Chapter 20
7 August 1991 Wednesday
Today was fun, just like Remus promised. We explored Ottery St. Catchpole so I could see what a part-wizard, part normal village is like with ought having to deal with someplace as fraught as Godric's Hollow. (Remus tells me there's a monument to my parents and me there, and it gives him the creeps.) It's a lovely little town, and the one pub has two public rooms so drunk wizards don't have to worry too much about shocking the locals (although Remus says in any of these villages the old folks know something's up and always have). There's an owlry off the Post Office, and Cedric Diggory's mother is the postmistress for the town.
We met up with Cedric Diggory and Luna Lovegood for lunch, and also Ginevra Weasley, who is a shy little scrap of a thing, hardly said two words, and Percival Weasley, who said he rather likes being called "Percival" actually, but please to call him Percy or his brothers would never stop taking the mickey. Apparently the twins (and Percy looked like he loved the idea of me calling Fred, Frederic, but warned me it would be better not to) are infamous pranksters/practical jokers. I asked, and Percy said that the jokes they pull at school are always lighthearted and most people think they're pretty funny, and they'll target anybody, or of a preference everybody, so no one takes it personally. I asked how you prank an entire school at once, and Percy said I'd probably have friends for life if I asked them. I noticed the stress on "at school" though.
It was a nice lunch. We had sandwiches, biscuits, and orange squash, and then Remus took Percy, Cedric and me to a Quidditch game. Remus sat back and let Percy and Cedric explain the game to me. Percy doesn't play except family pick-up games, but all his brothers do, and Cedric is Seeker for Hufflepuff. I slipped and referred to it as ooftytoof once during the conversation. Cedric laughed and Percy wanted to know what we were talking about, but then once I explained, he worked out how it's probably spelled (which I've forgotten already).
It was fun to watch, if a bit dizzying. I asked if wizards are sturdier than normal people (and then resolved never ever to say that in wizard company again, even though they were very nice about it) cos some of the injuries I saw ought to have been fatal, and were treated as minor inconveniences. Turns out, yes, we are. Our magical core protects and heals us, although if it has to do too much protecting and healing there's not a lot left for spellcasting.
During halftime, Percy and Remus got to swapping horror stories of being a Griffindor prefect. Cedric shook his head and said that Hufflepuffs are pretty tame compared to that, but they have things like Talent Night and Milk and Biscuits Night (the latter is when everyone in Hufflepuff comes to the common room in their robes and pyjamas and anybody who wants to reads a favorite story, while the house elves provide lots of milk and biscuits). I was wishing there was someone from Ravenclaw and Slytherin here so we could find out what interesting things they do. Percy said something about "Competitive backstabbing" and Cedric punched him in the shoulder and said, "Now Perce, be nice!"
Cedric is actually in the same year as the twins, but he and Percy have always hung out because Percy's odd man out in his family and because the twins never needed any more friends than each other when they were little, and they still complete each other's sentences, apparently. I asked odd man out how? And Percy told me that generally every Weasley you add to a room doubles the noise level, and when you get the whole family in one place, it's pretty chaotic. He said, I should understand, he does love his family, but they can be pretty overwhelming, and while Bill and Charlie study, or they did, they're done school now, he's the only real bookworm in the family. He said that they'll tell me that he's a bit of a prig, but he just prefers people to follow rules because it's generally quieter and less chaotic that way.
Cedric's an only child, so he's used to quiet and order, he said. The twins definitely liven things up, and this summer they started experimenting with making fireworks. Percy shuddered when he said that. I asked them which house they thought I would be in, and they both said "Ravenclaw" although Percy considered and said "Or maybe Slytherin" as I had a good eye for the nuances of human interaction (and he said it just like that too; he quite likes big words) and he said just between the four of us, the, and then he paused like he'd been about to say something he shouldn't, well, he'd been told he would have done well in Slytherin himself, but he was terrified of what his brothers would say. Cedric smiled and said there was never even a question that he would go to Hufflepuff, and Remus said he'd also been considered for Ravenclaw. Percy noted the irony of being placed in Griffindor because you're too scared to go anywhere else, and I said if he was placed in Griffindor, he must have vast hidden reserves, and obviously he does, because if I had two younger brothers experimenting with fireworks, I'd be stark staring mad by now. Cedric asked how I knew he wasn't and then Percy punched him in the shoulder and said "Now Ced, be nice!"
All in all it was a grand day out. The Holyhead Harpies won and I got to put my foot in it with a forgiving audience. I knew I was going to like Cedric, and I enjoyed meeting Percy. Remus said that I'd be in school with most of the Weasleys, but he figured it would be best to start in small doses and the two I met were both the age mates of the people he'd already invited, and the quietest ones of the lot. Percy asked if that was an example of damning with faint praise.
We all stopped for butter chicken at the Indian takeaway and sat and ate it picnic-style on the common. It was nice.
When I got home, I'd already eaten dinner, so I came upstairs, read a bit more of my politics book and was thankful for the ironclad oath my grandfather made Mr. Malfoy take and wondered if he could find some way of killing me anyway. Probably, so I need to find a way to convince him that he benefits more from me staying alive before he finds it. Hopefully it will take him more than a month to think of it because I haven't a clue.
And Tango says he needs brushing now, so I'll leave off.
8 August 1991 Thursday
I got an owl from Neville asking if I could bring a few records tomorrow and would my aunt let me stay over? AP said yes, of course, and Remus and I went record shopping after classes. I checked with Remus, and yes, he means records, wizards haven't quite got CD players worked out yet. So I now am the proud owner of Dire Straits (their first album was self-titled), Communique, Making Movies, and Brothers In Arms (I couldn't find Love Over Gold or On Every Street on vinyl, although I picked up the latter on CD, along with a CD Walkman). I picked up Missing... Presumed Having a Good Time as well, despite never having heard of it, because the record store clerk said the Notting Hilbillies were another Mark Knopfler project. And I figured while we were out I would get some muggle snacks, so I grabbed a couple of boxes of chocolate-covered McVities, some Mars bars, and as many flavors of potato crisps as I could find. And then I figured, what's a music party without fizzy drinks, so we got some of those too. I feel a little odd spending money, but it's mine, I can, and it's not like I'm wasting it, exactly. I'll probably leave the records with Neville though, if he likes them, and pick up CDs later. I can call it a belated birthday present, and if he says he didn't get me anything, I'll point out that he's the one throwing the party.
I had classes today too. We brewed. Remus is a nut, and he makes insane funny faces.
Dinner was a casserole AP discovered in a magazine somewhere. It had cream soup and green beans and chicken with fried onion bits on top. UV wasn't so sure about it, but Dudley and I loved it.
And then after dinner, Dudley and I hung out in his room and listened to my new records on his player. That's one for the record books. And we even had fun, and he let me have a go at some of his video games, although the fact that he beat the pants off me certainly didn't hurt there. I didn't even have to try to let him win since I'd never done this before and he's been playing forever. It'll be fun to get to school, though, and find people I'm allowed to beat at things.
And now Tango says I should be sleeping. He sure is a bossy cat.
10 August 1991 Saturday
I didn't bring my journal with me , so I want to get everything that happened Friday and today written down before I forget, except that I also kinda don't. I've been putting off sitting down and writing for hours now and there was stuff I want to remember, but I messed up. In front of Lady Longbottom. AGAIN. She's going to hate me and think I'm a bad influence on Neville and not let him hang around me anymore, although Neville says not to worry about it, and that if he'd known I'd never eaten duck before, he'd have warned me how rich it is. I don't know, though, I could see her looking at me on Saturday, and I know she was wondering if she wanted to bother inviting me back.
But, you know what? This is my journal, and if I don't want to write about something, I don't have to. So there.
We started out Friday with some class work instead of heading straight over to Longbottoms' like we did last time. We did a refresher on introductions and precedence and ...
And PD and Remus just apparated over. Grandfather just died. I need to go.