danny goldstein: that excitable slow boy.

November is a really, really long month I think. I'm super tired all of the time. And it's winter and it keeps getting dark at, like, four which is unreasonable! I was practising the other day and it was pitch black by five! My grandma used to say that meant that Christmas was just around the corner, but it still seems like a really long way off. Maybe that's because no one seems particularly Christmas-y this year.

Though I reckon there's reasons for that. It's still a tad sad, though!

My brother wrote to ask me what was on my Charms NEWT so he could get a heads up.

It's the fucking third of fucking September.

Being a part of this family is tiring.

I absolutely refuse to believe that the Wizengamot made the right decision. Tav just wouldn't have done that.

I hate people.

FOR THE RECORD? Suddenly choking like MAD and not being able to stop is really scary. I don't even know what happened. I was talking to somebody in work and then I just started choking. And then people helped me get to Mungo's. And they didn't know what was wrong with me either! Which was slightly odd, because they're Healers, they're supposed to be able to tell these things, you know? I don't think my parents were impressed, but mostly I was just glad that I'd stopped choking at that point.

So, yeah, I had to take a potion and I'm okay now. But it was really weird and really scary and I was pretty sure I was going to die. But then I didn't. What if And now I have lots of stuff to do, because that was rather startling.

Because I'm home now and I'm doing the job hunting thing, I've been babysitting to make some money! Which has been working really, really well for me. I love kids and kids love me. Today, a girl I babysit for told me I was the best babysitter she ever had! It was really nice.

And now I have this HUGE big picture she drew and I think it's supposed to be me and her and her little brother and her dog and rainbow. And she wrote my name and what sort of looks like 'babysitter.' It is really, really cute and she made me promise to tack it up in my house. So it is! And her parents gave my name out to a couple of people, so I think I'm going to have odd jobs to tide me over for a while. Which is really good, because I've been eyeing some stuff which I want to buy. But I wanted to buy it myself and I nearly can!

I think the world is a whole let less nice than people told me when I was still in school.

Um. So have other people found themselves like, doing weird things lately? Because I was singing a song and I didn't even KNOW the song. But somehow I knew all the lyrics, which is really strange! And I suppose it wasn't a bad song. But it was still really odd.

So, you know! Sorry if I sang at you. I know I sang at Tav and then it was sort of shouting it. It was HILARIOUS

I'm bored.

Benny and I played hangman for hours. And then we moved onto Dots and Boxes, but he's sort of terrible with it. I kept winning and he wasn't pleased AT ALL. So I don't think he's going to want to play that again. He's sort of a really bad loser, my brother. And I think that's probably why he's not playing any more games with me, and now I'm reading but I've read ALL of these books before. And reading a book you already know all about is boring.

I can't wait to get a job. Or have something to do.

In just under twenty-four hours, I will never have to do Transfiguration again!! And all my NEWTs will be done!! It sucks for those people who still have some to go, but you will be fine! And it's only a couple of days.

I can't wait for life outside Hogwarts. It will be SUPER and BRILLIANT. And I will spend the first week or so sleeping in as late as I want! And generally being a bum. I might even refuse to unpack properly.

I think I broke all of my quills. Whoops. Sorry, everybody who was sitting the Charms exam. I don't think I was that loud but an apology never hurt anybody! And this was the first time in my LIFE that I haven't come down with a cold right before an exam, so I wasn't the annoying person who kept sniffling all the way through! It was a MAJOR improvement over OWLs!

WARDED TO GLADYS

Are you feeling better now that one is out of the way? And I hope I wasn't TOO annoying earlier. I know I kept harping on about vegetables and fruit and stuff but I thought it was REALLY quite important! MOSTLY because Greta said but

WARDED TO TAV

I bet that went better than you thought it would! And you didn't oversleep and miss the exam or anything! So, it was a success before you even saw the first question, right? Did it go okay?

So, like, I know I said to other people not to stress too much. But now I have realised something VERY IMPORTANT. I have realised that my FIRST exam is one the 1st of JUNE. That is, like, a few days away. Like, SHORT days too. I thought they were still ages away. I mean, I know how to count but it's sometimes a little bit ridiculous how quickly things go, you know? And my exams are over really quickly, you know, in the long run. And then it's not long until we get off and then there's Quidditch try outs and I have to practice. And, you know, Slytherin played well in our last match of the season and everything and I think that they totally deserved their win, because Regulus was really good at getting the Snitch and all, but it's still a little bit disheartening to know you're going to be trying out for PROFESSIONAL Quidditch and you just lost a match, where you were Captain. But then again, this sort of things happens in professional Quidditch too, so maybe it's a good thing because I just have to deal with it and I know my "legacy" or whatever won't just be losing to Slytherin.

And there's just LOADS of stuff to do. Which is, like, really sort of nerve-wracking. But I think it'll be okay because I ate some salad and I drank a lot of tea and I heard that vegetables were always good and I really like tea, so. That must help, right?

I think that it would be REALLY super--like, IMMENSELY so--if people would stop criticising my hair. I mean, we all have more important things to be doing. So this is just, like, some sort of public plea to stop paying attention to SILLY things. And just go about your day and stuff, that'd be super awesome! Thank you!

In, like, a month or so I will be a proper adult. Of age and out of school and everything.

That's kind of amazing. I still feel really quite young! But not in a bad way! In a good way. I can't WAIT.

Today, Benny told me he wanted to be a Healer and just like Saul. Which is understandable, when Saul is PERFECT perfect.

But it means I am officially the LAST Goldstein to have NO IDEA what they're doing. I think I am going to go out and practice or something, because this is RIDICULOUS. Benny is younger than me, he definitely shouldn't have his life sorted out or anything like that. He's not even doing his NEWTs yet!!

It is super hard being from a family of overachievers, okay.

I HATE Sundays. They are, like, the MISERABLE BLACK HOLE OF DEPRESSION in the week.

WARDED TO IMOGEN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

I figured you wouldn't want a big blinking announcement like Tav and Thisbe but I wanted to say something any! Also, I hope you like swans.

( cut for picture. )

I hope you have a really BRILLIANT birthday!

Today has been SUCH a lovely day! It's the kind of day that makes you sure the whole year is going to be JUST as nice as today was. And everything seemed to go REALLY WELL. Everyone was super at practice and then even classes and stuff weren't bad! I mean, I know that somewhere out there someone's having a shitty time BUT I think it really helps the entire world if everyone's a little optimistic and idealistic. After all, when you smile the world smiles with you! Which is a really important lesson I think people need to remember.