November 1

Well, I finally found the time to write again, Samuel. Consider yourself lucky and prepare for a major update. You have missed my reports of detention, the amazing tales of what I learned and what I forgot to learn, and this years Halloween!

Lee, one usually uses his diary for daily entries. You are making it a monthly habit. I would be hurt, if I were not a diary.

Ah, Samuel, but I had so little time! The amount of studying Angelina and I had to do for decorating the Great Hall was ridiculous. Did you know there are only certain spells that can be used in the Great Hall for decoration? Yes, strange thing indeed. Angelina and I were under the impression that we could use simple charms, but we had to come back to Professor Flitwick AFTER classes to learn them. We had extra homework, can you imagine?!

This is the part where I agree with you and say: The horror!

Thank you! But to be honest, the results were quite impressive. I suppose I randomly picked Advanced Charms, but it turns out I'm quite good at it. Angelina had to try and be better, of course, and enchanted the common room as well. I'm writing behind a huge magical pumpkin, now.

Lee looked up and grinned at the huge orange object in front of him. Angelina had to beat him in performing the enchantments, and decided to charm the common room as well. The result was beautiful, the Gryffindor common room was filled with Halloween items, candy was found everywhere and from time to time bats would fly around.

Yep, Angelina had won this years bet, and she was more than happy about it.

Last night, at dinner, she couldn't stop bragging about it! It was great, though. Fred and George send us a package full of Halloween stuff. I gave some to Alicia and Katie and they ACTUALLY put it in Angelina's food. So she ended up with crimson red hair! She even beat the famous Weasley colour! Of course, she didn't notice until the Slytherins started laughing at her. When they started insulting Angelina, Alicia went raving mad! If it hadn't been for Katie, she would have gotten detention too!

You have interesting girl friends, I must admit.

I swear, they crack me up!

He wanted to continue writing about Halloween, but Samuels comment about 'girl friends' made him think. He hesitated, searched the common room for familiar faces, found some of them in the other corner and then looked back at his diary. His quill floated above the paper before he wrote the dreaded sentence.

Samuel, what do you know about girls?

Okay. So he was desperate! And wasn't it his mother who said you could tell anything to a diary? Why couldn't you ask anything? Lee decided to give it a try, and stared at his question for a few seconds, until Samuels answer appeared under his question.

I'm afraid that my knowledge about the female species is limited.

In other words, Lee wrote, you have no clue about them.

"Like me." he said, and laughed bemused.

No, I know about 'ladies' as one should call them, but since I'm a diary, I can only tell you so much. And here is my question, why DO you ask?

Well, something strange happened last night. I was playing a game of Hallow's Eve Chess with Kenneth, and Alicia was watching. She kept on making comments about my move and how my game of chess was similar to my love life, I made the wrong moves. So I stated that Angelina and I had a VERY excitement night that one time in the library.

Yes, bragging about a non existent affair is a good way to prove your friendship, Lee.

Oh, Angelina would understand. After a week or so. But that's not the point. Because Alicia began to laugh and told me I was dense, because it wasn't Angelina who liked me, but Katie.

Katie Bell? Oh dear!

Best thing has to come yet! At EXACTLY that moment, Katie threw two Pumpkin Pasties at Alicia, ruining a horrible game of chess, Alicia's hair, and my robes! And then, one of Hogwarts finest food fights broke out!

Yes, the food fight had been great. It started all of the sudden, but Lee was sure it was because of Katie's sudden action. After Alicia was hit with the pasties, she had glared at Katie, and grabbed a chocolate bat to throw in her direction. Unfortunately, Katie had been talking to Harry Potter and Ron Weasley about Quidditch, and Ron got hit with the chocolate bat, which exploded in his face. When both Harry and Ginny started to laugh, he had grabbed some of his remaining fudge and smeared it in his sister's face.

Ginny Weasley had looked absolutely ridiculous covered in chocolate fudge, so obviously Lee had laughed at her. But then she got angry and levitated an entire plate with custard tart above Lee. She had actually smirked before she just flicked her wand and covered Lee with custard tart, all over.

Of course, from the moment Lee Jordan got involved, things got worse. Because not only does he enjoy a food fight even more than the Weasley Twins do, he also had a horrible aim.

And that is how Cho Chang from Ravenclaw was hit with some warm apple tart. Cho, who first looked at the Gryffindor table confused, had mumbled something to her boyfriend, Michael Corner. Michael had turned around and before anyone could say anything, he had thrown a Yorkshire pudding to Harry. And Michael's aim was good. And that was how Harry, together with Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan got involved in the growing food fight, as they launched an attack on the Ravenclaw table.

Lee could only smile at the thought. It didn't last long until Hufflepuff had joined in, and he even caught Hagrid throwing a pie or two. The other professors had watched the display for several minutes and then McGonagall and Snape had tried to calm things down.

They failed, and to Lee's amusement, even Slytherin started throwing around food, only well aimed and a bit too hard for comfort.

I can't imagine what kind of mess the food fight caused.

Oh, don't worry, Lee wrote after he had turned back to his diary, most of the mess disappeared with a simple spell. Except the teachers refused to clean our robes and, the rest of our body parts covered with food. And that's when I had the oddest conversation with Katie, EVER.

Oh, do share. What do you mean by odd?

Well, to be honest, I don't know a lot about Katie. I mean, yeah she's fun, she's great friends with Angelina and Alicia and she's excellent at Quidditch. And she's always up for some fun stuff. That, and I know she has always been crazy about Care for Magical Creatures, and all that. But basically, that's about all I know about her.

Are you saying that, even though she is your 'friend' you never had a proper conversation with her?

Of course I talked to her! But about random things, school things, teachers, basic stuff like Quidditch, food, jokes. With Fred and George around that was all you talked about.

Ah, yes, but they aren't around now, are they?

Lee laughed softly. Smart diary, this was. He shook his head with a smile when he wrote back.

Exactly, so yesterday, I sort of had my first proper and odd conversation with Katie. I told her I was proud of her for starting an excellent food fight, and then I used my napkin to wipe some chocolate of her face.

How romantic. Manners are a great start, Lee. I'

I wasn't finished, Samuel! Lee interrupted his diary by writing right under Samuels line. He then dipped his quill in the ink before he continued; now sure that Samuel wouldn't interrupt him with comments about his manners.

Anyway, she turned red, but said she just felt like having some fun. She mentioned how boring Hogwarts had become since the twins had left. And then I asked her if I wasn't enough. I heard Alicia snort behind me, but Katie just gave her a look I didn't get. I don't know, it was really odd, as if everyone was listening, you know? Soo, from what I can remember from the conversation was that she said I had a horrible aim, and I said I was really hurt because she's always criticizing me. And then she APOLOGIZED! So I laughed at her and hugged her and pretended to be touched, and she just turned redder and redder before she just shrugged and grinned at me.

Terribly sorry to interrupt, the diary suddenly wrote. Lee stopped and waited for Samuel to finish his next sentence.

You did realize at that moment that she turned red because of YOU, right?

Well, that's the point. I didn't. I don't think I would have noticed if it wasn't for Angelina who caught up with me on our way to the common room. We were arguing at first about the decorations, of course, and then she suddenly laughed at me for making Katie blush.

Lee furrowed his brow, trying to remember the exact conversation, but failed. He always had trouble remembering these things.

Samuel; girls are odd, aren't they?

I still do not see why you must describe them as odd.

Well, they're so different sometimes, I mean, they laugh about stupid stuff and they act like they know so much more about you. I hate it when they do that. Well, no, I don't hate it, I just don't get it.

You don't say.

Oh, you know Fred was good at these things, right? Actually, good isn't the right word, but I know for a fact that girls didn't confuse them as much. I

Lee stopped in mid sentence and closed his diary quickly when he noticed a shadow from behind. He immediately turned around to face Ron Weasley.

"Bloody hell, Ron, what do you think you're doing?!" Lee yelled at him.

Ron, dressed in his Quidditch outfit, looked rather surprised. "Nothing, mate" he said, "I was just trying to get your attention! The match is about to start, you know?"

Lee, who eyed Ron suspiciously, didn't say anything. In return, Ron held up his hands and shook his head.

"I wasn't looking at your diary, I swear!" he told him, and Lee relaxed. If Ron found out he was writing about GIRLS in his diary, he would die an embarrassing death.

Ron was giving him an awkward look however, so Lee just grinned at him and stood up.

"I swear Ronald, this year; Gryffindor is going to win every match." Lee said happily as he slapped the tall boy on his shoulder.

Ron shrugged. "I don't know, Crabbe and Goyle looked very pissed off today. And without Fred and George, it's just.."

"Nope," Lee interrupted him as they left the decorated common room, "There's no way I'm going to announce Slytherin is the winner, I want to see an excellent match today, Weasley!"

Ron grinned at him. "You sound like Oliver."

"I'm hurt, Ron, I'm hurt."

They both made their way to the Quidditch pit as the students gathered there for the first match of the year. Lee took place next to Professor McGonagall, who gave him a short lecture on things he wasn't allowed to say. Every year the list grew, as did McGonagalls annoyance. Not once during the game did Lee realize that he left his diary behind the huge pumpkin in the Gryffindor common room.

"Somebody stop her!" Ginny yelled, her cheeks bright red from the cold and partially from anger. She had jumped up from the couch and pointed at Angelina, who was charging towards the Slytherin team on the other side of the Quidditch field. She had tossed her broom on the ground and was clenching her fists, as if ready to fight. The Slytherins were grinning.

"Stop her?" Katie landed next to Ginny and tossed her broom on the ground as well. "I'm going to help her, those slimy gits deserve a good punch in the -"

"Miss Bell!"

Professor McGonagall suddenly appeared next to Ginny and gave her a stern look. She was holding Lee Jordan by his robes, Lee looked quite furious like Katie did.

"There will be no punching, Miss Bell, nor from you, Jordan!" she snapped at Lee, who reluctantly relaxed. McGonagall send out Gryffindors two Beaters to get Angelina back, who was practically fuming, and then she turned to Alicia.

Alicia sat on the wet grass, her knees pulled up to her face, and she was rocking herself back and forth. Next to her, Ron and Harry made pathetic attempts to comfort her, by patting her shoulder carefully.

Within moments, several teachers had gathered around the girl, just like Lee, who was now kneeling in front of Alicia.

"Alica?" he said softly.

Alicia looked up and sobbed, her face had paled and her arm was twisted in a weird position. She had a large bruise on her cheek and on her leg, Lee spotted some cuts.

Only minutes again, he had been watching the game while commenting on it. It was an excellent one, Slytherin and Gryffindor always were the best teams of Hogwarts. While Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter were battling for the Snitch every now and then, the three Gryffindor chasers were scoring point after point. They had been practicing all summer, and it showed. Slytherin managed to keep up, though, if barely. But it was because of their excellent beaters they manged to keep in the game. Crabbe and Goyle were much  bigger and stronger than Andrew and Jack and they were playing mean. Very mean.

When Lee had noticed how Draco suddenly started chasing the Snitch, he had turned his attention to him. Harry, at that moment, was on the side of the field, so Draco had an advantage. Lee had fanatically started throwing insults at the Slytherin seeker, who didn't seem to care, when suddenly he had heard Ginny squeal.

At that point, Vincent Crabbe had flown right behind Alicia, when he got hold of a Bludger. He practically pushed the Bludger in Alicia's back, who cried out in pain, lost her balance and fell on the ground before anyone could even make an attempt of saving her. That's when Draco Malfoy caught the Snitch, Madam Hooch called an end to the match and Angelina wanted to kill every Slytherin present.

When Lee and the others returned to the common room, Alicia wasn't with them. Neither was Angelina. McGonagall send her to the Hospital wing, and Angelina – after she had clamed down – went with her. The other Gryffindors fell on the couches with disappointment written on their faces.

After all, they had lost a match. And not just any match, one of the most important ones! Harry especially, felt horrible. Him and Ron were already discussing all the bad things about Draco Malfoy, when Lee decided to get Samuel and write about this. He wasn't in the mood for conversation anyway.

When he stood up, he hesitated. Where did he leave his diary again?

"Hey Ron," he asked. Ron looked up.

"Where was I when you came to get me for the match?" he asked. When he realized how stupid it sounded, he just scratched the back of his head with a grin.

Ron shrugged. "I don't know. That over sized pumpkin maybe?" he suggested, before turning back to Harry.

Lee jumped over the couch and went over to the pumpkin. He realized he completely forgot to shrink his diary and put it away! Still, since everyone was at the match, he figured it would still be there.

He thought wrong.

The corner where had sat before, was empty. His diary, which by now he was sure he had left on the ground was gone. An uncomfortable feeling came over him. He had written about girls in that thing!

"Oi!" he whirled around and looked at his friends. Katie, with a tired expression, lifted her head to look at him. Harry and Ron looked up as well, Ron looking rather annoyed. Ginny Weasley raised a brow, but didn't move and some other Gryffindors looked as well.

Lee began to feel angry. Ok, so he had written personal stuff in that diary, and now someone else had it. Someone actually took his diary!

"All right, I left my diary here, right before the match. And now it's gone!"

Some people turned their heads away, others started laughing softly. Lee sighed.

"This is not funny! He.. It's my diary, you guys!"

"You sure you left it there, Lee'" Katie asked.

"Yes I'm sure!"

"No you're not," Harry said calmly. "You had to ask Ron about it, but he wasn't sure either."

"Well, where is it then?!"

"Maybe over there, by the smaller pumpkin." Ron tried and pointed to another corner of the room. Lee sighed and walked to the pumpkin, where Dean Thomas gave him a confused look.

"What?" he asked.

Lee narrowed his dark eyes at him. "Were you at the match? Or did you happen to stay behind, to steal my diary and…"

"Mate, I was at the match, I was yelling at you whenever you missed something important!" Dean snapped back and stepped aside as Lee searched the corner.

"I never miss something important," Lee muttered.

"Yeah, except a diary." Katie giggled from the couch. Lee's head jerked up and he looked a smiling Katie. She turned a bit red.

"I'm kidding, Lee." she said in an apologetic manner. He nodded and looked around helplessly. Right now, someone could be reading his precious entries, his most valuable secrets, his..

Ok, so maybe he hadn't written that much in it, but he was still worried about it. What if someone found out how to read an enchanted diary like Samuel. What if Samuel started telling his secrets to the next person who opened him?

Katie yawned and stood up. "Maybe you should clean up the decorations, so you can have a better look." she shrugged. "I'm going to take a shower."

Lee considered her advice for a minute.

"Do that, and Angelina will kill you," Andrew then said.

He was right. So instead, Lee spent the entire afternoon searching the common room, searching his dorm, and searching the hallway. When dinner started, it was official.

Samuel was missing.

"Oh bloody hell," Lee moaned.