The Next Day:

I'm writing this in my dormitory again, but this time I'm sitting in one of the armchairs by the fireplace. I forgot to mention before - there's a large fireplace in our dormitory, surrounded by really cosy chairs.

Artemisia and Amelia are playing Wizards' Chess next to me. Priscilla isn't in here, and I have reason to suspect she may be in the Room of Requirement.

Jared asked me to look for Lotty earlier. I found her by the Quidditch Pitch. I asked her if she'd noticed anything suspicious among the Gryffindors. She said she was worried by the fact that they, like the teachers, all seem to have forgotten that Kenneth died. Even Lauren Golding thinks he's missing. She doesn't remember he died, but apparently she's just as miserable as if she knew he had. I can't help feeling sorry for her.

Anyway, the reason I had gone to get Lotty, was so she could lend Jared the Silver Sivril. Apparently someone has been stealing Anita's snacks that she keeps in the Common Room (she insists Martha steals them when she keeps them in her dormitory).

Jared rolled the Silver Silver by Anita's snack box, requesting the memory of the theft. It revealed Eric Macmillan, not only stealing Anita's snacks, but biting a little bit out of each one...

Anita was furious! We found Eric and confronted him, and he denied it; but of course, we knew he was lying. Eric Macmillan is such a dreadful liar, I'm surprised anyone believes any word he ever says.

Dominic is still mad at Antonius. He has been hanging out with Regulus a lot, lately. I used to be annoyed at Antonius for being a bad influence on him, but I actually think Regulus is worse! He's the type of person that encourages you to do things you wouldn't otherwise do - things he wouldn't do himself, but I think it's because he's curious to see what happens. Dominic can be so stubborn, and yet so easily-led!

Anita pointed out a very strange thing to me earlier (when she wasn't fretting over the fact that she had eaten snacks that Eric had bitten), and that thing was that sometimes we can see the giant squid from the Common Room windows... how I don't know, I've no idea how it gets into the pool in the cliffs above the Black Lake, or how it even fits in there, but what can I say! It's Hogwarts!

The Next Day:

I discovered that Anita, Jared, Ed and Lotty have been duelling in the Duelling Meadow. I saw them all returning to the castle grounds together, when I was going for a walk in-between studying. Jared and Ed were arguing loudly about it.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"You hit me right in the weakest part of my arm!"Ed was going on,"it really hurts! Even now! I'm not going to practice duelling with you any more if you're going to be such a dishonourable brute!"

"I wasn't being dishonourable,"Jared insisted,"I fought with honour the whole time! That shot I got at you was a valid shot, I didn't mean for it to hit your weak arms! You should get better at shield charms!"

"I wasn't using a shield charm, because I was shouting for a break!"Ed retorted,"I'd had enough! Didn't you hear me yelling?"

"I didn't,"Jared replied,"and I was honourable the whole time. I didn't hit Lotty in the back when she was retreating, and I didn't..."

"That's the bare minimum of decency!"Ed indignantly objected.

"You were in the Duelling Meadow?"I greeted them.

"Yep,"Lotty said.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"I said,"Silas most likely knows about the Treehouse now, and it's right above one of his old bases."

"Well, we were all together,"Lotty said.

"I think we should find a new place to practice duelling,"I suggested.

"Maybe,"Lotty agreed.

"We can't just abandon the Treehouse!"Anita protested.

"We have to! It's too risky!"I insisted.

"I'm not abandoning it!"Anita persisted,"you're just saying that because you can't go there!"

I tried to get Anita to promise never to go to the Treehouse alone, but she refused.

Annoyingly, I can't stop her, and I can't go to the Treehouse with her (I find this very worrying!).

When Jared, Anita and I got into the Common Room, everyone was in an argumentative mood. Somehow the subject got around to Jared going on again about how he thought I didn't belong in Slytherin.

"I thought we'd settled this argument on the train,"I said.

"You didn't,"Jared responded,"all of that stuff Max said about Lotty using the Sword of Gryffindor as a beacon was nonsense - you use weapons to fight! Everyone knows that, and she didn't use it to fight, neither did Max, only you did."

"Well, then there's one way to settle this once and for all,"I said, feeling very annoyed by this point,"Anita, could I borrow the Golden Sivril?"

"Of course,"Anita answered, in a voice that lacked enthusiasm (she was still mad at me).

I don't understand why Jared is so adamant about this. I don't know if it's because he's jealous that I used the Sword of Gryffindor or if it's because he likes winding me up (could be a bit of both), but I decided I needed to settle the argument once and for all.

"Do I really belong in Gryffindor?"I asked the Golden Sivril.

It spat out a parchment which read,"If you really want to know, fetch the Silver Sivril."

So we got Lotty, and, in a secluded part of the castle grounds, we used both the Sivrils together.

They spun around each other in a spiral, producing a beckoning glow. I stepped into the light, and was drawn, alone, into... not exactly a memory, but it was like one. A memory of things that haven't happened. A memory of things that could have happened.

I was shown the memory of what would have happened if I had been sorted into Gryffindor.