Draco C. Malfoy

Okay, that's it. Call a meeting, make a circle, do a chant, kiss a goblin. I don't care what it involves, I want out of this organisation. Make me an auxiliary member. I'll pass along what I feel like sharing via Mr Snape and Harry.

I am entirely serious.

I want the fuck out right now. Not tomorrow, not in a week. NOW.

Look - I've been thinking about it and I don't even know how you jumped to the conclusions you jumped to, the other day.

It's important for me to know what happened to make you believe I had feelings for Hermione. So if you can specify that for me, I'd appreciate it.

Also, I know how tight you are with Pansy and Weasley, and always have been, since the beginning of this lock. I would also appreciate you not sharing your speculations with them, however tempting it might be.

All right, I stayed up late to finish looking over Bum's parchments and nodded off before I could get through them all. Woke up early to get through the rest.

We snatched a whole stack of them, and since they were right on top, most seem to be recent. I think the very top stack are things she meant to send to someone soon, and the stuff on the bottom are things she just recently received in the owl post. Some are letters, and others are detailed notes about the school that she drew up, presumably to be sent off to someone else. Though who knows, I suppose it could be for her own records. We pulled from two parchment piles but had to hide before really processing how they were organised.

A few of the letters are to people she considers chums, and are written in that sick, simpering way of hers. Short and not very interesting; talk of the weather and "how is your dear Father's spattergroit?" Addressed to people with names like Aggie and Rina. In addition to those there's a lot of other rubbish. A tonne of order receipts for rosewater sweets and "ladies pink foundation garment, size 'well fluffed'." Those should be enormously useful, emphasis on enormous.

Now, I did find a few letters from Strangeweale, the Councilmember. They're all more or less requests for "progress reports" on something or another. Some seem to laud her for her "assistance in the matter," and others seem a little pushier, with him saying things like "refocus your efforts," and reminding her to keep "their mutual goals" in mind. Most curious of all, there's one that seems to be all about OWL exams, which contains this bit: "Related to our conversation about charms related to exam performance, here's a list of 5 that would make it impossible for someone to write a coherent theoretical exam."

So, it seems that Bum wanted to see certain of the student body fail OWLs. Colour me shocked. Oh, she also has a letter of complaint to some shopkeeper about how "these blood quills aren't proving a successful deterrent for wayward students. Please do send me a more severe prototype at your earliest convenience." Are we really sure we don't want to drop the plate?

But anyway, Strangeweale's letters are otherwise short and banal. Possibly encoded in case of interception (though it'd have to be a fairly uncomplicated code, for her to suss out). It seems he didn't really want to chat with her about how the weather's been in New London, or whether or not her well-fluffed foundation garments itch or not. Fancy that.

And as I said before, she was keeping notes, and some of them are on expendable people - halfbloods, in this case (though neither the word expendable nor halfblood appear in the notes). On the list we've got, there's Hopkins, Stebbins, Capper, Fawcett, Li, Bundy, Corner, Jones, Perks, Summers, Brocklehurst, Midgen, Stein, Zimmerman, Finch-Fletchley and Lovegood. On a separate parchment, she'd put together notes on each person from the list. She mentions how Hopkins, Stebbins, and Summers all come from negligent foster families who barely write, don't keep their fosterlings well-clothed, and so forth. She notes how Capper's exam anxiety could be used against him for expulsion. She also mentions the families of Midgen and Corner and how they do care for their charges since both live with actual blood relatives; she adds, though, that their families aren't "the least bit well-connected." Last on that page she mentions Luna Lovegood, who she notes is "actually a pureblood and may, for that reason, be even better suited." So, good news, Lovegood. Someone still thinks you're a pureblood.

Then, on the second page of the list, she has details about the rest. Sally Anne, she says you've become too well-connected, but she also points out that the Strettons don't like you one bit. For Megan Jones, Bum remarks that she's become "so very useful," and says that she hopes she can be allowed "this one little indulgence." And then there's an extra long bit about you, Finch-Fletchley. About how you'd be such a fascinating subject, given your background and parentage; unfortunately, she also seems to think that you're too high risk, and that if anything happened to you there'd be inquiries.

My own conclusion is that the lists of expendable people are connected to whatever Strangeweale is working on and was writing to Bumbridge about. Still, there's not really solid evidence connecting the two together. And we still don't know what, exactly, he was doing. Is doing.

I was chasing Fawcett, almost had her cornered by the storage for Creatures, but then she punched me like some animal and made a mad dash for the Forbidden Forest. Just as I was about to Cruciate her, three or four centaurs galloped out of the trees and dragged her away, over the hill and then back into the forest.

Hopefully they'll eat her.

Today was something, wasn't it? I mean, it was all a bit mad. It was really... just.

I just really have a lot of things to say about what went on today. And I'm so knackered, but I know there's absolutely no way I'll be able to sleep. There's so much I've got to do. And it's all just so, so...

Does anyone know what I mean? Even a little?

I really ought to stop writing. But I can't. I really can't do that right now. I've really got to try to keep on.

Bloody nightshade, what a day.

May I see you tonight, or do you have some oddball tea party that requires moustaches? Because we don't have duelling club, you know. And my homework can wait.

Because I really would like to see you.

Do you remember when it was that you first started to realise that your Mother was imperfect? I think you must have been young. I remember when we were just firsties, you would write about how Rosa was a drunk. I was so scandalised at the time - though that was back when I was very easily scandalised, mind. Looking back now, though, I think you must have matured a great deal earlier than I did (though I suppose it wasn't precisely mature to write about your Mother's drinking in the journals where everyone could see).

Father and I are having a row. It's somewhat about you, but he doesn't even realise it. Really been paying attention, hasn't he? Not that I particularly want him to start doing so...because when he does, he insists on controlling everything and having a say in every little thing I do. And if he doesn't like what I'm doing or saying, he has this way of just diminishing it. It's as if I can feel him laughing at me through the ink...

I mean, I suppose I'm glad I don't have Harry's Father, instead.

There's that, at least.

Sure loves to hear himself talk, that one. All that rot about teachers not noticing and taking action when it came to Finch-Fletchley, when really, if Finch-Fletchley had been taught any sort of decent lessons in dark arts or practical dueling, he would have been able to defend himself properly. But that one can't seem to fathom that when some bastard is coming at you with a deadly hex, your first thought probably isn't going to be about the "cultural structures" or "coercive powers" that made the bastard that way, but how to get him out of your face, and quickly. Sorry, but I'll hex first, think about the rest later.

And that bit about "inventing justification for deeds to the point of absurdity?" I don't know, but it reminded me of when we were five or six, Harry. Remember, they were still restoring Buckingham and parts of it were closed off to everyone, even you. And it was the first time my Father ever Cruciated me.

Granger, you weren't there then, so I'll explain. I'm talking about those semi-state rooms in the lower levels - I'm pretty sure that they're so heavily warded now that no one but Harry's Father can get into them, but back then they still didn't have everything set up, so all we knew was that if we wandered into that area, we'd get into terrible trouble.

So of course, that's exactly what we did. Harry wanted to explore and I was perfectly happy to go along with that sort of thing, back then. We ended up playing green ghost in some kind of trophy room, and I was wearing the blanket and Harry was hiding somewhere. I was bumbling around, blind as anything, and I tripped into a display case. A glass goblet fell over inside and smashed to pieces. It must have set off some kind of alarm spell, because we were trying to put the goblet back together when Yaxley caught us. Bloody nightshade, he scared me down to my toes back then. Still does, if I'm honest.

He marched us both off to the Lord Protector's chambers and both of our Fathers were clearly annoyed at being interrupted. There was a lot of questioning and hard words like "How could you be so disobedient?" Between that and Yaxley's dark expression, it was all terrible enough. But then, when the Lord Protector said that I needed to be punished for both of us, my Father almost seemed...well, I didn't know what to call it then, but I think "shocked" is what I'd call it now. Just that by the expression on his face I didn't expect him to do what he ended up doing. I thought he might pick me up and take me out of there - I even remember being sad, Harry, thinking I might not be able to play with you again for a long time.

But he didn't pick me up and take me out of there. Instead he sat me in the middle of the room and he Cruciated me.

I don't have to tell you how horrible it was. Well, not you at least, Granger. But the pain and the shakes and the tremors, none of it compared to how awful it felt to know that my own Father had just done that to me. And a few nights later I was crying to Mother about just that, and she said that Father had done it because he wanted to spare me what the Lord Protector would do to me if he hadn't.

I didn't believe it for a long time. But I believe it now. And my Father wasn't just inventing justification... there was, in fact, someone else who would have enjoyed it more, would have been more cruel, more vicious, and would have felt less remorse. No remorse, actually.

I don't know. I don't know what to say about "breaking the cycle" (and neither does that one, apparently - never gives a set of instructions, does he?). But it's pointless to sit and ponder change and the future when there are more important things bearing down now. There is no way out of anything when you're a kid.

So, what are you going to do when my Father expects you to cruciate Granger at the second task, Harry? Are you going to be able to do it?

Seems odd that so much of his post is relevant to that very question.

I was surprised to read the Head Girl's announcement about bullying, as I haven't noticed any behaviour that's more out of line from what we usually see at Hogwarts. But apparently others have noticed, which is unfortunate, given that we currently have guests whose impression of Hogwarts matters a great deal to some of us. Now that such a bright glaring light has been shined on the matter, we can only hope that it will soon die down.

If there are any first-year or visiting students who want to test out their spellcasting skills in an approved environment, they ought to consider attending duelling club on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month. Also, the NEWT students have duelling club on the first and third Tuesday, and they don't usually mind having an audience. Some of them have developed some dead impressive wand-work, too, which means it can be quite a show some nights.

So yeah, haven't seen this so-called bullying, but I have seen what Krum's been enduring. Last night I was on my way show him and some of the other Durmstrang students our quidditch trophies, when Marjoram Montague and Effie Stevens literally leapt out of the Armour Gallery while waving Bulgarian pennants and shouting the Bulgarian fight song. They had also charmed their hair to be white blond for some reason...to look like Veela? That's all I can figure, though they were just a bit far off on the resemblance.

It was possibly the most hideous spectacle I have ever witnessed. We all had our wands out in an instant - that's just what you do when someone jumps out from behind a suit of armour - and their faces went utterly white. And then when they saw Krum's expression - well, they figured out right quick that not a single one of us was amused. Stevens burst into tears and went wailing in the other direction, and Montague muttered an apology before scurrying off the same way. And then I had to apologise to Krum for their antics.

If people would stop being idiots being so ridiculous in the first place, we'd all be better off. Hopefully there won't be any incidents like that this weekend.

And speaking of - Harry and I will probably help with the set up after supper. Anyone else from CCF interesting in joining?

Since people have asked me about my interpretation of the events multiple times, I'm going to put this here and hope that it puts the matter to rest.

I don't know what, exactly, Crabbe, Goyle and Bulstrode were doing during the demonstration, only that they were arguing with each other about something. I know it was them because I remember looking over at them specifically, which is why I didn't see the hippogriff rearing back.

I didn't see Ron Weasley get in front of me (like I said, I was looking at my housemates). The only thing I registered next was a lot of screaming and flailing. Well, it might've been only one person screaming, but it's hard to say as it was right in my ear. And then Weasley was laying there all bloody and Professor Brutka was calming the creature and taking it away.

Whether by accident or with intent, the sudden appearance of Weasley's body in front of mine does seem to have prevented injury to my own person. I know that my Father and Mother are grateful for its sudden appearance, as am I.

I have no comment on the question of whether or not Weasley is, in the after math, trying to get more attention than is his due. I'm not sure it really matters, since the attention he is garnering isn't of the most positive nature. With that said, I think it time we all move on to other matters.

That was a learning experience, I suppose.