Leaderboard

Isa’s father is a British pure-blood Squib and Isa’s mother is a Japanese half-blood, making Isa a Japanese-British half-blood also. Growing up, her household was very odd as her father worked in the muggle world in advertising as a graphic designer and her mother worked for the Ministry of Magic as a Hit Witch. Because her mother was away from home a lot of the time due to her job, Isa assimilated into Muggle culture for much of her adolescence, going to muggle schools and having muggle friends. She even began to resent magic after a while, wishing that it wasn’t real so that her mother could stay at home more often and that her father— who had become an outcast from his pure-blood extremist family and magical childhood friends— might still have had these relationships intact if not for magic. This made Isa suppress her magical abilities, not wanting to have anything to do with the magical world and preferring to stay in the muggle one as much as she could. She still exhibited a sign of magic growing up, much like every other witch or wizard, though Isa only exhibited these signs once. Growing up, she had suppressed the signs of magic so well that people around her believed that she had taken after her father and been a squib. However, when she was ten years old, three years past the normal period of wizard magic-using, she had her first occurrence. Her mom had been on a business trip and her dad hadn’t come home from work yet, leaving a muggle nanny in charge of Isa until he got home. A muggle man broke into Isa’s family home while she and the nanny were playing upstairs. The nanny shushed Isa and they both hid in the closet. After a while, the burglar, not knowing that people were inside the house, stomped upstairs and into the playroom the two were in. Isa, who could see through the cracks between the closet doors, saw the man reach toward the handle in an attempt to open the door and screamed. The scream inexplicably shook the floor and caused the closet to explode outward. Some of the wood planks flew toward the man, hitting him on his head and knocking him unconscious. The nanny ran from the house in fear away from Isa, leaving her alone with the unconscious burglar. The matter was settled after Isa’s father came home and called the police, though they were confused at exactly how he had been knocked out. Isa’s father quickly made up a story about how the wood had likely overheated, causing the pressure inside the cabinet to change and suddenly explode outward. The police still thought it odd but closed the case quickly as the burglar confessed to breaking in and the nanny was cited as a witness. After this incident, Isa’s mother was also called back from her business trip and she speculated that Isa had a three-year pent-up of magic that had released in that moment, accounting for the abnormal magnitude and lateness of her magic. Isa soon after went back to doing her best to ignore her magic and vowed to never use it, seeing how catastrophic it could be. However, everything changed on her eleventh birthday when she received a Hogwarts letter. For as long as she could remember, Isa had dreaded this moment, though she knew it would arrive some day. She didn’t want her father— whom his whole family had abandoned because of his magical inabilities— to loose another person or feel guilt for making her stay and decided to pretend as if the letter had never come and threw it in the trash. The day after she had done so, a second letter appeared in her mail and after disposing of it, a third and then a fourth, fifth, and sixth popped up the morning after she would throw them out. Eventually, she was throwing out so much mail that it became evident to her father that something was suspicious. Peaking through her garbage, he found that all of the letters were addressed in from Hogwarts. Knowing that his daughter was only throwing these away because she didn’t want to hurt him, Isa’s father took one of the letters from her trash and pretended to find mail on the doorstep and acted as though he was rejoiced at the prospect of his daughter learning magic. Isa, none the wiser, believed her dad was being truthful and the two finally opened the Hogwarts letter together. Though, throughout early life, Isa’s mom had taken her to magical places such as Diagon Alley, Isa wasn’t very interested in magic until her eleventh birthday, when she got her Hogwarts acceptance letter. When she realized that being unable to ignore her magical abilities and attempting to fit into the muggle world was dangerous, she decided to go to Hogwarts in order so that she wouldn’t have to live life fearing for another outburst. In order to prepare herself for Hogwarts and entering into the wizarding world, Isa trying to find out everything about it; she started by reading magical books and the Daily prophet but her enthrallment soon led her to visit Diagon Alley by herself— to the point where she was making unlikely friends with Gringotts goblins and the owner of Gamble and Japes began secretly giving her Filibuster fireworks and luminous balloons on the side— and Isa even visited the Ministry of Magic with her mom on “bring your child to work” day, smiling when her mom’s co-workers told her that she had the aptitude and was growing up to have the make of a great Hit Witch or Auror. (I’m so sorry to anyone who tried to follow that 118 word sentence) This trip to the Ministry led Isa to take a strange liking to Defense Against the Dark Arts and, throughout her time before going to Hogwarts, she would spend hours slowly reading through books focused on defensive and offensive incantations and when she got her wand, she would wave it around and pretend that she was casting complex spells. Her wand, by the way, is a 13 inch Sycamore wood wand with a Curupia hair core, quite springy. The springy nature and length of her wand are due to Isa’s high-energy, bouncy, and full-of-life personality. She loves being a social butterfly and is full of liveliness. The Sycamore wood is, similarity, thought to be particularly matching for Isa as she loves looking for adventure and, sometimes slightly recklessly, stumbles into dramatic situations that make her use her wit. The wand’s Curupia hair core, a notoriously unstable and unpredictable wand, gifted to talented and similarly unpredictable wizards, also perfectly matches Isa’s recklessness and simultaneously her drive for excellent wizardmanship. Isa has a few general likes and dislikes. Throughout her days before Hogwarts, she had joined a local field hockey league and much of her free time was taken up by practice and hanging out with her teammates. It was one among the only things she missed dearly when she started Hogwarts and, even when she started school, she’d practice by herself in remote areas of the grounds for hours at a time. Isa also likes anything artistic. As mentioned earlier, her dad was a graphic designer and he taught her how to sketch. Though a long and hard process, she developed her skills and likes making art. She even branched off into other art-adjacent areas such as knitting, macrame, and embroidery, though she’s sometimes embarrassed to admit that she spends time doing such “grandmotherly” things despite no one really caring either way. Isa is also has an affliction with lizards, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans (she loves the thrill of unpredictability!), and Eunice Murray, ex-player for the Montrose Magpies. In addition to having a Horned owl named Albert, she has three lizards (Pirn, Beano, and Snow) and used to have a fourth (named Cat; she thought it ironic to name a lizard by a predator name and lived to regret the name) that was eaten by Albert when she first bought him. On the other hand, Isa dislikes woodwork, walnuts, Erklings, and the dark. She failed her woodworking class while enrolled in muggle middle school and wouldn’t, for the life of her, be able to nail together two pieces of wood. Isa simply dislikes walnuts because she thinks they taste horrible (unless they are in cake, then they’re okay). Isa not only hates Erklings, but is terrified of them. When she was young, her mother read to her a picture book in which an Erkling terrorized a medieval village by eating the citizen’s children by night. This picture book scarred her for life and made her dread both the creatures and the dark. House elves, which are thought to be related to Erklings also freak Isa out, despite most of them being caring and wonderful creatures. Even when Isa grew up, she couldn’t sleep without a nightlight, fearing that she would bump into some dark and fearsome creature on a nighttime stroll to the bathroom if she couldn’t see. Isa is, characteristically, both emotionally sensitive and crude at the same time. She likes to make mildly offensive jabs at her friends but usually knows when a joke has gone too far (though she sometimes gets a bit carried away). When it comes to people who are struggling, though, Isa knows how to calm down and listen to them, though she’s not the best with giving advice. Because she knows of her own tendencies to act recklessly and without much thought, she becomes overly cautious when someone else could be put in danger for her actions. This occasionally makes Isa a hard person to collaborate or form deep, meaningful friendships with because she is always worrying about the negative impact she might have on other people’s lives. Her caution also tends to make Isa close up and shut off any negative emotions until she can’t take it anymore and explodes, much like she did in her first magic usage. Isa shuts off and suppresses magic usage until it comes to learning or doing things that are absolutely necessary or help defend people, leading her to be mildly horrible at studies such as Astronomy and Charms while being very adept at Defense Against the Dark Arts. In addition to the dark and Erklings, Isa is scared of being perceived as boring. Growing up she would fill her life with activities and would never really take time to contemplate or think over things. She liked to fit in while also being the center of attention and, unknowingly, built a false persona around herself as a never unhappy, coolly brave, and confident character. Going to Hogwarts gave Isa the chance to start all over and, though she has retained somewhat of a confident, nonchalant personality, she’s working on being more transparent and open with her friends while ditching the aloofness of her false persona. What Isa wants most in life is to build a connection with her mother. All throughout childhood, she wondered why her she would always be away from the house and started hating both her and the magical world. As Isa got older, she realized that her mother’s place in the Ministry protected the wizarding world at large and that her mother wasn’t purposefully cold or distant but just didn’t know exactly how to interact with her daughter. Though the two never really got close, Isa secretly wanted to have a more of a connection with her mom. Style and items: When Isa isn’t in Hogwarts robes or Gryffindor merchandise, she can usually be found wearing bright 80s style jeans and sweatshirts. She likes to listen to punk rock and occasionally pop music. When Isa goes questing, she makes sure to bring her wand with her. Though she’s still a beginner, she’s been able to quickly pick up defensive and offensive spells. She also brings her hockey stick along with her as well as several balls so that she can have some entertainment. If she has to climb a rocky hill or hit someone suddenly, her hockey stick is also a very good option for that. One final item that Isa makes sure to have is some sort of healing essence, usually Essence of Dittany. Despite being proficient in defensive and offensive spells, Isa is sometimes unable to cast simpler spells such as healing charms so she carries around essences as a backup. Physical appearance: The Isa Vestal in HOL is currently a 12-year old 139 centimeter tall girl but her adventurer self is a few years older and 15 centimeters taller. She has long, silky, silver-blonde hair and electric green eyes with cat-like pupils. She has fair to lightly tanned skin depending on the time of year and has freckles all across her face. She is short and has a slightly bulky build. One interesting feature of hers is her abnormally pointy, fang-like teeth. They don’t allow for any special abilities but they do allow Isa to cosplay as vampires and cats very easily! As Isa is half Japanese-half British, she has a combination of European and Asian features. Her green eyes came from her dad while her silver hair was likely from her mom, who grayed very quickly. When Isa was younger, she had pitch black hair, following her Japanese heritage, but from the time she was seven, her hair began turning gray as a result of stress from magic suppression. For a while, Isa would dye her hair black but, when she got her Hogwarts letter and decided to go, she let her silver hair grow out, thinking it would be nice to both embrace her hair and also that it would fit in with a more “witchy” vibe. Even after Isa stopped suppressing her magic, the silver hair continued to grow, though she doesn’t exactly know why. Though she hates that her eye and hair colors combined make the Slytherin colors (as she is a Gryffindor and has even gotten angry at a few Slytherins for remarking on the fact after her house lost to theirs in a quidditch match), she has come to love its color.

I spotted the Boggart in my dorm room. He turned into my alarm clock and I imagined him being a soft pillow and blanket so I could go back to bed :P

Great job GQT! Wish I could have been there. Hope everyone is having a good term so far.

I know the End of Year Feast is behind us, but we are not quite done until we take a moment to acknowledge the people who have contributed to our proud House. With the most House Points earned we have @Iverian Gnash, who collected 1,963 House Points for our House in the previous term. To her we present the Platinum Quill Award. Not only has she collected the most House Points, she’s also the Gryffindor who managed to collect the most Rubies, which earns her the Phoenix Award! Well done! Speaking of Rubies, one of our non-Gryffindor friends managed to collect a total 411 Rubies for the term. Well done @Maxim Trevelyan for earning the Lionheart Award. Thank you for hanging out in our Common Room. The Gryffindor House values hard work. On that note, I would like to present the Studious Simba Award to @Lizzi Long for her school and class-related efforts. Next on is the Exploding Snap Award, which coincidentally goes to one of the main backers of the Exploding Snap activity, @Iverian Gnash. Iverian has contributed a lot to Gryffindor even outside of her duties as member of staff. Having said that, I would also like to congratulate her on being promoted to a Prefect. Well deserved! Last, but definitely not least, I am delighted to present an award which is a true honour here in Gryffindor: The Pride of the Pride. For her immeasurable effort and contributions, for her positive attitude, true Gryffindor spirit and unquestionable loyalty to the House, the Pride of the Pride Award is presented to our @Sky Alton. Thank you!

As my first year at HOL comes to close I want to thank everyone being kind. I was nervous about start here because am deaf. Sometime new people be not nice to deaf person. Everyone here is nice. As some might notice for while my post in activity were longer and could do puzzle without help. That because sister help. Sister and self have decided need to be independent. Sister is having very busy term next year finish university. Start independent here and work into personal life independent. So may need more help in HOL from others. I will stay long time if don't mind help sometime. Thanks Sky and Ivey and Tarma for great help and be patient.

I slap Emerald for bowing to Ivey so much her head will get too big for her crown

Thanks to everyone who participated in this activity. All rubies for Gone Camping have been awarded. If you feel I have missed any, just drop me a message.

Way to go, GQT!

I'd wave my wand and cause the fire to sink into the ground a bit, and then smother it with dirt

While everyone scrambles around setting the fire out with water, I make sure there's nothing lighttable around the tent. Pushing all manner of leaves and sticks out of the way, I use my wand to make a ring of dirt around each place where there's fire. This will contain it so it can't spread nearly as easily. Then I help the others using aguamenti and a jet of water erupts from my wand, hitting the nearest tent. The fire sizzles out.

I think I would first use the flame freezing charm to prevent more damage from the fire. Then I would use the Aqua Eructo Charm to extinguish the flames, by adjusting the flow of the water to be almost as strong as a fire hose (but not as strong since it is a tent). If this didn't work then I would use Aquamenti on the ground to make mud. Then I would use Bombarda on the mud, directed towards the flames to try to extinguish them.

Time for a rain dance! Quickly - Get four folks to play drums and bagpipe and flute, maybe something like Highland Cathedral. Erect a shield charm over them, to shelter them from the upcoming rain storm. Have two people singing and chanting Weather Modifying Rain Charm, inserting the word aguamenti when appropriate. Everyone else conga dance and stamp their feet and shout aguamenti whenever that word comes up in the Weathering Modifying Rain Charm. The tents will be okay. Prepare to be drenched.

My tent is pretty nondescript on the outside, deceptively looking like your average, run-of-the-mill one person 'pup' tent. However, it's a whole different story once you enter. Borrowing from a Muggle television show that I actually do like, Doctor Who, the space really is bigger on the inside. I won't even bother going into how many rooms there are, but hit on the highlights. The 'main' rooms, if you will, are the living room, kitchen/dining, my bedroom, a pool, and a library. All of the walls are the purest white marble, and the floor is white marble shot through with gold streaks. In the living area, the color scheme is reflective of my House, mainly green and grey, with various velvet tapestries hung throughout. The dark green couch is adorned with lush grey, gold, and white pillows, and the rug is an Oriental one of he same colors. The room also boasts a huge fireplace to keep me warm on those chilly nights. The kitchen is done in dark mahogany cabinets, and a large cupboard for herbs, various seasonings, and the like. I love to cook, so it stands to reason that the kitchen is probably my favorite room in the place. The large table is crystal, and can comfortably seat at least 10. My bedroom has a queen size canopy bed, with gossamer sheer drapes of softest moss green. It is probably the 'airiest' room in the tent, and very few are granted a view of it, so I will leave it at that. A girl has to have some mystery, you know! The pool-ah-what can I say?! Think Roman bath and you get the picture. I like luxurious things, and if I have to go camping, I'm going in style!!

It’s my privilege and pleasure to announce the Gryffindor awards for the autumn term! Before I begin, I just have to say that this was the most difficult term to judge I’ve had since joining the staff (and I’m not just saying that to be polite). We currently have so many talented, enthusiastic and hardworking lions that it was a struggle to narrow it down. If you missed out on an award this term, please don’t be disheartened: trust me, we see and value each and every one of you who contributes or makes an effort to brighten up the CR. If you keep it up, hopefully we’ll be honouring you with a shiny trophy next term. Let’s start with our points based awards: The Platinum Quill award goes to @Iverian Gnash! This award goes to the Gryffindor who earned the most house points and with a staggering 2278 (509 points ahead of the 2nd place earner), Iverian absolutely knocked it out of the park this term. The Phoenix Award goes to @Lora Wallabenger! This award is given to the Gryffindor with the highest number of rubies and with a solid 277 earned over many of our activities this term, Lora is a very worthy winner. The Lionheart award goes to @Maxim Trevelyan! This award is given to the visitor with the highest number of rubies. Yet again, our friend from Ravenclaw has shown he is the master at gathering sparkly red jewels as he racked up a staggering 927 for his efforts over the course of the term. Congratulations! Now for the awards decided by Gryffindor Staff: The Studious Simba award goes to @Lizzi Long and @Narcissus Delmenia! We award this trophy to those lions who distinguish themselves through hard work in their classes and potentially in other places. We couldn’t pick between Lizzi (who earned 1189 points) and Narcissus (1142) and decided that both deserved recognition for their truly impressive performances. The Curious Kitten award goes to @Lora Wallabenger! This award is for someone who has been an encouraging, constructive or heartening presence in the CR. Lora went out of her way to welcome newcomers to The Den this term and has certainly raised our spirits with her exuberant personality and undeniable spirit. The Consistent Cub award goes to @Lorainia Riverrider! This award is for a lion who is everywhere, doing everything and inspires us all to get involved. Lorainia not only earned 1339 points (the third most points out of all Gryffindor this term), but has also found the time to throw herself into activities all around the castle. Not only has she inspired us with her activity but left many of us wondering just where she gets her energy from. The Lively Lionet goes to @Raevia Ward! This award is for someone who displays great pride and loyalty to the house. While she might not be the loudest or top in points, Raevia has been a friendly and diligent presence throughout the term. Her courage to try new things and her positive attitude reflect well not only on her but on Gryffindor too. The Exploding Snap award goes to @Prof. Dario Brighton! This award is given to someone who makes the CR a better place through their innovative ideas. As Dario essentially keeps the CR (and all of HOL) running, we’re always trying to nominate him for this award. As he designed the scoring system and beautiful cards for our wildly successful Exploding Snap activity, set up webmail and built a new website for the house newspaper, we couldn’t let him turn it down this term. That’s it for awards for now but I just want to reiterate how proud we all are of everyone who did their bit to support the house. Keep up the amazing work, lions!

Guilty. It usually ends up with me snorting with laughter which is even worse Has lied about already eating to save someone's feelings

Oh wow! Thank you and congratulations to everybody, let's have another exciting term!

The Chocolate Factory doors have just opened! Join us for a tour of the famed factory while watching out for oompa loompas and eating an inordinate amount of candy :D

He went out of the house to go to the healer on the doorstep there was a mouse who made the lad a squealer.

Who's excited for the new school year? :D

I slap Emerald on the back for having such an inspiring quote under her signature, way to go <3!

I just wanted to stop by to tell you that I literally sent 5 assignments of one class in one day just because I got more and more into the lessons and couldn't help myself. Sorry Professor for vomiting assignments but just know that I really enjoyed the lessons <3 has anyone else done the same? please tell me I'm not alone

6153 (Isa, I am very impressed and slightly intimidated by the skills and dedication. But you heard her, folks, let's get on it!)

Hi everyone! My name is Louis, and I'm 26 this year :) I love Harry Potter. My house is Slytherin and today's my 3rd day in HOL :)

Hello!! I'm a first year Slytherin. And I hope we'll become great lassmates/friends.

I slap Emerald for bowing to the queen - I might have to raise your royal status to Duchess.

The horntail dragon is a Zippy dragon. (My turn :D ) Crookshanks is an adorable cat.

Whew, luckily I stopped in at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes before coming on this trip! Granted, I'm not much of a practical joker, but my sister wanted some stuff, and being the nice sister that I am, I happily obliged. Anyway, while I was there, i picked up a few items of my own, namely Weasley's Wet Weather and Weather in a Bottle. Artificial rain is better than no rain at all, so here goes nothing... It worked! It actually worked! Okay, I never thought I would say this in my lifetime but give credit where credit is due: Thank Merlin for the Weasleys!!!

My tent looks like a regular muggle three room tent on the outside. On the inside: My tent has three rooms: the main room, the bedroom, and the bathroom. The main room houses the kitchen and living room/dining room. There is hardwood flooring throughout the tent and the walls are painted various shades of green. There are several windows throughout the tent, to let in the sunshine. The wood used for the various furnishings in the tent are made of poplar. In the kitchen there are some cabinets, a long countertop with a sink and an old fashioned wood burning cooking stove. The bedroom has a twin bed, a wardrobe, and a nightstand. The bathroom is a four piece bathroom with a shower/bathtub combination. The living room/dining room area has a plush green throw rug, a fireplace, a couch, and a small round dining table with two chairs.

My tent looks like one of those Muggle pop up tents which is used in wilderness situations, when you want the wind to flow smoothly over and around the tent, and not pick it up and send it sailing off (with you in it). Low dome and small footprint, but definitely not aerodynamic. However, when you bend down to creep into the tent, after you pass the 'seal' of the enchantment, you are like in a cabin which is set in pine trees. It's not very large at all, of but one room which is sectioned off into living area, bathroom, kitchen and sleeping room. The floor is hardwood and the walls are of logs. There is a fireplace, too, and it's nice and toasty in there! Shades of browns and golds, with some touches of red and green and purple and blue, give the room a cozy feel. On the hardwood floor are scattered Axminster carpets of rich hues of reds, browns and golds. The windows (placed on the South and East and West walls) look out into (your choice) the actual surroundings or a mountain scene.

A warm welcome to the Den, Vee!

Dishwasher (halfblood here :) )

Sorry if anyone's seeing scary security errors. The site is absolutely not trying to steal your data and/or take over the world, something just needs renewing. We hope to have it sorted shortly!

Rubies are Gryffindor’s internal points: you’ll earn them for taking part in activities and generally being active around the den. For each Ruby you add to your personal hourglass, you’ll earn yourself a bean over on the main HOL site. In addition, you’ll also have the chance to vie for our very shiny termly awards for highest ruby count. Both Gryffindors and visitors can earn Rubies through activities. Gryffindors will also have the chance to earn them through actions that support the House, such as Quidditch practice and the like. Only Gryffindor staff have the power to award Rubies. The number of Rubies you’ve earned during the current term will be displayed beneath your name on the Common Room and also on your profile. In addition, you’ll also be able to check the Ruby standings on the main page where the top earners are displayed. The Ruby count will reset every term: any Rubies you earn over the summer will be added to your total for the next term. At the end of each term (autumn and spring), the prestigious awards I mentioned earlier will be awarded: the Phoenix Award for the Gryffindor with the highest number of rubies and The Lionheart Award for our top earning visitor. To be in with a chance of scooping one, you’ll need to have your ear to the ground for Gryffindor goings-on and be as active as possible around the Common Room. Good luck!

I spotted the boggart while walking through a dark tunnel (where I... probably wasn't supposed to be). It turned into a million tiny spiders with red eyes and long hairy legs crawling over me. After I successfully cast the spell (may have taken a few tries), they all turned into a million squeaking rubber duckies.

Tricky question. I know if it were me I'd be super tempted to change things to address old injustices. But if there's one thing popular culture has taught us, it's that messing with time gets... well, messy. It would be fun to have an 'undo my last action' button with this power so you could gage the result of what you changed and put it back to how it was if it proved disastrous.

I slap Emerald for keeping up with this game (it's my favorite too :P)

I slap Emerald for winning the day on my birthday!

Emerald, Shape-shifting would be cool, too. I didn't even think about that as a superpower!

My superpower would shapeshifting so I would change into any object and any animal. I could even morph myself into looking like someone (no fowl tasting Polyjuice potion required).

Buried in the pile of things to repair is what appears to be a black rose, made of metal. On a short stem, of twelve inches, and with stubs of leaves coming out from the stem but jagged and broken off, the rose itself looks like it had been denuded of some of the petals. Not just taken off, but like the petals had been ripped off, much like the leaves on the stem. It needs to have the leaves replaced and some of the petals of the rose. It's still lovely, though, that rose -- and looks like it could be lovely again. The rose might have been damaged in the mass exodus from the Floating Market, after Door, Richard, Hunter and the Lamia leave it. Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar caused quite the stir ... Idea comes from Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, and Hammersmith, who created that rose for a customer. Gold Awarded!

You might have noticed a ripple of excitement and anticipation around The Den recently. The portraits are whispering amongst themselves, several huge boxes have arrived for the Prefect in Charge and the Head of House has got everyone polishing butterbeer flagons. This can mean only one thing… Gryfftoberfest is coming! For those of you who’ve never experienced the wonder of Gryfftoberfest before, it is a massive, month long party. We play games, drink lion’s shares of butterbeer and make so much noise that Gryffindor tower has been known to shake quite alarmingly. It’s a time to celebrate all the best and silliest aspects of Gryffindor and what it stands for. While this month is all about the scarlet and gold, as ever our doors are wide open to anyone from HOL who wants to stop by The Den to join in. Come right in! In order to enjoy and send-up the most fun and ridiculous aspects of being a house known for bravery and chivalry, we’re all taking a trip to a magical Renaissance fair this year. The gates will open on October 1st but before they do, we need your help. Gryfftoberfest traditionally begins with the quest for that years Motto: a slogan to set the tone for the rest of the month’s festivities and give us something to yell at random intervals (try not to spill your drinks when that happens!). We’re looking for something short and bold that people can include in their signature designs once the activity gets started. It could talk about our traditional characteristics, like last year’s fabulous motto: ‘Roaring with pride’ by Vanessa Tilley. Alternatively, it could follow this year’s theme of the Renaissance Fair. It can be as funny or as OTT as you like – taking ourselves seriously is one thing we struggle with in The Den. Rules: - The deadline is 11.59 PM Hol-time on Saturday 28th September. -Keep your Mottos to 15 words or less and entirely HOL appropriate -You must be happy for people to reuse your motto on signatures and the like. -You’ll earn 5 rubies per Motto for the first 5 you submit (25 in all). You can submit more for consideration but you won’t earn rubies for them. -Third place will win an extra 10 rubies, second place an extra 15 and first place an extra 20 -The Gryffindor staff will decide winners Send all Mottos to me (Sky Alton) via a Common Room PM titled ‘Mottos 2019’ and include your Hol Name and house. Please try to gather them all together into one message – I don’t want my inbox cracking under the strain if you send a new one every time you think up another incredible motto!

I slap Ivey because her reputation has now changed to 9 (having been on 8 forever) and now I have to get used to a new number near her name.

I am an oddball when it comes to music. My favorite music depends on my mood really but I tend to gravitate toward 80s pop, hair metal bands, instrumental, or crooners.

Popping in for a second to add that I love cream cheese icing Lora :D It's sooo much better than regular icing. When I'm eating cake, cupcakes, or anything with icing on it, I hate it when they put way too much on and you're basically eating icing with a bit of cake XD At the same time though, I wouldn't be able to eat it without icing, so there's a perfect amount for me that decides whether or not I like it LOL

I totally agree. It's always so important to remember that the only person who knows how to live your life is you. It's the only one you've got and you can't waste it on worrying what other people think you should be doing with it. Although, if anyone finds themselves having problems on HOL you can always come to me or Iverian as your prefects. We don't stand for any malicious behaviour around here and we will get to the bottom of it. This is a safe space, free from rumours and spite and we work hard to keep it that way. You're all free to be you around here :)

Here goes , Even one of my friends had this problem. Rumours really hurt when you somehow got to know them coz rumours gets into you emotionally . They just spread around so fast, making others to look at you in a really misunderstanding way. Somehow, I hate it for they put most of the people in to a total meltdown. People will say you names, they will try to put you down in all sorts of ways and tease you to your own behaviour. You can also be called a wierdo, an oddball, a looser, a pathetic but don't put yourself down because the others don't know you, they haven't seen you. You always know who you are and don't go being others but only your true self. Being yourself makes you really confidence and the other people will get to notice you. Rumours misjudge people but speak up to yourself when rumours spread about you (you don't have to be afraid ) and keep close to your friends who will stick with you in every way. "Don't let someone dim your light simply because it's shining in their eyes" :)

Black Bird by The Beatles where's your favorite place to hang out?

Oh, Lord. Not introductions. I swear, I had like, 15 introductions in the old CR because the thread was so old and so long. Might as well begin again. HI. I'm Zenix James. You can call me...Spanky. Not really, don't call me Spanky. Only Missa can call me Spanky. I'm...I guess I'm a professor, cause I'm not a prefect anymore. So, I can't really say that without being a false testament. I'M PROFESSOR JAMES. Way cool. I teach some classes...Go find them if you want to know what I teach! I've been around here for about 5 and a half years. Way too long. In real life, I'm ALMOST...ALMOST 21. 10 day countdown until my birthday. SO EXCITED. I'm a criminal justice student at university. Gonna send some bad doods to jail. At least there are attorneys with a sense of humor still. >_> Yeah, that's about it. I'm super glad the CR is back up and running. And, HELLO OTHER HOUSES! -waves-