A/N: Sorry this took so long. Been busy with school and a sick horse. I'll try and write another chapter today, but you should expect one for tomorrow. :)

Happy Holidays!

Journal Entry 12

(Written in the Forbidden Forest along the Black Lake)

Well, Kate and I have been exploring the grounds. We are still getting used to our new forms. Time to talk about this morning.

"Marty, wake up. Wake up. Wake up. WAKE UP!" I heard Kate yell.

"Mmnnnggg," I mumbled. I was sore and exhausted from the night before.

"Weeeeeeeee! Here comes Rascal!" I heard Rascal yell at me. My eyes popped open and I rolled off the bed. Rascal started to laugh crazily while rolling around on my sheets. He paused noticing that I wasn't under him. He looked over the side of the bed and smiled his red panda smile.

"Kate, did you throw that crazed panda at me!" I asked her while glaring.

"Nooooooo. Let's eat breakfast! Come on or everything will be gone," Kate said innocently.

"Fine. I'm kind of sore, are you?" I got dressed while Kate tried to Rascal. He was jumping on furniture and blankets. Why does he have to be so messy?

"A little bit. I keep feeling the back of my neck for a blowhole. It feels weird without it," Kate responded.

"Ready, let's go!" We ran out of the dormitory and into the common room. It was mostly empty. We were walking through the hallways when Kate and I got into a little hip check duel. Haha, it's so much fun. I pushed her and she pushed back. We were almost to the top of the stairs on the 6th flight when I dodged back and Kate fell into the wall. I literally mean she fell into the wall.

"Kate? Where did you go?" I asked. Rascal climbed up my leg and on my back to look over my shoulder. "You know. You really are just a big scaredy cat," I mumbled to him. Just then a hand reached out, grabbed my robe an pulled me into the wall. "KATE! That was the weirdest thing to ever happen to me!"

"Really?" She looked at me doubtfully. "And last night in the ROR was a normal swim in the ocean?" Kate and her water analogies.

"Haha, I guess you're right about that. So what is this place?"

"I don't know, but this part doesn't seem very big. There's a space a little to your right." Kate and I looked to my right and saw blackness.

"Is that just a big hole?" I asked.

"Weeeeee! Slide!" Rascal exclaimed and jumped into the hole.

"Rascal!" I shouted. We watched red fur slide all around and down in a spiral. It was a slide. Kate jumped in next.

"You coming along, Giant Red Panda?" Kate asked with a wry smile.

I narrowed my eyes at her, "See you at the bottom." Kate slid off and I soon followed. It was so much fun. The slide was a polished steel that let us go fast, but was angled so we wouldn't go too fast.

"Hey, Kate!" I shouted over the noise of the wind from the slide.

"Yeah?"

"What's at the bottom of this to cushion our stop?" I got silence in return. "Kate?" I said a little panicked now.

"I guess we're going to find out!" Kate pointed and I saw the end of the slide coming towards us. I took my wand out and did the lumos spell. At least with a little light we could see. At least there was ground. The end of the slide was connected to the ground. We went sprawling on the floor and kept sliding for a few feet. It was a lot of fun. Kate lit her wand too and we looked around for an exit. There was only a tapestry of a dancing tree. I moved it aside and saw an opening. We climbed into the hole and ended up on the other side of the a painting. I pushed on it a little and it swung open. Kate poked her head out and jumped to the ground. "It's all clear," she whispered up to me. I swung out and landed somewhat gracefully.

The painting was closing when I remembered something very important. "Oh no! We left Rascal!" I ran back to the painting, stuck my fingers between it and the wall, and made the opening show once more. I climbed through and saw Rascal trying to get up to the opening on the other side. I grabbed the scruff of his fur and lifted him up. We caught up to Kate and walked to the Great Hall. The slide had put us on the ground floor. I won't be using the stairs to come down here anymore. Haha.

Breakfast was good. Kate was right about the good stuff being taken. We snuck out of the castle after to the Forbidden Forest. I changed into my panda form after a ways. It still took me a few minutes to do it. Kate climbed on my back and we started walking.

"Let me up! I wanna go up!" Rascal said.

"You can walk, Rascal. Or go swing from the trees," I told him sternly. He just plumped his rump right on the ground and tilted his head down in his pout. "No. You can keep up. Kate wouldn't be able to."

"Fine," he mumbled. He took up a spot right behind my long tail.

"Ummm, Marty? What was that about?" Kate asked. I just shook my head since we couldn't communicate with one transformed and the other normal. "Okay, then. Take us towards the Black Lake, so I can transform." I nodded and started to jog.

It's weird running on all fours. I think it's actually easier and more fun. We made it to a little hide out spot when Kate told me to stop. She climbed off, took off her outer robes, and jumped into the water. A couple minutes later a saw her spout some water out of her blowhole.

"You should see all of this underwater stuff. It's amazing how much I can see!"

"It's probably because your eye now is as big as, if not bigger, than your normal head." I joked.

"Haha, that's very true. I wish I could write this down..." Kate murmured.

"Why don't you? Just write it in my journal. I'll leave some space for you. While you write, I can go explore." I offered up.

"That's a great idea!"

So right now, Kate is swimming in the Black Lake and I'm sitting under a tree. I think Kate will make the next entry unless she finds something else to do. See ya later, Journal.