Friday, March 26, 1976

I have not yet mentioned this in my previous entries, but I am not only skilled in the field of Potions, but also in the field of Defense Against the Dark Arts, as well as the Dark Arts themselves. I can proudly say that I am the most advanced student in this field out of not only those in my year, but in any of the other years, and yes, I am only a fourth-year. I suppose that it is because of the subject being so fascinating that I have spent so much time studying it, even in my years before coming to Hogwarts. I am the proud creator of several spells already, including Langlock, Muffliato, Liberacorpus, and Levicorpus.

But today while I was experimenting in my room during our free time, I discovered probably the most intriguing spell that I will ever create or encounter. The process of creating a spell is very delicate, and more often than not results in an unpleasant vibrating in the wand that signifies the flow of magic being stopped due to an incorrect description. Finding the correct combination of words and wand gestures can be very trying, yet I have succeeded on several occasions. This new spell that I have created is Sectumsempra, accompanied by slashing movements of the wand; the exact placement of the wand is unnecessary in this spell as I will reveal in a moment. The result of the spell is a breaking of whatever membrane the wand is being pointed at; I was practicing on my bed drapes, and now I will have to get new ones as there are rents in the fabric all over. It seems that the line of attack follows the motion of the wand, so it is a very versatile spell. I then tried it on my pillow, and I will have to either request one of the house-elves to re-stuff and sew my pillow, or I will have to request an entirely new pillow. I then tried the spell on the fire in the stove in the center of the room, but I only succeeded in disturbing the flames. I finally tried it on the stone floor, and though the spell did not permeate the floor, it did leave scratches that followed the path of my wand (and created an absolutely horrid sound in the process; I must be more careful in the future lest I be discovered). I imagine that if I were to try this spell on a living organism, the skin would be broken and blood would be released, but before I actually try it, I should find a counterspell to undo Sectumsempra, since I always try my spells out on myself before experimenting on others. Oh the irony; the Slytherin is now the lab-rat. In the meantime I have a record of the spell here in my journal, as well as in my copy of Advanced Potion Making, page 17.