Ernie Macmillan

I borrowed someone's photographer-taker to snap a photo of the gingerbread house Lavender and I made!

( Photograph pasted onto the pages )

[Hexed to Friends]
I wonder if mum's Howlers will ever stop. I've been getting one everyday since I owled home to tell her I would be staying.

Pookie thinks we'll have to get her a big Christmas present to make her forgive us. I think he's right.

I miss Lavender. A lot.

Is anyone staying at Hogwarts for the hols?

Pookie and I are, but we're curious to see who else is. We wouldn't mind making a new friend to protect wait for Ron battle the play chess, make snowmen, and visit Hogsmeade with.

Home's rather dull.

[Lavender]
I have a brilliant idea.

Pookie misses Ronald and fears the worse even though no one else has been willing to stand up and make a statement about his disappearance. I must continually prevail upon him to keep his spirits high.

Contrary to popular belief, I don't buy into the crock stories everyone has been making up. Ronald is not dead and he has not run away with a band of vagabonds who travel the English countryside selling tins of pomade. Everyone knows pomade smells terrible.

Wherever he is, I'm one hundred percent positive Ronald is finding his way back to Hogwarts.

Everyone's holed up, day and night, studying for OWLs. I don't understand why. If you don't know it at ten o'clock at night, you're not going to know it at five o'clock in the morning.

Everyone should get rested, stay relaxed, and keep their garlic gloves in their pockets at all times.


[DA ARMY ONLY]
I think we should practice camouflage and concealment charms next time we meet.

It's almost the summer and we need to squeeze in as much as possible!

I'm afraid there may be something out there bigger than the gnomes. Bigger than me. Bigger than anything anyone could ever possibly imagine.

It's coming. Soon, so soon the fear is numbing.



( Viewable to friendly eyes only )

I'm not sure I like the castle this pink. Blue or green would have been a better colour. I do, however, like that some students (and Professor Flitwick) are still musically inclined today and breaking out into song when you least expect it.

Is it some sort of new chorus project?


( Lavender )


( Hannah )

Articles compromised. Must guarantee my safety. Will not be attending breakfast, lunch, or dinner for the foreseeable future. Cannot disclose any more information. Keep garlic cloves close at all times.

Pookie and I cannot disclose any information regarding where we are, who we've seen, or what we're doing.

The danger has never been more imminent than now, comrades. I don't want to alarm anyone, but I'm afraid this new year may only bring us closer to the day when our sworn enemies are no longer content to bide their time.

Stock up on garlic cloves before it's too late. I'll be writing up an article on the best places to put them for your safety.



Unless you're a bloke named Michael from Durmstrang, but you're probably one of Them anyroad

warded for Lavender's eyes only

Lavender, why weren't you in class yesterday or today? Did you get sick from that second year's kiss? I knew I should have taken you to Madame Pomfrey. Twelve year-old blokes don't shower regularly.


I hope you weren't kidnapped like Theodore was because if you were I don't know what I wo

/end ward



Pookie isn't very happy today.

It's almost Christmas!

I've already written and sent my letter to jolly Saint Nick. July is never too early to send post to Santa. Can't say what I asked for, however. Pookie won't either, so don't ask. Our lips are buttoned up. And I can't quite rememb

I will say that Hufflepuff, the best house in Hogwarts, has a secret Santa exchange and I've decided to organize it because no one else has stepped forward yet. This year, however, I'm running things differently. I'm opening it to all houses. Yes, that means the Slytherin lot are welcome to sign-up and share in the seasonal cheer. They know how to feel seasonal joy, right?

Sign-up before December 8! I'm going to send out the assignments Monday or Tuesday.

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
Ernie Macmillan
Pookie
Lavender Brown
Hermione Granger
Theodore Nott
Neville Longbottom
Cedric Diggory
Draco Malfoy
Harry Potter
Ronald Weasley

Pookie said today was going to be a brilliant day, but I don't know what for. I don't know why he's so optimistic. Theodore is still gone. Hem-Hem and her pet Bestrangle are still at large. Lavender is Someone is something. I'm out of sugarquills.

Up is down and yellow is blue.

I know everyone's up in a roar about no more Hogsmeade weekends, but has anyone seen Theodore Nott?

Pookie and I haven't seen him for a few days and we always see Theodore at least once a day. We even checked in the Infirmary, and he wasn't there.



I hope They didn't have a hand in this.

Pookie and I are quite excited for the Hallowe'en party, but neither one of us can decide on what to dress up as. Or mayhaps we have decided, and we don't want anyone to know and steal our idea. Helga Bestrangle and her brother Stanton would probably thieve our idea and claim it as their own. I wouldn't put it beneath them.

To protect the security of everyone's costume, Pookie and I have made a list of costume predictions to throw them off.

Helga Bestrangle - Medusa
Stanton Bestrangle - a caveman
Susan Bones - a butterfly
Lavender Brown - Athena
Cho Chang - a 20s flapper
Cedric Diggory - a Spartan
Victoria Frobisher - Goldilocks
Hermione Granger - Chesire cat
Neville Longbottom - Ricky Ricardo
Luna Lovegood - Alice in Wonderland
Ernie Macmillan - Odysseus
Draco Malfoy - Captain Hook
Theodore Nott - WWII aviator
Pansy Parkinson - a ballerina
Pookie - Poseidon
Harry Potter - a high seas buccaneer
Thomas Tonks - Dame Edna
Ginny Weasley - a forest nymph
Ronald Weasley - Mafia Boss Rooney

Umbridge doesn't like Pookie, and I don't understand why. He's not disruptive or rude, but quite mannerly and considerate. He's not like Lestrange Helga Bestrangle, who coughs and sneezes without covering her mouth. My sympathies go out to her dormmates. I heard they lose sleep every night because of her snoring.

If I were them, I would sing a soft lullaby and drink warm milk. That always helps me fall asleep. Perhaps that should be my next article. How to Sleep With a Helga Bestrangle in the Room. I'm going to get started on it right now.


Or, maybe in a little while. The back of my hand hurts.

I'm very sad for Professor Trelawney.

I wish there were something I could do to make her feel better. Pookie thinks a bottle of spirits might help. I had to remind him Mum always says spirits numb the sadness only for a little while, and when the numb is gone, the pain seems worse.

I think I'll send her send garlic cloves instead. That way, at the very least, she can feel a little safe.

It would be nice to have wings, wouldn't it? I mean, sure they would make shirts and jumpers and robes a real hassle to wear. You would have to have all your clothes specially tailored. Or you would have to have a really built chest with some chest hair, but not a lot because then your chest would look like Hagrid's head.

But those worries aside, to soar over mountains and across lakes and oceans and other beautiful places whenever you wanted to -- I think that would be very nice.


I don't think gnomes have wings, but I could be wrong.

I think Pookie and I may be the only ones who realise what's going on. I don't understand why our eyes are open and everyone else has their eyes shut to it. Don't they see? Don't you, dear readers, see?

If you're without a care, chances are good that you aren't seeing.

People see what they want to see and ignore the rest. The rest being everything that's awful. Or, rather, the awful things that want to do everyone in. Pookie has explained to me why everyone's selective about what they see and hear. It might be too much, too overwhelming, to take in everything.

Still, I consider it our solemn duty to try to inform everyone of Them. Or at least provide information about necessary, precautionary measures and people to watch out for and avoid in dark places. Even if they have their head buried in the sand, everyone deserves at least that much.

Is it true Umbridge has a beard and is distantly related to Draco Malfoy? Pookie says he learned from a good source.

This bears investigating.

I know all of you are dying to know what I've been doing during the summer hols. It's all right to want to know. You're not alone. Basically everyone has asked me. Even a gargoyle whose name is Javier. He misses Madrid and those dogs that look like little rats. Chawawas?

The fact of the matter is, I can't tell you what I'm doing, where I am, or who I'm seeing or have seen.

You needn't fret up a fuss or think it's anything personal, comrades. I'm just taking the necessary precautions. They-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named are not only watching and listening, but reading too. I know this for a solid fact. There are some amongst us who have been taken to their side, but I'm not going to name names or mention details like, for example, this someone has a lot of freckles. No, not yet.

Pookie, however, sees no harm in sharing where he went. He has had a lovely time basking on the beaches of St. Tropez, particularly the Bonporteau beach. You'll hardly recognise him from the tan he got there when we get back to Hogwarts - I almost didn't!

( PARANOIA PARANOIA EVERYBODY'S COMING TO GET ME, JUST SAY YOU NEVER MET ME, I'M GOING UNDERGROUND WITH THE MOLES )