alt_sally_anne | I got my journal back

When Jeremy and I got home for summer hols his parents sat both of us down and told us that Things Were Going To Be Different. That we would have to EARN our privileges, that we're entitled to regular meals (thank goodness for that!) and a bed to sleep in but there were all sorts of things they said were special privileges and we would need to show that we deserved them. Like my journal and Jeremy's broom and pudding and the wireless and comics and loads of other things I don't much care about (or don't have anyway).

Jeremy was furious and they had a huge row. He said he'd been punished at school for the things he did at school and now they were punishing him at home too and it wasn't fair. And they said it had nothing to do with punishing anybody, it's just that Things Were Going To Be Different.

I didn't see much point in arguing. I'm usually good at behaving myself so I thought surely they'd give me my journal back soon. They had chores for me and I did them, and they wanted me to look after Gemma and I taught her how to make bracelets and I helped her make one for her mum. Mrs Stretton liked the bracelet but apparently that didn't count as earning any privileges. So then another day we got up early and I helped Gemma to make breakfast in bed for Mrs Stretton and she got all dressed up in her dress robes and I plaited her hair and we surprised her before she got up, and that actually made her cross, she thought I was ONLY doing it to get my journal back and really I'm not sure what she expected, taking it away, I thought surely she'd WANT me to do things to try to get it back. But evidently not. So I went back to just trying to be well-behaved.

I thought maybe it would help if Jeremy were also behaving himself so I gave him some suggestions and he actually listened, since he really wanted his broom back. He spent a whole day smiling and saying 'thank you' when they'd criticise him but apparently that was sort of like making breakfast in bed, they knew it was an act.

So then today Jeremy set the east wing of the house on fire. He said that he was practicing some very advanced charm and it went wrong and when they were cross about THAT he pointed out that the book was in their library and said he was bored because they wouldn't give him his broom back and wouldn't it be better for everyone if he had other things to do?

I was afraid they'd take away his wand, but instead they gave back his broom and then said I could have something too so I asked for my journal.

Anyway I'm well and I've been following the news, the Strettons gave their muggles a holiday to celebrate and their mudblood as well. And thank you for the owls, everyone who sent one, especially Pansy! I wrote back anytime the owl was willing to wait for a reply but it's just not the same as having a journal where I can see what people say right away! Newspapers are good for big news but you don't hear what your friends are up to in the Prophet.

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From:

alt_sally_anne

Do you think he's really dead?

From:

alt_neville

No idea, really. I mean, I hope he isn't. But how can we know? My Gran always says you can't prove a negative.

I think if he got away from them (and it's clear that he did manage that much at least, because they don't have a body to show off), it's in their interest to lie about it as much as possible. It has to be ever so embarassing for the Ministry. And especially that Mrs Lestrange.

From:

alt_sally_anne

Well that's something, anyway.

If they had a body they'd parade it through London. They don't, so who knows. If he's alive he'll probably say, don't you think? Because there's nothing he seems to like more than embarrassing MLE.

From:

alt_terry

You're right, Neville. They are all liars.

I just don't know how much of a lie they're telling.

I've been trying to figure it out by watching the Headmistress. She's in the inside circle, see? I figure she'd be told the real truth, whatever it was.

The night the news came that he'd been captured was the night she sent me out of her office. She hardly ever does that. Like I said, she was talking with Madam Pomfrey when she sent me out, and I know they were talking about Sirius Black, because I heard one of them say the name, right before she sent me to wait on the staircase outside. When she called me back, she was watching the journals real close. She had me stay right beside her the next day and a half. I mean, she literally didn't want me to stray out of her line of sight. But she didn't tell me why.

There was all that news, that Mrs Lestrange had taken Sirius Black into custody, and then later that he escaped. And then waiting for twenty-four hours. Through it all, I watched her, closer than I've ever watched her before. Master's kind of easy to read usually, really. He doesn't see any point in bothering to hide his feelings from me, and when he's hacked off, he'll let you know it mighty quick. But the Headmistress, she'd make a good poker player. You can tell if she's tense (and she was. She was really tense), but you really can't tell what she's thinking. ~~Well, unless she's been dr~~

I just couldn't tell. The only hint of feeling I got from her, when the twenty-four hours were up and they said that it meant he had to be dead, it seems like she was sort of...relieved. But I couldn't swear to it that that's what it was. She took some private floo calls, but I didn't hear who she was speaking to. Maybe she got some information then that convinced her he was dead, and that's why she seemed like a weight had been taken off her shoulders.

So I dunno. I'll just have to pin my hopes on the thought that somehow she's wrong, and he's still alive.

From:

alt_lee

Why'd she want to talk with Madam Pomfrey about Sirius Black? Did Madam Pomfrey know him real well or something?

I suppose they both must have known him from when he was a student.

From:

alt_terry

Don't know. I think she likes Madam Pomfrey. I mean, they seem to be particularly good friends. More than that, really. Confidents. Is that the word? The type of person you tell things you don't tell to anyone else.

It's one reason I like the Headmistress. Because I think anyone Madam Pomfrey likes can't be all bad.

(I'm a little worried about Hermione. Has anyone heard from her? I haven't, not since all this happened.

Hermione, are you reading this and are you okay? Does it seem like the people at Buckingham really believe he's dead?)

From:

alt_sally_anne

She wouldn't let you out of her sight?

That's really odd.

From:

alt_gredforge

It IS really odd. That's the same thing our Mum was doing to us.

You're sure about that, Professor?

From:

alt_sally_anne

The Headmistress can't be in Sirius Black's organisation. She has a Dark Mark! They don't give those out to just anyone!

From:

alt_terry

Yeah, I know.

From:

alt_terry

Yeah, I'm sure. It was a little strange. Usually she doesn't mind if go off on my own for awhile, as long as I have a good reason and I tell her when I'll be back. But she didn't let me go more than a few steps from her side for more than a day.

But she's not doing that anymore now. Everything seems like it's normal.

From:

alt_sally_anne

Did she let you go to the loo?

From:

alt_terry

Yes, thank Merlin. Although she didn't like me even being gone that long, I could tell.

But I'm glad she let me go be private for that. That would have been really embarrassing.

From:

alt_ron

Hm. Well, maybe it wasn't Sirius Black she was worried about, but the prisoners who got out of Azkaban, instead? Maybe she'd heard one of them might have been close to Hogwarts.

From:

alt_neville

I suppose that's possible.

From:

alt_sally_anne

I KNOW you think I'm wrong about your mum and that's fine. But it would make sense she was keeping you in sight if she was planning to run, or give you a portkey to get away while she fought off the MLE, or something like that. Because if she's working with Sirius Black and they find that out they will punish ALL of you, even Percy, probably.

It doesn't make sense that the Headmistress

She's in the Lord Protector's inner circle. Like Lucius Malfoy. Like BELLATRIX LESTRANGE.

From:

alt_sally_anne

Not that she's LIKE Bellatrix Lestrange, though.

From:

alt_neville

NOBODY'S like Bellatrix Lestrange.

Which is a really good thing, probably.

From:

alt_sally_anne

Probably?

I think we'd be alright without the one we've got. We definitely don't need a spare.

From:

alt_sally_anne

SHE'S EVEN MEAN TO HYDRA. And Hydra's her own daughter!

From:

alt_terry

She's--

I--

Look, I dunno. She calls Hermione and me mudbloods to our face without any hesitation. She'll talk about all sorts of awful things with Lucius Malfoy, and she's ever so polite to him. But she despises both Professor Carrows. And I can tell she hates them because they're cruel. She's close to Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout, and they're the kindest people on the staff.

She lets me read any books I like from her shelves, just as long as don't let anyone but her see me doing so. In fact, she caught me with a book once, and I thought she was going to punish me, but she calmly told me I could read it and asked me what I thought of it. And sometimes she picks books to have me read aloud and I think...I think she's actually picking them to teach me things. Like she saw me reading a book about Charm formation, and I was puzzled about something. The next night she had me read aloud a book to her about Charm structuralisation, and it exactly answered what I'd been puzzled about the night before.

Maybe Hermione could say more about her. After all, she worked with the Headmistress longer than I have.

From:

alt_gredforge

We'd laugh at the picture of Mum making a Grand Last Stand at the Burrow. Except...yeah, it was really weird. Dear old Mum seemed quite mental that day.

From:

alt_pansy

I'm glad you liked the letter. And that you've got your journal back, too. I can't WAIT for you to come and visit me. You're just going to love the horses, and I can't wait to show you everything, and it'll be so much more fun to have someone around here I can really talk to.

It does sound like Gemma is being really sweet and nice, which is good. And now that you've got this back, we can talk back and forth right away, but if you want to write owls too, we can keep doing that just for fun. Because getting letters is always a treat, and it's more private that way too. Sometimes.

From:

alt_sally_anne

Gemma is a sweetheart.

When we made bracelets I did one for her in pink and yellow, since those are her two favourite colours, and I showed her my green and silver one and that got us talking about House colours. She wants to be in Hufflepuff because their house colour is yellow. But then she thought about it and decided she wanted to be in Slytherin because that's my House.

I told her she it will make her parents happier if she's in Ravenclaw and she says she doesn't care, she wants to be in Slytherin like me. But then she realised I'll be out of school before she comes and now she's not so sure. She has a while before she gets Sorted, anyway!

I LOVE getting owls but be sure to tell it to wait for my reply or I can't answer. Not reliably, anyway. It's not that sending owls is a 'privilege' it's just that their owls are always very busy sending out orders of jam and so on.

From:

alt_pansy

I'll definitely do that next time I send one, then!

From:

alt_ron

It's really great you've got it back. Has Stretton got you to go flying with him yet?

Mum finally let us out to do some flying this morning, but she said we had to stay in the orchard and not fly down along the stream or out over the fields. But it was great. I mean, I was so tired of having to be inside all the time that I was almost out of patience with chess even. And that's really saying something.

From:

alt_ron

Yeah. So I just realised that none of us were saying anything where Pansy could see, and she must have thought it's odd that she's the only one glad to see you writing again.

Anywiz. It is good you got it back. Even if you did take Mum's side about what she wrote in her journal.

Nice.

From:

alt_neville

Good point. I'd better write something publicly, too.

From:

alt_sally_anne

I hate keeping this a secret from Pansy.

From:

alt_ron

Yeah. I wish we didn't have to. I mean, I know why and all. But that doesn't make it good.

From:

alt_sally_anne

No. I think right now he wants to spend as little time as home as possible and I still have to watch Gemma most of the time. Maybe in a week or two.

From:

alt_neville

Glad to see you popping back up on the journals. Thanks for your letter. My sister Evelyn really liked the origami cat you sent, and she said to tell you that she hopes she can learn a little about charmed origami from you at school next year, maybe?

From:

alt_sally_anne

I'd be happy to show her a little about folding and charming it. It's the folding that's the hard part, really. I found instructions years ago but it took me a long time to work out how to do it properly.

Do you think she'll be in Gryffindor like you?

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