The Importance of Being Ernest

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 19:47:37 GMT

I have only begun to process Monday night at Magiwand. And Tuesday morning. Primarily owing to the fact that it seems I've only just awoken from my stupour.

I believe that I drank entirely too much Firewhisky. Or else my memory has grown spotty and I've developed chronic migraines.

Mostly I remember that my interest was a bit too prurient to deny the truth of my own desires. And there was a bit of a memory of moaning Justin's name into his mouth, only that doesn't make much sense. Why would I be snogging Justin? More importantly, why would he be snogging me? I thought it must have been a dream until I found an Owl address shoved into my trousers pocket for a bloke named Brian.

I hope his lips muffled sound.

Sun, 01 Oct 2006 10:10:46 GMT

It is boring at the Castle. I've sequestered myself within its bowels, far away from the endless supply of visitors. Thusly, I have had cause to ponder.

The NEWTs, formerly such a paradigm of wizard schooling, were seen fit by the Powers That (Should Bloody Well Not) Be to be made a mockery. I am certain that you will recall how traumatised I was left, in their wake. I've found myself examining these circumstances, but the conclusions drawn do not match up with what I previously had known.

I have cultivated a certain image to present the world with, throughout my life; stoic, cultured, pleasant, and honourable. From a young age, I was taught to project an aura of quiet confidence, and to regard peers and and inferiors alike with compassion and respect. I wish to believe that I retain these virtues at all times, however I must admit that my morals have been shaken irrevocably.

Sometimes, you will be assailed by unexpected shifts in the world, and in yourself. They offer no warning, but abruptly alter the course of your very existence. Such an occurrence as this were those dreadful exams, where I was at once forced to confront a sudden change and judged unfairly for it. How could I have expected something so wholly unforeseen?

Nobody could have predicted such a turn of events, not even themost gifted Seers of all ages. It goes against everything that had been Fated, since my very conception, and has left very little of the stability by which my life is defined.

The ramifications are irresolute, and unfathomable. I have not discussed the matter with my family; indeed, I have hardly seen them at all, between my own isolation and their various retreats. It is entirely possible that I never shall, and therefore, I turn to the many friends I've made at Hogwarts to relinquish some of my burden.

So, I think I might be gay.

Sat, 27 May 2006 21:37:05 GMT

Did you realise that Hogwarts fires require the logs be replaced? And robes amass wrinkles? Or that our pants aren't charmed for the stains to remove themselves?

Neither had I! To think, we call this magic.

Sun, 02 Apr 2006 06:15:31 GMT

Do you know what it's like trying to sleep at the foot of the bed while Peter's in the mood? I wish they'd just install a waterbed, it would be a smoother ride

Time to curl up with a drink and a good book. Or a bad book and several drinks. Yes, it's a plan.

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 21:34:11 GMT

At breakfast, I had ham.

In class, I made notes and answered occasional questions.

In the afternoon, I walked around the lake for a while when I discovered that nobody had arrived.

Later, I intend to continue with my NEWT revision, and finish the last pieces of an essay I left off with these silly requirements.

Currently, I am fulfilling my potions assignment.

Sat, 18 Mar 2006 20:55:06 GMT

Sounds echo, carrying an alert.

Oceans wash away sand.

A dam requires, first, a blockade.

The wise prey takes heed of its predator.

The broom polishes its handle.

Tue, 06 Dec 2005 23:20:45 GMT

Have the school's Illuminative Wards been renewed within the last year? It's never been a problem, but I find myself having to revise in front of the fire or - Merlin forbid - by wandlight. Those seem less vivid than I would expect, as well, not quite as impressive as the way they will often set the Hufflepuff Common Room glittering cheerfully. How peculiar.

I would also like to detract 8 points from Mister Creevey (the older), for making light of a dire situation. Shame on you, child, for making such a poor example for your fellow Gryffindors.

Sat, 19 Nov 2005 15:41:17 GMT

I was having a game chess with a second year, who put up an admirable fight despite being obviously awed by his opponent, and the pleasant lull of victory and the warmth of the Hufflepuff common room caused me to drift into a melancholy sort of mind.

We're rather lucky, aren't we? That we're wizards at all is, of course, quite wonderful, but even more especially when you consider the fine institution we inhabit. Errors made by the administration aside, we're still kept safe from the outside threat of Dark wizards, winter chill and the prospect of menial labour for a wage. Even the classes are often interesting, and though we're all swamped with work and revision for NEWTs, it's a generally fine way to spend the larger part of our younger years. We are, all of us, too concerned with the insignificant irritations that such a life is tainted by to truly appreciate the positive side of it all.

But then I remembered that I have to share a castle with Slytherins, Peeves, numerous Weasleys and Goyle, and I decided that those irritations were indeed quite troubling and could not be overlooked. Ah, for the day when I shall become Headmaster; I'll shape the school up, and only accept students deemed worthy. No longer will there there be unfounded arrogance, pupils singled out as inferior and certainly not any of the prejudice as is so prevalant among certain people.

It is a contenting thought, is it not?

Sun, 30 Oct 2005 23:19:32 GMT

The Head Boy position is being desecrated, and I'm the only one who still cares about tradition enough to find it disturbing.

Gregory Goyle has been chosen as Head Boy.

No, sorry. Let me correct that.

GREGORY GOYLE HAS BEEN CHOSEN AS HEAD BOY.

That's rather enough to make me livid, of course. Goyle! Even Potter would have been a better choice, away from the castle or not! Of course, I would be the best choice, but that's not even what's got me so upset.

He's already got the badge filthy (I might have seen him using the sharp edge as a replacement knife, of all things!), and though I couldn't force myself to get close enough to see clearly, he etched something upon it that looked suspiciously like 'Goyle+DarkLord=<3'. Really now! What were Dumbledore and the Board of Governors thinking?!

Unless.. well! I don't mean to make insinuations, certainly! But what if something foul is afoot, eh? A blatant supporter of You-Know-Who! This can't be right!

It should have been me, of course. Nobody has been so staunchly loyal to the school and those who run it, nor so engorssed in the history and prestige of the position - why, look at my pedigree! I'm a born leader, no mistaking it.

No, I trust our administration. Some wicked thing is at fault here, it is clear.

I shall uncover this vile plot, and find no mercy for the perpetrators. Nothing can get past Ernest Macmillan!

I'm editting to add that Justin has brought up a great point - what if the votes were somehow tampered with? And who would have reason to put an outed Dark Follower in the position of Head Boy? Whoever it is must be quite evil, really!

I intend to petition the Headmaster with this information once I've garnered some support. He'll set things right, I trust!

Sat, 01 Oct 2005 09:21:24 GMT

Potter, tell me this instant! And then admit to how you found out! IT IS NOT POLITE TO SPY ON OUR HOUSE, YOU KNOW, AND AS SOON AS I KNOW WHERE YOU GET YOUR INFORMATION I WILL DO AWAY WITH IT!

While we're on the subject, however, does anybody know when Head Boy and Girl nominations shall take place? As I have not yet received the badge, they have clearly been delayed, for what reason I've no idea. Surely, there is no suspense. No other student approaches the cleverness and debonairity I possess!

Perhaps there will be post at lunch, and it will arrive. I wonder what the elves intend to prepare today; I prefer to receive acclaim on a full stomach.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOYYYAAAAAAAAA!

Fri, 25 Mar 2005 00:31:54 GMT

BOOYAKASHA ME HOMIES! E Mac is IN DA HOUSE!

Wassup fools? Getting jiggy eh eh? There is one FINE red vixen I'd LOOOVE make my beeotch! But I ain't trippin', cuz I got to see some fine ass at Evil Gym today! You shake that tail feather girls!
Yesterday I got to see my man Neville, and he looks ROUGH! He had a m********ing SCAR DAWG! Whatta playa. Only I got to see him during Ms. Blondie's Polka Dance lesson! Polka dance? Better call it SKINNY WHITE BOY HORROR JUMP SHOW. Cuz they were SKIPPIN and THAT MUSIC man it was NOT ON! WhatEVERRRR! Good thing there is always Evil Gym.

I be hangin' in my crib, being as I am 2 kool 4 skool.

Tue, 17 Aug 2004 12:38:31 GMT

Well, I can't say I fully understand this "veil" nonsense that everyone's been going on about lately but I do hope that it (or the hysterical outbursts out emotion that it seems to cause) will not interfere with our regular classes and study schedules. After all, as prefect, I plan on running a tight ship this year, chaps!

Fri, 13 Aug 2004 13:59:42 GMT

Well, I have at finally returned from Gran's. The whole trip was a disaster but luckily I won't have to see her again for quite sometime. Actually, I'm being a bit unfair. My Gran really isn't that bad. The combination of my mum, my dad and my Gran together is the problem, really. I honestly don't understand why they continuously insist on going to visit her when all they seem to do is argue the entire time.
In short, the trip was exactly what I expected.

I really must get in touch with Hannah and everyone. I have been neglected my correspondence the past week.

Mon, 02 Aug 2004 04:15:36 GMT

I think Susan's upset with me and I really hope she's not!

I told her the website was really sexist and that we should only use the pictures of the animals and not of the naked women!
I SWEAR I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!
I was only looking for information for our anti-fur campaign!
I WASN'T THERE FOR THE PORN!

I'M STILL SORRY SUSAN!

you're not really mad at me, right Susan?
Right?

...ok.
I am sorry.
really.
Can I make it up to you?

Mon, 02 Aug 2004 01:54:32 GMT

As I said to Hannah earlier, I did some investigation into my pelt parchment and found nothing worrisome.
THANKFULLY.

However, apparently Padma Patil's was infested with BUGS.
Hopefully she won't end up getting sick and dying as I would think that would be quite traumatic for Parvati.
Plus, she's one of the better looking girls at Hogwarts!
not that I'm interested or anything
I did mention the name of my regular Healer to her as he is the best St. Mungo's has to offer and if anything is amiss he'll be able to fix her up with no problem.

My mum made me spend all weekend helping her clean our house. She was worried that some of the possible bugs and parasites that may have been infesting my pelt parchment would spread inside and eventually make us all sick. She wanted to do most of it by hand so it took ages!
My dad wasn't much help because he spent the whole weekend in his study and when mum brought it up tonight at dinner they ended up having a huge row about it.

HIGHLY SUSPECT I SAY

Thu, 29 Jul 2004 21:21:50 GMT

On Saturday I received my letter from Hogwarts along with this 'laptop'.
I was really looking forward to receiving our new books lists and class schedules when I suddenly realized that instead of being written on the usual parchment, I had UNKNOWINGLY handled DISCARDED ANIMAL PELTS.

I'm not quite sure where the administration gets off putting their students LIVES IN DANGER by sending them unsanitary and possibly contaminated skins masquerading as innocent letters but I know that I won't bow to this kind of oppression!
Professor Dumbledore claims that You-Know-Who has wiped out all the new parchment at Hogwarts so we'll be using these special laptops to write back and forth and that's why their using animal skins for the letters.
I have always supported Dumbledore in the past, as my family has, and while he does seem slightly mad at times, and as suspicious as this story sounds, I can never imagine him purposely lying to the student body or purposely putting a students life in danger. That simply doesn't make any sense.

However, I have noticed that the Ministry has hired Percy Weasley to keep an eye on these journals, which seems highly suspect to me. I'm not quite sure what they expect us to be discussing here that's so important that the Ministry must be aware of it(unless they care about how Justin takes his toast haha!) but I feel that it's highly unnecessary.
In conclusion, I believe that Ministry sent out an army of blood thirsty demon owls to attack the owls that Hogwarts sent us AND THUS SWITCHING THE LETTERS resulting is widespread illness amongst the students so we will be too preoccupied to keep our eyes on THEM.
If we take Dumbledore's report as fact this must mean that YOU-KNOW-WHO is the Minister of Magic and has hopes that widespread cases of influenza and rabies will weaken us so we will not be able to resist him!

We'll just see about that.

I immediately started investigating all possible types of diseases that one can contract from an animal and have created this list for all concerned Hogwarts students. I have also begun writing several letter to the Hogwarts Board of Governors, the Headmaster, the Daily Prophet, Witch Weekly and the Quibbler. I have also begun a petition so if anyone's interested in signing, let me know.

AVIAN INFLUENZA-This terrifying disease can infect several animal species, including birds, pigs, horses, seals and whales. Birds are an especially important species because all known subtypes of influenza A viruses circulate among wild birds, which are considered the natural hosts for influenza A viruses. Birds that are infected with avian influenza viruses shed virus in saliva, nasal secretions and feces.

Infection causes a wide spectrum of symptoms in birds, ranging from mild illness to a highly contagious and rapidly fatal disease resulting in severe epidemics. The latter is known as "highly pathogenic avian influenza". This form is characterized by sudden onset, severe illness, and rapid death, with a mortality that can approach 100% (notice how all the pelts were from DEAD animals???)

While human infection is rare, IT CAN HAPPEN PEOPLE. It is believed that most cases of avian influenza infection in humans have resulted from contact with infected poultry or contaminated surfaces (LIKE PARCHMENT PERHAPS). Influenzas also have the power to evolve and change over time so it may be possible to be PASSED ON FROM PERSON TO PERSON creating a LARGE SCALE EPIDEMIC.

LYME DISEASE- Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi. It's a spiral shaped bacteria that is carried by various black-legged ticks (animals, like those which were used to make the makeshift parchment, carry ticks!). The Wizarding Lyme Disease Foundation of Britain says studies show that it takes a tick 36 to 48 hours to pass the bacteria on to humans. They also report that Healer's tests aren't always reliable for Lyme disease especially early in the disease's progress.

If caught in its earliest stages Lyme Disease is almost always cured, so it's important that symptoms not be ignored. The first sign, of course, is a tick that you find that has bitten you. But these ticks are tiny and often go unnoticed.
The first sign most people see is an expanding rash called erythema migrans or EM. It's been called a bulls eye rash because it tends to be round and expand from a central spot sometimes with rings. The rash shows up in over 80 percent of the cases according to the WLDFB. It will show 3 to 30 days after the bite by an infected tick.

Some of the other early symptoms of Lyme Disease are flu like symptoms:
Fatigue
Chills and fever
Headache
Muscle and joint pain
Swollen lymph nodes
Bouts of uncontrollable magic

Luckily, Lyme disease rarely results in death. It is also treatable by the majority of Healers if caught early enough. However, vigilance and prevention is key!

Malaria-Malaria is a serious, sometimes fatal, disease caused by a parasite. There are four kinds of malaria that can infect humans: Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae.
More than 40% of the people in the world are at risk! The Wizarding Health Organization estimates that yearly 300-500 million cases of malaria occur and more than 1 million people die of malaria. DIE!!

Humans get malaria from the bite of a malaria-infected mosquito. When a mosquito bites an infected person, it ingests microscopic malaria parasites found in the person's blood. The malaria parasite must grow in the mosquito for a week or more before infection can be passed to another person. If, after a week, the mosquito then bites another person, the parasites go from the mosquito's mouth into the person's blood. The parasites then travel to the person's liver, enter the liver's cells, grow and multiply. During this time when the parasites are in the liver, the person has not yet felt sick. The parasites leave the liver and enter red blood cells; this may take as little as 8 days or as many as several months. Once inside the red blood cells, the parasites grow and multiply. The red blood cells burst, freeing the parasites to attack other red blood cells. Toxins from the parasite are also released into the blood, making the person feel sick. If a mosquito bites this person while the parasites are in his or her blood, it will ingest the tiny parasites. After a week or more, the mosquito can infect another person (parasites are microscopic! How do we know that our letters weren't crawling with tiny parasites just waiting to infest our blood?! HOW?)

Symptoms of malaria include:
Fever and flu-like illness
Shaking chills
Headache
Muscle aches
Tiredness
Nausea and vomiting
Diarrhea
Anemia and jaundice

Infection with one type of malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, if not promptly treated, may cause kidney failure, seizures, mental confusion, coma, and DEATH.

Rabies- Rabies is a preventable yet deadly disease that is mainly transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal. About 90 percent of all rabies cases reported each year occur in wild animals like bats, foxes, skunks and raccoons. Dogs, cats, and cattle account for less than 10 percent of the reported rabies cases. Rabies kills more than 50-thousand people and millions of animals around the world each year

Early symptoms of rabies in humans are flu-like and typically consist of:
Fever
Headache
General malaise

Later, neurological symptoms appear and may include:
Insomnia
Hallucinations
Confusion
Anxiety
Slight or partial paralysis
Agitation
Excitation
Hyper salivation
Difficulty swallowing
Fear of water

As you can see, I wasn't wrong in being concerned for my health after coming into contact with the letters. In fact, after experiencing several symptoms listing above (headaches, nausea, dizziness) I decided to spend Sunday at St. Mungo's seeking treatment for all possible maladies.

I arrived by floo early in the morning to ensure I would not have a long wait to see my usual Healer, however, apparently he was on holiday in Bali and was so unconcerned with my possible life threatening condition that he REFUSED to portkey back to London to see me! I honestly don't know why Healer is in such need of a vacation! They only work four days a week and it's hardly taxing work! They only waltz in, administer a few potions and head on their way.

Eventually I did manage to get in to a see a Healer in Training who was quite incompetent. He wouldn't even allow me to stay for several days under observation! I demanded to speak with his supervisor and just as I felt I had convinced them that I was a health risk to the Wizarding World MY PARENTS arrived worried I had been kidnapped by Death Eaters! Apparently I forgot to leave a note letting them know where I had gone and my mum panicked. Luckily, my dad had a good head on his shoulders and said I was probably run off to St. Mungo's for some reason or another. They were pretty upset and when I tried to explain to them that I was sick and needed healing potions and my mum understood and agreed that I should be kept for observation 'just to be sure'. My dad, as usual, had to have the final say and demanded that both of us end this 'nancying about' and get back home. I'm sure he'll be sorry that I didn't stay once I contract Avian Influenza and pass it on to everyone at Hogwarts and we all fall into comas and DIE.
I must remember to amend my will to ensure that he will NOT be permitted at the funeral.
Then we'll see who's nancying about'.

We returned home where my mum ordered me to bed and has kept me under her watchful eye ever since. I have been taking several healing potions since the Sunday and am now starting to feel much better.
As you can see, it's better to be safe than sorry!

I must run and try to catch up to everyone's entries. I also need to finds out what classes Justin decided to take since I don't want to end up alone in Divination like last year!

Also, I'm not quite sure why everyone has little pictures of themselves next to their journal entries! Won't that just make it easier for the Secret Undercover Ministry Spies for You-Know-Who to find you??