August 25, 1995, 12 Grimmauld Place
Today was slightly better than yesterday. The keyword of the last sentence would be slightly. I still haven't heard a word from Michael, and I strongly suspect that his parents are still fighting over whether or not they should send their son back to Hogwarts. I've been trying to block these thoughts out of my head for the entire day, so you probably won't see me mentioning Michael for the rest of the entry.
Hermione's done her best to try and cheer me up. She spent practically the entire day with me, and she hasn't even looked at her textbooks all day. I even told her that it was all right if she wanted to read Hogwarts, A History rather than hang out with me, but she chose me over a textbook. And with Hermione Granger, that's saying something.
Fred and George made another narrow save against Mum and the Daily Prophet this morning. Mum got distracted with a boiling pot on the stove right before she was going to pick the newspaper up off of the table. George made a grab for it and hid it underneath the table, and by the time the boiling pot was all sorted out, Mum had completely forgotten about the newspaper and had gone to her next task of clearing away the breakfast plates.
I was very tempted to tell Hermione about the twins' advertisement in the Prophet, but then I thought through the consequences. Even though I trust Hermione more than I trust anyone else, I just couldn't bring myself to tell her. Does that make me sound like a bad friend? I suppose it does, but I really don't want to get on Fred and George's bad side, now that they have all sorts of joke products that they could "test" on me at any moment.
The rest of the morning was peaceful and uneventful, save for a few Mrs. Black outburst as a few Order members came into the house to speak hurriedly with Mum, Dad, Professor Lupin, and Sirius. I was half-expecting to see Kreacher rambling down the halls, seeing as I saw Sirius showing Kingsley Shacklebolt an old amulet with the Black family crest on the front.
Speaking of Kreacher, I haven't seen that wretched house elf in a few days. Hermione is starting to worry. She wonders if Kreacher left the house, and if he did, there's no way of knowing if he would tell anyone about Sirius or the Order of the Phoenix. I assured Hermione that only Dumbledore could possibly tell anyone about the Order, seeing as he's the Secret Keeper, but Hermione didn't seem convinced.
It's a lot quieter around here without a house elf walking around, insulting anyone he sees and grabbing as many Black family relics as he possibly can. Personally, I hope that I never see the little monster again, but I'm starting to worry…did he really leave the house? Or is he just hiding? Perhaps he got stuck up in the attic or something.
I think I'm worrying myself over a pointless little thing. I'm sure Kreacher will turn up sooner or later. Besides, house elves aren't allowed to leave the house without permission, and I'm positive that Sirius would never let Kreacher leave 12 Grimmauld Place, so what's the point of worrying?
Hermione and I visited Buckbeak after we both had our lunch. Sirius was there as well, and he seemed a whole lot happier than he has been it days. Maybe it's because he doesn't have to see Kreacher rambling on and on every single day.
Anyway, Hermione asked Sirius if he had seen the house elf at all, and Sirius laughed and told her no. She looked very worried, and Sirius reassured her in the same manner as I had. She just kept shaking her head, and she still looked worried, even after we left the room to return to our own.
And, yes, to answer your questions, she is still going on about S.P.E.W. It's been ages since she first found out that house elves cook the meals at Hogwarts, and I'm sure that she knows that house elves are happy to serve wizards whenever they can. So why can't she just live and let live, just like Tonks said that Hermione should do?
After we visited Buckbeak, Hermione and I talked about what we would like to do after Hogwarts. I mentioned that I might like to be a Healer, but there's a very slight chance of that ever happening. Hermione hasn't made up her mind yet. She's waiting until after her exams are finished to make a firm decision about where she wants to take her career.
I kindly mentioned to Hermione that she could practically be anything she wanted to be. She could get an O.W.L. in every single class if she set her mind to it. She just shook her head and said that there were many occupations where brains and O.W.L. exam results didn't matter as much as the job itself. I shrugged and reminded her that she was the brightest witch in her year. She smiled sheepishly and changed the subject hurriedly.
We started talking about prefect badges. Hermione said that the Hogwarts letters should be arriving in the next few days, and that she can hardly wait to see if she made it as a Gryffindor prefect. I told her that she was bound to be chosen as one, "seeing as you are the brightest witch in your year!" She asked me who I thought would be the other prefect, and I confided in her that I think it's going to be Harry. Hermione nodded and agreed with me.
Dinner was rather boring. Tonks wasn't there. I tried asking Mum where Tonks was, but Mum just shook her head and said that she wasn't allowed to tell me. I tried begging over and over again, but I still received the same answer: "I can't tell you, Ginny, now go!"
I think I'd better stop here. Nothing else really happened today. Oh, wait! I almost forgot! Fred told me that Bill got home late from his little "English lesson" with Fleur! Hmm…I wonder what that means…
I'd better go. I'll write more tomorrow, I promise!
-Ginny
Oh, there you go! Three chapters in one day! Aren't you lucky?
I'll thank every single one of my reviewers as soon as I get back from Seaside Heights. Until then, I hope you enjoyed these chapters.
Don't forget to review! I expect to see plenty of messages in my Hotmail inbox when I get home from the beach!
-Rox
