I've been wanting to write this for a very long time. Basically, its how I see Percy and Penelope's relationship develop throughout their time at Hogwarts. I tried to stay as accurate as I can to what was happening in the books at the time, but I must admit, I will take some dramatic license. I'll also make up some names of charms, potions, books, etc. Its just easier that way. However, I must give props to the Harry Potter Lexicon at www.hp-lexicon.org/index-2.html. It's a really awesome site with so much information! Anyway, other liberties I'll be taking is that there will be a Yule Ball every year, even though it really only happened in the fourth book. Its just that I need atmosphere! It is a romance, after all! LOL! Anyway, I think that's it. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything
Percy's Journal
October 14 - 5th Year
Well, it has been quite some time since I've picked this up and written in it. I've been rather busy with my work hear at Hogwarts. As I wrote in the summer, I have been named one of the prefects of Gryffindor. Having such an important position is quite some work, you know. Of course, I am perfectly capable of handling such responsibilities, which I have already proven during these first weeks at Hogwarts. In any case, I suppose the most trying aspect of my prefect duties is handling George and Fred. I thought that they'd at least respect the sacred title of prefect but I think it only provokes them more. I keep telling mom and dad that they'll likely to get kicked out of Hogwarts, and I'll make sure I'm the one to do it (I'd love to see the looks on their faces), but even mom's occasional howlers can't get to them to stop.
Besides my prefect duties, I have been working and studying extremely hard this year. Of course, I've always found school work to be of the highest priority for any student, not just myself. However, as it is known, at the end of their fifth year, Hogwarts students are expected to take the O.W.L.s, so there is much work to do. Still, I am extremely confident that I will do well. After all, I have been receiving Os in all my classes, including Professor Snape's Potions class, an achievement in its own right. Well, it's not like Potions is hard or anything. Actually, its quite simple, in my own humble opinion. Professor Snape just has certain biases toward students who are not from Slytherian. I suppose that's known though, yet he can't deny me my well deserved grades for my exceptionally perfect work. In any case, Professor McGonagall is very pleased with me. She says if I continue on this path (which, no doubt, I will), I'll most definitely be named Head Boy in my seventh year, which she'll just love to smear in Professor Snape's face, although she hasn't actually gone out and said it just like that. Also, she told me that my future looks very promising, after Hogwarts I mean.
Which reminds me, this is the year when we begin deciding on our future careers. How exciting! Toward the end of the spring semester, I'll be meeting with Professor McGonagall, and we'll be discussing my options. I am quite certain that I'll have plenty of careers to choose from. However, I am most interested in a job at the Ministry of Magic. I'm sure if I can just establish myself there, I can be hugely successful. Of course, I would like to find myself in a very prestigious department and not something like the Department of Misuse of Muggle Artifacts, no offense to my dad. But, after all, if I can make some real money, then I can finally leave the Burrow (which will lift a burden on my parents, might I add) and live in comfort (well, at least I'll have a decent pair of robes for a change). Moreover, I can actually earn respect and honor for the Weasley name. At any rate, I won't be able to do anything if I don't continue with my studies or, even worse, decide to settle on some miniscule job like my dad did.
Anyhow, things are going rather swell for me. School is good (as usual) and so is all of my prefect work (mom is so proud). My fifth year is really just about perfect. Well, except for one thing. I matters well write about it, although its really quite trivial. It's just that there's this girl. Her name's Penelope Clearwater. Anyway, it's no big deal, but I suppose I think she's rather interesting. Yes, interesting is the word I'd use. See, she's in my double potions class and my double transfiguration class. She's also a prefect, which is really rather convenient, wouldn't you say? Anyway, I've found her to be exceptionally smart. About as smart as I am (can you imagine?). Besides being bright, she's really very nice and polite, not to mention a firm believer in following the rules (hence, why she's a prefect). Of course, I haven't actually talked to her too much, being busy with schoolwork and all, but from those rare times that I have spoken to her, she's proven herself to be as I described. She's also pretty - really pretty, which, I mean, has nothing to do with anything, but I just thought I'd say so. After all, I don't waste my time on such meaningless nonsense as gawking at pretty girls. Although, I must admit, sometimes I do find myself staring at her during class; not during class, of course, just at perhaps the beginning and the end. That's it. I mean, I always pay attention during class. That goes without saying. I'm talking about the few minutes before the professor starts and when he wraps the lesson up at the end. Nothing wrong in that. Anyway, I guess I should mention that she's actually not from my house. She's from Ravenclaw. Now, I know its rare for houses to mingle, but it's not completely unprecedented. There's no rule against it, of course, if we wanted to be friends or something like that. Study buddies perhaps. Yes, I know its rather untraditional, but I can bend tradition a bit if necessary, right? It might even be a slightly fun to take a walk on the wild side. What am I saying? It wouldn't be fun at all! I must be tired; it is late. I'll wrap this up then. I suppose I'll try to have a real long, nice talk with Penelope if the opportunity ever presents itself, but I'm not going to go out of my way or anything. That would be silly. Anyway, that's all. Good night.
Percy Weasley got his opportunity the next afternoon. His Transfiguration class had just ended and he had watched Penelope Clearwater as she gathered her belongings and left the classroom. He was intent on following her to the Great Hall for lunch, perhaps catch up with her and start a little conversation before they went off to their own tables. However, he never got the chance, because he got distracted by Fred and George, who purposely let off some sort of small explosion in the hall that released a terrible stank that lingered throughout the hall. Once he finished reprimanding his brothers, who just laughed in reply, and cleaning up the smelly mess, Percy had completely lost sight of Penelope and found himself alone in the empty corridor, for everyone was in the Great Hall having lunch.
Rather disappointed and aggravated, Percy straightened himself up and decided he wasn't very much in the mood to go have lunch only to be heckled by Fred and George. Instead, he choose to go to the library, where he could be alone with himself and study. It would prove to be far more peaceful and much less damaging to his pride.
Percy entered the library only to stop short in his tracks. To his surprise, there was Penelope sitting by herself at one of the tables. She had several books open around her and had her head down as she wrote busily on a piece of parchment. Percy stared at her for awhile, unsure of what to do. He hadn't been expecting to find her there and he felt himself loosing his nerve to actually approach her. After all, it wouldn't really be that casual. It would be more so deliberate, and then what would she think? That he liked her? Say if she didn't like him? Could he possibly handle such a failure? In everything he'd ever did in his entire life, he had never remembered failing at anything before. Percy felt his stomach churn.
After a moment, however, he finally resolved to go over and say hello. She was a fellow prefect; it was only proper for him to be friendly and polite, wasn't it? Smoothing his robes, adjusting his collar, tidying his red hair a bit, and making sure to stand tall with poise, he walked over to her with his usual pompous air. "Hello, Penelope," He greeted her in almost a diplomatic voice, standing before her and placing his right hand on the top of one of the empty chairs. Penelope looked up at him, startled by his interuption.
As soon as she did, Percy felt his ears grow slightly pink. She was pretty; not extraordinarily gorgeous or stunningly beautiful or anything like that, but just a plain, ordinary kind of pretty. Her hair was curly and dark brown, nearly black in color. It was long, as well, almost reaching her waist and she had pulled half of it back into a clip, but some loose strands fell around her face. She had brown, smart looking eyes and a sweet, simple smile. Her cheeks flushed slightly at Percy's unexpected presence. "Oh, hello, Percy."
Then, there was silence. A very awkward silence. Percy just stood there, staring at her, sometimes giving slight nods. He was a complete blank; he had no idea what he should say. It was very unlike him to not have something to talk about. It was even more unlike him to be so unprepared. I should have thought about this more, he thought to himself, instead of just running up to her so spontaneous like that. By now, Percy was sure his whole face had grown pink, but he still managed to coolly stay standing erect before her. There had to be something he could speak about! Himself, perhaps, or schoolwork or maybe their prefect duties. Those were good subjects he was very well equipped to handle. Yet, as the quiet between them became more stiffling, Percy felt compelled to say anything and so he said the first thought to come into his head, which had become a jumble of thoughts at the moment.
"Nice weather, isn't it?" he blurted out, posing the question as if it was a matter which should receive very serious attention. He held his chin up in his portentous way, but immediately felt stupid after saying it.
Penelope glanced toward the window which revealed a rather overcast day. It looked like it was about to rain. She frowned slightly before turning to him with a smile and saying, "Well, I guess so. I don't mind the clouds all that much. Or the rain, really."
Percy swallowed hard and used all his strength to nod and reply, "Yes, well…" He looked away from her as he trailed off, his ears as red as his hair, and began staring at one of the books on the bookshelf, but found himself not able to comprehend what the title of the text was. Feeling absolutely foolish, he knew he should devise someway of leaving her as gracefully as possible only to never speak with her again, unless, of course, for prefect business. Yet, suddenly, the word "Potions" stood out on the binding of the book his eyes had been fixed on, trigger a splendid idea in his head.
Quickly, Percy turned back to Penelope, who was looking rather confused and embarrassed herself, and questioned with a bit more excitement than he should have, "Have you finished Professor Snape's assignment on the uses of Pinnle-Poppin feathers in potion making?"
"Oh, yes," answered Penelope, seemingly relieved to finally have something to talk about. "Do you need help with your essay?"
"No, I already finished mine, thank you," said Percy a bit haughtily but then looked at her quizzically. "But you…you already finished as well?" She nodded. "Well, that's strange because, you know, I thought I was the only one who actually did it all. Mostly everyone else, in Gryffindor that is, hasn't even started it yet."
"Oh, really? Well, not many in Ravenclaw have really began work on it either. But I thought I'd get it done as soon as I could, because, well, we've been getting so much work from all our classes everyday, and I'm afraid I might fall behind in something. I just really want to do well on all my O.W.L.s…" She gave a nervous, self-conscious laugh. Then, she suddenly began, "Hey, I was wonderin-" Interrupting herself, she appeared very hesitant and unsure as she gazed down at the table. She started again, "Well, uh, the thing is, if you wouldn't mind, I mean…you finished Professor Snape's assignment already, right? Because, see, I was just hoping that maybe…well, you're doing so well in Potions class and its really my worst subject…so I was just thinking that maybe you could read over my essay for me?" She had pulled out her two feet parchment on Pinnle-Poppin feathers - six inches longer than necessary.
"Oh, wow," said Percy, admiring her essay. "You did put in quite an effort, didn't you?"
"Yes, well, I…I guess I'm a bit silly. Do you mind reading through it, though?"
Percy grinned. "No. Of course not. I don't mind," he assured her. Penelope beamed.
"Really? Okay! Well, uh, here," she gestured toward the chair Percy had put his right hand on, "Have a seat, please." And Percy did so, very happily and began reading over Penelope's essay.
Penelope's Diary
October 16 - 5th year
Good morning! Its very early (the sun is just beginning to rise!), and I'm the only one awake in the entire Ravenclaw house. I'm in the common room right now, and I can't remember it being so tranquil. It's really quite peaceful at this hour and so nice and quiet. Perfect for studying!
Anyway, I know that I don't usually write in the morning, but I didn't get the opportunity to write last night. I've been so busy with schoolwork lately (not to mention prefect duties). That's what I was doing last night instead of writing in here. I must have been up to midnight doing all my assignments and studying! Then weren't kidding when they said that the O.W.L.s year was going to be hard. I'm just afraid for 7th year and the N.E.W.T.s! It's all right though; I don't mind too much. After all, I always did like school and some of the stuff we're learning is really interesting. Especially in Care of Magical Creatures! Yesterday, Professor Kettleburn taught us about Porlocks. They have the most fascinating anatomy. They really do. In any case, I don't have too many complaints about school except that there really is a lot of homework. Also, sometimes I think I do too much when I don't have to, which takes up so much time. Like, for Professor Flitwick's class, we had an assignment when we had to list 10 different charms we've learned so far this year and give a brief descripition and I picked 17! So, I guess a lot of its my own fault.
Oh yeah, yesterday during lunch, Percy Weasley was really helped me out with my Potions homework. I'm sure I've mentioned him before, but he's in my year and he's a prefect too. He's also really very intelligent, and I think he's kind of cute too (of course that doesn't really matter to me or anything, but I just thought I'd say because he is cute in a book smart sort of way). Anyway, he's from Gryffindor, and he's from the large Weasley family (you can tell because of the fiery red hair!). My dad knows his father, I think. They both work for the Ministry of Magic, except in different departments, but my dad has told me before that Mr. Weasley is a really good man. He always has nice things to say about him and his family.
Well, anyhow, it was kind of strange because Percy just came up to me unexpected and said hello. I mean, we've talked before, but only on prefect duties or maybe ask a quick question about class (we have Potions and Transfiguration together). At first, there was this uncomfortable silent period, but then we just started talking about Professor Snape's Potions class and our essay on Pinnle-Poppin feathers. I worked really hard on the essay, because I really want to get an O on it. As of now, all I've been getting is Es in Potions, no matter what I do. It's so frustrating. Sometimes I think it's because Professor Snape doesn't like anyone who's not in Slytherian, because I've seen Slytherian students hand in really lousy work, and still get Os. But I guess I'm just making excuses, because Percy is in Gryffindor, which everybody knows Professor Snape loathes, and he always gets Os on everything he hands in.
Anyway, I'm digressing. As I was saying before, Percy and I were talking about our Potions' assignment on Pinnle-Poppin feathers, and he agreed to look over my essay for me. I had asked him because I know he's so good at it, and I was hoping he could give me a few tips to improve my work a bit. So, he read it, and he told me it was really good, but that I should add a few lines at the end about how if you mix the Pinnle-Poppin feathers with some Mandrakes, you can develop a pretty useful healing potion. He said it was really a rather obscure fact, because today they have better methods of making healing potions, but that exactly the way he forces Professor Snape to give him perfect marks, by putting in obscure tidbits in his essay like that one, because he'll only give a student Es if he just depends on the textbook. Then, Percy showed me this Potions book, called A History of Potions and their Uses Today by H.M. Beade, which he got for Christmas last year. It's a really nice book (its also really big), and it has so much information in it! Most of the details Percy uses in his Potions homework come from it. He even said I could borrow it if I wanted to, but I think I'd like to get my own. I'm going to write to mom and dad later about it. It'd really come in handy!
At any rate, I'm hoping to get an O on the assignment. Percy said I will, which was really nice of him, but I don't know if he was just saying that to make me feel better or if he was actually being honest. I hope it was the latter. I'm excited to hand it in, though! I can't wait! Well, I think a few people are awake now, so I'd better go get ready for classes today. I'll try to write as soon as I can!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything
Percy's Journal
October 14 - 5th Year
Well, it has been quite some time since I've picked this up and written in it. I've been rather busy with my work hear at Hogwarts. As I wrote in the summer, I have been named one of the prefects of Gryffindor. Having such an important position is quite some work, you know. Of course, I am perfectly capable of handling such responsibilities, which I have already proven during these first weeks at Hogwarts. In any case, I suppose the most trying aspect of my prefect duties is handling George and Fred. I thought that they'd at least respect the sacred title of prefect but I think it only provokes them more. I keep telling mom and dad that they'll likely to get kicked out of Hogwarts, and I'll make sure I'm the one to do it (I'd love to see the looks on their faces), but even mom's occasional howlers can't get to them to stop.
Besides my prefect duties, I have been working and studying extremely hard this year. Of course, I've always found school work to be of the highest priority for any student, not just myself. However, as it is known, at the end of their fifth year, Hogwarts students are expected to take the O.W.L.s, so there is much work to do. Still, I am extremely confident that I will do well. After all, I have been receiving Os in all my classes, including Professor Snape's Potions class, an achievement in its own right. Well, it's not like Potions is hard or anything. Actually, its quite simple, in my own humble opinion. Professor Snape just has certain biases toward students who are not from Slytherian. I suppose that's known though, yet he can't deny me my well deserved grades for my exceptionally perfect work. In any case, Professor McGonagall is very pleased with me. She says if I continue on this path (which, no doubt, I will), I'll most definitely be named Head Boy in my seventh year, which she'll just love to smear in Professor Snape's face, although she hasn't actually gone out and said it just like that. Also, she told me that my future looks very promising, after Hogwarts I mean.
Which reminds me, this is the year when we begin deciding on our future careers. How exciting! Toward the end of the spring semester, I'll be meeting with Professor McGonagall, and we'll be discussing my options. I am quite certain that I'll have plenty of careers to choose from. However, I am most interested in a job at the Ministry of Magic. I'm sure if I can just establish myself there, I can be hugely successful. Of course, I would like to find myself in a very prestigious department and not something like the Department of Misuse of Muggle Artifacts, no offense to my dad. But, after all, if I can make some real money, then I can finally leave the Burrow (which will lift a burden on my parents, might I add) and live in comfort (well, at least I'll have a decent pair of robes for a change). Moreover, I can actually earn respect and honor for the Weasley name. At any rate, I won't be able to do anything if I don't continue with my studies or, even worse, decide to settle on some miniscule job like my dad did.
Anyhow, things are going rather swell for me. School is good (as usual) and so is all of my prefect work (mom is so proud). My fifth year is really just about perfect. Well, except for one thing. I matters well write about it, although its really quite trivial. It's just that there's this girl. Her name's Penelope Clearwater. Anyway, it's no big deal, but I suppose I think she's rather interesting. Yes, interesting is the word I'd use. See, she's in my double potions class and my double transfiguration class. She's also a prefect, which is really rather convenient, wouldn't you say? Anyway, I've found her to be exceptionally smart. About as smart as I am (can you imagine?). Besides being bright, she's really very nice and polite, not to mention a firm believer in following the rules (hence, why she's a prefect). Of course, I haven't actually talked to her too much, being busy with schoolwork and all, but from those rare times that I have spoken to her, she's proven herself to be as I described. She's also pretty - really pretty, which, I mean, has nothing to do with anything, but I just thought I'd say so. After all, I don't waste my time on such meaningless nonsense as gawking at pretty girls. Although, I must admit, sometimes I do find myself staring at her during class; not during class, of course, just at perhaps the beginning and the end. That's it. I mean, I always pay attention during class. That goes without saying. I'm talking about the few minutes before the professor starts and when he wraps the lesson up at the end. Nothing wrong in that. Anyway, I guess I should mention that she's actually not from my house. She's from Ravenclaw. Now, I know its rare for houses to mingle, but it's not completely unprecedented. There's no rule against it, of course, if we wanted to be friends or something like that. Study buddies perhaps. Yes, I know its rather untraditional, but I can bend tradition a bit if necessary, right? It might even be a slightly fun to take a walk on the wild side. What am I saying? It wouldn't be fun at all! I must be tired; it is late. I'll wrap this up then. I suppose I'll try to have a real long, nice talk with Penelope if the opportunity ever presents itself, but I'm not going to go out of my way or anything. That would be silly. Anyway, that's all. Good night.
Percy Weasley got his opportunity the next afternoon. His Transfiguration class had just ended and he had watched Penelope Clearwater as she gathered her belongings and left the classroom. He was intent on following her to the Great Hall for lunch, perhaps catch up with her and start a little conversation before they went off to their own tables. However, he never got the chance, because he got distracted by Fred and George, who purposely let off some sort of small explosion in the hall that released a terrible stank that lingered throughout the hall. Once he finished reprimanding his brothers, who just laughed in reply, and cleaning up the smelly mess, Percy had completely lost sight of Penelope and found himself alone in the empty corridor, for everyone was in the Great Hall having lunch.
Rather disappointed and aggravated, Percy straightened himself up and decided he wasn't very much in the mood to go have lunch only to be heckled by Fred and George. Instead, he choose to go to the library, where he could be alone with himself and study. It would prove to be far more peaceful and much less damaging to his pride.
Percy entered the library only to stop short in his tracks. To his surprise, there was Penelope sitting by herself at one of the tables. She had several books open around her and had her head down as she wrote busily on a piece of parchment. Percy stared at her for awhile, unsure of what to do. He hadn't been expecting to find her there and he felt himself loosing his nerve to actually approach her. After all, it wouldn't really be that casual. It would be more so deliberate, and then what would she think? That he liked her? Say if she didn't like him? Could he possibly handle such a failure? In everything he'd ever did in his entire life, he had never remembered failing at anything before. Percy felt his stomach churn.
After a moment, however, he finally resolved to go over and say hello. She was a fellow prefect; it was only proper for him to be friendly and polite, wasn't it? Smoothing his robes, adjusting his collar, tidying his red hair a bit, and making sure to stand tall with poise, he walked over to her with his usual pompous air. "Hello, Penelope," He greeted her in almost a diplomatic voice, standing before her and placing his right hand on the top of one of the empty chairs. Penelope looked up at him, startled by his interuption.
As soon as she did, Percy felt his ears grow slightly pink. She was pretty; not extraordinarily gorgeous or stunningly beautiful or anything like that, but just a plain, ordinary kind of pretty. Her hair was curly and dark brown, nearly black in color. It was long, as well, almost reaching her waist and she had pulled half of it back into a clip, but some loose strands fell around her face. She had brown, smart looking eyes and a sweet, simple smile. Her cheeks flushed slightly at Percy's unexpected presence. "Oh, hello, Percy."
Then, there was silence. A very awkward silence. Percy just stood there, staring at her, sometimes giving slight nods. He was a complete blank; he had no idea what he should say. It was very unlike him to not have something to talk about. It was even more unlike him to be so unprepared. I should have thought about this more, he thought to himself, instead of just running up to her so spontaneous like that. By now, Percy was sure his whole face had grown pink, but he still managed to coolly stay standing erect before her. There had to be something he could speak about! Himself, perhaps, or schoolwork or maybe their prefect duties. Those were good subjects he was very well equipped to handle. Yet, as the quiet between them became more stiffling, Percy felt compelled to say anything and so he said the first thought to come into his head, which had become a jumble of thoughts at the moment.
"Nice weather, isn't it?" he blurted out, posing the question as if it was a matter which should receive very serious attention. He held his chin up in his portentous way, but immediately felt stupid after saying it.
Penelope glanced toward the window which revealed a rather overcast day. It looked like it was about to rain. She frowned slightly before turning to him with a smile and saying, "Well, I guess so. I don't mind the clouds all that much. Or the rain, really."
Percy swallowed hard and used all his strength to nod and reply, "Yes, well…" He looked away from her as he trailed off, his ears as red as his hair, and began staring at one of the books on the bookshelf, but found himself not able to comprehend what the title of the text was. Feeling absolutely foolish, he knew he should devise someway of leaving her as gracefully as possible only to never speak with her again, unless, of course, for prefect business. Yet, suddenly, the word "Potions" stood out on the binding of the book his eyes had been fixed on, trigger a splendid idea in his head.
Quickly, Percy turned back to Penelope, who was looking rather confused and embarrassed herself, and questioned with a bit more excitement than he should have, "Have you finished Professor Snape's assignment on the uses of Pinnle-Poppin feathers in potion making?"
"Oh, yes," answered Penelope, seemingly relieved to finally have something to talk about. "Do you need help with your essay?"
"No, I already finished mine, thank you," said Percy a bit haughtily but then looked at her quizzically. "But you…you already finished as well?" She nodded. "Well, that's strange because, you know, I thought I was the only one who actually did it all. Mostly everyone else, in Gryffindor that is, hasn't even started it yet."
"Oh, really? Well, not many in Ravenclaw have really began work on it either. But I thought I'd get it done as soon as I could, because, well, we've been getting so much work from all our classes everyday, and I'm afraid I might fall behind in something. I just really want to do well on all my O.W.L.s…" She gave a nervous, self-conscious laugh. Then, she suddenly began, "Hey, I was wonderin-" Interrupting herself, she appeared very hesitant and unsure as she gazed down at the table. She started again, "Well, uh, the thing is, if you wouldn't mind, I mean…you finished Professor Snape's assignment already, right? Because, see, I was just hoping that maybe…well, you're doing so well in Potions class and its really my worst subject…so I was just thinking that maybe you could read over my essay for me?" She had pulled out her two feet parchment on Pinnle-Poppin feathers - six inches longer than necessary.
"Oh, wow," said Percy, admiring her essay. "You did put in quite an effort, didn't you?"
"Yes, well, I…I guess I'm a bit silly. Do you mind reading through it, though?"
Percy grinned. "No. Of course not. I don't mind," he assured her. Penelope beamed.
"Really? Okay! Well, uh, here," she gestured toward the chair Percy had put his right hand on, "Have a seat, please." And Percy did so, very happily and began reading over Penelope's essay.
Penelope's Diary
October 16 - 5th year
Good morning! Its very early (the sun is just beginning to rise!), and I'm the only one awake in the entire Ravenclaw house. I'm in the common room right now, and I can't remember it being so tranquil. It's really quite peaceful at this hour and so nice and quiet. Perfect for studying!
Anyway, I know that I don't usually write in the morning, but I didn't get the opportunity to write last night. I've been so busy with schoolwork lately (not to mention prefect duties). That's what I was doing last night instead of writing in here. I must have been up to midnight doing all my assignments and studying! Then weren't kidding when they said that the O.W.L.s year was going to be hard. I'm just afraid for 7th year and the N.E.W.T.s! It's all right though; I don't mind too much. After all, I always did like school and some of the stuff we're learning is really interesting. Especially in Care of Magical Creatures! Yesterday, Professor Kettleburn taught us about Porlocks. They have the most fascinating anatomy. They really do. In any case, I don't have too many complaints about school except that there really is a lot of homework. Also, sometimes I think I do too much when I don't have to, which takes up so much time. Like, for Professor Flitwick's class, we had an assignment when we had to list 10 different charms we've learned so far this year and give a brief descripition and I picked 17! So, I guess a lot of its my own fault.
Oh yeah, yesterday during lunch, Percy Weasley was really helped me out with my Potions homework. I'm sure I've mentioned him before, but he's in my year and he's a prefect too. He's also really very intelligent, and I think he's kind of cute too (of course that doesn't really matter to me or anything, but I just thought I'd say because he is cute in a book smart sort of way). Anyway, he's from Gryffindor, and he's from the large Weasley family (you can tell because of the fiery red hair!). My dad knows his father, I think. They both work for the Ministry of Magic, except in different departments, but my dad has told me before that Mr. Weasley is a really good man. He always has nice things to say about him and his family.
Well, anyhow, it was kind of strange because Percy just came up to me unexpected and said hello. I mean, we've talked before, but only on prefect duties or maybe ask a quick question about class (we have Potions and Transfiguration together). At first, there was this uncomfortable silent period, but then we just started talking about Professor Snape's Potions class and our essay on Pinnle-Poppin feathers. I worked really hard on the essay, because I really want to get an O on it. As of now, all I've been getting is Es in Potions, no matter what I do. It's so frustrating. Sometimes I think it's because Professor Snape doesn't like anyone who's not in Slytherian, because I've seen Slytherian students hand in really lousy work, and still get Os. But I guess I'm just making excuses, because Percy is in Gryffindor, which everybody knows Professor Snape loathes, and he always gets Os on everything he hands in.
Anyway, I'm digressing. As I was saying before, Percy and I were talking about our Potions' assignment on Pinnle-Poppin feathers, and he agreed to look over my essay for me. I had asked him because I know he's so good at it, and I was hoping he could give me a few tips to improve my work a bit. So, he read it, and he told me it was really good, but that I should add a few lines at the end about how if you mix the Pinnle-Poppin feathers with some Mandrakes, you can develop a pretty useful healing potion. He said it was really a rather obscure fact, because today they have better methods of making healing potions, but that exactly the way he forces Professor Snape to give him perfect marks, by putting in obscure tidbits in his essay like that one, because he'll only give a student Es if he just depends on the textbook. Then, Percy showed me this Potions book, called A History of Potions and their Uses Today by H.M. Beade, which he got for Christmas last year. It's a really nice book (its also really big), and it has so much information in it! Most of the details Percy uses in his Potions homework come from it. He even said I could borrow it if I wanted to, but I think I'd like to get my own. I'm going to write to mom and dad later about it. It'd really come in handy!
At any rate, I'm hoping to get an O on the assignment. Percy said I will, which was really nice of him, but I don't know if he was just saying that to make me feel better or if he was actually being honest. I hope it was the latter. I'm excited to hand it in, though! I can't wait! Well, I think a few people are awake now, so I'd better go get ready for classes today. I'll try to write as soon as I can!
