those who say the past is not dead

Well today John Fleecer and I went to the Puddlemere-Falcons match because John thought that it would be something that I would enjoy, and he was absolutely right. The match was brilliant and long, so long that Flip Warrington got to play for a whole hour before Sennett Vaisey and Innis Peasegood knocked Flip Warrington into a goal post and sent him home from the match.

That was the highlight, because I think John and I were cheering for the Falcons although we were never quite sure. I don't know that John could say that he wanted anything good to happen to Innis Peasegood in his lifetime, after his run-in with Meg McCormack at the last Falcons-Wasps match and the words he shared with Hebe, but I can't go on record saying that he was cheering for Brock Blenkinsop, because Hell Urquhart might never date him again. (We can't say he's cheering for England in the World Cup either, Hebe and Hell are, of course, both Scottish). This match was also notable for the moments when play came to a stop because Barnabus Blenkinsop and Oram Pritchard decided that winning the match wasn't as important as killing one another. There were several scuffles, and it made me a little bit disappointed that the only violent Quidditch players who played while I was at Hogwarts were Flints.

Hm.

What else has been happening?

Oh, right. Well Eliane had a lovely time with my cousin Achille a few weeks ago.

I have been shopping with Hebe and Palamon for dress robes for the Quidditch gala. I know what I'm looking for now and I know what I like, but I haven't settled yet and neither has Hebe. It's been so much fun shopping with Palamon, he has very distinct taste and I value his opinion.

Well this weekend has been a nice, relaxing weekend. I watched the Wasps beat the Bats, and I had the flat to myself all weekend long because my roommate is in France with my cousin Achille. Achille is a darling, I don't see nearly enough of him because he's busy playing Chaser for Quiberon and French National, but he's making time for Eliane and Eliane has earned the holiday because she has been putting up with the incessant whinging and the lovely French weather.

I have enjoyed the quiet weekend too, because this month of course there was all of that nonsense with Barty Crouch trying to send Ludo Bagman to Azkaban. It was a misguided effort at best, but Ludo's honesty shown through, and certain people's bloodlust for Death Eaters has not, fortunately, got in the way of the population's good sense.

This month Hebe Wiggleswade had her birthday and got a beautiful emerald ring from her husband. We went to a quiet dinner to celebrate, and all of us were very happy to just enjoy a nice dinner and celebrate Hebe's birthday. I know Hebe's been invited to the Quidditch Gala next month, of course, and so has Lisa, and I'm sure that they will pick out fantastic robes.

Hell Urquhart's disagreement with the Fitchburg Finches is slowly but surely being settled. Americans are very excitable, they live up to their name that way, but of course there's no evidence that Hell started the fire in the locker room, and if anybody's inclined to exaggerate about anything, it's an American. Besides, if there is a press conference thrown about a woman, I think that woman should be in attendance.

It's hard to believe that the Quidditch season is almost at and end, and so is the next school year.

( Private )

It's 30 April, and yet another month has gone by where I've hardly looked at this thing. It's easy to get out of the habit, I know I should flip through it more often, but everything that anyone ever needs to know comes through this office in one capacity or another next month I'll have another chance to be better at it.

Hebe had a fantastic match in Brazil. I could only listen to the hours when I wasn't at work, but it was a long match and I think I most caught the parts when Brazil was up, but in the end Palamon and everyone else who loves Scotland was happy, so I was happy. From what I can tell, Switch spent this entire month drunk and he hasn't Splinched himself, and that's a sign that he is teachable.

Oz Warrington was in the country over Easter, and I'm so sorry I missed him, but I've been promised that the American Quidditch season ends sooner than the English Quidditch season, and I'll be able to spend as much time with him as I want before long.

Speaking of Slytherins and Quidditch, I had a hard time figuring out from glancing through the journals who actually won the Quidditch match. I've figured it out, finally, I think, although the details of the match don't make sense to me at all. Octavian Flint, if I don't hear from you, I'll owl to find out the details.

The Catapults, for their part, lost to everyone but the Cannons this month, but John had a lovely time on his date with Mariel Keller and he seems confident that things are looking up.

When I find the time, I'm going to go shopping for a new pair of sandals.

( Private )

( Private )

I've been so busy this month that I haven't had much time to write. I don't even have time to write much now, but I don't think it could go without comment how happy John is that the Wasps beat the Arrows and how disappointed Alastor is that John has a reason to be so smug. It's hard to ignore John's good mood, between Everild appearing in Witch Weekly with Evalina and Kylie (who were also adorable) and the return of Hell Urquhart to his legal life. It's hard to tell exactly how he feels about Altair and Yetta Thicknesse's recent elopement. I'm sure it depends on whoever is in the room at the time.

Yes, this month my life and John's life have been very closely associated, and that means that this month I have been doing a lot of work. I expect that next month I will be doing more of the same.

Well as always, I have had a very busy month.

This month began with the arrests of Salerius Crabbe and Merton Goyle, whose children I hope to never babysit again.

This month my cousin Aimée came to visit, and we had a brilliant time. On the 12th we went to Everild and Seth's wedding, on the 13th, she met Palamon and Palamon's friends, and on the 14th we went to Paris to do some shopping for Palamon and have Valentine's Day dinner. It was very good of Palamon to let me spend Valentine's Day with my cousin, but Aimée is not dating anyone and I am sure Palamon's mother appreciated the time she got to spend with him.

The following week, my poor little brother Amaury caught a bit of a flu that was going around. He's doing much better now, luckily. He was miserable when he was sick and so much fussier than usual. I hope that's the last touch of illness he catches for a long, long time. The next day, I went shopping with Hebe and I am so excited for all of the clothes that I get to wear when the spring comes.

Then this past weekend, Charissa and Abner Abercrombie got married and it really was a beautiful ceremony. Just the kind of wedding you would expect Charissa to have. I was so happy to be there with Palamon. It was a lot of fun.

Today in the office we've had a fun day, because Alastor Gumboil's younger brother Zero went to Las Vegas, Nevada, United States to elope with the Captain of the Appleby Arrows, Ita O'Hare. I'm waiting on my evening edition of the Prophet, I've been told there should be a story and then Quidditch Weekly should also be covering it. I have been told to tell everyone that Phoenix Gumboil's retelling will be playing tonight on The Phoenix Flight.

( Private )

Well John Fleecer and I were present at the Wasps-Puddlemere match to see Brock Blenkinsop miss the snitch and then propose to Calypso Jones. It was the only thing even vaguely social that we've done since the last Christmas party, but we can't disappoint Hebe by skipping her matches.

Speaking of Christmas parties, all of the parties that I went to this season were a lot of fun. I had the nicest company I could have asked for, thank you everyone who spent time with me this holiday season. I appreciated your company. My holiday season, in case you were wondering, involved my mother's St Nicholas Day party, the firm Christmas party (it was a success), the Malfoy Snowball, Evalina Annick's birthday party, Toby Thruston and Evalina Annick's New Year's Party. I saw a lot of interesting people at Evalina Annick's parties, I didn't know what to expect, but she seems to have a lot of different sorts of friends. I didn't expect to see Professor Bowman there, but I guess if your marriage is a but as it turns out he and Crispin's sister and Octavian's cousin and all sorts of people I could only sort of know are good friends with the Puffskeins.

I'm rambling, but it just feels so good to have a few minutes to write about something non work-related. I hope everyone else had a lovely holiday season and is enjoying 1982 as much as I am. So far I've spent more of it in the office than I have everywhere else combined

( Private )

( Private )

On Sunday my mother had a nice dinner party at her house. It was for St Nicholas Day, and it was a relatively small affair as far as her parties go, but there is a full range of festivities this month, so there is no need for her to do anything too impressive. I brought Palamon, and he brought flowers, so I couldn't have asked for anything else out of the evening. The Magpies had beat the Kestrels earlier that day, and that alone was enough reason to be in a good mood. We will see how the Kestrels do against the Wasps this Saturday.

I don't know that I'm looking for anything in particular this Christmas. I'm treating myself to new robes for the Snowball and probably also for the firm Christmas party, which is happening on the evening of the 17th. Everyone concerned has received their invitations, and everything is going quite smoothly in the planning of that party, even if it is last-minute. I'm not my mother's daughter for noth

I also don't know what I'm doing for New Year's, but I'm sure it will work itself out.

Yesterday I got to decorate the office for Christmas, and I think we're all starting to feel the Christmas spirit.

( Private )

I don't think I can improve on anything Dan Mulciber has already said.

This month I learned that Kylie Kiely is just as nice as the press makes her out to be, and Evalina Annick is much nicer than the press makes her out to be.

Flip Warrington also got to play in the match against the Magpies, and Stephanie Keitch caught the snitch so you do the maths.

John Fleecer's office is busy, in a good way, and we're looking forward to next month, when we get to schedule John's work life around his rigorous holiday social schedule and Hebe's Quidditch schedule, which luckily only includes the Kestrels on the 11th and will likely not interfere with much.

Well congratulations to the Baddock family on picking up Rosalind Bletchley. She's a great catch, she'll be a great asset if you ever need to feud with the Yaxleys or anybody else for that matter. She's also built for childbirth and gods, those are a couple of pretty blue eyes she has. Well done, Anthony, although I'm sure you've heard it a dozen times from your family already.

I hope I haven't missed any other big news, I've just been so busy waiting for Palmer Pinkstone's sister to have her baby and doing all of the typical tasks of a working girl. I do hope that if Maddie Frobisher had got pregnant in that house full of boys and there was a sudden tizzy over who the father was, somebody would have let me know. Or better yet, if Theo Selwyn had been on a date - please, don't think just because I don't talk to you or think about you that I don't care.

It has officially been a long time since I heard from Bracer Bowman or Imogene Jacobs. Cora? Rosalind? What gives?

Thibault and Noelle are still married, by all accounts, so that means that things must be going quite well. I haven't heard anything from Sarah Prew

( Private: Palmer Pinkstone )

( Private )

( Private )

This weekend, I am going to buy a new autumn cloak. It's starting to become chilly.

Well.

It has come to my attention that Eliane and I are not the only young wizards in the neighbourhood. I was checking the expiration date on the milk and I heard the boxes behind me inching to the left and right. "IT'S THE DEVIL!" he hissed.

I didn't have to turn around to know who it was. I know that hiss anywhere. Eric Weasley now shops at the same grocery store that I use. His family must be moving up in the world. I didn't know they could afford groceries. Crispin Switch was with him, and let me say, it was a lovely reunion for all of us. We exchanged apparition coordinates and I was so glad I had my friendship bracelets on me. I'm going to owl Frobisher and Pinkstone with theirs, because I've been informed that there are about seven different house rules that prohibit me from entering their house. Did you know that they're not allowing Slytherins?

I can't wait for the neighbourhood Halloween party. And the Christmas party! I hope we can do a Secret Santa. There are some things that I have always wanted to give them, but I have never had the opportunity.

Until then, I am just going to have to find my fun in other ways. I'm not doing so badly in that department. Eliane and I celebrated her birthday a few weeks back, and tomorrow we're Portkeying to France to see the Omnioculars. I wonder if we'll see anyone we know there. I love dancing to the Omnioculars. We're going to have a wonderful time.

There are quite a few things I could say about the summer the Prewetts have been having in France, but some things are better left to their imaginations.

( Private )

Well I've been rather busy these past couple of weeks. It's a nice feeling, knowing that I'm never going back to Hogwarts. It's also nice to know that I don't have to see my former classmates at work every day.

I don't have work today, so it's a nice time to be able to just relax and enjoy myself. We had a bit of rain this morning, but it seems like it cleared up nicely.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that instead of brewing the Draught of Peace for my NEWT yesterday, I smelled too much of the hellebore and vomited in my cauldron.

But at least I didn't vomit in my journal like Quigley.

Ten days.

( Private )

[inkspill]

( Private )

I think we've learned a lot about each other this month.

I wonder which friendships are going to fall apart during the month of April.

( Private )

This week I've been reading a book about Voodoo magic.

I wonder if it works.

( Private )

I wish I ate more so that I had more to vomit.

Today is Hogwarts' lucky day, because I am looking for new friends. Applicants who are willing to offer a spare quill will receive the quickest response, because I have broken four of them this week and this one used to be Cora's.

( Private )

It's too bad Regulus isn't here to collect the pieces of his soul that I vomited all over Warrington.

My stomach is still feeling weak, I know it won't be able to tolerate the smell of wet dog tonight. If I smell you, JFlint, I'll vomit on you next.