A very trying day, in that I had to break up an all-out war between Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy, fish Longbottom out of a closet, alert the school to a rogue Boggart roaming around bearing a strong resemblance to Severus Snape, assure Weasley that one more Howler from his mother won't kill him, and pry Sirius off my person.
Where's a bottle of Firewhiskey when you need one?
Detention with Ron and Malfoy went well, however. As well as could be expected. Since I had both of their wands in my custody, they could do no more than heckle each other as they cleaned out my menagerie. Ron fed and watered all the creatures, while Malfoy cleaned the litter from their cages, complaining all the while. Neither of them will be thrilled with tomorrows project - which will involve a trip into the Forbidden Forest precisely at twilight, but it can't be helped. They're grown boys, they should know to behave better.
Fortunately, detention was halfway uneventful, except when Malfoy dropped a grindylow jar on his foot. Luckily no one was cut by the glass, but the Grindylow got a good grip on Malfoy's nose. He wouldn't hold still long enough for me to pry apart its fingers, and finally I had to have Ron help me pin him down so that I could get the beast off of him. I have never seen someone become so enraged so quickly over a creature no bigger than a kitten.
Then Ron spilled a huge bag of Clabbert-Chow, knocked over a bushel of Puffskeins, and accidentally molested an Erumpent calf that Hagrid's got me looking after. I'm extremely glad that Ron is so very likeable, because it was highly tempting for a time to use him as harpy-bait. But he cleaned things up decently, and apologised, so I shouldn't be too cross with him.
When detention ended and Malfoy fled for the sanctuary of the dungeons, I did have a very nice conversation with Ron about Hermione, whom he seems to be quite smitten with, as well as Harry, who Ron is constantly worried about. He offered to collect a batch of photos I'd set aside for Harry, pictures that his mother had taken of her schoolmates here at Hogwarts. I sent him along with them, I'm sure they'll please Harry quite a bit, though I do wish he'd been able to come and get them personally. It would have been nice to sit with him and look though them, and tell him all the stories behind the photographs. Well, perhaps he will come by anyway, to have a look at the rest.
Fawkes the Phoenix went over very well with the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff yesterday. A few of the girls began to cry, which is a typical reaction to the phoenix for those who have never encountered one before. Fawkes was very cooperative, and even demonstrated a bit of his song, which was quite beautiful and set the whole class into a very good humor for the rest of the day. They didn't even mind the five feet of parchement I asked them for about the historical significance of the phoenix. I should feature a phoenix more often. I get him back on Friday, for the Gryffindor and Slytherin (note to self: ask Harry to assist). It should be interesting; today's class with the two houses (both alike in dignity) was surprisingly uneventful, though it did occur before the... incident with Ron and Draco in the library. Yes, Friday will be very interesting, indeed.
Sirius is out and about, no idea where he's gone off to. Probably roaring about on his bike, terrorising the nearby villages, and setting a wonderful example for his godson. Despite my best efforts he still isn't budging on The Issue, as I've begun to think of it. Not even after the discussion we had a few nights ago about what happened at the '75 Beech Ball. I was certain that would pique his interest. Hm. Drastic measures may be required.
Alas, they shall have to wait, I can feel the moon creeping up on me again. Must ask Severus for more potion.
To bed, I go.
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