DIANA'S JOURNAL

This week was the first week of classes. I should probably write down my schedule somewhere so I don't get confused if I read this in a couple years.

Monday

Weapons and Physical Training- 9:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Runes- 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Tuesday

Potions- 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Blood Magic- 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM

Wednesday

Defensive and Offensive Magic- 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Parselmagic- 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Thursday

Elemental Magic- 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Mind Arts- 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Friday

Self Study all day for Charms and Transfiguration

Transfiguration- 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM for Animagus Training

The WPT (Weapons and Physical Training) coach was strict but not overly so. Coach Walden pushed us to our limit and always gave encouragement to everyone. He was quite accepting to everyone. The first day, we had to look for our limits in doing laps, plank, sit-ups, and push-ups. It was exhausting, but we were allowed water breaks in between. The second part of the class was dedicated for us matching up with a sword and a riding animal.

FLASHBACK

"Alright everyone, time for part two of class: getting paired up with your sword and animals! Get your asses up and follow me, and DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING." Coach Walden barked at us. Everyone scrambled up to their feet - they all wanted to make a good impression - and followed the coach into a different room that was filled with different weapons. "Now, you people, concentrate on your magic. It should direct you to a sword that will bond with you. Pick it up, get yourselves familiar with it, but don't point or swing it at someone because if you do, you will be out of this class in less than a second. GET ON WITH IT!" He roared, and everyone concentrated.

Diana closed her eyes and concentrated, and she felt a pull coming from the far left corner. She opened her eyes and zeroed in on a wicked looking sword that looked elegant at the same time. She went over and picked it up, gasping at the thrill it sent through her. Remembering Coach Walden's instructions, she began to familiarise herself with her new weapon. Running a hand alongside the blade, she noticed that the blade was wickedly sharp, and the handle automatically adjusted to her own grip. The sword was quite easy to handle for Diana, but she suspected otherwise for others that attempt to wield it.

"Where did Potter disappear off to?" Coach Walden asked his students.

"Oh, she went to the far left corner. Um, there she is, with that wicked blade?" One of the students pointed towards Diana. The coach, looking towards that direction, gaped when he saw the blade she was wielding. He immediately ran over to Diana. "Are you aware that you are the first to ever touch that sword after the maker? It's rumored to be personally enchanted by the Goblin Nation with numerous protective, security, and strengthening spells. Well, take care of that blade, Miss Potter. I believe you would do well with it." With that, the coach jogged back to the middle leaving Diana with her mouth open in shock. She snapped out of it when he told everyone to sheath the swords in their respective scabbards and to take them to their dorms under many wards before their next class.

"Alright you miserable maggots, follow me, bring your swords, we are going to the animals." Coach Walden turned and left at a brisk walk, causing many students to run to catch up.

When the class got to the animals, he gave the same instructions as he did when the class was pairing up with swords. The coach was interested in what Diana would be bonded to after the sword she managed to match up with. Sure enough, when he was making rounds in the enclosure, he saw Diana with a strong midnight black horse and piercing brown eyes, a Nightrider. In his head, he sighed. He knew to expect great things from Diana, especially after being paired with an extremely powerful sword and an extremely rare riding horse. When he told Diana this, she just sighed and accepted it.

My horse, Venus, is extremely smart and she is quite magical since her breed can shapeshift into different mammals for easier access and mobility. As for my sword, I named it Ares for the god of war and is currently in a Fidelius'ed drawer only I, Coach Walden, and Headmistress Windsor have access to that is also under many wards.

I found Runes very interesting. For all classes that involve theory, apparently we were already tested for our levels at each subject, and I was quite glad to see that I was not the only one who had no experience with Runes. Professor Chang is a great professor and is quite stern but she can be stern if needed.

On Tuesday, I had Potions and Blood Magic. As it turns out, I really enjoy both classes and am better at Potions than I expected. It is probably because of Professor Snape's ways to teach, even though I know it's fake (I figured it out and confronted him about it) it caused me to lose interest in the class itself, though I would read many books on Potions theory over the summer, and Professor Maine is really good at explaining things and manages to put the textbook she assigned into concise and clear facts. As for Blood Magic, I am quite good at it. I know I tested for an affinity for it, but it comes extremely easy to me. Even the teacher, Master Ben (he insists that we use his title before his first name), says that I have a spectacular potential for Blood Magic. He is stern and effective in class but he is one of those teachers that you can go outside of class for advice and comfort.

My favorite class is obviously Defensive and Offensive Magic; Professor Darrel is absolutely AMAZING. I think that's all I should write about that because I will probably end up writing a whole book on the first day of that class and on Professor Darrel. Parselmagic was also very interesting, I learned many things about Parseltongue on Wednesday. Apparently, it is a highly sought after talent in the East and is only considered "Dark" by England because of Riddle, and that fact irks me to no end.

By the end of Thursday, I was extremely exhausted. Fire Elemental Magic and Mind Arts took a lot out of me, but the professor gave us energizing potions at the end of each class (they are taught by the same professor, Professor Petrov). I understand why both classes are six-year courses, they are both extremely hard to master, but some are able to end the course earlier if they master them before six years. Apparently for Mind Arts, at least thirty minutes of practice is required every night before bed.

Friday was a much liked reprieve from classes and lectures. I'm glad to have been not the only person self-studying Transfiguration and Charms, and self-studiers had their own large classroom with assignments and topics on boards all around the room that are open all day Friday.

All in all, classes are great but exhausting here. Much as I love Hogwarts, they really need to update their curriculum because I learned more in a week than I did in my first three years at Hogwarts. Then again, this is an intense and very exclusive school. I'm honestly extremely excited for classes, a lot more than I was at Hogwarts. Written homework is pretty light as we cover theory for the first half in the classes that involve theory, and most teachers' requirements are to just practice individually or in groups outside of class. We are allowed to use magic outside classrooms and dorms as long as it is not with malicious intent towards anyone or anything. There are tests are every two months for each class and there is a cumulative final exam during the third full week of July with a five-week break after. There is a week-long break to celebrate the holidays, and that's it. Weekends are good enough breaks for everyone, though the occasional class will meet during the weekend.

Every month, a phoenix comes every dormitory floor to transport any letters to family in the home dimension. I hope everything is alright there, though only a few days should have passed in the other dimension I can't help but worry. I already sent letters, and I hope that they will reply quickly. I really miss Sirius and Remus. I wonder how Ron and Hermione are doing, but not as much as the others. I think our friendship started to strain last year during the Triwizard Tournament. I honestly miss Professors Dumbledore and Mcgonagall, hopefully, they have come to their senses about each other, god knows how long they have been dancing around each other for. Many times I have thought about how my dear Sparky is doing, I really hope she still loves me even though I'm a creature and girl now, she'll probably be thrilled that I'm a full metamorphmagus though. Ugh, it's so hard not being with her arms around me, I miss her so much but I am so scared of Sparky's reaction. I really hope that my changes won't repulse her. I've confided my fears to Xander and he has been great in trying to make me feel better. Our friend group has gotten even more close, though we all know it would not cross into the point of us dating another in our group.

Diana continued her life like this, studying hard but hanging out with friends as well, sending letters every month to the people outside. Settling into the routine of school, she and her friends would constantly help each other as well as comfort each other during bouts of homesickness. They all supported one another when one would decide to sign up for a tournament. A few months after tournaments started up, Diana decided to sign up not for the money, but for the experience and practice. She quickly established herself as a promising up-and-coming star of the tournaments, even though it was a while before she was able to climb to the very top in rankings. And thus, Diana continued her life, working hard and having fun at the same time.