...Okay, okay. I get it. It must be 'cause of my name and 'cause I'm clumsy and walk funny.

But I'm really not amused by getting turned into a duck anymore. Is the castle trying to encourage me to become an animagus after I graduate or something? It's getting old...

[ ooc: Guess who was "The Ugly Duckling" during the fairytale event? XD Sorry, Ahiru. Couldn't resist. ]

[ There's a sudden guffaw of laughter. ]

Well, well! Never thought I'd be gettin' to parade around in this form again! What a hoooot!

[ Another voice comes through, this one sputtering and sounding clearly apprehensive. ]

I-It's not funny, Rien! It's just this castle doing--doing more weird things and--j-j-just put those clothes on! Please!

[ The male voice continues to laugh jovially. ]

Aww, c'mon ducky. Don't I at least get a nice scratch behind the ears or something? I've been reeeeally goohooot lately. And I feel ignored when you're busy with your Quddarch or whatever it is and your schoolwork. Now we can spend some time together, yeah?

[ Ahiru's voice squeaks. ]

S-Stop that! And stay back! No scratching or petting or anything! That'd be way waaaaay too weird! And stop calling me ducky! And staring and tilting your head like that! It looks creepy when you're not a bird!

[ The bird-turned-human gives a long sigh amidst the girl's ramble. ]

Hey, you were the one who told me your name meant duck, you know. You said that might be why we got along so well... [ He quickly perks up from the sulky tone. ] And on the bright side, I haven't seen that other annoying guy at all. So we can finally hang out together as much as we want this time! ...Sooooooo...Cant'cha just give me a liiiittle scratch behind the ear? You know where I like it.

[ The female voice nearly whimpers. ]

If... if you put the clothes on. But you have to put them on first! And keep them on! I mean it! ...And just--just a little scratch... then I'll find you something to eat.

[ His voice turns eager. ]

Really? Food? That'd be great. I was gettin' kinda hungry. ...Say, this means the other pets are up and about like this too, right? I wonder if that pretty kitty is still around... I'd loooove to say hello.

[ ooc: Blue his Ahiru, Purple is her pet owl, Rien. XD Ahiru remembers when this happened once before. And it didn't go too well, to say the least. Her owl punched Fakir and was being creepy, and was flirting with pretty much every female pet in sight. So she's not terribly thrilled to see him human again. XDD;; Anyway... Rien looks like this. :3 Don't mind my old crappy art. >>; ]

I-I heard something about strange powers, but--! 

[ There's a stumbling noise. ]

This--This isn't right! Why'd my clothes change!? I-I-I didn't do anything! And I can't--I can't walk in these shoes! And this skirt is.. is a... a tutu? 

I don't understand! How do I---

WAAAAUGH!

[ There's a crash and a clatter as the ballerina princess goes tumbling down a flight of stairs and face-first right into a corridor near the Hufflepuff common room. ]

...Ow...

[ ooc: Action for those who wish and voice for the rest! Canon powers are a go! Ahiru doesn't know how, but she managed to turn into her canon magical ballerina princess counterpart: Princess Tutu! ...And she can't walk in toeshoes and totally fails. Feel free to find her where she fell. XD And uh... watch out for random dancing and being pulled into it, or having a room suddenly covered in swirls of magical flowers. ]
 

A-ha!  I finally found my journal! I can't believe it was in my trunk this whole time...

And--and! ...Wow. Wow. I can't believe I really...

This makes the parent's visit almost bearable...

Um--that is! I'll do my best not to let the team down! And I'll practice really, really hard to be a good seeker!

...In-between schoolwork and stuff, anyway. 7th year is really hard. But I'll find the time!

[ ooc: Late reaction is very late. >>; Strikes are hackable, if you try. ]

I'm really excited for Quidditch camp! I've been working hard to be a better flier and I hope I can keep improving... I really wanna make the house team this year, since it's my last chance. Who else is going to be there? 

Summer is going by pretty fast, but I spose that's to be expected, huh? ...Maybe I should think of getting a summer job, too. I know Fakir and Charon wouldn't call me a burden, but I don't think I do enough around here.

( Private to Fakir )
[ ooc: Strikes are hackable~! And this is back-dated, cause I really wanted to do this event. << Anyway! Ahiru will be played by Alison Sudol~! ]

Ahhh this weather is just perfect for taking strolls! I'd really like it if it was like this all year round... the birds sound so happy! I miss Hogwarts a little already, but it's really nice here in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Fakir seems about as gloomy as usual. Maybe even a little more than that. I should do something to cheer him up...

How is everyone enjoying their summer so far? Have any interesting plans? I wish I could say I did... eheh...

Well, it's still a little weird without magic, but... this really isn't so bad. I can't study for practicals which I need the most work on, but I can still work on the other stuff.

It was kinda weird when they suddenly just didn't work, though. I thought maybe I somehow got even worse at magic... or it disappeared completely for good.

So uh...... this is the castle again, right? 

I wonder if it'll ever get tired of playing tricks on us...

AndI'mjustnotgoingtothinkaboutthatstabbing. Nope. Notatall. ...But I hope he's okay.

[ ooc: Strikes hacakable. AND I AM FULL OF FAIL. I know. I'm going to try to find something to spark this poor muse again. And for those of you wondering about that event thing I posted awhile back, I'm putting it on hold for now. But I will check back with you guys again when everything is worked out. ]

...Wow. Uh... something weird is going on with the castle again, huh? I wonder what it is this time. Everyone's acting really really weird!

Um--I'm sorry I missed a lot this past week! I was kind of stuck in the hospital wing. With mononuc---whatever it's called. I even had to spend my own birthday in bed. That wasn't very fun...

...I wonder if Fakir or Rue know what's going on with this curse or whatever it is this time? Or maybe they're affected, too...

[ ooc: Not affected. :| And was down with mono all of last week. Still recovering a little, but she's mostly fine now. ]

W-Wow... there's a lot of new people around! Are they all students, too? 

They sure are friendly, though! Maybe a little too much...? Eheh... Um! If you need anything, I'd be glad to try and help!

And I... I'm sorry about what I said about the game. I didn't really think there'd be a tie or something. Or so many people getting hurt. Like Fakir...

[ ooc: I leave no bounds. XD Hit her with anything you've got. ]

[ Private - easily hackable ]

Why... Why would anyone...

I knew the Death Eaters were horrible, but... I didn't think anyone in the school would do something so terrible...

I hope he's alright. He's muggleborn too, isn't he...

[ /Private ]

[ ooc: Mood is very difficult to hack. The whole situation brought back some unpleasant memories from the beginning of the school year. >>; ]

You know what? 

I HOPE BOTH HOUSES END UP DISQUALIFIED OR SOMETHING! 

All of this rivalry and putting each other down and hating is DUMB! It's just a game and it's not the end of the world one way or the other! You don't need to be accusing each other of things that don't even make SENSE!  Just play the game and have fun! That's how it's meant to be!

If someone actually got hurt over this, that'd be TERRIBLE! 

[ ooc: ...Yeah. So all this Quidditch rivalry has reached the point of ticking her off. :| Though Black*Star didn't help her mood at all yesterday. ]

...Eheh. I guess it's better this way. I'd probably trip and get it hurt or something.

But, um... good luck, everyone! They do look really cute.

Whoops! Uh--I better go study for my classes so I don't mess up more!

( Private // Filtered from Fakir and Raimei, hackable to anyone else~! )

[ ooc: Icon shows as "Ahhhh my bad", but hackable if you try. Mood is considerably more difficult to hack. Annnnd I didn't get her signed up in time, but didn't want to put her in late, so... no baby for Ahiru. D: ...Which is probably good for the baby. XD;;;; ]

[ Private, but ridiculously hackable ]

...Oh my god. I knew I did bad, but...

I really suck at practical magic. Even when I practice. I wonder what I should do...

I gotta try harder! But--

...Zero. Dreadful.

I guess there's no way to go but up, at least. Or staying the same...

[ /Private ]

[ ooc: She totally bombed the practical in DADA. XD; Strikes are also easily hackable. ]

...I feel kinda left out. Turning into a boy was horrible but I wouldn't mind having cat ears and a tail! That looks like fun! And they're really really cute!

And--And even turning into an animal or something wouldn't have been so bad, either...

I guess I can go practice flying out on the field for awhile. That should take my mind off of this. I guess it's kinda silly to be upset about it anyway.

[ Private to Fakir ]

Ummm... are you--do you---did the castle affect you at all? If it did, can I see your--

[ /Private ]

[ ooc: ...She thinks she not affected, but she is. XD Alas, she has no idea WHY she doesn't have the ears and tail. For now.  Strikes are hackable~! ]

...Ahahaha... I wonder why we all ended up out here?

Um--At least everyone is back to normal now, right? And I'm sure we'll be able to get back into the castle soon enough...

....Has anyone seen my shoes? I can't seem to find them. And my feet are freeeezing.

Is everyone else all right? I think I might have a few extra pairs of ear muffs if anyone's ears are cold. I guess we could use magic to keep warm, but I don't think it would turn out well if I tried...

[ ooc: Still wearing her nightgown, though she found pants to put on and her robes to drape over it. But the shoes, they are meeesing. D: ]

I---I think I'm almost ready for my midterms! I've been studying really, really hard and practicing all the spells and I took lots of notes even though they're kinda messy and bunched... but I think I can still read them.

Let's all do our best! Cause that's what counts, right?

Oh! And I got a weird gift this morning... Rue got one sort of like this, so maybe it's from the same person? ...Why chocolate, though? Wouldn't it um....melt? Eheh...

If there was a name with it, I could give it back... I'm pretty sure they must have meant to give it to someone else.

[ ooc: The gift is an inside joke that's better left that way. XD I joked about the idea, but Kris/Fakir-mun said DO IT, so I did. :| Blame her~ /o/ ]

Um... I don't really get the big deal about sharing a bathroom for awhile. Don't we kinda all do that back at home, anyway? If we just take turns and be nice about it, I don't see why there would be any trouble...

And if it's kinda dirty... well, we have wands for something, don't we? Though I might make things worse if I screw up the spells...

Rue! Um... I enjoyed going to Hogsmeade with you! AndI'msorryifIgotonyournervestalkingaboutstuff. Mytho, are things going okay with you and Kyro? I keep forgetting - but I have more Dots candy if you want it! I saved them cause I knew you liked them a lot.

Oh! And Mister Gai, there's something I want to ask you... um, if you're not busy!

[ Private to Fakir ]

...Things just keep happening, huh? It's really been awhile since we got to spend any time together. I miss you. Um... as long as you're not talking funny or tiny anymore, mabye we could meet up sometime? Even to study or something, if you're busy getting ready for NEWTs. I don't mind. I just... want to see you.

[ /Private ]

[ ooc: ...Yes, she's THAT oblivious about the bathroom situation. I doubt she's ever even been in a boy's bathroom or is even vaguely considering how awkward things might be. >>; ]

[ a girl's whiny voice pipes up suddenly out of nowhere--]  ---kiiiir! Get off me! You're heavy!

I-I wasn't TRYING to get on top of--How was I supposed to know your damn shirt would rip?!

[ loooong pause - probably JUST NOW looking down to check - followed by a squeal of embarrassment and surprise ] Y-You ripped my shirt!?

W-well...I was obviously too BIG and...you're the one who wanted me to go in there in the first place!

But it was the perfect size for you! I didn't think you'd... just grow like that out of nowhere!

Maybe if you hadn't been in such a damn RUSH to get me in there, this wouldn't have--Wait, is...is that...YOUR JOURNAL HAS BEEN OPEN THIS WHOLE TIME?!

[ ooc: THIS BE BACK-DATED TO LAST NIGHT! D: ...And yes, Fakir-mun and I are well-aware how wrong it sounds, though in fact it's srsly not dirty at all. XD During the event, Ahiru grew and Fakir shrunk. Since Fakir was having trouble getting around on his own, Ahiru put him in her shirt pocket to carry him around. Annnnd that's where he was when they changed back. So she has a ripped shirt and a Fakir on top of her now, in the middle of the Hufflepuff commonroom. XD Feel free to either hear/see them!  (Also, if it's not obvious - blue text = Ahiru's voice, green text = Fakir's) ]

Ahhh, I haven't had the chance to check the journals much lately... I've been um--busy! Have I missed anything?

[ Private ---- LOL Not. ]

Going into the Slytherin dorms was uncomfortable enough as it is, but...

Fakir shut me out. And I know even now he's keeping it all bottled up in himself.

Maybe it's really all gone to my head... dating and being close. People still keep secrets. Why did I think it would be different? Because he said at the end of the summer we'd handle things 'together'? ...I know he's not used to it. I didn't expect him to be that open, but... that he'd really tell me just to get out and go away... it hurt. He already closed up after the attack and now this... is there really so little I can do for him? He's helped me so much, with all of my problems. When my parents left me, he gave me a place to stay, he stands up for me even against Death Eaters and people in his own house, he's saved my life twice now... and I know I can always count on him.

...But I get the feeling he doesn't think he can really find the same thing in me. Not that I deserve it... after that stunt I pulled this summer with the wand and being clumsy and air-headed. And now I can't even support him.

This must be what he meant by feeling 'useless'. At least somewhat... I wish I was more reliable. Maybe if I hadn't accidentally shot water in father's face that one time and burned his favorite chair, he wouldn't hate magic so much. Maybe he and mom would still be here, maybe they would have come for parents' day...

No...No, I can't think like that. I have to keep moving forward. Never give up! Just like Mister Gai always said.

It...it'll be fine! I'll just keep smiling and not think about it. He doesn't want me to worry about him... and I don't want him to worry about me, either. If I added to whatever burden he's carrying over Parent's day... then I'd just feel even worse. I don't want that.

But I still don't regret it. I... I did what I could. If I persisted any longer than that, I'm sure he would have gotten more upset.

I guess all I can do is give him time. If he wants to avoid me for now, there's nothing I can do about that. I just hope it doesn't take me falling off of the moving staircase or something again for him to stop ignoring me...

[ / Private ]

[ ooc: I have been fail in all my RP stuff lately everywhere, so I apologize. DX I'm tryin' to catch up. ALSO! Icon and mood would be private, but... well, not anymore. XD ]