Oh for the love of Salazar's saggy pants!
Why do I always get myself into these messes my lovely readers? For what seemed like the hundredth time, here I am scrabbling to make myself presentable and failing.... miserably. I have to be at a press conference in less than an hour and yet again, I have amazingly pulled myself together a lovely smart outfit and a set of questions that would make my editor proud. Yet my hair will simply not do as it is told!
Let me explain something to you all, My mother, God rest her soul, decided on her travels as a young witch that it would be infinitely sensible to get married to my father. How is that a problem I hear you ask? Well, let me explain. Mummy darling was about as Scottish as Robert the Bruce and as such, she was blessed with a thick head of bright auburn, curly hair that had a tendency to go like a prize thatch roof in the rain. She then chose to marry my darling Dada, who is a one hundred percent natural-born Jamaican man. So, as you can imagine, my hair is as thick and curly as a poodle on a damp April day. It has always been a problem and I've lost count of the number of combs and brushes that have pleaded for mercy while trying to tame it.
That being said, my time at Hogwarts has taught me many useful ways to try and control it and for the most part, it is at least manageable. But not today apparently. It is currently sticking up in all directions as if a very angry badger has become entangled in it while foraging.
Having tried all the usual measures from Sleekeasy Hair Potion to a very handy frizz-reducing spell to no success, I have one option left. Now, readers, this is not one I like to use regularly. The first time I tried it, it somewhat worked. It's a finicky thing to cast and the result made dear Mummy cry. She thought I was ashamed of my heritage, having forgotten that the effects of the spell are only temporary. It was quite a drama but thankfully, with it being only my first time casting it, it only lasted forty minutes. Since then I have always felt a little guilty for using it.
However, desperate times call for desperate measures. The spell I have been rambling about is, of course, Crinus Muto, the hair transformation spell. It allows you to change both the colour and style of your hair. It is not one usually taught at Hogwarts but is usually discussed in detail in any monthly issue of Witch Weekly if you care to read that magazine.
If any of you need a refresher though, the wand movement is an easy one. You simply draw a slow, counter-clockwise circle around the top of your head while saying the incantation. The correct pronunciation is CREE-nus MYOO-toe and there should be a warm, white light emitted from your wand if you have cast it correctly. I do ask though, that you all please focus when using this spell as that is the tricky part. It is prone to backfire if you are not very clear about what you want. I would not want to be blamed for any of you ending up with bright pink dreadlocks by accident.
Personally, I am going to do my best not to be outrageously ambitious, and as I focus on the spell, I will at least try to visualise something sleek and sophisticated. Whether it will work and last the ninety minutes I need it to, who knows? Beauty spells are definitely not my forte. I would much rather settle in with a mug of cocoa and a good book. Once a nerd, always a nerd I guess.
So to sign off delightful readers, I ask you to wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed that my editor does not have me cleaning out the copy machine with a Muggle cloth for being untidy again! - Nikita