Coming home from Hogwarts felt strange this summer. Max had spent his first year learning all sorts of things about the wizarding world. He’d learned how to do basic spells and charms, beginner-level potions, and how to fly a broom. He had studied magical plants and creatures. He’d learned about key figures in wizard history and he had started his studies about the dark arts. 

It hadn’t just been the professors at Hogwarts that Max had learned from. He and Tessa had solved some personal mysteries about their families as well. The Paige’s and the Elliot’s had once lived in harmony with each other. Max’s father Richard and his twin brother Josiah had been best friends with Tessa’s father, Michael. Something had happened, though, and the trio of brothers had been torn apart. 

One of the main things that had torn them apart was the fact that Josiah had been arrested the summer before. It had happened at Max’s eleventh birthday party. Max had just received his acceptance letter to Hogwarts and his family, plus Tessa and her brother Wesley, had been there. Richard, who was an Auror, came and pulled Uncle Josiah away from the party and they never saw him again. Not until the Daily Prophet reported that Josiah Paige had been arrested and sentenced to life at Azkaban. 

Max and Tessa had spent their first year of Hogwarts investigating why Josiah had been arrested. The papers hadn’t specifiedhis charges, and Max had always believed that Josiah was a good man… Sure, the man had owned a business in Knockturn Alley, but Max doubted he would do anything worthy of Azkaban! 

Max couldn’t have been more wrong. Over the Christmas holidays, Max found a coin in his father’s attic. On both sides of the coin was an “L” in the middle, with a snake wrapped around it. On one side of the coin was a snake fighting a lion. On the other side was a badger fighting an eagle. 

Throughout the next couple of months, they learned that the “L” stood for “Legion”. In the archives of the Daily Prophet, which he’d acquired from Tessa’s mom, they’d discovered that Legion was a gang of dark wizards who lived in the Forbidden Forest. After meeting a vampire in Dark Arts class, Max learned that Legion was allied with a clan of vampires and they were still active, even though their leader was now in Azkaban. Further till, Max discovered that his uncle had been arrested for using the killing curse on a Muggle, during a fight between Legion and a Muggle Gang. 

Max was still curious what really happened, and he was worried about the fact that Tessa’s father was still maybe in league with Josiah’s gang in the Forbidden Forest. He knew though that these were still mysteries of the past. He needed to focus on his story; his future. 

Over the summer he had been reading Sherlock Holmes, since he didn’t want to spend much time with his father. Maybe he would focus on learning charms and potions that might help him in the future. Plus, being the teacher’s assistant for Care of Magical Creatures, he wanted to become more of an expert in that field too! Maybe he could investigate mysteries involving magical creatures! The year was before him, and he couldn’t wait to get started!

2: 2 - September Classes

Transfiguration: Welcome Back Quiz

Max was nervous about the quiz for transfiguration, but he knew he had come a long way from the beginning of his first year! Back then, he didn’t even really understand the point of the class or the subject at all. Now at least he understood that sometimes things had better value as something else. So he could finally appreciate that! 

Sitting down at his desk, he took out his quill and ink and started to work on the quiz answers. He wrote his name and house at the top of the quiz: Max Paige. Slytherin. The first question asked him to describe a branch of transfiguration and give an example. Max tried to remember the four branches and decided to write about Conjuration. It was one that he wasn’t as familiar with, and he wanted to get better at it. In order to describe it, Max wrote down that Conjuration was when you made something appear out of nothing at all. An example he wrote was Aguamenti, the Water-making spell. This spell created water out of nowhere at all. 

The next question asked about the dangers of transfiguration. Max wrote down that one of the dangers of transfiguration was that if you are doing a switching spell, when you are changing something from one form to a completely different form, sometimes things might not change completely like they are supposed to. For instance, in Chamber of Secrets, when Hermione tries to use the Polyjuice potion to change herself into someone else completely, she gains a cat and a tail instead! 

Then he had to talk about two different spells from the Transfiguration class last year. The first one was Flintifors. Max remembered that the spell changed anything that you are targeting into a matchbox. This was the part of the year where Max finally understood the point of Transfiguration, because he could definitely see the point of having matchboxes. 

Max thought about the next question and then knew the answer right away. He remembered that they had turned a match into a needle. It hadn’t been one of his better spells, but he had eventually mastered it by the end of the year! 

The next spell that was mentioned in the quiz made Max cringe a little. He really hated the Avifors spell, because he really didn’t like birds. But he did remember that the spell produced a blue light when it was done correctly. That made him happy, since blue was his favourite colour. 

Finally, Max had to write down how his summer vacation had been. He wrote down about how he and Tessa Elliot, his best friend, had explored around the Hogsmeade Village where they lived. They lived near the forest, which was usually forbidden, but because it was the summertime they used the opportunity to explore. Last year in Dark Arts, he had met a vampire named Melchior who had known his uncle Josiah. Throughout the summer, Max had met with the vampire in the forest and gotten to know more about his life and about his friendship with Josiah and the gang that he ran called “Legion”. It helped to hear more of the stories of what had happened, and Melchior promised that his vampire clan would always be there if Max needed any protection or a place to hide.

Max was happy with his answers and decided that he had done all that was required of him, but he took the last moment to make sure he had answered all of the questions. 

 

Sources:
My Imagination and NPC Character (Tessa Elliot, Josiah Paige, Melchior - vampire from Dark Arts class in Year 1, permission from the professor to use in story.)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Water-Making_Spell
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Conjuration
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Flintifors

 

Potions: Quiz Time

1. Name the three most common types of cauldrons and their brewing speeds.

Brass Cauldron: Medium Speed
Copper Cauldron: Fast Speed
Pewter Cauldron: Slow Speed

2. Name the ingredients for the Cure for Boils Potion.

According to “Magical Drafts & Potions”: 

Dried Nettles
Snake Fangs
Horned Slugs
Porcupine Quills

According to “Book of Potions”:

Pungous Onions
Flobberworm Mucus
Ginger
Shrake Spines

3. What colour should the forgetfulness potion be when brewed correctly?

Orange

4. Name two poisons

Basilisk Venom
Veritaserum 

5. Name two antidotes

Antidote to Common Poisons
Chocolate

6. Why must you be precise when potion brewing?

If you use the wrong measurements of certain ingredients, or stir the wrong direction or the wrong speed, ingredients can get destroyed and the potion may become a poison. If this happens, there are many side effects that could happen and things may not turn out the way you might want them to! 

7. In which potions in Flobberworm Mucus used?

Wiggenweld Potion
Sleeping Draught
Cure for Boils
Herbicide Potion

Sourcees:
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Brass_Cauldron
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Copper_Cauldron
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Pewter_Cauldron
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Cure_for_Boils
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Forgetfulness_Potion
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Poison
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Antidote
Memory of the “Danger! Danger” lecture in Year 1.
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Flobberworm_Mucus

 

History of Magic: Scavenger Hunt!

Max looked from Kaiden to Tessa. Kaiden was a new friend of his that he had met in Diagon Alley, while he had been outside Flourish and Blotts waiting for his sister. Tessa was the girl he’d grown up with nextdoor. Well, basically next door. “Alright guys, we have to find three different places in the castle and talk about three historical events that happened there. Anyone have an idea for where to go for our first event?” 

Kaiden looked from Tessa to Max, a little unsure where he wanted to go, trying to think of an idea, he ran a hand through his hair trying to think. “Hm...Room of Requirement?” Kaiden said, trying to think. “Do you have any ideas, Tessa?”

Tessa smiled between the boys. “That sounds like a great place to start. We can think of the other two if you want to after we’re done there. Why’d you pick that place, Kaiden?” Tessa asked with curiosity as we started towards the seventh-floor corridor. 

Kaiden shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno, I’ve heard about it; it sounds interesting, and I suppose it’s cool to know the truth, eh?”

Max led the group to the seventh floor and they found the entrance to the corridor where the room would be found. He looked at the others and said, “Okay so… a famous event that happened here, let’s think… The main thing that comes to mind is that Dumbledore’s Army used the room to prepare and practice spells, so they can defeat the death eaters when they came to the castle. So let’s see… make it a main big open room like the Dubmledore’s Army would have used.” The door appeared when he looked at it and they headed inside. Looking around he smiled, taking it all in. “Imagine… all the practice they did here… the fear they must have felt, but also the excitement…” He found himself rambling and blushed a bit. “Where to next? I was thinking... Quidditch pitch! I mean, we can take our pick for events, right?” 

Kaiden thought of all of the possible things that Kaiden could do, could he bring back what happened many years back? Well, no. But maybe he could use the room for his own thoughts… “Oh yeah!” Kaiden 

Tessa decided they should go to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Of course, Max wasn’t in the least bit surprised. He understood her enchantment with the forest and followed her to the forest edges, assuming Kaiden was close behind. Max looked over at Tessa and asked, “So what happened here that you want to point out?” Tessa smiled and said, “Well, lots of things really! It’s hard for me to just pick one… but I guess the main one that comes to mind is when Harry, Hermione, Draco and Neville found a dead unicorn when they were in trouble for exploring the forest. They saw a hurt unicorn, and then a hooded figure appeared. He drank the blood and Firenze told them that it was actually Lord Voldemort, using the unicorn blood to make himself get his strength back! That’s when Voldemort started to gain power again. Pretty significant, if you ask me!” 

Max nodded and said, “Yeah, that’s definitely a good one! Alright Kaiden, you get to pick the last one! Where do you want to go? You gotta tell us something about us too… can’t just let us do all the work!” He laughed, but waited to see where Kaiden would take them.. 

Kaiden took them to the last location, the Quidditch Pitch. Max wasn’t at all surprised that this was the place where they were taken and he grinned as he looked around at the historical venue. So many things had happened here over the years, and there were many events to choose from. The historical event he chose was from but he chose to talk about the 1991-1992 year, when Harry Potter arrived at Hogwarts. The historical event that he mentioned was the fact that Harry became the youngest seeker on a Hogwarts Quidditch team ever in the last hundred years. Normally, students that were in their first year weren’t allowed to be seekers, so it was actually quite an impressive feat! 

As the group headed back to the castle, they talked about how much they enjoyed the scavenger hunt. Max wanted to learn all that he could about the history and significance of Hogwarts in the wizarding world during his time there. Scavenger Hunts were a great way to do this! 
 

Sources:
My Imagination/NPC Character (Tessa) and Permission to use Kaiden Lowe.
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Room_of_Requirement
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Forbidden_Forest#The_unicorn_case
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/1991%E2%80%931992_school_year
 

Charms: Welcome back Seconds Years!

Dear Professor Faustus,

I figured I would write you a letter this time, because I think it’s important to have a friendship with your teacher. Plus, maybe you’ll be able to help me deal with what’s going on at home...  

You’ve no doubt heard about my father and my uncle… “The Paige Brothers” are kind of popular in the wizarding world… Dad’s an Auror, but Uncle Josiah was arrested and sent to Azkaban. By my dad. On the day that I got my letter in August before my first year. So I really didn’t have much time to process it all… I don’t even know what he was arrested for! And my father isn’t talking about it. 

So this summer was mostly me and my best friend, and neighbour, Tessa, investigating. We gathered a bunch of old newspapers dad had archived in the attic. We spent so many hours up there, reading and making notes. Turns out my uncle really was the leader of “Legion”, this gang of Dark Wizards. Not all of them have been arrested either… 

When we weren’t in the attic, we were in the library studying more about what we learned last year. If we wanted to be prepared to face any of these guys in the future, we wanted to be perfect at what we’d learned already - spells, charms, potions and herb and history knowledge… Tessa made sure we reviewed all of it. 

Of course, we had fun too! We had to practice our flying, of course, so since we live in Hogsmeade and don’t have to hide being magical, we did broomstick races all around town with our friends there. It was a blast! 

My first year of Charms actually went… better than I thought it would. I got nine out of ten, so I guess my charms flashcards worked! To celebrate, me and my friends - Tessa, Dan and Michelle - got together and had some ice cream that a couple of the house elves brought us. Good thing that Dan’s been getting to know them! 

From the looks of this year’s course title, “Survival Skills 2.0”, I expect we’ll learn a lot about defensive and “counter” spells. I’m hoping we’ll also learn about the curses and jinxes themselves, so we know what’s out there. Based on the outline of the course, it’s hard to tell which spells we’ll be learning… but like I said, I am excited to learn about the counter spells that reverse the effects of curses and jinxes. 

Inside the box of treats I got five chocolate frogs! I opened them and added a few new cards to my collection! They were three professors, a ministry employee, and a Hogwarts quidditch player!

I’m looking forward to another great year in Charms! 

From, Max.
 

Sources:
My Imagination/NPCs.
 

DADA: Break and Battle

Max looked around for someone to partner with in his first class of the second year at Dark Arts. It was something he was nervous about, to be honest. What if he couldn’t handle the harder attack spells? What if he panicked? What if they saw how scared he really was?  

He couldn’t even ask the next ‘what if’ because he was interrupted by someone that he would probably consider his mortal enemy. Ever since they had known each other as kids, Greg Langley had been the bane of his existence. Max had managed to avoid him for most of his first year at Hogwarts, but it looked like that avoidance was about to end. 

Greg pointed his wand out at Max and shouted, “Rictusempro!” He made the wand move so fast that Max didn’t even see the movement. All of a sudden, he fell back on the ground, stunned and unable to control his movements. He felt weak, his knees buckled, and his sides felt like someone was tickling him. If the spell wasn’t controlling his laughter, he definitely would not be laughing. 

“That’s not fair!” Max called to the boy and stood up, drawing his wand. “Rictusempro!” He called, making the wand move in the shape of an eye almost. He couldn’t even get the spell completed though because Greg immediately performed the spell against him again, sending him back on the ground. 

“Greg, you have to let him try too,” Tessa interjected as she came over. 

“Oh do I? What’s this, a cheerleader? Where are your pom poms, Cheerleader?” Greg chided, pointing his wand at Tessa. “You want some of this too?” 

That did it. Max shot up from his feet, held out his wand and finished the wand movement of the shape looking like an eye, then called “Rictusempro!” Silver light came from his wand and Greg was thrown backwards from him, landing in a pile of books from the bookshelf. 

“Enough!” Professor Ashworth stepped in then, going between the boys. “You weren’t supposed to start a duel! This was just to practice! Now, one of you… name one use for this spell as a defence mechanism.” 

“Well, obviously in duels, sir,” Max said as he held his ribs, which hurt from so much laughing. “It makes your opponent feel weak and useless.” A feeling that Max particularly did not like. 

“Good. Greg?” The professor looked at the boy. 

“I mean… It’s a great distraction for getting them off your back, so you can focus on other enemies around you,” Greg pointed out. 

“Yes, good. Tessa?” The professor looked over at the girl who had now moved to stand protectively by Max’s side. 

“If you’re in a pillow fight, it’s a good way to get your attacker off of you,” she grinned impishly, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

“Very good. Now all of you, move out. That’s enough practice.” 

With that, they all headed out of the classroom.
 

Sources:
My Imagination/NPC Characters. (Greg Langley, Tessa Elliot, Professor Ashworth - with permission from the lesson)
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Tickling_Charm
 

Herbology: Fluxweed

Fluxweed is a non-sentient plant with green leaves and a green stem. Its flowers are purple in colour. It is a magical plant used for healing purposes and in potions. 

When the plant is picked during a full moon, the plant can be used in the recipe of the Polyjuice Potion. This plant is not only used in this potion, but its syrup can also have some of the same effect of the potion. The second use for the Fluxweed Plant is for healing. 

The Fluxweed plant is used in the Polyjuice Potion because the potion takes about a month to make, with some of the other ingredients needing specific lengths of time for the ingredients to be useful, like the lacewig flies. 

Fluxweed plants are very useful not only for healing, but as the important piece of the Polyjuice Potion. It is definitely something that should be in every wizard or witch’s greenhouse! 
 

Sources:
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Fluxweed
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Polyjuice_Potion
 

Care of Magical Creatures: Welcome Back - Owls 

Dear Diary, 

It’s so good to be back at Hogwarts! Home is… stressful. I spent the summer trying to figure out what my uncle Josiah could have possibly been arrested to Azkaban for… I truly have no idea. There’s nothing in the Daily Prophet about it and I am insistent to find out sometime this year. It happened right before I got to Hogwarts last year, so I didn’t really have much time to think about it while I was here all through the year… so now that I had some time during the summer, that’s what I spent it doing. But like I said… came up short for any type of answer, and my father wasn’t talking about it. At all. 

But enough about that… it’s just nice to be back here and have the distraction of homework to think about. So… today we got to spend class in the owlery! It definitely smelled quite dirty and stinky, but it was fun to be around them all! My owl Cosmo was excited to see me again! He has been our family owl forever, and dad has his own owl for work and stuff ‘cause he’s an Auror. But Cosmo is for me and my sister Brianne. She’s in her third year of Hogwarts. 

Cosmo is a sort of snowy owl… he is all gray with white spots. He’s a medium-sized owl with big brown eyes. He’s really friendly and he likes to sleep in my room at home. I sure miss him when I’m in classes and in the dorm… but at least I can visit him here! 

We spent most of the time playing with a toy mouse that I have for him. Of course, I gave him enough real mice to eat first. Cosmo loves swooping down to catch the mice, so I set the mice on the floor of the owlery. It’s like a game for him to catch them while he’s moving, so I hid a couple of them so he could hunt. The other owls joined in the hunt, of course, but Cosmo is so friendly and caring that he shared the mice with them. He’s like that, though. Really sensitive, and he can tell when I’m upset or mad. He’ll sit with me and just keep me company, letting me talk it out. 

So I guess I answered all the questions, though they’re all out of order, but I had so much fun spending time with Cosmo in the owlery! I’m gonna visit him a lot more this year. 

 From, Max. 
 

Sources:
My Imagination/NPC family.
 

Flying: Cleansweep Broom Company

Max looked out at the collection of brooms. Since he had read “Quidditch Through the Ages” about a million times before coming to Hogwarts, he knew right away what kind of broomsticks they were by the type of wood he saw. “I love Cleansweep brooms,” Max told Tessa with a sigh of longing. 

“They’re impressive-looking brooms, that’s for sure,” Tessa agreed from beside him. “Which one should we take?” 

“Let’s do the Cleansweep Eleven. Mainly because it’s the one that Ronald Weasley used in Quidditch.” 

“Yeah, that’s a great reason to pick that particular broom,” Tessa smiled. “He was a great Quidditch Player, but he was definitely underrated. Now we can honour his legacy better!” 

“Alright, let’s see how good these brooms are compared to our own!” 

Max and Tessa mounted two of the Cleansweep Eleven’s, and lifted off into the air. Max still couldn’t get over the thrill of flying, even if he’d been flying for over a year now! It was still the best way to travel! 

“The Spanish Oak is really nice to hold onto,” Max told Tessa. “Have you felt the vibration yet?” 

Tessa blinked and then looked over at him. “Woah, it just vibrated all by itself! That’s amazing.” 

“Yep, our little Comet brooms don’t do that, that’s for sure! They also have a thing that makes it so people can’t jinx the broom while you’re on it. Our Comets don’t have that feature either…” 

“I know, right? It feels faster too,” Tessa pointed out. 

Max nodded as he flew beside her testing different speeds. He definitely felt more control of the speed on the Cleansweep than he did on his own broom. He liked the vibrating feature too, and he felt safer knowing that no one could put a jinx on his broom to mess him up. With how Tessa’s brother Wesley had been threatening him and tormenting him over the summer, he was grateful for the comfort. 

“This is definitely a good sporting broom too,” Tessa broke into his thoughts as they continued to fly around the pitch. 

“Yeah, it is. You need to be comfortable for a long time, especially with how long Quidditch games can last… This Cleansweep definitely has that, mostly with the better wood, and the vibrating feature,” Max explained. 

“It also has to be fast,” Tessa added, accelerating more to prove her point. “Seventy miles per hour sure is great for that! Our Comets don’t go that fast either!” 

“And you’ve gotta feel safe too,” Max said. “With the anti-jinx feature, the other team can’t mess with your broom so they can get past you and score… like they did to Harry Potter that one time.” 

They had answered all the questions, so they… somewhat reluctantly… landed their brooms, got out a parchment and quills, and started to write up their answers to the assignment together. 

Sources:
My Imagination and NPCs.
Knowledge of Harry Potter Books
Personal Chest on WOP (for Max’s new broom type)
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Cleansweep_Eleven
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Comet_140

3: 3 - October Classes

Transfiguration: Scribblifors

Dear Diary, 

Today in class we learned the Scribblifors spell! I gotta say, I wasn’t expecting to get to do an actual spell right away! I thought we would be reviewing more, learning more theory or history… Don’t get me wrong, I know that stuff is all important, but I’m excited to jump in! I’m also a little nervous though… Last year I really struggled with pronouncing a lot of incantations in all my classes. I hope I can do better this year. 

Also, we’re starting with a really awesome spell! Scribblifors is a spell where you can turn literally any object into a quill to write with! How useful is that?! I don’t know if I told you, but I got a kitten over the summer! Her name is Harley and she found me and Tessa when we were exploring in… the place we can’t go in during the school year. Don’t give me that look diary… It’s not forbidden in the summer, and we live in Hogsmeade! And besides, it’s RIGHT THERE! Anyway, Harley is a wild cat so I brought her home and now she’s with me at Hogwarts! The only thing is, she’s been picking up a habit of stealing my writing quills! I have a feeling I will be using this spell a LOT! 

When I went to the front of the class, I decided to use a black flashlight. It wasn’t very big, maybe the size.

Sources:
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Scribblifors

Potions: Is That a Pumpkin?

Max looked over at Tessa and laughed. The girl looked extremely unimpressed with the potion they had to make today. “You alright there, Tessa?” he chuckled. 

“First frog warts, now pumpkin heads…” she muttered, glaring at him. “‘M really starting to hate October.” 

“Come on, Tessa!” Mel nudged her. “We can get the boys back for shrinking down and becoming gnomes. Following us around everywhere… honestly!” 

“Oh, don’t complain. You thought it was brilliant!” Dan grinned and high-fived Max. 

“Alright guys, let’s get to work,” Max said diplomatically and the four friends each got to work with their own cauldrons. 

Max took the Flittery Moth and crushed it so it became like pulp, then put it into the cauldron. He stirred it all like a clock, and the potion became green. Then he took the Bouncing Bulb into his mortar, grinding it all before putting it into the cauldron. He then stirred it all the other way, and then the potion became orange. 

Max was pretty happy to have finished the potion well. He made sure he’d stirred the right directions and it became the orange colour it was supposed to be. He looked over at his friends to see how their potions were coming along. 

“Are you boys ready for this?” Mel asked with a grin. “You two are gonna drink the potion. This is our revenge!” 

Max looked over at Dan and nodded that he was ready. They drank the potion at the same time. It felt very strange drinking the liquid. He felt like his head was swelling as his vision went blurry. Then all of a sudden he could see normally again. 

“Oh man, this was perfect revenge!” Mel laughed. 

“Okay, this is kind of hilarious!” Tessa laughed hard. 

Dan looked at Max and chuckled. “Wow, your head is a huge pumpkin! I must look just as ridiculous!” 

Max laughed as he tilted his head back and forth, watching as Dan did the same thing. “This is the perfect Halloween costume!” 

 

Sources:
My Imagination and NPCs. lol
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Pompion_Potion

 

History of Magic: The Imposter Among Us

Dear Diary, 

Today we had to get together in a group of four to discuss the founders of Hogwarts. It was nice because it wasn’t a huge long essay that they had to write, but it was actually something a bit more interactive! For the group I was able to be paired with some different people actually… different from my normal group because the professor was actually making us work with new people. So today I worked with Adam Cross - Ravenclaw, Nathan Anderson - Gryffindor, and Kristen Lucas - Hufflepuff. 

To start, we had to name our house founders. Adam went first and told us that his house founder was Rowena Ravenclaw. She apparently valued wisdom and creativity, according to Adam. Nathan’s founder was Cedric Gryffindor. Nathan said that Cedric valued curiosity and… fear, which seemed odd to us, but we kept listening to the other answers. Kristen’s founder was Helga Hufflepuff. Kristen said that Hufflepuff valued loyalty, working hard, and friendliness to all. 

I told them that my founder was Salazar Slytherin, and that he was the one who left the other founders because he wanted the school to be full of pure-bloods, instead of allowing Muggles and half-bloods into the castle. I told them that he left behind the Chamber of Secrets down in the depths of the castle. Inside the castle he put a basilisk, who when the chamber was opened by his heir, would come out and kill all the muggle-borns. 

When we were all finished with our answers, we talked about who the mole could be. It was pretty easy to figure out that Nathan was the mole this time. We told him that his founder’s real name was actually Goderic Gryffindor. And we also told him that he actually valued courage and bravery. 

It was a super fun lesson, and we all learned a little bit more about our houses and what their values were! We couldn’t wait to see what we would be learning about in the next class! 

See ya next time Diary!

Max. 

 

Sources:
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Hogwarts_founders

 

Charms: Look How Filthy That Is!

The Scouring Charm is a spell that help the caster clean the object or area in front of them. The Incantation for the spell is “Scourgify” and to say it you pronounce it, “SKUR-ji-fy”. The wand movement is to make an “S” shape with your wand. There is no light that comes when you do the spell, but the area or object becomes clean! 

Bundimum is a very dirty and disgusting beast that could easily destroy an entire building. They look like a fungus and they have a lot of eyes on them. The secretions that they have are full of a bunch of acid and could easily tear a building down into ruins. That’s why this spell is so useful and so associated with the bundimun. The Scourging Charm can actually get rid of a bunch of little groups of them, but bigger collections of the creature have to be dealt with by the Ministry of Magic, particularly the Department for the Regulation/Control of Magical Creatures - the Pest sub-division. When the acid is made into a diluted state, it can actually be quite useful for cleaning products in the magical world, ironically. 

It’s also used in wizarding homes, the Scourgify spell, to uh… clean out the mouths of children who swore… Not that I ever would have been in trouble because of such thing but… okay, yeah I have. The stuff tastes disgusting and it makes it feel like your mouth is completely full of soap. Definitely not the best taste, and for the most part the young wizard learns the lesson… at least not to swear around that particular adult again… 

The Skurge Charm is another spell that is used to clean up particular material that is different than what Scourgify deals with. The Scourgify spell takes care of more solid objects or floor spaces. The Skurge charm actually cleans up the ectoplasm that ghosts leave behind when they pass by. It also can be a way to scare them, even poltergeists too. It was a super helpful spell too… before it was created, students had to clean the ectoplasm with shovels! Imagine! 

The Scourgify Spell is definitely a spell that one will want to be good at when leaving Hogwarts. For one thing, it will help to clean up dirt and other messes. It is obviously also very useful against the Bundimun creature, especially since it would be catastrophic if said creature would come and destroy a house or a building. 
 

Sources:
My Imagination.
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Scouring_Charm
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Skurge_Charm
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Bundimun
 

DADA: Smokey Ruse

Max looked around to see who he could work with. It was October, and there were decorations everywhere… He wasn’t a huge fan of Halloween, to be honest, but at least the professor had made an effort to make the place look more festive. Max could appreciate that. As long as there were no clowns. 

“What do you think, Paige? Want to work together?” The voice came from a kid he’d done his best to avoid. The kid who’s father… David? Marcus? Some common name like that… worked at some shop in Knockturn Alley. The part of the Wizarding World that one did not want to be caught dead in… or alive. From what Max knew… the man was a friend of his uncle Josiah’s. As for Greg… he was in his second year of Gryffindor House. The house that Max still felt like he should have been sorted into. This was going to be interesting. 

“Greg Langley…” he said with a heavy sigh, looking over at the boy. “I knew I couldn’t keep hiding from you… though I managed to most of last year.” 

“I feel honoured that you needed to,” Greg smirked and walked over. “Come on, Max. Let’s do this. We’ve got homework to finish. We can talk and share bedtime stories later.” 

Max rolled his eyes and held out his wand. “Fine, let’s just do this and get it over with. Remember, you’re just taking the wand out of my hand. You’re not trying to…” 

Before he could even finish, Greg held out his wand and called, “Expelliarmus!" He made the hand movement of a ‘six’ shape with an inward squiggle line, and a scarlet light came from his wand. Suddenly, Max felt his wand fly out of his hand. Not only that, but the purple light felt like it knocked him back on the floor behind him. He rubbed at his sore bottom and glared at the boy grinning proudly as he stood over Max. “What’s wrong, Paige? Lose something?” 

Max knew that this was going to be this way when they finally faced each other. They had been rivals since the first grade, when Max had apparently “stolen” his candy bar at recess and gave it to Tessa, who apparently Greg liked. Whether that was still true or not, Max wasn’t sure. But either way, Max was not happy with how things are going. Never, ever, give a Langley the upper ground, his father had always told him. 

“Nope, I am just fine, thank you,” he replied back to Greg, with a bit of bite in his town. He rolled out from under him and reached for his wand. But just as he was about to say the incantation, “Expelliarmus”, Greg beat him to it and his wand shot out from his hand again, going across the room. 

Now Max was getting really mad. He wanted to wipe that blasted smile off the kid’s face. “You have to let me try once in a while!” he yelled at the boy, jumping over to catch his wand again. He rushed up to his feet, held out his wand, made the six-shape wand symbol and quickly called, “Expelliarmus!”

But something went wrong! Greg’s wand didn’t… didn’t fly out of his hand like it was supposed to. “What’s the matter, Paige? Failing? Messing up are you?” Greg chided. 

Max glared at the boy and did the movement again, more carefully this time. He paid more attention to the pronunciation and called, “Expelliarmus!” This time, Greg’s wand was the one that flew across the room, and Greg was knocked back against the bookshelves behind him. The feeling of success, of actually taking away Greg’s wand with magic, was incredible. He was grateful it only took him a couple of tries to get the spell right, or he would have never heard the end of it from Greg. 

“Fine, you got me on that one,” Greg smirked as he stood back up, getting his wand from the ground in front of him. “But this isn’t over, Paige. Believe me. Any chance I can get to make you look like a fool, and I am going to take it.” With that, he stalked away and joined his friends again in the other corner of the classroom.

Max took a deep breath, watching him go. He was almost as bad as Wesley Elliot, Tessa’s older brother… but worse. Max had to go to class with Greg. He hated working with Greg on the assignment. Absolutely hated it. All he wanted to do was spin around and throw his wand across the room at him, but he gripped it tightly instead and picked up his books before heading out of the classroom. He would write about it later and hand it in then. Not now. Now, he needed air. 
 

Sources:
My Imagination/NPCs.
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Disarming_Charm

 

Herbology: Wormwood

Dear Diary, 

Boy, the teacher got us good in class today! When we got into the greenhouse, there was someone standing there with a pumpkin on their head! I still have no idea who it was! All the girls were scared, and we guys tried to be all brave… But the second the person shrieked? Oh yeah, even all the guys - myself included - jumped out of our seats! Tessa and Mel laughed at us later for acting all brave… but Dan and I have a plan for later to get them back for laughing at us! 

But anyway… we’re supposed to be writing about Wormwood today… not how me and Dan are gonna dress up as gnomes later and jump out at the girls - everywhere they go! 

Wormwood is usually found in Eurasia and Northern Africa. The whole plant is green and its roots are fibrous, whatever that means! It sounds important though… 

The Wormwood plant is actually pretty useful. It’s used in medicine, in making potions, and even for getting rid of fleas! Who knew? I’ll have to bring some home for my dog Kito at the end of the year. He has fleas all the time, being a husky and all! 

There are lots of potions that use an Infusion of Wormwood. The Shrinking Solution is the one that stood out to me on the list… see what I did there? The potion is an acid green colour and it’s a moderately hard spell. It can become poisonous if you don’t make it right… But if you succeed, it’ll well, make living creatures smaller in size! Even people! 

Dan and I are gonna use this spell later when we scare the girls by becoming gnomes… It’s going to be great! I’ll tell you about it later though! Gotta go plan! 

See ya, 

Max. 
 

Sources:
My Imagination and NPCs.
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Wormwood
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Shrinking_Solution

 

COMC: Purple Warts

Max grinned at the professor as she introduced the lesson to the class. She had already warned him what the assignment would be, and he was glad they got to be outside near the lake instead of inside the classroom. 

“Toads…” Tessa muttered beside him. “Why’d it have to be toads?” 

Max laughed.”Alright, Indiana Jones. At least it’s not snakes…” 

“Oh, and you’re so excited to be near the frogs?” Tessa rolled her eyes. 

“It’s not like we have to touch the toads… We just have to gather the warts. Isn’t it cool they’re purple though? I think it’s awesome. It makes them stand out more… makes them different than the boring muggle frogs!” 

“Okay, I’ll give you that… it’s purple. I can appreciate that… but it’s still a toad. And gathering them? I’m sorry but gross.” Tessa made a face. 

Max laughed and started collecting the warts and put their warts in each glass bottle he had personally cleaned for the class. 

“Why are you putting them in groups of three?” Tessa asked, unable to hold back her curiosity. 

“Because you need three of them to make Dragon Tonic,” he said simply. 

“It’s gross though,” Tessa said. “And what is Dragon Tonic?”

“So many questions,” Max laughed. “I personally don’t mind collecting the warts because I know it’s for a good reason,” he said as he put three more warts into another bottle. “The Dragon Tonic is used to heal dragons that are sick. That’s what happens when the warts get collected,” he explained. 

“Yeah, but the Knockback Jinx?” Tessa asked as she reluctantly put three warts into a bottle. “Wouldn’t that hurt them?” 

“Nah,” Max shook his head, watching Professor Morrigan perform the spell. “If she didn’t use the Knockback Jinx, it wouldn’t make the toad go on its back. Doing that makes it so she can get better access to the warts. Any other way might hurt him. So I think it’s a safe, useful way to get the warts.” 

“I guess you're right,” Tessa muttered as they finished gathering the warts and bringing the bottles over to the professor. 

Sources: 

My Imagination/NPC Characters.
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Giant_Purple_Toad
http:://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Giant_Purple_Toad_wart
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Dragon_Tonic
 

Flying: Comet Trading Company

The Comet 140 is a beautiful broomstick, perfect for a witch or wizard who is new to flying. It is a sturdy broom made of solid black wood and medium-length bristles that have been well-cared for. 

Created in 1929 by the Comet Trading Company, this was the one-hundredth-and-fortieth model that was tested out before showing it to the public. That means it was tested to perfection!

The Comets and the Cleansweeps go against each other like a Gryffindor and a Slytherin! Being rival companies, the two brooms have always tried to out-do each other. The Cleansweep One was better at going around corners, for instance. The Comet 140, though, was the first to add a type of braking charm to a broomstick. This means the Comet would be able to stop a lot better while it is flown, and the wizard will be able to have much more control as they fly the Comet 140! 

If you are a Quidditch player, this braking charm feature helps you out a lot! Do you often find your broom wandering off to the side? Do you find yourself shooting the quaffle too hard for the goal? Well, no longer! With the Braking Charm, you’ll be able to stay in bounds, and score more goals! 

Head down to your favourite broom shop and buy a Comet for yourself today! After all… It’s the one I use! 
 

Sources:
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Comet_Trading_Company
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Comet_140
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Cleansweep_One

4: 4 - November Classes

Transfiguration: Beetle Into Button

Max listened as the professor explained the homework assignment. Apparently they would be doing the spell without any demonstration! All throughout their first year, Professor Myers had shown them what to do before they tried it on their own.

“What’s wrong, Max?” Tessa asked, sitting beside him as usual. 

“She’s not even going to show us how to do the spell?” Max didn’t even try to lower the volume of his voice. “Is she nuts? I’m not ready for this!” 

“Oh sure you are,” Dan the Hufflepuff said from the desk in front of them. “What’s the worst that could happen?” 

“Where did you get so much confidence?” Mel the Gryffindor asked. 

“I’ve been a wizard for a year now! I feel like I can take on anything! So what if I was born to muggles?” 

“Well, right now we have to turn these moving beetles into buttons,” Max told them as he grinned at Dan’s new lease on life. 

“That makes total sense to me,” Mel said with a face as she watched the beetle wander in front of them. “Buttons are so much more useful than beetles.” 

“Right?” Tessa agreed. “Who needs silly beetles running around?” She looked in the book and said, “So for the hand movement, all we have to do is tap the beetle. A white light should appear when we’ve done it. 

The group only spent about ten minutes or so on researching the spell before moving on to actually performing it. Like Harry Potter had experienced, Max knew that one of the challenges of the spell would be that the beetle kept moving around quickly. He struggled with this part of the challenge as it made it hard to tap the beetle with his wand when it was moving. 

Then he struggled with the moral challenge that this was a living being. No matter how many times he tried - maybe over twenty, he’d lost track, he just couldn’t seem to make contact between the wand and the beetle. It was like the wand refused to touch the beetle, and almost willed the little creature away on the desk. So that by the end of class, Max’s beetle was the only one that still looked like a beetle and hadn’t changed at all. 

“It’s just a little insect,” Greg rolled his eyes at Max and punched him in the shoulder. “My little brother could do this spell with his eyes closed. What’s wrong? With you?” 

“Maybe he just doesn’t want to do the spell, huh?” Dan went to stand right between the two of them, right up in Greg’s face. He looked ready for a fight. 

Max pulled his friends away from the room and away from the tension. “Come on, guys. He’s not worth fighting,” Max muttered, having had enough of the boy. Though in the back of his mind, fighting was all he wanted to do.  

Sources:
My Imagination and NPCs. (Tessa, Dan, Mel, Greg)
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Beetle_into_Button

 

Potions: Time to Heal

Dear Diary, 

Today in class we had to brew the Wiggenweld Potion. It didn’t seem like the professor was in the best of moods, but I tried not to let that scare me! For some reason, it only made me want to impress him even more! 

First, I started by adding some salamander blood until the potion became a red colour. I told myself that was okay; the professor had said the liquid would change colour a lot! I stirred it until it became orange, then added some more of the salamander blood. That made the liquid become yellow. I stirred until it became green and then added more salamander blood and it became turquoise. I heated the cauldron until the liquid became indigo, then added more salamander blood until the potion became pink. I heated it a bit and the potion went back to a red colour. 

I looked that part over in the instructions and exhaled, seeing that I had done everything right! That part was super complicated! 

Now that I was done with the salamander blood (finally), I set it aside. I put five lionfish spines into the cauldron and heated it until the potion became yellow. I then added five more lionfish spines and some flobberworm mucus and the potion became purple. I stirred it again and the liquid went back to red. I added more of the flobberworm mucus and the potion turned orange. I stirred it again and it became yellow. 

I added in some honey water until the liquid became turquoise again. I put in a few drops of boom berry juice and stirred the potion again before letting the potion simmer for half an hour. 

While we waited, I told Tessa, Dan and Mel about the letter owl that I had received from my father the week before. Things had been tense over the summer, and in the letter he apologized for not talking to me more about Uncle Josiah and his dark wizard gang called “Legion”, before Josiah got arrested. My dad wants me to be extra careful this year at school because some of the members of Legion have kids here too. Of course, I already knew that because Greg Langley and Tessa’s brother Wesley had been bugging me about the coin we found last year. Ever since we got back to school, the three of us have kind of been getting into some fights since like, September… but at least Dad reached out finally. That was the important part. 

After the hour and a half timer went off, I took the cauldron and waited for it to cool down. That was when it could be used. 

I double-checked every colour-change that had happened in the recipe and knew that I hadn’t messed up anywhere. And I didn’t need Professor Bennet’s help for the assignment, though I kind of wanted to ask him what was wrong with him today! The other good news was that the potion turned green when it was done, like the professor had said it would be. 

I have to admit though, that this was definitely more of a stressful potion than any we had done before. There were too many changes in colour and too many steps to actually enjoy the process of making it. But now at least I know how to make it the right way, and maybe I can use it some day heal injuries or something if I need to some day. 

See you next class, Diary!
Max. 

Sources:
My Imagination and NPCs. (Tessa, Dan, Mel)
Permission to use Professor Bennett in assignment.
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Wiggenweld_Potion

 

History of Magic: The Triwizard Tournament

Max was excited to get started. He had done his homework and hoped he would remember enough to do well at the game. 

His first challenge was againist Dan the Hufflepuff. Max quickly raised his hand first and he said, “The three schools that were competing included Hogwarts, Beauxbatons Academy, and Durmstrang Institute.” 

Moving onto the next table, he found himself against Melissa the Gryffindor. They raised their hands at the same time and answered together, “They were judged by the Headmaster or Headmistress of each school!” 

Since they had tied, they both moved onto the next table. The next question asked why the tournament was stopped. Max shot up his hand first and said, “It stopped because Cedric Diggory had died in the Hogwarts tournament, and it was also when the Dark Lord officially returned, so the fun kind of stopped then.” 

Max was happy with how he was doing so far, but he was nervous to see that Tessa was his next opponent. “Good luck,” he whispered, and she grinned back at him confidently. 

They raised their hands at the same time, so Max let Tessa answer the next question. “The Goblet of Fire was used to pick out who would be chosen as the Champion,” she said. “Those who wanted to compete had to write their names down and put them in the fire on paper. Then the goblet tossed names of the competitors into the air!” 

“I kind of like the method of choosing,” Max admitted. “It probably looked really awesome, and it was the champion’s choice then to put their names in. They weren’t forced to compete or anything. Plus, it wasn’t like a popularity contest of voting who would be the champion.” 

“Yeah! They let the magic decide!” Tessa smiled, but then saw Greg Langley at the last table. “Go on, beat him. I know you can,” she encouraged Max with a nudge. 

Max tried to be confident as he approached Greg, but the truth was that he was terrified. Greg smiled at him with a smirk and before Max knew it, he had lost! Right at the last second, he was out of the tournament. He barely listened as Greg explained the task where the champions had to swim underwater to rescue someone who was important to them. The hostages were being guarded by merpeople and other dangerous creatures. 

Max knew he wouldn’t have been able to compete in the task. He hated water and everything to do with it. He couldn’t think about the tournament the rest of the day. He’d answered every question but the one that mattered. All he could hear in his head was Greg’s laughter. He’d never been so humiliated. 
 

Sources:
My Imagination/NPCs.
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Triwizard_Tournament#1994_Triwizard_Tournament

Charms: It's Too Small

Max and Dan sat beside each other, trying to decide what to enlarge with the Engorgement Spell. There were plenty of options, but they wanted to do something truly epic. 

“I got it!” Max exclaimed. “We already bugged Tessa with those gnomes last year, right? What is Melissa most afraid of?” He of course already knew the answer, pulling out one of his chocolate frog packages. It was one of the few he had that hadn’t been opened yet. 

“Wizarding cards?” Dan asked with confusion.

“No! Frogs! What if we enlarge a chocolate frog!” 

“That’s almost cruel,” Dan frowned. 

“Is it? They made us drink that potion that made our heads into pumpkins, Dan. I’d say this is justified revenge.” 

Dan winced, but then smiled. “You’ve got a point. We’ll have the upper hand in the battle of wits again!” 

The boys excitedly got to work, turning their backs to the girls so they couldn’t see their subject matter. They each got a wizarding card from Max’s collection - that he’d amusingly won from beating Tessa at Wizards chess, a deal they’d made last year - and got to work on the chocolate frog inside. 

Max held out his wand and said the incantation, “Engorgio!” He pronounced it, “en-GOR-gee-oh! and made an almost full-circle movement with his wand. It only took him three or four tries to get the pronunciation right, and then an icy blue light shone from his wand. The chocolate frog, that Dan had been holding down for him, and repeating the spell together to get the pronunciation perfect. 

They switched spots when Max had succeeded, then Dan performed the spell on his chocolate frog. Then they snuck up behind the girls, held the frogs in front of their face, and Max said, “Kiss me! I’m a prince!” 

The girls did anything but kiss the frogs. They both screamed, and Melissa jumped back, her face going white. 

“Okay, maybe that was a bit much…” Max admitted, setting the frogs free to scare the rest of the classroom. 

“What were you thinking?” Mel screamed at them. She looked like she wanted to hurt them both! 

“Well, there’s no other logical need to use this charm… we figured we’d get you back for the pumpkin head potion,” Dan shrugged. 

“What if we’re outside in the rain, and my one little umbrella can’t cover all of us?” Tessa suggested. “Though now, I’ll do it to cover me and Melissa only, and not you two!” 

As Max and Dan sulked back to their desks, they looked at each other with shame. Perhaps, just maybe, they had gone a bit too far. 
 

Sources:
My Imagination and NPCs.
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Engorgement_Charm

 

DADA: Arm to Disarm

The Yeti and the Troll are both very dangerous creatures that live in the wizarding world. It is important to know the difference between these two creatures so that you will be able to know how to react when faced with them. 

First, the Yeti. This creature comes from Tibet originally and is possibly related to the Troll that will also be discussed. They are tall, ape-like creatures with long, wavy white fur over grey skin. They grow to be about fifteen feet tall! Almost the size of two humans standing on top of each other! The Yeti can act like humans, but they are classified by the Ministry as XXXX-Beasts. They also go by the names “Bigfoot” and “The Abominable Snowman”. They are meat-eating creatures, which makes them very dangerous to humans. 

Trolls are also very dangerous to humans. Similar to the Yeti, they are also classified as a XXXX-Beast. Another similarity between the two creatures is that the Troll also grows to be over ten feet tall, but they are three feet shorter than the Yeti. The troll is also carnivorous, like the Yeti. 

That is where the similarities between the two creatures end. Trolls are far less intelligent and more aggressive in nature. Though they both look like giant, fury humans, the troll’s skin and eye colour may differ from other trolls. Also different is that Trolls are originally from Scandinavia. 

Therefore, no matter the similarities and differences between the two creatures, they should both be avoided if they are seen out in the wild. 
 

Sources:
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Yeti
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Troll

Herbology: Leaping Toadstools

Max followed the professor and the other students towards the clearing in the Forbidden Forest. Over the past school year, Max had learned that his uncle Josiah, who was now in Azkaban, was the leader of a gang called “Legion”. They lived all over the wizarding world, in Little Whimgineg, Hogsmeade, etcetera, but they usually held their meetings in a cave in the forest near Hogwarts. Max was pretty sure that cave was around here somewhere, and since they were actually IN the forest… he might as well check in with someone there. 

“Maxwell?” A male voice whispered to him from nearby. Max jumped at the noise and turned to see a man wearing fur skins and brown pants. He had a bald head and a long, red beard. “What are you doing in the forest? You will be in trouble.” His voice had a thick Scottish accent. 

“Lachlan! You scared me! Could you help me find a Leaping Toadstool? I have to write about them for Herbology class.” 

“Yes, there are some here, near our cave. You must be careful, my friend. There are rumours afoot from the centaurs.” 

Max followed Lachlan over to the cave he was starting to become familiar with. Sure enough, Max found a collection of toadstools right up next to the wall of the cave. He got out his pad of paper and quill so that he could write down the answers for class, while he asked Lachlan, “What rumours?” 

“Here, see this toadstool?” Lachlan leaned down to indicate one of the mushrooms. “See how it has a white stem and a large red mushroom cap? There are all these white polka-dots all over the red cap too.” He hesitated as he let Max write the description out for his homework and then turned to the boy. “We have been seeing resistance from the vampires. They have begun to reject us from their alliance.” 

Max winced at that news and looked from the man back to the toadstool. “That doesn’t make sense… what happened?” 

“They are trying to recruit the next generations of wizards to the fight against us and our cause. They want to gain their lifeblood from other sources. You know that we only fight for the freedom and rights of any wizard or witch, any creature dark or light… There should be no more good or evil, Maxwell. Only… free.” 

“Oh…” Max frowned, but tried to focus on his assignment. “Why are the Toadstools called ‘leeping’?” 

“Well, watch close and you will see them jumping around,” Lachlan explained. “They are also very useful for making potions. That is why we have them here near the cave.” 

“How much are they normally if you bought them in Diagon Alley?” 

“They cost only three galleons at the Apothecary,” Lachlan answered. “We use them in potions like the Baruffio’s Brain Elixir.” 

“What does that potion do?” 

“It is how it sounds, my friend. It improves your brain ability. Very useful stuff.” 

“Thank you for your help, Lachlan. It was much more fun than sitting at a desk and reading a textbook!” 

“You will watch out for any vampires or dark creatures that are aligned with them if you are around Hogsmeade? When you go home, or on your school visits?” Lachlan asked with genuine worry. 

“Yes, of course,” Max promised. 

With that, he went back to the rest of the class. He kept thinking about what Lachlan had said, about the toadstools and about the vampires. It made him feel uneasy and he kept looking over his shoulder with every step. 

Sources:
My Imagination and NPC (Josiah-mentioned, Lachlan)
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Leaping_Toadstool
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Baruffio%27s_Brain_Elixir
 

 

COMC: Fairy Wings

Max followed the professor into the forest with the rest of the class. Any trip to the forest was a great escape from the boring four walls of a classroom. It was one of the reasons he’d wanted to assist the class… more reason to be outside! Plus, being actually allowed to go in the Forbidden Forest without being in trouble was just an added bonus! 

But… fairies? Max hated fairies. From what he knew about them, they were arrogant little brats. His father, an auror, used them for informants with cases that he worked on; like Harry Dresden did in The Dresden Files. Max didn’t know what his future held yet, but it sure wasn’t going to involve fairies. 

“Why do we have to collect their wings?” Tessa asked with a sigh. “I don’t want to hurt them…” 

“They’ll be fine,” Max promised. “I’ve seen my father do this a thousand times. He does it so that Mom can use them in potions at the hospital. It won’t hurt them, but they won’t like it.” Personally, Max had no issues with collecting fairy wings. It was being around them at all that annoyed him greatly. 

“Can’t we use a spell or something? Like how the Dark Arts class froze those doxies in Harry Potter’s second year?” Tessa pleaded quietly, looking around. 

“Fine,” Max rolled his eyes. “If you insist on using a spell…” 

“I do,” Tessa folded her arms. “Or else I’m not doing it. It’s cruel.” 

“Geez, Tessa… They’re just fairies! But fine. You do the spell, I’ll get the wings. Even though this is way more difficult than it needs to be.” 

“Careful, or I’ll do the spell on you,” Tessa warned. 

When they located a group of fairies, Tessa held her wand, made a mountain-shape movement, and called out, “Immobulus!” A blue light came from her wand and the fairies were frozen in place. That made it easy for Max to walk over and simply pick off the wings, placing them in a jar. Tessa winced every time he did it, and he rolled his eyes every time she winced. 

As they walked back towards the professor with their jar of wings, Tessa looked over at Max and asked, “Why do you suppose fairy wings are so useful for spells and such?” 

Max thought about it and said, “Well, fairies are multicoloured, right? Or clear… but having so many colours probably helps with the Beautification Potion, right? Plus they’re always grooming themselves so you know they’re careful about their appearances.” 

“And the Girding Potion? It means you have a longer endurance ability. That’s like how these fairies survive in the forest for so long, without being eaten by bigger creatures.” 

As Max thought about that, he realized maybe fairies were stronger than he gave them credit for… but they still annoyed him! 

Sources:
My Imagination and Npc
“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”: Doxy scene in Dark Arts.
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Freezing_Charm
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Fairy_wings
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Girding_Potion

 

Flying: Nimbus Racing Broom Company

Max was really starting to like flying class. They were able to try out different types of brooms and compare them. He looked over at his three friends and said, “Choose your weapons! It’s time for another race!” 

The group took up their brooms of choice, and Max went with the Nimbus 1000. It was the first broom the company had put out, and he remembered that it was unique from the other types of Nimbus brooms. 

As the four friends raced across the pitch, Max remembered reading that his was the first broom that could go up to a hundred miles an hour! He also remembered, as he tested this feature, that his was unique because he could turn around in a full circle while in the air. He could understand why it was named the best broom company for a long time. It was much faster than the Comet or the Cleansweep, but he did miss the braking charm of the Comet, and the vibrating feature of the Cleansweep broom.

When they landed again, Dan had been declared the winner of the race. When they had gathered on the ground he said, “Did you know my broom doesn’t come with the Nimbus name, even though they made it?”

“Really? What’s its name then?” Tessa asked curiously. 

“It’s called the Fambus Station Wagon,” Dan told them. 

“But then why is it so special?” Melissa asked. 

“See how long it is?” Dan asked as he held out the broom. “I could fit all four of us on here!” 

“I sure hope Professor Corvidae gets better,” Tessa said as they left the pitch. “It didn’t affect the lesson or anything… I’m just worried about her.” 

“Yeah, I wasn’t affected by it either,” Max shrugged. “Probably just another excuse for her to avoid getting on a broom.” Max rolled his eyes and said, “Have you ever seen her on a broom?” 

“Everyone’s got a story,” Dan shrugged, and Max was growing more and more curious what the professor’s story was. 
 

Sources:
My Imagination and NPCs (Dan, Tessa and Melissa)
Notes from previous lessons.
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Nimbus_Racing_Broom_Company
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Fambus_Station_Wagon

5: 5 - December Classes

Transfiguration: Porcupine to Pincushion

Max watched the professor turn the porcupine into a pincushion. He shook his head in awe at the sight of it. Magic and charms were nothing new to the second-year pureblood, but he had never seen transfiguration done before last year. It was still a baffling subject to him. 

“I don’t know how I’m going to focus today,” Tessa beamed. “I can’t wait to see my parents again… What about you, Max?” 

“Yeah, I guess I am,” Max shrugged. “I’ve got a lot of questions to ask my father about Legion. Things aren’t… adding up with what I’m reading in the Daily Prophet archives your mom sent.” 

“Please promise you won’t spend your whole holidays talking about that group,” Tessa pleaded. 

“Yes mom,” he teased, getting a glare from his best friend. “I wasn’t expecting to see porcupines in the boxes,” he nodded to the front. “I wish we weren’t doing spells on living things. The beetle was hard enough last month. Now we have to do a whole porcupine? Can’t it be like… a teapot, or a bird feeder or something?” 

“Let’s lift them out of the boxes,” Tessa said. “It’ll be fine.” 

Max sighed and reluctantly made a flick and swish with his wand. “Wingardium Leviosa”, Max said somewhat confidently. The porcupine rose out of the box and Max moved it onto the table. It was such an easy spell from their first year at Hogwarts that he hadn’t needed the professor’s help with the Levitation Charm. 

He really wasn’t all that keen on the porcupine, but that was beside the point. He didn’t even think the creature was cute… it was kind of ugly. But it was a living being, and Max still felt morally opposed to changing its form completely. 

Getting to work on his Essay, Max tried to just do the job, and not look at the porcupine’s eyes staring up at him. Thankfully he was even able to finish the essay in time. The essay looked like this: 

The first obstacle to turning the porcupine into a pincushion was pronouncing the incantation properly. It took at least five times to get it right. The challenge was to get the emphasis on the right syllables. Max the Slytherin also kept saying “Hysteriforas” instead of “Hysterifors”. It took at least eight times to cast the spell, and then he was able to transform the porcupine! It was brown, with several spikes all over it, but it was a pincushion! Wingardium Leviosa had also been done successfully, as it was an easier spell. 

Over all, most of the class was able to succeed with the transformation, though some students still had porcupine heads sticking out of their pincushions! 
 

Sources:
My Imagination and NPC (Tessa, Tessa’s mom).
Information from lecture.
Memories from lesson on Wingardium Leviosa. 

 

Potions: What’s This Flower? 

Max winced when he heard that the professor would be making the groups. He took a deep breath, hoping he wouldn’t be with one of the other kids from Slytherin. They had been tormenting him a lot more this year, now that they all knew who he and his family were. His normal nemesis had seemed to form a gang of “Max-haters” and they made it their mission to make Max’s life miserable. As luck would have it, Max was indeed grouped with one of these kids, Logan Price, and a girl from Ravenclaw named Kate Shep. 

The group was assigned to talk about the Nettle plant. They worked hard on the research, though they argued about how to do the presentation. Logan wanted to make a big board with facts and pictures and everything. Kate said they should go simple and just write an essay to read. Max suggested they meet in the middle and act out a scene. This seemed like a good idea to the others. 

When it was their turn, the three of them went up to the front. Logan was the teacher, and Max and Kate were two students. They set up three chairs to look like a small classroom. 

“Alright class, we’re going to play a game,” Logan started. “Whoever raises their hand and answers correctly gets five points. Then whoever gets the most points wins five chocolate frogs!” 

Max grinned and took out his pile of chocolate frogs that he had extra of, handing five of them to Logan. 

“Mmm, chocolate,” Logan took one and ate it. The class laughed as he said, “Okay, you win four chocolate frogs.” He cleared his throat and asked, “Who can tell me three other names for the Nettle plant?” 

Kate shot up her hand and said, “Burn hazel, Stinging Nettle, and um…” she pretend to be thinking, and then said, “Urtica diocia!” 

“Show off,” Max teased playfully and the class all laughed again. 

“Very good. Who can describe the plant?” 

Max raised his hand and said, “It’s green, like Slytherin, sir!” That got a few cheers from his housemates. “It’s got a green stem, and its green leaves are covered in these stingy hair things! I bet they hurt if you touch it.” 

“Yes, no doubt,” Logan agreed. “What are nettles used for?” 

Kate shot up her hand and said, “It’s used for cooking… like in tea and soup and wine. It also makes your hair more glossy somehow.” 

Max held up his hand and said, “It’s also the main ingredient in the Cure for Boils potion.” 

“Very good. I believe we have a tie, so I guess I get to keep the chocolate frogs after all!” 

The class laughed as the trio took their normal seats again, and Logan ate the rest of the chocolate frogs. Max was quite happy with how they did, but he thought it would have been better if they had more nettle to show off to the class. 

He then had to write down facts about the two other plants. Max learned that Valerian was used in medicine, as well as many potions including the Draught of Living Death. Lavender was used in many potions too including the Sleeping Draught and the Fire-Breathing Potion. Max made a note to look up more about the Fire-Breathing Potion because it sounded really cool! 

Sources:
My Imagination and NPCs (Greg, Logan and Kate)
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Nettle
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Valerian
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Lavender

 

Charms: Now It’s Too Big! 

The Shrinking Charm is a spell that makes the object being pointed at become smaller. The Engorgement Charm, on the other hand, is used to make an object bigger, and return back to their original size. 

The wand movement of the spell is to make a V-shape with your wand. The wand incantation for the spell is to say “Reducio” and it is spelled “ruh-DOO-see-oh”. A purple light appears from the wand and the target will be shrunk to a smaller size. 

In my opinion I think that it does matter whether an item is big or small, or whether the amount of shrinking matters. I would think that more solid and smaller items would be easier to shrink because there’s less of an amount to shrink, whereas as the book says, shrinking an entire human would be extremely difficult. 

The Shrinking Spell is needed as the last step in making the Shrinking Solution potion. It is used when the brewing is almost done. 

There are many times this spell has been used in the past, but two of the ways that I would use it will be quite different. We actually used this to shrink ourselves to the size of gnomes and dress up as them, then we were able to hide and jump out at the girls all around the castle! It was absolutely hilarious, though they didn’t really think so… 

Another way this would be useful is if you have to crawl through a low tunnel to get somewhere to safety, and you didn’t want to be on your hands and knees, you could be a smaller size and walk through it much easier! 

The Shrinking Spell, and the Shrinking Solution, are very useful if you want to make yourself smaller. Then, to return to the original size, you can use the Engorgement Charm, and all will be right with the world again. 

Sources:
My Imagination/NPC Characters (Dan/Melissa/Tessa - Reference to them in the gnome prank!)
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Shrinking_Charm
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Engorgement_Charm
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Shrinking_Solution

 

DADA: Borgin and Burkes

Cornish Pixies are about eight inches long. They have electric blue skin and black eyes. They have a wingspan of about eight inches as well. They have blue antennas and they also have hands that look like Tridactyl hands. They mostly come from Cornwall, England, and were discovered sometime in the seventeenth century. They are classified as a XXX-Beast.

They have really loud voices that can prove to be very annoying and disturbing. They are flying creatures that like to lift humans up by their ears, then placing them down on top of trees or even buildings. They also are able to steal things very easily. They can also have baby pixies. 

In order to stop a pixie from annoying the living daylights out of you, you have to use the Freezing Charm, by saying the incantation “Immobulus”. This will make the pixies stay still and be unable to annoy you any further. 
 

Sources:
Information from the Lecture.
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Pixie

 

Herbology: Shrivelfigs

Max was just as eager as everyone else to get home for Christmas, but there were still a few classes left to get through. At least Herbology was outdoors and they could enjoy looking out at all the snow everywhere. It seemed like Hogwarts became more… alive in the winter, if that was even possible. 

“Come on, Max, we can do this,” Tessa nudged his arm from her seat beside him. “Don’t make me go out there and get a snowball and throw it at you!” 

Max rolled his eyes at her and opened his textbook. “Fine… Shrivelfigs. How would you describe the roots?” 

Tessa winced when she looked in the book. “Wow. The textbook uses the word ‘aggressive’. Apparently that’s what makes it so the plant can grow in all kinds of weather, like snow or grass or wherever.” 

“That’s kind of cool, actually,” Max admitted. “It can be used in the Elixer to Induce Euphoria, and in the Shrinking Solution.” Max stopped and said, “It’s weird that it’s used to both increase and shrink something.” 

“Yeah, that’s kind of cool,” Tessa agreed. “The flowers actually grow inside of the fruit, and both the plant and the fruit are purple. The plant’s leaves fall off in autumn, and they’re totally gone by the winter. When you skin the fruit, the blossoms inside it give off this liquid that’s purple. It’s the liquid that’s used in potions, ‘cause it’s medicine.” 

“You know, with mom being a healer I bet she has a bunch of this liquid bottled up. You have to buy it though… the plant is only found in Abyssinia. I don’t even know where that is!” 

“We’ll definitely have to tell your mom we learned all this!” Tessa beamed. “Maybe we can even help her brew potions too!” 

Max smiled, looking forward to seeing his mom again. Four months was a long time without the people that had been there your whole life! Sure, they’d seen them on Hogsmeade visits throughout the fall, but it hadn’t been for long. At least he knew that this Christmas would sure be better than last year’s, though he still had some questions for his father! 
 

Sources:
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Shrivelfig
My Imagination and NPC (Tessa and Mom/Dad) 

 

COMC: Little Beasts

Today in class, Max worked with my friend Daniel who is in Hufflepuff. He was a Muggle-born, and was a little nervous about facing his first poisonous creature. He asked for them to work together, so the boys got to work. 

There were indeed hundreds of doxies all over the dungeon! They had this rough-looking black hair, and had two sets of arms and legs. They even had two rows of very sharp-looking teeth.

“Do you want to spray them with Doxycide, or are you going to hunt for the eggs?” Max asked Daniel, though he had a feeling he knew what the answer was going to be. Like Tessa and the fairy wings, he had a feeling he’d be the one dealing directly with the creatures. 

As expected, Dan chose to collect the eggs, so Max was left with spraying the does. “Why do we even need these eggs?” Dan asked as he started hunting. 

“We have to collect the black eggs for the potions class,” Max explained as he easily killed another doxy with the spray. “They’re used in the Girding Potion.” 

“What’s that one again?” Dan asked, finding another egg behind a pillar. 

“It’s the one that gives you more strength, so you can stay awake longer. Pretty useful, especially right before a Quidditch game or a test!” 

“Oh no! I got some of the egg against my arm!” Dan cried, starting to panic. “Get me the antidote!” 

Max sighed and went to get the antidote for his friend. He himself had no problem with the poisonous doxies. He loved the practical lesson! 
 

Sources:
My Imagination and NPC Character (Daniel).
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Doxy
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Doxy_egg
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Girding_Potion
 

Flying: Loop-the-Loop

Dear Diary, 

Today we learned how to do a loop-around. It was definitely a difficult lesson, and not one that I think I’ll try again. I much rather prefer being upright than being upside- down, for any length of time. I was really struggling with it, and by the time I got to the top of the loop, I felt quite shaky and just kinda fell onto my side. I managed to keep a good grip on my broom though and keep trying. 

The most difficult part for me was the part where you were upside down, at the highest point. Like last month, I still struggled a lot with controlling my speed and making sure I wasn’t going too fast. Plus the whole being upside down thing really didn’t work for me. 

The explanation from the teacher really helped to visualize the whole thing, but it didn’t help calm my nerves of being upside-down. Some positions just aren’t fun! I don’t think any different explanation would have helped with the tactic… I was nervous either way! Tessa promised she would work with me though and we would try to get it right. It could be handy someday in Quidditch, after all. 

Till next time.

Max. 
 

Sources:
My Imagination/NPC Character (Tessa)
Information from Lesson.

6: 6 - January Classes

Transfiguration: Vera Verto

Max was shivering as he followed the others into the classroom. He was even more irritated when they weren’t even staying by the warm fireplace. All he wanted to do was curl up there with a blanket and a hot cocoa. Instead, he sighed heavily as he joined the group of similarly-freezing students as they followed the professor back into the cold hallway. 

There was only a slight feeling of relief as they stopped by the stairs. Max looked over at Chris, the Ravenclaw, and said, “At least she didn’t drag us outside.” 

“I know,” Chris exhaled deeply. “I would have been even more annoyed then. Do you want to partner up? Running up the stairs first would be cooler if there was a prize or something.” 

“Yeah, like whoever does it under a certain amount of time… should we just make up a time to beat? Or maybe whoever does the spell faster, while the other person runs up and down the stairs, wins five wizarding cards from the other.” 

“I like it,” Chris nodded and they got into position to start. 

Max’s goal was to perform the spell by the time Chris got to the top. Chris ran up the stairs first and Max drew out his wand, pointing it at the whistle. He said the inicantation and focused all his attention on the whistle in front of him. There was so much happening around him, though, with all the other kids doing the same spell, that it took him a few tries to get focused enough. By then, Chris had returned. 

“It’s still a whistle,” Chris pointed out, still panting. 

“Good observation, Watson,” Max muttered. The two of them were starting to be called Sherlock and Watson because of how they acted. “Let’s see if you can do any better.” 

“Challenge accepted, Sherlock,” Chris grinned. 

Max started to run up the stairs, going faster so that Chris would have less time. But by the time Max got back to the bottom, Chris had already turned the whistle into a watch. 

“Show off,” Max groaned, leaning against the railing of the staircase. 

“You just need more focus,” Chris insisted, but Max knew it was going to take a lot more than focus to actually succeed in the class. 

 

Sources:
My Imagination and NPCs (Chris)
Information in the Lecture. 

 

Potions: Ice, Ice, Baby

Max grinned as he watched the professor create fire out of nowhere, and then walk through it without being harmed. This had been one of the potions Max had been wanting to learn from the beginning: being immune to fire. Flames had always fascinated him, ever since he was a child: when he would sit staring at the fireplace, or at the campfire. He thought that this potion was one of the coolest ones ever! 

The instructions for this potion were a lot shorter than the ones they’d done so far. There were only three steps! Max got to work, making sure not to mess up. He really wanted to be able to walk through the flames! 

He started by cutting up the mushrooms with the knife the professor provided. They were bursting and it was kind of gross! Max put the mushroom slices into the cauldron and stirred around in a clockwise direction, until the potion became a blue colour. 

Then, he added Salamander blood into the cauldron, and stirred it in the opposite direction until the liquid turned green. Finally, he crushed up the Wartcap powder by using the mortar and pestle. He put that into the cauldron and stirred around clockwise. He knew he was finished when the potion became red. 

“Are you really going to do this?” Tessa asked, her eyes wide as Max stood in line to walk through the flames. 

“I don’t know if the chance will ever come up again,” Max said as the professor approved his potion. “Of course I’m doing it!” 

“Just… if something happens to you…” 

“He’ll be fine,” Chris promised her. “I’ll be right beside him!” 

“You guys are both crazy!” Ashley rolled her eyes, standing beside Tessa. 

“Ready, man?” Max turned to grin at Chris. 

“Let’s do this,” Chris nodded confidently. 

The boys counted to three and drank their potions at the same time. As they approached the flames, there was a very small fear that they wouldn’t survive, but he also trusted that the professor wouldn’t have let them do it if their potions hadn’t been good enough. So after the last gulp, Max followed Chris into the flames. 

It was the most incredible feeling! There was the bright glow all around them. He could feel the heat and smell the smoke, but that was as far as the effects went. Before he knew it, they were out on the other side! 

The girls ran ito hug them, both looking relieved. But as for Max, he felt on top of the world! It had been the best lesson at Hogwarts thus far
 

Sources:
Imagination and NPCs (Chris, Tessa, Ashley)
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Fire_Protection_Potion

 

History of Magic: The Mauraders

Dear Diary, 

Today in History of Magic we got to write about one of the Mauraders: the inventors of the Mauraders Map. I decided to research Sirius Black, known as “Padfoot” to the group. I chose him because I thought maybe this would help me understand my uncle, Josiah, who was sent to Azkaban last summer, like Sirius Black was. We uncovered a lot about my uncle last year, but there are still some questions I have about why his gang, Legion, worked out of Knockturn Alley, but made it look like a bigger operation than it was. 

Anway, Sirius Black. He was also an Animagus, and could change his form into a black dog. He was sorted into Gryffindor House, which meant he was the only one in his family who wasn’t sorted into the same house as the rest of them… I know how he feels there, though I took after my uncle, I guess. 

He was frowned by Pettigrew for murder and he was sent to Azkaban. But one of his biggest accomplishments was that he was the only person to escape from Azkaban without any help. He was Harry’s godfather and he was cleared from his charges in 1995, but his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange killed him before it mattered. 

I guess Sirius was one of the troublemakers. He and James Potter liked to pick on Severus Snape a lot at Hogwarts. He also showed off his Gryffindor pride in decorating his room, plus he had a lot of Muggle posters, including beautiful Muggle women! Maybe I should do that with my Slytherin stuff… just to see what my parents would do! 

During his time at Hogwarts, he always hung out with the other marauders… even after they learned about Remis Lupin being werewolf. Sirius used his Animagus status to help Remus by becoming a big black dog. They all made the Maurders Map together too! On it they could see where everyone was in the castle! I wonder what Chris and I could do if we had one… Anyway, he and James always picked on Snape with a lot of harmless or dangerous prankes. When Sirius was sixteen he left the pureblood family and lived with James Potter and their family. 

After Hogwarts, Sirius became a lot more intense. He fought Lord Voldemort and joined the Order of the Phoenix. He and James still sometimes caused trouble, though He strugged with trusting his friends, especially after he was betrayed and arrested. 

In the end, Sirius escaped Azkaban and came back to help Harry and the other in the Order of the Phoenix. He was betrayed by his own family, but had always done what he could to advise Harry, even from a distance by appearing in the flames of the Gryffindor fireplace. 

I guess I’m struggling with this entry. I’m wondering how similar Sirius’ story is to my uncle’s, who is still in Azkaban. Dad said it’s not for what the papers were saying last year, but I just don’t know what to believe. Maybe I’ll even start having trust issues like Sirius… 

As for class today, I loved how the professor introduced the subject. It was creative, and her singing definitely got our attentio as we came in! The only problem now is that I’ll have that song in my head for the rest of the day! 

Thanks for letting me ramble, Diary. 

I hope I get some answers soon. 

Max. 

 

Sources:
My Imagination and NPCs (Josiah, Dad, Chris)
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Sirius_Black

 

Charms: Could You Please Pass My Wand? 

The Mobilrbus spell is a very useful spell that lifts and moves objects that are wooden. At least it would be useful if the wand movement were known. The incantation for the spell is “Mobilarbus” and it’s pronounced like this: “mo-bil-lee-AR-bus”. There is a blue light that shines from the wand if the spell is done correctly. Of course, without the wand movement, one may never know. Perhaps the wand movement could be as simple as raising your wand up in the air, and directing the object’s movement with your wand. The movement doesn’t have to be complicated! 

In theory, there are several other movement spells that produce a similar effect and will work with more than just wooden objects. Wingardium Leviosa also lifts and move objects, and you can direct the object with your wand. 

It would actually make sense that the spell would work on other wooden objects, seeing as all these objects were trees at one point in the beginning. Thus the essence of the tree would still remain in the objects, like it does with wands. 

However, one may never know these things until the hand movement is discovered. It would be pretty fascinating to move trees around as a prank though! 

 

Sources:
Knowledge of Wingardium Leviosa from First Year Lessons.
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Mobiliarbus

 

DADA: Cursed Collar

Max entered the classroom with less excitement than he usually did. Christmas had been… revealing to say the least. Everything he had learned last year about Legion: their mission, alliances in the forest, even his uncle’s criminal charges that landed him in Azkaban… It had all been a lie. They weren’t some evil, dark wizard gang after all! That had been simply a cover to scare people away. The truth was far less dangerous or exciting. Max didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed. 

“Come on, Max,” Chris the Ravenclaw nudged him. “It’s not all that bad. An underground black market potion trading post hidden under my parents’ apothecary is still pretty cool!” 

Max rolled his eyes and pointed at the picture they had to identify. “Think they used one of these though? To keep people away? I doubt it.” 

“You know what that is, don’t you?” Chris asked. When Max shook his head Chris ruffled through a book he’d picked up. “Look, see? It’s an Opal Necklace!” 

“What does it do?” Max asked, still uninterested. “It just looks like a normal necklace, with those big circles and diamonds filled with blue rock of some sort. It’s just a big, round thing with two big diamonds hanging down the middle. It’s made of what… blue opals I guess?” 

“Yeah! I’ve seen them sold in Borgin and Burkes, not far from my parents’ shop in Knockturn Alley! Dad said I could never ever touch one because it’s cursed. It could kill you if you touched the necklace.” 

Max leaned in, suddenly interested. This wasn’t just some boring necklace anymore. “Woah… the warning label on it says the necklace has killed nineteen victims who were Muggles! That’s insane!” 

“I know, right? Apparently Draco Malfoy bought one from Borgin and Burkes in 1996,” Chris read. “I guess Voldemort told him to do it. He did the Imperius curse on Madam Rosmerta. She then did the same curse on Katie Bell, who was a student.” 

“What’s that got to do with the Cursed Necklace?” 

“Katie had to take the necklace package to Filch, and say it was from Rosmerta. But the package was torn open and Katie’s skin made contact with the necklace. She rose into the air and was screaming. She was taken to the hospital. Harry always blamed Draco for it, which the kid eventually confessed to Dumbledore later.” 

“I think cursed objects are kind of a weak approach though,” Max mused. 

“How so?” 

“They’re too… indirect. It’s like you’re hiding behind them. The victim rarely knows who is sending the object. And it could get into the wrong hands too easily. I would think I’d want the person to know I was coming for them. Like in a duel or something more direct.” 

“Well sure, but it would be easier to get away with sending an object. It’d be hand for them to prove it was me.” Chris shrugged and asked, “Should we find out what’s in these presents?” 

They started to unwrap their gifts and were elated to find five wizarding cards and chocolate frog boxes each! They quickly opened them to eat the frogs, and see what wizarding cards were inside. Max’s mood was definitely better now than when he’d come to class! 

 

Sources:
My Imagination/NPC Family, NPC Chris.
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Opal_Necklace

 

Herbology: Venomous Tentacula

Dear Diary, 

Today we had to research the Venemous Tentacula plant. We didn’t actually get to see the plant in person, which makes perfect sense. It’s a really dangerous plant that could be deadly. 

According to the textbook, the plant is brown and green in colour. The leaves are green and they have nettles that can sting you. It sends out poisonous venom and can stun you or even kill you. The plant even has a head without eyes, and it’s got scary fangs. Its vines act like arms and reach out at you. Oh, and it can also shoot out these spore-like balls that are fiery. Another distinction is that they are spiky, and they’re also red in some places. So you know, just a few distinctions! I know I was supposed to say three distinctions, but well there were a few more that I had to mention! 

There is a spell that can stun the Venemous Tentacula, and actually cut off its vines. The only spell for this effect is the Severing Charm. You know, if you haven’t been tangled by the vines first…

I’m totally answering these in the wrong order, but I had to save the best for last! The plant has a very… disturbing diet. They eat doxies, Chizpurfles, and well… humans! Great thought, right? Honestly, this is not a plant I want to be close to! 

It was sure an interesting plant to research! 

See you next class, Diary.
Max. 

 

Sources:
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Venomous_Tentacula

 

COMC: Silver Eggs

Dear Diary, 

Today we learned about Occamy eggs. We went up to the front and took some eggs from the professor’s trunk. I couldn’t help but wonder what else was in that trunk of wonders! 

Man, the egg was so beautiful! It wasn’t that big… maybe the size of just bigger than a marble. But boy, did it shine! It was pure silver all around

 

Sources:
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Occamy_egg
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Felix_Felicis
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Occamy

 

Flying: Over and Under

Dear Diary, 

Today we did an obstacle course in class. It was really fun and I didn’t find it too hard to do this course. It was much easier than the last lesson had been, that was for sure. I liked having more of a format to the lesson as well - a clear-cut goal for where we had to go. It was fun going through the obstacles, ducking down under them, and then raising my broom to avoid them from above. I wasn’t really able to control my speed at a steady rate, but I think I’m getting better as each lesson goes on. It hasn’t been an easy thing to learn because all I want to do is go fast, apparently. 

I was able to avoid most of the obstacles, though I got distracted by the other kids who were doing all these fancy loops and swerves to get around them. It was kind of frustrating because I knew I didn’t have that kind of speed-control, but I just tried really hard to focus on my own speed and on going above and below the obstacles. 

The purpose for this course, I figure, is to teach us how to control our speed and broom, so that we can avoid any obstacles or dangers that might come at us when we are older; creatures, dark wizards, etcetera. Being able to maintain focus and control while flying is an essential part of the sport, though it is something I really need to work on. I hoped that the professor would leave the course out a little longer after class so that maybe I could practice with it a bit more. 
 

Sources:
My Imagination.
Information from Lesson.

7: 7 - February Classes

Transfiguration: Rabbit Slippers

Max frowned as he saw they would be working with live animals again. He really didn’t feel right about it and sighed heavily as he leaned back in his chair. 

“Look at it this way,” Chris said from beside him. The Ravenclaw already had on his protective gloves and eye goggles. “You’re out in the wild and a porcupine charges you. Wouldn’t you rather be facing a pin cushion?” 

Max had to laugh at that. “I suppose you’re right. Pin cushions would sting less… plus they can’t really move.” He smirked a bit. “I like the way you think, Watson,” he teased the boy with the nickname. 

“Indubidably, my boy,” Chris steepled his fingers teasingly. 

“Honestly, the two of you,” Tessa giggled from where she and Ashley sat behind them. “He’s right though… what if you have to protect us ‘poor, helpless females’?” 

“Right?” Ashley chimed in. “We just wouldn’t know what to do! It’s not like we would have our own wands or anything…” 

Max smirked as he put on his gloves. He loved that he could banter with his friends and they could help him feel more relaxed. He put on the protective goggles as well, and set forth on his task to catch and calm the porcupine. Neither task was particularly easy. The creature moved around the table quickly and it seemed like it really didn’t want to be caught. Max couldn’t say he blamed the animal. Of course, Max had often had trouble catching animals in the past. He turned, looking at Tessa for help. “I… I can’t do it,” he admitted. 

She nodded and said, “Here… practice the incantation and the wand movement, and I’ll do the actual spell on the porcupine. We’ll explain it to Professor Valkyre. She never said we couldn’t work as partners, right?” 

“Yeah, Okay,” Max nodded and turned around. He couldn’t watch, but at least he could show he was still learning the spell. If she docked his grade, he’d just have to deal with it. He held out his wand, moved it up, curved his wand to the right, looped around to the left, and then out right to finish. He then worked on getting the incantation pronounced right, which honestly was half the battle anyway. It was basically learning a whole new language. The word was “Hystrifors”, pronounced “HIS-tree-fors”. 

It seemed like the others had no problem with performing the spell, or soothing the porcupine before making the creature change form. Max knew that a year of helping in Magical Creatures had made him a little… soft whenever animals were involved. He would have to work on that. If he got detention for not trying out the spell itself… he would just have to deal with it… 

Sources:
My Imagination and NPCs.
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Porcupine_to_Pin_Cushion

 

Potion: Swelling Solution

Dear Diary, 

Today we learned about the Swelling Solution. This was a potion that enlarged items. As the professor named off the ingredients, I tried to think of what the potion could be. The items sounded familiar, especially the bat spleens. I remembered my sister Brianne talking about the potion last summer as she and Wesley, Tessa’s older brother, and made their own Swelling Solution. They were gonna use it on something and scare me and Tessa with it, but their plan failed since I knew it was coming! I specifically remember them talking about getting bat spleens for the potion. 

I added two scoops of the dried-up nettles into the mortar, along with three puffer-fish eyes. Beside me at the table, Tessa made a face and said that it was disgusting to use the eyes! I laughed and crushed up everything until it was sort of a fine-like powder. I added a couple measures of this into the cauldron when the mixture was all crushed up. I turned the heat to a medium level and waited for about twenty minutes. I waved my wand and then left my cauldron to brew for about an hour. 

I sat with my friends: Chris the Ravenclaw, Tessa the Hufflepuff, and Ashley the Gryffindor. We did our best not to talk about Valentine’s Day. It was difficult because I’d given out some flowers to my friends, and those who had been nice and talked with me in the Great Hall. I still had something planned for Tessa… but I wasn’t going to talk with them all about it. 

We did, however, talk about Legion. The story of who Legion was had changed in the news, and we’d been careful not to bring it up in classes. Since last year’s stories of a dark wizard gang had turned out to be false rumours, we knew now that they were not in fact all that “dark”, just “misunderstood”. We did, however, confirm that the coin we found in my attic did indeed belong to the group, as a way of identifying members. But this coin gave them access to the underground black market potion ring that met underneath Chris’s parents’ apothecary, in Knockturn Alley. But even that didn’t seem like the whole story… 

It seemed like Chris couldn’t go anywhere without someone asking him to give an ingredient to his parents. Chris even showed Max and the others a picture of Ash Cross (Chris’ father), Josiah Paige (my uncle), and Michael Elliot (Tessa’s father). There was also a fourth member in the picture: Trent Coletti (Ashley’s uncle). The picture had been published in a newspaper called “The Legion”. The front page included the four wizards I’d just mentioned. The headline on the front page article read: “Legion founders reunited.” I knew this was impossible, since Uncle Josiah was still in Azkaban as of last year… But what if…

The timer went off, and we reluctantly went back to our cauldrons. I added a bat spleen into my cauldron and stirred it around, backwards, four times. I heated it at a low temperature for about thirty seconds. I waved my wand over the potion, and it became the yellow colour it was supposed to be, since it was done correctly. 

I sighed with relief that the potion was finished, and reached for the picture again, showing the four founders of Legion. The calendar on the wall behind the table, where they were all sitting, had some date on it from last month. Of this year. My uncle hadn’t escaped from Azkaban… had he? 

Sources:
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Swelling_Solution
My Imagination and lots of NPCs. 

 

History of Magic: The Cursed Vaults

There are four cursed vaults that are said to lurk in the dark corners of Hogwarts Castle. Many witches and wizards have different theories as to why these vaults existed, but there are two main views that have been reflected on by Albus Dumbledore. The first belief is that the four Hogwarts founders created them. Another option that he suggested was that it had been from a very paranoid past headmaster. It is also possible that they were made to protect, or surround, something. 

The Vault of Ice can be found at the very end of the Vanished Stairs, on the fifth floor. It’s hidden by a wall so it’s hard to find. If you try to use the Fire-Making Spell, the ice-covered door will attack you. This, however, was how Bill Weasley, Jacob, and another friend opened the vault and then found a book and a broken wand inside. 

The Vault of Fear was located in the Restricted Section of the library, hidden behind a bookcase. The vault was protected by three different boggarts. The only way to open this vault was with the broken wand. Inside the vault was a broken arrow and a map, with the way around the Forbidden Forest. 

A third vault was the Forest Vault. You could find it in a grove in the Forbidden Forest, but the danger was that it was guarded by a dangerous Acromantula, which ate students who were walking in their sleep! If you wanted to open the vault, you would have to touch the arrow of the colony of Centaurs that had been found in the Vault of Fear. 

The Buried Vault was found guarded by a very dangerous dragon. If you can actually defeat said dragon, you would be able to open the vault. 

If given the chance, the preferred vault to open would likely be the Forbidden Forest vault. It would be easier to distract and defeat the Acromantula. However, it is possible that the logic spells that hid the Horcruxes would have been easier to figure out than attacking scary creatures. Either way, it would take great bravery and strength to open these four vaults. 

 

Sources:
My Knowledge of Harry Potter and the Horcruxes.
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Cursed_Vaults#Vault_of_Ice

 

Charms: I Can’t Reach! 

Dear Diary, 

Today we got to work on the spell “Descendo”. It was a really cool class because there were chocolate frogs flying everywhere! And once you caught the frog you would get a wizarding card, which of course I am all for! I started a trading group for the cards and it’s been going super great, and then we all kinda draw our own faces in a card to see what it would look like! So that’s what was flying around in the classroom and we had to use the spell to get them to come down where we could reach them. 

First I did a bit of research on the spell itself. The incantation for the spell is to say “Descendo”. Not too hard, but you have to pronounce it “deh-SEHN-do”. I had a hard time with this ‘cause I kept saying “deSHENdo”, which isn’t right. But eventually I got the pronunciation figured out. The effect of the spell is that it lowers items down towards you. So I guess it makes you be able to reach things that are high up. Definitely a useful spell for us short twelve year olds! The wand movement that you have to do is to make a whip-like motion. There is a blue light that happens when you’ve done the spell right and then the item will lower down towards you. 

It was so hard to focus on one chocolate frog to pull down from the air. You had to be able to pick just one and call the spell on that particular frog, instead of the other ones that were flying around. I performed the whip-movement and said the incantation wrong a few times before I actually was able to get the spell pronounced right. Tessa was able to help me out with the incantation when it clearly wasn’t working with the times I had been trying it wrong. When I pronounced it right, I was finally able to get the chocolate frog down! The card that I got was for Dolores Umbridge! It was the first Dark Wizard card I’d found! I was pretty excited, that’s for sure. I was really glad that I had Tessa’s help for the tries that didn’t work out so well, or I never would have got it right within the time for class! 

This spell could definitely be used to hurt someone seriously, or even try to kill them! It actually happened in 1998 too. Vincent Crabbe did this when the group was in the Room of Requirement. Crabbe tried to bring down a big pile of stuff that was fifty feet in the air and used the spell to bring it all down on top of Ron Weasley, trying to actually kill him! Can you imagine… kids killing other kids… But Harry was there to save Ron and used the Descendo spell against Crabbe, so that they were able to escape. 

I think that’s all I have to do for this spell. It was a great one to learn and definitely one that I will be practicing a lot untl I have the wand movement and incantation memorized! 

See you next time, Diary! 

Max. 

Sources:
My Imagination/NPC (Tessa)
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Descendo

 

DADA: Is That a Knot? 

Max grinned as he heard the spell that they would be learning. It sounded like a very fun spell to use, especially if one had some friends who were girls that one might want friends who were girls that one might want to tease with such a spell. He looked over at Chris, who seemed to have the same thought. 

“We couldn’t, could we?” Max tilted his head. 

“We shouldn’t, but he does want us to practice the spell…” Chris mused. 

“Let’s help each other with pronouncing the incantation,” Max said. “Mimblewimble.” 

They worked on pronouncing the spell. They had to pronounce it, “MIM-bull-wim-bull”. It took them a few tries and then they worked on the wand movement. It was really just moving the wand around in circles a couple times. 

Once they had that down, they worked on the actually did the spell. Max had a bit of trouble with the pronunciation, and Chris struggled with the wand movement, but after four or five times until they could do the spell right. 

They only needed help from the professor to help them undo the spell’s effects so they could speak normally again. It felt really weird when they couldn’t talk the right way. 

“This would be helpful in a duel, don’t you think?” Chris asked. 

“Definitely!” Max grinned. “It would be super helpful if you want to stop your opponents from saying their next spell… they wouldn’t be able to pronounce a curse or hex on you. It would be easier for you to give out your next attack.” 

“And if you dare to do it on either of us…” Tessa started from behind them at their desk. 

“Would we ever do such a thing?” Chris pretended to be shocked. 

“You would, and you better not!” Ashley glared at them both. 

“Oh relax… We wouldn’t use it to hurt you or anything!” Max promised, though he didn’t think either of them believed them. 
 

Sources:
My Imagination/NPCs. (Tessa, Chris, Ashley)
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Tongue-Tying_Curse#

 

Herbology: Mandrakes

Max had indeed been looking forward to this class. Mandrakes were fascinating for many reasons, but the main part was that they grew in their size and maturity just like children do. The other important fact he knew, was that their cries were fatal, unless you wore earmuffs. 

“I can’t wait to get these plants moved,” Tessa shuddered. “I’d rather not be near a plant that can kill me…” 

“Aw, but look at their little faces, and how they’re squirming around in the dirt!” Ashley cooed. “They’re so cute!” 

“Plants should not be cute,” Chris rolled his eyes. 

“I agree,” Max nodded. “Let’s do the questions and then we’ll repot the plants. What are two uses for Mandrakes, or for their roots?” 

“Well, they are the main ingredient for a potion called ‘Mandrake Restorative Draught’,” Chris said as his eyes went back to his textbook. “If someone’s been cursed or… transfigured, this potion will bring them back to normal. The mandrake has to be stewed for it to work. They used it to cure petrified victims.” 

“They’re used a lot actually,” Ashley agreed. “You could use them as weapons if you really wanted to kill someone,” Ashley read. 

“That’s just great,” Tessa shuddered, inching closer to Max. “I mean, I guess I can see how they’re kinda cute, if you don’t focus on the death part too much…” 

“Yeah,” Max chuckled at how scared Tessa was. “They look kind of like human babies and apparently they act like us too. They’ve got arms and legs and a face… and a branch sticks out of its head and leaves hang over like hair.” 

“Apparently as they get to be our age, they even became all moody and they threw parties that were loud,” Chris grinned. “They even get acne. They’re mature when they move into each other’s pots. Interesting.” 

“Have you guys heard about the Dugbog?” Max asked as he turned the page in his text. “Apparently they’re Omnivorous creatures that kind of look like dead wood. They’ve got sharp teeth and finned paws. The Ministry says that they earn a Category of ‘XXX’.” 

“Wow,” Tessa leaned forward. She seemed more interested to learn about the creature than the plant. “It looks like they live in marshy areas. Ew, gross…” she made a face and learned back, looking away. 

“What?” Chris and Ashley asked at the same time. 

Max looked at the page and smirked. “Oh, they just eat small creatures and bite at the ankles of humans.” He laughed at Tessa’s horrified expression. “Oh relax. Just stay out of the marshes and you’ll be fine.” 

“I’ll just let them eat the Mandrakes,” Tessa rolled her eyes. 

“Shall we get to work?” Ashley asked, “Gloves and earmuffs on!” 

The group did so and went into the other greenhouse. They could only faintly hear the cries of the mandrakes as they lifted them from one pot and planted them in another. Thankfully none of them, or their classmates, were knocked out by the mandrakes’ cries. It seemed like no one wanted to tempt fate today! 
 

Sources:
My Imagination and NPCs. (Chris, Tessa and Ashley)
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Mandrake
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Mandrake_Restorative_Draught
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Dugbog

 

COMC: Lizards Of the Sky

Dear Diary, 

Today I got to see a real, live dragon! It was pretty exciting because like Professor Faustus said they really aren’t seen out of Romania that often! Plus, having worked with Professor Morrigan as an AT last year, I really grew to appreciate animals… especially rare ones! 

There are so many different uses for dragons, I don’t think I could put a number on them! I remember that dragons were part of the Triwizard Tournament as the first task. They had to get a golden egg from its spot under its mother. They got the dragons from Charlie Weasley, who was working with them in Romania. Goblins also used them to guard vaults at the bank called Gringotts. Apparently, you can even use their milk to make cheese! 

There are twelve different ways to use blood from dragons: oven cleaner, spot remover, or in potions among others. Dragon dung is used as a popular form of fertilizer. Dragon eyes were often sold on the black market since some shells could be used in potions. Dragon heartstring was a popular wand core. A dragon horn that was powdered could be used in potions, and their skin can be used in making clothing. Dragon meat was apparently good to put against injuries to stop them from stinging. Also, it makes good food for dogs! So I guess there are nine different uses for things from a dragon. 

I guess dragons could be used illegally too. My dad is an Auror with the Ministry of Magic, and he said he’d heard of dragons being trained to torture humans. He even told me once that if a dragon at Gringotts heard a certain noise, they could hurt the witch or wizard that made it. 

It makes sense that owning dragons is illegal, especially because they can’t be trained to be a pet, but they can be trained to inflict harm. Only really skilled, and really scary, wizards could do that! 

There are ten known breeds that are purebred. Sometimes, though, dragons could interbreed so who knows how many hybrid breeds there are! 

I think my favourite dragon breed has to be the Swedish Short-Snout. It’s got blue silvery scales, and its flame is this really cool blue too. Blue is my favourite colour! Oh and if it blows on bones or on timber? They’d be turned into ashes within seconds! It’s definitely a scary, but fascinating, breed! 

This was a pretty incredible class, and they just keep getting better and better! 

See you for the next one, Diary! 

Max. 
 

Sources:
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Dragon#Known_breeds

 

Flying: Quidditch History

Dear Diary, 

Unfortunately it was raining outside… again. It’s been raining so much that I almost miss the snow. Almost. I wish we could be outside, flying on our broomsticks; but I guess learning about Quidditch is cool too. 

There were apparently a bunch of versions of the game before it became Quidditch. Stichstock was a game where they used a dragon bladder for the game. No thank you! 

In “Aingingein”, they had to fly through barrels that were on fire. Then they had to throw the ball into the goal. This wouldn’t be too bad. 

Creaothceann was even more violent. Big boulders flew around, and you strapped a cauldron on your head! You had to fly around and catch as many boulders in your cauldron as you could. I can definitely see how players would get hurt… a lot. 

Shuntbumps was another game where you just had one flyer against another, and they had to knock the other player off their broom. Also potentially violent. .

I think of all the options, I’d rather play Aingingein. Flying through fire doesn’t scare me all that much, especially since we just learned about a potion that lets you walk through fire without getting burned. I’m sure I’d be fine! 

The Golden Snitch was first used during a game in Kent, in 1269. By now, lots of people were really getting interested in the game. Another sport was being played around then called “Snidget-hunting”. They bought one of the Snidget birds out of its cage and if anyone caught the bird, they’d get 150 galleons. The bird was fast and flew all over the place. No one cared about the game anymore and everyone focused on the Snidget. They kept the bird in the arena with the Repelling Charm. One witch felt sorry for the bird and used the Summoning Charm to rescue it. 

I have to admit, I kind of agree with the witch who saved the snidget. I hate using creatures in ways that trap or enslave them. I don’t think they should be used in sports at all, unless it’s something like a dog or horse show; something that highlights their skills, you know? 

To be honest the snitch is one part of Quidditch that I would change. It seems strange that one small part of the game can determine the entire result. It almost makes the other positions obselete, but that's just my opinion... It's still a fun game to play! 

Sources: 
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Quidditch

 

8: 8 - March Classes

Transfiguration: Spongify

There are four commonly-known branches of Transfiguration. One of these important branches is known as “Untransfiguration”. It is crucial to learn about this branch because if a spell is done incorrectly, one must change the object back to its original form. Therefore, the definition of this branch is that it is a counter-spell. It reserves the effects placed on an object by a Transfiguration spell. At Hogwarts, this branch was not made into a mandatory spell until the year 1926. One was considered to not be responsible if they didn’t fix a wrongful transfiguration with this branch. 

One of the main spells used in Untransfiguration is the spell “Reparifage”. If a Transfiguration spell was done partially, or with a mistake, this spell could return the object to its original form. 

The “Revelio” spell is another common charm that is used in this branch. It will untransfigure a human that has been transfigured. 

One of the most significant times that this branch was used was in 1994. Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black all met up in the Shrieking Shack. Remus and Sirius used Untransfiguration to turn Pettigrew from his rat form back to his human form. He had actually been acting as Ron Weasley’s pet rat for Ron’s whole life, and he was the one who gave Lord Voldemort information that led to the murder of Harry’s parents. Without the use of this Untransfiguration, Peter Pettigrew would have remained a rat and the secret traitor would never have been found out… 

Sources:
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Untransfiguration
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Encounter_at_the_Shrieking_Shack

 

Potions: Dragons!

Dragons are a very important creature in the wizarding world. There are many uses for most parts of the dragon, making it a valuable creature. Breeding dragons is illegal, so to acquire such resources from dragons is very difficult to do. 

Dragon’s blood has several uses in itself. There are at least twelve different uses that Albus Dumbledore learned about. One use is obviously as a potion ingredient, but it is also uself as a remover of spots and also to clean ovens! 

Dragon claws can be used as a stimulant for your brain, possibly to make you more cunning. Dragon dung is used as a very good fertilizer, and Dragon meat could be put on an injury to make it sting less. 

Dragon’s horn is an ingredient usually taken from Romanian Longhorns, and it is used in the Fire-Breathing Potion. Dragon liver is chopped up and can be used in a Healing Potion as well as Doxycide. Eggs that come from the Chinese Fireball Dragon were a type which had magical properties, and were used in many potions. 

The Chinese Fireball dragon has scarlet skin and yellow eyes. They are also known as “Liondragon”. They can grow up to twenty-five feet long and their fire is the shape of a mushroom when it comes out of its nostrils! 

Dragons are very useful, and very dangerous creatures. They deserve to be treated with a lot of respect. 

Sources:
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Dragon
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Dragon_horn
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Dragon_liver
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Chinese_Fireball

 

History of Magic: Educational Decrees

Max looked relieved to finally be having a group discussion. He didn’t mind essays, of course, but he would much rather learn things by talking about them with his friends. He sat at a desk beside Chris the Ravenclaw, Tessa the Hufflepuff, and Ashley the Gryffindor. 

“So since there are four of us,” Max began. “Why don’t we each talk about one decree and then each say how reasonable they are… then we can talk about Umbridge herself.” 

“Great idea,” Tessa nodded. “I’ll go first…” She opened her textbook and randomly picked a decree from the list. “Okay, this one… Number twenty-four. It says that any student organizations wouldn’t be allowed to meet… the Duelling Club, Slug Club, Society for the Protection of Elfish Warfare, the Gobstone Club… I mean, there’s even an Inquisitional Squad. Technically they couldn’t meet either! Kind of makes it totally unreasonable. They’d be breaking their own rule!” 

“I think Decree number twenty-five is kind of reasonable…” Ashley said thoughtfully. “It says that the High Inquisitor has ultimate authority over all punishments. It makes sense since the Headmaster position basically was replaced by the Inquisitor, and the Headmaster had that authority… They’re like the principal of a Muggle School,” she explained. “Teachers can punish, but their boss has final say and can choose to expel a student…” 

“That’s a good perspective,” Chris smiled at her in agreement. “Another reasonable one is number twenty-two. It basically says that the Ministry of Magic can hire professors if the headmaster doesn’t have someone to hire. It makes sense, since the Ministry is like the government of the wizarding body. I’d trust them to find a good professor if the headmaster couldn’t.” 

“Number twenty-six is kind of in between,” Max reflected. “It says professor can’t talk with students about anything except their subject. At the time, it makes sense. They were worried about a war breaking out from the dark wizards, and fuelling the belief that Voldemort was back. So I get that they didn’t want rumours to spread. But… I like being able to get to know our professors. And sometimes it helps to talk with them about stuff I’m dealing with.” 

“I still think Umbridge was terrible,” Tessa cringed. “I just can’t stop remembering when she punished Harry and he had to write that stuff… with that painful quill? By the end, his hand was so bloody he couldn’t move it without hurting.” 

“Yeah. It’s never okay to hurt someone else that much. My parents gave us spankings when we were bad,” Ashley said, “But that sounds awful!” 

“I think that’s a decree I would implement,” Max decided. “It would say that at no time should blood come from a student because of an act by a professor.” 

“Definitely,” Chris agreed. “There are better ways to punish a student.” 

“Great discussion today, everyone! I think we’re done!” Max beamed, proud of the work they’d done. 

Sources:
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Educational_Decree
https://www.hp-lexicon.org/list/schools/hogwarts/student-clubs-and-organizations/
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Educational_Decree_Number_Twenty-Five
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Educational_Decree_Number_Twenty-Two
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Educational_Decree_Number_Twenty-Six

 

Charms: Slow it Down! It May Break! 

Max was excited to learn a new spell. He had a feeling that it would come in handy to be able to slow down objects that were flying towards him. 

“Alright, who’s ready to do this?” Chris the Ravenclaw asked. The four friends were all there, standing next to each other, looking excited. 

“Can we do a game?” Max suggested. “Whoever bounces highest gets a wizarding card from each of the others. We all bounce at the same time then use the spell to slow the balls down and see who’s highest.” 

As usual, the group loved the idea of a competition. They were all used to Max’s ways by now, trying to include wizarding cards in everything! 

They held their bouncy balls and Tessa the Hufflepuff counted down from five. When the balls hung in the air, they performed the Slowing Charm to see who’s ball was the highest. 

Max watched as his ball bounced up in the air and then he held his wand out, pointing at the ball. He made the movement of an “M” and said the incantation: “Arresto Momentum”. A blue light shone from his wand and the ball slowed down significantly in the air as it started to come down towards the ground. Before it did descend, Max looked at the height of his friends’ balls in comparison to his. 

“I think yours is higher, Chris!” Tessa exclaimed, pointing to his ball. 

“I think you’re right,” Ashley agreed. 

“Three cards for Chris!” Max declared. Since the spell had been so easy to pronounce, it only took one attempt to successfully slow the ball down in the air. But then, something went wrong. 

“Wingardium Leviosa!” The words were shouted from the stands of the Quidditch Pitch, and all of a sudden there were at least ten bouncy balls flying towards Max in all directions! Max barely had time to react before he fell back on the hard turf of the pitch, covered in bouncy balls. 

Tessa, Chris and Ashley all ran over to help him back up, but by the time Max had blinked away the dizziness and the shock of what had happened, the stands of the pitch were empty. The group of four friends vowed to investigate who would do such a thing as they left the pitch. 

Sources:
My Imagination and NPCs. (Tessa, Chris, Ashley, mystery nemesis - who could it be?)
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Slowing_Charm#:~:text=The%20Slowing%20Charm%20(Arresto%20Momentum,School%20of%20Witchcraft%20and%20Wizardry.

 

DADA: Be Careful! 

The classroom buzzed with voices of students practicing the Severing Charm. It didn’t quiet down the sound of the rain against the windows, which provided a good soundtrack for how Max was feeling. He knew he should be practicing the spell, but all he could do was stare blankly at the piece of paper lying on top of his textbook. Another article had been posted in the underground newspaper called “Legion”, which his uncle and his friends ran out of Knockturn Alley somewhere. Uncle Josiah had clearly escaped, or been released from Azkaban. He’d written an article about it, but he hadn’t sent Max an owl or anything. 

“Max…?” Tessa nudged his shoulder. “What’s wrong? You’ve been completely distracted all class. Even before the professor interrupted, you haven’t touched your wand. You kept mumbling the spell incantation, but you were doing it wrong. Does it make more sense, now that the professor explained it more?” 

“Yeah,” Max nodded. “The pronunciation is hard but I think I’ve got it now.” He picked up his wand, pointing it at the newspaper on the desk. “Deef-IN-doe!”” he said, pronouncing the word “Deffindo”. He moved his wand like a “U”, and a light green beam came from the wand. The newspaper sliced from the top of the page to the bottom. He was so upset with his uncle that it only took him one time to get the spell to work. 

“Wow,” Tessa blinked at him. “What on earth was in that article?”

Max just turned his head, shoving the sliced article over to her. He focused on the textbook and said, “It looks like the Severing Charm has been used a lot in duels. It’s also been used to cut an Acromantula web in 1989, or some time around then, when it had Charlie Weasley pinned to the ground.” 

“Yeah?” Tessa leaned over to look at the book, ignoring the article for now. “Harry Potter used it in 1994 when he cut Cedric Digory’s backpack. It could be used in a duel to cut something nearby and distract them.” 

“Like a tree or something nearby… If your target is on a block of ice, you could cut the ice and make your opponent fall into the lake…” Max smirked a bit. When Tessa raised an eyebrow at him, he shrugged. “Harry did it in 1997 to cut the ice on the lake where he found the Sword of Gryffindor. Why couldn’t it work in a duel?” 

“Your brain scares me sometimes…” Tessa shook her head. “What does it say in the article?” 

Max nudged the article over to her and let Tessa read the article as she put the two halves of of the paper together. Tessa frowned and said, “He’s… writing articles again. With Legion… from somewhere… and he hasn’t contacted you or anything?” 

“Nothing at all,” Max tossed his wand on the desk in frustration. “I didn’t even know he wrote for the paper… or publication… or whatever it is. I don’t even know. Cause no one will tell me anything!” He ran a hand through his hair and leaned forward. “There has to be a reason why he’s staying away…” Max just wished he knew what was going on. At least he’d managed to complete the Severing Charm though, right? 

“Max…?” Tessa nudged his shoulder. “What’s wrong? You’ve been completel
 

Sources:
My Imagination/NPCs. (Tessa, Josiah)
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Severing_Charm

 

Herbology: Wolfsbane

Wolfsbane is a very popular plant, used in making potions. It is used in Wolfsbane Potion and Wideye Potion. Wolfsbane Potion is a liquid that can ease the symptoms of lycanthropy, when one is bitten by a werewolf. Wideye Potion is used to wake up the drinker and stop them from falling asleep. It also is an antidote to work against the Draught of Living Death. 

Wolfsbane has many names. It is also known as “Aconite” and “Monkshood”. Another name for the plant is “akamite”. The plant is found in wild places. Its stem is green, and its leaves are dark green. Its flowers are a purple colour. It is a very poisonous plant with toxic leaves. 

This is a very useful plant, but it is important to understand the dangerous around it as well. 
 

Sources:
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Aconite
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Wolfsbane_Potion
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Wideye_Potion

 

COMC: Little Lizards

Max looked around at the crates that had been set in a row, with fire-dwelling salamanders apparently. Max hoped the work with the little creatures would distract him from the storm raging inside him. Summer was coming quickly, and all Max could think about was getting into Knockturn Alley and looking for his Uncle Josiah. Before Dark Arts, he’d found out the man was writing articles again for Legion. Claiming that Max’s father, Josiah’s twin brother, had betrayed him, but that he (Josiah) would still guard Max in the ways he should go… The only problem was that no one was talking to him. He didn’t know how Josiah had gotten out of Azkaban, whether he’d escaped or whether he’d been released… he knew absolutely nothing. 

“They’re so cute!” Ashley, the Gryffindor, beamed excitedly. It almost made Max jump out of his skin. “Look Tessa, that one is looking right at you!” 

Tessa, the Hufflepuff, was just as excited, it seemed. She reached into the crate with gloved hands, picking up that particular salamander. The creature nuzzled right into her. “Oh, he’s so adorable… look at how friendly he is!” 

“Sure, until you make it mad and it bites you,” Chris the Ravenclaw joked. He picked out a salamander for himself and started feeding it some pepper. 

Max took one of the salamanders out and set it on the grass in front of himself. The salamander was pretty cute, he had to admit, and he was looking forward to feeding it. He had already studied a bit ahead of class and found the creatures fascinating. For some reason, he could identify with the concept of living in the fire...  The small salamander ate up the pepper happily and nuzzled into Max’s gloved hand. The creature was red scarlet in colour with black eyes. 

“Did you guys know that these guys actually get birthed right out of the fire?” Max told his friends. “If they have the fire still burning, they’ll stay alive.” 

“How are they still alive here then?” Ashley asked curiously. 

“Well, like the professor said,” Chris continued for Max. “This pepper will keep them alive for almost six hours, then they have to be put back into the flames.” 

“It’s so incredible,” Tessa declared. “They’re a Beast, given ‘XXX’ as a rating from the Ministry… but they’re so sweet and gentle here.” 

“Their blood is actually pretty useful,” Max told them. “It’s got curative ability… that means it’s got magical healing powers. That’s why it’s so useful. In really rare cases, this salamander is a form of a Patronus Charm! I really hope it’s mine!” 

Max finished feeding the salamander and pet it gently. If the creature could survive in the physical flames, maybe Max could get through the fire of confusion and fear brewing up inside of himself. Where in the world was Uncle Josiah? 
 

Sources:
My Imagination/NPCs. (Tessa, Chris, Ashley, Josiah)
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Fire_Dwelling_Salamander
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Healing_magi c

 

Flying: Quidditch - Positions & Equipment

Dear Diary, 

Today we got to play Quidditch! It was good practice since the Slytherins had a game coming up, and I had a feeling I would be called upon as a backup again. That was fine by me! I love playing the game whenever I can! 

First, I had to answer some questions. I chose one of the positions I usually ended up playing, and wrote a paragraph about it: 

“There are three Chasers on a Quidditch team. These players focus on getting the Quaffle through the three goal hoops at the end of the pitch. Every time the Chaser makes a goal, their team is given ten points. At the start of the game, the Chaser’s main job is to get the Quaffle in their hand before the other team.” 

We got to try different positions as we played some short scrimmages. I started by playing Chaser, because I was familiar with it, but then tried all the other positions throughout the class time… Even Seeker! 

I remembered as I played the feeling of wearing my team’s uniform. We had capes, jerseys, shins and arm guards, as well as gloves. Each of our teams had our house colours and logos. Our player numbers are on the front and back of the jersey so people know who we are. The names used to be on the uniforms too, but not anymore. 

Throughout class, we had a debate about which equipment was the most important part of the game. Everyone in our group (Tessa, Chris and Ashley) pretty much agreed that the Snitch is the most important piece of the game. It is, after all, the one thing that declares the end of the game, and the winners, when it’s caught. Games have gone on for weeks before a snitch has been spotted sometimes! 

To be honest, I really don’t care which position I play as long as I’m up there in the air, playing for my house! The position I really liked though was “Keeper”. I apparently had good balance and focus, and I was able to stop a lot of Quaffles from going into the hoops. 

Either way, the pitch is quickly becoming a place of safety for me. When I’m out on the Quidditch Pitch, it’s like nothing else matters… 

See you next month, Diary!
Max. 

Sources:
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Chaser
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Quidditch_uniform
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Quidditch

9: 9 - April Classes

Transfiguration: Untransfiguration

There are four commonly-known branches of Transfiguration. One of these important branches is known as “Untransfiguration”. It is crucial to learn about this branch because if a spell is done incorrectly, one must change the object back to its original form. Therefore, the definition of this branch is that it is a counter-spell. It reserves the effects placed on an object by a Transfiguration spell. At Hogwarts, this branch was not made into a mandatory spell until the year 1926. One was considered to not be responsible if they didn’t fix a wrongful transfiguration with this branch. 

One of the main spells used in Untransfiguration is the spell “Reparifage”. If a Transfiguration spell was done partially, or with a mistake, this spell could return the object to its original form. 

The “Revelio” spell is another common charm that is used in this branch. It will untransfigure a human that has been transfigured. 

One of the most significant times that this branch was used was in 1994. Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black all met up in the Shrieking Shack. Remus and Sirius used Untransfiguration to turn Pettigrew from his rat form back to his human form. He had actually been acting as Ron Weasley’s pet rat for Ron’s whole life, and he was the one who gave Lord Voldemort information that led to the murder of Harry’s parents. Without the use of this Untransfiguration, Peter Pettigrew would have never been changed back into a human, and Sirius Black would remain to be wrongly accused. 

Therefore, using this spell is extremely important, and valuable to learn. 

Sources:
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Untransfiguration
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Encounter_at_the_Shrieking_Shack

 

Potions: A Helpful Little Ingredient

Bezoars are a very common antidote to almost all poisons. The victim simply has to swallow the bezoar as a whole, without chopping it up, and they will be cured from many poisons. The bezoar can be found in a goat’s stomach, and it looks a lot like a brown stone. The only poison that the bezoar cannot work against as an antidote is Basilisk venom. 

Bezoar is made up of plant fibres, hair, or something else that an animal might swallow. All of this jumbled together makes up a ball of stone that is very hard. The main potion that Bezoar is used in is the Antidote to Common Poisons. 

One significant time a Bezoar was used was in 1997 when Ron Weasley was given some mead that had been poisoned. It had been planned for Albus Dumbledore in an attempt to kill him. Harry remembered the lesson in Potions class and found some bezoar. He pushed it into Ron’s mouth and made him swallow it. The bezoar saved his life! 

This is a very good idea, therefore, to always have some bezoar nearby! 
 

Sources:
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Bezoar

 

History of Magic: The Battle of Hogwarts

Dearest Son, 

You recently sent me a letter with your owl asking what my part was in the Battle of Hogwarts. I know you have a lot of questions right now regarding my relationship with my twin brother, Josiah. I hope that by answering these questions for your assignment, I can help you understand why, eleven years later, I, your father, had to arrest your uncle on the day of your birthday. Please also understand, for the official record, that I have absolutely no idea where your uncle is right now, but I can’t assure you that he is not in Azkaban, where he belongs. 

Anyway, we must begin with the battle. Your mother and I had just graduated from Hogwarts. I had begun my training as an Auror, and your mother was starting her job as a healer at St. Mungo’s. We were nineteen when the battle happened, and we were very much in love. We had plans to get married the next year; which did happen, by the way. Your uncle, at the time, had long since stopped contact with us. Nice, huh? 

Anyway, more on that later. What you need to know is that as a new Auror still learning the job, I was one of the defender while your mother treated the injured at the St. Mungo’s. We didn’t have much contact with each other and I just had to keep hoping that she was still alive. 

As a defender, I was in charge of defending the entrance to this Muggle World through the wall behind the Leaky Cauldron. The last thing the Minister of Magic wanted was for the battle to extend past the wizarding world. This meant that we had to keep wizards from escaping through the walls towards London, but we also had to block the way so that no one could enter the Leaky Cauldron and get involved. We weren’t exactly in the direct line of fire of the battle, but we did have our hands full. Many hexes and patronuses were done to defend the Muggle entrance from the presence of the death eaters.

We had a team of six of us guarding that way and providing a defense of the Leaky Cauldron. I was so thankful that I hadn’t been left alone to fight. Especially when your uncle came into the bar… 

This part of the story is difficult for me to tell you, and obviously I was not happy with what ended up happening. Your uncle, it turned out, had been using the Leaky Cauldron to meet with known death eaters. Apparently, he’d been doing this for years, but that day I caught him meeting with a vampire. Clearly an enemy to our side, the vampire’s name was Melchior… 

Son, I don’t know what that conversation was about. To this day I have absolutely no idea why Josiah was meeting with a vampire, or death eaters for that matter. That fact I found out from my coworkers that day. He had thought I’d known Max. Josiah and Melchior fought their way back out into the streets, together, and I never saw my brother the same way again. He’d barely acknowledged he knew me, Max. Can you understand how that felt? My own twin brother preferred to fight with the darkness instead of with me! 

I barely even noticed when we had won the battle. I hardly cared that death eaters had been forced out and Voldemort had died. My own brother had betrayed me. 

This is a lot to take in, I realize. I also realize that you had a special closeness with Josiah. All I can do now is beg of you, for the love of Dumbledore, please stay away. Don’t get sucked into the darkness like he was, Max. If I could have shielded you from this truth for the rest of your life, I would have. But I know that you have been struggling with this. 

We’ll talk about Josiah’s arrest another time. Just please know that I love you… Write me back, son. Please. 

Your father,
Richard. 

PS,
Your sister Brianne knows all of this already. Talk to each other… she may help you understand things better. 

Sources:
Imagination/NPCs. (Josiah, Melchior - met in year one in Dark Arts class)
(Perspective of NPC Richard Paige, Max’s father) 
 

Charms: Where Can We Hide? 

Max walked into the Charms class, waving away the smoke in front of his face. The effort was fruitless, though, because more fog and smoke appeared in front of him. “Okay, what’s the deal?” he asked, trying really hard to shake off the mood he’d been in since he’d received his father’s letter… 

“It’s the Smokescreen Spell,” Chris told him with a smirk. “Never seen a room full of smoke before?” 

“Not that I can remember,” Max shook his head. “It’s definitely… ouch!” He stopped in his tracks as he bumped into a desk. 

“You alright, Max?” Tessa put a hand on his arm to steady him. 

“Oh yeah, perfect,” Max rubbed at his knee that had hit the desk. That was gonna bruise later. 

They listened to the lesson and then it was time to attempt the spell. Max tried his best to focus on the class, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the letter. Max already knew that Josiah was friends with all types of wizards, even some he’d met before, but to deny his brother by not helping him in the Battle at Hogwarts… 

“Max!” Ashley kicked his leg under the desk. “It’s your turn.” 

Max winced and went forward. He bet the Professor had called his names a few times. “Sorry sir,” he muttered to the man. 

Holding his wand out, he made the wand move in a circle and said the incantation, “Fumos!” He pronounced it “FYOO-moss”, and it only took him four tries before a grey light shone from his wand and then a cloud of smoke appeared. 

He exhaled as the cloud of smoke appeared around him. As it dissipated, he went to sit back at his desk. Other students went up to perform the spell and Max pulled out the rest of the questions. 

“This spell is pretty useful,” Max admitted. “I can see someone hiding themself in the smoke to hide from an enemy in a duel.” 

“Yes, for sure,” Ashley agreed. “It makes it easy for you to escape.” 

“Plus it would make it really hard for the other person to aim properly at you,” Chris put in from the desk behind them. 

Max started to relax as they talked about the spell. Nothing had gone wrong with casting the spell, but he knew his knee still stung from hitting the desk at the start of class. The only thing he needed help with was walking out of the classroom. He limped a little as he held onto Tessa’s arm. 

As they left class, Max said, “We forgot about Fumos Duo!” 

“Oh yeah!” Tessa exclaimed. “It’s got a dark red light and you swish up then down with your wand.” 

“Right, and it makes a bunch of different smokescreens, not just one of them,” Ashley remembered. 

“Definitely a useful spell! We’ll have to practice that one a lot later,” Max suggested, and his friends all thought this was a great idea. 

Sources:
Imagination/NPCs. (Tessa, Chris, Ashley, Josiah)
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Smokescreen_Spell
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Fumos_Duo

 

DADA: Aouu! 

A werewolf, or a lycanthrope, is a human who becomes a dangerous wolf when it’s a full moon. Werewolves look like normal wolves, but there are some differences between the two creatures. Werewolves transform from human to wolf, but they have no control over how they act in their wolf-form. When they go back to human form, they’ll still remember what happened in their wolf form. 

There are many distinctions between wolves and werewolves. They have a shorter snout, their eyes look more like a human. Their tail is tufted, and they hunt humans with great enthusiasm. In their human form, they look normal but they do age sooner than other humans and as the full moon comes they get more pallor. The main difference is how they act. Real wolves aren’t as aggressive and won’t go after humans unless threatened. Werewolves focus on humans more than anything else they come across. 

There are a lot of negative perspectives when it comes to werewolves. Understandably, they are a creature that is feared and people stay away from them even in human form. People think they are still dangerous then. It is difficult for them to find work. The biggest thing that affected this was the legislation that Delores Umbridge passed against werewolves. Because of this, it meant werewolves lived in very poor conditions. 

When someone is bit by a werewolf, and their blood and saliva mix together, and they will become a werewolf. That is if they don’t die because of the attack itself. 

If humans are bitten by a werewolf, the injury can be healed with mixing dittany and powdered silver. The complete cure of lycanthropy doesn’t exist. The Wolfsbane Potion can be drunk and the werewolf can still keep their human mind. This way they know they won’t hurt themselves or other humans. 

The Homorphus Charm was said to change a werewolf back to their original human form, but of course that has not been proven to be true yet. 

One very famous werewolf was Remus Lupin, but there were also a few other werewolves other than him. Fenrir Greyback was known as the most dangerous werewolves in history. He had a lot of friends among the Death Eaters and he was arrested after the Second Wizarding war was finished. 

Werewolves can be very dangerous and violent, but it is important to still respect them in their human form. 
 

Sources:
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Werewolf
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Homorphus_Charm

Herbology: Do You Have a Favourite Plant? 

Dear Diary, 

Today in class we had to talk about our favourite plant that we’d learned about so far over the past two years. It really wasn’t hard for me to pick my favourite plant. I sat down with Tessa and we both decided one of the most useful plants, and one we both liked the best, was Dittany. 

We remembered that Dittany had dark green leaves and a dark green stem. The petals on it were round in shape, and there weren’t any flowers on it. 

Then we wrote down the many uses of Dittany. I said that it has a lot of healing properties, and my mom used it a lot at St. Mungo’s where she works. We have a whole row of Dittany in our greenhouse. I said that it was also a wand core too. 

Tessa reminded me that it was also used in the Wiggenweld Potion, and it can also save someone after they’d been bitten by a werewolf. It was also known as the Burning Bush, because of the vapours that shoot from the plant and burn things. It also cures Doxy bites! 

We were very glad that we had some with us at all times! 

See you next time, Diary.
Max. 
 

Sources:
Lesson information from Year One.
My imagination/NPCs (Mom and Tessa) 

 

COMC: Little Thieves

Day One: 

Dear Diary, 

This is going to be the best three days ever! I get to babysit a Niffler! They’ve always been my favourite creature, and I have always wanted one as a pet. Now, I’ll get to see if I can handle it. I decided to name my Niffler “Dodger”, since he kept dodging around everywhere! 

He was well-behaved for the most part… at least when I was in class. Since everyone was babysitting them, the professors all had crates for them to be in during class. Between classes, he came with me to the Great Hall where he ate all the small veggies and meat that I left for him. He wasn’t too picky when it came to his diet! 

At first, it seemed like all Dodger wanted to do was cuddle against me! He even slept in my bed with me like a puppy! I thought to myself that this was going to be an easy three days! 

See you tomorrow,
Max. 

 

Day Two, 

Remember when I said this was going to be easy? Yeah, I was wrong! Oh, Dodger is still cute and cuddly and everything… but now that he knows me, he’s going nuts! 

Seriously… we were in Muggle Studies and there were a bunch of different types of watches and clocks on the front table, right? Well… you know those cages the nifflers hung out in during class…? Dodger managed to break out! 

All of a sudden, all the Nifflers rushed the teacher’s desk! It didn’t take long before the entire desk was empty! Even the clocks had disappeared. I have absolutely no idea where they went! Those pockets the nifflers have on the front of their body aren’t that big! 

As we were studying in the courtyard, I learned that those pockets could actually hold way more than they should have! 

It was a super exhausting day. I still love the cuddly little guy, though! 

See you, diary.
Max. 

 

Day Three: 

Dear Diary, 

I’m not crying, really. It was easy to give Dodger back to the professor, really… Okay, okay… I miss Dodger already! 

After the incident in class yesterday, I kept him close to me today. Of course, that made him even more cuddly, which made it even  harder to give up! 

When I become an Auror, I’m going to have a niffler. They are so good at finding treasures. If I have a case with hidden jewels or something, they’ll be found in no time! They can even burrow in tunnels underground, since that’s where they like to be. I bet they would be good at sending messages too! Of course, there’s always the risk that they’ll turn violent, but I bet Dodger will be really helpful in the wizarding world! 

Darn it, I miss him so much, Diary!

See you later.
Max. 
 

Sources:
Imagination and NPC. (Dodger the Niffler)

https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Niffler#

10: 10 - Diagon Alley in the Summer

RPG Topic with Delicia Clair

The summer had come and gone and Max was now back at Diagon Alley, looking for... school supplies. He wasn't really in a good headspace though. He had found a bunch of copies of "Legion", and he wasn't really thrilled with what he was reading. He was wandering down the cobblestone street of DA just... aimless. His sister Brianne was already off with Wesley Elliot, no surprise there. Tessa, Ben and Chris were nowhere to be found yet. But Max kept looking towards the entrance to Knockturn Alley, wondering. He leaned back against one of the store walls across from the sign, with the arrow that pointed that way. 

During the summer, he had been contacted by Michael, Trent and Ash Cross. They wanted him to work for them as an "apprentice". To train him to write for the paper. They knew of his work with his personal trading club stories, but now they wanted him to write real things. Dark things. Max had to admit, he was oddly intrigued. But doing so would change everything. It would admit that his path was going to follow his uncle's, not his father's, who was an Auror. Or could he walk a fine line like Draco Malfoy and Snape had? Could he be a double agent, working for both sides and doing good for all? It reminded him of his favourite book character, Harry Dresden. Of course, it didn't always end well for him... but... 

Max just exhaled, looking at the sign. To go or not to go, that was the question... 

*** 

Delicia had just arrived at DA, all the young students from hogwarts, was there to collect they're new supplies for the following new year, on the school, she remembered when she was that young, she always loved to go, to DA, and see all the new books, all the ned supplies, she always needed for a new term, for school. She walked across some shops, and many many people, parents, students, and even some other peoples, that she didn't knew. 

She came across, a boy standing in front of a door, she gussed that he would be around 13 years old, and he was really looking at the door in front of him, Delicia looked at him, but her attention where somewhere else. Soon, there was a voice calling her name. ''Delicia! - Redhead girl'', she always knew that pronunce, and who it was coming from, her brother.. That always was wandering around in DA, and helped the new students, and also just some random people, with the things they should buy.

''Brother..'' she called, and got over to him and hugged him, they haven't spoked in years, because of Delicia's travels to other countries, to experience, new folklore, and other things, her past adventure, was to scandanavien, expactaly, Denmark. The wizarding families there, would attend Durmstrang, she heard, from an old friend from school, so she wanted to visit the scandanavien so much, and when she gratuated she did.

And in the past, her parents had died, and was the reason she was back, back in the wizardring world, here.. She was, i guess, not so happy to be back, because she actually, left because of her parents, and the strict rules they had, even when they're were locked up in Azkaban, but for some months, they had been dead. 

''Del?'' her brother looked at her, and then on the boy who still was staring at the door, ''What is he doing?'' he pointed to the boy, and Delicia looked for a little bit, but shaked her head, and told her brother to not bother, and he nod. 

''Should we get something to eat? Maybe ice cream?'' she asked her brother, and he nodded, and they started to walk.

*** 

Max saw a witch and a wizard approaching. He didn’t recognize either of them… at first… but then, there was something familiar about the two. And there was the name the guy had called her… Delicia? He had heard that name before. Somewhere… He wasn’t sure where, but he also wasn’t one to turn down a mystery. After all, he was the son of an auror… and the nephew of an… investigative reporter, apparently. The Sherlockian brain was already embedded in him. 

Pushing himself off the wall, he followed the two at a distance. If they asked, he could of course say that he just wanted some ice cream, like them, but what he really wanted was to know the truth. Where had he… heard that name before? It wasn’t one that you generally forgot, considering it wasn’t that common. 

*** 

Delicia and her brother walked across the cobblestone street and over to where they selled ice cream, Delicia knew the boy from the store, where he was starring at the door, had followed them, she had a good hearing and a good eye, and she had seen him when she turned around, for looking, if there was people, they would run into, if they crossed the street. Even when the boy, was following them, like they shouldn't see him, this was not the case, she did see him, but was not fond of telling her brother or the mystyries little boy, that she had seen him following them.

''Do you miss dad, or even mom?'' her brother looked at him, when they had gotten the ice cream, and started to eating it. Delicia looked over at him, and shaked her head. ''Not even a little.. The strict rules, they had? Even when they were locked up in Azkaban, like come on Maxos..'' her brother got irritated, because he missed them, but he was also more like them.. Delicia, was not even close to be like her dad or mom, but at least, a little more like her brother she was. ''Maxos and Delicia'' they said in coir, the names they gotten from they're parents was not.. common names for people in this country.. 

*** 

Max listened to the two, talking about their parents. He perked then, hearing that they were locked up in Azkaban, like his uncle. That fit… He then tilted his eyebrows at the name “Maxos”. So similar to his own name that he tilted his head a little. He couldn’t let this go. He studied the two of them closely, trying to remember where he’d seen her before, the woman, and heard those names… and then it hit him. 

Walking into the ice cream store, he heard the bell chime above the entrance and winced, knowing that meant he would be seen. But that was really the goal, so he strolled in confidently, though his legs were shaking a little. “Ex...Excuse me but… Did you say your name was… Delicia?” he asked, a little nervous. If they got nervous or took out their wands… He’d only just finished his second year at Hogwarts, and well, he was pretty sure he was still underage. 

*** 

Delicia was looking at the same guy, that had starring at the door a few streets down, the little boy from she could tell, a student at Hogwarts, he was asking her, about her name, at first she was a little confused, about, how did he know her name, and second, why did he ask about it. ''Yes? Yes my name is Delicia, and this is Maxos..'' she pointed with her head over to her brother who looked at her and then on the boy. ''Why are you following us?'' asked Maxos, and was a little irritated about it, because why would anyone follow them across almost all DA. 

''Who are you? And.. second like my brother asked, why have you been following us?'' she asked again, and tried to smile at the boy, but was a little nervous because, she wasn't sure about if she wanted to know the reason, why he was following them.

*** 

Max blushed a bit, seeing the woman look at him. “Hi… I mean… uh… hello. My name is Max too. Maxwell Paige. My father is Richard Paige, and he’s an auror… and well my uncle Josiah, you might remember his name from the papers…” He figured he would just lay it right out there… He looked between the two of them and shifted his weight on his feet a bit. “I uh… this is gonna sound really strange and all but you guys are here, so that means you’re well, wizards right? So uh... “ He cleared his throat, clearly nervous as heck. “I met these ghosts at Hogwarts… And well they said who they were and that their kids went to Hogwarts too.. And their son was named Max too, Maxos… That’s why I kinda kept talking to them… but uh… they said that well… they knew my uncle,” he said and looked down. 

*** 

Delicia looked at the boy, she didn't regonize the name Josiah, as he told her uncle was Josiah, but the both of them remembered Richard.. ''Richard Paige?.. you say?'' Maxos looked at the boy and so on his sister. ''We know your father very well..'' said Maxos irritated, ''Maxos, is not his fault..'' Delicia snap at him, ''Let me get this straight, for you.. Boy, oh wait no, Max?'' Delicia smiled in a nervous way. ''Your father, locked our parents in Azkaban, when they were captured..For things they shouldn't have done..'' Delicia looked on the boy. ''Wait, did you say Josiah was your uncle?''

Delicia was very shocked about that name, because she had been grown up with a man, names Josiah, because it was her fathers best friend back then. ''Josiah paige?'' She looked with big eyes on the boy, and tilted her head to think about the name. ''And you're Max, almost like Maxos..'' she laughed and pushed to her brothers arm.

*** 

Max winced a little, a the girl talked about how his father had falsely arrested their parents. He wasn’t surprised by this… his father did that to wizards all the time… but then she said she knew his uncle and…. Max nodded to her. “Yeah… Yeah, that’s my uncle. He was arrested on my eleventh birthday but… last year he started to resurface again. He’s a part of this underground newspaper called “Legion”. Reporters who write the truth about the dark wizarding world that no one else wants to write about. They… they want me to join them this year and.... Write about things going on at Hogwarts but… I don’t know…” he shifted on his feet again and leaned back against the nearest counter, looking between them. “What do you guys think?” 

*** 

Delicia and Maxos looked at the little boy and then on eachother, did he just say legion, Delicia's mind was everywhere, because she remembered, her father talked about the news paper, and few months after they where locked up in azkaban again. ''Max, right? I don't think you should do it.. It's a bad place'' they both nodded to him, even when they was snakes, they would not go and write for legion, not even now, when they where grown. 

''You should, consetrate about your school Paige..'' Maxos said, with a brumming voice, a little irritated, but still, smiled, almost smirked at the boy. Delicia punched him on the shoulder. ''Be sweet to him, Maxos..It's not his fault.'' Then she smiled at him, and got over to Max and led a hand on his shoulder. ''It your choise Max. but i don't think you should do it, its not worth it.''

*** 

Max listened to them, seeing how they recognized “Legion” and knew exactly what it was. He sighed as he leaned back against the counter. “But... “ He saw the smirk from Maxos and tilted his head curiously. But then he felt the girl’s hand on his shoulder and asked, “Why? Why is it so bad? I mean… I still don’t know what my uncle did to end up in Azkaban. I know he met with all sorts of dark creatures and wizards but… That just means he’s tolerant of everyone, right? And the articles I’m reading from the papers that keep showing up on my windowsill… for whatever reason…” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m just so confused. He hasn’t even… contacted me. Even though he’s out of Azkaban and back with them. We heard from my best friend’s dad, Michael Elliot… He said they’d relocated to somewhere safe to write from, and they were keeping Josiah safe too but… Why can’t he just write to me?” He was on the verge of breaking down from grief of his friendship with his uncle, but he just tried to stand his ground. 

*** 

''Maybe, he don't want to write to you?'' she smiled to him, and shaked her head. ''Can we help you with something?'' she asked and smiled to him, with a face of happiness, maybe she could actually do, something for this boy, or could she? She was just a little girl. ''Hey! maybe you should think it through..''

*** 

Max winced a little, hearing her words. Was that it... ? Did Josiah just… not want to write to him? He didn’t like the idea of that at all. “I… I don’t really know, to be honest. I guess I… I just thought I wanted to tell you that I talked with our parents and… They said to tell you that um… Well, if you wanted to help me out and tell me about my father… or my uncle... “ He shifted his weight and looked down. Or Legion… well… I guess it would help. Otherwise I guess I… bugged you for nothing,” he shrugged, feeling a little lost. These two weren’t being as… friendly as he thought they might be. With that, he walked on down the street.