Are you the same person/being/force that is responsible for us being here? Because while I enjoyed being a child again, I did not appreciate the lack of warning and danger I found myself in.

It was irresponsible of you, and you still haven't answered my last journal entry about why you gave us these journals. Assuming that there is only one of you and you are responsible for both the journals and the temporary youth, of course.

If there are multiples, why are you doing this? Entertainment? Curiosity as to our reactions? Why won't you speak to us? What happens to those of who aren't here? How did you decide who would regress in age and who would get journals?

Speak.

It's certainly been an eventful week. Go to sleep, wake up seven-years-old with no memory of what's happening, cause havoc, go to sleep again and wake up once more my usual age (for this realm, anyway).

I'm still trying to sort out everything that I did while I was a child, but off the top of my head, I:

1. Got bitten by my bed.
   
2. Set my castle on fire while signaling for help.
   
3. Nearly drowned trying to put the fire out.
   
4. Got bitten by snakes trying to speak "Parseltongue" to them.
   
5. Fell into a vase trying to see what was inside.
   
6. Got stuck up a chimney while trying to chase some sort of creature up it.
   
7. Slid down banisters until I crashed into the figures at the end and broke my arm.
   
8. Locked myself in the oven while trying to cook dinner.
   
9. Couldn't reach a book I wanted, so climbed up the curtains to get it, had the curtains tear, crashed to the ground.
   
10. Got tangled in the sheets on my bed, rolled under the bed, cracked my head on the underside of the bed while getting out and bled profusely.
    
11. Found a basilisk.
    
12. Ran screaming from said basilik.
    
13. Ran screaming into a chimera while running from the basilik.
    
14. Set chimera on fire. Note to Self: NEVER SET A CHIMERA ON FIRE AGAIN.

And that was only during my first two days of childhood. I haven't even mentioned the wedding yet, or the elephant-kidnapper, or the naked burning of books, or the agreement to be Teddy's sinistral, or--

Really, if I were to try to list everything, I would probably find myself still writing in this journal a month later. Many thanks to everyone who was so kind as to help me while I was a child, but especially James, Sir Slytherin, Peter and Parvati for letting me stay at their homes. If I damaged anything, I will have it repaired or offer you fair recompense, I swear. I also apologize to anyone that I Obliviated while I was a child; I didn't like being scolded and back then, I thought it was the easiest way to avoid lectures. I don't think that I hexed, cursed or jinxed anyone, though, but if I did, I apologize for that as well.

...Vlad's eyeteeth, my spelling was atrocious back then.

Nobody took any photos of us so I drew one!

( Teddy, Rose and Gellert, sitting in a tree, P-L-O-T-T-I-N-G! )

Teddy and Rose and I got ver married yesterday! And Teddy is going to rule the world and be a Sith Lord and Rose wird is going to be Queen of the World and wear a crown und ich wird and I'm going to be his sinstral because I think that is better than being a king.

I feel less sad scared unhappy angry like the world is very unfair for not letting go back home. Because even if I do not see my Mother and Father again, or Binky or Kosa, I have Teddy and Rose here, and Sally and Petri Dish and Pharaoh Jameses.

It has been nearly a week. My Mother and Father must have disinhayrited me by now if they think that I ran off again. I wonder if they will have another child or if the line of sucksession will go to one of my cousins.

I wish I could tell them that I did not run away this time. I fell asleep and woke up here. If I go ecksploring without permission, I take Kosa and Binky with me. And Kosa and Binky are back home.

I think I miss them more than my Mother and Father.

But I am now married! Which is good. It's the duty of purebloods to get married and properguard the line. And I like Rose and Teddy and we can all live together now without people talking because Mother says it is bad when people talk.

( Wedding invitation! )

I am going to do the speech!

THE ROOM IS ON FIRE! I RAN OUT AND THE FIRE IS SPREADING AND MY WATER SPELLS AREN'T STRONG ENOUGH TO STOP IT. AND THE WALLS KEEP TRYING TO ATTACK ME!

SOMEONE TEACH ME A NEW WATER SPELL RIGHT NOW! I AM TOO LITTLE TO DIE BY FIRE AND THESE STUPID MUGGLES ARE NOT GOING TO BE THE ONES TO KILL ME!

( Handwritten entry. )

Latin:

Avada Kedavra, Crucio, Incendio, Engorgio, Feralis Feririo, Maleditum Ferallatilis, Nefundus Necto, Unda Nex.

Sanskrit:

मरणान्त (maraNaanta), दुःखमरण (duHkhamaraNa), मरणव्याधिशोका (maraNavyaadhizokaaH), विदहति { वि- दह् } (vidahati), निमज्जति (nimajjati).

Nicht genung

Wo bin ich?!

Ich sehe niemand dass ich erinnert und da is niemand hier in dieses Schloss! Und es hat mich gefrisst!

Viel Blud, aber ich muss nicht argert sein. Erste, ich muss mein Hand gut machen. Dann muss ich etwas schreiben for Hilfe im Englisch weil alle Leute weissen Englisch, und dann muss eine Liste machen von alle dunkeles Magik dass ich weisst fur wann die Muggles kommen.

( Private. )

Albus, would you happen to have collected any of the kidlets running around without adult supervision?

As for everyone else, there's a day care center being opened if you should happen across a stray child and not consider yourself capable of taking care of him/her.

Remus, I haven't forgotten that I promised you a costume. I'm working on it right now. Teddy, I hope you're enjoying yourself with Sir Slytherin. Severus, do you have anywhere safe to stay yet?

Oh, and everyone, I have a certain Princess Rita staying with me at the moment. Help. All inquiries about her health can be directed to me.

And lo! It came to pass that a plague swept the land, turning those who had spoken with the authority of adulthood into babes. And the wives grieved and cried out, "This isn't what I meant when I said I wanted another child!" And the children spoke and their word was "Groovy!" And the men of the land hastily gathered together in fear of their wives and children so when the plague came upon the men, they had nobody to change their diapers.

As the God of AWESOME, perhaps I should start creating a Holy Book of some sort. Given the above is a sample of my writing style when I'm attempting to master the art of epic tale-telling, I think it would be best if I left that task to Regulus since it's his area of expertise and I doubt he feels the need to mock everything, including his own so-called status.

While it is very intriguing that Remus has suddenly become a child -- I have heard of these occurrences though never seen them before -- I am not entirely certain how one convinces a child to take part in experiments to ascertain why said child is a child. It's complicated even further by the memory loss issue, since that means he doesn't even know that I've been working with his son and therefore ought to be considered a trustworthy researcher at the very least.

Money can't buy friendship but who doesn't like getting gifts? Based on that, Gellert sends off presents to practically everyone that's amused him during their conversations, regardless of if they were expecting any or would even want any from him.

He's rather unpredictable like that.

( Gift for Albus Dumbledore. )

( Gift for James Potter. )

( Gift for Theodore Lupin. )

( Gift for Regulus Black. )

( Gift for Harry Potter. )

( Gift for Lily Potter. )

( Gift for Abraxas Malfoy )

( Gift for Remus Lupin. )

( Gift for Rose Zeller. )

( Gift for Salazar Slytherin. )

( Gift for Fenrir Greyback. )

( Gift for Sirius Black. )

( Gift for Peter Pettigrew. )

( Gift for Rita Skeeter. )

( Gift for Merope Gaunt. )

( Gift for Tom Marvolo Riddle. )

( Private for Albus. )

( Private for Theodore. )

A-hunting we will go, a-hunting we will go...

And it's not even Easter.

Has Albus gone insaner?

Apart from that, Riddle has lost his magic. I dearly want to know why, how, and for how long. He's refusing to cooperate with me, though, so it appears if I desire this knowledge so badly, I shall have to kidnap him.

Curiosity leads people to do dreadful things.

Or to put it differently, Kosa has returned and I could not be happier about this.

Her return has come at the perfect time; I have certain concoctions that could do with an infusion of Veela blood. Though unlike Albus, I will not be offering anything of hers on the open market seeing as I am rather careful with her blood, hair, feathers and anything else people could possibly make use of.

Apart from that, she has apparently decided to add herself to my castle defenses. Seeing as she can be rather a jealous pet, I think that anyone who plans on visiting me should bear in mind that I now have a preening Veela standing guard outside whatever room I decide to occupy.

I complained to the universe about being displaced, and it sent me Kosa. I am pleased with this outcome.

Clearly, the squeaky wheel does get the grease!

Interestingly enough, most of the arrivals gifted with journals here seem to hail from Britain.

Is there anyone here, anyone, apart from myself who was not a resident of Britain in life or British?

Where are my followers? Not the new ones that I am collecting under the banner of A.W.E.S.O.M.E, but the ones who were loyal to me in life. I saw some of them die. I held them while they died. Why are they not here, or if they are, why have I not heard from them?

Riddle's followers are here, even if they are abandoning him now.

Why are mine missing? Have they been sent elsewhere -- should I seek them out? Does my responsibility to them extend even past death?

I chose James for my second-in-command. Although it was a laughing matter at the time, a title that meant nothing except that I liked his company and wished for more of it, that gesture on my part now complicates matters with Riddle. If he is my second-in-command, then Riddle attacking him is tantamount to a declaration of war between us. The proper thing to do would be to attack his second, whoever that might, but I have never seen the point in such measures of 'justice'. I would rather face Riddle directly, myself.

...Even though that's not entirely motivated by protectiveness of James. I dared him to kill me, and he did. I was unarmed, I was shackled with chains that bound my magic away from me, and I defied him still.

In this land, we are both armed with magic. I have the advantage of knowing the world better, as I appear to have been here longer, and if we fought here, now, it would ascertain who the more powerful wizard truly is. I cannot measure him by Albus and myself by Albus to figure out where he falls on the scale because I do not know whether I am more powerful than Albus is, so the only way to decide the issue would be to duel Riddle.

I usually care very little for relative power. Intelligence has always mattered to me more. An intelligent man, fighting cleverly, can easily beat a dumb brute with nothing to his credit but strength.

In this case, I believe it is Riddle's interference with James, his terrorising of Regulus (what has he done to leave Regulus so scared of him? I'm rather intrigued), and his defilement of Albus' grave that irks me enough that I'd consider duelling him instead of simply laying a trap for him.

I prefer to set up an ambush and watch my enemies destroy themselves. I have little liking for the dramatic one-on-one duels that seem so popular in Britain; they're simply such a waste of time and energy. Showy, perhaps, but very little else.

Much better to simply kill your foe instead of making a scene over your conquest of them. By the time you've finished with your grand speech, you've most likely lost the advantage of surprise anyway, and I am very fond of surprise as an attack mode.

...Theodore offered to help me experiment on Riddle, should I find Riddle and choose to make use of Riddle like that. Like Albus, Theodore is interested in my research but is loathe to openly support my methods. He offers thin justifications more for the sake of it than to soothe his conscience and perhaps a little to amuse me. I offered him a Portkey in return and sent Regulus one as well. Regulus sought my protection (he really is as stuffed-toy-like as I was imagining him) so he has first claim on that. Theodore was given that offer because he offered to help me in return, and because I am not adverse to his company.

Besides, the wound on my neck still throbs and the world seems different. Shadows and scents, everywhere. More experimentation to ascertain the nature of the changes in me and how they align with the changes in him is necessary.

If, however, I do experiment on Riddle, that would result in the majority of the inhabitants of this world being rudely reminded of what I am and what I am capable of. That would be a pity, seeing as I seem to be doing quite well at making them like me despite what they know about me. I suppose I'm lucky that they're mostly British so far and thus only had nebulous ideas of what happened under my reign or what I did to rise to power. The details might have stuck in their mind, if they had known them.

I still maintain that I was expelled from Durmstrang unfairly, though. That stupid school failed to recognize me as the genius I am! My work was GROUNDBREAKING.

I wonder what Riddle did at his school without getting caught?

And most of all, if we are heading into some sort of war, I WONDER WHERE MY FOLLOWERS ARE. I could do with some war-seasoned witches and wizards. Regulus is far too soft for battle, I know very little of Sirius' capabilities, James has already been injured, I refuse to think Albus will remember 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend', Theodore is a medic not a warrior and not part of A.W.E.S.O.M.E officially anyway and--

Really, if I'd known that it might turn serious, I might have chosen a different name. Or at least a different acronym.

Perhaps hearing "AWESOME WIZARDING EXOTIC SUPPLIES, OR MANY EGGS" turned into a battle song of courage will confuse Riddle too greatly to fight at his best. It certainly would give me pause, even if only because I'd think that I were about to face a group of lunatics.

( I never wrote this. )

The party was quite a fun little gathering. I spent some time with Regulus and Albus once I arrived and also ran into Riddle while he was exiting. He's apparently in a younger body as well. I wonder what determines what age people are when they arrive here?

Of those of you reading this journal, how many of you are at the age you have the fondest memories of, or consider to have been the age at which you were at your best?

( Private to Lily. )

( Private to James. )

( Private to Regulus. )

Oh, and Riddle?

Grow up. There are no Muggles here. Unless you're going to start hunting Muggleborn and Halfbloods in this Realm, your little dramatics with the Dark Mark are quite unnecessary.

If you're really that desperate for attention, I'd suggest smiling. I'm sure everyone would be startled out of their wits to see you genuinely joyous.

So, I hear that Albus Dumbledore is being generous enough to host a Yule party. Far be it from me to refuse to attend a social occasion! Of course, I can hardly attend such a gathering on my own, so would anyone care to be my companion for the evening?

Or, more to the point, be escorted by me?

I promise not to turn you into a worm and drown you in a puddle if you bore me. After all, it's not as if anyone can die here so what's the point of getting a name as a testy date?

Biological laws in this place are fascinating. More on that to come as I write up the results of my studies in layman's language instead of my usual shorthand.

Also, a question to those of who you read my journal -- which of you participate in gift exchanges to celebrate Christmas?

( Two doodles under cut, warning for one half-naked chick. )

I think that Midoree -- is that how one spells it? I have not had enough contact with Japanese wizards and witches to know, I'm afraid -- will be pleased with how quickly I have acclimatized to this new art style she taught me. A sketch of her, perhaps, would be a good proof to offer of how far I have advanced during the course of one afternoon.

[Private]I wonder if something is wrong with my journal? I keep seeing what looks like part of someone's entry, but it's not a complete entry and it seems to be in Albus' handwriting. And I cannot see it constantly; it appears and disappears.[/Private]

Has anyone been experiencing anything odd to do with their journals lately? For example, viewing a partial entry, but returning to it later only to find it gone, then reading it again a few hours later?

It's most baffling.

( Private: and this is what I think of you. )

Does anyone know how calenders are decided upon here, or which calender is even used? Full moons seem to come through the usual 28-day cycle, but I don't know about the months or years.

Also, I've been told that an old acquaintance of mine is here. Hello, Albus. Welcome to the Unknown. I do hope you're enjoying yourself as much as I am.

Harry, thank you for agreeing to test out the new brooms with me. Goldstein, breathe.

I went down to the village today to pick up certain supplies that I needed. Apart from running into a pirate captain who helped me haggle for a book I desired, nothing much of consequence happened. It was more of a reconnaissance mission than anything else, really, seeing as I wanted to learn a little more about the structure of this world.

There is still no sign of any law enforcement agencies. No Aurors, no courts, no lawyers. I haven't seen any sort of postal services either, but with these journals in use, I suppose that owling is unnecessary as long as the other people involved have journals too. And if the general populace all are equipped with these journals, why is there not more interaction? It seems like possession of the journals is restricted to an elite few, but on what criteria are the journals awarded, by whom, and why?

...Putting the issue of the journals aside, how does this place function? If there is nobody to enforce the laws, then what prevents everything from breaking down into chaos and anarchy? There should be looting in the streets; laws without consequence aren't attended to, and in this case, it doesn't seem like there even are any laws.

But in that case, why respect private property? The stores seem prosperous enough. People barter for what they want, without attempting to steal.

Why?

Cynical though I may be, I think it's hardly unrealistic to be surprised that people are all behaving like decent, law-abiding citizens when there are no laws and no punishments to keep them in place. Especially since it's obvious that there is no sort of criteria being applied as to what sort of souls are allowed here.

Anyone got any theories as to why this place works? Or, alternatively, is anyone willing to test what happens to people that break the usual rules that society abides by? A lightning strike from the sky, perhaps?

Hello, stranger.

I'm assuming that you have some reason for putting us all in this place and giving us these journals. Can I induce you to share that reason with us?

I would dearly love to know why I'm here with those other people, what's the reason for the gaps in their appearances and how you choose which people are given the journals. How did you get our souls after we died, and what exactly is this place?

I'd attribute it to some sort of social experiment -- after all, I've done enough along the same line myself -- but I'd hate to misjudge your intentions.

Please, do reply to me. I am very eager to communicate with you, even if you don't wish to tell me the reason that you're doing all of this.

Respectfully yours,

Gellert Grindelwald

[private]I think it's time to make my presence known to the others. I've been watching them interact over the past few days without commenting or making entries of my own to see what the current state of affairs is.

Albus is here.

So, less importantly, is that fool Riddle.

I've delayed enough on introducing myself to the world. Time to make an entrance.[/private]

Having found this blank journal, I'm going to use it as a record of my many adventures and mishaps. That way, if it turns out that it's possible to scar in this world, I'll be able to remember which injures were on me prior to arriving here.

I developed on a new charm yesterday for enhancing the balance of broomsticks. It works well in the sense that it's impossible for the rider to fall off the broom. Of course, since it's a new charm, it still needs to be perfected.

In this case, the flaw that I need to fix is that while it's impossible to fall off the broom, it's also impossible to dismount. I ended up having to splinter the broom underneath my boots, then ash the splinters still stuck to my boots.

I did that only with the greatest reluctance, of course. I would have preferred to save that broomstick but since I'd already been dragged through the forest while casting every cessation charm I could think of, I'd had enough of trying the usual tactics.

I'll recast the charm tomorrow. Today, I'm nursing my bruises and scrapes while taking another look at the theorems behind the charm's development.