So busy!

[alt_hannah]

I swear that my assignment notebook has a hex on it or something. Every time I look in it, the assignments seem to have doubled. I have so much to do before the holidays! Part of the problem is that I got so stuck in my last two or three projects in Arithmancy. I'm sure Professor Vector must have thought I was such a dunce and wondered what I was doing in her class! But after I did so badly on the last quiz, I went to see her to go over where I got my answers wrong. I think I understand polynumeral equations a little better. Thank goodness. I finally finished my potion essay, too. I made the mistake of changing my mind about which topic to write about. At first I was going to do it on alkaline fixatives, but all the books I wanted to use as resources were checked out of the library, and so I ended up tearing up my parchment in frustration and scribbling something in a hurry about the properties of foxglove. I hope Professor Slughorn can read my handwriting.

It's hard to concentrate because everyone's getting rather excited about Christmas. Aren't the decorations beautiful this year? Every time I see the spruce and holly boughs go up on the staircases and the Christmas trees start to go up in the Great Hall, I start to get a little homesick.

The YPL meeting was quite interesting today, wasn't it? And a little creepy, frankly. I learned more about dementors than I expected. Ugh, I know the Ministry of Magic finds them useful, but I hope to never get near one of them again.

I've been working on my Christmas presents, but I've finally decided I just don't have time to make them all this year. I have a bit more pocket money than usual, so I hope to do some shopping in Hogsmeade next weekend.

(Susan, have you mastered those housekeeping charms Professor Acton assigned us to learn? I can't get the dusting charm right. It starts out all right, but no matter what I do, the feather duster keeps flicking all the dust right up my nostrils. I almost sneezed my head off after dinner.)

Comments

[alt_hannah]

Oh, I agree with you about owl-ordering. Mummy does that all the time, but I'm not used to it. I'd rather pick up and look at something before deciding whether to buy it.

Usually I like making my gifts, but ugh, no time this year! What will it be like when we're doing O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s? I can hardly believe the Prefects when they say that we get more work every year, but I suppose it must be true. It seems like the seventh years practically live at the library.

You're probably right about my swishing speed. That's the one thing I usually get wrong on my charms. I wonder how long it'll take me before I really get the knack?

[alt_susan]

Yeah, Ed & I had talked about going in together to get our sibs something rather nice, but now he's being a bit of a berk about about how he has to give me all his pocket money to take to Hogsmeade and he doesn't even get any fun out of it.

Which, well, is sort of true, but he's still a berk. (And I don't care if you're reading this, Ed, it's true!)

I'm sort of hoping that we'll pick up tricks and things along the way, so that by the time we get to O.W.L. year we're used to it, more or less.

Every once in a while I wish I had an older sister who could tell me all the really snitch tips and things; mostly I ask Great-Auntie Mina and she's lovely, but things have changed a lot since her day.

I think you'll get the swishing thing eventually; I mean, everybody's got something's that's a bit of a sticking point but we all get through more or less.

And one good thing about living in the sett--somebody's always around to give a hand, as long as you're not a total ass about asking.

Which you never, ever would be.