hugo weasley isn't james fred al or louis, thanks

I rather think nearly everyone would know the origins of Christmas, but seeing as it is December already I thought I might share some facts you might not know about the holiday, in honour of the fact we have twenty days until it arrives.

First: a Christmas wreath hanging from the front door symbolizes a sign of welcome and long life for all who enter.

Second: In Armenia, meal on Christmas Eve consists of fried fish, lettuce and spinach.

Third: In Norway, Christmas Eve is celebrated by having a big dinner and then opening presents, much like we do. The twist is that after all those festivities, all the brooms in the house are hidden. This is done because long ago Norwegians believed that witches came out on Christmas Eve and would steal their brooms.

Fourth: In Portugal, the Christmas meal is eaten in the early hours of Christmas Day while the Yule log burns brightly. The charred ashes are saved because later in the year, the ashes are burned with pine cones during thunderstorm season.

Lastly, although it isn't so much about the holiday as it is the word (which is about the holiday, I suppose?): there are two Christmas islands, one in the Pacific Ocean and one in the Indian Ocean.

[WARDED TO JAMES]

Are you busy right now?

I have a question. Sort of.

[WARDED TO EMILY]

I don't taste anything different but Is there something wrong with my biscuits?

I mean, you just don't seem to be eating them. When I offer. And if there is something wrong you should say, and I'll make a new batch.

Emily is in the hospital wing. She hasn't woken up.

Stop fighting about things that don't matter. Please.

[Private]

She

This

I don't even know what to write.

I don't know why I'm bothering to write anything. Except I promised to bake a cake for Em after the match and

yeah.

I'll see if the others want anything to eat. Or to

something.

I don't know.

ADDED A BIT LATER: Emily's in the hospital wing, and everyone is fighting over something else.

Should I really not be concerned?

How did everyone's pictures go? (Everyone in fifth year, at least.)

I think mine went reasonably well. My hair was red, as ever, so it was an improvement on last year already? Mum wasn't pleased with those ones.

[Lily]

I've been working on my costume sort of, and I might need an opinion?

[Amanda]

James agreed to send me a camera, so I should be able to get that to you soon.

[Warded to Lily & Amanda]

Neither of you is upset with me, right?

Thanks for the owl. I didn't know where else to put that? So. Thank you.

It sounds as though everyone has really interesting costume ideas for the dance. Did you know how that started? Costumes, I mean. There are actually a few ideas, but here's one I particularly like:

One story says that, on that day, the disembodied spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. It was believed to be their only hope for the afterlife. The Celts believed all laws of space and time were suspended during this time, allowing the spirit world to intermingle with the living.

Naturally, the still-living did not want to be possessed. So on the night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess.

[Private to Self]

I need to figure out who Luke Morin is.

Maybe Roxanne knows? If he's Hufflepuff.

[Private to Roxanne]

Hi.

Do you know Luke Morin?

[Private to Lily]

Do you want to do something?

[Private]

Results are posted Sunday.

I'm not going to be able to think about anything else, am I? I need to write Dad and Mum but If I don't get it, there's no reason to tell them.

Five days to Rosie's birthday.

So, did you know a fetus develops fingerprints at eighteen weeks?

And more money is spent on gardening than any other hobby.

And rice paper? There's no rice in it.

[Private]

I have no idea what to say to that sort of thing, but I get the feeling it will end badly. More for Miss Zeller than Maclovius, given the usual trends. Although probably both?

I shouldn't even be contemplating it. Now would be the time to go back to my crossword and pretend nothing is happening. I'm fairly certain explosions are on the horizon.

Whenever this sort of thing happens, I'm extremely grateful that Rosie is reasonable and not liable to be mentioned. Probably she isn't, but I am. I suppose that's a brother thing.

[Private]

There's quite a lot happening in the world, isn't there? I don't know what to say about any of it. Flying knives, the Slytherin girl...it's just a bit much to all happen at once. Everything I didn't say, all of that. I don't know. Dad and Mum have been talking about it, but not with us. I don't know what to say to any of it, so I end up not saying anything at all, to anyone.

There are good things, too, at least. I'll just have to try to think of those.

I've never paid attention to how much time prefects spend on duties on the train or at school, really. I wonder how much?

Mum got me a crossword puzzle. Or a crossword wall puzzle, rather. I've been working on it off and on, and sometimes she comes and helps. It's fun, actually.

Here's something fun: the word "bobby" came from Sir Robert Peel (1788-1850), founder of London police force. It's 39 across.

[Private]

This can't end well.

I suppose it would be a bit much to ask for things to go well for any length of time, however.

I don't suppose anyone else is going to ignore it, either.

[James/Domi/Fred]

I don't mean to be a bother, but could one of you possibly help me with Jair? He's not...Jair-shaped, any longer, and David sort of freaked out this morning. If it's a bother I can ask someone else, but I thought I'd try you first.

It'd be a good idea to travel lightly, and wear good shoes. Prefects, is it permitted to ignore the dress code this once? I don't think robes are great for this, and girls should probably wear trousers to avoid getting scratched up.

Be certain to wear socks, as well, or you might get blisters.

And it might be an excellent idea to carry a water bottle, and some snacks.

Rachel found Jair and was sort of scolding me, I think, it was nearly like having mum here only less obvious so that's done with, at least. I was actually getting worried. Usually he only goes off to find Rosie and use her pillow as a bed, although I have no idea how he manages to get into the Ravenclaw Tower. I'm thinking it's a cat thing. Or a Jair thing. Or Rosie lets him in and doesn't tell me about it until she mentions he's hogging her pillow again and demands I do something about it.

Exam preparation is going well, I think. I'm on schedule, at least.

"Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy." Isaac Newton. Words to think about, for the week.

And did you know that men are 6 times more likely to be struck by lightning than women?

It's just something to think about, really. I'm not saying that any of us are going to be struck by lightning (the odds for that are still in our favour, rather than the favour of the lightning) but supposing a person was struck by lightning, it's the truth.

Some studies suggest lightning strikes oak trees more often than other species, as well, although I haven't got a number to quote for that.

The only other thing I can think to say is that I got the cake you wanted, Lily. Chocolate, right? You should come up or meet me in the common room, since I can't go up to you. Or Louis might take it from me, because I don't think I can hold him off if it comes down to it, and he noticed me coming in with it.

Change your opinions, keep to your principles; change your leaves, keep intact your ( roots. )