stands. Firenze hurried Owen and I back to the crowd while he returned to the forest. When we got into the Pitch everyone was looking somber. I passed Cho Chang and saw her crying. She wasn't the only one. Potter had gotten away from Voldemort and brought back Diggory's body. He was sobbing and quite frankly I don't blame him. I felt like crying myself.

I can't believe he's back.

Saturday, June 26, Outside By the Lake,

I think the whole school is in shock.

Hell, I'm in shock.

What's even weirder is that nothing about Voldemort being back is in the papers! I'm serious! There's an article about Potter winning the cup and Diggory's "tragic death". Tragic death my ass! He was murdered by a dark wizard who's probably planning world domination as we speak. Shouldn't there be warnings? Where's the call to arms? What, does the Minister of Magic WANT us all to be killed?

Then there's me. Ever since yesterday, there's been this sort of...hum in my magic. I don't know why but it feels different. Like that incident yesterday opened up something. I'm doing my best to ignore it though because whatever that something is, I'm probably not going to like it.

Sunday, June 27, Great Hall, Breakfast,

Okay, this is weird. I got a owl from Hermione. Why would she send me an owl. She's right over there at Gryffindor table with Ginny, both looking at Weasley and the twins in disgust as they eat. Not that I blame them, that is fairly disgusting. Even weirder; look at what it says:

Jubilee,

Meet me and Ginny in the trophy room after breakfast. I have something to show you.

Hermione

Hmm...wonder what this is about?

THINGS TO DO:

1) Start packing

2) Send information on train stuff to Angela back home

3) Get summer homework assignments (once again, my petition to do away with summer homework has gone on ignored).

Later Sunday, June 27, Trophy Room,

I don't believe it. Hermione actually did it.

She got something on Rita Skeeter that she can use to get her to quit!

Believe me it's big.

Rita Skeeter is an unregistered Animagus. A beetle to be exact. THAT's how she's been getting her information. She's been using her Animagus form. No wonder she's been getting around here! No one notices bugs. Hell, even I don't notice bugs because they're boring to talk too and don't tend to pay me any attention either. Which is probably why I've never noticed her around.

Hermione not only get something on Skeeter, she managed to catch Skeeter in the act last night. She saw a beetle on the infirmary window sill and slammed a Unbreakable Jar over it. So now Skeeter is stuck in beetle form inside a glass jar. This is TOO perfect. So now Skeeter has to stop writing untrue articles or Hermione will "accidentally" let slip that she's an unregistered Animagus to a Ministry official (Ginny kindly offered her father's services).

I also threatened Skeeter, but quietly since Ginny and Hermione were there. I told her if she so much as hinted to anyone that I had strange powers I might "accidentally" step on her. She flitted angrily around in her jar and called us all a few choice words that I won't repeat but I must say, they were creative.

I found out something important from Hermione though. You know how I mentioned earlier that there was nothing in the papers about Voldemort being back? Well, that's Fudge refused to believe he's back. I always knew that guy was an idiot. Dumbledore and Potter, not to mention SNAPE, tried to get him to see reason but the guy refused to believe it. I mean, I suppose from his point of view I can understand. But on the other hand, Diggory is DEAD! How did he get that way? Potter certainly didn't kill him, and it was not a "tragic accident". There are ways to tell when someone's been killed by Avada Kedavra, I read all about it when Moody had us doing all that research on the Unforgivables. Didn't any of the Aurors investigating the death notice this and wonder? Probably. My guess is Fudge told them to shut up if they wanted to keep their jobs. This is why I will never ever trust the government.

Get this, as if Fudge's idiocy isn't enough you want to know what else Hermione told us? Moody, the one who has been teaching us all year, WAS NOT THE REAL MOODY! I'm serious! She told us it was Bartimus Crouch Jr., Mr. Crouch's son (Mr. Crouch is also now dead, by the way). He's been using Polyjuice Potion to keep up his appearance, that's what was in the flask he was always carrying it around, and he's been keeping the REAL Moody locked up in a trunk all year.

That's just...creepy. God, we've had an insane Death Eater teaching us all year! No wonder the classes were weird. Plus, this kind of explains that creepy look he would give me sometimes. I thought maybe it was because he saw my aura and knew about my powers but now I'm thinking it was because I'm a Muggleborn and he was plotting ways to kill me. This is so messed up.

But hey, Skeeter is going to get her due. At least some good has come out of this mess. Don't worry; Hermione is going to set her free. She's just going to wait until after we get to Platform 9 3/4 though. Ginny and I have already demanded that we be present when she does it.

Monday, June 28, Outside, By the Lake,

You know this whole thing has kind of seemed surreal. I still feel like I'm going to wake up and realize that it was just an elaborate dream. I just dreamed seeing Voldemort coming back. But then I see Chang with her head down, with her hair hanging over her head looking depressed, or I see Ernie looking subdued for once. Cedric was practically his idol, his death has hit him hard. All the Hufflepuffs are looking grim actually. Cedric was kind of like their own Harry Potter. He was the really smart and good-looking one and was seen as exceptional. Hufflepuffs don't really get noted for much (sad, but true) so he was kind of like their star.

I told Owen yesterday about Fudge not believing Dumbledore and the stuff about Moody as well. When I was finally done he just sort of stared at me and went "damn". Really, that kind of does just sum up the situation doesn't it?

Thursday, July 1, Great Hall, After Leaving Feast,

That was definitely a different Leaving Feast.

Instead of the usual decorations showing which house won the House Cup (Gryffindor once again by the way) the flags were all black, showing the crest of Hufflepuff. Dumbledore made his usual speech but this one was a doozy. He didn't beat around the bush; he bluntly informed us all that Voldemort murdered Cedric Diggory. Somehow I think Fudge isn't going to be pleased about this but whatever, that's his problem.

He had us all raise our glasses to Diggory and to Harry Potter for bravely facing Lord Voldemort. Everyone raised their glass to Diggory, but I couldn't help but notice that quite a few of the Slytherins didn't raise their glasses to Potter. Mostly Malfoy and his crew. Why does that not surprise me?

The real Moody was at the feast along with all the teachers. He was even more jumpy then the fake Moody acted. But then if I had been locked in a trunk by a madman I'd be jumpy too. I also couldn't help but notice that Hagrid and Madame Maxime were sitting next to each other and looking ver cozy. They look kind of cute together. Their kids are going to be humongous though.

Friday, July 2, London, King Cross Station,

Angela's late.

I knew she would be though because she sent an owl ahead this morning (Gandalf was there last night delivering my birthday gift Jessie) and it said she'd be a little late because something came up with one of her daughters. So I'm out here on a bench getting weird looks from people because of Rowena lounging on my shoulder and Gandalf sulking because he's in his cage.

So another school year has ended. I feel like so much more has ended though.

Well, Skeeter's reign as gossip queen and rumor starter has ended. Hermione, Ginny, and I stole a few minutes away from everyone behind a pillar at Platform 9 3/4 and after the three of us saying in unison "Now be good Rita!" Hermione opened the jar and she flew off in a huff. I'm the only one who heard her shout "This is not over!" I would be worried about it, but I have enough to worry about.

My magic is still bugging me. It's nothing major I'm sure though. Though I could have sworn I heard the concrete under my sandals talk...I've never heard concrete talk before. Is that normal for Wild Mages? I'm going to have to dig up my books on Wild Magic in my room when I get back to the Manor.

I've also decided something about Owen.

I'm not going to ignore these feelings anymore. I like the guy. It's about time I've moved on and accepted that. I'm going to not think about the situation over the summer. When I see Owen in September, if I still have these feelings, I will decide what to do about them then. I'll either a) not tell him and try to move on so I don't ruin our friendship, or b) tell him and let it go from there.

So it's the ending of Skeeter, the ending of the school year, and the ending of my denial of my feelings. But even more importantly, I think this is the end of a chapter, if that makes sense. I think changes are coming. Nothing is going to be the same again. Whether or not this is going to be a good thing or not I don't know. I guess I'll wait and see. I just have a feeling that the next few years are going to be interesting. I think I'll start writing more heavily in this diary. You never know, someday the events recorded in this journal might be important pieces of history! Hey, it happened to Anne Frank.