By MoD
Teacher-student relationships are strictly forbidden. Yeah, so? Did this little fact ever mattered when there was Love in the air? After all when it comes to such things, there is the emotional part involved, too�and no one would ever dare to deny the fact, the we had such potential �relationships� at our school.
It is obvious enough, after all Miss Kiley Blaire of Slytherin managed to dedicate several articles and lists at this paper on this issue. The Slytherin student, who happens to share a dorm with the Slytherin Prefect Seraphina Rosehill, is probably the only one being able to tell us what is really going on between Professor Severus Snape and Miss Rosehill, except the Prefect tells on her own, which she probably never will.
Another prominent �couple� around here is�well, you might expect it: Miss Zoey Taylor and the Head of House of Hufflepuff, although there are rumours telling Miss Taylor was with Ron Weasley, the other Prefect of Hufflepuff House. But rumours go, that Professor Lockhart and Miss Zoey Taylor locked themselves into the broom closet on New Year�s Eve.
On we go with Professor Hyde Takarai, who is probably the most crushed-after Professor in Hogwarts and the only Professor at our school with a Fan Club just about him. Although he denied the fact that he was involved with starting this Club in the first place, his narcissism is known by all the students and staff members at our school. However, this Professor and a certain someone are known to be viewed together more often, although our Professor Hyde already has someone else at our school. I honestly wonder�
But Hyde has not only an effect on one student, but a whole lot students at a time, which was able to watch on his birthday a few days ago. Miss Linda Danes had changed her signature on this special day, showing that Hyde would be the �Pocky-loving most-crushed-after Happy Birthday Professor� around here, which leads me to my theory, that even this girl is out now to try and demand the �love� (?) of this Professor for herself. And it seems her chances are quite good, as even she had been seen sitting next to the Professor at the last Quidditch match Ravenclaw vs.Slytherin after Hyde had offered her to take a seat there. And after the game could we watch this couple hugging each other heartily? Now, is this a sign? Is Hyde torn apart by his love to the students of his old house and the love to his special someone?
Here we go again, as we can see that Love is in the air wherever one turns his face one of these days. I hope all of these potential couples will admit their love for each other, so we can face a happy ending soon, though only time will tell if these couples will end up marrying and we are invited to another hopeful dream-sequence here at Hogwarts. Anyway, be sure to find me there.
By Kiley Blaire
Credit to: www.pictureframes.co.uk/pages/saint_valentine.htm
Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honor Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.
The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.
Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270. At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honor of a heathen god. On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed.
The pastors of the early Christian Church in Rome endeavored to do away with the pagan element in these feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of maidens. And as the Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine's Day for the celebration of this new feast. So it seems that the custom of young men choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the coming year, arose in this way.
By MoD
It�s about to take sides. At least so it seems once one takes a look at the BB one of these days. There are all kinds of students having changed signatures, all stating more or less the same. They either tell that they hunt someone, or that they aren�t. Now guess who the person is, they all want to hunt or not? Yes, it is me, MoD.
Where does this sudden interest come from? Well, I have no idea, but what is clear is the fact that I seem to have gained a certain popularity around this school, although I am convinced that I don�t even deserve this. Anyhow, it is like it is and we gotta deal with it in any possible way.
I will try to give you an insight look on the groups currently being present there and still willing to accept your form to become their member. First, we have the �Hunting MoD� Club, started by the Gryffindor student Linda Danes and her housemate Roxanne Whitez. It seemed to have started as a simple statement of the red-haired girl in one of the games at the Bill Board, but was at once taken by Miss Danes to show, how much she would like to know who I am. As Miss Whitez isn�t informed about my identity either, she joined the club at
once. The list, however, continues with the trouble-causing Slytherin student Kiley Blaire, who seems to be around whenever her fellow �Queen� is calling out. Well�the list goes on with the Ravenclaw student Andela Schmorgie, who I hadn�t to mention so far, as it seemed that this girl was staying away from any trouble, but obviously she has changed her mind. Mister Kamron Flame, Jenii Chang, and Kitty Kitona are the latest members of the club, although they are all clever with either nowhere stating so, or posting this in such an unobtrusive kind of way, that people like myself need to take a second look to realize their true nature of showing off.
Second, there is the �other� side�one could even say �the good guys�, the �Anti Hunting MoD� club, started by no one else than Mister Napoleon Bonaparte, the fancy French guy from the last issue. And he already got some support by Miss Joy Jennings, one of the most brave Hufflepuffs I have ever met. Not just because she has to deal with Zoey Taylor each day, no, also because �well, I guess that�s enough for now. Another member is the Gryffindor student Adrianna La Cerva, who is known to be friends with the �Caught� student Miss Danes, but obviously refused to join her friend�s hunting club. Her motive is simply to �protect the right to a secret identity�. Be sure that I am honestly thankful for having such a support.
As you can see, the �Anti Hunting MoD� Club hasn�t been too successful with gaining supporters. Probably caused by the screaming green banner, the leader of the Hunting Club had posted in her Signature at the beginning of January, simply stating �Hunting MoD � yes, we dare� What else is there to add? Well, probably nothing, still you won�t find me leaving without a last comment. Thank you Linda Danes, for bringing some spirit to the BB and gathering people around you trying to hunt people down. If I didn�t know that you meant it all in good fun, you would probably find me broken down at the OG newsroom. But as I remember our short talk at the Great Hall, I know your motives for starting and have a lot of fun now, too. As for Leo, I want to say thank you, Leo, for standing up for me, but you really don�t need to, because I tell Linda and her fellow Club members what I already told you: You won�t ever find out about my true identity, no matter how hard you work and how many people will end up �hunting� me. See you at the Chat, guys!
Dear ______,
Happy Valentine's Day, my sweetheart. It means so much to have you with me. I have enclosed a box of heart shaped chocolates that will never go stale to remind you that my love will never go stale for you. You are my favorite person in the world and I love you from the bottom of my heart.
Love,
_______
See, this would be a perfect letter, if boys could write that well!
- Hermy_own Granger
By Will Potter
Our very own Penny Hung has suddenly disappeared from the CR, causing havoc and panic at the same time. Penny, one of our lovely PA�s, has never disappeared from the CR once since she�s been at Hogwarts, and I should know, too. Penny is one of our most active students, always helping out, making the house a better place to be.
Unfortunately, she has been known to take many risks. Who knows what could have happened to her if she decided to take a walk by the Whomping Willow, or take a jump off the Astronomy Tower. She�s always told us, though, when she was planning to do something like this. She could have just decided to be by herself lately, but she couldn�t ignore us forever. We in Ravenclaw hope that she is well wherever she is, and that she comes back as soon as she can.
By S.
I suppose I have to openly confess something. Or maybe this is just one of my weird phases where the redhead (that just gives you a clue) goes crazy or seems over-stressed. But it has been brought to my attention that the Gryffindor house, my beloved house, isn't as popular as it seems. Maybe some have thought about this, others haven't. But I was always wondering why some houses are favoured just a bit more than ours in some ways. This is my opinion, and the impression I get. I'm not picking at houses xP
Why not start with Slytherin? Since I've been here, there have been two of my dearest housemates, who have transferred to that house. Reasons of which seemed so different yet all related in a way. It seems the snakes' house is more comfortable and friendly than ours, could it be?
Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, I'm not lazy to put them separately but the two houses are more closely knit to one another than other houses I would assume. The badgers and the ravens are definitely two populated houses, but I can't see much to fish out of them.
Penshire is my last, but not the least if there would ever be one. It's an incredibly creative house and I wouldn't doubt it for its uniqueness. Being the youngest founded house in Hogwarts, it's become a welcoming house, where housemates are somehow all close friends.
What could we do to possibly make Gryffindor better? It seems the housemates are more into their own little groups of friends, some meet new ones while gaming for their posts, others seem to wander and wait for another to come around. Yet there is a disconnection, which I would happily say has been noticed by several housemates. No doubt, this New Year will bring some surprises, and hopefully Gryffindor's house will be one of them.
By Dakota Tallfeather
Lockers at Hogwarts are used for storing our school supplies and other personal items. However, have you noticed they are also a means to leave notes, gifts, and gags? The lockers have grown to also hold some of the funniest threads in the common room. For a while there was an old baloney sandwich being left around. Once someone found it in there locker, they would grab it and take it and place it in someone else's as a form of 'baloney tag'. You never knew from one day to the next if you were going to find the stinky, moldy thing in your locker and if you did, you had better move it to someone else's in a hurry as it had a tendency to stink up the place. Most often what you found in your locker were wonderful presents, even when it wasn't your birthday! Just for the heck of it, someone would leave you Berties Botts, or flowers, or Chocolate Frogs and a note of 'thanks', 'thinking of you', or just plain 'hey'. It gives you a good feeling to know someone was thinking of you. The newbie's lockers are always popular as they would be flooded with 'welcome' gifts, we like them to feel wanted because they are! So you see, lockers are not just for storage, they are a source of communication and friendship, or just plain joking and having fun. I ask in the title, 'Why the Lockers', well now you know, because it can be a great source of added fun in the common room.
By Kiley Blaire
Credit to: http://www.pictureframes.co.uk/pages/saint_valentine.htm
Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn't the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.
Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn't going to support that law!
Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favourite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite
exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers.
One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death.
I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.
One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the
right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine."
I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they
think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh -- because they know that love can't be beaten!
By MoD
No, this is not about the Hunting Clubs, which have been created lately. This is about all the houses at our school and their way to deal with the other houses, or in other words: why do we �hate� the other houses instead of becoming friends with them? No, this is not an altogether new issue here, as Miss Jennifer Kull of Slytherin
dedicated an entire article on this subject some time ago. It showed her wisdom on noticing about the useless fights around here by stating �Does this make sense? Then why hate? It doesn�t make sense, either!� (quoted from issue #34).
I, myself, noticed a certain tension concerning the �house rivalry�, and I have to say that this is ridiculous! Have you seen this poll on the BB, where Mister Danny Lupin asked about whether Penshire was a good addition to this school or not? And did you see the results? Some people, who rather stay anonymous (except for one student, who isn�t with us any longer) voted for �Not At All�. Then I wonder, as well as some others, why Penshire WAS voted to be the �Most Popular House� here. Does this make sense? To vote for a house that isn�t a good addition to this school? No, it makes no sense at all.
Another example. I have heard of one student entering one of the Common Rooms and introducing herself with just this: �I was just thinking about how much I hate Slytherin anybody back me up� The reactions on this statement were throughout the same, saying �Don�t hate Slytherin!�, but yet it seems that some students around here take this for granted when they have to deal with a student of said house. But it�s not just about Slytherin or Penshire, as the Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws, and Gryffindors are part of this whole rivalry-thing, too.
I greatly appreciate the Students Council�s effort to bring the Houses closer together with having House Chats, however, this doesn�t seem to really work out the way it should, when after one of the last House Chats, Professor Lockhart and PAD had to post a huge thread at the BB�s Announcements Section, dealing with the behaviours during said event. What comes along with it, is the lack of participating students, which is not purely narrated by the fact that they can�t enter the Chat room, or register for it, or whichever excuse they have. The way of showing their lack of interest to get to know students from other houses is sad to see, especially since they miss their chance to meet wonderful people, and enlarge their circle of friends.
Finally there is one last thing that, in my opinion, fuels the point of hating other houses. Every house has it�s own chat room, where some are used more often by the students of the houses, some others less, but this is not the point. Did you know that it is forbidden to enter another house�s chat room, although you have been invited to join this chat? And did you know what an argy-bargy about the fact of having friends over at the chat follows, when it is entered by another housemate? I couldn�t believe my eyes, when I found myself witnessing such a situation.
It saddens me, along with some others who were discussing with me about this fact. We have to face it: the houses are not as close together as they should, and we stand at the edge of the arena, watching what happens. I know that it is not easy to change the situation, we happen to find facing ourselves each day we come here,
but the least thing we could do is giving it a try. Go out and make friends with people from other houses. Try to show them that you care, and that the house you are in is NOT as bad as they might think. Show them some sympathy and understanding, because it is about time to change other people�s minds � about you and your house. Once you take a step, they will take one, too. Don�t give prejudice a chance by having an open mind and heart. This is my New Year�s Resolution. Come and join me in my daring attempt to unite the Houses and make this school a home to everyone � no matter which house you have been sorted into.
By: Jen Chang
There truly is no better house then Slytherin. The best way to figure out, if Slytherin really is the best house, is to interview people who were elsewhere. So here it goes. First, we have Seraphina Rosehill, Ex-Gryff.
Are you glad you switched to Slytherin?
ABSOLUTELY!! I love it here. Slytherin is my home, and is where I was meant to be. I can't imagine being in any other house.
Is there something you miss about your old house? If so, what?
I really liked having Professor Opal as a Head of House. She was always out there, playing games with us and being a part of the things that went on. I miss her (although I adore Professor Snape *whistle* ) and I miss Avin, Auds, Roxie and a few friends that I made, but when I transferred, I kept them as friends, and gained even MORE good friends.
See, she loves it here. Next, we have Kitty Kitona who came to us from Ravenclaw.
Are you glad you switched to Slytherin?
"Yes! I love it here!"
Is there something you miss about your old house? If so, what?
"I miss my best friend Samantha... and Al..."
I see a pattern, she loves it here too. Next, I decided to answer the questions, because I too came from a different house. I am a former Hufflepuff.
Are you glad you switched to Slytherin?
Of Course!!! I've made tons of friends here that I simply couldn't live without. I feel accepted here, like this really is where I belong.
Is there something you miss about your old house? If so, what?
I had a few friends in Hufflepuff, like Joy and Ron. I miss them. But I really don't miss the autographs, I had a couple dozen of those from a certain HOH.
...and the pattern continues. I love it here as well. The next thing I decided to do was ask students who were knew to Slytherin some questions to see if they loved it to.
Our first newbie is Josh North. He's been with us in Slytherin for December 9th.
How do you like Slytherin so far?
It's the greatest,naturally.
Do you feel that you fit in well here?
I Feel that I fit in very well here.
Do you enjoy being at PADS?
Yes I do.
Is there anything you would like to change about Slytherin or PADS?
Not anything I can think of.
See, see, there it is, in easy to read print, we're the greatest. Next we have, Zyram Lyam. She's been in Slytherin for 17 days.
How do you like Slytherin so far?
It's the best!
Do you feel that you fit in well here?
Of course...where else would I fit in at!
Do you enjoy being at PADS?
Now that's a silly question, of course I do! If I didn't, then I wouldn't be her, right?
Is there anything you would like to change about Slytherin or PADS?
Hmm...none that I can think of right now. I believe the Owner and Admins, as well as the staff have done a wonderful job on this site, making it safe for all.
Now we're the best and the greatest, beat that! Next, we hear from Jeremina Puffenskin who has been here 17 days as well.
How do you like Slytherin so far?
I love it! Slytherin has always been and always will be my favorite house!
Do you feel that you fit in well here?
I'm pretty confident that I do.
Do you enjoy being at PADS?
Yes,yes, yes!! I really do, it's a very fun and active site!
Is there anything you would like to change about Slytherin or PADS?
No, they're pretty much perfect in my opinion. However, if I were PAD I would make Slytherin the reigning house, but I don't if that's allowed...it should be though...
See, we're back to the same old pattern, she loves it too. Plus, she made a good point, we should be the reigning house. There you have it folks, no house could possible compete with Slytherin!
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