I'm writing this in a carriage of the Hogwarts Express. As usual, all of us siblings are in the same compartment. It has become a family tradition. Now Anita is here too. She can't stop talking! She's really excited about coming with us to Hogwarts to start her first year. I strongly suspect she is going to be in Gryffindor with Lotty, that kid is always rushing headlong into all the places angels fear to tread!

"Anita, if you get in Hufflepuff, we'll have one of us in every single house - we can take over the school!"Jared just joked.

"Hufflepuff? What do they do in there? Gardening?"Anita is scornfully responding.

"Oi! That's not a very sporting attitude!"Jared is just answering.

"Which house do you think you'll end up in?"I just asked.

Anita is thinking.

"I don't know,"she says,"but not Hufflepuff!"

"Ok, then we'll just have to make do with only having eyes and ears in three of the Hogwarts houses, and have a three-quarters solid invasion plan,"Jared persists,"go on, Anita! Get into Hufflepuff for us!"

"Don't listen to him, he's only joking,"I just said.

"Of course I'm not listening to him,"Anita is just saying,"you've just made me completely determined not to get into Hufflepuff! If the hat tried putting me in there, I'll punch it into the ceiling!"

"I'd pay to see that!"Jared is a bad influence.

Ed is frowning at a book. He does not look happy.

"Anything the matter, Ed?"I ask him.

I don't think he heard me. The problem with Ed, is he's a perfectionist. He has to be top of the class, best at everything. Before Hogwarts, he used to be a lot more fun, but now he spends all of his spare time studying, and reading books - and I'm sure he doesn't even enjoy it. He is so bad tempered a lot of the time. I think those other Ravenclaws are a bad influence on him. I know he is certainly competitive amongst them, and competing to be the best amongst the 'wisest' students in the school can't be easy.

Lotty is fast asleep. Her head is tilted facing the ceiling and she is snoring so loudly that you can hear it above the noise of the train. I don't know how she can sleep like that, it looks so uncomfortable. If we wake her up, she'll be mad at us for waking her, but if she sleeps through the whole journey and misses the train ride to Hogwarts, she'll be mad at us for not waking her...

Later: I'm in my dormitory now. It's been quite a day! Anita was sorted into Slytherin. I wasn't completely surprised. I was betting on it either being here or Gryffindor. Coming to think of it, Anita's courageousness is actually more fearlessness and aggression. She isn't afraid of anything! Not spiders, not heights, not the dark, not even death itself. I do worry about her sometimes though. The only reason she's made it this far without coming to an untimely end, is because our parents and us loyal siblings of hers have had to have eyes in the backs of our heads from the very day she was born. My final two years at Hogwarts are going to be exhausting!

Speaking of exhausting, I can tell you one thing I don't miss about coming back to school. It's the snoring in this dormitory! All summer I've been practising a Muffliato spell (to use on myself), and I'm going to try it out now. I'll write again later to say whether or not it worked.

A bit later: So - I think I might have actually made it worse. There's still a noise, it doesn't exactly sound like snoring, and it is quieter, but there is this horrible buzzing which seems to be even more irritating! I wish there was a spell I knew to mute my ears!

Next morning: Last night, it was a bit rushed. I didn't have time to write everything down. So, the things I didn't have time to mention were when I was showing Anita around our common room. She was fascinated by the fact the windows look out into the underwater part of the Black Lake. I remember I was too, when I first came here, but it was so long ago that I realise I've taken it for granted for years.

From what I've heard from Lotty and Ed, the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw common rooms are nothing special. I'm sure ours is the best! We snook Lotty in ours once last year. She was more adventurous back then, but lately she seems quiet and subdued.

I worry about her. She is alone in Gryffindor. She doesn't even seem to have any friends there, though she occasionally hangs out with a girl called Julia Brown - or at least, last year she did. Things started getting a lot worse this summer, when some of the Gryffindors founded their 'secret society '. Most people don't know about it actually. I really only know about it because Lotty found out and told me. All of the Gryffindors were asked if they wanted to join. All of them except her. She only knows because Julia asked her if she was going to join it or not. She said she wouldn't have joined it anyway, because she didn't like the sound of it, but she was clearly upset about not being asked.

Anyway, to get back to the point, when Anita was looking out of the windows, I was telling her not to listen to anyone that tries to tell her you sometimes see mermaids out there. It's a common prank here. People like to tease first years. Probably from ever since the beginning of Hogwarts. Then she said she has a goal to dive down into the Black Lake posing as a mermaid to prank everyone. I was initially horrified at the idea, seeing as she's always getting herself into dangerous situations, but I know that if I don't help her do it, she will do it by herself, and that'll be a lot worse! So, it looks like a mermaid is finally going to show up outside the windows, just, not exactly a real one...

First class of the day was potions. Professor Park is Potions Master. He is also head of Slytherin House. He's quite strict, and today I noticed he was making sure to let everyone know he hasn't gotten soft over the summer holidays. We had this class with the Hufflepuffs, who were somehow managing to get everything right in a competition set between houses to see who could brew the best burn-removal potion. A potion he made very clear we would need this year, because apparently we're going to be brewing some extremely flammable concoctions. He also told us, if any of us go up in smoke, we'll get extra detention because he 'hates the smell of burning flesh.'

The Hufflepuffs won the competition. Professor Park said we would have to use our own burn-removal potions on ourselves if we do get injured during any of the following classes. So I really do have to get that one right!

I won't write about all of the classes in here, as they won't be very interesting to read about. I'm yawning just thinking about some of them. Though Herbology is fairly interesting sometimes, because Professor Longbottom can be quite funny (though not intentionally).

Defence Against the Dark Arts is the worst! It's an interesting class in theory, but what makes it so dreadful, is the teacher. Professor Livia is just awful. She hates absolutely everything to do with Slytherin House. She acts like any Slytherins or anyone associated with ancient wizarding families, purebloods or anything of that sort are to blame for everything bad that has ever existed in the world since the dawn of time. She'll use any and every opportunity to put in some 'lesson' or judgement about us. The worst thing is, she doesn't differentiate, she acts like we are all as bad as the worst of us! That us Carrows, in particular, are all as bad as our uncle and aunt who are in Azkaban! I'm sure she thinks we should be in Azkaban too, even though we haven't done anything. I'm actually disappointed that people take her seriously. She was a Gryffindor as a student, herself, and a muggleborn. I don't dislike her because of that, I dislike her because of the way she treats us. Any sign of disapproval from any of us is automatically read by her as being dislike of her based on her blood status, not her attitude. I'm pretty sure what she does is just as bad as when people view Muggleborns as inferior. It's the same logic! I hate when we have that class in the morning, because it ruins my mood for the rest of the day!

Professor Livia, however, isn't the only annoying teacher. Things have gotten a lot worse since Professor Wells has been the Headmistress. It's supposed to only be temporary, but I'm not so sure. Professor McGonagall (the proper Headmistress) was taken ill suddenly in May, and Headmistress Gloria Wells has taken her place since then. There are rumours that Professor McGonagall might retire and not come back, or worse, may never recover from her illness. Things weren't exactly all sunshine and roses when she was Headmistress, but things were better than they are now, and that counts for something.

Headmistress Wells, despite being a Ravenclaw, seems to love banning books. I'm sure she has a new book banned every month, and I'm surprised there's any room left in the restricted section of the library. Though, another thing I've noticed, is Professor Livia is always giving permission slips to Gryffindor students that need a book from there... It's impossible for us Slytherins to get permission from any of the teachers!

Sometime mid-September: Not sure what day it is, forgot to write for a while. It's been about two weeks since the beginning of term, and here's what's happened in that time.

First of all, I've finally mastered the burn-removal potion. It works just as it should. Not only that, I accidentally created something else, a bit different. I've just called it 'Dittany Paste' because that's kind of what it is. It seems to work on all kinds of wounds, it helps with healing, and it takes away the pain (apart from the first few seconds where it burns like anything). Even Professor Park said it was a suitable invention and should be safe to use. So I'm keeping that, and I'm keeping the recipe safe.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Anita is still working on her mermaid prank plans. Ed told her about Gillyweed, and all she needs to do, is find out where to obtain that. She's been secretly making a mermaid costume. I pointed out that if she's wearing that underwater, it might not be so easy to swim, so she's going to test it first. I don't even know if she's tried swimming underwater yet. She's determined to do it, though, and I'm sure she will. She always ends up doing things when she sets her mind to it.

Also, speaking of Anita, we may have discovered something she is actually afraid of. Ghosts. She has been finding the presence of ghosts in Hogwarts very unsettling. Though, strangely, Peeves the Poltergeist doesn't bother her much, she is most afraid of the Fat Friar and I have no idea why!

I haven't heard any updates about the Gryffindors' 'secret society ', but I do know they've chosen a target in particular. Our cousin, Dominic. Dominic is a Carrow too, but we don't really get on well with him. He's in the 6th year, same as me. He used to be alright-ish, but for the last couple of years, he has been friends with another 6th year in our house, Antonius Parkinson.

Antonius is a pure-blood supremacist. He's always trying to 'reason' with us and get us to listen to him and agree with him. He manages to get away with it, because for some reason, people like him. Even Professor Livia is sometimes a lot nicer to him - probably because she considers us all to secretly share the same views, and thinks he's more honest, or something. Also probably, because he's polite with her, because he's sneaky! He never shows any signs of dislike or disgust at anything she says, and always responds to her with completely respectful answers. He is also very good-looking, and I'm sure he knows it, and uses it to his advantage. He somehow manages to get people to trust him, but I will never trust him! He is such a fake person! He somehow never manages to show his dark side; always having good manners, being respectful, polite, friendly, seemingly helpful, never losing his temper etc. I don't know how he can keep it up so well.

I wouldn't be so mad at him if he just kept to himself and minded his own business, but he's managed to completely indoctrinate our cousin. They're best friends, and ever since they have been, Dominic has been going down a dark path. He never used to be so concerned with pure-blood status and hating Muggleborns and things like that, until he started hanging out with Antonius, that is! He isn't all polished and polite, like Antonius. He certainly isn't diplomatic, and he isn't at all patient. He's been referring to Muggleborns as 'mudbloods' often when he's in the common room, or out of earshot of teachers. Using that term at Hogwarts is now an expellable offence. If he gets caught saying it, or worse, calling someone it, he could get into serious trouble. It'll be bad for us too, if he does.

Antonius has just walked into the common room now and is sitting in front of me! He keeps doing that, lately. Sitting next to me, or in front of me - even when there are plenty of other places he can sit. It's really irritating. I haven't seen Dominic with him so much since the beginning of this term, maybe he's finally seen sense!

Antonius has just asked what I'm writing about.

"I'm writing about you,"I just said.

"Oh?"he said.

"Bad things - I'm writing bad things about you,"I clarified.

"Why? No you're not,"he just said.

"It's none of your business what I'm writing, anyway,"I just said.

"Are you planning on doing anything with the extra free time today,"he's just asked.

This seems a bit odd.

"I'm not going to tell you my plans, if I have any,"I just answered.

This is weird. Antonius never talked to me much before.

"Aren't you interested in what those Gryffindors are up to with their gang?"he's just asked.

What? How does he know about that?

"How do you know about that?"I just said out loud what I was thinking.

"I overheard you and Charlotte talking earlier,"he just explained,"they've got some kind of gang to spy on us Slytherins, isn't that it?"

"Actually, I'm not sure about that,"I just said,"it's just rumours."

This conversation is picking up fast, it's a good thing I use an enchanted quill, I wouldn't be able to write all of this down fast enough, if I didn't.

"Just rumours? Didn't sound like 'just rumours' the way I heard you speaking to your sister,"he's just responded.

"Well, I don't even know if they're going to do anything,"I said,"what could they do, anyway?"

"Well, they certainly won't be minding their own business,"Antonius just answered.

"They already don't mind their own business,"I replied.

"Yes, but if they're going to be making even more of a nuisance of themselves this year..."Antonius is saying.

"So long as you don't have anything to hide, you don't have anything to worry about,"I just said, angrily.

I'm getting frustrated with him. I don't like him, and I don't like how much attention I've been getting from him lately. All I can think is he must have had a falling-out with Dominic, and he's looking for a new person to attach himself onto - well, I'm not going to let him attach himself onto me!

"What do you mean 'nothing to hide'?"he's saying, in a completely calm voice.

"Maybe if you stop going on about how Muggleborns are apparently a threat to our culture and heritage,"I just said.

"I don't say things like that in front of the wrong people,"he's just said,"and you know it's true. I'm not afraid of anything. They won't be able to get me expelled."

"Well, it's stupid, and the way you keep on about it makes you look stupid too,"I just answered.

"Why is it stupid?"he just asked, in a quiet voice.

"Because,"I just said.

"Really? You think so? Because I'd like to hear the actual reasons why you think so - you can't just tell me 'because' and expect me to be satisfied with that kind of answer."

I feel like I really don't have time for this. Why should I have to explain myself to him? But I suppose I have to.

"There are so many different cultures within the magical world,"I'm deciding to explain,"people have different ways of doing things, and that's good. Differences make life more interesting. Diversity and new cultures and the fact that Muggleborns come from outside the wizarding world just brings new ideas and fresh perspectives. It's not eroding our culture, it's existing parallel. The world would be a much better place if people could just accept their differences. Besides - Muggleborns have magic! Imagine that! Being a random, ordinary person and having magical powers from just nowhere! Surely that's a more powerful kind of magic than the sort that is automatically inherited through parentage?"

I'm actually surprised he listened to me saying all that.

"You say it's not eroding our culture, but it is,"he is replying,"you've seen the way some teachers, Professor Livia for example, are allowed to get away with constantly criticising our House, indoctrinating students to hate us, and even getting some of us to hate ourselves. Pure-blood families like yours and mine are becoming more and more rare, and are valuable parts of our culture, that, if we don't preserve it, will be lost forever. Bring pureblood is something to be proud of, and yet they would make us ashamed..."

"It doesn't really matter that much, though, does it?"I've just said, irritably,"what does it matter what your ancestry is? All that should matter is what kind of person you are - and in the magical world, whether or not you can perform magic - or no! I don't agree with that either, because I have respect for squibs too!"

"How can you say it doesn't matter?"Antonius has just said,"so you're one of those people that would throw away centuries of heritage, our ancient and long-lived culture, traditions that have been passed down since the dawn of time..."

"Speaking of the dawn of time,"I just interrupted,"I wonder if all pureblood families have muggle origins. Magic had to come from somewhere, I imagine all the wizards and witches were Muggleborns at the very beginning."

For a moment, Antonius just looked slightly angry. That's a side of him I have yet to see. Even after 6 years.

"So you are the kind of person who would marry a mudblood if you had the chance?"he's just said

"Personally,"I'm answering, honestly,"I would rather not get married to anyone for a long while, but in the end, when I eventually decide to do that, I don't care whether that person is pureblood, half-blood, muggleborn or even a muggle! All I care about is what kind of person they are, and what they mean to me."

Antonius is staring at me in disbelief. Another expression I'm not used to seeing on his face.

"The way I see it,"I continue,"all this pureblood nonsense is just as bad as the rubbish Professor Livia keeps spouting in Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"You don't know what you're talking about,"Antonius has just said, he seems to have resumed his usual calm demeanor,"you don't understand, of course. It's not your fault, you never have been as intelligent as the rest of us."

"What?"I just asked,"what has intelligence got to do with this?"

"Yes, you're not very bright, but then, I suppose, intelligence never was a strong point of the Carrows,"he is saying, and he is getting up.

He's just walked off. I was about to chase after him and make some remarks, but I'm too furious for words! I'm glad to be rid of him! I'm unintelligent?! What a cheek! And he insulted my entire family! 'Intelligence isn't a strong point of the Carrows ' - I'll intelligence him!

It's a good thing Anita has just come up to me now, because, for a moment, I was going to go after him, but I'm saved from that drama now.

Anita is grinning and showing me some kind of plant.

It's Gillyweed!

"You got it!"I said.

"Yeah, Ed gave me the idea to ask the House-elves in the kitchens,"Anita said.

"You've been in the kitchens?"I said, impressed.

"Yeah,"Anita replied,"snook in there with Eric and Martha."

Eric and Martha are both first-years in Slytherin.

"You've started making friends,"I said, happily.

"I wouldn't exactly say they were friends,"said Anita,"I just hang out with them sometimes, if I think it's worth my time."

"Oh, why's that?"I asked.

Anita shrugged her shoulders,"I'd rather not go into the details."

"They haven't been mean to you, have they?"I asked.

"No,"Anita said,"I just don't really have anything in common with them. They're kind of boring."

"Sneaking into the castle kitchens doesn't sound boring,"I said,"I remember when I first did that!"

"Yeah - but they were just going in there for cake,"Anita replied,"I was going in there for a much more interesting reason. Let's just say, I may not yet have any friends, but I've gained some very useful allies!"

I'm guessing her 'very useful allies' are the House-elves.

"So when are you planning on doing it?"I asked.

"Soon, very soon,"Anita said,"I'm going to practise again, come on!"

I followed Anita to her practising place. There's a small beach of the Black Lake, clustered around with large, mossy boulders, overshadowed by trees. There is a jutting, square rock that goes quite far off into the water. If you jump off there, you end up in a fairly deep part of the lake. I called it the 'Underwater Sinkhole', but Anita calls it 'The Drop of Doom' which probably suits it better.

Anita disappeared behind some of the large boulders, and reappeared, rolling and flopping along the sand, in her mermaid costume. It actually looks quite grand. It's green, silver and black, and covered in scales. It forms a tail and the scales go right up to her neck. There are also some long, black, medieval-looking sleeves. Anita doesn't like wearing anything shorter than long-sleeves, even in the summer or hot weather.

She tried to scrunch herself up into a sitting position.

"Well, does it look realistic enough?"she asked.

"It does look really good,"I said, pointing my wand at her and transfiguring it a little, to make it look more authentic. I made it look more like it was part of her.

"Now - for the Gillyweed! You have some too,"she said.

"Um, Anita, I didn't come here prepared for a swim,"I just said.

"Well, sometimes we need to be ready for unexpected events,"Anita said,"consider this a lesson in always being ready for anything!"

I couldn't disagree with that. Laughing, I transfigured my robes into something more suitable for swimming, and used the Gillyweed.