48a

November 2007

PAD�s Hits a Milestone!

A little history behind the site from my perspecitve, hope you see how magical all this is and that the site turning SIX is special!
By Professor Ripley

I had heard about the Harry Potter books from a television show and being a big kid myself and always loving fantasy, I wanted the books. Three were out by then and that following Christmas, I bought all three, hardbound editions and gave them to my nephews and nieces. One set went to Alba�s son, who looked at me, after opening them, and was like, �great�books�, which at the time is like an equivalent to underwear and socks. It wasn�t until later, when Alba started reading the books to him, together, did they really appreciate the gift. Then she started hearing about Harry Potter everywhere as the books and character became even more popular through word-of-mouth and the start of making the first movie.

This is Alba's son standing in front of the Poster at the theater that magical night, he, of course, was dressed as Harry!

Then the contest was announced through AOL Hometown and Warner Brothers. I didn�t even know she entered until later, but she did it for her son as he was not old enough to enter. Of the thousands of entries, they picked five, and one of those was PAD�s Hogwarts. The Official Harry Potter web site had listed those five sites that won on their homepage and we watched PAD�s hit counter start reaching into the thousands each day. Family members and friends were then recruited to help answer the Sorting Quizzes and it grew from there. There are only a few of those who started here those early days, Professor Lockhart, Cecilia Opal, Amanda Dasaro, and Beonca Aims, besides Snape and me and I have been here longer then him! I was even in charge of Slytherin back then. We have many who have now been with us for four years and counting! Do read the 'Birthday' thread on the BB is you want to know what this site means to many here!
One of the perks of winning the contest was 200 tickets to a private screening of Harry Potter and the Scorer�s Stone BEFORE it opened world wide! This was the most anticipated movies ever! And we were going to see it before anyone else! How cool was that? I don�t even know 200 people! This was a big deal; believe me, big news too. The local papers and television stations from her city and nearby Cleveland were all over this big story. Alba and her son had to schedule interviews both the papers and television crews. Front page articles with pictures were the norm with the impending private viewing. Alba and her son had invited their family, their whole church, and not just his fourth grade class, but the entire fourth grade at his school! The big night was coming and everyone was excited! She got to know the one photographer well, and even invited him and his family to the viewing.

Comes the big night! We had one whole theater to ourselves! Kids and parents were everywhere and so gracious for the invites. I couldn�t tell who was more excited, the parents or the kids! I certainly was excited as was my husband, not only to be there, but to be part of it and to see the movie! Alba�s son came in costume and again he appeared in the paper the following day standing near the movie poster. What was it like? It was one of the biggest moments in our lives, the first movie and we were going to see it before just about any one in the world! There was a represenitive from Warner Brothers there, and she hand carried the film and ask Alba when she wanted to start the movie! A hush moved over the crowd, lights out and the now famous piano tinkle and the Warner Brother�s logo�and Harry Potter and the Soccer�s Stone movie began! You could hear a pin drop! Afterwards it was a blare of photographers and interviewing many who attended, everyone felt the magic that night, and to this day, it�s still there. I couldn�t have been prouder of my sister, and to this day will never forget that night. I can�t tell you how much this all has brought me closer to her and has also freed up my imagination!

Here is a copy of the very first ticket, ticket number ONE! This was Alba's, and each who attended had to have one to get in and it was invited ONLY by Alba and her son! Let me tell you, it was such a great time! And to have the whole theater to ourselves? Priceless!

A little history, Oct. 15th, 2001 was when the contest was entered. Our doors opened about 2 weeks later. Many of those early days were not recorded in the Owl Gazette as it was not published until Nov. 2003 with only about 5 articles and some house images. So this might be stretchy, but we started on AOL Hometown, everything was built on that, we had Bravenet forums and only the four houses and a common area, I am not even sure we called it the BB. We quickly outgrew the Bravenet boards and moved up to Proboards, and another forum Phpb, or what I called the �peanut butter� boards. Eventually we settled on what we have now around March 2004, and in March 2005 we divided up the boards with sub forums to accommodate the sections we have now, like the RPG areas, lockers, and dorms. In 2002, our first full year, we saw Gryffindor win the Quidditch Cup and Hufflepuff win the House Cup.

Besides the board evolution, here are some other important dates, in 2003 we saw Azkaban spring forth from one of the contest at PAD�s. The Annual Student Choice Awards were also created that year as was the Arcade Tournament which Oriana Flamescale, a Ravenclaw won. (She won it again the following year.) The Gryffindors grabbed the Quidditch Cup again and also won the House Cup!

2004 was another banner year, 6 HP shops were created, through more contests at PADs, and joining the ranks was Eyelop�s, Scribbulus, Magical Menagerie, Florean Fortesues, Zonko�s and Madam Malkins. Many of these were now being built on Yahoo�s �geocites� which everyone found easier to use and less hassle, even the school was being moved from AOL. With new students and teachers, the Annex Building was added to accommodate the classes and clubs. Slytherin had captured the Quidditch Cup that year, with Ravenclaw snagging the House Cup.

2005 saw more great things happen, Broomstick Racing was born, and Arcken (of Hufflepuff) and Igraine (of Slyterin) tied for the Broomstick Cup. April Fools pranks were all around with avatars on the BB switched up, the Owl Gazette upside-down, the Hour Glasses went wacky with outrageous numbers and we saw the Dancing Snape who was �too sexy for his shirt�. In May, Penshire was found! Who knew there was another �house� at Hogwarts all this time and it took us this long to find it! Samuel Craft was student #1! Cedric Cenn-Faelad won the Arcade Tournament this year, and �house magazines� were approved, an idea from Ravenclaw. This was the year Professor Lily Fairydust became a Deputy and Professor Snape took over DADA and Cecilia Opal becomes a professor along with Amanda Dasaro. Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup�again! And also the House Cup! There was no stopping them lions!

Now in 2006, many things were added; there was the Christmas Shopping field trip, along with the opening term shopping trip. The Summer Camp was a blast, and we moved all the non-HP shops into House Co-Ops and created the �malls� through a contest with great results! Cookie Minwaggle of Hufflepuff won the Arcade Tournament and Kristen Johnson won the Broomstick Racing Cup. Of course there were numerous classes created, students coming and going, and numerous classes canceled, which all comes with growth. For a change, Gryffindor did not see both House or Quidditch Cups, Slytherin had won them both that year and we are surprised the silver and gold has not been worn off with all the polishing we heard Severus was doing to those treasured Cups!

End of term, 2007, the Penshires almost had the House Cup, but Hufflepuff won out, however Penshire did win, hands down, the Quidditch Cup. YOU are living the history of this year into 2008, make the best of it! There is a lot of magic on this site and that is due in part to the one who enter a contest and never thought she would win. She has one of the biggest hearts I know and we both have come to love each and everyone of the students and staff who have come and contributed to this great site. You make your stay here what it is, you make friends, you have fun, and you get to use a little magic!

The two articles on the front page are a bit of surprize for my sister due to PAD's Hogwarts turning six this year! We love you and this magical world we get to come play in!

Interview With an �Old Timer�
By Billy Raven

Seeing how PAD�s Hogwarts turned six recently, I notice that Amanda had been here way back when along with some others, but her being in my house, Penshire, I thought to interview her about the early days, this is what she said when I ask. �I would LOVE to answer these questions for you. I actually wanted to write an article about it myself, but I didn't know how to express it. I think this works.� So, having her agree, I ask the questions and these were her answers, and I am going to make this a two-part series so be on the look-out for the second half next month! She really gave some great insight into the beginnings and I thought it was really interesting, so I hope you take the time to read this!

Billy: How did you discover PAD's?
Amanda: When I was younger, I used AOL. AOL Hometown was the name of the website portion of aol, kind of like geocities and yahoo. They were having a contest. You had to create an internet fan site for harry potter. If you won, you got 200 advanced screen tickets to go see the first movie when it came out. PAD's was one of the sites on the list. I clicked on it and fell in love. Not only that... PAD's won the contest! You can ask PAD about THAT experience...she loves to tell that story.

Billy: Was it pretty small then, size wise as to what was here to get involved in and all?
Amanda: Absolutely. I thought the school was big then, you should REALLY see it now. The layout of the staircase and the halls are almost the same as they always were, just the doors have changed. Getting involved was pretty simple because each house had about 7 or 8 really active members. I was Deputy Headmistress for like 3 years...taught almost every class ever possible...I was head girl in my 3rd year....a prefect...captain...name it...I'VE DONE IT. (I feel like superwoman.)

Billy: Being here from the beginning, you've had to see many come and go, anyone stand out that you really miss?
Amanda: You can't even imagine the amount of people I have seen come and go, nor can you imagine the amount of wonderful friends and relations I have seen come and go...not to mention all the bad people. There are a few people I have to mention that I miss dearly: That's Rosie, Kelina, Anjali, Bryan, and Melly. I'm sure some of those at the site know who these people are. I was upset when Professor Opal left in her second year...I was very happy that she came back.

Billy: Why do you think the school has lasted this long?
Amanda: Look at it! Look at all this woman has achieved. I wish I could tell you guys her real name. I wish I could tell you all about her. She's awesome. She sent my mom cookies to the house from her house halfway across the country because my mom had to have surgery on her leg. I get a birthday card every year. I got a graduation present...Christmas gifts. It really is endless. I've never seen such an outpouring of life, love, generosity, and laughter in one place. That's my second mother. I couldn't ask for a better role model in my life. I haven't met her...and even if I never meet her...I'll never forget her. Nor will I forget Aunt Ripley/Professor Mom either.

Billy: You seem to have a personal relationship with some of the staff; do you think that is because of who you are, or who they are, or both?
Amanda: I do have a personal relationship with the staff mostly due to the fact that we've all been together here for so long, especially the deputies. We've been through thick and thin...good times and bad. We stuck together through all our hard times in the school and we have a lot to show for it. We all worked very hard. It has to do with how we both are. We're all very loyal, loving, hard-working; generous...you know...all that jazz...kind of people. And we love each other for it.

Billy: You came from Hufflepuff to Penshire, do you see differences in the houses and are you happy that you made the change?
Amanda: I most definitely see differences in the houses. I spent 6 years in Hufflepuff and I loved it to death...but after a while something just set in me that I knew wasn't right. I knew I needed a change...and I think that Penshire was the best fit.

Billy: What are some of the biggest changes from then to now, and do you think they are for the better?
Amanda: We have a bigger and better support group. Student involvement is def. a plus. If you didn't notice it...in this school...the students basically run everything and that's amazing. Changes... wow... so many e-owl accounts. The first year we created the Hogwarts Choice Awards, I won the award for "Most E-owls In a Year" because I changed it so many times. (I was young and I just wanted to win an award, ok?) I've grown a lot from 12 to 18... and I'll be 19 soon. This was a great place to grow up.