I had a very nice birthday

[alt_sally_anne]

My birthday was on Saturday. Last year it was during spring hols and no one was here. This year I got to see all my friends! Pansy gave me chocs, I didn't know she even had any left. And Hydra, sweetie, thank you so much again for the thought, it was really nice of you. You know there are just as many cats in my room as yours though! I will be sure to stop up to pet Tully soon.

And the pudding after dinner on Saturday was lemon cake and that was excellent even if it wasn't just for me.

And now I'm officially a teenager.

Comments

I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_sally_anne]

Hydra tried to give me her rabbit.

Which was really sweet of her but really strange, too. I mean, she LOVES Tully. I'm afraid if her mum finds out she'll be really cross, she was cross about Hydra getting the rabbit but she'd be cross about her giving it away, too, I expect she'd say it showed a lack of responsibility. Hydra said Tully got hurt once in her dorm room but there are just as many cats in mine, Pyewacket is clever enough not to try to eat someone else's pet but Fergus isn't.

I really really REALLY wish I had a pet. I've never been able to have one and I'd need permission from the Strettons and I don't want to give them -- well you know, if I had a pet they could threaten to take it away from me if I made them angry. Holding Tully yesterday before I said no almost made me think it would be worth it, though. Maybe if it were a really small pet they wouldn't have to know, they never come into my room as it is.

I wonder if

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_ron]

She what?

She's mad about that rabbit, I thought. I mean, I don't know her all that well, but she talks about him enough.

You really want a familiar? I guess Pyewacket's pretty nift for a fuzzball, but I dunno. Charlie's had loads of pets at different times, but he didn't keep any of them all that long. I think Mum was always trying to get him to give them away to other people.

Oh, and Percy had a rat, and it was alright. I think it was sort of ancient, though, when he got it. It never did much. I don't think it was even a magical rat, cause I've seen ones that can do loads of tricks.

You could probably hide a rat from the Strettons, y'know. If you really wanted a pet.

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_sally_anne]

Yeah, I was just thinking about that. How maybe I could get something small like a rat and just not tell them. I can't very well pop by Magical Menagerie and buy one, though.

I wonder if Professor Carrow would notice if he were suddenly one short? Don't worry, I wouldn't REALLY. It's not worth the risk of getting caught.

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_ron]

Oooh!

We could save Carrow's rats--liberate them! That's what you call it, right? We could, I dunno, get the twins to set off dung bombs outside during one of our lessons, and when he leaves the room, we could nick one of them.

Or!

Maybe there's a Rune for this, too. There must be one for unlocking things. And then they could all escape and he'd never know how they got out, but you could watch for it and grab one when it gets loose.

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_sally_anne]

For Merlin's sake Ron ARE YOU COMPLETELY INSANE?

There probably is a rune that unlocks things but Carrow is just a tiny bit more experienced than Padma Patil at FIGURING THINGS LIKE THAT OUT.

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_sally_anne]

Alright, I found the rune that unlocks things but I can't think of any way that Never mind, it's a bad idea.

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_ron]

Heh.

If you want to do it, I'll totally help. And I bet the twins would, too.

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_sally_anne]

I want to do it but I want to NOT GET KILLED BY CARROW more.

Anyway if one of Carrow's rats went missing he WOULD notice and I expect he'd have the school searched and while I could hide a rat from the Strettons I doubt I could hide it if the school got searched for a missing Carrow rat.

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_ron]

Guess you're right about that.

Oh well.

Or you could just say Pyewacket found him and you've no idea where or how.

Yeah. Probably not.

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_sally_anne]

First of all, that would probably work about as well as trying to convince Patil that the insect invasion was just the result of someone keeping chocs in her trunk.

Second, even if I could convince him I had nothing to do with the rat breakout, once they found the rat they'd take it away from me, and the horrible things that happen to Carrow's rats would be a lot worse if it were a rat I'd kept as a pet.

He has both magical and non-magical rats in that cage in his classroom, I think.

If it happened at the very end of the year, right before we left for the summer...it would still be a bad idea.

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_neville]

I would have sat on him, Sally-Anne, before letting him try something like that. I'm not so sure the twins would have helped, either, really. They like pranks, yeah, but they're not mad enough to cross Professor Carrow for not a particularly good reason.

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_sally_anne]

Yeah, it's one thing to cross Carrow to find out what he'd done with Terry. Rats are a whole different matter.

If we could somehow get Patil to do it never mind, it's still a bad idea.

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_ron]

So, you're not upset I didn't get you anything for your birthday are you? I mean, I can't really make anything much, and I figured you wouldn't want anything I'd tried to charm. I mean, it might curse you by accident!

Anywiz, it's not bad being thirteen, is it?

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_sally_anne]

Of course I'm not upset you didn't have a present for me. I couldn't believe Pansy still had chocolate, and she's got a lot more self-control with food than you do!

It sounds like they'll allow parcels again soon, I can't WAIT. I mean not that I'll get one but plenty of my friends will and they'll share! And being thirteen isn't bad, especially since no one played any pranks on me for my birthday. Yet, anyway.

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_ron]

Where did you hear that? That'd be wicked if it's true. And you can totally have some of whatever Mum sends me when they let parcels in again.

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_sally_anne]

It was in Lucius Malfoy's journal. Let's see. He said, 'It was recommended to the Ministry that owl traffic resume to all quarantined areas, including camps and Hogwarts. We await the final decision of the Minister, of course, but it should be a matter of time.'

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_neville]

I wonder...d'ye think they count fish as pets? I mean, they're not very exciting, maybe, and you don't get to hold them or pet them or anything. But they're not listed as legal familiars so maybe they're not considered 'pets,' exactly? (I never really understood why anyone should care about the blood status of who gets to keep what animals.)

But even if they aren't too exciting, they can be quite interesting. Evelyn has a fish tank, and she often writes about it in her letters.

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_sally_anne]

I want a pet I can hold. Anyway, I'm not sure the rule against halfbloods having familiars counts now that I'm at Hogwarts. That rule was for blood-traitor families, like the rule about brooms. I could have a broom now if I could afford one, so maybe I could have a familiar if the Strettons would let me.

Re: I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_neville]

Well, anyway, I think it's stupid you have to ask the Strettons of all people for permission.

[alt_pansy]

I've been hiding away the last bar of mum's chocolate for ages. It's not quite a proper birthday present, but we can make up for it over summer hols.

[alt_sally_anne]

I can't wait! Will we really get to ride horses? I've never even seen a horse up close, just pictures.

[alt_pansy]

That's the plan. He even has a groom to help us learn how and everything. If the Strettons let you come, that is. I've already asked mum.

I hope they do!

[alt_sally_anne]

I really think the Strettons will, they let me come during Christmas hols after all.

I can't WAIT for summer. It feels like I've been at school forever.