11/9/42
Words can't adequately express how much I hate to agree with Jubal William Goyle in any particular, but Armando Dippet is not in communication with reality. It is imperative to get Apollyon and Zenobia Pringle out of authority over the grounds. Goyle can sack them and even have them shipped off to Azkaban directly, but in their absence control of the house-elves will revert to Dippet. Somehow I believe he is unlikely to direct them to follow Miss Gardiner, because he is exactly that petty.
Without the elves, the books in the library will have to be shelved by hand. All the rooms of the castle, including the ones which move, will have to be cleaned by human agency, and there will be piles of rubbish all over this place within days.
We will be eating a lot of potatoes and cabbage; there will be little meat and fruit. I don't think even Miss Gardiner's culinary creativity will keep the students in hand. Transfiguration of food items in a manner which retains their nutritive essence is very difficult, especially for humans. Even with Miss Gardiner presiding, I do not think the entire complement of Housewitchery students in years three through seven are up to the task, and the younger students may very well poison us.
That's got to be the only reason Goyle hasn't sent the Pringles directly to Kyteler. The deaths of Miss Jeannot and Miss de Rais are upsetting, but the papers have treated them as suicides. Barlowe was eaten by his own manticore, and that also has an obvious explanation. Mr de Kernoël's disappearance casts as much suspicion on him as it does on the rest of us, given his sister's co-operation with the enemy. But if we cannot feed these children as they are accustomed to be fed, or maintain them in a decently clean environment, there will be an insurrection, and their parents will demand them home, and the Ministry really will close the school.
Dippet must give up on this. He will certainly not do it for Goyle or Miss Gardiner, and I know he will not do it for a Slytherin, nor should he. Dippet, however, will usually listen to me.
Which means that Goyle will have to.