Prof. Sky Alton

As part of a grand Gryfftoberfest tradition, we’ve designed many, many fabulous new outfits for our stalwart and stylish door guardian, The Fat Lady. This year though, she’s told me she’s downsizing her wardrobe. Once I got over my shock (and apologised profusely for the involuntary snorting sound I made), she informed me that this year she’d like to share her limelight with those who aren’t as universally celebrated as she is. So, we’d love you to introduce us to a portrait we’ve never met before. Maybe they’re down a side passage people rarely go into, maybe they’re in plain sight but just don’t get much attention. Let’s go hear their stories! For this task, you have two options: you can either make a graphic of your portrait or describe them (in 50 words or more). Once you’ve done that, please allow them to introduce themselves and tell us a bit about the circumstances that lead them to be immortalised on canvas (again in 50 words or more). So, a graphic and 50 words or 100 words. Please keep your graphics to a sensible size, no more than 600x600 pixels. Post your portraits below! You can complete this task up to 4 times and you’ll earn 20 beans per portrait introduced (25 if you get them in by the 7th of October). The overall deadline is, as ever, the 31st of October.

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I slap Iverian for having so much energy (seriously, can I have some of that?)

Rule 2: Next time you feel like flying off the handle, try some soothing breathing and counting to 100 first.

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reversal

Guilty. I love to troll Has only remembered something they forgot to do in the early hours of the morning and stayed up wide awake, thinking about it

unexpected

Welcome to Gryfftoberfest! The biggest, boldest, loudest party of the school year where we celebrate the scarlet and gold. Grab yourself a butterbeer and some food, find yourself an armchair (or a bit of wall to lean against if you’re just too cool for chairs) and join the fray. Before you go though, have you ever heard about how our own noble Sir Cadogan defeated the Wyvern of Wye with only a broken wand*? How about how Elladora Ketteridge was the first to discover gillyweed but wasn’t credited for it (I mean, she nearly suffocated herself but who’s counting?)? How about Salvador Thaddaeus Partington-Smithe who is the only person to have successfully danced a foxtrot with a firecrab? Well, I’ll forgive you that last one as I just made him up. My point is that heroes come in all shapes and sizes. While we may have quite set ideas about what constitutes bravery, courage and adventurousness, they actually crop up in very different and sometimes quieter ways than you’d expect. So this Gryfftoberfest, we’re going to be raising our flagons to all those lesser known heroes. All those people who did brave or noteworthy things but who never seem to get songs written about them or Order of Merlin after their name. Our fun filled exploration of the rarely heard of will consist of a month of creative tasks and games. Something new will be released every 3 days so keep checking back. Everything will be due at the end of the month, though there’ll be bonuses here and there if you get things in quickly. If you complete at least 7 of the creative tasks (not counting the games), you’ll earn an award. If you have any accessibility requirements, just chat to me and we can easily work out alternatives to some of the tasks to suit you. So far, the tasks that count towards the award are: avatars/signatures, portraits, 'my hero', designing an award, movie posters/trailors, 'Acts of Courage', re-writing a song, book blurbs/covers, 'Anything Goes' and 'Hopes of a Hero'. Even though all tasks offer you the chance to complete them multiple times, you need only do them once for award eligibility. *If you haven’t heard about how our own noble Sir Cadogan defeated the Wyvern of Wye with only a broken wand, his portrait is over in that corner and he’ll happily bellow the story at anyone who comes within 5 feet of him, you have been warned.

If you're confused or need to ask for clarification on anything Gryfftoberfest-y this month, here's the place.

Part of getting into the swing of Gryfftoberfest is brightening up the Common Room (and, let’s be honest, showing off a bit). Design yourself a celebratory signature and or avatar to flaunt for the month. They can depict anything you like providing they’re bright, bold and Gryfftoberfest-y. Of course, they’ll also need to be HOL appropriate and follow our size rules: 100 x 100 pixels for avs and 250 wide x 100 high for sigs. You don’t have to use them but it’s more fun if you do. Get your Gryff on! Post them below before 11.59 PM HOL-time on 31st October and you’ll earn 20 beans for each with an extra 10 for the signature if you include this year’s Motto ‘Roaring With Pride’ (by Vanessa Tilley).

The Wizarding World is full of unanswered questions. Why was Wilfred Wistful? What was going through the head of the person who invented something quite as stupendously impractical as the exploding tuba? Why did the Hogwarts founders leave a distinctly dangerous patch of trees on their front door step? This is your chance to ask and get some answers. The aim of the game is to think up the stories and people behind those obscure wizarding discoveries, inventions and nicknames. Someone will pose a question and it’s your job to answer it in a sentence, then to pose one of your own. If there’s an explanation already in cannon then you can tell us that if you like, otherwise let your imagination run wild. You’ll earn 2 beans per post for your first 5 posts up until 31st October. For Example…. Person 1: How was the jinx that causes leeks to sprout out of people’s ears invented? Person 2: A very nasty altercation over steam tampering at the Welsh Amateur All-comers Soup Cook Out of 1248. What possessed Barnabas the Barmy to try to teach Trolls Ballet? And so on…. So, what really did possess Barnabas the Barmy to try to teach trolls ballet?

We received some incredible Mottos and found it really hard to pick a winner. That being said, we just about managed to narrow it down and the results are as follows: The winner is…. ‘Roaring With Pride’ by Vanessa Tilley! Congratulations Vanessa In second place is Eno Thomas with ‘Fantastic Lions and Where to Find Them’ And finally in a joint third place are Iverian Gnash with ‘Rock n’ Roar, Lions’ and Vanessa again with ‘Full of Pride’ Congratulations winners and thank you so much to everyone who submitted mottos. With that wrapped up, the party can start! Head over to the Gryfftoberfest Forum.

Dedication

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endless

Friends (… Luna's ceiling from Deathly Hallows. Not as weird as it sounds, I swear)

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Remember that you only have until midnight (HOL time) tomorrow to get those mottos in! We've received some awesome ones so far but we always need more.

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gold

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Sky