Am contemplating Christmas presents. Ordinarily Ron is easy to buy things for, but the impending move to Japan complicates things. With Harry I have to control the urge to purchase useful things I think he needs . . . And Bill asked me what I wanted the other day (I told him vodka, since he and Fleur managed to consume a large portion of the ( Read more... )

End of term draws ever closer . . . Was excited to discover a reference to Hopf, of the Hopf-Thrinow Process in geometric arithmancy, in a book I borrowed from one of the people with whom I share an office today. Apparently he was admired for the utter clarity of his lectures. Very tempted to read the rest of the memoir in order to learn more ( Read more... )

Have been talking to Ron about holiday plans. My parents insist that I spend this Christmas, at least, with them; but it looks like we'll all be able to spend New Year's at the Burrow, Harry and Ron and me, and also Ginny and Padma and, weirdly but inevitably, Draco.

Jerome is playing with my right black boot.

Bill is coming by Wednesday, to meet the kittens; apparently Fleur is visiting (they were the best of friends for a while, then not at all as Fleur discovered her own powers of attraction, now friends again) so she'll meet them too.

There is really nothing like waking up with Harry's arm around me, a cat serving as a scarf, another at my toes, and Crookshanks watching almost benignly from the windowsill.

Arabella Figg showed up this afternoon; she was supposed to be bringing us a kitten, in honour of the new flat or Christmas or everybody in the universe needing kittens, but at the last minute she decided that Saint Jerome (the kitten's name, though a less stately cat I have never met) would be lonely with nobody around except the old and now- ( Read more... )

Eve's story ran as follows ( Read more... )

Had an owl from Eve Li, one of the girls I knew at the Institute, claiming that Stewart Ackerley has cheated her out of 10 Galleons, and asking for more information about him (evidently one of Ron's mates referred her.) Am wondering where Eve's wrath-- which is much more impressive than one might expect from someone that small-- is about to fall.

Fred, George, and Alicia all visited this weekend. Fred and George are still here, lounging about and reading comic books, but Alicia has gone. Saturday night I dragged Alicia to a party held by one of the other arithmancy fellows; I don't think she ever really studied maths, even before Hogwarts, so she protested loudly, but it ended up as quite ( Read more... )

Yesterday the lawn in front of the Latin building was covered in ravens-- flocks and flocks of them, fighting and cawing. Suppose this bodes for a cold winter . . .