Blaise Zabini

How can people be so ridiculously stupid?

When do you suppose they'll let us go on to first lessons?



Note to self: remember to make an appointment with Professor Vector. No chance of catching her before the lesson now.

I know some people complain about exams, but I find them rather energising. And I'm learning to appreciate the way some professors write theirs to help us tie together concepts and point out connections between techniques and approaches that we might have missed in the day to day work of mastering this and that bit of casting or content.

I'm just finished with Arithmancy, and I must say Professor Vector wrote a brilliant exam for us, building from one system to the next. Seems a shame to follow that heady bit of thinking with something so... earthy as Creatures. I'm looking forward to Defence, though. I always feel stretched after Professor Lestrange's lessons, and I expect he'll have designed a true exercise of skills for us this afternoon.

Interesting, isn't it, who does well and who flames out in the Practical sections of a Dark Arts exam? Thomas, for instance, is always surprisingly sharp in these situations. And now Finch-Fletchley. You've got a flair for it, mate. I suppose that speaks to the strength of your magical heritage, and the fine training available at Beauxbatons, of course.

But then we've all got our gifts. Who knew Smith was such a comic, for instance? I mean, we saw what Weasley could do with farce during the last production, so it was no surprise he was offering more of the same this year, and I suppose his cockney monologue was funny enough, but Smith! Really?

Say, Daphs. Have you made your choices? When will the cast list go up?

That was well played from start to finish.

Congratulations to Pucey, whose leadership showed in every manoeuvre. Clever strategies well-executed! Truly, this match went to the more vigorous side.


Though. One does feel obliged to thank Gryffindor's Keeper for his assistance at goal for our side.

Cheers, Weasley.

I stopped in the library after breakfast to see if I could find that Postilion monograph for the Arithmancy essay. The one that's meant to have a brilliant calculation for figuring triangulations and charting them.

It was right where I reckoned, too. Should have put a stronger 'don't notice' on it if they wanted to keep it to themselves.

I talked Madam Pince round to letting me sign it out, so if you want to have a look, you're welcome.

N md

You all right, then?

I think Teddy might know something. He was doing his sly and smug bit this afternoon.

You should ask him, anyway. Maybe he heard something.

As surprises go, that was quite a nice one. And well executed. Malfoy, I understand that was largely down to you, so thank you very much.

The courtly hats were tremendous, and Jugson: you're a natural in motley!

Perks: I'm told you were the one to suggest Tarocchi. Clearly, Teds' was the most unusual deck, though I enjoyed Professor Slughorn's most of all. (Thank you, sir, for lending it to the occasion.)

Parkinson: the dancing was an entertaining idea, though I think we need to hire a dancing master if we ever plan another Renaissance evening. You have to confess that our attempts at the Galliard were not entirely dignified. Good fun, though, surely.

The roast swan was brilliant. I don't believe I've ever tasted anything so good, which, of course, is saying something. Bravo to Harrods' food halls and to whomever made the selections--Malfoy, I suspect you.

Oh, and the self-filling goblets were a pleasant surprise, weren't they? I confess, though, that things are a bit fuzzier than I'd expected this morning.

My thanks to everyone who came to celebrate with me. It was wonderful fun.

Congratulations, Mother. Give Mr Cooper my best, and thank him, will you, for asking me along for his stag. It was

I expect I won't see you again until we're back for summer hols, but I wanted to say that I thought yesterday was very tastefully handled. You looked lovely. Everyone said so.

Thank you for including Daphne in the number for supper. We enjoyed ourselves. I understand why you favour Jermyn's: every detail was seen to and executed to the highest standards.

I hope you're finding Buckland Manor to your liking. The brochure makes it sound a cozy place, though I've a bit of a time imagining you joining in to help with the lambing.

Oh, yes. Adele was here this morning to fetch some parchmentwork having to do with the musicians you've hired? I trust they've arrived or that she's let you know if there's some difficulty with the arrangements. Are you really certain she's up to snuff? It's seemed to me that you were left with rather a lot of loose ends and details she'd let slip. Surely you could find someone better.

As you know, I went along today with the international students to see the Muggle camp at Newcastle. It was fine, save for the weather. I hope it will be a bit less dreary tomorrow for the trip to the Dales. At any rate, I know you have other things to think about than my schedule, so I won't bore you with details.

Do enjoy the Cotswolds, and don't feel you need to cut things short to see me off. I'm able to see to myself, you know.

Mother,

I can't imagine why you thought I would send congratulations to Mr Cooper on his second-round loss in Our Lord's Gladiatorial Games--and to a halfblood witch, no less. But since it seems important to you, I have sent compliments on his work's having been selected and installed as a memorial to the proud fallen, etc.

However. Since you've raised the matter, Mother, I must now say that I have spent the past week in complete shame at having learned (as did everyone else, everywhere) that my mother has engaged herself to a halfblood. Fine. A three-quarter-blood, a fact the programmes noted with such absolute precision that his lower-caste status has now been broadcast to all and sundry.

Honestly, Mother. What are you thinking?

Do either of you know where Perks is? Well, and Pansy, too, for that matter.

Only, I need Perks to sign off on the report before our group hands it in. Rotten day for her to skive off lessons.

You needn't act as if Smith did something amazing yesterday. He's insufferable enough as it is. And, honestly, any of us would have done what he did if we'd been asked.

I mean, it's fine with me if you want to see what the view is like from the Hufflepuff table, but if you're trying to send some message by lunching over there, you'd do better to just say it directly.

Are you put out I didn't write something in the journals to tell everyone that you were absolument magnifique ou tout à fait étonnante yesterday? Really.

I saw you were writing to your mother.

I know there's been a lot of talk since that article came out. Is it bothering you?

Congratulations, Harry. That was ace!

You didn't get hurt too badly, did you? What's taking so long in the Healing tent?

Or are you being swarmed by reporters? Daphne thinks that's it.

Anywiz. We're getting up the celebration back in the common room. Get here as soon as you can! We all want to toast you!

Really, Daphs? Fifteen?

That used seem positively unattainable, but here you are already. I do wish you'd stop reaching birthdays so many months before I do. That's rather poor form, don't you think, to always be rushing on ahead?

Kidding.

I hope you enjoyed yourself today. We were all sincere in wishing you only good things for the year ahead. (Even Teds, though I admit he had a unique approach to gift giving.)

Here's to the year to come!

Teds, have you read tonight's Prophet? You're the one always reading up about explosives: can you make heads or tails of what they say about the one last night? Well, not one. It was several bombs attached to the supports below the top box. They're saying there were different types, too, but I don't know the terminology. It's all Muggle, isn't it? So the kind they're calling 'incendiary' was meant to start an elemental fire of some kind, right? And the one with the 'manufactured fertiliser pellets' was meant to blow out the supports beneath the box, I guess. And then the 'shrapnel,' that's nails and other bits of metal, right?

The thing about it is that this was the one kind of thing MLE wouldn't have found, right? And yet, look how really well their protection magic worked. That fire didn't rip through the stadium like it was meant to, and the force of the ones meant to crush the support structures was significantly blunted, wasn't it? And most of the shrapnel was contained or vanished by the wards around the box. Did you see the diagrams? Dead amazing that they can show us just how the protections worked!

Daphs,

I wonder if you'd like to sit with me at the Quidditch Cup. Mother's accepted Mr Karkaroff's invitation to join him as his plus-one, so she said you could have her seat by me, if you'd like.

She said Mr Karkaroff promised to introduce us to Bulgaria's Seeker, Krum, after the match. Apparently he's a bit of a special protégé of Karkaroff's; they're travelling back together, in any case.

That's according to Mother, though, and you know Mother: if she doesn't see the point in a topic, she doesn't always listen very carefully. So I'm not getting my hopes up too much that we'll meet Krum. After all, he's dead famous and there will be press and fans and women who'll all be mobbing him after the match.

Draco, mate. The Floo comes through into a little parlour off in the east wing. I don't even know. It's a bit of a maze in this house.

Harry and I are just up and having breakfast on the veranda--the weather's fine here this morning. After that, I expect we'll go out and walk the course a bit, see that everything's ready.

The mudblood will show you through whenever you come along, but if you're ready now, you should come. Breakfast is salmon on toast and a fruit plate with ambrosia melon that's amazingly good.

How was the party, then? Shame you had to stay for it, but I suppose the food was good, at least. Don't suppose any of the adults got up to anything interesting? Mother was letting Mr Glozeman escort her, but I don't think she's very keen on him, so I doubt they were interesting at all. -- Hang on, then. We just saw what your Mother's written. So I guess there was something interesting that happened, after all. Come tell us about it.

Say. Do you see who Longbum wrote for his YPL application?

Scrimgeour.

That'll surprise some people. But, really, it fits what you've been saying all along, doesn't it?

Dear Mr Baddock,

I write today for two reasons. First, as a member of the Young Protectors' League applying for its first-ever summer Combined Cadet Force programme, I am asked to write someone with experience in a profession that interests me. Second, I write as someone who admires not only your work but your position and your example as one of the pillars of Our Lord's realm.

I confess that I am not certain to which profession I might aspire, or, indeed, whether I aspire to a life defined by salaried labour at all. However, even if I should not take it up as a career in service to others, the management of wealth in property and investments is sure to be a significant component of my life's work, and in this, I look to you as a model of one whose stewardship of his own holdings and whose wise counsel to others have earned him a robust reputation and much success.

I aspire, too, to manage my social and personal commitments as graciously as you have done and to contribute to Our Lord's peaceful kingdom by following a course of committed allegiance, ready obedience, and quiet integrity.

To all of these ends, it is my hope that I will be accepted into the active training components of the YPL CCF programme and that I will be allowed to specialise my training with those elective components geared towards strategy and analysis.

I thank you for your willingness to place your name amongst those one might write for this project, sir, and I would welcome an opportunity in the future to speak with you about the training and vocational experiences you have had as you have followed your profession. I understand, of course, that your time is valuable and am not writing in expectation of a response. Nevertheless, I address this to you

With sincere admiration,
Blaise Zabini
Slytherin House

Avery says Pucey said that Bletchley saw the Headmistress carrying a broom-shaped parcel quickly along the corridor past the library this morning.

About time, too, if it's your broom back, mate. Has she sent for you or anything?

Cher Madame,

Je désire acheter une écharpe -- d'un vert doux, ou peut-être argent. C'est un cadeau pour une jeune fille de mes amies. Quelque chose de vraiment beau; je m'en remets à votre goût.

Envoyez-la moi ici, s'il vous plaît.

Tous mes remerciements,
B. Zabini
Slytherin House, Hogwarts

I just want to say a public thanks to all of you who came to last night's fête, and to Montgomery, Stevens and Fletcher for their hospitable entertainment. I think we'd all agree it was memorable.

To Professor Slughorn, I want to say thanks for letting us have the room and for stopping in to offer birthday wishes. Best Head of House ever, you are, sir.

To Teds and Greg and Vince, thanks, I think, for the interesting artefacts: I'll let you know when I've tried them out, yeah? And Harry: they're splendid, thank you. Draco: I've been needing a new pair, and these are perfect. Thanks to Derwent, Gamp, and Vaisey for seeing I won't lack for 'reading' material; it all looks top notch. Jugson, mate, thanks for the quill; I'll use it for exams, shall I? Croaker, don't feel badly about the stellar strobe, it was great when you set it off and would have been nift to use again, but it's not worth going on about. At least it was you that stepped on it, not one of the others, yeah? And Warrington: have you got over that vertigo? I heard you got detention for upsetting things in Transfiguration this morning, shame about that!


Most of all, I want to thank Daphne for thinking of it to begin with and for all the planning and brilliant execution it took to pull all that off.

I must say, fourteen is spectacular so far! But really, Daphs, you're the best. Thanks so much.

So. Do either of you know what's happened with Greg?

It's his book, obviously. Leave it to Goyle to leave something like that where someone could take it. That's what happened, isn't it?

He hasn't been kidnapped, right? Or Imperiused?

I wouldn't want to be him today, and that's the truth.

Teddy and I are going out in a bit to collect data from our scopes at the badger sett. We could collect yours, too, if you want. Or you could come with.

Surprising how interesting they are, really, badgers. Did you see that one turn on Fawcett the other night? Thought she might wet herself! Too bad Brutka stepped in. Could have been entertaining.

Daphs, that's excellent you got Auror Crouch. Really brilliant. And Draco, Scrimgeour should be a good role. Really distinguished and commanding. I can totally see why they thought to cast you for him.

And Harry! We'll make awesome traitors together, mate. Sirius Black, though. Phew! You must've been brilliant to land that. We'll have to practice being villains. Maybe I ought to grow a mustache for Shacklebolt. What do you think?

Guess not everyone was as pleased with their parts.

And then there are the ones that are too dim to have noticed they should be embarrassed. Can you see Weasley over there? Looks pleased to bits. Ha!