Emily Spencer

I love tea; my daughter and I usually enjoy a cup (or two) every day. Pictured are some of my own teatime things, including just a very small smattering of tea varieties. The brewing process itself is fairly simple: 1. Boil water in the kettle 2. Pour boiling water in cups and steep tea for approximately 5-6 minutes using either bag or tea diffuser depending on the type 3. Pour into cup, sweeten appropriately (I most often use honey) and enjoy! Note-If we're feeling extra fancy, we pour the steeped tea into a proper tea pot (bottom left) to serve.

Monday-While doing my best impression of Hermione, I will be curled up in solitary bliss with Hogwarts, a History. Closing my eyes, I can envision myself hurtling backward in time and witnessing first-hand our rich magical history. Now, whether it is by divine intervention, my own intellect, or something else entirely, I cannot say, but these words came unbidden to my lips; Tempus Viator. I found out later that it means “Time Traveler”. Interesting. At any rate, when I opened my eyes I was standing inside this cave, with colorful crystals nearly blinding me so brilliant was their shine. A man came forward to meet me, and it was no other than Merlin himself. We had quite a lovely afternoon, and even enjoyed a bit of tea before my return to the present (or future as the case may be). So yeah, I invented the Time Traveler spell-go me! Tuesday-Today, I will invent this nifty device that makes plants and animals capable of speech. It sees rather silly at first, but it does have its practical uses as well. Imagine being able to ascertain what is wrong with an ailing flower or niffler without having to go through all those tedious processes to do so. Merely lay the Loquela Factorum (speech maker) against the animal/plant and there you go. I predict that I will make a fortune with this little invention of mine. Wednesday-Today I will find myself going through my closet looking for something..anything…to wear. Outfit after outfit will get discarded and I will grow more and more annoyed. Forcing myself to calm, I close my eyes and envision my perfect outfit, waving my wand around in random circles. I will feel a sort of static in the air and hear a crackling sound as I open my eyes and reach for my not-very stylish green jumper with a sigh. As soon as my hands close around the material, however, the jumper transforms into my dream outfit instantly. I have no idea how that happened, but I’m sure glad it did. Thursday-I will find myself in Herbology class, but instead of sitting at my desk, I will be standing at the front. As the students file in, they address me as Professor Emily and take their seats looking at me expectantly. To make things even weirder, Professor Sky will enter the room wearing my Slytherin robes and taking her seat with the rest of the students. Okkkkay then. Anyone who knows me, knows that Herbology was not exactly my strong suit, but apparently now I’m an expert on the subject as the lesson goes off without a hitch and no one (including myself) getting injured. Talk about role reversal! Friday-Today will find me having a conversation with Moaning Myrtle, who for once (miraculously) is not moaning at all. Rather, we are chatting like old friends and I smile at her, removing a potion vial from my book bag and hand it to her. The liquid is bright pink and smells like cotton candy, and at my urging she will begin to drink it down with a smile. The air around her shimmers and she begins to take on a solid form until she is as solidly human as you and I. Somehow, I have restored her to the living! This is a pretty nifty invention, and hand in hand, we go off to find Professor Maxim to show him the miracle that my potion has done. Saturday-Today will find me at the Quidditch Piitch, which is unusual enough as it is. But wait…it gets better! I’m not a mere spectator, but actually I up one a broom flying with the rest of the Slytherin Team. The crowds are going crazy nd chanting my name EMILY EMILY!!! I have a moment of complete and utter panic, as I do not know the least thing about Quidditch and want off this broom NOW! From the corner of my eye, I see a winged horselike creature flying straight for me, and I find myself snatch up in his talons. EEEK! I don’t want to be an afternoon snack!! Miraculously, the creature swoops down and deposits me gently on the ground. I hurry out of there as quickly as I can. That was a close one! Sunday-Today I will find myself in the Great Hall staring at the Sorting Hat. It looks so old and sad, I almost feel sorry for it. It’s such an important part of Hogwarts, and certainly deserves an update of sorts. On a whim, I take out my wand and tap the crown twice while chanting Pulchra Specie (beautiful appearance). The air pulses and a rainbow of tiny stars burst from the tip of my wand, falling all over the surface of the Hat. It looks brand new and vibrant and not sad at all anymore. To test out the spell, I tap the Hat again and chant the appropriate words,. And the Hat changes again to another beautiful design. Yay for the Hat!

I love cooking and herbs have always played a big part in that. My ‘specialty’, if you will, is sauces (or so my husband and daughter tell me, anyway). At any rate, one of the herbs I go to again and again is oregano. Oregano is used a lot in Italian and Greek cooking, both of which I do my fair share of on a pretty regular basis. Jt adds a pungent and spicy back note when used in cooking,and I love the subtle spice it brings to any dish. Oregano is rather like myself, actually. We both can be easily overlooked and hover in the background, but byMerlin you are going to know we are there!

Griflet (also known as Gerflect) was a cousin of Lucan and Bedivere, who first started out as a squire at the beginning of Arthur’s rise to power. During the Battle of Bedegraine, he distinguishes himself by slaying one of the Saxon kings and is asked to join the Round Table as one of Arthur’s knights. That is, sadly, his greatest accomplishment, as he has the rather unfortunate reputation for being the knight most in need of rescue. It seems Griflet, though pure at heart, often placed his brother knights in harms’ way in their rescue attempts to free him from one scrape or another. Even more tragic is the fact that his death came indirectly via Lancelot as he was killed by a member of Lancelot’s party when they attempted to rescue the fallen Queen during her trial.

Anyone who knows anything about me can attest to the fact that I've always been fascinated by anything to do with Camelot, King Arthur, and Merlin. My mom used to tease me, in fact, that I must have been transported from that era into the modern world. Now, as much as I would love to entertain that idea, I know it's impossible. But here, in a literal flash were the living, breathing, embodiment of my childhood fantasies. One could suppose then, that I would have either been squealing with delight or on the verge of passing out from excitement. Both would have been perfectly normal reactions. But no one has ever accused me of being perfectly normal. So what did I do? I am ashamed to admit it, but I laughed. Not a pretty giggle or dainty titter either; it was a full-on guffaw deep from my belly. Some part of me knew it was highly inappropriate, but I couldn't stop myself. I laughed until tears were streaming down my face and I was bent over double holding my sides. King and knights stared at me wide-eyed and mouths agape, no doubt wondering what sort of mad girl they had fallen into the company of by way of fate. I lacked the words to explain to them that for some odd reason, the flash of Merlin's box and their sudden materialization made me think of that wonderful Muggle television show, Doctor Who. I must confess here, a fascination with Muggle technology, especially the television. On Doctor Who, they have a wonderful flying police call box known as the TARDIS, in which they can travel through time and space. For some reason, all I could think of was "My word; King Arthur is the Doctor!" Strange leap, I know, but there you have it. When I recovered sufficiently and had my wits about me, I did manage to drop a rather impressive curtsy to greet the lost king, who looked on with a twinkle of bemusement in his eye. The knights were a bit more reluctant to accept my greeting (and I could hardly fault them for that). Wanting to put myself back in the King's good graces, I did the most British cliche thing I could do and offered them all a cup of tea. Again, the knights looked on with not-so-veiled suspicion as I used my wand to heat up the beverage. One even muttered "witch", to which I nodded enthusiastically. Armed with our tea, I led King Arthur over to the seating area (the knights chose to hover nearby) and made small talk with him while waiting for someone with more authority than me to sort it all out properly. Nice fellow when you get to know him; Arthur was quite charming and answered my questions about Camelot with candor. All Hail, King Arthur!

Hi Raevia Change your signature to one you've made for Gryfftoberfest.

I'm inclined to go with Harry Walles on this one. I think the question of whether force or persuasion is used depends on the wizard or witch doing the gathering. If the gatherer is of a more caring and compassionate nature, they may indeed wait until the phoenix molts and collect the feathers needed that way. Or, they could go with a tasty treat and words of soothing. One thing I do believe they would do, at any rate, is to ask permission of the creature first. If the gatherer is inclined to be not-so-nice, they could always use a "Petrificus Totalus" to render the phoenix helpless and pluck the feathers needed. Ouch! I personally would go the first route, but that's just me.

Gathering all my courage, I attempted a greeting. Stepping closer to the strange creature, I whispered a timid "Hello." It looked at me and....

the next minute I saw the most hideous looking creature that I had ever been misfortunate to see. It looked straight at me and....

My tree is the Weather Tree. Basically, it gives one control of the weather for that immediate area. You can make it rain, snow, sunshine, or any combinations you wish. Want to build a snowman in July? Just pluck the snowflake-shaped leaf and place it in your hands for about 10 seconds. Then fling your arms wide and there you go-instant snow! Same thing about wanting a nice warm December day. The possibilities are endless!