Prof. Sky Alton

Approved Jaze Lannister - first year Victoria Rivera - Slytherin visitor

Approved Yuri Lowe - first year

You come across a group sitting around a large bonfire. Someone stands up and starts to tell a story. After a few words, they turn to the person on their right who jumps up to continue the tale. It seems like you’ve arrived just in time… You shyly find a seat and wait for your turn to join in… We know quite a bit about what Godric Gryffindor got up to as a full grown wizard but very little about his childhood. What scrapes did he get himself into? How did he come to value bravery and chivalry so highly? Let’s find out! For this game, we’re going to team up to tell a story about Godric as a lad. Each person will pick up the story where the previous person left off. For example: Person 1: On a misty morning, before the sun was up, Godric Gryffindor crept out of his parents’ house… Person 2: he wandered along the lane for a while, until he heard a strange sound from a nearby field… And so on Guidelines: Each post you make should be at least 15 words long. Don’t post back to back – wait for someone else to post before going again Try to respect what other people wrote and build on it, rather than drastically changing direction. You can earn 5 rubies per post for your first 4 posts, meaning you can net 20 in all. The deadline is 23:59 HOL-time on the 31st of October. Alrighty then, off we go! I’ll start… On a misty morning, before the sun was up, Godric Gryffindor crept out of his parents’ house

Approved Chrissy Kay and Britini Initirb - Hufflepuff visitors

Happiest of birthdays to the wonderful @Prof. Dario Brighton! Let the butterbeer flow.

Wishing @Harmony Potts an amazing birthday! I’ll hand round the cupcakes.

Godric’s Hollow might be a cosy little place but it’s still possible to take a wrong turning here and there. The mayor is concerned that visitors might do just that (the last thing we need is someone getting over excited and asking a non-magical resident for directions…!) To make sure people can find their way, you need to produce a map for the partygoers. To help you get to grip with the village’s layout, solve this nurikabe puzzle. To earn 20 rubies, send your solution to @Prof. Amy Lupin by 23:59 HOL-time on the 31st of October.

Thank you all for wending your way (back) to the castle with us! It was lots of fun reading through your responses and seeing you acing the trivia. Rubies will be awarded very shortly. When you get them, please let us know if you think there’s been a miscalculation so we can look into it for you. Remember we’re off to Godric’s Hollow for Gryfftoberfest! Join us over there for lots more magic.

The one thing any reader (or would be reader) of the Monster Book of Monsters is going to remember is the spell cast on the book that causes it to act like the monsters featured inside. (Oh and I’ve got some healing ointment if anyone has been unlucky enough to have been bitten already). What I’d like to know is what would happen if more magical publishers got on board with this gimmick. What other books with themed enchantments might we see? Come up with a way of customising a book of your choice (wizarding or muggle) with a spell that represents what it’s about in some way. Tell us about it in 100 words or more. To earn 10 rubies, post your ideas below by 23:59 HOL-time on the 31st of October.

Approved Lyra Kasia - Ravenclaw visitor Silverr Granger – and Coral Jones – Hufflepuff visitors Adelaide May – First year If you didn't get a validation email, don't worry, you should be able to use your account without one.

Ancient Runes Made easy introduces us to the various runic alphabets and the runes that they contain. Well, all the ones we know of... But new advances in the field are being made all the time. What if there's a rune we haven't found yet? Imagine a new rune has been discovered and it’s your job to write an entry for it for a new edition of Ancient Runes made easy. What is the rune? What does it look like? What does it mean? Remember, runes often have several interrelated meanings. You could also talk about how we discovered it. You can be as serious or as silly as you like when coming up with your rune. Your response should be at least 100 words for full credit. To earn 10 rubies, post your new runes below by 23:59 HOL-time on the 30th of September.

Answers submitted by.. Dibyarup James Potter River Fenwick Lexa Winslow Prof. Felicia Hartwick* Jiya Granger* Emily Spencer Tom Harik Luna Ravenlong Alexandra Starling Ellie Vernez Adeline Morior Prof. Scarlet Lesli-Lewis Anne-marie Gagne Galena May Lex Green

Class signups are open so make sure you get yourself over to the classes tab on the main HOL website to see what’s on offer this term. Have any classes caught your eye in particular?

Welcome to the first trivia challenge! Here are 15 questions about Diagon Alley and you’ll notice they range in difficulty from easy to hard. No matter how easy or hard they are though, they’re all worth 1 ruby each (so there are 15 up for grabs in total). Once you think you have the right answers, create a group PM with me (Prof. Sky Alton) and Prof. Maxim Trevelyan and send them to us. Easy: 1. How do you get into Diagon Alley? 2. What is the name of the book shop on Diagon Alley? 3. Which magical beings run Gringotts Wizarding Bank? 4. How do people visiting Gringotts get down to the lower levels? 5. What is the name of the quidditch shop on Diagon Alley? Medium: 6. Which shop was Harry in when he met Draco for the first time? 7. Where did Hermione purchase Crookshanks from? 8. How did Harry accidentally end up in Knockturn Alley? 9. What wood was the wand that chose Harry made from? 10. Which vault was used to store the philosopher’s stone? Hard: 11. Name an item Hagrid had to talk Harry out of buying during his first trip to Diagon Alley. 12. What are the doors at Gringotts made from (both sets)? 13. What gemstones was the magnificent necklace in Borgin and Burkes made from? 14. What colour were the uniforms at Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes? 15. What did the sign near the firebolt say about the price? To earn up to 15 rubies, please send us your answers by 23:59 HOL-time on the 30th of September.

So, here we are at Diagon Alley! There’s so much to do, so much to see, so much to buy. Where do you even begin? For this discussion, we’d like to hear about your ideal day on Wizarding Britain’s busiest shopping street. You could include…. Where your first stop would be Where you’d choose to grab a bite to eat Whether you’d dare to peep into Knockturn Alley… You’ll need to write at least 100 words for full credit. To earn 10 rubies, please post your response below by 23:59 HOL-time on the 30th of September.

Welcome to the Platform 9¾ Trivia Trek! This is a laid back activity for the start of term, themed around getting (back) to Hogwarts. Each Sunday, we’ll release 15 Harry Potter trivia questions and a discussion based on a portion of the journey. If you need an alternative task for accessibility reasons, please just let a staff member know and we’ll work with you to find something suitable. Each trivia task is worth 15 rubies (1 ruby per question) and each discussion is worth 10. That’s 100 overall for the activity. Timeline: Week 1 (posted on Sunday 1st): Diagon Alley Week 2 (posted on Sunday 8th): Platform 9¾ Week 3 (posted on Sunday the 15th): Hogwarts Express Week 4 (posted on Sunday the 22nd): Getting to Hogwarts and Welcome Feast. 30th September: everything due Right then, I think that’s everything, so grab your trunk and let’s get started!

If you have any questions about the activity, post them below and we'll get back to you ASAP.

Welcome to Madam Pince’s board! The formidable Hogwarts librarian has stepped away from her desk for a moment so I can be as loud as I like while running through the purpose of this forum with you. That purpose is points, precious, precious points. How to get them and how to get more of them. Jokes aside, this board is the place to come for all matters relating to HOL classes, HOL assignments and extra house point earning opportunities. Whether you're after information or a helping hand, hopefully we can provide. If you’re excited about class sign-ups, want to get opinions on an idea for a class you might want to teach, need support balancing your workload, are struggling with an assignment or are looking for an activity to fill your time, this is the place. Every term, we'll post a thread to help you keep track of all the ways you can earn points for our house and pin it to the top of the board. We’ll update it every time something new pops up so make sure you check back regularly. We’ll also be posting reminders for important things like deadlines and the start of class signups. There may be the odd inspirational speech or expertly choreographed cheerleading routine thrown in as well to help you along. In short: watch this space! If you have any questions, suggestions or frantic cries for help that you need to get off your chest, my inbox is always open. (I mean, you could ask Madam Pince… if you think you’re brave enough.)

The easiest way to help out your house and show your lion’s pride is to earn points! There are lots of ways you can do this so you’re bound to find some that play to your strengths. In this post, the staff give you a brief run-down of the regular point earning opportunities available to you. Whenever a new one opens up throughout the term, we’ll post it as a reply so keep checking back! The first and most obvious is to take part in classes. All classes will give you the chance to earn 300 points in a term through homework and extra credit. If you take several classes (even if you don’t have the time for the maximum of 5 every term), those homework points soon mount up to quite a tidy haul. Class sign-up opens on the 1st of September 2024 and will remain open until the 20th of December, so remember to put your name down for the classes that interest you and get sending in that homework! It’s always a good idea to keep an eye on the individual assignment deadlines so that you don’t run out of time or put too much pressure on yourself. The next are the creative projects offered each month by the Library and Art departments. Department projects alternate each month, one month you will get to be artsy and the next will give you opportunity to brush up on your writing. Visit the 'Departments' tab on the main website. Don't be shy: your submissions are anonymous during the rating period. You can get started by going to your profile and telling everyone 'How you Got Into Harry Potter' in the designated section - that will earn you a cool 10 points! Finally there's the HOL Newspaper, the HOwLer. This is a great chance to earn plenty of points by writing about what interests you. If articles and reviews aren’t your thing, it will also offer creative prompts and the chance to submit your own puzzles, graphics and more. Keep an eye on the Newspaper section of the main HOL Forum for updates about the latest issue. https://hol.org.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=612 Throughout the term, there will be unique and exciting activities to take part in which will give you the chance to earn points along the way. Remember to check the replies to this thread for announcements and reminders about anything that might be occurring! The element ascribed to his Hogwarts house is fire.

Welcome to the Gryffindor Common Room! Whether you’re a Gryffindor or a visitor from another house, it’s wonderful to see you here in Gryffindor Tower. Come closer to the fire and find yourself somewhere comfy to sit. This thread is meant to give you a quick overview of how to sign up for the Common Room and how to find your way around once you have. For more information on our forum rules, our staff and other helpful things to know, you can visit the other threads in this Guidelines Forum. Registering First things first, you will need an account on Hogwarts Online (hol.org.uk). Then, you’ll need to make a separate account here as unfortunately, you can’t just use your HOL login! Your Gryffindor username must exactly match the name you use on HOL - that includes the spaces and capital letters. You should also use the same email address that you used to sign up for HOL, so that we can be sure both accounts belong to the same person. Once you’ve created an account, it will need to be validated by an admin. This should only take a day or two but please be patient. You can check on the status of your account using the handy Account Registrations thread in this forum. Common Room Tour Let’s take a quick tour! The Den (our nickname for the Common Room) has plenty of fun things to explore and take part in. Almost all of them are open to everyone, including visitors from other houses. Here’s a brief description of what takes place in each forum. Main Areas: Announcements: Updates and news from the Gryffindor staff. Guidelines (This forum): Where you can find information on rules, staff and how the forum works. Current Activities: You’ll find new things to do in Light Reading every month. If there’s a special event going on, it will have its own forum here too! The Seventh Floor Corridor: Fat Lady’s Portrait: This is the discussions forum. If you want to introduce yourself or dive into a conversation, this is the place. Madam Pince’s Board: This is the classes board where you’ll find lots of handy advice about homework and tips on how to earn more house points. Peeves’s Place: The games room! Discover tons of fun games and mayhem. Sir Nick’s Notices: A place to post any personal announcements, like birthday wishes. The Tower (Gryffindor Only Forums): Here Dwell the Brave: Our lions only lounge chock full of fun things like quizzes, games and handy resources. If you’re a new gryff, you should head straight to HBD and check out the Newcomer’s Checklist.

To keep The Den a fun and safe environment, we need everyone to keep to some simple rules. All the guidelines in the HOL Code of Conduct and Handbook apply to this forum too. It’s best to read those to make sure you know exactly what’s expected of you. If you have a problem with another member or see something which you believe is against the rules, please let a staff member know immediately rather than trying to solve it yourself. You can either use the reporting function here on the forum or send us a message. Here are a few of the most important rules to remember: 1. Keep everything G-rated. HOL is a community for people of all ages, so everything you post needs to be suitable for younger members too. If you’re not sure if something is suitable, check with a staff member first. 2. Be polite, respectful and considerate towards everyone. 3. Don’t spam. This can include (but isn’t limited to) posting off-topic things, one-word replies to discussions and using unnecessary amounts of punctuations/caps. 4. Don’t share any private information about yourself, such as your real name, school, workplace or exact location. It’s fine to mention your country or even your region but please don’t include your city/town on your profile or in anything you post. Signature Requirements It’s possible to express yourself with custom made images, called signatures (which appear at the bottom of each of your posts). To make sure the forum doesn’t get too cluttered, we have a few requirements for these. Obviously, whatever you use should be HOL appropriate! You are allowed one image which should be no larger than 250 pixels long by 100 pixels high. You can have up to 4 lines of text but please remember the rules on spam and don’t go too overboard. Unfortunately, our avatar/profile picture feature currently isn't working due to an issue with the forum software.

To make sure that members of this forum are genuine students of hol.org.uk, new accounts have to be approved by an administrator before being given full access to the Common Room (think of it like having to be given the password to open the portrait hole). This can take a few days. Every time registration approvals are done, we'll post here with a list of the accounts that have been approved. We'll also mention the names of accounts we've had to reject along with the reason why . Common reasons for rejection are: You’re not registered on HOL You didn’t use your HOL name as your username If we had to edit your username (because it doesn't exactly match your HOL name), we'll also include a note and tag you to make sure you're aware. If your account is rejected, please fix the highlighted issue and try again. His house's motto is Forti Animo Estote.

Well, what an amazing summer that was! It’s been incredible to see all the creative submissions and ingenious puzzle solutions flying in – thank you to each and every one of you for taking part. And now onto those all important snappy scores… Here’s the final scoreboard of the activity: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TSQu_U55FF5fcpb_0h_hob8yw8H0jeJ9PGXHBYauBuo/edit?pli=1&gid=0#gid=0 An uproarious round of applause to Prof. Will Lestrange for snapping his way into first place! And three cheers for Dibyarup James Potter and River Fenwick for cruising into second and third respectively. Well played indeed to all three of you. Your beans should be with you now. And onto the rubies. These are the totals as we have them but if you see anything missing, just let us know and we’ll look into it for you ASAP. Since this has been such a complicated activity with lots of moving parts and messages to keep track of, we’re going to wait at least 48 hours before awarding them this time to make sure any miscalculations can be cleared up pronto. Adeline Morior - 180 Anne-Marie Gagne - 60 Dibyarup James Potter - 180 Ellie Vernez - 180 Evelin Stockom - 110 Galena May - 180 Ivy Grey - 100 Katherine Laurier - 30 Lex Green - 110 Lexa Winslow - 132 Prof. Amy Lupin - 180 Prof. Felicia Hartwick - 140 Prof. Scarlet Leslie-Lewis - 100 Prof. Will Lestrange - 180 River Fenwick – 180 It only remains for me to thank you once again for playing. Wherever you placed, I hope you had a blast with us this summer!