By Summer
Term has ended and the summer is now here! Along with the Summer Club, Potions and History of Hogwarts classes, Professor Lockhart brings to us two new monthly contests to keep us busy!
Not only can points be earned for simply entering the contest with an entry, but if you win the contest, you will have the honor of running such a prestigious shop!
The main point of the two monthly contests is to find suitable replacements for the two shops that Professor Lockhart had done a good job running. These shops are the Hogsmeade Village Post Office, where many of us have used to send mail to your family, and the joke shop Gamble and Japes in Diagon Alley.
In addition to two monthly contests, there is also an inner house contest (IHC). Each house would have the chance to work together and submit an entry for the Old Inn at Hogsmeade Village. The deadline for all three contests is midnight in all time zones on August 26th (that's a Sunday). Good luck to all the entries!
By Ava Black
The first contest of the new term was announced on July 18th. This is a contest that any student can enter and is worth 100 house points just for entering. This month was a special event as there are two options! The first is to enter a new Gamble and Japes Joke shop. The second is to make a Hogsmeade Post Office. The details for both contests are posted on the Bulletin Board and should be in your Common Room announcements as well. The due date is August 26, 2007. Good Luck everyone!
By Ava Black
The first IHC of the season is a big one!! IHC you ask? The Inter-House Contest! This one is to make a new Old Inn for Hogsmeade. This is a whole house effort and each house may only enter once. The IHC is worth a whopping 250 house points with an additional 250 points to the winner of the contest!
By Roxanne Whitez
There was a past article written about the same topic in one of the previous issues so what exactly am I talking about? Well, every once in a while, Gryffindor has this Post-o-Thon going on in the house and we're all required to fill out a sign-up form, which simply looks like this:
Name:
House:
Beginning Post #:
Ending Post #:
Now, I would like to bring your attention to the 'House' part of the form, where the Gryffindors always have loads of fun thinking up creative ways to fill that particular area out. And sooo . . . here they are:
Gawyn: Hold on...it's coming...wait for it...that shack that Little Red Ridinghood's Grandma lives in.
Kristin: I'm stealing Auds, SPARKLYPOO
Kalie: Slytherin
Adam: Griffindor of course [it's his first time doing this ]
Fiona: A small one with a pretty white picket fence in the front yard.
Rose: ...It begins with a 'g', and ends with an 'r'... ah of course, Slytherin. xD
Hermy: Pretty Princesses
Audrea: One
Megan & Lily: ____________
Leah: The eleventh, hopefully with Mercury.
Roxanne: Wait, didn't I already clarify this before? Green and silver, remember?
Professor Opal: The Pretty Kitty House
By Roxanne Whitez
Here we are, in the month of August in the special year of 2007. Why so special? DUH! Because the movie and the book are both came out in July! Well, it would have been more special if we were still in the month of July but anyways. Gryffindor decided that in favor to celebrate the fifth movie and the final book of the Harry Potter series, they would be hosting an HP dance for the entire school, the weekend of July 13 th-15th.
Luna Lovegood: I thought that it was really fun and quite entertaining. By the end of it a lot of people ended up covered in some sort of food. It wasn't my fault but I only got pied. We talked about predictions and things to. We hardly danced though.
Lily Valeriana: It was definitely different that the actual dance page was NOT hooked up at the great hall. Other than that, it was really like every other dance. That is I missed the really interesting things because I was sick. xD
Jenii Chang: I found it to be loads of fun. I got to talk to my friends from different houses as well as meet new people. I made a lot of new friends at the Gryff dance. I also really liked the theme it fit with everything happening. All in all, you guys did great!
Lily Duncan: I had a lot of fun at the dance. I talked with Joy Jennings, Gawyn, and Zoey Taylor and a lot of other people. It was very fun. We talked about the new HP movie, and how some of us cried. LOL it was very interesting and a lot of people were there. I think it was a very good idea.
Drewcilla Storm: Well, it was my first dance but it was pretty awesome. Too bad Gred wouldn't let me put "I'm in a pretty little princess" outfit without having to hex him.
Samuel Craft: I thought the staff contest was amazing! I loved how each of the hats was completely personal and original. Some of them like Prof. Lockhart's and Prof. Snape's were easy to guess, but some of them were sort of tricky.
Summer: Well, it was fun, just like the other dances I was there when there were some heated discussions about the HP5 movie and the 7th book, so it was exciting to find people that think the same thing, or have different views. I hadn't seen much dancing around, although I had been asked for a dance or two. Anyway, it was great to see us all come together for the one thing that we all like: Harry Potter
Narcissa-Rae Crystal: Well my first impression was that I wouldn't be talking just watching things go on, but as it continued I just started talking and people didn't criticize they just continued in there weird ways. I had fun, and I liked that there were people in there, because the Great Hall is normally empty.
Oriana Bloom: uh...well I always like dances and meeting students form other houses so another reason to go to a dance is fine by me. I liked how it was celebrating OotP and DH. And I haven't really been to any other dances except the EoT one and that was fun. I liked the Gryff HP hosted dance.
Liam Betteridge: It was fun and it was actually my first dance and loads of people were being nice. There were loads of games and I think to should happen more.
Gred Weasley: Um ok... This was the first dance I got to go to and it was a blast I had fun and hanging out with everybody was the best part I got to meet some people from different houses and we all got along and joked around the whole time... teasing each other and I survived being threatened with purple makeup and such so it was all good.
Joy Jennings: I think it was very well done and the Games were awesome. I loved it; it was one of my favorite dances compared to the others. The games were great fun. I loved chatting with everybody also.
Artemius Baxby: It was actually a lot of fun. I really liked the chatting -- you get to know people better that way, even if it's totally random and useless stuff. It's great to be able to just have fun like that.
Professor Lockhart: I think the Gryffindor Hosted dance was a complete success! Obviously it wasn't as good as the other dances because...well I make the other ones so no one can beat me. I did enjoy the atmosphere at the dance and thought it was very relaxed and stuck to the Harry Potter theme for the whole duration! I think Gryffindor did a smashing job!
Gawyn Crossguard: I thought it was fun. There were more people than I anticipated there. I was turned purple. I got to meet a few students that I'd only seen in the halls previously, and talk with friends I hadn't seen for a while. We had a couple pie fights, and I had absolutely nothing to do with starting it. We played 'Name That Song' for a while. I think I knew maybe 5 songs, but I was only quick enough to answer 3 of them.
Rose Wick: Well... I've got to say that in my opinion it was more, well, interesting than most of the other dances because it was hosted by a specific house. I missed the last house-posted dance, or was only there for a short period of time, and it was really... well... different. xD I think the best part of the whole dance was when almost all the girls in the Great Hall Chat for the Gryffindor Dance (including me) ganged up on the only boy in there and teased him constantly. He only took it as a joke, so that's why I enjoyed it.
Anonymous: I thought you guys did a great job setting it up. I enjoyed the staff contest a lot, and you all did a wonderful job getting all the HP information together for the dance page.
By Jacyn Corbin
About a month ago, I found this site. I was sorted into Ravenclaw, which was what I was hoping for. I went and introduced myself to the Common Room. And then I was at a loss. What to do now? I don�t need a locker, I�ve got a dorm. I�m waaay to shy to start RPing. Then I found the best thing in the whole house. The Games Section!
I started playing in every game there, which was a LOT, and reading every one that I thought would be funny (I read 21 pages of leapfrog!) Every day after school, I went online and started gaming until very late. I found out that gaming with people really lets you get to know them. That�s how I met Amber_Thatcher, the resident Unofficial Queen of Games, And Olive Snitzberry and Luna Lovegood, who were both competing for this title (which is extremely difficult to obtain, considering that it�s unofficial.).
Before long I was comfortable enough with the site and how it works to start RPing and talking to people, and get involved. I even convinced my friend to join, Eointhe Fastemouthe, another Raven better known as Birdie, One and Only.
Another thing that helped was creating my own RP in the Common Room, where I could introduce myself in my own setting, and others could talk to me in a comfortable way. I really suggest for shy people out there to start your own RP�s, so that you don�t feel (like I did) that joining in on another person�s RP would be confusing and complicated.
By Ava Black
Summer Club opened on June 28. The club is a great place to earn points and have fun while taking a small break from normal classes. There are lessons from Professor Dickinson for Charms and Creative Writing. There is also a promise of Spanish lessons coming in August. You can also find Trivia, puzzles, a caption contest and a movie club. All great fun. So if you haven�t checked it out I encourage you to drop on over to the Tent on the grounds and I am sure you will find something interesting! A special thanks to the Student Council and all who contributed for making this years Summer Club!
By Ava Black
On July 13th � 15th Gryffindor hosted a dance in honor of the 5th movie and the Last Book. The dance was held in the Great Hall Chat and students from the five different houses flocked to celebrate the HP releases. I myself got to attend on Friday and can say it was definitely a HOOT! The Gryffindor house also held a contest featuring decorated hats; you had to guess which staff member decorated which hat. All in a great success!
By Mystie Morrane
The Sylvertongue family has sent their daughter Lyra Sylvertongue to Hogwarts, School of witchcraft and wizardry. Although the girl has been home-schooled, she was sent there about three months ago, and the first incident already occurred.
As witnesses claimed, the girl was to Hogsmeade one day to meet up with a boy from the lower class, to get married. The wedding took place in Hogsmeade village on the 3rd last month. The newly married couple, however, has not been seen together anywhere ever since.
Lyra Sylvertongue�s new husband is known to be a Muggle-born wizard with 6 sisters and 3 brothers, and according to this reporters sources, the boy is claimed to be the best student of Ravenclaw house. The name, however, has to stay a secret, since no one seems to know the boy�s name.
We will watch out for a statement of the new couple and the Sylvertongue family. Until then, congratulations Lyra and your husband.
By Myrrima Goldenleaf
The poetry club has changed things up a bit for the coming year. There will be a contest every month this term except for May unless something happens to severely change that schedule. The July contest was very successful with a total of fifteen entries! The topic was to write about a picture that you can find here. The winner of the contest gets to decide what the next month�s topic will be and earn an extra 50 points for their house, like last year. To view the contest poems, go here.
Another thing that has changed in the poetry club is the point system. Poems that are four lines or less, like haikus, are worth 10 points. Poems that are five lines long or more are worth 25 points. Contest entries are worth 50 points.
I'm hoping to see a lot of poems submitted to the club and for the contests! The involvement this year has already been spectacular! Great work, everyone! Have fun, and keep on writing.
By Cpl. Minion
Over the past couple months, Gryffindor has watched a profound change sweep over our most beloved Senior Prefect, Audrea Martin. You're all probably wondering what on earth I am talking about. Let me explain.
Where to begin...Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. When you read, you begin with A, B, C. When you sing...
Anyway... It all started during the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Quidditch match this past term. The Gryffindors were all scrunched together on the bleachers, when a newbie-at-the-time, Adam Crawford, asked Audrea what she liked to be called. She responded, "I prefer to be called 'Her Royal and Most Senior Prefectness,' but I sometimes allow first years to call me 'Miss Martin.'"
From then on out it just exploded, Miss Martin has now accrued such power that strikes fear into the heart of every one of her minions, and let me tell you that's a difficult thing to do to Gryffindors. You might be asking yourself where the author of this article comes in, and how Miss Audrea gathers her minions.
The answer to the first question is that Cpl. Minion has been with her from the start. I know what you're thinking, and, no, he's not her toady. He is her humble messenger boy, her most trusted alarm clock, her loyal errand boy, and of course her absolute, most favorite torture victim. In fact, this indentured servant is so crucial to Her Most Royal and Senior Prefectness, that Miss Martin felt the need to promote him. Not to 'Just Regular Minion,' or 'Private Minion,' no, she made him 'Cpl. Minion,' and in so doing, ensured his loyalty for all time. However, higher promotions are always welcome.
To answer the second question, it seems as though the poor students of the Lion's Den have been brainwashed. You heard it right, I said 'brainwashed.' Everyday, more and more of our young students are walking the gauntlet to sign on so they can be called a 'minion.' They have even had a badge made that announces the fact. With all the exercise and sarcastically witty retorts, who can blame them?
I don't want to brag or anything, but I hear that Her Most Royal and Senior Prefectness are close to rivaling her mentor, the ever dreaded Zoey Taylor of Hufflepuff.
And the Slytherins think they're bent on World Domination?
By G. Huggabunch
Well we all know that Lyra Sylvertongue daughter of Aryana and Darien Sylvertongue is attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but what of the rest of the famous Sylvertongue family?
I have recently visited Las Vegas, Nevada in America where just three days ago Lyra's cousin's sister's aunt, Barbara Anne Sylvertongue married a monkey names Alafonso from Cuba.
"They were so cute together" says an onlooker who saw them in a restaurant before they skipped of the Elvis Presley Wedding Chapel. There they exchanges vows and bananas and also their beautiful wedding rings, Strawberry Ring pop... Alafonso ate his on the spot.
The question here is how will the rest of the Sylvertongue family take this shocking and sudden change in the family tree? Will they go bananas?
Barbara Anne and Alafonso's honeymoon location is still unknown.