Good morning diary.Its Monday morning and time for class again.I get up to wash myself and then come back to my dorm to prepare.Everyone else is sleeping,so I decide I must be awake early and begin to read A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration.I have almost read all the textbooks available in the Hogwarts library,except this one.And I am actually quite early,not just a bit.So,I finish the entire book in about an hour,and then after stroking Hedwig two,I go to the bathroom again and come back to Gryffindorm to pick up my quills and parchment and inkpot,(I have potions class,and then DADA in the morning,followed by Flying classes in the afternoon after lunch)and head to the Great Hall for breakfast.(One development in Hogwarts that happened quite some time after Harry Potter attended Hogwarts,that I forgot to mention until now is that,we no longer have scheduled classes with fixed schedules,well not exactly.The number of students in Hogwarts has increased,and Hogwarts now has quite a lot of students,more than can be accomodated even in Hogwarts' expandable classrooms,which are enchanted to expand with increasing students.The reason for not being able to accomodate them even though they can be physically accomodated being,it can be difficult for so many students to study together with one professor even if in a very large classroom.Therefore,classes are scheduled conveniently according to how students want it and,I suspect Hogwarts magically affects the brains of students for a group of students to want a particular class at the same time,and such students from each particular group thus also see each other more frequently and make friends,while they do not even get to see many other students with different class schedules,and such students from the same group wanting classes at the same time get to attend classes together,and for many similar other groups of students,the classes happen according to their convenient common schedule of the entire group according to how they want it.However,there is only one professor for all of these schedules and all of these groups of students,so the Professors and their assistants have to use time-turners and other advanced magic,allowed to them by the Ministry,to be with different groups of students with different common schedules and not miss being there in any classes,which exhausts them,leading them to always be busy and suffering from sheer exhaustion,and hence the delays in grading submitted assignments,which is why present Hogwarts students are asked to be considerate in awaiting their professors grading their assignments and not be impatient.One way to ease this problem is to increase manpower by allowing Professors to have a team of assistants of their own,and this itself is the reason for the tradition of Hogwarts professors having assistants being started,and this is why we must be considerate and patient with professors' and their assistants' time and allow them to conveniently grade our assignments without causing them to rush and allow them to answer our queries at their own convenient pace to help them focus better and be fully present for us mentally and physically at all times.)I have my usual two pieces of toast,jam,marmalade,eggs,sausages and two cups of coffee and a drink of water and meanwhile wave to Lacey and Rose saying via hand waving and forming soundless words on my mouth for them to decipher,that I will meet them in class.The owl post intercepts my breakfast with owls from Professor Cassandra Virneburg and Professor Draekon.Both being admired by me a lot,I end up blushing while I recieve the post and find that I recieved a 92 out of 100 marks on my first potions quiz assignment and a 100 marks on my first essay assignment for Charms class,both of which were awaiting grading until now.I have thus recieved 9 and 10 house points for each of these respectively and now have 129 house points to my name.

I unpack my trunk to get the things I bought from Diagon alley that I need for potions class.I put my things including a pair of brass scales,a sharp silver knife,my wooden cutting board,stirring spoons,some glass and tinted phials with stoppers,measuring cups and the usual things I pack for class such as quills,parchments and inkpots in my pewter cauldron standard size 2 that I bought from Diagon alley,in my dorm,dress myself in apron and goggles and pick up a pair of dragon hide gloves in my dorm and check and recheck the dressing requirements for potions class and then head off to potions class at the dungeons,and meet Lacey in the corridor,and as we enter class,we meet Rose already inside the class with her cauldron.Lacey explains to me that she is busy trying to get into the Quidditch team in first year itself by making special requests to professors and administration and attending tryouts and unofficially being part of her house team's practice sessions,and she says its important to her career.She says its overwhelming her and she cant focus on or find time to join us in the library for the Marauders Map quest we are working on.I sympathise with her and say that I and Rose will manage it ourselves,this time and she can join us later,if she finds time,or just leave it to us till the end(Bea hasnt joined either so Rose and I will have to take up a lot of responsibility on ourselves,but more on that in the first chapter on the Marauders Map quest in the book the Mysteries of Hogwarts by Rose PETERSON).Lacey looks grateful and we take our places beside Rose in the dungeon.So,I am in Potions dungeon near the Slytherin common room and Professor Draekon enters with his usual things and air of mystery.Lacey and Rose both nudge me and giggle,but I hold on to my composure,suppressing my smile and trying not to look embarassed or flushed.But I blush immediately,as soon as Professor Draekon starts his class and Lacey and Rose shift their attention away from me.I try to take a long look at the potions cabinet to shift my attention and focus back to potions class,and then start listening to Professor Draekon's words intently so that I dont miss out on anything in my potions studies.I also notice out of the corner of my eye that my submitted essay assignment of potions class from my previous lesson,is lying on the Professor's table spread out among many others,which means Professor Draekon must have already read it but hadnt graded it yet.At the end of the table,I also see an owl with posts tied to its leg and graded assignments arranged in a one beside the other manner,in a straight line from the owl's leg,which means that they are awaiting being posted.From the arrangement of the assignments on the table,I make out that my submitted essay assignment is fourth in the queue for grading.I realize I can check out the number in the grading queue for any of my assignments in any class this way.Today's class covered two lessons,the first part of class covering the second lesson in the first year potions syllabus and the second part of class covering the third lesson in the first year potions syllabus.The first part of class was about the various physical phases of matter and the transition between these phases,the properties of each phase of matter,about the definitions and concepts of atoms,molecules,compounds,mixtures and their types and solutions and about how various forms of energy such as thermal(heat) energy or energy from the wands can be used to do phase transitions and cause physical and chemical changes in the ingredients of potions to brew a potion and more.The lesson ended with a quiz assignment and an optional essay assignment on my experience with doing a phase transition or on on creating a mixture from different ingredients.I chose the former option for the essay and wrote my essay as best as possible and completed the quiz assignment in which I think I did fairly well,and turned them both in for scrutiny and grading.After that,we are given a five-minute break during which I accompany Lacey,along with Rose to the Slytherin common room to have a drink of water,and we do not get time to go up to and visit her dorm,as the break ends and we run back to potions class as it commences for the second time.As I enter the potions dungeon again,I notice that my completed quiz assignment for the second lesson,and my turned-in essay assignment for the second lesson called Just What I Need,appear to be 78th and 79th in the grading queue respectively while the second part of today's potions class covering the third lesson in potions first year syllabus commences.The third lesson is about the tools of the trade such as cauldrons and their types and properties,equipment needed to brew such as sharp knives,cutting boards,brass scales,mortar and pestle,measuring cups and the like and the properties of their various types,equipment to store potions such as glass and tinted phials and their properties,about labelling and storage of potions and their ingredients,and about protective equipment like dragon-hide gloves,goggles and aprons.It ended with promising us we will get to have our first potions lab class in the next class and get to brew our first potion-the cure for boils.I will have to prepare adequately for next class with the required brewing and protective equipment and protective precautions and correct attire.At the end of class,we were given an objective quiz assignment for the third lesson,which was being immediately graded,and I performed well in it and scored a 100 marks out of 100 and 10 house points for it,thus giving myself a total of 139 house points until now to my name.Then,we were given an optional essay assignment called "The Doors Of Time" which required us to describe our future potions room and how we wish to decorate it.I exceeded the word limit by a lot but I think I did a good job and turned it in and its awaiting scrutiny and grading.Lacey and Rose have finished their assignments too and we head out of class."That was one hell of a lesson",Rose exclaims in excitement,and I see that both of them enjoyed the class very much just like me.They both said that they are looking forward to the lab class and brewing a potion for the cure of boils and I am excited for the same too.Rose says she totally outdid herself on the "The Doors Of Time" essay and I understand why.It is because she aspires to be a healer in the magical world and hence requires a lot of knowledge on and expertise in potions and herbology and needs to excel in these,besides also doing passably well enough for other branches of magic.

After potions,we head together to Defense Against the Dark Arts class,after replacing some of our quills and getting fresh parchment from Lacey's dorm but I realise we can just use "Accio" instead from next time.I havent read about or performed the spell anywhere,either during classes or during my practising session or during our Marauders Map quest,but I know its soon going to be taught in class,and having learnt so many spells and charms for various purposes and performing such advanced magic for our Marauders Map quest,its high time I learn to use the charm "Accio" as it is a simple and very frequently useful spell,and I am sure it will very soon be taught as part of our syllabus in Charms class as well.Rose agrees and we decide to try the summoning charm,"Accio" this evening in the library to summon books,with help about the incantation and wand movement,from some spellbooks in the library.

At Defense Against the Dark Arts class,we are greeted with an impatient professor waiting for his students to file in,who have most of them been dawdling around or talking about potions after the exciting potions class.Our Professor however is strict and almost angry,and being a DADA professor and an ex-Auror,almost everybody is scared of him.So when the news spreads through rumors in the corridors,that the professor is already in the class,students begin to arrive in groups or singly,as quickly as possible and hurriedly take seats behind and beside us in the DADA class.We were on the first bench,right under the Professor's nose and we were scared of Professor Jericho Penrose,but I was also feeling a great deal of excitement for the class,and I saw Lacey who was the least of all scared and excited for class,staring at her head of house standing in front of her.While the class was still filling up with students,I had a brilliant idea.I had neglected to do my first DADA essay assignment for the first lesson as I was mentally exhausted,and also did not have much to say about it,it was about writing an essay on my opinion of the legality of the Dark Arts.But I now think how hard can it be,and this atmosphere around me is inspiring,so let me just do it.I just know that the Dark Arts should be illegal in my opinion and I fail to put into words why,but I still decide to just write that much and try to expand on it somehow and reach the minimum word limit.I pick up quill,spread out parchment,unscrew my inkpot and get to work writing.While elaborating and expanding on just the sentence containing my opinion,I also get some interesting points coming to mind,and I elaborate and expand them in my essay,almost like stretching them thin without bothering to worry about not making much sense or sounding repetitive.I somehow manage to draw up a moderately good essay,and turn it in to the professor as my essay assignment for the first lesson,though delayed.He gladly accepts it and adds it to the queue of parchments spread out on his table for grading.I realize grading will take time but I am satisfied and happy that I atleast submitted the assignment,and that though I may not get good grades for this essay,I will atleast get some marks even if I did moderately well and that will mean a few more house points for my house Gryffindor,and atleast I can now say that I have atleast tried and now turned in all assignments until now for first year,whether I get good grades in all of them or not.The class assembled quickly and our DADA professor began to teach.Today we were taught the second as well as the third lesson of DADA.The second lesson was about the components of spellcasting which was just touched upon for a basic idea,as they will be elaborated upon in charms,and then we were taught two spells,the Verdimillious charm and the Revealing Charm with their use and all the relevant information about them and their spell blocks.Having cast so many spells for practice yesterday,I find casting the charms in this lesson quite easier than I should have found otherwise and as compared to the people surrounding me in the class seem to find it.I find the spellcasting theory easier to grasp,for the same reason as well.After learning the theory of and how to cast the two spells,we were expected to solve a mandatory objective and short answer quiz assignment which I completed and turned in,I did my best but I am not sure if I will get full marks,I may have made one or two mistakes,but I am pretty sure I didnt do really badly.That is followed by an essay assignment on describing the two charms in detail and how I would use them.I complete the essay to the best of my ability and turn it in,I see Rose enjoying the essay assignment immensely too,and Lacey doing moderately well enough.At the end of the essay assignment we are given a short break for five minutes and to my surprise,Rose shows us a spell she has learnt recently.She says she has been practising spells too from different spellbooks in the Hogwarts library,so that she is better able to perform the advanced magic for our Marauders Map quest,just like I have been doing,and she pulls out a cup from her bag,says ah-gwah-MEN-ti and moves her wand in a tilted S shape starting on the right,first with a semicircle open to the bottom and continuing with a semicircle open to the top.A jet of water appears and fills the cup,while Lacey and I suspiciously look at the water in the cup,Rose tilts the cup and drinks it,draining the cup and quenching her thirst by finishing the water to its dregs.I am impressed,and Lacey and me decide to try it as well,and we take our cups,the ones that we always carry around for drinking water at Hogwarts and ask Rose to teach us the spell.Rose says,"the incantation is Aguamenti and it requires low to high willpower and medium to high concentration.".She then breaks down the pronunciation for us and we try to cast it.Though we both succeed in casting the spell,Lacey conjures a stream of water that overflows her cup and drenches her books,parchment and robes,while I conjure only a few drops at first and then holding the spell for longer,I manage to fill only half of my cup.Rose tells me that I need to hold my concentration and willpower for longer even after casting the spell,and that Lacey needs to stop exerting willpower and concentration when the cup is almost full.I wonder if its a new concept and Rose tells us that Aguamenti is a dynamic spell,its called so because we need to hold the concentration and willpower for longer as and when depending on how long we intend to achieve its effect,and that we need to stop when we want the effect to finish.She says she read it in the book where she learnt the spell.She intends to explain further and looks at Lacey with a warning look,while Lacey has finished emptying her cup of water and is attempting to try the spell again,but just then,our DADA professor enters the class and starts teaching the next lesson,the third lesson of DADA.It is interestingly,about the concept of static and dynamic spells and their examples,though the lesson mentions Aguamenti nowhere,I realize that this concept helped me grasp better why Aguamenti overflowed the cup in case of Lacey and only conjured a few drops of water for mine and then only filled half of the cup,even at the second time casting the spell,and I also realize that I have only been casting static spells until now,no matter how much I practised.All those spells I have been practising were static spells too.The lesson explains static and dynamic spells very well,clearing the concepts of what each one of these is and how they work,and then talks about magical exhaustion and its effects,and I realize that that is what I felt when I walked away to the Forbidden Forest needing a break,and it happened due to spellcasting all morning,and that is what the unicorn relieved for me,which is why I felt like I was being helped by a patronus or specifically my patronus against some dementors.And then the class ends,as the lesson concludes with an objective and short answer quiz assignment,which is the only assignment for this lesson and is mandatory.We all the three of us complete the assignment and turn it in,and all of our assignments for today's class,which are three each for each one of us,await grading.

Once we come out of class,we are greeted by owls carrying our grades of different assignments from different professors.There's just one owl for me which brings me my grade for the first ever essay assignment that I turned in at potions class titled "What I Do Best",for the introductory lesson.It is accompanied by a note from Professor Draekon and his team of professor assistants saying that he welcomes me to potions class.I read the entire message and it says I got a 100 marks on the essay,and recieved 10 house points for it.That makes me the proud earner of 149 points until now,for my house,Gryffindor.

After this we take a short trip to the library and find a spellbook,which describes many spells including Accio,the summoning charm and we read it for a while,and Lacey excuses herself saying she wants to have lunch early and go early to flying class(or perhaps convince Madame Eira Fox for something related to Quidditch).I and Rose smile at each other as we realize that and hold on in the library a little while longer,reading in detail about the spell Accio,as in the evening,we will be busy having a meeting about our quest for the Marauders Map,so we will only get time for extra spell learning and practice now.The incantation appears to be Accio(prounounced as AH-kee-ohh) from the book,and the wand movement appears to be in the shape of a half moon,sharp and thin.We both try to use it to summon books towards ourselves from the Hogwarts library shelves,and while we get better at it over the course of casting the spell again and again,we decide to stop and leave for lunch towards the Great Hall,as otherwise,we may get late for flying class.

Lunch in the Great Hall for today includes lamb chops,beef casserole,bread,cereal,sprouts and roast chicken.I help myself to all of them except roast chicken and have a drink of water.

After all of this,I head back to my favourite place,the library,while Rose leaves for her dorm.I get whatever I have written and/or updated in my diary until now copied to be printed in the published version of it by Hogwarts administration of the library section.Then,I look around for more textbooks recommended for first years and textbooks Hogwarts earlier required first year students to have a copy of,as mentioned in the acceptance letter that Harry Potter recieved from Hogwarts  in the Harry Potter books and movies in the muggle world(the rules at Hogwarts have been changed a bit now,we no longer require any textbooks for first year classes here,but some of these textbooks are either recommended to varying degrees or encouraged or appreciated for reading as an extra read).Some books mentioned in the list of books,a copy of which was required by Hogwarts students at the time of Harry Potter,signed by Professor Minerva McGonagall,are no longer even available in the Hogwarts library,as I couldnt find The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self Protection by Quentin Trimble,or the original Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling.I found an incomplete magical theory book named The magical theory still being written further and edited by someone called Carin James,and decided to give it a read,so I picked up a copy.I also found Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them by Newt Scamander published as a reprint(perhaps with editings and footnotes) by two different authors in the Hogwarts library,but since we no longer have any official textbooks for first year at Hogwarts and since we do not have to attend any Care of Magical Creatures classes in first year,I decide to not read these books for now as I already have a lot to read,but I can keep them for reference in times of need(especially since I am on a dangerous mischievous quest about the Marauders map),so I pick a copy each of the book written by the two different authors,and decide to take them to adorn my bookshelf in the dorm.I also found One Thousand Magical Herbs And Fungi by Phyllida Spore,reprinted and/or edited by Emily and picked up a copy to read,and also noticed a book called A Guide To Hogwarts by Natasha Mowbray and pick a copy of it too for a fun bedtime read.All other books in Professor Minerva McGonagalls's list,I have already read a copy or edited/unedited reprint of,from cover to cover,and they are still on my dorm bookshelf.At Hogwarts now,you do not need to return any books to the library,unless you think you have no place to keep them or they are cluttering your bookshelf,because Hogwarts prints unlimited multiple copies of each book in the library for readers,and whenever one copy is taken from the library,it is simultaneously replaced by another.That being said,I have already once read cover to cover Lacey's book What Hogwarts house are you in,but dont intend to return it as I can read it again and again for bedtime entertainment.I have this habit of reading books cover to cover,from any text on the cover of the book to each page on both sides inside the book including the acknowledgements,index,introductions,author descriptions,chapter headings,footnotes or any little extra or supporting texts,and of course,also the main text,and then to any text on the back cover of the book as well,for which I always check the back cover.I have always done this until now and will keep doing it until forever.I go back to Gryffindorm and arrange the books I brought from the library,on my bookshelf.

I also remember a question lingering on my mind since after the first part of today's DADA class,which is,what is the difference between charms and spells?Are they one and the same?I decide to ask my question to my DADA Professor Jericho Penrose,so I owl him my question via Hedwig two,or Queenie.

I adjust my dress according to the dressing requirements for Flying class,check my appearance in the mirror,take parchments,quill and inkpot and my diary(to be concealed among my bundle of parchments if Madama Eira Fox objects) and head to Flying class at the Hogwarts grounds.

At flying class today,we were taught two lessons,for the first of which we were taken to the seventh floor of Hogwarts castle for a virtual tour of the Ministry,more specifically the Department of Magical Transportation,using Hogwarts castle's magic,as implied by Madame Eira Fox.We were told about the functions of each of the subdivisions under the Department of Magical Transportation,and a little about the magical means of transport these subdivisions supervise.This was followed by a single mandatory quiz assignment,which I completed and turned in.The next lesson comprised of the invention and history of broomsticks,and some details about the formation and marketing history of different broomstick trading companies currently on the market,and the features of the lines of broom models sold by these companies.The lesson also told about how and when the Department of Broom Regulatory Control was founded,which expanded to the formation of the Department of Magical Transportation in the Ministry of Magic,and about how the Department of Broom Regulatory control ensures quality control of broomsticks to be released as well as those already being sold in the market.During this lesson,we were allowed to sit beside our chosen broomsticks(broomsticks of different models,provided by Hogwarts,some encased in glass and some without)on the grass in the Hogwarts grounds,and were allowed to prod and inspect each broomstick we like,except the ones that were encased in glass.This in itself was a very exciting experience.I found Lacey admiring each and every broomstick very closely,and I could see her passion for broomsticks.Rose,like me,was more interested in the theoretical parts of the class,but both Rose and me were enjoying inspecting the broomstick models nevertheless,comparing their features that we learnt about in class,and both of us had very much enjoyed the virtual ministry tour too.The lesson ended with our Professor assigning three assignments,the first one a mandatory quiz on the entire lesson titled "Broomsticks Through the Ages",the second one a mandatory assignment in which we had to identify the broom trading company being talked about from the characteristics given,and the third one an optional essay assignment asking us to describe which broomstick we would like to buy or already own/prefer with atleast three reasons explained in detail.I enjoyed doing all the three assignments very much,gladly completing and turning them in.I could see Lacey completing the essay assignment with ease,as she already owns a Firebolt and a used to own a large number of Comets,and probably knows a hundred reasons for liking each of those.She is an aspiring broom maker from a pureblood Slytherin family,like I described earlier.Her social media profile says that she loves to make friends with the cunning,and is fair to the ones who are rare.

That being said,Lacey leaves for Quidditch practice after flying class,while I and Rose take to the library to meet for our Marauders map quest.We make a lot of progress even on the first evening,but I am not allowed to share the details here,if you have been reading all of my diary,you know where to look for the details on our quest.

After our meeting for the quest in the library,Rose and I head down to the Hogwartle corridor near the Great Hall,and spend some time watching many students play Hogwartle,to give our minds a rest.Then we enter the Great Hall for dinner.

Dinner in the Great Hall today includes sandwiches made of meat,lettuce,fried tomatoes and bacon,bread,french onion soup,chicken,butter,different types of cheeses including Camembert cheese,brie,goat cheese,gorgonzola cheese and mozarella,meatballs and gravy.I help myself to all of these and finish supper and after waving goodnight to Rose and Lacey(who was there for dinner),I visit a bathroom and then head to Gryffindorm.At Gryffindorm,I undress for bed."It has been an exciting day.",I say to myself,"All the classes today have been fun,and the quest for the Marauders map has made great progress too.".I notice the lights at my dorm have already been switched off by the other members,so I light my wand with the Lumos charm,and choose the One Thousand Magical Herbs And Fungi book by Phyllida Spore,reprinted by Emily,from my bookshelf.I also update a post on my magical social media profile listing the books adorning my bookshelf,and describing the reasons why I chose to read or not read them.I further update a post saying that I chose the Comet 340(released in 2018) by the Comet Trading Company to be my broom(that I am going to buy later) for use at Hogwarts and in my future as a witch in the wizarding world,adding to the post that I am going to buy it as soon as I am allowed to bring my own broom to Hogwarts(we are not allowed to bring our own brooms to Hogwarts or fly except under supervision as first years).Then I draw the window curtains close,climb on my four poster bed,make a tent on the bed with an extra bedsheet using myself instead of poles to support it and get my alight wand and the book under the tent,in such a way that my wandlight is not directly visible to my dorm members,and read the book by wandlight.I finish the entire book cover to cover in about the next two hours,then extinguish my wand and go to sleep.