This is the longest day ever. Runes went on forever, and now it's Double Potions. Oi! I'm dying over here.

If my head falls into my cauldron, duck!

Only I was up almost all night because of Gareth Archer. Heard him shouting in the middle of the night. Ours is the closest room to theirs, so I was the one who got there first. Well, except for his mates, but they're a useless lot. Ed Bones and Jimmy Peakes were both sitting up, staring at him, but they seemed like they were still sound asleep, really. I swear Peakes was snoring. And soon as I got there, they both flopped over and were out again.

But Archer wasn't going back to sleep. No way. He didn't want to go see Madam Pomfrey, and I don't blame him, so we went downstairs and played chess. All the way til breakfast.

I didn't mind. I mean, McLaggen came in right after I did, but he's got OWLs this week and looked a wreck. And really, even on a good day, no one wants to spend time with McLaggen. And Archer was a bit of a mess, too.

Said he'd had a dream about his father coming back--you know about his dad, right?

Anywiz, last night he had this dream his father came back and was going to kill him. He figures it's because he read what those Dogstar people wrote in the journals yesterday. Thing is, I guess Archer really hated his dad. For leaving him and his mum and for being a traitor. Did you know MLE questioned him and his cousin--watshername, the Slytherin one--only Archer couldn't tell them anything because he hadn't talked to his father in years. Well, I guess he did tell them something--last night he told me he told MLE he was glad his father was dead.

I mean, yeah. That's dead awful, innit?

Yeah, okay. I'm all right.

Just. I needed to get out of here last night. It's good you ate the stuff. I told you to, right? (You didn't have to leave me a note.) Anywiz, let's not talk about it at breakfast, okay? I'll see you there, then.


Hey, Marvolo! It was wicked meeting your snake last night! And, I dunno. I'd never really thought of stuff that way. Just, yeah.

You're getting better at chess, mate. We'll have to play again! Maybe Friday afternoon? If it's still chuckin it down outside, yeah?

Who's playing chess in the Great Hall tonight?

Anyone up for chess? Or Exploding Snap?

I can't face the revision in my bag at the moment or the feather that keeps mocking me whenever I look at it. Not to mention that ruddy needle.